The Male Lead Is Obsessed With My Health Chapter 171

“Hi?”

A bright, dazzling smile and eyes—like summer sunlight pouring down—were turned toward me.

I tilted my head, feeling like everything had suddenly become brighter. It was like there was a spotlight just on that spot.

“…Hi.”

When I greeted her quietly, Chloe smiled even more brilliantly, like a flower bud bursting into bloom, as if that had been her goal all along, and then turned away.

“…What was that? Arellin, do you know her too?”

“Ciel, your concept just broke.”

“Do you know her, nya? How do you know her, nya?”

“Should I have given you cat ears instead?”

The twins fiddled with their bunny ears, which fluttered as if they were really alive thanks to the magic Chloe had cast.

Meanwhile, Chloe was mingling with the other kids, wearing a bright smile.

‘So this is the original female lead….’

I felt like I was going to get sterilized and dried by sheer sunshine energy.

Thinking of Pession—the original source of sunshine energy(?) who had naturally driven out my dark vibes—I turned around and saw him holding Noel’s headband, tilting his head at me.

“?”

“?”

While we were both confused, Pession suddenly walked up to me and put the bunny-ear headband on my head.

“It suits you, Arell.”

The sensation of something moving on top of my head felt strangely new and fresh.

“You do it too.”

I snatched Ciel’s bunny-ear headband and put it on Pession. Combined with his already handsome face, the bunny ears produced an absolutely devastating result.

‘Is it legal for a person to be this cute?’

Is he human, or the embodiment of cuteness itself?

But Pession, for his part, couldn’t take his eyes off me, as if he thought I was cuter.

“Arell, it really suits you.”

I wished there were a mirror. He wouldn’t be saying that if he knew who actually looked better.

Just then, Ciel bounced up.

“Whoa, Arell is cute, nya!”

“Is that way of talking permanent now?”

“Arell, you do it too, nya!”

“No, nya.”

The twins widened their eyes, then laughed. Somehow they’d found extra headbands and put them back on.

This time they weren’t bunny ears, but real cat ears.

‘Maybe it’s because they’re twins—they pull it off.’

“Harun, you wear them too, nya!”

Gentle Harun, surprisingly, resisted fiercely and tried to run away, but once playful Pession joined in, he was quickly caught.

“Bunny or cat?”

“Are there other kinds of ears too?”

“Yeah. Bear and puppy headbands too.”

“Why do you even have so many?”

“Hehehe.”

Ciel gave a sly smile.

Right. They’d planned to put all of them on from the start.

“—No!”

Harun struggled and protested, but he couldn’t escape his fate of wearing animal ears.

“My pride as a warrior…….”

Seeing Harun, wearing puppy ears and blushing bright red in humiliation, something inside me stirred.

“So cute…….”

“Ugh.”

Harun, usually expressionless, was now red like an overripe tomato, and that just made him even cuter—I wanted to tease him more.

How could someone be this cute?

“D-don’t…….”

He even looked like he was about to cry, eyes watering as he protested. My head said I should stop, but…

“Cute.”

With his cool, handsome features and even a tiny beauty mark at the corner of his right eye, animal ears had an especially powerful effect on Harun.

As I completely lost myself to Harun’s cuteness, Pession—who had been watching—smiled while giving off an ominous aura.

“Take them away.”

The twins grabbed Pession.

“Arell’s enjoying it, just let her enjoy it~.”

“Male jealousy is ugly~!”

Pession froze.

“Ugly……? Me……?”

While the twins giggled at the clearly malfunctioning Pession, other kids who had been watching ran over.

“That looks fun. Are there more of those?”

 

 

*****

 

 

 

“What in the world is this animal farm…….”

The teacher, entering the classroom, flinched at the sight of us.

Yes. All of us were wearing animal-ear headbands.

“So this was your plan.”

“Hehehehe.”

“This way, a new trend will spread!”

I clicked my tongue at how thrifty the twins were, using the Crown Prince and me as walking advertisements.

I never thought they’d try to do business with the whole class.

“Hand it over.”

“W-what?!”

“Advertising fees.”

The twins played dumb, but they couldn’t withstand Harun and Pession joining forces and eventually handed over the money.

“Ughhh, that’s cruel.”

“Arell is mean.”

I split the money in half and gave it to Harun and Pession.

“Use it as allowance.”

Just as things were neatly wrapped up, an uninvited guest butted in.

“What?”

“What do you mean, what?”

In the brief moment when the twins ran off, Cheyen took the empty seat next to me.

The nerve of this guy.

“Why are you sitting next to me?”

“Then where should I go?”

Cheyen smiled brightly and shrugged, as if this were obviously where he belonged.

Pession’s expression stiffened instantly, and a strangely chilly atmosphere spread—but Cheyen, who caused it, was the only one smiling.

Cheyen spoke to the twins.

“Give me one of those too.”

“30 gold.”

“Sure.”

Without caring about the hefty price, Cheyen paid lightly and put on bunny ears similar to mine.

Cold sweat broke out instantly.

‘Th-they suit him.’

Damn it. Stupid looks-are-everything world.

But is being pretty a crime? The problem is what’s inside, not the outside.

“Looks like you like it.”

Seeing my expression, Cheyen smiled prettily.

Wow. They really suit him.

When I couldn’t look away, Pession, clearly sulking, muttered,

“Looks like the young master of Gremwat doesn’t have anything to do.”

“Call me Cheyen, Your Highness.”

“…….”

Pession’s expression turned awkward. The twins, watching us, whispered loudly enough for us to hear.

“Isn’t this weird?”

“Very suspicious.”

“Seems like something’s going on between Gremwat’s young master and Arell.”

“Yeah, seems like it.”

There’s nothing going on!

Nothing at all!

“Focus. It’s class.”

When I glared at him, Cheyen smiled.

“You should focus.”

Like you’re one to talk.

Today’s class was etiquette, so there was no need to pay much attention—except for a few who hadn’t taken separate etiquette lessons.

I glanced at Chloe, who studied unusually hard for someone living in the Mage Tower, when Cheyen leaned in close and whispered,

“You keep watching her. Do you know her?”

“…….”

Was it that obvious?

“No…….”

Strictly speaking, it was one-sided on my part.

Cheyen seemed to sense something in my answer and looked at Chloe.

Come to think of it, the two of them seemed fairly close.

“If you don’t even know her, why are you paying so much attention?”

I fell silent at his gold eyes glittering with interest.

“Well, it’s like… the whole world revolves around that kid.”

“…?”

“That kind of feeling?”

In short: she’s the female lead, so I can’t help noticing her.

As I brushed it off vaguely, Cheyen alternated his gaze between me and Chloe.

“That’s strange. I see something completely different.”

“…?”

When I tilted my head, Cheyen smiled faintly. Judging by his expression, he didn’t look like he’d answer even if I asked.

“If something happens, you can always ask me for help.”

Why did that sweet, honey-like voice—sweet enough to attract bugs—make me feel so uneasy?

“I’ll help you.”

Looking at his gently curved eyes, I thought—

He says things like that while clearly looking like he’s deciding how to cook me.

 

 

****

 

 

A new trend had sprung up in the capital yet again.

I’d gotten used to it the day before and gone home wearing bunny ears without thinking—only for chaos to break out.

The childcare squad desperately trying to film it, the regent duke Ludwig coming out in the middle of the commotion and going completely speechless at the sight of me wearing bunny ears, and then…

“Looks like people really like Daddy.”

No—do they like Dad himself, or just his face?

The culprit behind all this was my father, who had gone to the imperial palace wearing the headband I’d personally put on him.

“He actually went to the palace wearing that.”

Does my dad even possess the emotion known as shame?

Apparently, after witnessing that sight, various figures of the court had all started wearing animal ears themselves, which made this trend completely incomprehensible…

“I feel like I’m becoming more and more out of touch with the times.”

Looking at the Albrecht Times front page once again—dominated by a huge photo of my dad’s face—the twins were giggling away.

“Perfect. Just as planned.”

“So we’re going to get rich now?”

You guys were already rich. What are you even talking about?

Annoyed, I kicked the twins out and was brooding by myself when—

“Miss Arellin.”

A group of girls approached me.