The Male Lead Is Obsessed With My Health Chapter 328
“What are you doing, Ciel?”
“Hmm, I keep getting messages from someone I don’t know.”
Ciel casually ignored a transmission coming from none other than the Crown Prince, then looked at Arellin in her blue dress and smiled with satisfaction.
“Wow, you’re wearing something pretty again today.”
“You picked it.”
“That’s why it’s even prettier.”
“Flattery won’t work.”
“It’s not flattery.”
Ciel put on a sad face, insisting he was sincere, but Arellin didn’t care.
“So, why did you drag me here when I was happily resting at home?”
Ciel smiled at Arellin’s prim expression, then spoke with a playful glint in his eyes.
“There’s someone I want to introduce you to.”
“Who?”
“That’s a secret.”
As Ciel smoothly dodged the question, Arellin narrowed her eyes even more.
He wasn’t this annoying when we were kids.
Even under Arellin’s dissatisfied stare, Ciel brushed it off casually.
“And now that you’ve made your debut in high society, you should come to places like this.”
“Why should I?”
Arellin still didn’t see the need for social activities.
Even if she stayed holed up at home, people asking to meet her were lining up—so why did she have to come out herself?
At Arellin’s rebellious reply, Ciel wore the expression of a mother looking at a disobedient daughter.
“Don’t you get bored staying home all the time? You’ll feel lonely too. You need to come out, meet people—make friends. That’s how you stay healthy.”
“I’m already healthy. And lonely? That’s something social butterflies like you feel. I’m taking good care of my health. I even took a walk in the garden at noon yesterday.”
“Oh? That’s good.”
“Of course. Muscle loss is a serious issue.”
Arellin believed it was horribly unfair that muscles she’d worked so hard to build could disappear just because she skipped exercise for a week.
Do you know how hard those muscles were to make?!
“And what, new friends?”
In Arellin’s opinion, her friend lineup was already perfect.
Pession, the rich twin friends, Harun the strongest fighter, Silvi in charge of information, Sirua the cat owner, and Therion the gourmet friend. Adding more would be excessive.
“I don’t need any more friends.”
At Arellin’s firm declaration, Ciel sighed. Just as he was about to respond, Arellin beat him to it.
“With you around, why would I need to make more?”
“…….”
At Arellin’s utterly innocent statement, Ciel was momentarily left speechless.
Judging by the mood and situation, it wasn’t the kind of line Ciel had hoped for—but for a split second, his heart thumped heavily.
Haha.
Did this naive young lady have any idea what that sounded like to the person hearing it?
Ciel let out a dry laugh.
“Yeah. I guess you don’t need any more friends.”
“Right?”
As Arellin smiled happily, only Ciel’s feelings grew more complicated.
“Yeah. That’s just like you.”
“What does ‘like me’ even mean?”
“Just… stay like that.”
“?”
Not knowing what he meant but instinctively displeased, Arellin frowned. Seeing that, Ciel burst out laughing without realizing it.
What am I supposed to do with her?
Arellin had once been just a strange, interesting friend to watch—but she must have entered his heart back then, when they were children, on that day.
At the time, it was simply nice.
Aside from Noel, it was wonderful to have someone he could truly connect with—someone who recognized him without him having to explain who he was.
Noel seemed to have fallen hard much earlier, but Ciel didn’t truly fall for Arellin until later.
When he saw her perform.
The sight of Arellin—normally apathetic and easily annoyed—playing the violin with her whole heart had left a deep impression on him.
Arellin played as if only she and the violin existed in that space.
The music was beautiful, but truthfully, Ciel liked Arellin playing even more.
It was an incredibly special and beautiful moment—one that hadn’t been assigned any value by his golden eyes.
Even now, having grown older and learned about the world, become “calmer,” “more discerning,” an “adult,” it remained an unforgettable memory.
Now that the person from that memory was walking toward him step by step, Ciel felt that was why he was losing his composure even more.
If she had remained only a memory, his heart wouldn’t feel this unsettled.
Worse still—Arellin hadn’t changed at all.
That made things even more awkward and difficult.
Sensing Ciel’s subdued mood, Arellin tilted her head.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Hmm.”
If I don’t say it, Arellin probably won’t realize my feelings until the very end.
How did Pession manage to notice her first?
I wish I had been first.
It was a feeling that would never be returned.
Despite the turmoil in his chest, Ciel’s cold reason still held the reins tightly.
He knew how obsessed Pession was with Arellin—his personal communicator was flashing nonstop even now.
At the same time, he knew how much Arellin liked Pession. The person she smiled at so brightly was always the same.
Then what was he supposed to do?
How was he supposed to resolve this thirst, this hunger, this sense of lack he’d never felt before?
It was still difficult.
Ciel didn’t know what to do about Arellin. He couldn’t touch her—but he couldn’t let go either. He couldn’t stop caring, and erasing her from his life was even more impossible.
Above all—
Ciel didn’t want to break anything.
Pession was just as precious a friend to him as Arellin was.
In the end, it seemed he would have to keep this boiling heart to himself, without knowing how to release it.
“Arell.”
“What?”
Her indifferent rose-colored eyes looked straight at him. On impulse, Ciel spoke.
“I like you.”
Unlike Ciel, who froze the moment the words left his mouth, Arellin didn’t look surprised at all.
She simply tilted her head.
“Huh? I like you too.”
“…What?”
At the completely unexpected answer, Ciel’s expression stiffened—then Arellin continued.
“You’re one of my few precious friends. Of course I like you.”
“…….”
“And you thought I hated you? Maybe when we were kids—but not now.”
“…….”
That’s not what I meant, you idiot.
As Ciel groaned and grabbed his head, Arellin tilted her head again.
“Why? You don’t believe me?”
Ciel let out a short, hollow laugh.
Yeah. This is the Arellin I know.
“But, Arell. You hated me when we were kids?”
“Ah—my mistake.”
“Where do you think you’re going? You have to explain first.”
“Aah, sorry! I shouldn’t have said that!”
* * *
You’re the worst, Ciel. What did I even do wrong?
In the end, she got caught and interrogated for over thirty minutes.
Ciel’s cold command to explain—in detail—why she’d disliked him had terrified her……
“Such a weirdo.”
As expected, the twins were demons wearing angel masks.
She’d forgotten because they’d been behaving lately, but they’d always been people who crushed others’ souls. The biggest victim was Duke Spherom.
After enduring one intense round of questioning, she had to greet the people approaching Ciel, as well as Chancellor Gawain, the host of the charity gala.
Exhausted, she leaned against a wall—only to hear a tongue click beside her.
“You’re weak, Arell.”
“…….”
You’re just strong!
As she glared at Ciel, Noel handed her a beautiful blue-tinted glass.
“Here, Arell. Drink this.”
“What is it?”
“A cocktail.”
“Oh?”
“For the record, it’s non-alcoholic.”
“…….”
Why were these guys trying so hard not to give her alcohol lately?
She wasn’t happy about it, but the cocktail suited her taste. Mm—this is good.
As she sipped it, Noel—watching her with satisfaction—pulled Ciel aside and whispered.
“Ciel, His Highness keeps calling. What should we do?”
“Ignore it.”
“And if His Highness gets angry?”
“It’s fine to be this petty. Let His Highness feel it once too.”
“?”
Only their expressions were visible to Arellin—their conversation barely reached her ears.
Wow. How sneaky, whispering among themselves like that.
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