I Became The Male Lead’s Female Friend Chapter 117

 

But even after we kicked Sir Ethan out, we didn’t come up with anything.

 

We were mistaken in the first place.

 

There was no way that three of us could come up with a nickname that four of us couldn’t brainstorm, especially since most of them were already taken.

 

After a few more meetings, we had to admit it.

 

We were running out of nicknames with two characters, and the only way to come up with something new was to reduce the number of characters.

 

To be honest, I didn’t think we could come up with a nickname that was worthy of a single letter.

 

But I didn’t give up hope.

 

Although they were rare, one-letter nicknames weren’t unheard of, and they might even be cuter and more endearing than their two-letter counterparts.

 

But then I looked at the shortlist and realized.

 

‘Dal’, ‘Ling’, ‘Ang.’

 

“Let’s give up.”

 

There’s nothing, not even an answer.

 

No, I mean, Dal and Ling were fine, but whose head did Ang come from?

 

It turns out to be Hestia.

 

Hestia, who seems to have nothing but money in her head, has unexpectedly grand ambitions. She explained that one of the nicknames she would like to be called when she has a lover would be ‘Ang’.

 

(앙 – Like Aegyo, usually used to be cute & lovely in habit.)

 

“If my nickname is ‘Ang‘, I don’t think he’d be pouting if he saw me. I can just imagine him looking at me and going ‘Ang, Ang‘ in embarrassment…”

 

“…”

 

“…”

 

At that moment, both Lord Leona and I were giving Hestia a strange glance, but somehow I felt like I understood her.

 

I suddenly saw the image of Lord River in my head.

 

Lord River blushed shyly and shamefully, and then suddenly appeared with his ears and tail attached, rubbing his face against my hand as if he were a puppy, barking ‘ang, ang‘ and purring…

 

Drool一

 

I swiped a salivating smile from my face. After thinking seriously for about three seconds, I shook my head gravely.

 

“No.”

 

I was so blinded by my ugly desire that I almost forgot my original purpose for a moment, but my original goal was to create a nickname that was familiar, friendly, and natural.

 

But if I made it ‘ang’, it would be no different from my original nickname, ‘darling’.

 

No, it’s more embarrassing than that. It’s almost as if Lord River would run away if he heard it.

 

But that doesn’t mean I don’t like ‘Dal’ and ‘Ling’ equally much, so I’m back to square one.

 

Do I go with ‘Lili’, which seems to be the best of the two, or do I go with ‘Ling’ for a few more points?

 

If I don’t think it’s right, should I just confess that I couldn’t say it?

 

The result was not surprising.

 

“Darling.”

 

From the mouth of another.

 

I had gone to see Lord River with a list of newly invented nicknames at hand. I honestly hadn’t decided what I was going to call him, but I figured I’d start with something appropriate and then ask him to call me by name while it was still awkward.

 

Furthermore, I didn’t think it mattered, even though Rudrick followed me like a ghost as soon as I approached Lord River.

 

No matter how many other nicknames I gave him, he still had to set me straight, or at least, if I tried to say my nickname, he’d never be able to utter it.

 

But then he said it himself, “Well, what…”

 

“If I remember correctly, ‘darling’ was your nickname.”

 

“…”

 

“Am I wrong?”

 

Don’t ask me if you know…!

 

I let out a soundless exclamation and squeezed my eyes shut.

 

Oh, my gosh. My nickname, the one I thought he could never say, was so easily said.

 

Usually, I would have patted him on the back and said, ‘You’ve grown up,’ but right now, I wanted to punch him in the face.

 

She’d been caught red-handed, standing right in front of Lord River!

 

“Da— Dahlia?”

 

And sure enough, Lord River was staring at me in bewilderment. Perhaps he wants to know if Rudrick’s words are true.

 

If I denied it here, Lord River would believe me.

 

But then there was the question of the aftermath. Even if I could only call him by his nickname, I couldn’t help but feel awkward if he called me by it.

 

Well, better to be a little awkward now than to find out the truth later. Finally composing myself, I lifted my head.

 

“Yeah, that’s right.”

 

“…Yes?”

 

“It’s Darling,” I said firmly, seeing the puzzled look on Lord River’s face, “It’s my nickname.”

 

I still remember. The two men’s faces mingled with the mixture of horror at my admission.

 

The face of Lord River, completely frozen and white as a sheet, and the evil face of Rudrick, smiling with satisfaction as if he had wanted this all along.

 

‘I never meant for this from the beginning…!’

 

I wanted to grab Rudrick by the scruff of the neck and give him a good shake for his oblivious behavior, but Lord River was my priority now.

 

Lord River was still in shock.

 

He had every right to be. He’d been so bold as to say he’d call me when he knew, and even though he was supposed to keep his word, he couldn’t bring himself to use that nickname.

 

Especially given his personality. I spoke first with a tone of understanding.

 

“You’re a little surprised, aren’t you, because my nickname isn’t normal…”

 

He shook his head hastily as he came to his senses.

 

“Oh, no, it’s just a little… unusual, and I can see why you couldn’t tell me.”

 

“Right, so I guess we’ll just have to keep the name as we’ve been calling it…”

 

“Still.”

 

But what was unexpected was the appearance of Lord River.

 

I’d expected him to jump at the chance to call me by my nickname, but strangely, he hesitated.

 

After a moment’s hesitation, he spoke in a firm tone.

 

“I meant it when I said I wanted to call you by your nickname.”

 

My mouth opened of its own accord, “So you’re going to call me Darling then?”

 

“Actually, I’m not sure if I can call you that right now, but…”

 

Okay, then. As if sensing my feelings, he continued, ‘I’m afraid I can’t call you that right now.’

 

“… Well, I’ll call you when the time comes, if you’re ready.”

 

It was a moment of mixed feelings all over again. I smiled broadly, unable to hide my laughter, and Rudrick blanched at the same time.

 

Though I imagined he was trying to play a trick on me, to make things awkward between me and Lord River, what came back was a promise of the future.

 

It’s only natural. To call me ‘darling’ when my heart was ready. That means…

 

‘You mean, when you are ready to marry me?’

 

I had already decided on a name for a grandchild in my head, and I pulled the soaring freak down.

 

But Rudrick didn’t seem to mind, he smiled shyly at me, as if to say.

 

“I’ll wait.”

 

🌸

 

The rest of Rudrick’s unpleasant interruptions followed.

 

But I had nothing to fear anymore. No matter how much he hindered me, we had already committed to a future, and I couldn’t begrudge him a little bit of it.

 

Besides, it was a short time, and I had already learned so much.

 

‘We’ve held hands, we’ve back hugged, we’ve called each other nicknames!’

 

What a perfect transition.

 

Honestly, it didn’t look much like the blueprint I had drawn up before we left, but that’s not a bad thing.

 

I was just thinking of the two of us hanging out, not making any real progress.

 

Maybe it’s a good thing Rudrick intervened. I would have run out of time before we reached the duke’s residence.

 

‘Heehee, that’s the beauty of the slow journey.’

 

However, the angry Rudrick had pulled Sir River out of the command center, so I couldn’t see him anymore.

 

I could pass the time at the Duke’s residence just imagining how far we could go.

 

And the heavens were still on my side.

 

The march was easy, considering the carriage slowed us down. I had expected to encounter only one monster, but we had gotten this far quickly without stopping to rest.

 

The next thing I know, we’re right under the duke’s castle, and he’s in the middle of a final regrouping.

 

‘I’m dying.’

 

I barely made it out of the carriage on shaky legs.

 

To be honest, the knights had enough stamina left in them to make it to the ducal residence, but I was the problem.

 

The road to the ducal residence was said to be even more steep, and if we didn’t prepare ourselves now, we wouldn’t make it.

 

Yeah, more blankets, more stuff to weigh you down, and something to throw up in, just in case…

 

Rustle—

 

I’m walking along the bush, lost in my thoughts. The bushes rustled beside me and someone jumped out of nowhere.

 

Startled, I quickly gaped at the familiar face in front of me.

 

“Lord River?”

 

There he was, Lord River.

 

I hadn’t seen him in a while-only a day-but he felt even more wistful. Even more so when I realized that he had even promised me a future.

 

I approached him with swift, almost galloping steps, and was about to offer him a friendly greeting when I noticed something and stopped.

 

His hair was somehow wet.

 

‘Did he dip his head in water?’

 

The question was soon answered. Lord River, sensing my interest, turned to me.

 

“Lady Dahlia?”

 

“My lord, where have you been?”

 

Lord River’s eyes widened in surprise at my unexpected question. Then he realized my gaze was on his head, and he ruffled his hair in a shrug and answered.

 

“Ah, there is a stream, and I went for a while.”

 

“A stream?”

 

“Yes. The knights who scouted the forest told me there was a stream over there, and it just so happened to be close by… If you’re curious, would you like to come with me? The scenery is quite nice.”

 

“Go, with you?”

 

My eyes widened at the unexpected suggestion.

 

“Isn’t it…dangerous in the woods?”

 

Honestly, it wasn’t that I didn’t want to go on a date with Lord River by a stream in the woods, but this was the North, after all.

 

It wasn’t like the capital, where at best you were afraid of wild beasts coming out of the woods; this was a place where it wouldn’t be strange if a monster, not a beast, jumped out.

 

What would happen to someone like me, who could barely throw a bag of gold coins, let alone raise a sword, was obvious. As if sensing my anxiety, Lord River laughed softly.

 

“It’s all right, then. The scouts didn’t find anything when they went, and neither did I. It’s not that deep, and…”

 

Lord River scratched his cheek as if embarrassed.

 

“I’ll protect you, no matter what.”