I Became The Male Lead’s Female Friend Chapter 119

 

My eyes went blank, and I looked at him in bewilderment.

 

When I decided to ask him directly. There are certain reactions I expected.

 

For example, he might say, ‘What do you mean by that?’ and appear to have no idea, or he might say, ‘How do you…’ and not be able to hide his confusion.

 

Or worse, evading the answer by saying, ‘I don’t know what you mean.’

 

This was definitely not how I imagined him to be. There he was, looking at me and squinting, like a completely different person.

 

“That, that’s…”

 

I swallowed dryly and glanced away.

 

I hadn’t expected this reaction from him, so I hadn’t prepared for anything, just in case, a way out, an escape hatch in case he changed his mind.

 

He couldn’t have made that up. I’d rarely seen him like this, in the original or in real life.

 

I don’t know what triggered him.

 

Furthermore, I’ve thought of all sorts of things, like maybe I said something I shouldn’t have, or maybe he’s in cahoots with Duke Goldman.

 

But the biggest thought was that we were in the woods.

 

‘What should I do?’

 

No matter how close we were to camp, the middle of the woods was still a forest.

 

Even if I screamed, I wasn’t sure if it would reach anyone, and above all, it was obvious that I, a mere girl, would be easily subdued by him, a knight.

 

But I couldn’t just stand there and let this happen, I thought to myself. Even as I did so, my feet were unknowingly trudging backward.

 

“You know, just now that I think about it, I wonder if the first time was too exquisite to be accidental…”

 

“…”

 

“It doesn’t mean anything that I have done… I just thought that for a second…”

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“Yeah, sure, I’m sorry too… What?”

 

I snapped my head up to look at him, and soon his face came into view, smiling an awkward smile at me.

 

“Seriously, you asked, and I weighed the pros and cons… I guess it wasn’t such a good idea.”

 

“What?”

 

“I’m sorry to have scared you. I didn’t mean anything by it.”

 

“What?”

 

I stammered back, dumbfounded by his words, and then, with a tone of disbelief in my voice, I continued.

 

“So, it was a joke?”

 

“It wasn’t a prank, it was a trade…”

 

“That’s what it is!” I exclaimed, and then thumped my chest.

 

Yeah, I couldn’t have been mistaken. I was still bothered by the way he looked, but I was finally relieved that he hadn’t tried to stab me in the back.

 

Still, I couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for him, so I blurted out.

 

“Do you know how surprised I am, whether it’s a joke or a serious question? I was asking in all seriousness, and you can’t be honest there, or you’ll mislead anyone. I’ve come all this way trusting you, and now I’m really lost for words.”

 

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t know you were so scared…”

 

“Oh, I wasn’t scared… I wasn’t really scared, I was just disappointed, I thought Lord River had tricked me…”

 

“That’s because you’re right.”

 

“…What?”

 

I gaped at him with quizzical eyes, and Lord River gave a bitter smile, not quite as sincere as he had just been, but all-knowing.

 

“Didn’t you say that you felt strange at our first meeting?”

 

“Yes, sir?”

 

“That’s what you felt.”

 

…What does that mean? Dazed for a moment, I stammered, “That… You mean I’m right, that you approached me on purpose…?”

 

“That’s right.”

 

His expression darkened instantly, and I felt like I’d been doused in cold water.

 

Once he admitted what I had been suspecting all along, the rest of my mind started to clear up.

 

Certainly, the first meeting was felt out of place from the beginning. But I wondered if it was the intended result of the second and third encounters.

 

And what about all the things he did that sparked my excitement…?

 

‘No, it’s too soon to tell.’

 

I shook my head. He’d only admitted one thing, and I didn’t know the rest.

 

But I took a small breath and looked at him again with clearer eyes, knowing that he would answer everything I asked.

 

“So, did your father tell you something about me?”

 

“…Yes?”

 

“Lord River told me the truth, so I’ll tell you the truth.”

 

I continued calmly, “I’ve been feeling strange for a while now, like information about me is being leaked behind my back.”

 

“That’s…!”

 

“It’s weird, I mean, it’s not like I have any big secrets, and I’m sure there’s some information that’s been publicized in the social circles… So I couldn’t help but do some research.”

 

“…”

 

“But you know.”

 

I looked up and added, “It turns out that there is a connection to the Duke of Goldman, your father.”

 

“…”

 

A few moments later, his face was as stiff as ever.

 

He bit his lips impatiently, not as if he was faking it, but because he looked uneasy. Before I could call out to him, he spoke first.

 

“You’re right about everything you mentioned. About my father prying into Miss Dahlia’s back, and… And that he wanted to give me that information.”

 

“Then you can’t be…”

 

“But it’s not by his will that I’m here now.”

 

I stared at him, still.

 

“I don’t know where to begin, but I think my father has had his eye on you since the first time we met.”

 

“The first time we met was…”

 

“The Victory Banquet.”

 

He nodded, if I remembered correctly, at the Victory Banquet, where we exchanged pleasantries naturally, thanks to Rudrick.

 

“My father has had his eye on Miss Dahlia since the beginning. I think he was interested in your position… and the fact that you didn’t have a fiancé.”

 

“…”

 

So, that’s what he meant. Though to be honest, it felt a little too much like a slap in the face.

 

As Jeron had said, the Duke of Goldman was in a pinch, and unlike the other two houses, whose power had been on the rise since the end of the war, the Goldman’s were no longer as powerful as they had been before.

 

Perhaps that’s why he recognized me without a fiancé. There’s no better pretext for a family to bond than marriage.

 

“Well, Duke Goldman is already married, and Princess Goldman is the Crown Prince’s fiancée… All that’s left is you.”

 

“Yes, and I happen to have no fiancée either, so my father took advantage of that and took it upon himself to call me aside and…”

 

“And he gave you my information.”

 

But after a moment of silence, he shook his head again, “I have given it over, yes, but I have not taken it.”

 

“You didn’t take it?”

 

“Yes, because I didn’t wish to be approached deliberately for family interests.”

 

“But didn’t you say that you approached me on purpose?”

 

At my question, Lord River swallowed his words for a moment; he seemed to hesitate.

 

Should I bring this up, or should I not? His lips pursed and dismissed, hesitating for a long moment, he finally spoke up.

 

“You’re right. I don’t want to offend Miss Dahlia, but… I had no choice but to go along with my father’s wishes at first.”

 

“May I ask why?”

 

“…It’s a personal matter, so I can’t really go into details, but it’s not a pleasant one…”

 

He trailed off with a dark look on his face, and I instinctively recognized it.

 

‘Has he been blackmailed?’

 

I hope not, because there’s no way he’d go along with the Duke’s plan if it wasn’t right.

 

“So the truth is, I was only planning to meet with Miss Dahlia briefly, exchange pleasantries, and return quickly, with no intention of approaching the lady after that.”

 

“…”

 

“Until I met you, Dahlia.”

 

“Me?”

 

Lord River gave me a knowing smile at my question.

 

“I knew it from the first time I saw you, but you look like someone I know, and that’s part of what caught my eye.”

 

“Someone you know?”

 

“Yes. Someone I was briefly indebted to when I was younger…”

 

His gaze swept over my face for a moment, and although he was clearly looking at me, I felt a strange sensation, as if he was looking at someone else.

 

He looked away and spoke again, “Anyway, the more I talked to you, the more I realized that you were a good person, and I liked you.”

 

“And the other encounters…”

 

“They are, indeed, coincidences.”

 

Lord River interrupted firmly, “That’s why I’ve purposely avoided the party since then, because, regardless of my attraction to Miss Dahlia, my intentions at our first meeting were not exactly good.”

 

Somehow. I could go to any party Goldman threw and never see a hair of his head.

 

Was that why? I smirked and took the comment lightly.

 

“Well, if that’s the case, at least you didn’t fake it. I wondered for a moment if Lord River was some kind of acting genius.”

 

“What?”

 

“It’s nothing. So it’s true that you do have a liking for me after all, right?”

 

“Yes, ah… that’s…”

 

He blushed slightly and looked off into the distance as he admitted that he felt attracted to me.

 

I smiled wryly as I watched him. When he said, ‘I approached you on purpose,’ I thought my heart would drop, but in reality, it wasn’t much like I thought.

 

And he wasn’t much different from what I expected him to be.

 

“But there was one thing, one thing that bothered me a little bit…”

 

“Can I ask you one more question?”

 

“Yes, please.”

 

I hesitated a bit, but eventually asked, “Do you still think of her when you see me?”

 

There it was: the reason he had a thing for me.

 

Everyone has their reasons for having a crush on someone, but I couldn’t help but notice the wistful look on Lord River’s face when he mentioned the person who looked like me.

 

I looked at him with some anticipation.

 

He looked surprised, as if he hadn’t expected to be asked such a question, and then he shook his head, smiling gently at me.

 

“No, I know it’s someone else.”

 

That was enough to make me laugh, and I ended up smiling.

 

Honestly, I’d be lying if I said Lord River’s presence didn’t bother me. His gaze had been burning a moment ago, seeing someone else’s face above mine.

 

But I tried my best to forget.

 

Because whatever the past, it’s clear that he’s attracted to me at the moment, and he’s even admitted it, and I’m finally convinced that it’s a two-way relationship.

 

So it wouldn’t be long now before I could promise him a future.

 

“Huh?”

 

Until I saw Rudrick appear behind me.