I Became The Male Lead’s Female Friend

Author: Nikss

After what seemed like an eternity, nothing much happened.

Or, more accurately, I didn’t have time to encounter Rudrick.

First, I got busy.

I had come for a vacation to relax and have a good time, and I had my doubts about what I was doing, but I ended up digging my own grave.

“Madam!”

I went straight to Mrs. Fedwick after Rudrick gave his permission.

Though Rudrick was distracting me, I figured I should let her know first since I had achieved my goal, and as I suspected, she jumped for joy when she heard the news.

“Thank you so much, my dear. I knew if it was the Princess’s suggestion, he would approve.”

“What?”

“Oh, nothing.”

She laughed awkwardly as she said that, and I ended up laughing too, without asking any more questions.

At least I had a vague idea why.

‘Actually, don’t we all know that, except for Rudrick…?’

Well, everyone knew that Rudrick was different when it came to me than when it was to others. I thought it was because we were childhood friends, but others would see it differently.

At one point, I thought they were looking at it through too narrow a lens, and I was the one who was caught up in the ‘friend’ relationship.

But I still couldn’t accept the fact that Rudrick had feelings for me, so I smiled and deflected the question.

“It’s no big deal, I barely got his permission.”

“No, I couldn’t imagine throwing the party without the Duchess.”

“You said you haven’t thrown one since the Duchess had… something bad happens?”

“Since my former master brought me here, to be precise, for before that, though my lord disliked parties, she occasionally threw them for the sake of fellowship.”

‘She’ would be the Duke’s mistress. The one who ran off with another knight when the Duke turned into a little fool.

‘Then what happened to the Duke?’

I wondered but didn’t ask. There was no word of him being dead, so I assumed he was in some outbuilding somewhere, living and breathing.

Even if the Duke were alive, he wouldn’t be able to do anything about it now that Rudrick was in control.

“So this will be the first party in a very long time… and there’s a lot to prepare.”

“I wouldn’t say there’s a lot, but I’ve already prepared some things just in case, and since it’s such a small party, it’s less work.”

“Well, if it’s still plenty of work, you can call me. I’ll be happy to help.”

“Sure. Thank you for your concern.”

We parted cordially.

Actually, the ‘happy to help’ comment was just a throwaway line. I knew I wouldn’t be able to help.

With no experience throwing parties and no connections up north. It was just a polite way of saying I couldn’t help, but I didn’t want to part ways.

But it wasn’t polite to her.

“My lady, I would like to speak to you for a moment about the color of the curtains…”

“My lady, what kind of flowers would you like…”

“My lady, what should be the envelope for the letter…”

Every time she was making a decision, she would come to me.

At first, I responded with sincerity and enthusiasm, but the more I went, the more I thought, ‘She’s coming around too much,’ and later I realized that I was running around the event.

By the time I finally come to my senses and dust off my hands, I’ve already gotten too involved to do so.

“I apologize. I got out of the habit of working with you and…”

She gave me an apologetic look as I stared at the papers in my hands in disbelief. Looking at her, I smiled wryly.

“It’s okay, I didn’t have anything else to do anyway… But it seems that the Duchess took an active role in this?”

“What? Yes… The Duchess liked to decorate with her own hands, as she was quite austere, although the Master was always there to chastise her for it, so she didn’t get much done.”

“Ah… I see.”

“Madame would be very pleased to see it now, now that she can decorate it as she pleases…”

She went on to say that she had been attending to the Duchess from the sidelines. I felt bittersweet and spoke softly, as if to comfort her.

“But she’s much improved, so she should be able to come back soon.”

“That’s okay, I like having the Princess around.”

“What?”

“Oh, no. Shall we finish picking?”

And then she fumbles and turns to the papers she’s been looking at, and I glare at her, feeling a little dumbfounded.

And then I blurted out, “Well, I have to go back at some point.”

“…What?”

“I’m only here for a short trip, but I won’t be staying long, I have to go back and get ready to take over the family business.”

“Ah…”

“Perhaps the next time I visit, I’ll come as the Duke of Averine.”

She paused at my firm laugh. Unable to connect with my words for a moment, she nodded and smiled softly, though a little wistfully.

“I wish you nothing but light in your future, Princess.”

With that, we began to focus on the party preparations again.

Of course, she never spoke of such nuance again after that. I’m sure I conveyed my sincerity, albeit briefly, and acted as if nothing more than a gesture of respect for Princess Averine.

At the same time, I was able to regain my composure.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t shaken. Now that I knew him better, he was so different from the man I remembered, it was not unreasonable to think he was a stranger at times.

Especially since Rudrick wasn’t the world’s most exquisite beauty, and it wasn’t a stretch to say that the crybaby angel was gone, and the world’s most bewitching, sexy, decadent beast was right in front of me.

But the ideal and the reality were different.

‘No means no.’

I was still thinking the same words I’d said to Jeron.

‘I’m the eldest only child.’

Rudrick should go his own way, and I should go mine.

I wasn’t sticking to the original story. Just as Rudrick has a role as Duke of Bouser to protect the North, I felt it was my role to carry on the family name and protect Averine.

No one forced me to, but I’ve wanted to since I was a child.

My precious family, the kind people of the Duchy. I wanted to protect the warm place of my childhood with my own hands.

There may be love that throws everything away, but I think this might also be a form of love.

That’s the best future I could imagine for us, to stay in our respective places and continue our friendship with each other. The middle of the road was a little shaky, but that thought hasn’t changed.

Maybe it would be a lot different from the future Rudrick hoped for, but I wasn’t about to give up what I had, no matter how twisted it might be.

‘Yeah, that’s the way it is.’

I have no intention of continuing with Rudrick, so let’s not waver anymore. If he comes to me with a confession… I’m going to reject him.

And once I made up my mind, it was easier than I thought.

“So we decided to use the largest of the unused reception rooms as a party venue since it would take forever to refurbish the main Great Hall.”

“I see.”

“Since it’s been a while since we’ve had a party, we won’t be inviting that many nobles, but here’s a list Madame drew up of those who have served Bouser for a long time. Perhaps you should take a look…”

I was rattling off the list of things I had agreed with Madame.

Honestly, I had been worried about how I would look at him and whether I would be able to control my expression, but now that I was standing in front of him, I realized that he was treating me casually.

“I think we should take this one out because it’s a little bit of a dirty corner.”

And I realized that Rudrick didn’t seem to mind either.

Or, more accurately, he didn’t seem to know.

I hadn’t expected him to see through my shenanigans, but this time, unlike before, he was wearing the right clothes and listening to me with a straight face.

In fact, I was the only one who cared. ‘You looked good,’ I thought to myself, surreptitiously glancing at Rudrick’s bare chest.

I winced and cleared my throat again, trying to regain my composure. How long had it been since I’d vowed to pretend not to notice, and now I’m thinking this again?

The only good thing about this moment was that Rudrick was completely unaware of my nefarious thoughts.

No, wouldn’t it be better if he did? But didn’t he like it when we were kids when he saw all the ways I acted when we were younger and didn’t give up because ‘that’s just the way it is’?

“Anything else?”

Rudrick stared at me curiously as I sat still and lost in thought after the meeting.

I almost cringed under his gaze and asked, ‘Don’t you want me to stay?’ but I managed to hold back.

“No, it’s just that…”

“…?”

“…Oh, no, I’ll come back another time.”

With that, I grabbed the papers in front of me and hurried out of the room.

Feeling Rudrick’s bewildered gaze follow behind, I didn’t bother to look back, and when I was out of his sight, I let out a small sigh.

‘What the hell am I going to do.’

But no one answered in the silent hallway.

Instead, I looked to Lord River for a glimpse of sanity, but he’d been running from place to place since arriving in the North, wondering what was keeping him so busy.

When I finally caught up with him, I asked him what he was doing, and all he could say was, ‘I’m looking for something.’

So the only thing I could do to clear my mind was to focus on my work.

Luckily, things went smoothly.

Mrs. Fedwick wasn’t bluffing when she said, ‘I’ve got something in mind for you,’ and she went ahead with the details I hadn’t thought of.

Before I knew it, I had a list of people to invite, invitations to send out, supplies to buy, and a musician to play.

Most of all, the reception room, which had been so cold that it might as well have been a warehouse, was getting brighter and more lively.

The ducal residence was getting livelier by the day, and the people seemed to be looking forward to the party as if they weren’t.

In that strangely exhilarating atmosphere, I fell into the task of preparing for another party. The more I worked, the more my mind drifted away, and I became intrigued by the changing appearance of the ducal residence.

‘Okay, that’s good.’

I hummed to myself and started walking. I went back to check on the party, which was now in its final stages.

By now, I was confident.

Soon the party would be a success, and it would lift a layer of darkness from the Duke’s estate, and a fresh breeze would blow in, as Mrs. Fedwick had wished.

Until I walked into the party.

Clang—!

“What do you think you’re doing!”

There stood Kassar, picking up a vase and smashing it.