I Became The Male Lead’s Female Friend

Author: Nikss

Dahlia lifted the lingerie.

The burgundy color shimmers in the light.

The dazzling lace pattern that barely covered my chest, the heavenly silk that flowed beneath it, the sheer piece of fabric the size of my fist that barely covered my bottom, the slender thong that held it together.

‘Good.’

I giggled as I stared at the tiny ribbon strings that threatened to unravel with the slightest tug.

Erotic, perfect. I was all set.

‘This holiday season, I’m going to have fun with you!’

Fast-forward a few days to how things got to this point…

✨

After a heartbreaking parting with Rudrick.

As promised to him, I stopped by the Empire every chance I got.

Fortunately, the north was closer to the principality of Lorence, where I was studying, than the capital of the Empire.

After the first few times, I headed to the capital, it was not long before I started heading straight for the north.

He was right, I suppose because even if I could afford to spend a few months of leisurely vacation in the capital, the few days I did manage to spend with Rudrick were hardly enough time to spend with him.

Later, when my father found out, he said that he felt bad for me, but I quickly brushed it off because my mother sided with me, saying,

“Isn’t it nice that, after so long, we are enjoying our honeymoon?”

I said, “Mom, Dad, I’m sorry, but don’t you think I should have a chance to date someone?”

Already blinded by my first love affair, I was eager to become a fiery filial daughter.

To a certain extent, I rarely went to the capital without my mother’s permission, because even Rudrick, who initially enjoyed my visits, became a bit sullen as the number of visits increased.

Of course, it was awkward.

My original plan was to graduate from the Academy in the Kingdom of Lorence as quickly as possible, and then get a certificate to solidify my position, but I abandoned it.

Now that I’ve already been recognized by the vassals, and there are no longer any heirs seeking my place, there’s no reason to rush to the position.

And I owe much of this peace of mind to my father.

‘The Marquis and Marchioness of Myers’ problem is solved.

‘The Marquis and his wife filed for divorce not long after I left to study abroad.’

The Marquis, who had poured his fortune into building a mega-casino in anticipation of the legalization of gambling, eventually went bankrupt.

If it had ended there, he wouldn’t have had enough to live on, but he tried his hand at another business.

He borrowed money from various sources, using my title as collateral, and managed to amass quite a sum of money.

But in the end, the business failed.

There was no need to tell what the Marquis had become.

‘Marchioness Myers… your aunt came to the manor to ask for a favor in person.’

Well, not exactly a request, more of a begging.

The situation must have been serious for Aunt Myers, who had rarely visited Averine since her marriage, to come to my father in person.

When she begged him to help her just this once, he suggested, “If you can get rid of the Marquis, I can keep your son alive,” and after initially refusing, she finally gave in to her son’s pleas.

By the sounds of it, Confucius Myers had also committed several crimes…

‘Hey, the father and the son.’

I thought, ‘Is it okay to let him out like this,’ but it’s really just an ostensible offer to live quietly with my aunt.

In fact, I almost got a cold sweat when I heard the story of how my father threatened him, “If you ever harm our family again, I’m not going to let you get away with it, and I’m going to bury you from society.”

‘Come to think of it, that business… wasn’t it the one that was dismissed as uninvestable by the family council?’

I smiled bitterly, knowing where my father’s input had come from.

In any case, my aunt eventually decided to migrate and live in another country with her precious son.

Now that there were no immediate obstacles in my way, all that was left for me to do was envision a pink future with Rudrick.

‘Surely that was it!’

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with the relationship right now.

On the contrary, our relationship has never been stronger. He may be shy, but he no longer hides his feelings for me, and once I admitted my feelings for him, my heart soared.

Rudrick was so cute, I didn’t understand why I hadn’t noticed before.

He was cute when I hugged him, and he didn’t know what to do, he looked so cute when I leaned in and pecked him on the lips, and he turned his head away.

It was also cute that his ears were red instead of his face being red… I remember that when I accidentally bit his ear, he ran away screaming.

Anyway, Rudrick and I were having a good time, and I thought that if we could continue like this, I wouldn’t want anything more.

Up until the point of hearing about someone else’s story.

“What, you slept?”

At the time, I was having tea with friends at the academy.

They were all scions of well-known families from the continent, and I was getting to know them and making connections.

That’s what the Academy of the Kingdom of Lorence was for in the first place.

A place to make connections rather than study. Most of the students who came to the Academy were the children of families whose names one had heard of, and to get to know them was to make future connections.

Of the many virtues required of a merchant, networking was considered the most important, and I was happily attending tea time to build it.

And then it happened.

“So you two decided to date?”

My friend’s love story.

“Ugh, after all that denial, you’re finally admitting it.”

“A strong denial is a positive affirmation.”

“I told you, everyone knew they were dating except you.”

“You fought so much, and now you’re saying that fighting is all about love.”

Although it was a place where the children of the most prominent families gathered, it was also a place where people lived.

When they first organized the meeting, they talked about the situation on the continent, the flow of the economy, and emerging business items, but as the meetings became more frequent, they gradually turned into a place for personal chatter.

No matter what they talk about, they are all here because they benefit from continuing to have these meetings.

As much as there are young men and women gathered here, there are many exciting things that have happened.

For example, a man and a woman were fighting like they were going to destroy each other until yesterday, and then their eyes met, and they started dating…

“So they slept together?”

“Ahem.”

I barely held back from spitting out my tea. My embarrassment didn’t go unnoticed as the conversation continued.

“What the hell, you just woke up and went straight to business?”

“Really? Do you actually sleep? You went all the way?”

“Well, I don’t know, it just happened…”

“You’re crazy! Since when have you two been so hot?”

So, I mean! They still look like they used to bicker whenever they saw each other, but they? Do they like each other? And they’re going through all this?

‘No, not this fast?’

Truth be told, I shouldn’t have been surprised that they were getting jilted, roasted, or whatever, because everyone in the room had a general sense of their chemistry, and it was only a matter of time before it happened.

But what surprised me was something else.

“Ha, sleeping together in one day?”

A one-night stand?

No. Of course, I realize that every couple moves at a different pace.

It’s perfectly normal to sleep together after a day of dating! There’s even a term for it: ‘Setofil’—‘Seeking to find love’.

But it’s one thing to know about it, it’s another to see it in action.

“Yeah. Kinda fast, huh?”

I nodded vigorously.

“Still, it’s not like it doesn’t happen…”

“But you two weren’t really getting along, so there wasn’t a phase before that, was there?”

“Aww, Dahlia, come on.”

One of my friends giggled at my question.

“Do phases matter between men and women?”

Oh, it didn’t matter?

Now I was puzzled. As a natural-born romantic whose only man in this life was Rudrick, I thought I was supposed to take things in stages.

But no?

“Well, yeah, you know, if you see eye to eye, and you like it, you just do it.”

“Yeah, what’s so great about that?”

“Well, a slow, step-by-step relationship isn’t so bad… I mean, did it take me a month?”

Ha, just a month?

“Someone I know took half a year. Isn’t that too late?”

“Eh, it’s different for everyone. There could be other circumstances.”

‘Half a year late? There are circumstances?’

To calm myself, I thought back to the day I decided to date Rudrick. It’s been almost a year now.

So what have I done in the meantime?

Holding hands, hugging, pecking, kissing… and then again…

…and nothing more?

‘Huh?’

My friend scratched her head at my pensive expression and then asked, “Dahlia, I thought you said you were seeing someone?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“What, you haven’t even gotten out yet?”

“Uhh….”

I laughed, almost crying.

“Of course I have…”

My friend chuckled, “Look at that!”

As I watched her go back to chattering away, giggling innocently, I smiled sheepishly.

Sorry, I lied. We didn’t even advance…

‘Is this right?’

Although we continued as if nothing had happened, my mind was already tattered, and the conversation had become embedded in my memory.

From time to time after that, while walking down the street, eating, looking at papers, or even just before going to sleep, the question ‘Why didn’t we make progress?’ would pop up in my mind.

Why didn’t we think to do more than kiss? Did we never really want to, was it okay as it was…

‘It’s not good enough!’