I, the Female Lead, Ruined the Original Chapter 148

Even after a long while, Joshua Gillosen didn’t move an inch.

 

What is it? Is a handshake considered rude in Gillosen?

 

Evan was flustered by the silence that lasted longer than usual. His right hand, which had been hovering awkwardly in the air, began to tremble slightly.

 

It was when Evan Glen raised his eyes to meet Joshua Gillosen’s gaze.

 

…Gasp. He almost made the sound of swallowing his breath without realizing it. Completely forgetting to maintain the dignity as an heir of Glen.

 

Joshua’s red eyes, staring directly at him, were cold and fierce. It was the look of someone facing an opponent on the battlefield as if ready to devour them. In other words, it was murderous intent.

 

A fear gripped Evan as if someone were squeezing his throat. For someone like Evan Glen, who was born and raised as a civil servant, not a soldier, it was an emotion he had never felt before in his entire life.

 

Why on earth…? Just as Evan was too shocked to even blink properly,

 

“Don’t do that, Josh.” Rosalli’s clear voice rang out, and the tension surrounding them suddenly dissipated.

 

“Rosi, but…”

 

Joshua looked at Rosalli, whose head reached just to his chest, with a softened gaze. The person who had been glaring at Evan so intensely seemed to have vanished. If he had ears and a tail, they would both be drooping.

 

“I can’t let anyone who made you suffer when I couldn’t protect you get away with it… Do you know how frustrating it was not to be by your side then? It’s just my instinct… .”

 

“Ahem.”

 

The man’s slightly flustered words were abruptly cut off by Rosalli’s brief interjection.

 

“Josh. Who do you think you are?”

 

“…”

 

“Even if you were my husband, this would be overstepping. But you’re not my husband, not even my fiancé—just a potential fiancé candidate.”

 

“That’s true, but—”

 

“It’s my business, so I’ll handle it.”

 

Rosalli’s green eyes stared intently at her brother. “Let’s not involve Joshua. This is my business.”

 

Evan Glen’s face twisted with frustration under Rosalli’s determined gaze.

 

Did he think he could easily manipulate me by having a man-to-man talk with Josh? Does he still not know me after all these years of being the so-called ‘Swan of Nepelsian’ who toys with gentlemen?

 

Rosalli had anticipated that something like this might happen when she decided to come to Nepelsian with Joshua.

 

No matter how much Eirene tries to squirm, she can’t beat Michi. Gentlemen who approach Eirene aiming for Glen’s influence can be transparent with their ulterior motives, but their sincere gazes all turn to Michi in the end… Even though both were the ‘charmer’ in the original story, Michi’s reverse harem halo was significantly stronger.

 

Rosalli had twisted the original story so well that when people in society thought of ‘Lady Glen,’ they still thought of her instead of Eirene. So, it was understandable that Glen would miss Rosalli. After all, they had invested in her for over ten years. Therefore, she expected them to ask her to return to the ducal family.

 

Seeing him grovel, it seems he has realized that intimidation won’t work in this situation. She thought that if she took a firm stance, he might try to persuade Joshua instead. But Rosalli also knew that Joshua would react sharply.

 

How could she know? Because in Rosalli’s original story, Joshua Gillosen was the one who harbored an intense hatred for the Glen family after seeing how they had driven nails into her heart over and over again. He became one of the main figures in the Glen family’s downfall, avenging Rosalli in various ways—even when the original Rosalli said she was fine.

 

In other words, Joshua was the biggest source of satisfaction in the otherwise frustrating original story. But Rosalli was not original Rosalli, and satisfaction was best savored when achieved by her own hands.

 

“Lord.”

 

“Huh, ah, yes.”

 

“Once I get married, won’t I be considered an outsider? If I marry Sir Joshua Gillosen, my nationality will change too. Why bother maintaining ties with me, someone who will soon be an outsider?”

 

“Rosie, the thing is…!”

 

“I’m grateful for the grace the Glen family has shown me in raising me. Thanks to them, a girl who couldn’t even afford a bowl of thin gruel at the orphanage was able to live as a lady from a duke family, receiving great affection from the noble lords of Nepelsian.”

 

“Gasp.”

 

“Did you just hear that?”

 

“Lady Glen said it herself…!”

 

“How can she be so shameless?”

 

“She must have been holding a lot in…!”

 

The hall, which had been lively with consecutive dance tunes, suddenly fell silent as if cold water had been poured over it. In the quiet, everyone perked up their ears, not wanting to miss a single word from the Glen siblings. Only the lively performance of the Arnyak Quartet continued aimlessly over the chilly silence, showcasing their remarkable focus.

 

“But His Grace benefited in exchange for the marriage proposal to me—the rights to the Tanel Mine, reduced fees for transactions with the Marderung business group, and low-cost grain purchases for the estate relief… The list is so long it would embarrass the main characters of the banquet. Yet, you never hinted at me to pay attention to someone in particular.”

 

“You, where did you hear such nonsense…!”

 

“Oh, was it a secret?” Rosalli exaggeratedly widened her eyes and covered her mouth with one hand. “When we had dinner at the duchy, you all spoke so freely in my presence… Ah, did you think I wouldn’t understand those conversations just because Glen’s blood doesn’t run in me?”

 

“Rosalli Glen…!”

 

“Well, since you didn’t realize I had a sense of self, you must have thought it was fine to let Eirene have everything she wanted without considering how to console me.”

 

Rosalli’s eyes curved into a graceful arc as she narrowed them. However, the fierce gaze and the cold voice that followed were anything but gentle.

 

“I only backed down because I had a moment of weakness. If it were the original me, I would have spread the word in the gossip columns that ‘real’ Lady Rosalli took my maid, dresses, and jewels as she pleased, and then told the duke that I gifted them to her, claiming I’m kind and gentle… right?”

 

‘The original’. Rosalli emphasized each word, pronouncing them slowly and deliberately, the phrase that only her friends could truly understand. But everyone listening was focused on the term ‘the real.’ The sound of people holding their breath spread like a tide.

 

“Oh, dear.” After giving people enough time to react, Rosalli covered her mouth and laughed again. “Did I say that out loud?”

 

“Uugh, that Joshua dude, he seems to have a split personality.”

 

[If you keep calling people using the term ‘dude’ in front of others, what do you think will happen… And honestly, you’re not much different when you open your mouth versus when you keep it shut.]

 

“The regulars at my shop just think it’s a special nickname. Besides, I don’t take off my glasses or talk in front of others.”

 

[…So you’ve already been calling people ‘dude’ here too…]

 

In a still secluded spot, Agnesia sipped her martini and whispered to Di. Her eyes and the consciousness of Di were fixed on the spot where Evan Glen had trudged away.

 

The most noticeable person there was Joshua Gillosen. The burly man who had been glaring at Evan Glen as if he would tear him apart was now eagerly hovering around Rosalli, itching to embrace her. He hadn’t even opened his mouth to Evan Glen, yet he was babbling excitedly to Rosalli, regardless of whether she responded or not. Rosi, my straightforward fairy, I feel so relieved now, by the way, have you thought about marrying me, and so on…

 

“Those two seem like a match made in heaven. Even if Rosi swears at him, that dude would probably be moved to tears. And Rosi would love a guy who’s cold to others but can’t get enough of her.”

 

[Why would she curse him out? That kid isn’t like you… And that grandson of Gillosen has the same personality as in the original story.]

 

“That’s why Rosi went to Gillosen. But it’s strange how he likes her so much even though she’s completely different from the original Rosi.”

 

[Don’t worry. When he touched me earlier, I didn’t sense any divine power in him at all.]

 

“Well, it’s been over two years since then, so it’s not like I was particularly worried. And that saintess is dead anyway.”

 

Agnesia responded in a rather polite tone as she took a sip of her martini. Despite not being especially devout, having served a god for nearly twenty years had left her with a habit of being respectful when speaking to Di, a supernatural being.

 

“Maybe he just has a pink hair complex or something?”

 

[Well, isn’t it like what you call ‘beauty-chaser’? Look at your representative beauty-chaser over there. She’s having a blast today.]

 

Agnesia giggled at the noseless sword’s scoffing remark. Their representative beauty-chaser, Selleana, was busy locking eyes with Rakrensius even while dancing with her second brother, Peredo. She occasionally winked and blew kisses into the air. It seemed even the sight of Rakrensius being flustered by a few young gentlemen who seized the moment when he was without a partner was endearing to her.

 

“And… huh?”

 

Agnesia’s gaze accidentally landed on Michi, who was left alone. Michi, who never seemed to be without people around at any gathering recently, was coincidentally alone this time. But the problem was.

 

“Why are those crazy b*stards…”

 

They were the original male leads from Michi’s original story, staring at her from afar.