I, the Female Lead, Ruined the Original Chapter 154

“Huh?”

 

“Then I must be old to you too.”

 

Rakrensius kept his forehead lightly pressed against hers, his blue eyes wide open. There was a hint of resentment and sadness in them. He was referring to the fact that they were three years apart.

 

“If I were even a year older, would I not be worthy of your love?”

 

His sulking expression was one that would immediately disappear upon hearing the right answer, so Selleana folded her eyes gently and smiled. She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his chest.

 

“Pfft, Darling, you’re completely out of the question.”

 

“Out of the question?”

 

“Even if you were a thousand, ten thousand, or just twenty years old—I’d still fall for you no matter what.”

 

“Hmm.”

 

“Even if you were warm-tone with blond hair, I’d have fallen in love. Though, I’d hang you a bit longer.” With that, she planted a kiss on the tip of his sharp nose. “Look at you. Now you’re even pouting. Being married is surely nice.” Then, with a series of kisses along his jawline, Selleana giggled.

 

The firm line of Rakrensius’s mouth finally softened. Seeing her act so cutely, there was no way he could keep up the pretense of being upset.

 

Warm-tone and hang—Rakrensius didn’t understand those terms, but wasn’t it a confession that she’d love him no matter what he looked like? Whatever it was, it seemed like something hard to overcome. Delighted by the sincerity he found amidst the difficult words, Rakrensius stretched his lips into a long smile.

 

[Good grief, these lovebirds…]

 

Di clicked its tongue, but both of them just let it in one ear and out the other.

 

“Alright then. Will you have fun with me today as well?”

 

“Sure. Where are we going today?”

 

“Before that, let’s change clothes.”

 

“Did you buy clothes? Is that why you were late? But why all of a sudden?”

 

“Do you remember saying the local clothes here are conservative regardless of gender?”

 

“Yeah, when we arrived yesterday, I noticed the servants’ clothes were really modest.”

 

“Turns out it’s even more than we thought.”

 

Rakrensius pulled a small bag from the inner pocket of his robe. It looked like a miniature travel trunk, and when he infused it with magic, it returned to its original size. Inside were clothing in muted colors like off-white, light brown, and olive, including a tunic with a rough silhouette and a long skirt that covered the ankles. The clothes seemed designed for practicality, with loose silhouettes that wouldn’t easily show dirt.

 

“Good thing we arrived late last night. Otherwise, we might have become famous in this city.”

 

Selleana glanced at her outfit and nodded. She was wearing a commoner’s dress, which she occasionally wore in the capital. Though simpler than her usual attire, with a neckline that showed her collarbone and a silhouette that emphasized her waist, the high-saturation green skirt, and hem that revealed her calves were more elaborate compared to the clothes Rakrensius had brought.

 

While Selleana pondered how to mix and match the clothes, Rakrensius changed first. Even a plain buttoned shirt looked refined on him, so he opted for the tunic he had brought.

 

“As expected, Darling looks handsome in anything,” Selleana said, playfully shaking the ends of his hair, which he had magically dyed brown. His silver hair was rare even in Nepelsian, so he usually traveled with it dyed brown.

 

Its true value was demonstrated recently in the oasis village. In the desert region and nearby areas, everyone had dark hair, so his natural appearance would have stood out too much. Though his bone structure was different, making it clear he was an outsider upon closer inspection, that was easily managed with perception-distorting magic.

 

“I’ll get changed too,” Selleana said.

 

“Aren’t you changing here?”

 

“I don’t want to make Darling’s heart flutter,” she teased.

 

With that, Selleana picked out a tunic and pleated skirt, left a quick kiss on Rakrensius’s cheek, and disappeared into the dressing room. Though she said that, in truth, she was giving the two friends some time alone to talk, as they were always together.

 

[Are you okay?]

 

As expected, Di spoke to Rakrensius as if it had been waiting.

 

“About what?”

 

[It’s not like you to go around asking people where to visit. Both Selleana and I have long noticed you’re just trying to buy time.

 

“…Stop talking and just shrink down already.”

 

[This is why people say no good deed goes unpunished…]

 

Flustered that his wife and friend had noticed that, Rakrensius replied irritably.

 

With a click of a non-existent tongue, Di obediently shrank down in size. Reduced to the size of a self-defense dagger, it slipped into a plain leather sheath.

 

“Ta-da.”

 

A moment later, Selleana, having changed her clothes, bounced back into the bedroom.

 

“How do I look? Does it suit me?” She playfully curtsied, lifting her skirt slightly with both hands, then rested her chin on her hands to form a flower shape before making heart shapes with her hands, acting all giddy. “Everything suits me, right? Your angel is the best, right?”

 

“…Of course.”

 

Rakrensius found himself answering Selleana’s over-the-top question without realizing it. He didn’t even have time to take in her outfit. His dazed eyes belatedly traced over Selleana’s figure.

 

The cream-colored tunic with clumsy embroidery on the sleeves and collar, paired with a dark brown skirt, was a common outfit here. It was too loose to flatter her figure, and the colors were dull and faded compared to Selleana’s fair face and jet-black hair. Yet…

 

“…I knew everything would suit you.”

 

Overwhelmed with emotion, Rakrensius stepped forward and embraced Selleana’s shoulders.

 

“I thought it might be pointless since you’d draw everyone’s attention no matter what you wore… But how do you manage to make even the most practical, unremarkable clothes look so enchanting and captivate me once again?”

 

[Should I step aside?]

 

“Darling loves me so much, right?”

 

“When it comes to loving you, none other matters.”

 

With his face buried in Selleana’s neck, Rakrensius fastened the belt he was holding around her waist. The leather sheath containing Di was attached there. As Di’s contractor, he could communicate with Di without direct contact, allowing him to converse with both Selleana and Di as they traveled together.

 

“I’m really glad I can use magic.”

 

“Why? Because you can use perception distortion magic? So others can’t see me?”

 

“You know me too well.”

 

[Even I know that much by now, you fool.]

 

“If you couldn’t use magic, I wouldn’t have been able to step out of the bedroom. Remember our first night? You made such a cool speech.”

 

At the mention of their conversation on their official first night, the tips of Rakrensius’s ears turned bright red.

 

Di grumbled about how they were spouting nonsense again and wondered why it had so many reasons to click its tongue despite not having a tongue itself.

 

* * *

The city was buzzing with a festive atmosphere. According to what Rakrensius had learned, it was the festival period called the Sun Festival that had started a few days ago. Coincidentally, today marked the beginning of the Victory Festival in the Empire. It was a time to commemorate the conquest wars led by the last king of the Nepelsian Kingdom and the first emperor, which resulted in the current form of the Empire.

 

The timing was intriguing. Despite not being part of the empire, this nation seemed to have developed a tradition of celebrating festivals around the same time after centuries of interaction on the same continent.

 

“In this nation, they celebrate the start of summer more grandly. I heard it lasts almost twenty days until the solstice. It seems to align with the legend of Gerund, the midday god they believe in.”

 

“Is that Gerund the same Gerund in the Orot religion?”

 

“Yes. It appears to be the same entity as Gerundiel, the apostle of diligence and sincerity.”

 

“What about people who work at night?”

 

Selleana giggled as she linked arms with Rakrensius. The famously good-looking Nepelsian couple strolled openly through the festival market, but no one paid them much attention. It was thanks to the perception-distorting magic that blurred their features. Even though they didn’t attract attention, it didn’t completely prevent the caster’s face from paling under the crowded area…

 

“Are you okay? We could travel elsewhere and come back to this city after the festival.”

 

“No, I knew there was a festival around this time.”

 

[When you chose Eastern as your honeymoon route, I read every travel book on the continent.]

 

“Thank you, Mr. Sword.” Selleana tapped the dagger at her waist.

 

“So you came here knowing there was a festival because you thought I’d like it.”

 

“I remembered the first harvest festival we went to the night market together after we met.”

 

“Aah, right… We didn’t get to enjoy it alone for the harvest festivals last year or the year before.”

 

Two years ago, they spent the festival with Agnesia and Michi, who couldn’t enjoy it for their own reasons. Last year, it was the last harvest festival before their wedding, so Selleana, as Lady Elard, was too busy attending various events.

 

“Then, shall we look for anything similar to the imperial night market?”

 

“As much as you want.”

 

The culture seemed similar enough to share the festival period, and the bustling festival streets were not much different from what they were used to.

 

“Darling, look, a turtle plushie!”

 

“A turtle, you say?”

 

“The rabbit doll looks lonely. Let’s call that one, hmm, Tur… No, Bukbuki.”

 

Selleana, recalling the rabbit doll Rakrensius had won for her by throwing darts three years ago at the harvest festival, was now pestering him to add a new plushie to their collection.

 

“Darling, try on this mask this time.”

 

“Isn’t this a goblin… ?”

 

“It’s fine because your jawline is handsome no matter what. Mine is pretty too, right? I guess we don’t need magic anymore. Oh, look, there’s a fruit candy skewer!”

 

Wearing masks that are only sold during the festival, they enjoyed mysterious foods.

 

“Ahem… My hands feel a bit empty…”

 

[Rakrensius, your wife has been glancing at that flower stall for a while now.]

 

“Ah, Mr. Sword!”

 

Instead of the bouquet, Rakrensius gifted three years ago, they wore matching crowns made of early summer wildflowers.

 

“Toast, cheers!”

 

“Cheers…”

 

“Wahaha, cheers, cheers, bro!”

 

“Were you a cat in your past life, bro?”

 

“You have to drink the first glass in one go!”

 

“Alright, I’ll do it for my darling, bottoms up!”

 

And then, they arrived at a tavern where all the guests were noisily mingling together.