I Found a Husband When I Picked up the Male Lead

* * *

 

Chaser took off his glasses with a tired look on his face.

There was more than one issue with the mine development project that required his attention.

After comparing documents all night, he stood up, stretching his tired limbs.

As he quietly stood in front of the window, he saw Wilhazelle sitting in the garden having tea.

When he saw her, the image from yesterday came to mind.

‘I hope you realize that Raphel is the Duke’s nephew as soon as possible.’

For some reason, he wanted to see her bright face with a smile up close when he thought of her.

As if his steps were being guided, he headed toward the garden.

Chaser walked straight outside and found Wilhazelle looking around for something.

‘What is she looking for?’

He followed her through the garden.

“Yeah. The former Duke’s carriage accident, that…  I heard it was planned by the current Duke.”

He could hear the voices of his employees talking about the rumors surrounding him.

Chaser was disappointed.

Not only did he already know about the rumors surrounding him, but he knew there were also many people who had been trying to tarnish his name with those false rumors for a long time, he didn’t really care anymore.

But when he thought about Lizelle hearing the bad rumors, he felt uncomfortable.

He’d never given anyone a proper explanation to this day, but strangely enough, he wanted to tell Lizelle that it wasn’t true.

What if it’s not explained properly? It would be like just scratching the surface.

He doubted whether she would completely believe him.

In the end, Chaser decided to remain silent.

As usual, all he had to do was pretend he didn’t hear anything.

It left a bitter taste in his mouth, but it seemed to be for the best.

He just hoped she didn’t believe it right away. He hoped she was different than the others.

Chaser turned to leave.

“No matter how good the Duke is, how could he…”

“Who did you hear that from?”

But he soon stopped in his tracks, because he heard Wilhazelle’s sharp voice ringing in his ear.

Chaser’s head turned.

He could see Lizelle’s profile looking at the employees with a very angry face.

“It’s not like that. That’s absolutely not the case, so don’t bring this up in front of Raphel. No, don’t even let the word carriage enter his ears.”

She was threatening them with an angry face and defending him.

“Is it okay to stay outside for this long when the breeze is chilly?”

Chaser smiled faintly with that strange feeling in his chest again, as he approached Lizelle.

 

* * *

 

“Uh, for some reason…”

Wilhazelle was also quite embarrassed when she saw Chaser approaching.

Did he hear them?

She secretly looked at Chaser’s expression, but couldn’t tell because his face was cold and not much different from usual.

“It’s cold and I asked if you should stay outside like this for such a long time.”

“Oh, I’ll be in soon.  You all should go in first.”

“Yes, yes…”

The servants, whose complexions were white, turned their stiff bodies when they were given permission to leave.

They had forgotten to greet Chaser as they left in a hurry, headed towards the mansion.

It was obvious that Chaser had heard them and they were terrified.

“What if you catch a cold?”

Chaser said, looking straight at Lizelle. This was said out of concern for Lizelle’s health.

“We’ll go in soon. We just came out for a moment because Raphel wanted to.”

Of course, Lizelle took it as Chaser’s concern for Raphelion, and looked around before finding Raphelion playing in the disntance.

With the timing of his arrival and because he didn’t have a surprised look, there’s no way he didn’t hear us, so why didn’t he say anything?’

She felt uneasy because she felt like she had unintentionally joined in on gossiping about him. She thought it would be best to quickly take Raphel inside.

“Raphel.”

When Lizelle called for him, Raphel turned around quickly.

When he saw Chaser, Raphel looked around.

“Raphel?”

Normally, when she calls for him, he would run up to her and give her a big hug, but Raphel was running around everywhere now as if he was looking for something.

Raphel looked around with big eyes and grabbed a flower that had bloomed in the garden.

Without any tact, he grabbed the petals instead of the stem and the petals were crushed in his small hands.

“Uncle! Gift!”

Raphel rushed in front of Chaser with his short legs and held out the flower in his hand with a bright smile.

He intended to repay his uncle for the star doll he received yesterday.

“Thanks.”

Although the flower was crushed to the point where its original form was unrecognizable, Chaser gladly accepted the flower handed to him by the small boy.

Somehow, he felt like he now understood the feelings his brother had told him about.

“Hehehe.”

Wilhazelle stroked Raphel’s cheek, as he proudly puffed out his chest, saying he had done well.

Everything she does is so pretty that Chaser felt like he was suffocating.

“We’ll go in now.”

“I’ll go with you.”

Ah, why this again…

Wilhazelle would feel guilty is she said she didn’t want him to, so she kept her mouth shut.

Even though she wasn’t the one to spread the rumors, she felt uncomfortable being there and hearing them.

“Raphel is flying!”

Raphel shouted as he innocently ran into the mansion.

Lizelle tried to run to catch him, but held back in the end because it seemed obvious that he was trying to avoid her and wanted to run.

“Are you experiencing any inconveniences in the residence?”

“Huh? Oh, everyone is very nice to me, there are no inconveniences.”

Lizelle became very nervous at the unexpected question. Before saying anything about the rumor, was he going to try interrogating her? She had all kinds of wild thoughts.

“Is that so.”

But Chaser only answered like that and said nothing else.

Lizelle, who was still nervous about what he was going to say, was relieved when it seemed like Chaser was trying to pretend not to hear them.

‘Why?’

Why wasn’t he trying to extinguish the rumors?

Perhaps it was his calm attitude that made her feel uncomfortable again even though she had not committed a crime.

Also, why is it so quiet today…

Finally, she couldn’t stand it any longer and spoke first.

“I’m sorry.”

Chaser still looked at Lizelle with his signature expressionless face.

“What are you talking about?”

“The rumor. I didn’t mean to listen to it on purpose, but somehow… I think you must have felt disappointed.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“What? Why? Duke, you are not a criminal. Why do you leave it alone?”

Well, if he was going to correct the rumor, he would have done right from the start.

If that were the case, the Duke’s employees wouldn’t have been talking about the Duke as if he was the culprit of the carriage accident like they did today.

What was the reason? It’s not something he did, so why isn’t he trying to clear his name?

Wilhazelle had her doubts.

She could have moved on as if nothing had happened, but she didn’t want to.

It was obvious that she would be tossing and turning all night because of her discomfort, and this wasn’t just Chaser’s problem anymore.

Lizelle didn’t like the fact that Raphel’s only guardian was surrounded by bad rumors.

She couldn’t believe that this person, who went so far as to decorate a room in advance for his nephew for when he would one day find him, killed his own family.

It was common sense to think the rumors were nonsense.

“How can you be sure of that, My Lady?”

“You’re not that type of person.”

In the novel.

She wanted to add this, but held back.

She didn’t read until the results of the incident were revealed, but he didn’t seem like the type of person who would harm his family for his own gains, either in the novel or now.

“…”

Chaser’s pupils widened as if he was quite surprised by what she said.

“There’s no way the Duke would do that.”

Chaser looked into her green eyes that were looking straight at him without blinking.

The bright light of his own gaze was reflected in her eyes.

She looked at him and saw him as a person.

What on earth made her so sure he wasn’t the culprit?

A subtle tremor moved through Chaser’s heart. Her complete trust and belief in him made him feel strange.

She understood without him having to say anything. Trusted him even if he didn’t explain.

It was strange. Why on earth was this woman…?

“If the Duke was the culprit, he wouldn’t have left Raphel alive. Whether the child was real or fake, he would have dealt with him without a word in order to eliminate any variables.”

“…”

“That’s right. Why bother bringing him into the house? There would only be a lot of gossip. Unless you’re an idiot.”

Chaser’s eyes landed on the red lips that were moving ceaselessly.

The voice defending him was melodious, like a bird’s song.

“And you wouldn’t have decorated Raphel’s room so meticulously. Isn’t that right?”

Wilhazelle tilted her head towards Chaser, who was staring at her in silence.

She didn’t like Chaser treating her like a fraud, but it was still true.

Meanwhile, Chaser was in a daze right now.

His body felt hot, as if he had a fever, and his vision became blurry.

How could she still treat him like this?

He’d judged her based on the trivial thing’s others said…

How can she judge people solely based on what she has experienced and seen without being swayed by others?

‘She is a strong person. She is stronger and more upright than me.’

Chaser felt ashamed of his hasty judgment on the day they met.

At the same time, his surroundings were not visible to him anymore, only Wilhazelle entered his vision.

Bright cherry blossom petals fluttered in all directions above her head.

Cherry blossom petals in this rampant autumn?

It was clearly a fantasy, but Wilhazelle and the background matched so well, like a painting, that he never wanted to wake up from this dream.

“Duke. Duke?”

Lizelle waved her hand in front of the Duke. He was staring blankly with his mouth slightly open.

However, the Duke still had a dazed look on his face.

“Are you okay?”

Wilhazelle, surprised by his strange behavior that she had never seen before, put her face in front of his.

“…”

Chaser blinked slowly and realized that Lizelle’s face was now so close that he could feel her breath.

“Are you okay, Duke? Your face is red!”

Lizelle was startled and shouted.

Chaser’s face lit up even brighter. He lowered his head in embarrassment.

However, the ears that could not be hidden were as red cherries.

“Uh, oh.”

“Where are you hurt? Do you have a fever?”

Lizelle asked worriedly as the Duke’s face turned bright red. He looked like he could have a cold.

He scolded her and asked her what she’d do if she caught a cold, but it turned out that he had a cold himself.

“… Let’s go in now.”

Chaser hurriedly ran into the mansion, hiding his red face with both hands.

His heart was pounding so hard that it was impossible to beat any faster.