Instead of the Heroine, I Married the Male Lead

After hearing my mother’s flustered voice, I realized that what was in front of me was Kaien’s back.

 

“Milady, are you okay?”

 

I nodded.

Kaien pushed away my mother’s arms, which he had blocked. At that light movement, my mother screamed and fell backward.

 

“Oh dear, I didn’t mean to lose control of my strength.”

“D, Duke Wintbell. Even if you’re a duke…”

“I saw you lay a hand on my fiancé. I can’t just stand by and watch.”

“…This is a family matter, Duke.”

“Is it? But what should I do? Milady and I are family now too.”

“But, um, you’re not officially married yet…”

“On the day of our engagement, His Majesty the Emperor approved our marriage, Countess Bonita. We only held the engagement ceremony first to follow the proper procedures, but we’re practically like a married couple now.”

 

Ignoring everything my mother said, Kaien turned to me.

 

“…Milady, let’s go to the mansion for now.”

 

Kaien lifted me up and placed me on his horse.

 

“Hold onto my waist tightly.”

 

As I held onto Kaien’s waist, a strong wind blew past us. It was so fast that I didn’t dare to open my eyes.

 

‘Even at a time like this, your embrace is warm.’

 

After hanging onto Kaien for a while, we soon arrived at the mansion.

Immediately, the mansion’s physician rushed over and treated my wounds. He said they weren’t deep, though not small either, and that if I applied the ointment carefully, it would heal without leaving a scar.

After that, Kaien came over and applied an ice pack to me.

 

“I’ll…”

“I’ll do it.”

 

Kaien approached me and knelt in front of me, gently placing the ice pack on my cheek. When I reflexively shivered from the cold, Kaien moved more cautiously.

I silently watched Kaien.

Because we had rushed to the mansion, his hair was more disheveled than I had ever seen.

 

‘He’s always been so neat.’

 

I reached out and tidied Kaien’s messy hair. As my fingers ran through his disheveled hair, I could feel his slight flinch. His hair looked so soft that I wanted to touch it from the moment I first met him.

And when I actually touched it, it was much softer than I had expected. I hadn’t realized it because of its slightly stiff appearance, but Kaien’s silver hair was like cotton candy in my hands, crumbling and softening at my touch.

It was oddly addictive, and I found myself absentmindedly playing with his hair.

As I brushed his bangs and ran my hand down the side of his head, I felt something warm brush against my hand. When I checked, I saw his earlobe flushed bright red.

 

“Oh.”

 

Only then did I realize that I had been stroking his hair for quite some time. So I put my hand down.

 

“I-I’m sorry! I didn’t realize… I must have made you feel uncomfortable. Um, what should I do?”

 

It wasn’t like I was stroking his hair out of affection. It was more like petting a child, so I was swinging my feet while sitting.

Kaien covered his mouth with the back of his hand and coughed lightly.

 

“Ahem. It’s okay. I didn’t feel uncomfortable, so calm down.”

“Then, can I ask you something?”

“Oh, sure. What is it?”

“Did you give money to my family?”

 

I didn’t beat around the bush.

Kaien stared at me for a moment, then nodded.

 

“That’s right.”

“Why?”

“When they came for the second time, they said they had something to say, so I agreed to meet with them. But it turns out they didn’t want to meet you after all and instead asked for money.”

 

Oh, really.

How far do they plan on embarrassing me?

I suppressed the urge to hide in a mouse hole. With a nod, I signaled that he could continue speaking.

 

“100 million gold.”

“What?!”

 

I was so surprised that my eyes nearly popped out.

I thought it would be only a few thousand gold, but 100 million gold?

 

‘100? 100 million gold?’

 

Thinking of the amount converted to the value in my original world, my eyes widened in disbelief.

 

“Y-you gave them that?”

“Yeah.”

 

I took a deep breath.

 

“Ugh.”

“Milady, calm down. I have plenty of money.”

“That’s not the issue here. No matter what, how could you give 100 million gold…?”

 

I was so flustered that I couldn’t continue, but Kaien subtly avoided my gaze and spoke.

 

“Actually, I gave them 200 million gold.”

“What?!”

 

I stood up abruptly.

 

“Calm down, Milady. Just listen to me for a moment.”

 

Kaien hurriedly tried to calm me down and motioned for me to sit back down.

I swallowed dryly, my shoulders and chest heaving with agitation.

 

“Just… go on.”

“Well, that was kind of a warning and a last chance. If they show up again, I’ll ignore them, and if they approach you, I plan to deal with them.”

“Did they show up again?”

“Yeah. They came a week ago. A month after the last time.”

 

They spent it all in just a month.

200 million gold in just one month.

I see.

 

“But I didn’t give them anything then. Really.”

 

Kaien quickly continued.

 

“Since I didn’t meet them, they came to see you. In the end, I came to see them and gave them a warning. Yet they still showed up two days ago.”

 

It seems Kaien also heard that my mother had come.

I held onto Kaien’s hand, which was still focused on applying the ice pack. I felt him twitch slightly under my grip.

I lowered his hand, took a deep breath, and opened my mouth.

 

“There are two reasons why I’m reacting like this.”

“What are they?”

“First, I feel a little disappointed.”

 

Kaien’s eyes widened at my words.

 

“Even though I have no ability to solve things neatly, this is my responsibility. Of course, I’m extremely grateful for your intervention. It shows how much you care about me.”

 

No one spends 200 million gold on someone who means nothing to them.

Kaien’s giving money to my family was ultimately an action for my sake.

 

“But as I mentioned, this is ‘my’ responsibility. It would have been better if you had consulted with me. I probably would have left everything to the duke anyway.”

 

Honestly speaking, I don’t have the ability to solve this problem.

I can’t afford to give my family the money they demand, and I’m still unable to escape their shadow. I’m just struggling hard in my situation.

 

“The second reason is…”

 

In a word…this is…

 

“My pride is hurt.”

 

I smiled awkwardly.

It was embarrassing to cling to my pride when I had no ability to resolve anything.

I shrugged my shoulders, deliberately trying to look indifferent.

 

“I feel frustrated with myself for not being able to do anything, and it hurts my pride. I know I should feel grateful since you’ve solved it for me, but… it’s not that simple.”

 

I wrinkled my nose.

 

“I’m sorry for raising my voice when I should be expressing gratitude.”

“No, no, it’s okay.”

 

Kaien sighed, got up from his seat, and squatted down again.

 

“I’m the one who should apologize. This is something I should be apologizing for. I didn’t consider your position.”

 

Kaien bit his lip.

 

“I… I just wish Milady wouldn’t suffer because of your family. That’s why I tried to handle it quietly, even asking your maid for help.”

 

Kaien brushed his hair back with one hand and looked at me. Then he let out a deep sigh.

 

“I’m really pathetic. I can’t stand it. I’m truly sorry, Milady. I promise this won’t happen again. I’ll stake my entire fortune on it.”

“…Just with words?”

“I’ll write up a contract right now if you want.”

 

As Kaien started to get up from his seat, I hastily grabbed his sleeve.

 

“I was kidding! It was a joke!”

 

I held onto my racing heart.

 

“Did you really mean to write it?”

“Of course. Milady, I never make empty promises. And I always keep my word.”

 

Kaien’s face as he said this was anything but casual. If I hadn’t stopped him, he might have actually drafted a contract.

No one had ever been so sincere with me before.

I smiled and shook my head.

 

“It’s okay. I trust you, so just saying it is enough for me.”

 

Kaien kneeled back down in front of me.

I thought the conversation was over, so I looked at Kaien curiously.

 

“I still have something to say.”

“What is it?”

“Go ahead and tell me.”

 

It then occurred to me that I hadn’t even explained the situation to Kaien. I was about to explain what had happened, but Kaien quickly added something.

 

“What do you want me to do about Milady’s family?”

“…….”

“Forgiveness and mercy are out of the question. If you want one of those, I’ll do as I please. I’ll ask you one last time: What do you want me to do?”

“……But are we really a married couple?”

 

I couldn’t shake off what Kaien had said earlier about getting approval from the Emperor for our marriage.

 

“That’s not the answer I was looking for, but to answer you, yes. I was going to tell you, but I didn’t expect to have to say it in this situation.”

 

I paused for a moment, lost in thought.

A way to resolve this situation. A way to escape from my family. What could that be?

I looked up at Kaien.

 

“I hope I won’t have to see them.”

 

I thought he would ask if that was really enough, but Kaien stood up with a refreshing smile.

 

“Got it. I’ll do as Milady says.”

 

At that moment, I had no idea.

That my family would end up imprisoned in a notorious prison on a remote island, known for housing only heinous criminals.