Instead of the Heroine, I Married the Male Lead

 

“Well, that’s true.”

Kaien shrugged his shoulders.

“By the way, did you ask for the invitations addressed to you to be brought over?”

“Oh, yes.”

“Sebastian probably left them in your room. Go and check.”

“Yes, thank you.”

After finishing a light tea time with Kaien, Philome headed to her room but paused.

“Oh, Miss…”

Sophia was buried under a pile of letters.

“Sophia! What’s going on here?”

Philome rushed over and helped Sophia out from under the stack of letters.

“I fell once, and they all spilled over me, so I couldn’t move. Thank you.”

It was almost like Harnen’s office.

“Miss, why did you bring all the invitations addressed to you? You’re not planning to go, are you? Many of them must be past the date.”

“I was just curious about who they were from.”

“……”

Sophia settled into her seat with a serious expression and began sorting the letters.

They say simple labor is the hardest, and just as she was starting to get tired, Sophia sorted something into a different pile.

“What’s that, Sophia?”

“Oh, this one doesn’t have a sender. Only the recipient is written on it.”

“Really? Let me see.”

I took the letter from Sophia.

Among the numerous invitations that were desperately trying to stand out, this one was unique in that it was made of poor-quality paper with a yellowish tint.

Normally, names would still be written, even if the paper was of low quality due to low status or lack of money.

I opened the letter with curiosity.

And I was stunned.

[To my friend Philome.]

The sender of the letter was none other than Nadia.

 

☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓

 

“Where’s Philome?”

Kaien asked Sebastian. It had become routine for him to inquire about Philome’s whereabouts as soon as he got home.

“She’s in her room.”

After a moment of thought, Kaien sat down and said,

“Tell her to join me for dinner.”

“Yes, understood.”

When Emon visited for four days, the two spent a significant amount of time together for the first time. That habit continued, and they made it a point to have at least one meal together each day.

Sometimes Philome would suggest it, and other times Kaien would.

Today, it was Kaien’s suggestion.

Kaien took a moment to lean back completely in his chair and rubbed his sore neck before reviewing documents.

‘My body hasn’t been feeling well these past few days.’

He felt as if he had muscle pain, and his body was stiff, as if he had a cold.

As he massaged his neck with a furrowed brow, he suddenly calculated the date.

“Could it be already…?”

Kaien muttered anxiously.

“Ha, it’s soon.”

Transcendents all suffer from pain, and when it becomes severe, they can even go berserk.

The onset of pain can be either regular or irregular, depending on the person.

Kaien was among the most exceptional Transcendents, so his pain cycles were shorter but somehow regular.

Minor pains would come and go, but there were times when he would be bedridden for at least a day, occurring roughly every three months.

The pain would be so overwhelming that suppressants wouldn’t work, forcing him to seek help from a nearby suitable transcendent’s partner. In truth, even among close friends, sharing a compatible partner was an uncomfortable matter.

When a transcendent meets a compatible partner, they become blindly devoted.

This was a fact that few people knew, aside from transcendents.

The compatible partner alleviates the pain and restores stability, making it an irresistible temptation for a transcendent. When they met their compatible partner, a transcendent would set aside power, strength, and wealth, focusing solely on that partner.

When Kaien first became transcendent at the age of ten, he felt uneasy upon realizing this.

No matter how much they alleviated pain, becoming blindly devoted to someone was not a pleasant thing.

However, his perspective changed just a few months ago.

“Honestly, I don’t treat Philome like I do others.”

This was something Kaien himself admitted to.

Philome was special to Kaien.

Not just because she was a compatible partner for him.

Philome was the most unique, different, and interesting person Kaien had ever met. The time he spent with her was genuinely enjoyable.

He couldn’t even remember what trivial conversations they had; all that remained was a feeling of enjoyment.

And he always felt a sense of regret when they parted ways.

Kaien was certain of one thing.

Even if Philome weren’t a compatible partner, nothing would have changed.

In reality, they had only “touched” once. Although he vividly remembered feeling good and calm at the time, it was impossible for mere contact alone to spark feelings for Philome.

Kaien was rational and able to objectively assess his own state.

He felt more anxious and tense when he embraced Philome to comfort her than when he held her hand for stability.

The meaning of these feelings was clear.

“…I must really be losing my mind.”

Kaien covered his flushed face with his palms and took a deep breath.

Then he stared blankly into the air.

‘Am I really… to Philome?’

Knock, knock.

The urgent sound of someone knocking on the door broke his thoughts.

Kaien snapped back to reality.

“It’s me, Your Grace.”

“Come in.”

Sebastian entered with a somewhat serious expression.

“Is something wrong with the lady?”

Since Sebastian had just gone to invite Philome for dinner, Kaien immediately realized it was related to her.

“Well, um, Lady Philome hasn’t left her room.”

“What?”

“It’s been two hours already.”

“I’ll go right away.”

Without hesitation, Kaien left his office and headed to Philome’s room.

Although it was the best room in the Duke’s residence, its distance from his office was a drawback. Kaien practically ran to reach Philome’s room.

Outside the door stood Sophia and Jake, looking anxious.

“What’s going on?”

“Ah, Your Grace!”

Sophia quickly approached Kaien.

“Well, the Miss received a letter and asked me to leave. She insisted that I absolutely shouldn’t come in, and no matter how much I called, she wouldn’t respond.”

Kaien moved closer to the door.

“Milady”

There was no answer from the other side.

“Milady. If you don’t open the door within 10 seconds, I’ll break it down. I just need to make sure you’re safe, and then I’ll leave.”

Kaien then calmly started counting backwards.

“Ten, nine, eight… three, two.”

Knock.

It was a tense nine seconds that left his mouth dry.

Just one second before reaching zero, a faint sound of knocking came from the other side.

Kaien finally felt relieved.

He continued speaking in a softer tone.

“Can you tell me what’s going on?”

Soon, the door slowly opened.

“Only the Duke may enter.”

Kaien quickly slipped through the gap in the door.

After closing it behind him, he glanced around the room.

Letters were scattered about at his feet, as if she had taken all the letters she had received and sorted them.

Philome slowly walked over and sat on the sofa.

Kaien cautiously took a seat opposite her.

Philome, who had been staring at the letter with a blank expression, handed it to Kaien.

It seemed like she wanted him to read it, so Kaien took it.

[To my friend Philome.]

Kaien immediately recognized who had sent the letter.

“Could it be Nadia Alice?”

“Yes.”

Philome nodded expressionlessly.

Kaien quickly began to read the letter.

[It’s been a long time since I last wrote to you.

How have you been? No, wait, asking that might be impolite.

You must have been struggling. Your closest friend left with your fiance, after all.

But I know Philome is strong. I’m sure you’re managing and doing well.

Your family cares for you, right?]

The Count?

Kaien couldn’t help but scoff.

He couldn’t understand what made her think Philome was cherished by her family.

Filled with anger, Kaien finished reading the letter.

“…So the point is.”

Kaien barely managed to set the letter down with trembling hands. He had to use all his strength to avoid crumpling it in frustration.

“So, because she fought with Emon and woke up from her dream, and because her family won’t accept her, she wants to rely on the Duke’s household?”

Kaien asked earnestly.

“Is this young lady out of her mind?”