Instead of the Heroine, I Married the Male Lead

“The child isn’t in good condition. Sebastian, take her.”

Philome clicked her tongue softly.

“Yes, Milady.”

As Sebastian clapped his hands, sturdy maids appeared behind him.

“Please stand up, Milady.”

“We will carry you.”

“Oh, no, wait!”

Nadia was unceremoniously lifted by the maids and taken into the mansion.

Kaien, observing this, lowered his hand from Philome’s shoulder and took her hand instead.

“…We should discuss this right now.”

“Yes, I think so too.”

The two immediately headed back to Philome’s room.

As soon as Kaien sat down, he spoke.

“I don’t know what choice the lady will make, but whatever it is, I will do my best to help. After all, it seems like Nadia Alice will ruin her life on her own even if we just leave her be.”

If a person were in their right mind, they wouldn’t think of running away with a friend’s fiancé on the day of their engagement.

Despite Kaien not spreading the rumor himself, word that Nadia and Emon were having an affair had already swept through high society.

If it hadn’t been for the news of Kaien and Philome’s engagement, their story would have caused quite a stir in society for a long time.

“…What if I really wanted to take the time and effort to get revenge?”

“There’s a saying: rotten fruit falls on its own.”

Kaien leisurely crossed his arms.

“But that doesn’t mean we have to just let it be. We have a means to knock that rotten fruit down.”

Kaien’s eyes flashed.

“I’m not the type to just let things go.”

If someone were to ask Kaien whether he had a good or bad personality, he would choose the latter without a moment’s hesitation. He knows about forgiveness and mercy; he just doesn’t practice it.

There’s no need to show forgiveness and mercy when he has the power to punish.

“…Is that so?”

“Yeah. Even if the lady decides not to take revenge, I will…”

“I really have to thank Nadia for this.”

Philome raised her head.

Her cold green eyes met with Kaien’s violet ones.

“For running away with my ex-fiance that day.”

She said this with a bright smile.

“Thanks to her, I found a perfect fiancé who matches me so well, right?”

Kaien blinked in surprise.

“Actually, I need to correct myself. Nadia’s personality seems to have gone beyond being unreasonable. I really didn’t expect her to come right after sending the letter.”

“…We underestimated Nadia Alice.”

It was already surprising enough that she sent a letter, but she even came in person. It was unclear whether she thought they would naturally accept her or if she came to not give them a chance to refuse, but one thing was certain.

“Now, shall we give Nadia Alice the perfect revenge?”

“Yes.”

“Does the Lady have something in mind?”

Kaien immediately realized that Philome had been planning something during their return to the room.

“I hadn’t even decided whether to seek revenge or not…”

It was unexpected for someone who makes a plan in such a short time, but it was true.

“Nadia came and made the decision for us.”

When Philome witnessed Nadia deliberately staggering toward Kaien, she felt a chill run down her spine for the first time.

Nadia and Emon’s first meeting was in Philome’s presence.

It was around the time when discussions about Philome and Emon’s engagement were starting to take shape. Philome mentioned in passing that it seemed she would soon have a fiancé, and Nadia asked to be introduced to the person who would become her fiancé.

When Nadia met him, she had also staggered towards Emon, who naturally supported her.

At that time, Philome hadn’t thought much of it.

‘So she did that on purpose.’

But today, seeing the look in Nadia’s eyes directed at Kaien, she realized.

It was undoubtedly the same gaze she had cast at Emon just a few months ago.

“I need your help a lot, Duke. Is that okay?”

“Of course.”

Kaien nodded without hesitation.

“I’ll use everything I have.”

“Well, that is…”

Philome awkwardly smiled and pointed directly at his face.

“That’s all we need.”

“…My face?”

“…Yes. The beauty strategy.”

Kaien slightly, no, quite a bit regretted not hearing the details of the plan.

 

☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓

 

“Wow.”

Nadia exclaimed as soon as she entered the room.

The room was better than the largest and most splendid room in the Count of Alice’s residence. Nadia, who had never seen such expensive-looking items, stared at the furniture in awe.

It was clearly a guest room, yet there wasn’t a speck of dust to be found.

This meant that the servants were managing and caring for it daily.

Moreover, it was warm.

Expensive heating stones were embedded throughout the room, creating a pleasantly warm atmosphere.

When she first arrived at the Duke Wintbell’s residence, she had also been captivated by the mansion’s grandeur.

She loved everything about the beautiful and extravagant mansion, as well as the quiet and dignified servants. But what she loved most of all was.

“Kaien Wintbell…”

Nadia quietly murmured Kaien’s name.

The combination of his mysterious silver hair and rare violet eyes was quite beautiful. Overall, he had a very cynical impression.

But Nadia couldn’t help but notice how softly his gaze curved, how the corners of his mouth formed a graceful arc.

“Duke Wintbell is truly my destiny.”

At first, she thought it was Emon.

From the moment Emon and Nadia met, they were drawn to each other, eventually escaping to a space of their own from an insurmountable reality.

When they first left, she felt a mix of excitement and joy.

Although she worried about Philome being left alone on the day of the engagement ceremony, she reassured herself that it was okay. Philome was strong. And Philome always wished for her happiness.

She believed that what she wanted was also what Philome wanted, so she left without a second thought.

However, the reality was different from what she had imagined. Emon, whom she had never had a proper conversation with, turned out to be less attractive up close than she had expected.

His hair wasn’t bright blonde, and his eyes were a dull brown. No matter how much sunlight hit them, they didn’t shine like golden eyes.

Moreover, Emon had a peculiar personality.

He didn’t hesitate to curse and went to the casino whenever he could.

Nadia also needed to buy clothes and jewelry, but Emon took all the money, causing their arguments to become more frequent.

Nadia tried to endure it.

Until she heard the rumor.

‘I heard that Duke Wintbell is getting engaged.’

‘Wow, the Duke of Wintbell?’

The Duke of Wintbell was a name Nadia had heard vaguely.

He was the perfect first-rate husband with good looks, wealth, and gentlemanly qualities.

‘But his fiance was originally engaged to someone else.’

‘Oh my, who is it?’

‘I don’t know well, but… apparently, it’s the daughter of some count.’

At that moment, she couldn’t understand why Philome came to mind.

And that day, before they even arrived at their destination, the port, they ran out of money. They had pooled together everything they had.

‘Emon, you spent it all, didn’t you? Did you go to the casino again?’

‘Nadia, please stop nagging me! Are you my mother? And have you forgotten you ordered three dresses this week?’

‘That’s basic for a noble lady! Did you think you could seduce me with so little?’

‘What? Seduce? You were the one who made the first move!’

Their voices grew louder as they argued.

‘Damn it! I must be crazy to have followed a woman like you! I’m going back to Philome! She’s so much better than you!’

‘What?! If I had known you were poorer than a beggar, I wouldn’t have betrayed Philome!’

‘What? Beggar?!’

Filled with rage, Emon pushed Nadia.

Shocked, Nadia ran out of the hotel and spent the night elsewhere before returning.

‘Emon…?’

But Emon had already disappeared. Nadia stayed in the hotel for a few days, hoping he would return, but he never did.

It was only after returning to the capital that she heard Emon had arrived long ago and was clinging to Philome.

The talk of the town, Duke Wintbell’s fiancé, was none other than Philome.

On the day Nadia and Emon had run away, Duke Wintbell and Philome had appeared together at the engagement ceremony. She had now become the future Duchess.

Nadia initially tried to return to her family.

However, Countess Alice, who had never particularly liked Nadia—being an illegitimate child—had locked the door tightly.

Nadia thought of Philome among her many friends.

‘Philome will surely help me. She wants me to be happy.’

So she sent a letter and went to see her without any particular plan.

As expected, Philome welcomed her.

“So Philome was living in such a nice place while I was struggling…”

Nadia murmured as she looked around.

“That’s just too much…”

Had she hated me so much? Was forgiveness so impossible?

“To think you would abandon me for a man…”

It was unbelievable.

Philome and Nadia had always been quite close.

Yet, it saddened Nadia deeply that Philome had let her suffer just because of a man like Emon.