Instead of the Heroine, I Married the Male Lead

 

How could someone speak so casually about something that could easily be misunderstood? Philome glared at Kaien with discontent and asked,

“…Anyway, you have a plan in mind, right?”

“Of course.”

Kaien smiled.

“Don’t worry about that part.”

Kaien would definitely have a plan.

‘But seriously, the original Kaien is so ridiculous.’

He was having a love quarrel with Nadia while leaving such a huge problem unresolved?

Philome couldn’t shake off her discomfort as she recalled the original story.

In the meantime, Kaien added,

“Anyway, my niece—so, Liazell—is a child; I must take responsibility for my entire life.”

“Is that why you weren’t planning to marry because of your niece?”

“Yeah. Normally, if my child cannot become the heir, there would be dissatisfaction.”

Certainly, if Kaien had entered into a political marriage like other nobles, there would have been many conflicts with his wife.

Philome suddenly remembered that someone had come to the villa.

‘That person definitely said the young lady’s health wasn’t good.’

The child of a transcendent being was likely to be a transcendent being as well.

“Is Liazell also a transcendent being? Is that why she’s sick?”

“…Yeah.”

Kaien was surprised by how quickly Philome completed the puzzle with just a fragment of a clue.

Philome sprang up from her seat.

“Philome?”

“What are you doing?”

“Huh?”

“Let’s hurry to the villa.”

“Uh?”

Philome couldn’t understand Kaien, who kept repeating her words.

“Why are you sitting there? We need to go make contact quickly. And if you’ve been keeping her at the villa because of me, how about bringing her to the capital?”

A transcendent’s suitable partner can be somewhat effective even when they come into contact with other transcendent beings. Moreover, since Liazell is Kaien’s niece, contact with Philome will definitely help her.

“If Liazell is sick because she’s a transcendent being, you should have told me sooner. Get up quickly. Come on!”

Philome pulled on Kaien’s arm, who was just sitting there in a daze.

“Huh? This isn’t the door?”

Philome opened a nearby door and was surprised when it didn’t lead to a hallway. Inside was a bedroom.

“Why is there a bedroom here…?”

“Oh, usually the head of the family’s room is often shared by the duke and his wife…”

Kaien abruptly stopped speaking.

“Let’s go.”

“Okay.”

Then, as if they had made a promise, Philome and Kaien hurriedly left the hallway without exchanging any words.

Both of them turned their heads away, trying to cool their flushed faces, so they didn’t notice each other’s reddened cheeks.

As the door closed, Kaien let out a sigh.

Philome insisted on putting Kaien to bed before leaving the room. Despite having been unconscious for three days, he was in remarkably good condition, so he didn’t actually need to rest.

When he tried to go take care of his piled-up work, Philome was startled and pushed Kaien back onto the bed.

The reason was that they needed to go to the villa today, so she wanted him to rest until then.

‘Was nagging ever this pleasant?’

Sebastian and Gio’s nagging was just annoying, but Philome was different.

Philome’s nagging was something he actually wanted to hear more of.

Kaien leaned back against the headboard and chuckled softly.

‘A mistress, huh.’

That misunderstanding was both surprising and a bit disappointing.

‘Did she have so little faith in me…….’

Then Kaien suddenly recalled something and got up from his seat.

After leaving the bedroom, he opened the drawer of his desk. Inside, he found a familiar box wrapped as a gift.

It was the contraceptive pills that Philome had given him not long after they made their contract.

“So this was what she gave me…”

He had somewhat guessed at the time, but he didn’t know that she had been under that misunderstanding all along.

Kaien stared blankly at the contraceptive pills before putting them back. He hadn’t needed them, so they remained in the drawer, yet strangely, he found himself thinking about them periodically.

Every time he thought of Philome’s absurd engagement gift, he couldn’t help but laugh.

Anyway, since he couldn’t just lie down as Philome suggested, Kaien pulled the bell cord.

Soon after, Sebastian entered.

“The talk with Philome went well. We’re going to the villa, so get everything ready for departure today.”

Though he didn’t explain kindly, Sebastian nodded immediately without any sign of confusion.

“Yes, I’ll have everything ready within two hours.”

“Are there any urgent documents to handle?”

“No, there’s nothing. You can review them after you return.”

“Still, just in case, contact me immediately if anything happens.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

After Sebastian left, Kaien found himself thinking about Philome again.

There was a phrase that had been swirling in his mind since earlier.

‘……What if His Majesty says that the Empress and Winston have already been punished and that our revenge is not justified?’

Our revenge.

Not ‘my’ revenge, but ‘our’ revenge.

The difference in nuance was significant.

Kaien felt good that he and Philome could be bound together by the word ‘our.’ He was happy that Philome referred to them as ‘us.’

A deep smile spread across his lips.

 

☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓

 

That afternoon, a party was formed to go to the villa.

Since the person who had come from the villa had already returned, the party consisted only of Philome, Kaien, and Jake.

The villa was far enough away that it would take half a day by carriage, so they decided to teleport directly.

Soon, the three arrived at the entrance of a dense forest.

“We’ll need to ride from here.”

Jake had brought horses from a nearby village.

To teleport, designated coordinates are required, but there are portals that allow travel even without knowing them.

However, the area where the villa was located was deep in the forest, with no portals available, leaving them no choice but to ride horses.

Kaien gently lifted Philome and set her on the saddle. Since she could ride to some extent, the three of them began to ride their horses.

Philome fell into thought for a moment. She felt it would be better to know at least a little about Liazell before meeting her. So, she asked Kaien what she was curious about.

“What kind of child is Liazell?”

“Hmm.”

Kaien seemed to ponder for a moment before breaking into a gentle smile.

“She’s a very lovable child. Pure and kind. However… she has been suffering greatly due to periodic pain since manifesting as a transcendent being at the age of five.”

She was still young, so she probably couldn’t take any medication to ease the shock. She must have had to endure that pain all alone, which made it all the more difficult.

“Maybe that’s why, even though she’s ten, she still seems like a little child. She’s small and thin, so the servants worry about her.”

Kaien seemed to be in a very good mood as he talked about his niece.

With a slight blush on his cheeks, he turned to Philome.

“It feels strange to be telling someone about Liazell for the first time.”

Philome smiled as she watched Kaien.

“It seems like you really love Liazell, Your Grace.”

“Is that so?”

He rubbed the back of his neck with an awkward expression.

“What does Liazell like? I should have bought something for her.”

At those words, Kaien pressed his lips together.

When he looked back in confusion, a bitter smile appeared on his face.

“Liazell matured too early. She’s perceptive, but the nanny also instilled some wrong ideas in her. The maid was brought over by my sister-in-law from her family…”

“What happened?”

“She used to tell her that I would abandon Liazell in the future, so she could take her outside and get money from me. I’ve replaced the nanny now, but the damage has already been done. Liazell likes me but also feels awkward around me. In truth, we’re not that close. It’s all my fault. I was so insensitive.”

“Why is that your fault? It was the nanny who did wrong.”

“If I had been more careful in the first place, that wouldn’t have happened.”

“You were probably still young when that incident occurred.”

Kaien must have had a lot on his mind after the death of his brother.

He had suddenly become the heir to lead Wintbell.

Kaien chuckled softly.

“Yeah. I was quite young too.”

As they chatted about trivial matters, they soon arrived at the villa.

The villa was a two-story cabin.

“There’s a magic circle, so please step back for a moment, Philome.”

Philome nodded.

Then, while looking at Kaien’s back, she realized that he had started to call her by her name comfortably.

However, it felt awkward to tell him to refer to her as “Lady” again.

As she pondered what to do, Kaien reached out his hand. Something touched the tip of his fingers, and a round, translucent barrier appeared in the air before disappearing.

Before long, someone came out of the villa.

It was the person who had visited the Winthbell estate yesterday.