I Corrupted The Good Male Protagonist - Chapter 10

We aren’t doing anything in particular but when I was with Adele, time seems to fly quickly. I also did what Adele did and now I’m holding a pen while he gave me a big smile.

He bit his lips when he saw the picture I had completed with all my heart and soul.

Although I did my best to draw this, his eyes were uneven, his lips were too small, and his angular jaw boasted a sharpness that can even pierce bricks. The nose rose to the level of a pyramid because it didn’t notice how high I put it there.

Overall, it’s filled with serious mistakes, but I don’t know where to start.

“It really looks like me.”

“Do you want to die? Where does this look like you!”

It did not. This was nothing but an insult to Adele.

Adele insisted on having my drawing when someone suddenly knocked on the door. Adele said come in, and the maid opened the door and bowed politely.

“Excuse me. Lady Anastasia, the Master wants to talk to you for a while. Could you please respond to his request?”

If she was referring to the Master of this house, then it would be Duke Friedrich Magnus.

Adele’s father and Anastasia’s father are close friends, and the two families have long been in contact.

However, when Anastasia became terminally ill, she started fighting with Adele so the Duke respected the doctor and did not seek her unless Anastasia wanted it.

But now, Anastasia, I, came here first, so I had no reason to refuse.

The duke was a very good man. That’s if, of course, only when it comes to me and Adele. I nodded readily.

“Okay. Where should I go?”

“The master will come here,”

The maid said and withdrew. I smiled at Adele, who was looking at me with a somewhat worried look.

After a while, the Duke came to the drawing-room. I couldn’t stop the spontaneous opening of my mouth in time.

Is what I’m looking at really a person?

Friedrich Magnus was such a warm-hearted man that it makes me wonder if Adele would become like that when he got older.

Crazy, awesome. This is why I like middle-aged people. I couldn’t take my eyes off his languorous face.

His blonde hair that was neatly combed and his unrivaled bright blue eyes are undoubtedly characteristics of a handsome man.

On top of that, his sharp eyes, his gaze filled with confidence close to arrogance, and his slender physique were enough to bewitch me.

Wow. Really. Woooooow… I’m speechless…When I first saw Adele, I thought I wouldn’t feel this shock anymore.

Adele got up from his seat.

“Father.”

“Duke.”

I was going to get up as well, but the duke stopped me with his hand.

“Greetings are done, so sit down.”

The duke sat across from us. He looked interestingly at us since we are sitting close together.

Adele coughed and sat a little apart from me. Then, he secretly put my drawing in his pocket. I told you to throw it away!

“Long time no see, Anastasia. I’m sorry I couldn’t see you often.”

I turned my eyes back to the Duke reluctantly. Ugh, I’ll take it back later.

“How have you been?”

“I’m always the same. I heard you’re getting worse and worse. Did something good happen? It’s amazing to see you smile with such a pale face.”

The Duke’s voice, flowing in a resonant tone, was very murderous. Sometimes, when Adele is worried about me with a serious face, he speaks in a tone similar to the Duke, which stuns me.

In addition, his delivery skills are excellent, so it was easy to understand what he’s saying at once even if he spoke quickly or quietly

“Of course this is a good thing. I’m with Adele after all.”

The duke laughed despondently at my answer.

“When Wall* and I first tried to get you two involve with each other, you gave an expression as if you didn’t like it. I didn’t expect that you’ll get this close as soon as I turned off my attention. I’ve found out recently that Adele is almost living at the count’s, but…was my son nice to you? “

_{(t/n: Probably Anastacia’s father.)}

“Of course. Why not?”

“Did he hurt you? “

“Not at all. “

I spoke without a moment’s hesitation.

“Hmm. “

The Duke suddenly shut his mouth.

He looked at me for a moment and seemed to be grappling with something, and turned to Adele.

“Adele, would you excuse us for a moment? I want to talk to Anastasia alone.”

I let Adele go with a snide look.

“See you later.”

“Okay. “

After hearing the door close, the Duke remained silent. I was just so engrossed in a thought that I asked first.

“Do you have any concerns?”

The Duke’s blue eyes look young.

“If you don’t mind, can you tell me what you think of Adele?”

I was always below the Duke, but he used a soft tone. It didn’t seem like there’s a gap between us.

What do I think of Adele? He’s the male lead, my friend, and…

In this short life, which could only last for two years, he’s the only person I opened my heart to with ease.

Adele was so kind, even though I sometimes teased him as a mean and stubborn person.

Adele invested his precious time without hesitation when I asked him to visit me.

You know, it’s like pouring water into a bottomless pit…

When he treats me so kindly, I get excited without realizing it.

“Adele is a precious person.”

That suddenly popped out of my mouth.

The Duke touched his chin.

“That’s a little surprising. Other people always say that Adel is a good and upright person. He’s a precious person.”

Of course, Adele was nice. But for me, Adele wasn’t just a ‘good man’.

He was an ordinary boy who was somewhat clumsy, was quite naive, and could be falsely accused easily.

The Duke muttered as if he had made a decision.

“I’ll tell you.”

He relaxed his posture. He leaned his back against the sofa and stretched his legs. Then he sighed.

“He doesn’t have humanity. No, he’s working hard. That’s also very difficult. But sometimes, he gets out of focus.”

I understood the word to a certain extent.

Adele can be mean and stubborn sometimes.

He’s very knowledgeable, inflexible, and he’s cute to bite even when I want to take a counterattack…

Ack, what am I thinking?

“It’s only fair to teach him to be a good person. Even children who are too good students are scary for their parents.”

I listened gently to the Duke’s story. In the novel, the Duke and his wife had a hard time raising Adele.

Adele was incredibly calm.

He never cried or threw a tantrum even when he was young. It may be convenient for a while, but they can’t help but worry that some sort of problem might arise from this later.

Getting out of the normal category is not very welcome after all.

The duke touched his forehead as if he was in trouble.

“When I was with Penelope, I was confident that I could raise my child well through trial and error. But honestly, I’m not confident now that she left. It’ll be his coming of age in two years, but I still don’t know him.”

“I don’t think there is a particular problem in Adele.”

Adele’s mother, Penelope Magnus, died three years ago. Around that time Anastasia was declared incurable.

Perhaps Adele’s obsessive call for hope was related to Penelope’s death.

Although the novel didn’t solve the problem deeply because it was in the past, Adele was too young to accept his mother’s death and his friend Anastasia’s term of the incurable disease.

“……Anastasia. The goodwill of that child is the result of learning, and the reason why he’s so noble and polite to everyone is that I and Penelope had planted it in his head at the level of brainwashing. I would rather make him a good person rather than someone who causes trouble.  Anyway, my family’s financial resources can be fixed as long as it’s not treason. And I hate blood.”

I was very embarrassed.

“Adele is causing a murder?”

“For example, I can’t deny it very much. Before, Adele… no, I’d rather keep this a secret.”

The Duke suddenly blurted the end of his words.

“The reason I’m telling you all these things is that I’m an ordinary father who worries about his child, but I think you should know. Don’t say you’ve been deceived later.”

It was also true that I felt confused. I didn’t expect the Duke to think that way about Adele.

Why? Why is that?

The Duke knew the Adele I didn’t know, and he didn’t judge a person in vain by reading the novel. He was never a pushover.

He said he raised his son too kindly for fear of his future.

“My son is perfect even from an objective point of view. Good, merciful, smart. He looks like me and supports me, so he’s a perfect human being. Even if he starve for three days, if there’s a beggar in front of him, he’ll donate his only piece of bread without hesitation. Because I taught him that. But an artificial unconditional noble personality is not necessarily a blessing. It’s been 20 years since I’ve been in politics, hasn’t it? From what I’ve seen, that type of person gets into a really big accident once something flips their switch.”

“You’re sharp,”

I murmured impatiently. The Duke gave a mysterious smile.

“Well, I’m not a duke for nothing.”

The duke gave me time to think, pretending to drink tea.

His blue eyes gleamed sharply. I was trying to put my answer into words, but I couldn’t say anything carelessly.

How am I supposed to accept that he’s been instilling “goodness” to his son for fear that he might be a psychopathic killer with no blood or tears?

There may be an embarrassment, but there is not much discomfort.

In any case, the duke was telling me this story in good faith. I knew that the duke cared for me with all his heart.

Even though he was straightforward and ruthless, he was giving me an opportunity to be wary of Adele.

Duke Friedrich Magnus was the father of a child, a sober businessman, and politician. There’s no one else who has more discerning eyes than him.

I knew he wasn’t doing this to keep me away from Adele.

My head was throbbing. No way, no, I don’t understand.

How should I take it…