The Blackened Second Male Lead’s Wife - Chapter 45

Chapter 45

Lucian’s eyes widened and looked at me.

Estelle did the same.

I belatedly came to my senses after seeing their reactions.

‘Oops.’

I had to make an excuse.

I stuttered in a limbo from holding Lucian’s hand.

“Umm- this… my hands were a little cold.”

I said as sunlight was pouring down over my head.

Anyone could tell it was nonsense.

Fortunately, Lucian didn’t point out my nonsense. Estelle did the same.

Estelle laughed and said,

“No matter how busy I am, I will be back for your wedding. So please tell me the good news as soon as possible.”

Estelle said something like “angel of love please bless us with a wedding” and left with her pup-I mean- her lover Carlix.

Before I knew it, I and Lucian were the only ones left in the forest.

I couldn’t bear to look at Lucian.

I was embarrassed to death.

For being jealous of the relationship between Estelle and Lucian, and spouting ridiculous excuses.

But we couldn’t stay like this all the time. I looked around and slowly lifted my hand from his hand.

But his fallen hand held my mine again. He didn’t just grab it half-heartedly like I did. He locked his fingers with mine tightly.

“······!”

My eyes widened and looked at Lucian.

Lucian said.

“My hands are a little cold, too.”

“·······!”

“Can you hold my hand a little longer?”

His silver eyelashes were fluttering. His beautiful face was red all the way to the tips of his ears.

Nevertheless, his hand, which held my hand, was firm.

Like he never wanted to let go of my hand.

I looked at Lucian with a complicated expression and opened my mouth.

“Lord Kardien, what I said earlier was a lie. I didn’t want your hands because I was cold. I just didn’t want you to look at Estelle.”

Lucian’s eyes grew wide as if he had heard something unexpected.

Lucian said with an offended face.

“Didn’t I tell you on the day I confessed? I only have the lady in my heart. I don’t have any feelings for Estelle anymore.”

“I know, but I can’t accept the fact that you like me easily! What can I do but doubt it!”

I was just a supporting villain, not a female lead.

I wasn’t as lovely as Estelle, and I didn’t have a great personality.

I’m not like the Estelle that saved Lucian.

I couldn’t easily believe he liked me.

So I pushed him away.

I pushed him away once, he came at me again. When I pushed him away a second time, he came at me a third time.

So if he approached me a tenth time, I’ll pretend to lose and accept his feelings….

“You shouldn’t pretend like there’s a line between us or like you’ve never confessed. A man should have grit!”

Lucian explained himself with a confused look on his face at my angry scolding.

“I just didn’t want to be hated by the lady, so I didn’t want to do anything you wouldn’t like. I was being careful.”

“I’ll never hate you, so you can just do anything I might not like!”

At that moment, he pulled me. Lucian, who held me in his broad arms, said.

“I wanted to hug you like this.”

“······!”

Lucian lowered his head, placed his lips near my ear, and whispered.

“I like you.”

His cool voice penetrated into my ears.

“I wanted to say this. And…..”

Lucian was no longer talking. He just hugged me tightly like he’s trying to suppress something.

I muttered in his arms.

“And what else?”

“That’s….”

Lucian wrinkled his eyebrows with an embarrassed face.

Ahh, this was frustrating.

Eventually, I couldn’t resist and grabbed him by the back of his head and pulled him toward me. His face came towards mine.

His lips met mine.

It felt like fresh cream made from heaven had entered my mouth.

This was the sweetest kiss in the world.

I reflected on myself.

‘This feels so good. Why was I such a fool?’

I’m not the female lead of a romance novel.

It was not in my character to be afraid of this man’s true feelings, or be so out of it while not realizing my own feelings.

I whispered in Lucian’s ear.

In a voice sweeter than his when he whispered to me.

“Starting today, we’re dating.”

───── 〔✿〕─────

The warm sunshine, the autumn breeze, the sound of birds ringing in the ears, everything was so beautiful.

Even my reflection in the mirror.

Wearing a dark pink dress and a hat decorated with freesias, I looked like someone in a painting.

‘My makeup looks especially good.’

I said to Anne with a pleased smile.

“You said you needed some hair accessories, didn’t you? I’ll buy some pretty accessories for you if I find some.”

“Really?”

“Yes, Anne always works hard for me. You deserve an award.”

“My Lady!”

Anne covered her mouth with an emotional face.

“Then I’ll be back.”

I smiled at Anne and left the room.

I ran into my father when I went down the stairs.

“Pernia, are you going to see Lord Kardien again today?”

“Yes.”

My father said with a pleased expression.

“How youthful. You remind me of a date I had with your mother. She always said that we can go where I wanted to go. And then if she doesn’t like it, she’ll rip my mouth out. She was always dressed up so cute. I was a little scared of her when we went to the Arms Exhibition Hall. Guns, knives, cannons. We were looking at exciting things like that, but she had a scornful look on her face. She yelled at me for not knowing a lady’s taste.”

My father, who was babbling vigorously, felt that something was strange and stopped talking.

My father asked me with an awkward face as I was folding my hands together.

“Why are you so quiet now? Usually, you would ignore me and disappear.”

“Oh. That’s because you’re telling me such an interesting story.”

I meant it.

Even my father’s chatter, which I was sick of hearing, seemed sweet to me.

I smiled at my father.

“Please let me hear more, Father.”

“······!”

My father twisted his face as if he had seen something he shouldn’t see and stepped back.

“Y-you’ll be late if you hear anymore. Be on your way now.”

“Yes, I’ll be back.”

I bowed politely and said goodbye.

I turned away from my pale father and went outside.

There stood a shiny new carriage, not the old one that I used to ride in everyday (which looked fine on the outside, but made my butt catch fire after every ride).

It was a gift from Lucian to me.

[I didn’t want the lady’s butt to hurt anymore. I hope you’ll use this carriage from now on as it has a seat as soft as a cloud.]

As he hoped, the carriage ride was superb.

‘Riding in a carriage made by the finest carpenter is a completely different experience.’

The finest sheepskin chairs comfortably wrapped around my hips and waist, and the intricately designed wheels turned like water.

In the meantime, the carriage was going at a quick pace so I arrived at the place very shortly after.

“Good work. It was very comfortable.”

I greeted the horseman with a bright smile.

When I got off the carriage, I came to a very fancy building, an opera house, one of the most beautiful buildings in the capital.

Among the white marble floor and dozens of statues, Lucian stood there, looking just as beautiful as the goddess.

Wearing a white suit with sparkling silver hair, he looked down at his pocket watch, like a work of art.

The women around were glancing at him. Some people even forgot their manners and outright stared at him.

Although the women’s gazes were a little concerning, my heart was calm like a spring day.

‘Well, I understand them. It’s a person’s instinct to look at beautiful things.‘

Unfortunately, however, all they were allowed to do was look at him.

I was the only one who could approach him and call his name.

“Lucian.”

Lucian turned his head to my voice and smiled.

“Nia.”

As soon as I heard his voice calling my nickname, my lips went up without realizing it.

We now call each other by name.

We didn’t just have a political engagement anymore. We were now in a romantic relationship.

I snuck up to Lucian’s side.

“I tried not to make Lucian wait this time, but I failed again. How long have you been here?”

“I just got here.”

Lie. Maybe he’d been waiting for me for a long time.

It’s been like that since our first date.

I said to him, who arrived too early for the third date.

[Why are you always here so early every time? It makes me feel bad.]

Lucian said with a downcast look.

[Because I enjoy waiting for you… If it makes you uncomfortable, I’ll try to just be on time next time.]

Instead of berating him like I did before, I put my arm in his firm arm.

“Let’s go in.”

Lucian’s face became incredibly red the first day I crossed our arms like this.

I almost burst out laughing from how nervous he was.

I guess he’s used to it now, since he’s not as red as he was then.

He’s only a little red on his ears.

‘Cute.’

I imagined myself biting his ears in my head as we entered the hall.

Today’s performance was a popular play in the capital.

The title of the play is <Count Batus’s Unrequited Love>.

The secret for this work’s popularity was neither the directing nor storytelling. It was Pew, an actor who played the male lead.

Pew was a handsome man with dark green hair and white skin.

If such a handsome man sang the serenade about longing for a woman’s heart, the women watching the play couldn’t help but fall for him.

As soon as he knelt down and sang the song during the climax, many women held onto their chest. There was a woman who held up her pinkie, touched her forehead, and passed out.

But I was wonderfully unimpressed.

‘I know that he’s theoretically handsome, but why can’t I feel anything? Is there a problem with my eyesight?’