I Became The Male Lead’s Female Friend

Chapter 9 : I Became The Male Lead’s Female FriendTranslated by NiksEdited by KBJ

From then on, my father did everything to get my mother’s favor.

 

Everyday, he secretly sent a bouquet to my mother’s room, checked the nobles who liked my mother, and later asked for help from the Duchess of Bouser.

 

“Father, you’ve known the duchess for a long time?”

 

“Because my family was close to Averine.”

 

“So you were childhood friends?”

 

“Well, we didn’t have that kind of relationship.”

 

Fortunately, the Duchess really wasn’t interested in my father, so nothing happened.

 

It was said that she naturally approached my mother, who needed a young noble lady her age to tell her about the empire, and they unexpectedly got along well and became friends. 

 

“Afterwards, I confessed first. I didn’t approach her with pure intention.”

 

“I also got a lot of help from Charles, so it was okay. Even so, your father was a little offended.”

 

“So Adelio was a fool, too. Your mother was already fond of him, and she didn’t know that.”

 

After that, there was a series of more interesting stories.

 

“The Duchess talked about all sorts of things that Father had done.”

 

My father had no idea what to do with the embarrassing stories of his past, his face turned red enough that it wouldn’t have been strange if his face exploded right away, but I wondered if the story would end when the servant brought in the food.

 

However, a friendly story cannot be left out in a delicious meal.

 

Mother and the Duchess, who had already fallen into memory, chatted happily about other events that took place at the time.

 

My father, who is a contemporary person, responded occasionally and continued the story.

 

So it was only natural that we were left out of the story.

 

At first, I also listened to my parents’ intriguing love stories attentively, but soon after the story which only the three of them knew continued, my interest slowly lessened.

 

As a result, I began to focus on the delicious food in front of me, and I naturally caught Rudrick’s eye.

 

‘Would you also like to eat? Rudrick?’

 

Somehow, I was so distracted by my parents’ stories that I didn’t care much about Rudrick, but I glanced at him, wondering what if he was feeling left out.

 

But then I witnessed a strange scene.

 

‘What are you doing?’

 

Unlike me, who was gobbling up the food, Rudrick was staring at the plate.

 

I followed his eyes, wondering if the food didn’t fit Rudrick’s taste, but the steak on Rudrick’s plate was almost gone.

 

Except for peas.

 

‘Peas?’

 

At the moment, an idea flashed and passed, and I looked back at Rudrick.

 

Rudrick, who had his eyes fixed on peas, had a serious look on his face as if the world’s problem was his.

 

How serious is it that he, who is sensitive to others, is so distracted that he won’t notice even if I stare at him.

 

Soon, Rudrick reached out carefully and struck the peas with a fork. After a long time of agonizing over the peas, he soon slowly took them to his mouth.

 

 Rudrick, who ate the peas with a slightly open mouth, made a slight impression and swallowed the peas without chewing them. Then he looked back on the plate with a gloomy expression.

 

There were still five more peas left on the plate.

 

If Yi Sun-shin had twelve ships left,

 

Rudrick had five peas left.

 

(Note: Yi Sun-Shin: National hero in korea/famous korean admiral)

 

Seeing him eat peas seriously and with difficulty, I felt awkward.

 

‘You can’t eat the peas’

 

It was sad and cute watching him eat the peas, so I tried to hold back the laughter that was about to come out of my mouth.

 

However Rudrick seemed to be extremely serious.

 

It was hard enough to swallow one pea, but there were five more peas left.

 

Rudrick’s face was filled with agony as he fought with peas on the plate.

 

I was looking sideways as if I didn’t know Rudrick’s dilemma.

 

‘If you don’t like it, you don’t have to eat it.’

 

There was no one here that would tell Rudrick to not eat it, since he was a little picky.

 

My parents were on the side of accepting a certain amount of fun, as long as it didn’t affect their health.

 

But I didn’t think the gentle Duchess was the kind of person who’d be hard on Rudrick.

 

Even if the Duchess were to scold him severely, it was obvious that my mother would have stopped her.

 

‘Should I be the one to tell you?’

 

I was a little conflicted.

 

This was because I wanted to let Rudrick know the truth and ease his troubles, I wanted to watch him a little longer because he looks cute.

 

However, if left alone, Rudrick might return to eating five peas instead of eating other foods until the meal is over. It’s a great feast we’ve prepared, but it’s a pity if he can’t enjoy it properly.

 

In the end, I decided to tell the truth, so I leaned toward Rudrick and whispered softly.

 

“You don’t have to eat if you don’t want to.”

 

Not knowing that I would talk to him, his shoulders twitched at my sudden voice.

 

Then soon he understood what I had said, and quickly blinked, as if embarrassed.

 

“Oh, that, that’s…”

 

Somehow Rudrick, who blushed with his red cheeks, seemed to have no idea what to do.

 

When I saw him like that, I tilted my chin towards my parents because I was worried that the Duchess might have caught me.

 

“They are busy talking, you know?”

 

“No, well, I…”

 

“If you put it aside on the plate next to you, no one will know. Like this.”

 

I kindly taught him the picky-food-skills that I usually use, but rather, Rudrick’s face turned redder.

 

Why is he so embarrassed, he can’t even look at me, suddenly he’s distracting me.

 

As I watched him, I soon came to a guess.

 

‘Was it a secret that you couldn’t eat peas? ‘

 

You’re a man, and you have pride in yourself.

 

I thought you were nervous because you might get in trouble if you were caught being picky, but you must have been ashamed of not being able to eat peas.

 

Of course, there will be no pressure for being picky about food.

 

However, seeing him desperately trying to hide it even in front of me, he seemed embarrassed of being picky.

 

And, as if my guess was correct, Rudrick, who had been hesitant until then, began to stutter and make excuses.

 

“I, I… It’s not that I don’t like it, it’s… a little…”

 

He couldn’t even speak properly. I was looking at Rudrick with a smile on my face, and I decided to keep up with his desperate excuse.

 

“Ah! It’s not that I can’t eat peas, but I don’t think it suits the meal today.”

 

“Yes, yes! I think peas don’t fit my meal today.”

 

He was so cute when he nodded his head, I almost laughed. I tried to hold my laugh back and said ‘patience’.

 

“Rudrick is amazing. I can’t eat anything…”

 

“Is it different for Dahlia?”

 

“Yes, I hate bell peppers.”

 

At my sudden confession, Rudrick opened his eyes wide. He seemed quite surprised that he didn’t think I’d tell him my secret.

 

It was half right and half wrong when I said I hated bell peppers.

 

It was true that I didn’t like bell peppers very much, but that didn’t mean that I couldn’t eat it so badly like Rudrick.

 

However, don’t you say that if the other person shows weaknesses first, the boundaries become more loose?

 

As expected, Rudrick shuddered his eyes as if he had heard any big secrets, then told me with a serious face as if he had decided.

 

“To be honest..”

 

“What?”

 

“I can’t eat peas either.”

 

I responded with a big smile in a different sense.

 

“What a relief! There was something Rudrick couldn’t eat like me.”

 

“Yes, yes… I’m sorry I lied to you.”

 

It’s okay. I already knew everything.

 

However, if he knew my heart and what I was thinking right now, Rudrick may burst into tears, so I pretended as if I didn’t know anything, and innocently said.

 

“It’s all right. Oh, well, maybe Rudrick knows how to eat bell peppers.？”

 

“What? Yes, I can.”

 

“Then we… ”

 

I glanced toward my parents and lowered my voice.

 

“Would you like to change plates?”

 

Rudrick opened his mouth a little.

 

“What?”

 

The face was like an innocent child who had never broken his parents’ words, so I was in conflict for a moment.

 

But at Rudrick’s age, I thought it would be better to be moderate in thinking than just being nice.

 

Okay, I’ll take this opportunity to teach you a little bit of deviation. I grinned and alternately pointed to Rudrick’s plate and my plate.

 

“Rudrick can’t eat peas, and I can’t eat bell peppers. I just happen to love peas. What do you think?”

 

“Well, but… ”

 

Rudrick glanced at the Duchess again, as if anxious. He seemed uneasy whether it was okay to do such a thing, or whether he would be scolded if caught.

 

It wasn’t that Rudrick didn’t understand.

 

When I was in the North, I would have been in trouble if I showed that I was lacking. Maybe he’s hesitating because he’s afraid that this will not happen again.

 

However, this is not the northern part of the country, but the Duke of Averine, and it is a place where no one says anything even if it looks a little ugly.

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