Guiding the Male Lead out of His Trauma - Chapter 39.2
As I jerked back in surprise, Acteon’s eyes went wide. Then, he let out a low laugh.
“I know. I’m well aware that you go easy on me, Senior.”
“So all that embarrassment was just an act…?”
“Ah, well… Do you think it was an act?”
There he goes again, being ambiguous.
My ears were starting to burn, but I didn’t have time to check because I’d gotten completely caught up by him.
Not that this was the time for it, anyway.
I was about to rise to his bait and answer Acteon’s teasing provocation, but then voices from inside reached us again.
I let go of Acteon and pressed back near the window.
The voices were quieter now, but this wasn’t something to just ignore.
“The Lomdina conscription isn’t far off now, so we need to be ready too. At last, my brother is going to throw those two right into the middle of the battlefield.”
“You really do have a knack for spouting villainous lines. Did you hear anything from Igmundos?”
“They said preparations are almost finished, so unless we get exposed, nothing should go wrong.”
“Let’s not go setting up ominous flags. Our own intel isn’t perfect, after all. Still, with Count Lorraine being punished for abusing non-Manifesters just as he was about to start his magic stone refining business… For the Crown Prince, who took over that business, it’s a windfall.”
“Better my brother takes the lead than Glock Brondearn. We only ever had circumstantial evidence that Count Lorraine was siding with Brondearn, which made things tricky, but this way my brother could tidy things up cleanly without causing any friction. And it’s all thanks to Cadet Liliope, isn’t it.”
…My heart skipped a beat at hearing my name brought up out of nowhere.
‘So, because I reported Count Lorraine, they were able to take out an important figure pushing a major project? And the count was trying to side with Brondearn, not the Crown Prince?’
So Prince Isadore, knowing what the count was up to, wasn’t able to move against him directly, but thanks to me, he could cleanly resolve a troublesome issue?
‘…Wow. That’s pretty much the worst-case scenario, isn’t it?’
Acteon still harbored just as much hostility toward Prince Isadore as ever.
But to hunt your prey, it’s always better to understand its habits.
He was holding his breath, watching and waiting to see how to take the prince down.
“Isadore, do you like Liliope Ortis?”
Belled’s neutral voice posed the question, his tone as calm and courteous as at the mansion.
“How could I not? Nothing we want to accomplish would be possible without her.”
“So it’s not a romantic interest. Hmm.”
“Why not? I think I’ve made it clear I like her quite a bit. And isn’t it fun? Watching her get into trouble all the time feels like I’ve gained a mischievous little sister.”
“So, you’re saying it’s definitely not romantic. All the better.”
…All the better? For what?
Belled, who obviously couldn’t have heard my silent question, stood up.
Prince Isadore also straightened out his disguise, which wasn’t doing much to hide his high status.
“I think it would be best to discuss the magic power imbalance after all this is over. We’ll have to keep watching to see what she does, too.”
As they left the building, they exchanged a few more words. It was too far to make out exactly what they said, but it seemed to involve the two of us.
“…That’s enough… in…”
Acteon flinched.
His senses were much sharper than mine, so I wanted to ask what they said, but—
“…It wasn’t anything meaningful. I think we should go back now.”
Despite dodging the question, Acteon’s face showed clear signs of agitation.
I silently looked up at him, asking if he was really okay.
“If it was nothing, why do you look so shaken?”
“Is that how it looked?”
You…
For a moment, I could’ve sworn he looked… afraid of them.
‘No, let’s just drop it… He’s not some unfeeling superhuman after all.’
Once the two had left, we waited a little longer before slipping out onto the street.
Acteon listened intently to the fading sounds and then said,
“One of them went to District 1, I’m guessing that’s Belled. Prince Isadore seems to have a carriage waiting nearby.”
“Meticulous.”
We hadn’t figured out everything they were up to, but there was one thing I could be sure of.
Whatever they were planning, it had to do with me.
‘Until now, I could at least make use of what I knew about the future. But now, even that’s getting hard.’
They were acting in ways that diverged sharply from the future I knew.
And now, it seemed like it was up to me to figure out why things had started to change.
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