Guiding the Male Lead out of His Trauma - Chapter 40.1
Belled returned to the mansion and, looking perfectly neat, took off his coat as if he hadn’t been out at all.
He looked every bit the man who had come straight home, but for us who had followed him, our feelings had only grown more complicated.
‘Is it really right to just leave him be like this?’
What about the duchess?
In this mansion, the only two people she could rely on were the head maid and Belled.
Was it really right to leave her dependent on him like this?
That’s when I realized. There wasn’t a single person here I could rely on or trust.
She at least had the head maid and, even if it might be a lie, Belled. But I had no one.
Even if I wanted to protect the duchess, there wasn’t a soul here I could ask to watch over her in my place.
Ah, it stung a little, this realization.
But I was the one who chose not to trust or get close to anyone in this place.
I still harbored a lot of resentment toward this mansion.
Acteon, however, was different.
“Senior, you should go in and rest. We have to head to the train station in just three hours, remember?”
“Already? Can I even get up in time…?”
I muttered without confidence.
Acteon insisted there was no way I wouldn’t, and ushered me into my room.
“At Estra, don’t you go through night training every quarter? I heard it lasts a whole week.”
“Ugh, that hellish training. They shove you into mud pits, toss you into minefields and have you dodge explosives… They teach you stuff no ordinary soldier could handle.”
Grumbling as the sleepiness finally caught up with me, Acteon just laughed, clearly amused.
“I’ll be thrown in with even less preparation, right? I’ll have to rely on you, Senior.”
“…Yeah.”
Right. They’d send him straight to the front just because of his power, without even proper training.
Just the thought was enough to snap me fully awake.
“This is bad. I can’t sleep. There’s too much to think about.”
“Hm, that won’t do. I might have to put you to sleep myself.”
Hey, is this kid teasing me right now?
I shoved him firmly out the door and closed it.
“Senior…”
“Go to bed.”
“…Yes.”
Once his footsteps faded away, I curled up in bed myself.
“I’m tired.”
I didn’t regret standing up to the Crown Prince like that.
‘In fact, I think I had to do it.’
But facing a future where I’d have to take that kid, who hadn’t even finished one term, straight to the front lines, I couldn’t help but feel dizzy.
Even knowing Acteon wasn’t someone who’d die easily left a bitter taste in my mouth.
‘He always acts like it doesn’t matter what I do.’
Just as I was soft on him, Acteon was soft on me too.
He was always too gentle with me.
Realizing it again just left my heart burning, and made me anxious about myself.
That I, the one who survived, might push him toward an even greater misfortune.
* * *
Morning came.
After a simple meal, as I was coming out of my room dressed for travel, Belled was waiting for me.
“Good morning, Miss Ortis. Did you sleep well?”
“Yeah, more or less. So much for my last bit of vacation.”
To have the very person I was suspicious of come find me on his own…
When I’m on guard, I actually tend to smile even more. I fixed a painted-on smile and spoke to him.
“Looks like you didn’t sleep much, Belled.”
“Me? Well, you’re not wrong. It’s rare to get a good night’s sleep lately.”
Of course not.
He’s having secret meetings with the prince at night.
And the prince, talking about my ‘background’ and whatnot, is no less of a scoundrel for keeping someone like that around.
“Busy with work?”
“There’s always plenty to do. Even though I’m attached to Brondearn, I also take requests from houses that don’t have a resident apothecary.”
“If that’s the case, you’re not really exclusive anymore, are you? Does the duke know?”
“He’s the one who put me in touch with other houses. He seems pretty proud of it, so I can’t complain.”
Belled gave a bright, almost self-satisfied little spiel about his work.
I made some idle small talk in hopes of gleaning some information, but there wasn’t anything meaningful.
As he walked me down to the first floor, he wished me luck at the academy.
“By the way, Miss Ortis, are you missing any of your belongings?”
“Missing?”
“Sometimes personal items go missing, that’s all.”
Most of what I had were things provided by the academy—very few personal effects.
Most of my assets were in the bank…
“Not really. Cadets don’t have much to lose in the first place.”
“I see.”
Belled’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Was this a warning about following him last night?
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