I Wasn't Trying to Seduce with the Male Lead - Episode 81

“You mean he peeled the skin off his tongue?”

Eleanor’s eyes widened as she asked, and Blaine nodded.

“He was about to cut his tongue off when he suddenly saw the String Stone on your hand and got an idea,” Blaine explained.

She unconsciously looked at the black ring on her finger.

“He said he wore it, checked himself in a mirror, and peeled away the skin little by little until the line disappeared.”

He was doing that while I was unconscious?

Hearing the explanation, Eleanor felt a little bewildered. It was a good thing, a very clever thing to have done, but it also felt so un-Lian-like that she was surprised. The Lian she saw before she fell asleep seemed like he would have cut his tongue off without a moment’s hesitation, rather than doing such a delicate procedure.

As she blinked, Blaine smiled and asked, “Didn’t you tell Lian to treasure himself?”

“Ah… that was…”

“I think Lian tried his best to hold onto that. Thanks to it, the injury was minimal.”

Blaine then scratched his cheek and added, “He also said something about seeing a star, or whatever… but in the end, it was probably because of your words.”

A star? What was that about?

As she looked back at Lian with a puzzled expression, he was glaring at Blaine. Seeing that sight, Eleanor smiled. She was happy that her plea had a positive effect on Lian.

“If it was just the skin that was peeled off, he can be healed, right?”

The Empire didn’t have advanced medical technology, but it had many mysterious herbs and treatments. While surgical wounds were almost impossible to treat, injuries that could be treated with medicine could be healed without a single scar. It was impossible to regrow a severed arm, but injuries that regenerated and healed naturally showed better prognosis than in the modern world.

“Yes. We have all the necessary herbs, so he’ll be back to normal in a while.”

“That’s great news.”

Knowing that Lian would be alright brought her great relief. As her worry subsided, the hidden resentment began to resurface. Eleanor turned to Lian and pouted, “Then why didn’t you tell me? I was so worried.”

Lian looked at Blaine as if to ask him to answer for him, but because he had just been glared at, Blaine pretended not to see him. Left with no choice, Lian’s face turned red as he spoke in a low voice.

“My pronounshiation wash shrange…”

My pronunciation was strange?

“I wash afraid you’d hat me…”

He was afraid I would dislike him?

“He’s probably flustered because he’s never not looked magnificent in his life,” Blaine chimed in with a chuckle, and Lian narrowed his eyes and shot him another glare.

“You’re a fool. I wouldn’t dislike a person for something like that.”

To be honest, she felt like she was going to laugh because he was so cute, not dislike him at all. She couldn’t believe a man with a lisp could be this adorable. It really helps to be good-looking.

“Then why are you wearing that mask?”

“I asked for a medicine that would heal it as quickly as possible, and the wound swelled up a lot…”

Blaine, who was answering for him, couldn’t finish his sentence and started laughing again. Just how bad did it look for him to be laughing like that?

“I want to see it, too.”

At Eleanor’s words, Lian hurriedly shook his head.

“It’shh shwollen… it’shh strange.”

“It’s okay, please show me.”

Eleanor reached for Lian’s mask herself. She tugged at the string tied behind his neck, and the soft cloth slowly fell away. When she saw what was revealed, Eleanor couldn’t help but bite her lip.

‘He’s so cute!’

His tongue was so swollen that his cheeks were puffed out like he was holding large candies on both sides. Lian’s pale cheeks flushed as he stammered out an explanation.

“The docthor thaid it would heal in a week, sho I waited, but it jusht got more shwollen…”

He seemed to be saying that the doctor had said it would heal in a week, so he waited, but it only got more swollen. She could hear Blaine’s loud guffaws from behind.

“You’re adorable.”

“Reeally?”

Seeing him ask again, Eleanor couldn’t hold back either. She let out a small laugh, and Lian’s expression turned dejected.

“Even you’re laughing at me…”

At Lian’s somber voice, Eleanor barely managed to contain her laughter and said, “I saw the Duchess trembling and crying from behind the window earlier. I thought it was something terribly serious and was devastated.”

“That was because laughter erupted while we were talking. I couldn’t control my body, I was laughing so hard,” the Duchess said, confirming Blaine’s story.

“I think I’ve developed some abs from laughing so hard these past few days.”

Blaine added in a voice weakened by laughter.

“Lian was making a fuss, saying he would go into exile if we told you, so we couldn’t say anything. I tried to explain it to you, but the thought of it just made me laugh…”

The Duchess also nodded in agreement with Blaine’s explanation. Eleanor recalled the times she had encountered the two of them. They had stiffened their faces, bitten their lips, and turned away, or spoken in strangely trembling voices.

‘So that was all them trying to hold back their laughter.’

It seemed to be an even more extreme reaction since it was a humiliation(?) for the always perfect Lian.

“You look great like this, so please don’t avoid me anymore.”

Lian nodded eagerly. His movements were so dog-like that she wanted to pat his head.

“That’s enough of the lovey-dovey atmosphere.”

As she was looking at him with an adoring gaze, the Duchess’s stern voice cut in.

“I’ve received a message from Duke Abro. We need to discuss the situation outside.”

The Duchess held a small envelope, presumably from Duke Abro.

“It’s an undeniable fact that the two of you are the starting point of this whole situation. Whether you wanted it or not, so many people have been entangled, and I can’t forgive you for being irresponsible and only caring for each other. You can have your romance after everything is resolved.”

Eleanor also thought it would be insensitive to focus on their romance in this situation. However, Lian looked a little disappointed.

‘At least she didn’t say it’s completely out of the question.’

She said to do it later, not to never do it. The fact that the Duchess wasn’t against it at all was a significant improvement.

“Lian. You answer too.”

When she pressed for a response, Lian’s expression became serious.

“I unnershtand.”

Lian’s face was solemn, but as soon as the answer came out, laughter erupted from all directions. Glaring at Blaine, who was now crying from laughing so hard, the Empire’s greatest knight left the room dejectedly. Seeing his crestfallen back, Eleanor laughed heartily for the first time in a long while.

When the door opened, Minaz’s surprised voice rang out.

“I heard you were coming, but I never thought you’d actually succeed.”

The basement of Line of Abro. Another visitor arrived at the same place where she had met with the Duke of Calabria. Minaz looked at Eleanor, Lian, and then Blaine and Duchess Floyd, who were all taking off their black hoods, and asked, “How did you even get here? You didn’t get caught by the Imperial Guard?”

No matter how skilled you were, it was difficult to completely avoid detection with people who were not proficient in martial arts. Blaine took the question.

“We took care of all the sentries on the way.”

“What? Is that okay? Won’t that cause more of a commotion?”

Minaz asked Lian, but Elai, who was usually quiet, explained on behalf of his tongue-tied commander.

“We are taking out any witnesses on the spot so they can’t send signals to other units. It should be fine until we go back.”

“What? Then there will be chaos when they find the bodies tomorrow.”

“We will move and dispose of them all without a trace. There will be a major commotion because knights have suddenly vanished, but they won’t be able to act without any evidence.”

His confident tone suggested he had carried out similar operations before.

“That’s amazing. You say it so simply, but it must be a difficult task.”

Minaz admired him and looked at the commander who had accomplished such an impossible feat so easily. She tilted her head as she saw the mask covering Lian’s face.

“Why don’t you take off that mask? It’s just us here.”

Lian looked at Eleanor, as if asking her to answer for him.

“He got a minor injury while escaping from the basement.”

“What? Are you saying his handsome face got a scar?”

Not just Minaz, but Claude also half-rose in shock. Lian looked uncomfortable that the conversation was getting sidetracked, but Minaz pressed him again.

“Tell me, I can’t concentrate on the important conversation.”

Lian’s swelling had gone down a lot, and his face was almost back to normal, but his pronunciation was still the same.

“His face is a little swollen because of the injury, but they say it will heal soon,” Eleanor explained for him, and Minaz sighed in relief.

“I was so nervous wondering what happened. That face should be protected as a national cultural heritage.”

Lian seemed embarrassed by her fussing, but the others looked on in agreement. Eleanor also honestly felt relieved when she confirmed his face was unharmed, so she felt a pang of guilt and changed the subject.

“Even the Behind Knights can’t stall indefinitely. Let’s move on with the discussion quickly.”

And so, a secret meeting began, attended by the three ducal houses of Abro, Lowen, and Floyd, along with Lian, Eleanor, and Blaine. Duke Bormia couldn’t attend due to his age but had sent word that he would agree to the terms decided here. Thus, the four ducal houses had, in effect, decided to join forces.

“I had my trusted men roughly figure out the current Imperial Army’s deployment. Please look at the map over there.”

While they were traveling to Line of Abrote, Minaz and Claude had not just been waiting. Claude presented the prepared materials and gave a brief overview of the current situation.

“This is the deployment of personnel and the status of the military garrisons within Felicity.”

Blaine stood beside Eleanor and explained how to read the military map.

“There are about four times the usual standing army troops already in the capital area. At this point, even the citizens of Felicity must have noticed something’s wrong.”

“Food, fabric, and jewelry have been disappearing from the market. We must assume that there is considerable anxiety among the civilians.”

Everyone nodded at the Duchess’s words. Claude asked Blaine, “Have you obtained any information on the Imperial Palace’s movements?”

Blaine had worked for the Imperial Knights for a long time, so he had extensive connections within the palace. He mentioned the information he had obtained from ladies-in-waiting and low-ranking officials.

“His Majesty the Emperor is said to be summoning nobles every day and pressuring them to join the Royalist faction. There is also pressure on each faction to contribute their forces.”

“The Emperor really intends to start a war, then,” Minaz muttered, and Eleanor corrected her.

“To be precise, it must be the Princess who is inciting the war.”

“What did you say?”

“The Princess has joined the Eogainos’s ruling council. According to my sources, the Princess is making virtually all the decisions.”

Minaz’s and Claude’s eyes darkened.

Support