I Wasn't Trying to Seduce with the Male Lead - Episode 9

“The Duke glanced at Blaine as he spoke. Other than the palace, the training grounds, and his mansion, Blaine’s house was the only place Lyan ever went. He seemed a little relieved that Lyan was there. Before Blaine could open his mouth, he said, ‘No, where did he disappear to in his ceremonial clothes!’”

“‘Could he have been kidnapped?’ At Zeppelin’s worried question, the Duke and Blaine looked skeptical. ‘Who on earth could kidnap that monstrous man?’ It was impossible to abduct the strongest knight in the empire, who always carried his sword and never let his guard down, without a trace in the middle of the bustling capital during a festival. If it had been successful, the area around it would have been a chaotic mess, a wasteland. ‘He’s probably somewhere in the vicinity,’ a soldier said. The Duke nodded and commanded, ‘Split up and search every corner of the palace!’”

“However, there was no news of Lian being found in the palace. At that point, Blaine couldn’t keep silent any longer. ‘Your Grace,’ he said. The Duke, with a heavily furrowed brow, turned to Blaine. ‘I might know where Lian is.’ ‘What? Why didn’t you say so earlier?’ ‘It’s just… a place that’s hard to believe…’ A few days ago, Lian had asked him to ‘let me know about any parties that Baroness Eleanor attends without fail.’ Blaine thought it had something to do with official business. That afternoon, he had heard that she had expressed her intention to attend a party hosted by the Marchioness of Norverstein, and he sent someone to the Duke’s estate to inform them. The Duke’s expression soured upon hearing this. ‘Was there such an official duty? Why would he go where that woman is…?’ ‘We can talk about that later. Let’s go find him quickly,’ Zeppelin said, looking very anxious.”

“Urged on, the Duke seemed to realize this was no time for speculation and immediately gave the order. ‘Go to the Marchioness of Norverstein’s estate at once and check if Lian is there!’ ‘What should we do if he is there?’ ‘Bring him back, no matter what. If he doesn’t listen, it doesn’t matter if you have to use force!’ The soldiers, who had been ordered to forcibly bring back the empire’s greatest knight, ran off with uncertain expressions. ‘I’ll go with them,’ Blaine said. It didn’t matter to him who the princess danced with, but he had a feeling that going with them would be much more interesting than being stuck at a teenage girl’s party. As Blaine stepped forward, the Duke pleaded earnestly, ‘Yes, the princess is waiting, so please do your best.’ Blaine nodded and left the banquet hall with the soldiers.”

“Eleanor swallowed hard. ‘He must have come for another reason,’ she thought. He might have just stopped by since he was invited to the Marchioness’s party. ‘Maybe he’s a distant relative of the Marchioness.’ Eleanor desperately held on to this glimmer of hope. Lian was looking around as if searching for something. After a moment, his gaze stopped at one point. Eleanor and Lian’s eyes met. As Lian began to move, people parted like waves. Behind her, she heard young ladies gasp. Eleanor watched Lian walk through the crowd and approach her, dazed. He looked like he had come from another world. The man who was so imposing in his casual clothes was dazzling in his formal wear. Everyone was staring at him as if mesmerized, and the hall was so quiet it was hard to believe it was a party. ‘Eleanor,’ Lian’s voice echoed clearly in the silent hall. ‘Would you like to dance with me?’ The person you should be asking to dance is not me, she thought. The unbelievable reality made her vision go dark. How was she supposed to smooth this over? All eyes in the hall were on them. Refusing here would make it look even stranger. But she couldn’t just dance in front of everyone. ‘I’m not feeling well…’ Eleanor stood up from her chair and smiled. ‘Shall we talk outside for a moment before we dance?’ She tried to speak in as normal a voice as possible and then turned and started walking ahead. She tried to stay calm, but her mind was filled with questions. ‘Why is he here? What about the princess?’ As soon as they reached a secluded corner of the garden, Eleanor turned to Lian and asked, ‘Why are you here at this hour?’ Lian thought for a moment before answering Eleanor’s question. ‘I was a little late because I was finding out which party you were at.’ That’s not what I meant by “late!” ‘What I mean is, why are you here? You should be at the palace party!’ ‘I simply attended the party I wanted to attend.’ He wanted to attend this party? Compared to the palace, it was shabby and quiet, and honestly, not a very interesting party. ‘Did you come here because you knew I was here?’ ‘Of course.’ Eleanor was very flustered by Lian’s immediate reply. ‘How did you know who I was? Did you know from the beginning?’ ‘What do you think?’ Lian answered her question with a question. It wasn’t an answer, but she didn’t have time for a back-and-forth. Instead of prying, Eleanor spoke quickly. ‘You shouldn’t be here. Go back to the palace quickly.’ ‘I don’t see why I should.’ ‘Why? What will happen if people notice?’ ‘Notice?’ Lian looked puzzled. ‘Yes, notice. I’m trying to keep a secret, and because of you, I can’t even wear the dress I made fashionable and have to cover myself up like a nun.’ ‘Why can’t you wear it?’ ‘I have to hide… because of you…’ Eleanor trailed off, embarrassed. Seeing her redden, Lian raised an eyebrow. ‘Are there marks I left on you?’ she shot back. ‘What, do you think I came here after trying to hang myself?’ Lian seemed pleased by her blunt reply. The conversation seemed to be going nowhere. Eleanor snapped at Lian, who was looking at her with a proud expression. ‘You need to go back before people notice what happened between us!’”

“Hearing that, Lian furrowed his brow slightly. ‘You’re worried that people will notice what happened between us?’ ‘Yes. We can still get away with it if you hurry.’ It wasn’t too late. She had to send him back to the birthday party somehow so he could meet the heroine. If that happened, this could be passed off as a simple incident. But then, ‘I don’t care if people find out,’ Lian said calmly. ‘If you get involved with me, your position will become difficult.’ ‘I don’t care.’ Eleanor was speechless at Lian’s nonchalant response. ‘Are you angry at me because you don’t want people to know what happened between us?’ Of course, I am! When Eleanor nodded, Lian’s expression hardened. ‘So that was the problem,’ he said. The smile he had been wearing disappeared. Lian bit his lip and spoke in a stiff tone. ‘If I say this, you’ll probably get even angrier.’ Somehow, Lian looked even angrier as he said it. ‘But you’re already angry anyway,’ he mumbled and hesitated for a moment. What was he going to say? She looked at him with anxious eyes, and he seemed to have made up his mind. He took a step closer to Eleanor. ‘I think your biggest problem is…’ Lian’s low voice, sounding a little shy, whispered in her ear, ‘that I fell in love with you that night.’”

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