The Male Lead’s Sickly Aide is My Type

That evening, a chandelier with dozens of candles lit up the ballroom.

The selected musicians played mellow music, and people danced hand in hand to the sound of the music. As the well-dressed ladies and gentlemen came and looked for a partner, there was a person in the corner sipping glass and watching the party with hawk eyes.

It was Carinne.

No one could be found within a two-meter radius from where Carinne stood. As she became more sensitive after confessing to the Duke of Lucas and getting dumped, she often made a fuss over trivial matters.

No one didn’t know about it, so they consciously avoided her.

‘The original Carinne already did something. I can’t help it.’

Carinne focused on what she was doing without much care whether people avoided her or not. Also, she wasn’t looking for a needle in a haystack, she was simply looking for the Duke in the ballroom.

“There he is.”

Her hectic gaze finally went to one place and stopped.

There was a man with black hair and red eyes, a guaranteed main protagonist of a romance fantasy novel.

He had such a beautiful appearance that people said God had made him with much affection, and he was the most popular Duke of the First Duchy in the kingdom and the male lead of 〈 Even if I’m a ditzy lady, I want to fall in love! 〉

Even his name was brilliant, Welser Lucas.

As he entered the ballroom, his tall, good physique and handsome face captured everyone. His eyes were beautiful, and his towering nose exuded masculinity. In addition, his lips were smooth as if drawn with a delicate brush, and his jawline was as sharp as a knife.

He was like a living statue, not a person.

“…But what’s the point? He’s annoying.”

She hated arrogant and authoritative personalities like him. Carinne thoughtlessly criticized the Duke inside, then remembered why she came to the ball before emptying the juice in the glass at once.

Her distance from the Duke was not very far.

As she gently lifted the hem of her dress and moved, she could feel people’s eyes on her. They must be curious about what the Carinne they avoided would say to the duke.

Good for her.

The more people watched and talked about what happened today, the better it was.

‘And now, there’s no Archen next to the Duke.’

She wanted to do it in front of Archen. Even though it was a little disappointing, if the rumors spread, he would naturally know what happened today anyway.

Leaving behind those who watched her, Carinne stood before the Duke.

“Duke Lucas.”

“….”

However, he did not even pretend to listen to her.

“Excuse me?”

“….”

“I have something to tell you.”

The Duke stared at her expressionlessly as if Carinne was not in front of him. The sight reminded her of Archen’s expression yesterday. Even though it was the same expression, how could it look bad on him?

Carinne called him again with emotion in her voice.

“Duke Lucas!”

As she was wondering whether to shake her palm in front of him or not, his red eyes finally glanced down at her coldly.

“What’s the matter?”

Carinne tried hard to control her expression to not show her displeasure. No matter how much he didn’t like her, she couldn’t believe he openly ignored her like that. Although she wanted to point out his rude personality, she was in a bad position now.

That meant whether the Duke ignored her or got angry with her, she had to accept it.

“I want to say sorry for the confession I made before.”

“….”

“I didn’t think too much at that time. I sincerely apologize for not accepting the rejection as a rejection and behaving immaturely like a child.”

It was Carinne’s fault, but why should she apologize?

It was unfair, but since she possessed Carinne’s body, she had no choice but to say it to clear her wicked woman’s image and to naturally connect with what she had to say next.

She went on.

“I won’t bother the Duke in the future to reflect on my actions. I decided to give up my love for you. I’ve been thinking about it, but I don’t think the Duke and I are meant to be.”

‘To sum up, I’m not interested in you anymore.’

In fact, this was the point of this conversation, and an apology was just an excuse to start it.

She wanted everyone, including Archen and the Duke, to know that she was no longer interested in the Duke.

While didn’t want to be misunderstood that she liked the Duke, who was not interested, she was publicly known to have a crush on the Duke, so it was impossible for her to have a relationship with another person as of now.

“….”

Even though she had finished what she had to say, the Duke still did not answer.

His blood-red eyes were still cold, and his mouth was stiffly straight. Seemed like she wouldn’t be forgiven. Still, she didn’t want to know what the Duke was thinking and she didn’t expect her to be forgiven, so Carinne decided to wrap up the conversation at this point.

“Then, I’ll go.”

Saying so, she bowed her head out of courtesy.

Perhaps because she had finished her urgent task, she felt more relaxed. The moment she was about to leave, pretending not to see people buzzing with bewildered looks on their faces, she could hear a scoff.

Carinne immediately looked back.

Surprisingly, the corners of the Duke’s mouth, which seemed to be straight, were curved up.

‘…He laughed? What’s so funny?’

Carinne, who was suspicious of the action, noticed the meaning of his laughter.

It was a mockery.

“That’s ridiculous. Carinne, out of anyone in the world, apologizes for the whole thing?”

‘Oh, no way.’

She had an ominous premonition.

“Did you think I’d believe that? You seem to have another strategy, but it won’t work.”

Her ominous premonition was convinced by the duke’s sarcasm.

‘…You don’t believe it either?!’

She felt like running around on the spot.

Archen didn’t believe her, and neither did the Duke. Because of Carinne’s splendid record, her word became part of a brilliant scheme no matter what she said.

She didn’t want to say thank you to God at all.

Rather, she wanted to curse God, who might not even know her. But still, he was the God who got her here in Carinne’s body. If he was going to do something, he should’ve made her possess someone with a good reputation…!

“Don’t be a nuisance. That’s a nice thing to say, but I know it’s a promise you won’t keep.”

When she didn’t answer, the Duke laughed, thinking that he had hit the nail on the head.

…Huh, how could he be so rude when he talked?

Meanwhile, Carinne endured what she wanted to shout out loud. She kept being patient and looked straight into the Duke’s eyes, secretly cursing him. Since he was tall, she unintentionally raised her chin and pulled her neck.

“Believe it or not, do as you please. Because I’m serious.”

Even if he didn’t believe her right now, he’d find out gradually that her heart had left the Duke completely.

Naturally, Carinne never intended to convince the duke desperately. She had done enough. It was the Duke’s problem if he decided to accept and believe what she said.

“Then, I’ll disappear as promised.”

With that, Carinne walked out of the ballroom. The greeting was omitted.

Now that she had finished what she had to say, she didn’t want to face that unlucky face for another second.

‘How long do I have to live like this? I don’t need to tattoo it on my forehead to publicize it, do I?’

She was depressed by the continuous misunderstanding for a while, but when she thought about what was going to happen, her steps became lighter. It was only a matter of time before Archen would be convinced now that she had publicly said it to the Duke.

Believe it or not, there was more than one person next to them who heard their conversation. All she had to do was to play and eat in the mansion for the time being and keep the promise she made to the duke.

Soon, everyone would realize that what she said was true, and from then on, if she flattered Archen in earnest…

‘…I repeat, couldn’t I easily seduce a man with this beauty and wealth?’

As she was slowly going down the stairs thinking about one thing or another, a loud voice was heard in her ears.

A group of people were passing by the front gate.

Seeing that they were limping, it was clear that they had too much drink.

Carinne involuntarily hid behind the pillar. Even though she could have just left because she was the princess, she couldn’t ignore them due to her experience.

“Oh, wait.”

She held her breath and waited for the group of drunks to pass by quickly, however, one of them approached the pillar. Since she was hiding, they probably didn’t come to see her. There seemed to be someone on the other side of the pillar.

“It’s a familiar face?”

She heard his drunk voice.

“Aha, you’re a successful man now. I almost didn’t recognize you.”

That remark made the other people laugh.

It was ridicule that made the listener feel bad, and it was very irritating. Even though she didn’t know who was behind the pillar, that person also wouldn’t stand still because they had been insulted. Carinne held her breath while waiting for the next words.

However, no matter how long she waited, she couldn’t hear a reply.

…Why were they staying still?

Carinne, who was tilting her head, listened to the drunkard’s next words instead.

“The world has gotten better these days. The commoner pretends not to hear what the noble say…”

They couldn’t speak because they were a commoner.

This kingdom had a thorough social status system, so even if commoners had risen, they were still below the nobles. It would be possible to be arrested for insulting the nobles if they recklessly confronted them for bothering them.

“…Isn’t he a duke’s aide?”

Even as an aide to the Duke, a commoner was a commoner.

It was too formidable to argue with a nobleman with a title. Though what brings the commoner here… Wait…

‘They’re a commoner? And a duke’s aide…?’

She felt like she knew who was behind the pillar. As Carinne stretched her head and looked out to the other side of the pillar…

It was Archen.

His slender figure with blond hair hanging down to his shoulders was standing there.