For Sale: Male Lead, Obsession Included - Chapter 122

Clovin looked down at the book in his hand. Upon closer inspection, there were countless tabs wedged between the pages.

He really studied a book about romance this much?

Glancing at Declan, Clovin secretly flipped to the tabbed sections and began to read.

[ There’s no tree that doesn’t fall after ten swings. The same goes for women. ]

[ There is no such thing as friendship between a man and a woman. What’s called ‘friendship’ is just a disguise. If there’s alcohol and nighttime, that relationship can become romantic at any time. ]

[ The opportunity comes when both become adults. When you meet an old friend after a long time, show them how much you’ve grown up. If you show a matured, impressive self, that’s the first step from friends to lovers. ]

[ Always stay by their side, helping out as if you’re barely there, then disappear at a crucial moment. That way, they’ll surely think of you. ]

[ Never be impatient. Don’t be clingy either. ]

The book was filled with underlines. There were countless asterisks marking important points.

Clovin gave a hollow laugh as he looked at Declan’s back. He’d been acting like he’d achieved some great enlightenment, but really, he was just doing whatever the book told him to.

Ha… Clovin quickly flipped through the glimmering pages until he came upon a section covered in notes, right at the end of the book.

[ I did exactly as written, and it really worked. I’m going to confess tomorrow, and I have a good feeling about it. ]

It was a vivid testimonial from someone.

He thought it was just some weird author, but apparently, it really did work?

Clovin, about to push his glasses up, frowned and brought the book close to his face. The handwriting looked very familiar.

Declan hadn’t been literate for very long, so his penmanship wasn’t this neat. This slanted, flowing handwriting was unmistakable…

It belonged to none other than Deseret, that blood relative of his.

Blood runs thicker than water, and you really can’t fool your own blood.

“Ha…”

The two of them are a real piece of work.

Clovin tossed the book onto the sofa, rubbed his now-goosebumped arms, and hurried out of the room.

He felt like if he stayed any longer, his own mind might start to go strange.

***

These days, my daily life was monotonous.

Sometimes I’d get up at dawn to watch Feyden and Jin’s sword training, or on lazy days, I’d just sleep in.

Then I’d get up late, eat the breakfast Aunt Okhee prepared, and head to the tavern with Nari. I’d serve gukbap and chat about this and that, then after lunch, I’d head home first. With nothing else to do, I’d nap or take a stroll around the village with Feyden.

It really was nothing special, but every day was precious and happy.

Feyden complained that his body felt stiff and asked if some bandits couldn’t show up for once, proof that peaceful days kept repeating.

And as for me, I was steadily gaining weight. Eating three meals a day of Aunt Okhee’s food and snacking on the treats given by the villagers during walks, for the first time in my fifteen years of life, I was actually starting to put some meat on my bones.

I could even feel it. When I touched my cheeks, there was something soft and chubby, so I figured I’d gained at least 5kg since coming to Dongguk.

That’s how much my appetite had grown. Maybe it was because Aunt Okhee kept complimenting me for eating well, but mostly, I was just grateful to be able to eat this much Korean food to my heart’s content.

“Come to think of it, I haven’t seen that dumb mage around lately.”

“See? I told you, if you just leave her alone, she’ll go away eventually.”

Feyden had insisted they should just kill the mage to keep her away for good, but I desperately talked him out of it.

Feyden grumbled, asking if I wasn’t anxious about where my information might be leaking to, but I already knew which group that mage, Plum, belonged to, so I didn’t particularly care.

Occasionally, I would get updates from a messenger sent by Ribolto. Ribolto, aside from the information I requested, always made sure to keep me informed about a lot of things.

News about Truu, developments in the ducal household, especially what Declan was up to, the flow of my funds, and so on… Ribolto was faithfully fulfilling his role as my business partner.

Of all that, what I focused on most was news about Declan.

I had more or less expected it, but since Plum had vanished, there were far fewer reports about my whereabouts reaching Declan’s side.

At that news, I gave a satisfied smile.

‘Good. Forget all about someone like me, Declan.’

If he stayed cooped up in this countryside, Declan would forget me sooner or later, and five years from now, when he returned to the Empire as an adult, he’d fall in love with Rozemian!

Content with the good news from Ribolto, I patted my full belly and fell asleep early, only to end up with indigestion.

It was already the third time this month. I wondered when my digestive system would catch up with my growing appetite.