Hiya– It’s Me, The Runaway Female Lead - Chapter 44

His gentle answer made me squeeze my eyes shut and finally lay down the card I’d kept hidden all this time.

“I heard the rumors. That you’re engaged…”

Since his secret engagement had recently begun to spread quietly among the servants on the Duke’s orders, I was able to bring up the topic naturally.

The moment he heard me, I could feel his body tense up in a different way. This was the moment for my well-honed tongue to shine.

“Ayla, I can explain. That’s…”

“When I first heard, of course I wasn’t happy. But after thinking it over, I realized it might not be a bad thing for me, either.”

I cut off whatever excuse he was about to make and continued, and he frowned.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s just that I’ve thought it all through. So… if you’re alright with it, how about marrying Lady Swinden? As soon as possible, if you can.”

I tried to keep my voice steady, but the trembling at the end was impossible to hide.

As expected, there was no answer for a while.

At some point, Claude had pulled himself up, sitting above me.

When I cautiously glanced up, I saw him glaring at me with sharp, piercing eyes.

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I refuse.”

Claude twisted his face as if just being given such a suggestion was a terrible insult.

But I had no choice but to push my will through somehow. That was the only way I could survive.

“I heard your families have already settled everything. I know all about it.”

“…It was the Duke. The Duke put you up to saying this to me, didn’t he?”

Even with his tone making it sound like it would be a disaster if I said no, I mustered my courage.

“It’s true he called me in. But telling you it’d be good to marry is purely my own opinion.”

I mixed a drop of truth into my lie to move his heart.

“I mean, how could you let me hear about something like this from someone else? You could’ve at least given me a heads-up!”

I criticized him before he could blame me. I needed to cloud the issue and cover his eyes.

“I never intended to marry her in the first place, that’s why I didn’t think you needed to know. I’m sorry I didn’t say anything sooner.”

Even with a little reproach, Claude quickly lowered his guard. I hate to say it, but he was always so weak when it came to me. So weak that sometimes I hesitated to hurt him.

“…So, now that it’s come to this. I’m telling you to just marry that lady.”

“How can you say that? I told you no. You said you liked me. And yet… how can you tell me to get married so easily?”

For a moment, his viciousness made me falter, as if he might cry, but I couldn’t back down. I was just as desperate.

“I have my reasons. It’s not like I enjoy telling the man I like to marry another woman, is it?”

“Then why say it? How could you? If you were told to marry another man instead of me, could you do it?”

His unexpected defiance threw me off, and I missed my chance to answer. In that brief moment, Claude’s expression became even more vicious.

“…So, you could?”

“No, of course not! That’s why I’m all the more telling you to marry Lady Swinden.”

My sophistry only made his frown deepen.

All the time I’d spent training him—dipping him in sugar water and then iron—felt wasted as the persuasion was harder than expected.

“You need to be legally married for my situation to be less awkward. Just look at my reputation right now.”

Thankfully, this new point shut him up again. Though he seemed deeply displeased, he didn’t argue.

Maybe he thought that since I was being so forceful, I must have some ulterior motive.

Taking the chance, I started to lay out the argument I’d been preparing.

“I’ve become the notorious harlot who seduced the young master before he was even married. And just imagine if I ended up having a child out of wedlock. What would happen to that child?”

“That’s why I have you taking medicine—”

“But there’s always that one-in-a-million chance. And you, Young Master, should know better than anyone. Married men actually have more freedom.”