You Can Keep The Male Lead

“This person doesn’t like banquets or anything like that….” Rupert stuttered as he made excuses.
Then, for some reason, he, who was always confident, glanced at me.

What should I do? 

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t angry at all, but the truth was I still felt uncomfortable to go to the ball. 

I had just come to this world.
I had little knowledge of this world’s social etiquette, and I hadn’t figured out who was who.

If a nobleman Erin knew had greeted me, there was a much greater chance of not recognizing them.
The novel focused on the main characters, so there was little information about the supporting characters, especially their appearance.

And even if it did, I probably wouldn’t remember.

“Then, there’s nothing to be done; I can’t go.”

“Oh dear, it’s a shame, Madam.
It’s been a long time since I started looking for the person who’d be the most suitable for this dress.
You should attend the ball.”

“Ah… I’m sorry, Madam.
Unfortunately, because of me, you can’t debut the dress this time.”

“That’s not what I meant, Madam.
So don’t be sorry.”

Enoch looked at me and touched his chin in quiet contemplation.
Chloe stood still, clasping her hands and watching us.

Then, suddenly, Rupert grabbed my wrist and dragged me away.

“Let’s talk for a second.”

“…Alright, let me go.”

As I glared up at Rupert, he immediately let go of my wrists.
However, his grip was so strong that even after letting go, my wrist still tingled.

I turned around and said to Enoch, “Your Highness, please excuse me for a moment.”

“…”

He didn’t say anything, so I followed Rupert upstairs.

Rupert seemed familiar with this place.
After all, he was the only son of the duke’s family, so he might have visited from time to time since when his mother was alive.

He entered a room on this floor.

Click–

As soon as I followed him in, he locked the door.
There was a small window, so a little light came in, but the room was dark.
I swallowed hard, feeling tense.

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“Why… are you locking the door?”

“Just.”

“Tell me what you have to say.”

He brought me here and didn’t speak for a long time.
Instead, he paced around the room, pondering and hesitating about something.

“If you don’t have anything to say, I’ll leave.”

“Wait.”

When I turned to him, Rupert finally spoke.
The words that came out of his mouth were a bit unexpected.

“I’m sorry…about this…”

“…why are you suddenly apologizing?”

“Anyway, you are my wife.”

I was silent for a while.
Of course, Rupert’s apology now would be sincere.
But an apology didn’t change anything.
This simple apology would have worked for Erin because she had feelings for Rupert, but not me. 

“Then, Rupert… Can you give me back the invitation you gave Miss Chloe?”

“… That’s.”

The non-answer answered everything.

“I thought so.
I guess you have nothing more to say.
I’ll go back.”

“Erin Spilet.”

I tried to leave, but he suddenly turned me around and pushed me against the wall.
I leaned against the wall, trapped in his arms.

“Why did you change like this?”

I froze at the question.
Did I get caught? Did he find out I wasn’t Erin? 

“You weren’t like this before.”

“…how have I changed?”

I feigned ignorance. 

Rupert put down one of his arms caging me to the wall, and patted my cheek, just below my eyes.

“This look, the way you look at me is different.
Why did you change?”

At first glance, it might sound like a longing for love, but I could tell by the look on Rupert’s face.

It didn’t come from the sweet feeling of love.
It was just a question out of possessiveness and simple curiosity.

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I slapped his hand away and said, “If the way I looked at you changed, it’s no one’s fault but yours.”

“When we made this deal, you said you accepted it even though you knew the circumstances.
But you weren’t like this back then.”

“It’s amazing how you accepted our deal despite clearly knowing how I felt for you.
Yes, I did.
But the mind changes.
After feeling ignored and seeing your lover in front of me, it was easy for me to change my mind.”

I wasn’t Erin, but the words flowed out from her heart.
It wasn’t exactly the same situation as this one, but I sympathized with her.

After seeing my ex-boyfriend’s wedding, all my regrets and all my feelings for him disappeared.

“Isn’t that a good thing for you? I’m not going to bother you anymore.
That doesn’t change anything in the contract.”

“Erin Spilet.”

“Stop calling my name and get out of the way, Rupert.”

I pushed him lightly and walked to the door.
As I was about to unlock the latch and leave the door, I heard Rupert’s voice from behind.

“I really am sorry.”

I sighed and looked back.
“I don’t know what that means.”

Without hesitation, I turned around and left the room.
I could understand Rupert’s reasoning.
He hated having me by his side, but he enjoyed the feeling of being liked by me, and he didn’t want that to change.

A smile lingered on my lips.
Fair enough… I suddenly remembered Chloe, who was staring at me in the mirror earlier.

I felt a nagging feeling inside, but I calmly walked down to the first floor without showing anything.

However, only Chloe remained on the first floor, and the Crown Prince was nowhere to be seen.

“Where did he go?”

“He gave Madam Plada something and got up first.
He must have been busy.”

“Ah…”

It felt like I had failed to keep my promise to him.
I’d definitely apologize the next time we meet. 

“…I wonder what the two of you were talking about.” Chloe cautiously got up and walked over to me.
I kept feeling annoyed.

“Ask Rupert directly.
I don’t think there’s anything I can say.”

It wasn’t that I was jealous of her.
On the contrary, they were the protagonists in the novel, so it was natural that things would work out for them.

But I couldn’t stand the two of them taking turns bullying me.
This time she managed to keep a straight face as she lowered her eyes and apologized. 

“I’m sorry, Madam.
I shouldn’t have asked.”

At that moment, Rupert came down from upstairs.
“Chloe, are you going to wear that dress to the ball?”

“Yes, Rupert.
Madam Plada recommended it, so I think this is the best.”

When Chloe got up, Plada approached and began to measure her.

“I’m going to put a ribbon on the back of the waist and decorate the front with beads.”

After pinning and marking the dress, Plada led her back to the dressing room.

Chloe seemed to be feeling better again.
But, on the contrary, my mood deteriorated sharply as I guessed that it had something to do with the invitation.

“Are you going home?”

“I have more business to do, so the two of you should go first.”

I said, turning away from Rupert’s gaze.
Chloe changed her clothes and heard him come back, so she went to him and linked their arms.

“Oh my, Madam.
It looks like it will be cloudy soon… How are you going to come home?”

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Rupert softened as his eyes met Chloe.
Oh, my gosh, I’m dying.

“It’s okay.
You can go first.”

“If that’s the case… Be careful on your way.”

Watching the two of them disappear, I grabbed my forehead for a moment.
Plada quietly approached me and started putting pins on the dress.

“Just in case.
And I also want to finish this dress soon.”

“Ah… By the way, the price of the dress…”

That was the most important issue.
The dress was beyond gorgeous, but it was probably expensive.

“It’s okay, Madam.
I will just make it for you.”

“Pardon?”

“Because you brought the business card.”

“As I said before… you’re making me a dress just for that reason?”

Plada nodded.

“You still can’t tell me who they are?”

“Not until they reveal it themselves.”

“…”

As I wordlessly stared at her, Plada smiled and looked away.
I couldn’t do anything if she didn’t want to reveal it.

“It’s all set.
Oh, right.
Wait.”

I thought she’d take me to the dressing room, but she suddenly went upstairs.
Instead, Chelsea escorted me and helped me take off the dress.

Then, a hand slipped into the curtain.

“Madam, change into this.
This is an everyday dress I made.
It will probably fit.”

“Pardon? What about the clothes I wore?”

“It was too old and I threw it away.”

Madam Plada laughed and said casually that she had thrown away other people’s clothes.
And even though she threw away my clothes, I didn’t feel too bad.

To someone like Plada, my clothes must have looked like a rag.

After changing, Plada showed me several clothes that were draped on the sofa and said, “Take all of these.
These are the clothes I made for practice, and I’ll be happy if Madam wears it.”

“…Ah, this…”

“Oh, I know I said I made them for practice, but they’re all high-quality works.”

“That’s not the problem.
You’re just giving these clothes?”

Plada nodded and put the clothes one by one in a large paper bag.

“Wait a minute, I can’t just take it.”

When I stopped her urgently, Plada straightened her back and told me, “Please, Madam.”

Suddenly, she came close to me and held my hands together.

“Please be my exclusive model for my clothes.”