I Became The Male Lead’s Female Friend - Chapter 73

Rudrick knew the meaning of that strange, withdrawn appearance.

‘Dahlia was scared.’ Rudrick thought.

From the time he was in the North to the battlefield, did they not see each for a long time?

Even though her reaction was no different from others, why did I hold her so deeply? And as time went on, the way she treated me seemed strangely unfamiliar and uncomfortable, the more I think about it the more it makes me feel strange.

It was pathetic to see Dahlia excited when I called her name. Wasn’t it more than 10 years since we last met? We haven’t seen each other for that long, so we have no choice but to look down on each other.

Dahlia can’t help but act like that. So Rudrick has to let her go.

‘We should have time to adjust. We promised to meet again, so if we meet a little later…’

“When?”

“… Then I hope you all enjoy the victory party.”(Emperor)

And it was after the Emperor’s speech that Rudrick came to his senses.

The people who were looking at the podium scattered again and began gathering among themselves.

Soft music began to flow in the hall, and the paired men and women came out to the centre of the hall and danced to the music.

Rudrick glanced at his side. Dahlia, unable to make eye contact with him until the end, was looking around in a hurry trying to find an escape.

Perhaps it was to make an ‘urgent thing’ to get away from him. It made him emotional for no reason, and Rudrick once again acted emotionally.

He stepped out in front of Dahlia and held out his hand and said, “Shall we dance?”

Dahlia twisted her body inexpressibly in awkwardness. All of this was because of the person in front of her.

‘Rudrick Bouser, my old little friend.’ Dahlia thought.

He stood before me with a calm face, transformed from a cute little animal to a black beast as if a snake had escaped. No, he wasn’t just standing there. Because he was leading me with his arms around my waist holding my hand.

That’s right… Before I knew it, I was dancing with Rudrick.

“Whoah!”

I was troubled because all the people around me had disappeared.

At least even Jeron, or someone I don’t know, rushed to talk to me as I planned to get away from Rudrick and went down the drain.

But wasn’t there a law that says people must simply die in awkward situations? It was when I even thought, ‘Should I rather get sick?’ in a cold sweat.

Just like a saviour, the Emperor appeared, and the eyes of the nobles who were blooming on us turned to the Emperor in an instant.

Of course, Rudrick’s gaze was still on me. Trying to ignore the burdensome gaze, I grabbed my heart.

Yeah, it didn’t feel like he plans on breaking up too quickly, a while ago.

The Emperor seemed to be in a good mood, and the speeches seemed long, so it would be nice to see the opportunity to slip away after the speech was over.

Or when I thought that I should ask any noble to dance and escape from there… Rudrick reached out his hand as soon as the speech ended as if he had read my mind.

‘Let’s dance,’ he said, but honestly, ‘It still feels unfamiliar,’ I’m sorry Rudrick.

But in the end I couldn’t say no to him, and Rudrick, who reached out to me, seemed strangely nervous.

I ended up grabbing that hand without realising it. And it’s been a few minutes since we started dancing in the hall, holding Rudrick’s hand.

We were still in silence. I swallowed dry saliva and thought.

‘Didn’t something similar happen in the past?’

It reminds me of the first time I met Rudrick. I couldn’t think of anything to say to Rudrick. I remember being so restless…

But that was the first time we met, and now we are seeing eye to eye after a long time. How come it doesn’t look like much has changed since then?

In addition, the situation was very different from when we first met.

At that time, I didn’t know much about Rudrick, so I didn’t have much to say. Now that I’m more familiar with his situation and many topics to discuss, why couldn’t I say anything?

It was partly because Rudrick had asked me to dance and had kept his mouth shut, seemingly angry, but it was also because my head was becoming increasingly complicated.

‘I have to say something.’

I didn’t know what words to start with. Whether to ask if he’s been doing well, or say I heard that he’s been active on the battlefield, or how he got along well with my father, or did he have a hard time.

Not only on the battlefield but also in the North. From saying sorry for not being able to meet him, does he still have the handkerchief?

And did he receive the last letter? I didn’t have just one or two questions, but they were all sensitive topics, so I paused for a moment.

Then, in the end, I spit out anything that came to mind right now, “Foot.”

Rudrick’s eyes were on Dahlia.

“I’m not stepping on your feet anymore…”

“…”

“I’ve danced and practised a lot, so I’m not nervous, and I won’t twist my foot.”

“…”

Talking to myself, I peeped at him, “… Do you remember?”

As I was dancing like this, I remembered the dance with him at a dinner party just before I separated from Rudrick.

At my words, Rudrick’s eyes widened slightly. And somehow, he seemed to laugh a little.

Witnessing the moment, I glanced at him again, but he was already back with a blank expression.

He was silent for a moment as he thought about what to answer, and then he raised his head.

Rudrick then gave a brief reply, tightening his hand and holding me.

“Yes.”

Then, surprisingly, he spoke again, “That ribbon…”

My eyes were round this time. I misheard what he said and repeated it.

“Ribbon?” Dahlia asked.

Only then I remembered what I was wearing. The first birthday present that Rudrick gave me. It was the ribbon hair tie that I promised to show him when we meet again.

The hair tie, which was already 10 years old, was very old, so I asked the maid to change it to match my dress.

Thanks to this, I had my hair pulled up and tied with a ribbon and other hair ornaments, as usual.

Although I may have forgotten about it because it had been a long time since I had seen it, I was so embarrassed that I forgot about it because I needed something to talk about.

But I can’t believe he recognized it at a glance. It must be pretty old.

“Did you remember this too?”

Rudrick replied as if he was asking something obvious, “Yes, because I chose it myself.”

Without knowing Rudrick’s answer, I smiled bashfully and continued, “You said you were looking forward to seeing it right away.”

“…”

“Now that you’ve seen it in person. How was it?”

Rudrick didn’t answer right away. Instead, he looked down at me for a moment and then responded with a sigh.

“It looks good on you.”

This time, instead of a passing smile, his expression brightened with the lips drawing an arc.

I didn’t know when his face had hardened but seeing him smile like this, his appearance when he was young seemed to overlap.

It’s Rudrick. It’s the Rudrick I know!

Then, the awkwardness subsided, and I slowly began to open my mouth and began to speak cheerfully.

“Do you remember that too? Back in the day…”

“We also exchanged diaries together. Back then…”

“The one you sent as a birthday present…”

Even so, it wasn’t like I was chatting with the old Rudrick.

As if I had just remembered while dancing, I occasionally brought up our old story and exchanged a word or two.

But that alone made the atmosphere between us smoother.

At least Rudrick wasn’t stiffening as he did before, and he’s been listening to me and responding from time to time.

I was the one who talked the most, but it was no different from when we were young, so I felt a little more comfortable.

And only then, the dance that had only been mechanically performed so far began to feel pleasant.

Because Rudrick still danced well. Now that he’s tall, Dahlia leans on him, who leads skillfully, and thinks it would be good if this time could last a little longer.

But soon the song ended.

“That’s too bad.”

As I stopped in my place with the others, I suddenly felt that feeling. I’m just getting used to it, and it’s over.

But usually, it was customary to change partners after a song was over, so I tried to let go of his hand. If only Rudrick hadn’t held my hand tight.