Fostering the Male Lead

I swallowed uneasily at his fierce blazing eyes, which seemed to be on the edge of exploding, and nodded calmly.
Sihael frowned at me and directed his glare towards Liliana.

“If you’re done here, leave.”

He again ordered her to get out!  Every time they meet, he would drive Liliana away, so how could they become close in time! I took Sihael’s paws off and grabbed Liliana.

“Why are you trying to kick her out? Liliana, you are welcome to remain as long as you wish.
No, would you like to stay here until Nanabi comes?”

‘I think it would be nice if she could stay here and get close with Sihael.’

I wanted to hold on to Liliana for as long as possible, because even if I failed, Sihael could become friends with her.
Perhaps reading my mind, Liliana, who had stood up awkwardly, sat down again.

“It would be rude to refuse you like this, so please excuse me.”

I inched closer to her, asking her questions one after one, much like making new friends in the new semester.

“How old are you?”

“What are your hobbies?”

“What’s your favorite food?”

Perhaps it was because of my receptive mind, I could sense Liliana’s bewilderment at the non-stop barrage of questions.
 Oops, I was the only one who was thinking ahead of myself, so I stopped asking questions and began introducing myself first.

“I’m 18 years old, and I will have my coming-of-age ceremony soon.
My hobby is playing with the puppy version of His Highness, and my favorite food changes from time to time, but recently, I like apple pie.”

As I stroked Sihael’s waist coaxing him to also introduce himself, his mouth opened reluctantly.

“I’m twenty-one years old.
Rosetta.
Rosetta.”

No matter how much he hated to do it, his answer was too simple.

Let’s assume that is his age but what’s with me being his hobby and his favorite food…?

“Your Highness, are you treating me like food?”

“Hmm.”

Sihael, who stuck out his red tongue and licked his mouth, closed his eyes cheekily.
When I saw his sky-high confident attitude, the back of my head hurt very much.

‘Even if it’s a joke, there should be a limit!’

I pinched Sihael’s both cheeks hard.
Liliana, who had been a bystander all along, finally spoke up.

“I’m 19 years old.
My hobbies are studying and researching about magic, and I eat all kinds of food.”

Liliana seemed puzzled, but also somewhat excited.
Reading the positive response on Liliana’s face, I quickly pushed ahead with the plan as I didn’t want to miss this opportunity.

“Then, would you like to have a meal with us next time? If you are uncomfortable with His Highness, you can eat together with me.”

Sihael and Liliana, if you don’t get close with each other, then I’ll get close  with you both.
And then I will become a bridge and connect the two together.

“Will you be my friend?”

Taking the first step toward that, I beamed at Liliana, curving my eyes.

Sihael often used this on me, but I didn’t know if it would work.
Liliana, who had been staring blankly at me for some reason, slowly started to blush.

“…Yes, I would love to.”

Good, it worked.

I held Liliana’s hand tightly, and said, “I hope we get along well.”

* * *

The whole thing with Liliana went as smoothly as a sailing boat, but it didn’t last long.

“Sorry, I have to go.
My teacher is calling me.”

The light on Liliana’s bracelet flickered at high speed, looking quite urgent.

If it’s a call from the Master of the Mage Tower, she’d have to go.

“Well, see you next time.”

“Yes, I’ll see you next time.”

Liliana’s steps were sluggish, like a turtle’s, as if her feet were reluctant to move.
Sihael, unable to see that, forcibly pushed Liliana’s back with his head.

“What…!”

Bang

Sihael sniffed the closed door, then quickly ran towards me and buried his head in my leg.

“Did you have to kick her out like that?”

“Hmph, it’s her fault for interrupting my time with you.”

After grumbling for a while, Sihael raised his head and looked at my neck.
As if he didn’t like something, he kept twitching his nose.

“I worked hard on making it, but she erased it all.
So annoying!”

“Of course she had to erase that.
How would I have gone out with those marks?”

“I wanted to brag, but it’s a pity.”

What’s there to brag about by showing someone your mottled neck?

I squeezed his cheek hard after observing Sihael’s lack of self-reflection.
I expected him to whimper in pain, but he questioned me in a serious tone that didn’t fit the scenario.

“Rosetta, don’t you mind what the mage said?”

“Not really.
It’s a fact that I knew anyway.”

The tragic ending of the couple’s story was frankly shocking.
But I wasn’t surprised because it was a fact that I knew otherwise.

‘I knew Sihael might eat me up.’

I had already heard it through his mouth and was preparing my mind early.
However, it would be difficult if he became addicted to my blood and tried to covet it all the time.

‘Though he seems to be fine so far.’

Sihael’s eyes staring at me were still clear and clean.
In the first place, the reason he ate my blood was because he was frustrated that he couldn’t speak, so I was certain that he wasn’t addicted.

“But it’s a relief, right? Because there is no abnormality in your body.”

Addiction is dangerous, but far better than suffering.

But Sihael’s thoughts seemed a little different.

“Rosetta, you’re in danger.”