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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: I'm the Male Lead's Daughter, But I'd Rather Live With the Sub Male Lead!
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“What in the world is this?”
Aselt, seeing the unfamiliar object, held the spectacles by their temple and examined them from all angles.
“Young Master Aselt, Young Master Kellik. Young Lady Mabel has come to see you.”
“H-huh! Oh, no! I just wanted to know if you were okay…!”
From outside the door, the voices of the maid and Mabel could be heard.
Kellik’s face immediately contorted into a frown.
“Ugh, I told her to get lost.”
“What? You told her to get lost?”
“Yeah, she kept loitering outside your room, holding that.”
Kellik gestured with his chin towards the spectacles Aselt was holding.
“So I told her to just get lost. You hurt my brother, so why would he want to see your face?”
With tear streaks still on his face, Kellik said triumphantly.
He was so clearly expecting praise for his 'clever' deed that he didn't notice Aselt’s expression hardening.
“And then she said that. She just wanted to deliver this. And then she wouldn't come back. So why is she going back on her word? Just like Sophia, that woman’s daughter—”
“Kellik, watch your tongue.”
“Huh?”
“Before being that woman’s daughter, she’s now our master’s assistant.”
“What?”
Aselt, speaking stiffly to a bewildered Kellik, raised his voice slightly towards the door.
“Come in, Mabel.”
“Brother…?”
Kellik blinked his yellow eyes and stared at Aselt.
‘But he was so disgusted with her just a little while ago?’
Besides, didn’t he get so badly hurt because of that girl?
Kellik racked his not-so-bright brain, but no answer came to him.
Soon, the door opened, and Mabel stood there, looking flustered.
Then, seeing Kellik, she frantically waved her bandaged hand, trying to explain.
“I, I! I didn’t ignore Young Master Kellik’s orders! I merely—”
“You didn’t ignore them? I told you not to come! Because of you, my brother—”
Kellik bared his teeth, about to snap at Mabel.
If Aselt hadn’t reached out and grabbed Kellik, he probably would have lunged at her.
“Ah, why!”
Kellik, annoyed at being restrained, yelled.
But Kellik’s momentum quickly faltered.
“That’s enough. You, leave.”
Aselt was quietly angry, his face expressionless.
Kellik couldn’t understand this situation at all.
‘Why…?’
That kid is the bad one.
She’s the one who messed up, and that’s why my brother got so hurt!
So why am I the one who has to leave, not her?
Why are you kicking me out!
He had so many things he wanted to argue, but he felt so wronged by Aselt’s anger that he couldn’t speak.
In the end, Kellik, overcome with emotion, glared at Aselt with reddened eyes before stomping his feet and leaving the room.
“Oof!”
He even bumped Mabel hard with his shoulder on the way out.
Fortunately, it wasn’t a strong enough bump to make her fall.
“Kellik!”
But as Mabel stumbled, a surprised Aselt threw back his blanket and shouted.
Still, Kellik didn’t stop.
Instead, his feeling of resentment grew even stronger, and he sprinted down the hallway as if fleeing.
“Brother, you idiot!”
Shouting loud enough to make the hallway echo.
“That kid…”
His back ached from moving too quickly, and Aselt took a deep breath, trying to calm his anger.
Then, seeing Mabel awkwardly fidgeting with her fingertips, he sighed and softened his expression.
“Were you startled? Come here.”
“Ah, well…”
Mabel glanced back, and Aselt waved his hand dismissively.
“It’s fine, don’t worry about it. I’ll smooth things over with him later.”
“Okay…”
Only then did Mabel hesitantly approach Aselt.
Following Aselt’s gesture, Mabel carefully sat on the chair beside the bed and asked.
“How are you feeling?”
“Hm? Oh, not bad. My back aches a bit, but my eyes are perfectly fine.”
“That’s a relief, at least.”
Mabel seemed to have been worried the entire time, as she let out a sigh of relief, patting her chest.
“I was so worried because they said you bled a lot.”
“Thanks. Are you alright, though?”
Aselt glanced at Mabel’s bandaged hand.
“Oh, yes! I wasn’t hurt much. It’s all thanks to you, Young Master. Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. I’m just glad you weren’t seriously hurt.”
Aselt replied with a gentle smile.
“Hmm…”
Aselt’s attitude, full of pure goodwill, felt unfamiliar, so Mabel just fiddled with her fingertips.
As she pondered what to say next, Aselt spoke first.
“I was wrong last time.”
“Huh?”
“About how I was sharp with you.”
“Oh, uh…”
Mabel was flustered, not having expected Aselt to apologize first.
Aselt smiled quietly and awkwardly scratched his scraped cheek.
“Actually, I overheard your conversation with Ella. And so… I got a little angry. Because you hit a nerve.”
“Hit a nerve?”
“Yes. You were right, Mabel. I hated people being scared of me. I hated being treated like a monster. That’s why I wore the eyepatch.”
“Oh…”
“But you were the first one to notice that feeling, a feeling no one else understood except for Master and Kellik. And I hated that.”
Aselt’s gaze dropped downwards.
Aselt looked at the blanket for a moment, then bowed his head towards Mabel.
“I’m sorry. For being mean to you.”
Mabel quickly shook her head from side to side.
“Oh, no! Young Master, you were never mean to me!”
“No, I was. I deliberately took off my eyepatch and went in front of you. I wanted to tell people you were a hypocrite pretending to understand me.”
Aselt slowly began to talk about the feelings he had experienced on the day the incident occurred.
His misunderstanding of Mabel had begun the very first time she saw him, when she froze in surprise.
He confessed that he thought she froze because he was ugly, not because she recognized his identity.
At that, Mabel, who had been listening silently to Aselt’s story, leaped up in astonishment.
“With a face this handsome?! Do you not have a mirror in your room?!”
Saying it was the most absurd thing she’d ever heard in her life, Mabel went on and on about how and why Aselt was handsome.
Aselt felt a little embarrassed and very happy at Mabel’s words.
Until now, he had never even taken off his eyepatch in front of other people, let alone heard anyone comment on his appearance.
So, this was the first time he had ever heard an objective assessment of his looks.
“Okay, okay. That’s enough.”
“No? Not yet. You might not know, Young Master, but there are people in this world whose hair is beautiful too—”
The only problem was that what she’d learned from being close to Ella seemed to be excessive flattery, to an almost ridiculous degree.
“Alright, I get it! I’m not ugly. I understand now!”
Finally, unable to listen anymore, Aselt, his face flushed, cut Mabel off.
“As long as you know.”
Only then did Mabel give a satisfied ‘hee-hee’ laugh and wait for Aselt to continue his story.
Aselt cleared his throat, then spoke again.
“Anyway, Sophia and you are different people, but I tried to hate you because of Sophia.”
He apologized again, stating that it was clearly wrong.
Mabel, flustered, begged Aselt to raise his head.
But when Aselt didn’t lift his head, Mabel hesitantly began her own story.
“No, it’s the same for me. It’s because someone else, not Young Master Aselt, came to mind.”
Unable to bring herself to say that she froze because Aselt was the villain from the novel, Mabel rephrased her words slightly.
“A really bad person came to mind… but that person wasn’t Young Master Aselt.”
Since Sophia wouldn’t let the Grand Ducal family fall, Aselt wouldn’t become the villain now.
However, at that moment, Aselt’s appearance was so shocking that she hadn't managed to recall this fact.
“I’m sorry.”
Just like Aselt, Mabel bowed her head politely.
Aselt, who had been looking at Mabel’s round hair whorl, suddenly burst out laughing.
“Then we’ve made the same mistake.”
“Huh? Oh, uh, does it really work that way?”
“Yes. So… how about we forgive each other?”
Aselt extended his hand towards Mabel, who had slightly raised her head.
He had offered a handshake the very first time they met, but the feeling in his hand was different this time.
“Okay!”
Unlike before, Mabel smiled brightly and firmly clasped Aselt’s hand.
Though he flinched a little because her grip was so strong it pressed on his injury.
“Does it hurt? Let me see.”
Mabel, declining Aselt’s hurried attempt to let go of her hand and examine his wound, asked.
“Oh, by the way, did you see the sunglasses?”
“Sunglasses?”
