I Became The Male Lead’s Female Friend

 

“My father had fallen.”

 

When I thought of it, the world seemed to spin for a moment.

 

Suddenly, everything around me went black and the time seemed to stop, and when I came to, I found myself slumped in my seat.

 “Did he collapse…?” 

The world around me seemed to be buzzing, but I couldn’t hear myself.

 

Only the sound of my own heart. All I could hear was the pounding of my heart and my barely audible breaths.

 

I tried to think of something, but my mind was so empty that I couldn’t form a clear thought.

 

Only one sentence filled my mind…

 “Dahlia!” “…Huh?” 

Suddenly, I twitched my head up at the strong tug on my arm.

 “Rudrick?” 

There he was, Rudrick.

 

He was gasping for breath as if he’d been rushed, and his face was set in a serious expression. I stared at his face in disbelief and finally came back to reality.

 

The hand that had been holding him tightly began to tremble.

 “Th– that’s my father, that’s my father.” “Dahlia.” “They say he’s collapsed… When did he collapse? There must have been a time before the letter came, and what about the gold and silver… What happened to them? If… if anything bad happened…” “It’s okay.” 

A firm voice cut off my ramblings. I looked at him with shaky eyes.

 “If something serious had happened, he would have sent a messenger himself, not a letter like this, but we haven’t heard much from the capital since then. He’s either been unwell for a while, or he’s recovered quickly.” “But just in case…” “If you don’t believe me, come with me. If we set out on horseback right now, we should be there in a few days, so…”  

Rudrick’s large hand gripped mine tightly.

 “It’s okay, I’ll stay with you.” 

He kept repeating that over and over again. It’s okay, it’s going to be okay, he’ll be there.

 

I don’t know why I felt so relieved at that moment, even though he hadn’t said anything in particular.

 

The way his eyes looked at me, with his clumsy reassurance, was so trustworthy that I felt the tremors in my body begin to subside.

 

At the same time, my head began to spin once again.

 “Yeah, we don’t know yet.” 

Even if he said it to calm me down, Rudrick had a point.

 

The letter was probably written by my mother at the time of my father’s collapse. It was probably written in a rush, judging by the shortness of the letter and the cursive font.

 

And if things had gotten worse from there, she would have sent a messenger, as Rudrick had said. That’s more accurate than a letter that might arrive at any moment.

 

But a letter, let alone a messenger…

 “It can’t be anything bad.” 

But whatever it was, I had to see it with my own eyes first.

 

Before I knew it, I was half-carried by Rudrick, and I pulled away from him.

 

I regretted the loss of his soothing warmth, but I looked up at him with a steady heart.

 “Thank you. That calmed me down a bit, and you’re right, we’d better move fast at this hour.” “Well…” “But you stay here.” “What?” 

Rudrick’s face hardened.

 “You’re in the middle of

an

expedition, and I don’t want the commander to be gone when it happens.” “It’s nearing the end, it doesn’t matter.” “It doesn’t matter, but there’s a limit to how much you can leave things to others, and even if you go to the capital, you’ll have to come back. How much time will it take to go back and forth, it’s a waste of time…” “It’s none of your business, and when do you intend to go down in a carriage, I’d rather take the horse myself…” “It’s a busy time of day, and I’m not going to take a carriage. I can ask someone else to take me.” “Cut the nonsense and get ready.” “Rudrick!” 

‘This is not the time to be arguing!’

 

I wiped my sweaty brow. No matter how hard I try to convince him, he’s not budging, and by the looks of his stubbornly closed mouth, he has no intention of backing down.

 

‘Do I have to go with him? Is he alright with that?’

 

No, I don’t think so. It’s obvious that I’m pushing it, but I’m in a hurry, so I’ll go with him and then turn him back at the portal…

 “There’s a way.” 

A feminine voice said out of nowhere.

 

I turned my head in the direction of the voice of my own accord, and saw a pretty face, still unfamiliar, but more familiar than the last.

 “O’Neill?” 

Apparently she’d heard the news, too, and her face was uncharacteristically stiff.

 

Wearing her wizard robes as she had when we first met, she took a step towards me and asked,

“Is your father in great danger?” “I don’t know, the letter just said he collapsed, so I thought… I’m leaving to check on him now, but there’s a way…” “Literally.” 

For a moment, she flicked a finger at the air. A portal popped out of nowhere, and O’Neill squeezed it lightly.

 “We can make the trip in a day, right?” “What? What kind of nonsense is that?” 

But I soon had to shut up. 

 

O’Neill muttered something and swung her wand. A magic circle big enough to fill the parlor made crushed underfoot.

 

Suddenly, I remembered the story the maidservant had told me so admiringly.

 — “Suddenly, a huge magic circle was carved in front of the mansion, and then a burst of white light and a person appeared. I’ve never seen anything like that in my life.” “This, this…!” 

O’Neill smirked as she looked at my eyes, which threatened to pop out of their sockets.

 “I’ve opened a portal to the entrance of Duke Averine’s mansion. It’s too big for a crowd, but five of us should be enough.” “Oh, O’Neill. You’re so…” “When else would I use my powers but at times like this.” 

She looked up at me, her eyes somehow bitter.

 “You have to protect what you hold dear, Dahlia.” 

What does that mean?

 

But there were no more words. Just when I thought the area was clear, O’Neill raised her wand straight up.

 

Instantly, a burst of white light erupted from the wand, and her voice cracked like a foghorn.

 “Shall we go, then?” 

Soon, my vision flickered.

  

To make a long story short, my father was safe.

 

Thanks to O’Neill, we made it to Averine’s Duke House safely and in one sitting.

 

When I first opened my eyes, I was surprised by the familiarity of the landscape.

 

I’d heard that dimensional travel, aside from the actual traveling, could be very stressful and difficult on the body of the caster and the companions. 

 

However, I only felt a bit of nausea after traveling such a long distance in one sitting.

 

Truly, it was an ability that went beyond astonishment to wonder.

 “Isn’t she actually the current master, not the next master?” 

But I was surprised and frantic, and it was urgent to check on my father’s condition. I barely had time to thank O’Neill before I rushed into the mansion, panting.

 

My mother was surprised to see me again.

 “Oh, my dear, when did you come back?” “Right after I got your letter… No, that’s not the point, I heard that my father had collapsed. Is he okay now? Has he gotten any worse? What the hell happened to him, huh?” “Oh, that’s what…” 

But when my mother saw my tearful face, she didn’t seem to care. Rather, she looked at me and said,

“I’m sorry.” “I sent it right away, but the next letter must have arrived a little late, so I think it did worry you too much.” “What? What’s that?” “Your father…” 

Soon the shocking truth came out of my mother’s mouth.

 “He was just strained.” “…What?” 

My mouth dropped open.

 “Oh, well. I’ve been worried about him ever since he told me that he ate a lot that day because he hadn’t done that in a long time, but then he suddenly collapsed in the evening with a grim expression.” “…” “I was so surprised that I wrote a letter to you in a hurry and sent it to you. Later, the family doctor came and examined him and said it was acute food poisoning.” “…” “I sent you a letter reassuring you that he was okay again, but… I guess it got mixed up.” “So…” 

I asked in a shaky tone,

“And he’s okay now?” “Yeah. He’s back at work, perfectly fine.” 

My legs gave out, and I slumped back in my seat.

 “Oh, my gosh, you freaked out, I’m sorry, I should have kept an eye on him and not written to you, I didn’t realize it worried you so much.” “I thought something really bad happened, and I was going crazy, wondering if something had happened to him before the letter arrived!” “My dear daughter, you were manic when you were little, and now you’re at the right age and still manic?” “Mom!” 

I looked at my mother with resentful eyes, who was joking even in this situation.

 

Only then did Mother, who had stopped laughing mischievously, bend down to meet my eyes.

 “I’m so sorry, if I knew it caused you so much to worry, I should have sent a messenger or something. We’re still healthy, so don’t worry too much. Okay?” 

Her voice was soft and soothing, like a child, and I instantly leaned my head on her shoulder.

 “I love him so much…” “Yeah, but it’s good to see you after all these years. Have you been doing well?” “Yes. If I hadn’t suddenly heard news about the??” “Huh, I guess mom interfered with my daughter’s love affair, so will the blond grandson be a little late?” “Mom!” 

Despite my consternation, my mother looked at Rudrick, who was standing a few feet away from us, and whispered,

“I think the dark-haired grandson is fine.” 

She looked at my bright red face, smiled meaningfully, and then stood up and turned to look at Rudrick.

 “Long time no see, or should I say, long time no hear? Duke Bouser.” “You may call me as you please.” 

She smiled fondly at Rudrick, who took a step closer.

 “I’m sorry to have worried you, I know you’re busy, and I’m sure you’ve had a long journey.” “It’s okay.” “No, you didn’t say that to me, did you?” “So how did you get here, it can’t have been easy to come as fast as you did with the distance…” “Uh, that’s…” 

I trailed off, remembering the one person I’d left outside.

 “There’s someone who helped me get here, she’s probably waiting outside right now, I’ll get her right away!” 

With that, I turned around and ran out the door.

 

Luckily, O’Neill was standing calmly in the doorway. I wish she had followed me and Rudrick inside.

 

I hurried over to her, partly because I was too blinded by my family to notice her.

 “O’Neill.” “Dahlia, is your father okay?” 

But she was still looking at me worriedly.

 

She looked like a heroine. It was heartwarming to see someone care about someone else’s family as if it were their own.

 “Thank you for your concern, he was just a little out of sorts.” “So…” “Yep. He is well now. If it wasn’t for you, O’Neill, I would have been so worried, I wouldn’t have been able to relax for a day.” “Whatever. I was just doing what I had to do.” 

I said, reaching out and taking her hand,

“No. O’Neill’s a lifesaver, and if you don’t have a place to stay, why don’t you stay at my mansion? I’ll do everything I can to make you comfortable.” “Oh, that would be…” 

But she seemed to hesitate at my offer. She hesitated, and then, as if she was in some kind of trouble, she quickly averted her gaze.

 

I scratched my head as I watched.

 

Now that I think about it, I had the same feeling when I first arrived here, and I still have the same feeling now, that O’Neill was reluctant to enter the Averine mansion…

 “I really don’t mind, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you, and you should be spending some time with your family.” “But…” “I’d rather.” 

O’Neill smiled shyly, glancing at Rudrick, who was now behind me.

 “May I stay at your mansion, Your Excellency?”