I Quit Being The Male Lead’s Rival

hapter 45

The Circumstances of a Trivial Villain (7)

In the original work I knew, Ian unconsciously tried to put his hand on the sword, but didn’t do anything.

Because he wasn’t an idiot, he was conscious of Robert’s saying that ‘undercover investigation is essential’.

But as soon as he entered, the manager, who noticed the strangeness of the brief atmosphere he had, dragged him to a corner.

Ian followed him quietly with the mindset that he would not cause any trouble, but in the end, a battle was fought.

And just like me, he would quietly deal with it at once and then fall into black magic.

‘I think this situation has passed.’

I sighed in relief as I held Ian’s arms.

Because the moment he was about to put his hand on the sword, I quickly caught him.

It was so fast that you couldn’t see the relationship with your normal eyes.

Aaron and Robert were astonished when they heard what I murmured.

I think my strategy was great.

“Then why did you come here?”

“I think Reid had entrusted himself to the owner here. Reid should be here.”

Ian and I chatted while whispering.

“I am here at the request of Prince Robert…”

“I’m not curious about your situation, so you don’t have to tell me.”

“…You’re not curious?”

“It must be justice and duty. I’m not interested in such obvious stories.”

The conversation stopped there, because if I whispered any more, someone might look at me suspiciously.

Robert and Aaron, who had completely adapted to this atmosphere, were looking at each other’s pamphlets and discussing where to go.

‘Robert will never get caught.’

If it were Robert, he was a man who could play like an actor for his own strategy.

‘And from the beginning, Aaron rarely gets excited about anything other than joking around.’

Anyways, the problem was Ian.

In fact, only Ian was found out in the original.

“They said the owner’s name is Morriett Achion. He often appears in large-scale transactions.”

Robert couldn’t take his eyes off the pamphlet.

“I want to meet the owner by chance. Perhaps the most money is in the capital.”

In fact, he meant that he would somehow meet the owner and arrest him, but he said it in a sensible way.

It was a line that would not sound suspicious at all even if the people around him heard it.

“Miss, if you fell in love with my friend, would you like to come with us?”

Robert naturally suggested the party.

“How about making a bet? Let’s see where we can meet Morriett.”

There, he gave a gentle reply to each of us to disperse and investigate.

It meant that if we all moved together, there would be no time to search, so we had to move efficiently.

We looked at the pamphlet again.

There were only three places that were considered the biggest deals, and those places were where Morriett was expected to appear.

“I think he will appear in either rooms 1, 2, or 3. We can each pick one and go in.”

Aaron pointed his fingers in three places, and Robert replied with a grin.

“I’m going to Room 1.”

It was the same choice as the original.

So, without Cessianne, the rest of the development would be the same.

Robert reasoned that he would appear in Room 1, the widest and best-looking room.

‘It usually fails.’

The end result was that he could not be arrested anyways. Of course, I was going to catch Morriett somehow while looking for the ‘origin of black magic’ near Morriett.

I smiled and said to Aaron.

“You go to room 2.”

In the original story, Ian and Cessianne entered Room 2 and failed to arrest him.

Cessianne had no fighting power and Ian had no acting skills, so they did not disperse.

‘But Morriet was in room 3.’

So in the original, they lost the battle of odds.

“And we’ll go to Room 3.”

While holding Ian’s arms tightly, I emphasized ‘we’ and said confidently.

So, I had declared that I was moving with Ian.

“Of course, I have no intention of separating from the man I met today.”

To be honest, I wasn’t worried about Robert and Aaron now.

The problem was Ian.

He had not yet been subjected to black magic.

Therefore, it was highly likely that he could not continue to manage his facial expressions instinctively.

It was entirely my fault that there was no saintess  to treat him, so I had to watch him until the end.

“Honey, we have to go together. We agreed before.”

“Okay.”

I was worried that he wouldn’t like to be without the two, but Ian said calmly.

So our simple plan was confirmed as it was.

“When we meet Morriett, we will contact you.”

Robert smiled and handed each of us a ring of a different color one by one.

Seeing that he clearly set the concept and used the honorifics casually, it would have been okay to leave him alone.

“It’s for a way of contact. When someone presses it, the notification pops up in that color.”

So it was a magic item.

Apparently, Ian and Robert were also wearing rings of different colors.

“I brought extras just in case, so that’s good.”

Magic items are very expensive, so you can’t even see them easily, but he was also a prince so it made sense.

“If you see Morriett, press it, and if you get a notification for the rest, let’s move to the auction house where he is.”

We all arrived late, so I thought it would be better to quickly scatter and look around.

Robert glanced at the clock and smiled.

“Then I’ll go to room 1 first. See you in a little bit.”

“Well, I’ll go to room 2. I saw earlier that room 2 was a little far away.”

Aaron also said cheerfully.

“It seems like we somehow got caught up in a strange mission, but I won’t think about it too deeply.”

Aaron was not worried about it because he would not be exposed to any danger in Room 2 anyways.

“Even if you don’t know the situation, it’s a great terminal attitude to close your mouth and do what you’re told.”

Of course, he didn’t keep his mouth shut, but he showed amazing patience to recognize Robert and asked no questions.

“Sister, be careful. I’d like to come with you myself, but…”

Aaron peeked at Ian and me and continued to talk, scratching his chin with his index finger.

“This is not a combination that I’m going to escort.”

That was it. It was even funnier that we would have an escort if Ian and I moved together anyway.

“Then see you later. To be honest, I wish Morriet wasn’t in Room 2. I don’t want to take on a mission that is too important.”

Well, that was what he had hoped for.

After Robert and Aaron disappeared, we were left alone.

I didn’t know what they were chatting about, but since it was just the two of us in the midst of a lot of people, it was awkward because I was worried about the strangely clasped arms.

All this while, I thought that this would be nothing, as I was wallowing and making a fuss while fighting.

“Hey.”

Surprisingly, it was Ian who spoke first.

“I don’t hate it that much.”

“Huh? What?”

“I mean, the two together.”

It was so sudden that I was speechless for a moment.

‘Are you currently acting as a method because you were insulted by me?’

We were both wearing masks, so it was difficult to see his expressions completely.

I rolled my eyes once and answered rationally.

“Of course. They give more syrup to the pancakes.”

“No, not that.”

“Then the strawberry cake is better…”

“Thank you.”

He sighed, interrupted me, and spoke immediately. His voice was so low that only I could hear it.

“For saving me as soon as I came in.”

“…”

Suddenly, I felt my ankles itch, probably because I never imagined I would have a conversation like this with Ian.

“If it wasn’t for you, I might have been arrested for being suspicious just like you said.”

“Uh… Well…”

“And in the meantime…”

Ian’s slow voice continued.

“Thanks for the other times too.”

I felt like my conscience was being stabbed when I heard the words thank you.

In fact, they were all accidents that I had done with the intention of rectifying them…

I couldn’t even explain it all…

“Well…that… It’s not all for you, it’s just…”

“Even if it’s not something you did for me, I’m grateful for what you did.”

I swallowed dry saliva as I felt a strange heat between us.

After a while, I realized that I was a little shy.

“Then shall we move?”

I was a little embarrassed and kept silent, then Ian changed his tone.

“The manager’s movements are unusual.”

Indeed, the managers standing here and there were silently beckoning to each other.

They must have found the manager I defeated at the entrance now.

It was obvious that they would quietly try to find the culprit without disturbing the business.

“Then we’d better go to Room 3 first.”

I whispered as I squeezed his arm tighter.

We slowly moved to room 3.