I Quit Being The Male Lead’s Rival

Chapter 8

Wanting to Escape (7)

“Still, they did give me three meals a day with protein, so it’s hard to say that they didn’t even feed me…”

There was silence for a moment in the room at my words.

“Oh, it’s not that I don’t know the type of food I eat at all! Leftovers were often sent up too!”

I added hastily, but the mood did not improve.

Leslie, in particular, remained firm with a fork in her hand. She looked as if something had happened that should never happen.

The first person who spoke was Oscar.

“That’s not going to work.”

Suddenly, Oscar took off his gloves.

“Frozen yeper meat. Oh my god, and that’s for three meals a day. Such a terrible thing.”

Then he pulled something out of his pocket and held it out to me.

“Go to any branch and eat when it’s convenient for you.”

「Rainfield Restaurant Meal Ticket」

Any branch… So it was a chain restaurant?

It was then that I remembered Aaron’s mention of Rainfield Restaurant.

It must have been a famous place where people would be treated like a freak if they didn’t recognize the name.

‘He must be incredibly rich.’

My hands even trembled when I took the meal ticket.

“Oh, thank you…”

Leslie sighed as if exasperated.

“I hate to say this, but Caitlyn and Reid are too mean. You don’t know how to take care of yourself thanks to them and they don’t even feed you properly.”

She gritted her teeth while giving me more food.

“Those who don’t feed others properly are very bad people.’

Leslie even trembled.

“The more I imagine it, the more terrible it is. I knew it was really bad, but it’s worse than I thought.”

“Yes, Reid is rubbish.”

Why was I so pathetic?

When I first remembered my past life, I was too busy trying to figure out how to survive and was really unhappy from the environment I grew up in.

Still, I had to hold it in until the next swordsmanship competition.

I was going to wipe out all the tricks Reid and I had worked on, and then I would cut him off!

No matter how much I would lose, there was no reason why I couldn’t take care of myself even though I was in second place from the world’s view.

There was plenty of room for people to enjoy their lives even if they gave up first place in the sword competition.

In the middle of the meal, Oscar took a large knife and cut the meat himself, which was incredible.

“Oh my…”

I muttered unknowingly.

“I can see why Aaron Rainfield uses his sword so well…”

There was no sword, but the detail in handling the knife was worth seeing.

“Oscar is not the only one.”

Leslie said with a smile.

“Oscar’s wife, Marilyn, is also very good with knives.”

Oscar looked at me, sighed once, and moved the meat away.

Melting in my mouth, I thought that what I had eaten so far was still garbage.

Soft beef that was different from frozen monster meat…

Leslie saw me saving the dessert, and even called in a maid to prepare more.

What an angel!

After all, the problem was always me, the rookie villain, and all the Dukes of Wade were fine.

So I thought again.

‘After all, my ideal type is Ian Wade and his family.’

After the meal was over, Leslie poured me a cup of tea and smiled.

“Okay, now that we’re full, let’s talk about something.”

I came to my senses then.

I forgot the reason why she called me!

Was it to finally tell me to get out of Ian’s way?

No, no one here wanted to do that more than me, but it would take a while for things to fade out…

Having prepared my heart, I answered calmly.

“Yes, please say anything.”

The meal was so good that it seemed that no matter how she would insult me, it could be ignored.

I even got a meal ticket.

Wasn’t it common sense to listen to the person who feeds you this much?

Feeling generous in every way, I looked at her while getting my apology speech ready.

But the question that came out of her mouth was very unexpected.

“Why did you save Ian?”

I was momentarily embarrassed and almost spit out the tea.

No, how could I answer her straightforward question?

I couldn’t figure out how Leslie found out when Ian didn’t even notice.

“Wow, what are you talking about?”

“The day when the High Priest was escorted and yesterday’s terrorist attack.”

Leslie said while blinking her eyes.

“Everyone thinks otherwise, but according to my reasoning, you’re always saving Ian, but don’t you hate him?”

“It’s true that Ian doesn’t like me, and I never saved him. I’m just a person who doesn’t care.”

I would be in trouble if I looked suspicious.

Even though it was true that I saved him, when she asked why, I had nothing to say.

Actually, I realized that this is the world in a book. So who would believe me if I said, ‘I’ve become a new person?’

If I thought about the original work, my unconditional strategy was still to ruin Reid’s plan against Duke Wade’s family.

“Then what happened yesterday?”

“What?”

“I heard you warn Ian at the training ground.”

Was Leslie there yesterday too?!

I tightened my facial muscles to hide my disappointed expression.

“I can’t handle swords anymore, but I know how to use a certain amount of energy because I used to have a body that can handle swords. And actually, yesterday, Ian was safe from the attack.”

If Leslie had tried to hide her presence, of course Ian and I, who were preoccupied with each other, would not have noticed.

Besides, there were so many knights in the training ground, so we didn’t even notice her existence.

It was an unexpected variable.

“Well, everyone says it’s a terrorist attack aimed at Prince Robert.”

I thought for a moment.

What are my priorities?

Unconditionally, the fact that I and Reid were tied together and tried to destroy the wall was not detected. If that was the case, I had to quickly call it a terrorist attack against the prince.

I remember feeling very comfortable when I returned it to the High Priesthood Terrorism, so I quickly affirmed.

“Actually, I found out about the terrorist plan by accident.”

In the end, I gave the answer that I was going to give to Ian if he had asked me yesterday.

“I heard from Marquis Abedes…”

Leslie muttered with a serious look, and I continued cautiously.

“And if Ian got hurt…”

At that time, the door burst open without any knocks.

“Mother! I heard you called Annabelle Nadit here. What’s wrong with you? I wanted to ask you something.…”

No matter how much I was a jerk, if you called me out like this, what I was going to say would be overshadowed.

This also just had to happen on this happy day because I ate the most delicious meal in my life.

If he called me out like that, shouldn’t I retort?

I then immediately swung roughly around the answers I had in place.

“…It would be unfair because I’m the only one who’s going against Ian! Anabelle Nadit can be the only one who can hurt Ian Wade!”

I banged the table and stared straight at him.

“I would hate it if he’s left with a clumsy injury and I can’t even get a shot!”

Ian stood near the door with his position hardened and looked at me.

Leslie clapped with her eyes wide open.

“Oh, my.”

There was even a look of emotion somewhere.

“That’s the spirit of chivalry pursued by the Wades.”

“…What?”

“You want to win while he’s intact, don’t you? You don’t like a situation where you can’t fight properly because of an injury!”

Ian intervened in Leslie’s words.

“Mother, that’s not true. Maybe it’s because you don’t know, but Annabelle Nadit and fair play don’t go together. She’ll still be second place in her later life…”

“I have been in second place, now I’m in a bad mood.”

Ian bit his lower lip as if he were speechless.

Leslie was always second to the Duke of Wade.

I thought something was going on, so I stuck my tongue out at Ian when Leslie wasn’t looking.

“Hey, hey, hey!”

Ian’s eyes widened with energy, and I jumped to my feet thinking this was the time.

“Well, I don’t want to see your face, so I’ll get up.”

I had already eaten everything, so there was no reason to be here any more.

In addition, it was embarrassing to have Leslie ask me more questions.

In the meantime, I did not forget to speak firmly to Ian as I went out to avoid suspicion.

“I’m in a good mood today because I ate delicious food, so I’ll give you one small curse. When you sing high notes in the shower, Aaron Rainfield will be listening!”

Ian’s expression was more disorted than ever.

“Wait, Miss Annabelle!”

I was about to say good-bye and leave, but Leslie abruptly stood up and grabbed my arm.

Oh, was the curse too bad? Did I cross the line?

To say it was small, the more I pondered it, the more terrifying it was.

I looked at the slightly piercing expression on her face as if it was clear that she would defend her son.

However, it was surprising that Leslie looked at me and said urgently.

“You must bring dessert!”

“…What?”

“Why are you forgetting the most important thing? You can’t do that. You have to always be sincere about what you eat.”

In the end, I was happy because on the way home, I had a bunch of cakes that Oscar even personally wrapped for me.

Ever since I was a child, I always ate enough to fill my stomach with unpleasant things, so it was good to have a delicious meal for the first time.

It was ironic that the happiest memories come from the places that should be avoided the most.

Tomorrow was my birthday.

Of course, no one would congratulate me, according to my memory it was because neither Reid nor my mother, Caitlyn, cared the slightest bit about my birthday.

Still, it felt good to think of having a slightly special morning while eating this delicious cake by myself.

~*~

“How can your timing be so off?!”

Leslie was annoyed at Ian, who was huffing.

“I’m just about to have a fun conversation, but why did you run to fight?!”

Leslie said and frowned, then suddenly looked at her son and blinked her eyes.

Has her son ever shown such a rich expression on his face?