I Became The Male Lead's Female Friend

“Lady.”

Lowell, who opened the door to the office, looked somewhat flustered. I stared at him puzzled, then my eyes widened in an instant.

“No way?”

“Yes, it is. Finally…”

Lowell replied in a trembling voice, “It went bankrupt.”

Dahlia with a broad smile exclaimed inwardly, ‘It’s over!’

The bankruptcy of Count Giovanni, this was the news I had been waiting for so long.

I’ve been preoccupied with Rudrick’s business for a while, but in the meantime, I’ve had to keep myself busy.

From the time the rumor began to spread, numerous medicines that had already been prepared were released at the top related to Averine, and when the rumor reached its end, the sale of the medicines began.

As expected, the medicine’s sales were beyond imagination. Even the price was not so high that it was sold like hotcakes not only to the nobles but also to the common people.

And Count Giovanni was bound to be embarrassed by the medicine spreading on the market. He already felt anxious from the time the rumor spread and rushed to make the medicine, but when he presented the medicine, our medicine was already more famous.

Of course, the reaction of the market was bound to be cold. Rather, I even heard that they copied our medicine because of its similar efficacy.

Far from making up for the research, the Count failed to pay off his huge debts and eventually went bankrupt.

After that, we were able to bring the laboratory without much effort. Even though, Count Giovanni lay down in front of the Duchess and said, ‘You impostors! If you want to take the lab, step on me!’

Still, I stepped on him as he wished and eventually brought the lab.

And it was Hestia who directly stepped on him.

Looking at him lying down in front of the main gate, Hestia pretended not to know, pretended all of it was a mistake, and smiled.

‘I’ve never seen her so happy…’

I smiled proudly and recalled the events of the day.

But still, doubts remained.

For example, Count Giovanni said right before he was taken away, ‘Looks like they’re just spying on me!’ or, above all, a sample of the medicine was found in Count Giovanni’s laboratory.

Among the things that came naturally to us when we organized the research center was a sample of the medicine that Count Giovanni had grown so much.

Hestia had already boasted that it was a ‘bluff’, so I could have thrown it away without looking, but the medicine caught my eye. 

It would be obvious if I put it on the market that it was a bluff, but I wondered why it had been stuck like that.

After all, I couldn’t resist the irritation and left Hestia to analyze the medicine, and only today did the results come out.

However, the fact that I heard was very shocking.

“Oh, the medicines?”

Hestia was also looking at the medicine shock.

“Yeah, I wondered why this madman was so bluffing, he mixed medicine with some prohibited drugs.”

“What, what do you mean?”

“If this happens, and if it’s true. As soon as you took the medicine, your body recovers in an instant, and you can stay fine even if you stay up for days. Of course, the drug ingredients will force you to stay awake.”

“Well, if that’s the case…”

Hestia’s face hardened seriously at the words I couldn’t bear to hear. She soon pointed out the future I expected.

“The side effects will be serious. If you force yourself to stay awake like this, the aftermath will be bad, but usually, you can’t stand it and end up in pain or, in the worst case, death,” explained Hestia.

“Mmm, that’s crazy…” said Dahlia.

“It goes beyond that. Aside from the negative consequences, the drug’s initial ingredients make it simple to develop a dependence on it. Particularly, these stimulants can lead to dependence, so…”

If anyone intakes such medicine, they would be addicted.

Shocked at that revelation, I glanced at the medicine with trembling eyes.

‘For what purpose was Count Giovanni trying to pull off this absurd thing? Just for money?’

However, wasn’t disseminating drugs like that illegal? Whether it’s a crime or not, even the person who sponsored him will be held accountable if this is found.

“Wait a minute,” Dahlia muttered blankly. 

Then, with a sudden thought, her fist clenched.

“Didn’t he come to Averine to borrow money from the beginning?”

That thought crossed my mind, but why go to our family?

“To set us up?”

Dahlia clasped her trembling hands. It’s a big step, a useless concept. However, the results, which were not a leap, were now in front of Dahlia.

“Lady?”

Hestia looked at me worriedly as I bit my lips as my face suddenly turned white. I smiled helplessly. Maybe the words Count Giovanni shouted before he was taken away were also useless.

‘I need to find out.’

Digging after Count Giovanni in an attempt to calm down such an uneasy feeling. It was the day of Rudrick’s awarding ceremony.

✿

“Shall we go?”

Rudrick’s Awarding Ceremony,

… I named it by myself, and it was a small banquet to praise the merits of the war participants.

The words were insignificant, but the substance was never insignificant. If the recent victory celebration was open to all nobles, this banquet was reserved for those who had made significant contributions to the war.

Therefore, all the major figures of the Empire gather. And there the Emperor was going to bestow Rudrick the title himself.

‘Isn’t that just plain speculation?’

Since former Duke Bouser has not fulfilled his duties, so Rudrick was bound to become the Duke. However, it also indicates that he’s paying attention, and the Emperor dares to venture out and flaunt such rituals.

‘There must be something he wants to show off.’

It was to demonstrate to everyone that he was a feudal Lord who had been bestowed with a fief, no matter how much he was a war hero or how powerful he was. The Great Emperor places a premium on Imperial authority at this time.

Anyway, since my father was also a major figure in the war, my family had to participate in the banquet, and in the end, I also had to prepare from morning to go to the Imperial Palace.

And the person who reached out to me when I was ready…

“Are you tired?”

Jeron was asking anxiously, as if wondering.

I’m trying to answer ‘I’m fine’ as usual, but soon I sighed deeply and nodded.  Even if I tried to cover it with makeup, I had dark circles under my eyes.

“What did you do?”

“I’ve been busy in many ways.”

Yeah, I was really busy, digging right behind Count Giovanni.

Since discovering the startling reality, I’ve been busy. I had to continue searching for whatever data I had collected till late at night in secret after exhausting all of my options to obtain what was behind Count Giovanni.

However, it was hard to know the reason behind Count Giovanni.

It’s just something I didn’t know. I couldn’t even find a clue. As if Count Giovanni was just a throwaway horse, he left no trace of it.

At least, all I could know was one fact.

‘They were supporting Count Giovanni behind as their plan, but from what day did they cut off his support?’

Maybe even cutting off the sponsorship was their trick. A trick to get Count Giovanni to borrow our money.

And then I was sure. The organization that sponsored Count Giovanni, must be after our family.

Perhaps though, they were more discreet and careful than I had imagined because they are after Duke Averine, thus even after staying on for a few days, I was unable to figure out anything.

“… Should I reach out to the dark side?”

Sigh, I got nothing after everything I did.

But it’s difficult to escape once I dip my feet into the darkness. Furthermore, they could demand gibberish in exchange. The last resort would be the dark world.

‘If so, how did they find out?’

I finally gave up trying to figure out the issue that caused it all last night because I was exhausted and felt like dying.

“Why don’t you take a fatigue reliever made by the pharmacist?”

“I drank two in a row, and they were taken away. They say overdosing is not good,” answered Dahlia.

“… If you’re not feeling well, wouldn’t it be better to take a break?”

“It’s not that bad. I haven’t slept much.”

It’s not just that I couldn’t sleep. I didn’t sleep at all.

If I let them know that I didn’t sleep well for almost a few days, they would lock me up and even tell my parents, so I just smiled.

Jeron, who was looking at me with a somewhat disapproving expression, asked sneakily as he went downstairs with me.

“Then why did you ask me to escort you?”

“What?”

I didn’t know he’d ask that, so I looked back at him without realizing it.

“Aren’t there many others? For example, Duke Bouser…”

“Do you think that would work?”

“…or Lord River, as you said so?” Jeron added.

“Um, I didn’t even think of that.”

Twisting the ends of my hair, and answered, “I still feel a bit shy…”

I immediately confessed the truth, seeing the satisfied smile on Jeron’s face, which immediately rotted.

“I couldn’t sleep, so where’s the time to think about that?”

“So you picked me, whom you find most comfortable?” said Jeron.

“You know very well the answer, Sir Hayward.”

“I didn’t know the Princess can be very insensitive.”

Jeron didn’t say anything when I looked at him as if I was talking about something. 

He simply dragged me along by the hand while claiming that we would be late. I gave him a perplexed expression and then shook my head.

To ponder more pained my head, and I was drowsy beyond all else.

If there’s a problem later, I’ll fix it then, I just passed it on like that. I didn’t expect real pain to arise.

“What’s with that bastard?”