The Male Lead's Sickly Aide Is My Type - Chapter 44
Translator and Editor: Nana and Nabi
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Chapter 44
A year had passed, and a new year had begun.
Iris, pleased with the date, kept calling her over and over again since then. After the last meeting with Archen, Carinne didn’t have much to do, so she happily accepted Iris’ invitation. She was a friend who was very organized and planned everything in advance whenever they met.
Thanks to Iris constantly finding different places to visit, there was hardly any dessert shop left unexplored in the city.
That day was no different.
To celebrate the beginning of the year, a large market was set up in the city, and Iris, as expected, came to Carinne and suggested they go together.
“There’s a beauty pageant happening at the central square! Don’t you want to see it?”
It was quite an outdated concept to have a beauty pageant in this day and age, but Carinne couldn’t pretend not to know when she saw Iris’ eyes shining with excitement. Well, if they went to the market, they could see other things too.
They could visit a circus or see interesting items. Or maybe they could try some skewered meat.
After considering for a moment, Carinne agreed.
Iris was thrilled and dragged her outside. Although it was less crowded than during the festival, there were still plenty of people around. Peddlers selling various items lined both sides of the street, and there was a savory smell of grilling meat coming from somewhere.
She was instinctively drawn to the smell of meat but ended up being led by Iris, who firmly held her wrist towards the central square. The square was bustling with people waiting for the beauty pageant to start.
A host stood on a podium, energetically recruiting contestants.
“If you want to participate in the competition, please come backstage! We don’t have much time left!” Several women whispered to each other as they heard the host’s words and walked past.
The host winked at the women.
“Hey, pretty ladies over there! Don’t you want to participate in the competition?”
The women waved their hands and stepped back, but as the host approached again, they laughed and disappeared into the crowd.
Iris, who had been silently observing the scene, asked.
“Carinne, don’t you want to participate in the competition?”
Unless a miracle happened, that was unlikely to happen. She didn’t hesitate and replied.
“No. What about you?”
“I do want to, but… I’m afraid no one will choose me.”
Iris frowned sadly. If it were anyone else, she might not have felt that way, though Iris was like the heroine of a romance fantasy novel. She should have had confidence.
After much deliberation, Iris decided not to participate. However, it seemed there were not many other contestants. Despite the considerable time that had passed, the beauty pageant showed no signs of starting.
The host was sweating profusely, busy recruiting contestants.
“Are there no more participants? We also have prizes!”
‘Prizes? Let’s find out what they are.’
Carinne’s ears perked up.
“The third prize is a voucher for a fancy restaurant!”
For a third-rate competition, it wasn’t bad, and they could go to a fancy restaurant right away. If the third prize was that good, what would they give for the second prize?
The host briefly showed a card before exclaiming loudly once again.
“The second prize is a love elixir!”
The second prize was worse than the third prize.
‘A love elixir, seriously…’
On the other hand, Iris’ eyes widened at the mention of a love elixir.
“A love elixir! It’s so fascinating!”
Does she believe in such things?
‘Well, if it’s Iris… it’s plausible for her to believe…’
Iris seemed to be thinking something as her cheeks blushed, and she seemed delighted. By the way, it seemed there were hardly any decent prizes to offer. Even though it was a fantasy world, it was still hard to believe in something like that. Who would believe in such a thing?
As expected, people’s reactions were lukewarm. The host looked around at the silent crowd and chuckled awkwardly.
Scratching his head, he looked at the card in his hand and smiled with relief.
“And the first prize is none other than… being sponsored by the royal family!”
Carinne’s eyes widened at the mention of the royal family.
“Should I just close my eyes and go?”
“Carinne, I think I should participate in the competition.”
Following her, Iris revealed her intention to participate, and they became rivals in the beauty pageant.
“Wow, this worked out well! Carinne, let’s go together!”
Iris clapped her hands together. It was only then that Carinne realized what decision she had made. To win first place and claim the prize, she had to defeat Iris.
But could she really do it?
As Carinne and Iris stood there, observed by a middle-aged woman, she approached them quietly and spoke.
“Girls, I understand your hearts, but it’s better to give up.”
“Why?” Carinne asked.
The middle-aged woman bowed slightly as if she were about to reveal a big secret to Carinne and Iris.
“I’ve been watching this competition for over ten years, and all the winners were blondes. People only like blonde beauties.”
The middle-aged woman assured them that the winner this time would undoubtedly be a blonde, patting her shoulder before walking away. Carinne suddenly realized that all the women who had gone backstage so far were blondes.
The presenters were also blondes.
Iris’s face became gloomy again.
“Oh… What should I do? My hair is black, and you have red hair.”
That was right.
There wasn’t much time left, and they couldn’t dye their hair. They would have to go and buy a wig or something. As she was lost in thought, moving around, it was at that moment that someone they knew walked toward them.
Holding a paper envelope in each hand, he approached with his golden hair, shining like honey in the warm winter sun.
“Long time no see.”
He uttered in his elegant tone, and Carinne and Iris exchanged glances as if they had made a secret agreement.
“Absolutely not.”
“Oh, come on. Just once, okay?”
“Please, sir, I beg you.”
Carinne followed, folding her hands and sending him an earnest gaze. Meanwhile, Archen showed a bewildered expression, but seeing her and Iris, he turned his head abruptly.
“This is nonsense.”
She moved to the side where he turned his head before she folded her hands and begged earnestly.
“The only blonde beauty we know is Archen.”
“How do you see me as a beauty?”
Archen asked, looking dumbfounded, but Carinne was equally dumbfounded.
“Haven’t you heard that you’re handsome?”
“No.”
“What about being called pretty? Beautiful, elegant, or even both. Have you ever heard those words?”
“No.”
“Have you ever thought that you’re handsome?”
“No.”
He answered without hesitation three times, which surprised Carinne a little.
A man who didn’t know he was handsome…
‘As expected, he’s my taste…’
…Now wasn’t the time for such irrelevant thoughts. If they wanted to win the first prize, they had to convince Archen.
“Then, I’ll say it now. You’re really handsome. It’s not just empty words, it’s sincere.”
“If you’re going to talk nonsense, I’ll leave.”
“Come on, don’t say that. You’re here to see the sights, too. Since you’re here to see the sights…”
“I came out because I ran out of ink on the Duke’s orders.”
‘Geez.’
Carinne was left speechless and just whimpered. At that moment, Iris, who had been eavesdropping on her and Archen’s conversation, raised her head and asked curiously,
“But the stationery store is on the other side of town, right…?”
“Well…”
He seemed a little flustered at the piercing question. At the same time, Carinne didn’t miss that opportunity and delved deeper.
“See? Archen is also interested.”
“What does touring the market have to do with cross-dressing?”
Archen asked, raising his voice, leaving Carinne speechless once again. The competition could start at any moment, and she became impatient.
She poked Iris’ side.
“Say something, too.”
“Is the ink bottle this big?”
However, Iris was interested in something irrelevant. She reached for the larger envelope that Archen was holding. Although he tried to grab the envelope back, Iris was faster. She took out a fist-sized purple object from the envelope and read the words written on it.
“For your smooth and thick hair that flows gently… Lavender-scented soap.”
“….”
“For women.”
The soap shop was on the other side of the street. With Iris holding the soap, there were a few seconds of silence. It was Iris who broke the silence.
“Sir aide uses good soap.”
Iris said without malice, but it was enough to make Carinne laugh. As Iris finished speaking, his face turned bright red.
“Give it to me.”
Archen reached out and snatched the soap from Iris. Meanwhile, Carinne smirked with a wicked smile, her face showing a mischievous glint.
“Oh, Iris, aren’t you curious? I wonder how Duke Lucas would react if he found out that Archen uses this kind of soap…?”
“Well, I don’t know. Maybe he would find it as amusing as you do?”
“Is that all you think would happen? Maybe he’ll even make fun of it on purpose.”
“You think so?”
Iris looked around, lost in thought for a moment, and then reluctantly agreed with Carinne’s words.
“Hmm, maybe. Whenever I see the aide, I might think of soap.”
It was also an innocent remark, but unintended words often have a bigger impact. Carinne naturally responded to Iris’ comment.
“Right. Lavender-scented soap.”
“No, Carinne. It wasn’t just any lavender-scented soap.”
“Oops, sorry. It wasn’t just lavender-scented soap. It was something like a flower…”
“That’s enough.”
Ah. Once Carinne discovered the soap, the battle was already lost. Archen clenched his teeth, his eyes tightly shut as if trying to break it.
And he spoke through clenched teeth.
“I will join the pageant.”
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Zepelim
Mano do céu 🤣😍
Obrigada pela tradução
Mangagirl4
Hahahahha 😂😂😂