“I think it’s because of the book, ‘The Mad Grand Duke Loves Me’ that the Young Lady published this time.”
“…What? What book?”
“The book Young Lady published two months ago.”
I was speechless at the words that came out of Cus’s mouth.
…No, why that book?
What is wrong with that book…?
Cus continued to speak softly, perhaps, thinking that my bewildered attitude was acknowledgment.
“That’s why I said it was better not to publish that book! I mean, there’s nothing to benefit from it!”
“….”
“How can a novel like that, which described him as a maniac, be pleasant to the Grand Duke!”
“No, but it’s not just me who wrote it that way, to be honest, all writers do it! The three elements that a male lead in a romance novel should have—”
“Even so, you shouldn’t have used him! Even if the Grand Duke had a handsome face, superior skills, and an appealing wealth, you shouldn’t have used him!”
I frowned at Cus’s attitude, which seemed to be praising Cain secretly, or somehow openly.
Didn’t he praise Cain as much as his fingernails…?
Thinking that, I stared disdainfully at the compliments that felt somewhat awkward, before raising my hand to stop him from pouring more words as if he was nervous.
“Wait, Cus, I understand. Okay, so calm down and talk to me…”
“This is all my fault. Even if the Young Lady said that it was okay for the esteemed Grand Duke to see such a low-quality romance novel, I shouldn’t have published such a joke in the first place…!”
“Cus!”
Only then did Cus shut his mouth at the sound of the slight ringing in the small office that was on the verge of collapsing.
“Listen to me when I’m talking.”
He then shut his mouth at the sound of my shouting. Of course, there were still a lot of complaints I wanted to say, so I could not help my lips protruding.
I rubbed my forehead and opened my mouth slowly.
“Okay. Let’s sort this out.”
“….”
“So, you think the Grand Duke is looking for me because of my novel?”
“…Yes, that’s right.”
“Honestly, the fact that person is looking for me sounds ridiculous… All right, I’ll trust you. Well, there’s nothing wrong with being careful.”
After a sluggish conversation, Cus’s face finally turned red.
In my mind, I was disappointed because I remembered my books that were just being displayed on the other side of the bookstore.
I thought it was a book that guaranteed success this time. Of course, as I said before, I thought that there was no way that Cain would find me, still…
Anyway, it is better to be careful.
“Then, please collect all my books that were on the market as of today.”
“…Yes? All?”
“It won’t be too difficult because I only paid for a hundred copies, anyway. And, if there is any loss caused by this incident, I will compensate you to some extent. Regardless, it was my fault for writing a book about the Grand Duke.”
“Yes…”
“By the way—”
Even when I talked about compensating for the damage, it was disappointing. Nevertheless, I persisted with my words while looking at Cus, who was awkwardly stiff, and added firmly.
“But, there’s one condition.”
“…A condition?”
“To be honest, I don’t think it’s a good thing if the Grand Duke is looking for me just like you said.”
“Yes?”
It was natural.
The male lead naively looking for an extra young lady, who was never mentioned in the novel? I did not even think it made any sense.
How could he suddenly fall in love with an extra young lady, over the heroine, who was pretty and kind, but also has the strongest divine power…?
There was only one such case…
It was the death flag for the extras.
If I was a little more unlucky here, there may be an unfortunate setting where my death would be the starting point of the original novel.
Please, let’s believe that that was not it.
“You have to protect me no matter what, so that the book doesn’t cause any problems for me.”
“…M, me?”
“Actually, I wrote the book under a pseudonym from the beginning, so you’re the only one who knows that I’m the author of the book, right?”
Cus’ eyes fluttered violently at my calm reply.
Seeing his reaction, I raised the corners of my lips slowly.
“So, if the Grand Duke comes to visit me, or if my life is in jeopardy because of the fact that I am the author of the book, then you are the culprit, right?”
“…Oh, Lady Adelia!”
“Shh.”
His eyes widened in surprise at my words.
I continued to squeeze down on Cus’s balloon-like stomach with my finger.
“So, be careful not to spread rumors.”
“….”
“After all, from the moment the book was published, you and I have been on the same boat.”
“Heuk, I’m sure that the Lady told me just to publish the book…!”
“I’m not going to die alone.”
“….”
“You know what I mean, right?”
Cus’s face turned pale white at the words I uttered with a smile. Satisfied, I slowly got up as I glanced at the man’s face.
“Then, I’ll be going now. Don’t contact me for a while until I contact you first.”
“Ah, Lady…!”
“Oh, and…”
As I was heading towards the door, I turned my head to a thought that came to my mind.
“The three most important male virtues in the novel are appearance, wealth, and ability.”
“Yes…?”
“I want you to sharpen your eyes, unless you really want to shut down the publishing house.”
I took a deep breath before finishing my words to Cus, whose eyes widened as though he did not understand what I had meant.
“In the sense, the Grand Duke was like a living model of my novel.”
