I Became The Male Lead’s Female Friend

 “Could you call me that?” Rudrick couldn’t say my nickname in the end. He even fainted for a few minutes after hearing my mother’s sweet ‘Darling♡’, and wanted to avoid even my mother for a while. The Duchess, who didn’t know the circumstances, seemed worried, “Why was he shy again?” In response, my mother smiled as if nothing had happened and said, “I guess I should be nicer to him,” winning the Duchess’ trust. As for me… I was excited about Rudrick’s new weakness. I didn’t feel any regret that Rudrick couldn’t call me by my nickname, but when I saw him, I would put on a pitiful look on my face, sometimes with a bitter smile, and show off acting skills comparable to a child actor. Fortunately, Rudrick didn’t develop as much resistance as my father, so he showed an honest response to my poor acting. “Dahlia, I’m sorry. I didn’t even know that…” “I told you not to… Rudrick doesn’t know how I feel…” “I’m really sorry…” Saying that and closing his eyes tightly, Rudrick looked like he was really blaming himself. My heart was shaken by that pitiful sight, but I firmly held myself. No, this was just the beginning. Instead, Rudrick’s face became more depressed as I sighed and smiled bitterly, “I understand everything.” And my acting worked right. He didn’t know what to do for a while, but then he said these words as if he had made up his mind. “I’ll do something else for you instead.” “…Something else?” I gently shook my head. “Yes, anything but that. If there’s anything I could do for you, I’ll do it!” “…really?” “Yes.” “Anything?” “Anything!” Dahlia stopped covering her mouth. ‘Am I touched?’, No, I almost screamed. ‘Oh my!’  I was just trying to make fun of you with some acting. What? You’re going to grant my wish? What’s that? What do you think I’m gonna say? Why was he so naive? Who do you like? ‘I’m fine with it!’ When I was secretly laughing at him, I could feel Rudrick’s worried gaze. Since I covered my mouth and didn’t say anything, I looked anxious, saying, “This won’t relieve my anger.” “Dahlia…” I politely lowered my hand. Then I smiled shyly. “Just… you don’t have to go that far. I’m a little touched.” “Dahlia…” “You have to keep your promise okay?” Rudrick answered in a firm voice. “Yes, I’ll keep it.” I have abandoned my last conscience…  * * * For a few days Dahlia was really excited. I could count on how many times I’ve been this excited, because my mother even gave me the nickname ‘Gum Angel‘ because I laughed every hour. Normally, I would have complained to my mother about the disgraceful nickname. However, I was excited and laughed to myself, saying that I am not just a ‘gum angel‘ but a ‘pink gum angel‘. Even though my father was worried saying, ‘Was Dahlia having a hard time these days?’, I didn’t care. Thinking about the pranks I’m gonna make to Rudrick in the future, I could have him worry a hundred more times. ‘And today!’ I finally made a wish to Rudrick. He didn’t know how hard it was to decide. The reason why I thought, ‘If I ask him to do something too much, he’ll run away,’ and my instinct says, ‘No, don’t you think it’s better to get hit first?’ kept bothering me over and over again. But in the end it was instinct that won over me. I was thinking of paying the price for what I wanted, since I was left with a half-hearted feeling by doing something insignificant. Dahlia carefully embraced the box in her arms. A pretty bulky box with luxurious ribbons seemed like a gift box at first glance. First of all, it was right to call it a gift box. It was also a necessary preparation for Dahlia’s wish. ‘Uh-huh!’ Dahlia proudly headed to the room where Rudrick would be waiting, holding the gift box. ‘Because he didn’t meet me today with the excuse that he was busy.’ Rudrick, who was calmly waiting for me in the drawing room, turned his head to the sound of the door opening, and I suddenly spat out words as I saw his face brightened with joy. “I made a wish.” A look of wonder appeared on Rudrick’s face. He stared at the box and me, then asked a question long after. “…What?” Dahlia put the box down in front of Rudrick. Rudrick reached out on his own, but before he could untie the ribbon, I swiped and hid the box. Rudrick’s eyes became more suspicious of my actions. No way! This would come after the main subject was over. I hid my evil intentions and innocently shouted my wish. “Play ‘Newlyweds‘ with me!” An awkward silence passed. Rudrick, who stared at me strangely, looked quite embarrassed. As if he had never imagined that I would say such a wish, he seems to ask, ‘How old are we?’ Of course, I would think similar to Rudrick in normal circumstances. How old are we? And he must have been angry about having to sit and play nonsense with me. However, if Rudrick participated, the meaning would be different. We’re going to play ‘Newlyweds‘! I stared at Rudrick who was hesitating, and made a ‘pitiful look‘, a special move that I had been practicing hard lately. “Ugh… Won’t you?” “…well, we’re too old to play the little game…” Dahlia sighed at his seemingly troubled words. With a bitter smile on my face, I replied in a sentimental way as if recalling the past. “Actually, I… I’ve never played with anyone before…” “…” “Because I didn’t have any friends when I was young… So I’ve been playing alone all the time. Playing dolls and playing all by myself…” “…” “So the first thing I wanted to do when I had a friend was…” I glanced at him looking pitiful. “It’s hard, right?” At my last words Rudrick said with his eyes closed tightly. “Let’s do it!” ‘Ha! I caught you!’ Leaving behind a devilish smile, I said excitedly. “Okay, then Rudrick’s the mother!” “…huh?” “Now then, I’m the father and Rudrick would be the mother, so we’ll have to set the situation first, right? Once I’m back home from work…” “Wait!” Rudrick excitedly grabbed my arm as I continued to speak. I asked, pretending not to know, my eyes widened at his desperate-looking face. “Why?” “…” He seemed to hesitate for a moment and spoke slowly. “Why am I the mother? I’m a man and I should be the father.” He seemed to have noticed to some extent that a rather disapproving tone was trying to make fun of him again. ‘I won’t get caught up this time.’ Rudrick’s face full of determination seemed firm, but well… I smiled and explained slowly. “You’re prejudiced!” “What?” “A woman was unconditionally the mother, and a man should be the father? Then, if a woman and another woman get married, who’s the mother? and if a man marries another man, who’s the father then?” “Uh…” At that moment, his face darkened. “Do you know how to tell them apart?” “…I don’t know.” “That’s right…” Dahlia said firmly. “It’s about distinguishing you as a prettier person.” Of course it was nonsense. However, Rudrick’s face became more distorted. ‘What nonsense are you talking about again?‘ and ‘Was that true?‘ It was a complex expression with tangled thoughts. I asked him with the utmost seriousness. “Come on, think about it. Who’s prettier, your mother or your father?” “Mother.” “Who’s prettier, my father or my mother?” “The Duchess.” Dahlia continued… “Then who’s prettier, you or me?” “…” I smiled wickedly at the sight of him shutting his mouth. “The ‘mother‘, you’re gonna do it, right?” “…” With a somewhat unhappy look on his face, he barely answered. “…okay.” Done! I grinned and finally put the box that I had hidden behind me forward. And Rudrick untied the ribbon himself before he could accept it. As soon as the lid of the box opened, the contents were revealed, and Rudrick’s face turned pale when he saw it. Dahlia shouted with the brightest smile in the world. “Then wear a dress!” A special gift I prepared for Rudrick. It was a ‘Princess-style pink dress‘.