Male Lead, Don’t Push, Pull!

“Vivi.”

“Eek!”

“What are you doing here?? I’ve been looking for you for a while.”

Kyle looked at me with concern. There was a bead of sweat on his forehead, as if he’d been searching for me.

“I was worried about you.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Ha,” he sighed. “It’s okay, you’re safe, so let’s go. It’s getting late.”

“Mmm,” I mumbled and took Kyle’s outstretched hand.

Thinking that whatever I saw of Sienna must have been my imagination.

***

Sienna stopped walking.

“Saintess Sienna, what is it?” The apprentice priest walking ahead of her turned and asked. 

“No,” Sienna hesitated, “I just thought I saw a face I recognized a little bit….”

“Someone you know, Saintess Sienna?” The apprentice priest asked in surprise. As far as he knew, Sienna was an orphan.

Ever since Archbishop Aslan had brought her to the temple, she had lived inside, never leaving.

This was to keep her safe from the outside world and to increase her strength.

Archbishop Aslan personally took charge of Siena’s education.

‘Even though she’s a saint who hasn’t appeared in a long time, I don’t think she’s good enough to be taught by the Archbishop himself. ‘

Although the Archbishop vouched for Sienna’s abilities, there was controversy within the temple, as no one had actually felt Sienna’s power firsthand.

‘Well, there’s nothing wrong with Aslan’s wishes.’

The fact that they all worship Siena without argument is because it is Archbishop Aslan who leads them.

“Let’s go, Aslan is waiting for you. Make sure your robes are pressed down so that your face is not visible.”

“Yes, Priest Tasha.”

“You do realize that you’re not supposed to be wandering around like this, right? Ah, no matter how remote and small the city may be, it can be dangerous. Anyway, His Holiness Aslan is too soft on Saintess Sienna.”

Sienna did as Tasha said and adjusted her clothes.

Back in the alleyway, Tasha adjusted the pendant on his robe. Soon, the space began to warp, and the surroundings shifted.

Sienna blinked lightly.

Instead of the humid summer smell, a faint floral scent drifted through the air.

Before she knew it, they had crossed over from the small Imperial city of Arene to the temple city of Kalodmen.

Aslan, a man with long, flowing silver hair, spotted Sienna and greeted her happily.

“Welcome, Sienna.”

“Your Holiness Aslan!”

Siena’s expressionless face lit up for the first time.

She ran to the archbishop at a brisk pace, and Aslan hugged her, much to Tasha’s annoyance.

“Saintess Sienna, I told you that you should be polite to the archbishop.”

“I’m so happy to see him that I can’t stop….”

“It’s okay, Tasha. Don’t be so hard on her. More than that, did you enjoy your outing, Sienna?”

“Yes! I can’t wait to tell Holiness Aslan what I saw.”

“I’m curious about that.”

With that, the two entered the temple.

Tasha, who had been frowning, clicked his tongue and followed the two in as if he had no choice.

***

Kyle and I have had a strange relationship ever since. At the very least, our relationship was different than before.

It’s like we’re in some kind of ambiguous relationship.

Whenever Kyle holds my hand or touches me, I feel like he has emotions beyond just thinking of me as family.

It was a feeling I couldn’t ignore even if I tried to pretend that I didn’t know.

When did this all start? It certainly wasn’t like this in the beginning…..

We were maintaining our current relationship as if we were waiting for some kind of triggering moment.

Time passed, and my thesis, based on my collaboration with Daniel, was completed.

“Vivian, you are a genius! This is worthy of receiving a Nobel Prize!”

The main focus of the original research was limited to extending the duration of drugs using ancient languages, but this time, as Daniel and I worked more extensively together, we realized a wider range of possibilities.

This has opened up a much wider range of uses and applications.

My supervising professor told me that with this thesis, I would not only graduate, but also be invited to become an honorary member of the Imperial Society of Magic.

An honorary member of the Imperial Society of Magic.

It was a huge accomplishment.

In addition, I contacted my father and laid the groundwork in advance to start a new business with Daniel.

When Daniel heard the news later, he was stunned.

“I thought you were just joking about the business.”

Of course not, it’s a very lucrative business opportunity. 

I was greedy to try to do well in this way. I also felt like I needed the money to prepare for the future.

Because the big event in the story was about to begin.

The news came in a letter from my brother Verdo.

[The emperor will soon announce a crown prince, the timing of which will probably be determined after you and Kyle return to the capital].

This fall, Kyle will turn nineteen.

And the emperor will announce the crown prince who will be his successor at the upcoming founding ceremony.

At the same time, the temple reveals to everyone the return of the Saint, Sienna, to the world after a hundred years.

All in celebration of the future Emperor.

But, you know, all of that is a lie.

Of course, Sienna is undoubtedly a saint. She was born with holy power.

However, in the early stages of the novel, Sienna was still in a state where she had not fully awakened her own power.

The temple needed a doll that could mimic a saint’s actions to move in the way they wanted, and Sienna, who they coincidentally found, was the perfect person for the role. 

Until the prince’s coronation, the temple kept the existence of the saint hidden, so no one knew where Sienna was.

“So, it couldn’t have been Sienna that I saw last time.”

There’s no way there’s a Sienna in a small town like this. I sighed and finished reading the letter.

[I hesitate to say this while the announcement hasn’t been made yet, but I have a feeling that His Highness Kyle will be made crown prince. The current first prince is not fit to lead the empire. Although it is troubling that the Empress has the Duke of Gracelyn behind her, His Majesty the Emperor values personal ability the most.

I’ll see you soon in the capital, so take care.

P.S. Your thesis got a good evaluation? I can’t believe you’re graduating soon. I was prepared to wait twenty years for you to graduate].

“What?” I puffed up my cheeks. I was a nerd in the ancient languages department.

Ah, how amusing.

It was when I picked up a fountain pen to write a rebuttal letter to my older brother.

“Vivi.”

I felt a familiar weight on my shoulder and my heart skipped a beat as I inhaled the familiar scent of the morning sea.

Only one person in the world would ever touch me like this.

I lifted my head and looked at him.

“Good morning,” Kyle greeted me with an affectionate smile on his handsome face.

“Mmh, good morning.”

I smiled back, casually removing Kyle’s hand from around my shoulder to–.

Huh?

It wasn’t working.

Kyle tightened his hold on my shoulder. Our bodies were pressed so close together.

Could he possibly hear my heartbeat?

I patted Kyle’s hand, my heart pounding so hard I thought it might burst.

“Come on, Kyle. Let go.”

“No.”

Kyle lowered his head and buried his face between my neck and my shoulder. The feel of his hair against my bare skin tickled, and I flinched.

Thud! thud! thud! thud!

“Kyle!”

With the thought of needing to get away quickly, I threw my head back and hit him.

“Ugh,” Kyle let out a small groan and let go of me.

Thanks to that, I also enjoyed watching the stars flying in front of my eyes. I rubbed the throbbing back of my skull and glanced over at Kyle.

“You don’t want me to suddenly hug you from behind… hmm?”

That’s definitely Kyle, right here in front of me, pretending to be pitiful.

Why is there a band-aid on Kyle’s face?

“Kyle, are you hurt?”

Kyle smiled sheepishly.

“You’re not hurt, are you?” I asked again.

“No.”

Well, then why do you have this giant band-aid on your cheek!

I mean, you’re old enough and you’re a Sword Expert, so I didn’t think you would ever get hit again.

Someone hit my kid again!

I jumped to my feet and walked over to Kyle. I cupped his cheeks with both hands and examined his face.

“Are you badly hurt?”

“Not that bad.”

“And you have a band-aid on it?”

I started to pull the band-aid off to check the wound, but Kyle stopped me.

“I just put some medicine on it. The doctor said to leave it on for a while.”

He said he wasn’t hurt a minute ago! He’s so careless.

No, more importantly, what were you doing to scratch your face like that?

“What happened?”

“I bumped into something while walking on the street.”

“You bumped into something?”