Fostering the Male Lead

Chapter 45

“Rosetta, are things not going well?”

“Yes. Although I expected this, it’s really not easy.”

I put away the gloomy thoughts and pulled myself together. I couldn’t say anything pessimistic here. I was supposed to take responsibility for him.

“Don’t worry. I will definitely catch Liliana.”

“Yes, I know. After all, you’ve done so well in fishing*.”

[*T/N: The word used here means both ‘to fish’ and ‘to catch’. Sihael is joking, making reference to what Rosetta said in the previous chapter.]

“What did I catch?”

“Well, you caught me.”

I doubted my ears.

‘Wait, did Sihael say that cheesy thing right now?’

When I looked at him in shock, Sihael chuckled.

“Your Highness, this joke is a bit…”

“I’m not kidding. You have caught me in your net completely.”

Argh! This is so cheesy. I stamped my feet and closed my fingers like a grilled squid. I went along with his joke.

“What is this? Why did something strange get caught in my net? Wasn’t it only Liliana whom I was trying to catch?”

“So, are you saying you won’t raise the fish you caught anymore? I wonder whether this is the famous ‘fish farm’.”

[T/N: Fish farm here is a pun. It comes from the slang 어장관리 which means managing a fish farm or fish tank. It refers to the act of getting close to many people and stringing them along without being sincere towards any.]

“What are you talking about? I don’t remember putting Your Highness in my fish farm.”

“Then, let’s just say I am in it from today.”

Ho, who said you could come in as you want! I lowered his head from my thigh and pushed him away.

“I’m setting you free! Go! Go!”

“No. Since you’ve caught me, you have to take me and raise me well. You should feed me and take care of me.”

“No way! You should go somewhere else, not this fish farm!”

“I have nowhere else to go except by your side.”

What do you mean by ‘nowhere else’? There’s a pretty and talented lady named Liliana for you!

I continued joking with Sihael and didn’t perceive Lanoa’s annoyed gaze.

“Are you guys dating?”

Sihael and I stopped moving at the gloomy voice that did not suit the sunny weather.

“If you are going to do something, then go out and do it. Don’t make a fuss in my room.”

“Woah, are you really dating a dog, no a wolf? Only a pervert would think of doing something like this!”

“Do you have a head just for decoration? Ughh, what an idiot!”

Why was he picking a fight with me?

Unlike me, who was glaring at Lanoa, Sihael, perhaps realizing something, approached Lanoa and whispered to him.  Lanoa’s face distorted like a crumpled paper, and by the end of it, he stared at Sihael fiercely.

“I wouldn’t. Nope!”

“I’ll let you stay in the imperial wine cellar all day.”

Knowing exactly what Lanoa wanted, Sihael placed an attractive condition, which made Lanoa’s eyes lit up. I instinctively felt uncomfortable seeing Lanoa’s blooming face which I had seen for the first time after transmigrating into this body.

Ugh, I didn’t even want to see the sight of him.

“Hey, Rose. What’s your ideal type?”

Why was he asking this so suddenly?  I was puzzled by the sudden question about my ideal type, but my mouth steadily recited what I wanted.

“Someone good-looking who would cherish me. He should only focus on me and also be a little obsessed with me. It would be good if he’s also good at the night affairs. Of course, he at least has to have a cute side to him. It’s okay if he doesn’t have money as I have a lot.”

“…..”

“…..”

Both of them didn’t utter a word. I rolled my eyes at their silence.

‘Isn’t this enough?’

Sihael said, breaking the awkward silence between us. “What if he has a lot of money?”

“How much?”

“Much more than you.”

“Oh, that will be icing on the cake! Then I’ll grab his hand and enter the wedding hall right away.”

Sihael’s face became noticeably brighter. He muttered something about making a reservation for the ceremony, but I couldn’t understand what he meant.

“Huh? What did you say?”

“Which wedding hall….”

“Icing on the cake? In your dreams! Just try entering a wedding hall holding hands with any rascal. I will pulverize him with my gun.”

Was this nutcase confidently proclaiming that he would open fire at my marriage?

I glared at Lanoa, who was saying crazy things. However, Lanoa ignored my fierce glare, and pulled Sihael back, stopping him from taking any step forward.

Whack!

Sihael hit his arm too hard. Lanoa’s arm swung after being hit by him.

“Ah! My arm! My arm!”

Lanoa made a fuss, saying that his shoulder felt like they had dislocated.

‘I’m the only one who can treat Sihael like a dog.’

I crossed my arms and clicked my tongue as I saw Lanoa pretending to be in extreme pain.

“You idiot.  How about your ideal type…  No, why should I be curious about that? I don’t care. Your Highness, what is your ideal type?”

“A healthy and strong person. She should be a strong person who can protect herself even if I am unable to protect her.”

Oh, wow, that’s good. Comparing our ideal types, I was embarrassed by my conditions for ideal type which seemed quite materialistic.

‘Liliana sure is healthy, but I think she’s by no means the strong person that Sihael desires.’

Of course, Liliana was strong enough to protect herself. It was not for nothing that her setting was a genius wizard. However, for the story to proceed, she had to fall into the Empress’s trap and inevitably get help from Sihael.

“Doesn’t it matter if she has a pretty face or a good personality?”

“It would be nice if she is a kind person with red hair and green eyes.”

Umm, so is it someone like me?  But where is such a person… Huh, no way!

“Wow, how can you be so frank?”

Lanoa muttered with a tired look.

Yeah, that was too frank.