I Give Up on the BL Novel’s Male Leads

Could this be the moment when their relationship, which had been running parallel for so long, finally started to solidify?

Melias had never felt emotions like this before in his life.

He marveled at how one word from her could hold so many meanings, and how his emotions were stirred by every little thing she did.

Melias had resolved that he would protect Illein and make her happier than anyone else, and he had already begun thinking of ways to do so.

Lost in his thoughts, Melias quickly collected himself and looked directly at Illein’s face.

“Illein…”

He spoke her name softly, preparing to say something more. But just then, Damon interrupted first.

“You… you’re more emotional than I thought.”

Damon found Illein’s recent response quite unexpected. The friend who had always been consumed with grades and burdened by life was nowhere to be seen.

Intrigued by this unexpected side of Illein, Damon’s eyes gleamed with curiosity.

“Really?”

Illein was burdened by Melias’s fiery gaze, as well as Damon’s teasing, playful look. She awkwardly scratched her head and gave a sheepish smile.

As their conversation continued, the carriage had already arrived at the front of Duke Candelaria’s residence.

The group put their previous conversation behind them and focused on studying for their upcoming midterms.

Damon, despite wanting to continue their conversation, decided not to pursue it further.

Illein focused on her books and started studying, while Melias glanced at her, silently following her lead in his studies. Damon, too, found no way to change the course of events.

After all, the reason they all ended up at the mansion was under the pretext of studying together.

By the time it was nearing 1 a.m., Illein prepared to leave.

“You can stay at our place.”

Damon said hoping Illein wouldn’t leave. However, it was Melias who responded to his unspoken wish.

“I’ll make sure to take Illein home, don’t worry.”

From Melias’s perspective, he didn’t want to leave Illein alone while he went home. On top of that, he longed to spend at least a little more time with her.

“You could just sleep here. We have plenty of rooms and clothes. We can get your academy uniform washed and dried in no time!”

Damon added, as if Melias’s suggestion seemed to fall on deaf ears. He wanted to hold onto Illein not Melias.

But Illein simply shook her head at Damon’s suggestion.

“That wouldn’t be proper. I really like you, Damon, but I believe we should maintain propriety. Tomorrow—no, today—see you later.”

Although Damon was a good friend, Duke Candelaria’s residence was not a comfortable place for Illein. More importantly, her parents were here.

If Illein stayed here, her parents would inevitably bother her, as had happened before.

Illein was keen to stay away from her parents for as long as possible. So staying here was out of the question. She was all the more grateful that her parents couldn’t come home due to work.

With that, Illein firmly rejected Damon’s offer.

“Well, then, why don’t I take you home instead?”

Damon couldn’t shake the feeling that it was wrong to send Illein off alone with Melias. It felt almost like losing something precious.

Annoyed by the thought, Damon lashed out.

“Damon?”

Illein’s surprised voice made him freeze, and Melias’s displeasure was clear as he furrowed his brow.

“Just stay here, Damon.”

Damon twisted his lips slightly as he looked at Melias.

When told not to do something, one would find themselves wanting to do it more.

He was about to make a retort towards Melias when Illein spoke up first.

“You need rest too. We have more studying to do tomorrow.”

Illein’s words made Damon relent. He couldn’t push any further.

“That’s a shame. I wanted to spend more time with you.”

Feeling regretful, Damon ruffled Illein’s hair in his usual playful manner to ease the frustration.

Melias glanced at the scene but pretended not to notice. His heart was irritated, though he couldn’t express it openly.

The frustration of knowing that Damon had no idea about Illein’s true identity — that she was Illenas and he couldn’t say anything. He was suffering in silence.

Moreover, their relationship had already been established before Melias had even known Illein, so he couldn’t really interfere now.

On top of that, Melias personally believed that excessively controlling a lover was an unattractive trait for a man, so he had been trying to suppress his rising frustration.