I’m Raising the Male Lead Inside My Pocket
Grace
남주를 주머니 속에서 키우고 있습니다 Jul 10, 2026 61 views
Chapter 16
Lost in unnecessary thoughts, Kassel hadn't even realized that they had walked into such a dark, deserted corner.
The atmosphere was so ominous that it wouldn't have been surprising if an assassin suddenly leaped out from the shadows.
Without realizing it, Kassel swallowed nervously.
"Sir Elvience."
The young lady slowly and gracefully turned around.
"What exactly did His Majesty whisper to you on the platform earlier?"
"...Pardon?"
Kassel's eyes widened in surprise.
"I'm sorry, but that's not something I can casually tell Lady Blandiche—"
"You may tell her, Kassel."
Just as he was about to refuse, a familiar voice interrupted him.
That voice...
"Y-Your Grace?!"
Startled, Kassel whipped his head from side to side.
But no matter how hard he looked, there wasn't even a strand of his lord's black hair to be seen.
After all, someone as tall as the Grand Duke couldn't exactly hide behind anything.
"Over here."
Watching Kassel's confusion, the young lady smiled as she untied the ribbon beneath her chin.
Then—
Above the young lady's head...
"Y-Your Grace...?!"
There sat Lisid, arms crossed and looking thoroughly unimpressed.
"W-What in the world...?!"
Kassel's face instantly turned pale.
The size was completely different from the lord he knew.
But he recognized him immediately.
That doll-like face...
It was unmistakably the youthful appearance of Lisid Eppenterion from years ago.
"Y-Y-Your Grace! W-Why are you coming out of there?! N-No, more importantly... why do you look like that?!"
Kassel cried out in horror, reaching both hands toward the top of the young lady's head.
The Grand Duke, who couldn't stand the mere mention of House Blandiche...
Was sitting on Lady Blandiche's head.
And had become as small as a doll.
Just before Kassel's hands reached him—
Smack.
Lisid slapped them away.
"Don't."
"...Huh?"
"Don't touch me without permission."
"You're disgusting."
Kassel stood there, utterly dumbfounded.
Meanwhile, Lisid calmly turned toward the young lady.
"Lady."
"Please set me down."
"Yes, sir!"
As though she'd done it many times before, she carefully lifted him in both hands and gently placed him on the bench.
Kassel could only gape.
What is with this flawless teamwork...?
The shocks just kept coming.
At this point, he began wondering if he was dreaming.
To check, he discreetly pinched his thigh.
It hurt like hell.
So this was reality.
Coming back to his senses, Kassel hurriedly knelt before Lisid.
"Y-Your Grace! A-Are you hurt anywhere? You left me with nothing but a single letter and dumped the entire welcoming banquet on me! Just why did you appear in... this form?!"
"Lower your voice, Kassel."
Lisid frowned and clamped a hand over Kassel's mouth.
"Even if no one appears to be around, someone could still be listening."
"This is the Imperial Palace."
"That's the kind of place it is."
"Mm! Mm-hmm!"
Kassel immediately shrank back and nodded frantically.
But the moment Lisid let go, Kassel exploded with questions.
"So then, Your Grace! What in the world happened? When? Where? What? How? Why? Please explain everything using the five Ws and one H! Oh, and why were you with Lady Blandiche of all people?! And why didn't you send me any word at all?!"
"..."
"Please explain everything without leaving out a single detail!"
"Please, Your Grace!"
By now, Kassel sounded as though he were on the verge of tears.
Watching him, Lisid let out a weary sigh.
At the Same Time
"What? She gave flowers to who?"
"W-Well..."
The maid nervously lowered her head.
As the maid whispered into her ear, the color drained from Duchess Briana Blandiche's face.
"...The Vice High Priest?"
"Erkael?"
"Yes, Your Grace."
Kate, the senior lady's maid who had brought the report, nodded with an equally pale face.
Conscious of the eyes around her, Briana quickly rose from her seat.
"I'm terribly sorry, but something urgent has come up. Please excuse me."
"Of course. Take your time."
The noblewomen seated at the same table smiled politely and nodded.
Maintaining an elegant smile until the very end, Briana turned away.
Kate hurried after her.
"They say the young lady presented the flowers as a gift... and Vice High Priest Erkael accepted them."
"That's impossible...!"
Once they had moved behind one of the banquet hall's pillars, Briana pressed a hand against her throbbing forehead.
"My Lady, are you alright?"
Quick-witted as always, Kate called over a passing servant, who soon returned with a glass of cold water.
Only after drinking it did Briana finally calm down.
"...Thank you."
Even so, the fingers gripping the glass remained deathly white.
She actually gave flowers to a priest...
Has she completely lost her mind?
Priests devoted to the Grand Temple belonged wholly to God.
To those with deep faith, preserving both body and heart in purity throughout their lives was among the holiest of duties.
Expressing romantic interest toward such a person wasn't something people simply shrugged off.
Of course, there were priests who secretly dreamed of eloping with lovers under the cover of night.
But if the other party was Vice High Priest Erkael...
No...
I can't dismiss Airel's actions as nothing more than a young girl's innocent crush.
Though not her biological daughter, Airel was still officially the daughter of House Blandiche.
And the priest who had accepted her flowers was the famous Vice High Priest who was widely considered the next Pope.
Just those two names alone were enough to create a scandal of enormous proportions.
Briana was certain tomorrow morning's newspapers would feature Airel's name in giant headlines on the front page.
At this rate, the Grand Temple may publicly demand an explanation... along with compensation.
Airel had dared confess her feelings to a priest, disregarding the sanctity of his vows.
Whether Erkael had accepted the flowers or not was beside the point.
The Grand Temple would surely invoke the Vice High Priest's honor to squeeze some sort of compensation out of them.
Although they generally worked together as the Emperor's allies...
The Grand Temple had always been shameless when money was involved.
Briana frowned.
She knows better than anyone... so why would she...?
Come to think of it...
Airel had been acting strangely lately.
Finding it suspicious, Briana had barged into Airel's room once before.
After that, she secretly assigned people to keep watch over her.
Sure enough...
The Airel who had once wandered into every strange place imaginable had suddenly shut herself inside her room after a single outing.
She didn't even come downstairs for meals anymore.
Everything was brought to her room.
It was unprecedented.
Now that I think about it...
The knight who had tailed Airel that day had reported that—
"The young lady visited every doll shop in the plaza."
Could she have become obsessed with a cursed doll made through black magic...?
The horrifying thought made Briana's head snap up.
She had always possessed sharp instincts.
Considering all the bizarre things Airel had done over the years...
It wasn't impossible.
"Kate."
"Yes, My Lady?"
"Where is that child now?"
"I've heard there was a small disturbance. She left the banquet hall together with His Grace the Grand Duke's representative."
"What?"
"What disturbance this time?!"
Anxiety filled Briana's face.
"W-Well... it seems the western nobles surrounded His Grace's representative to protest something... and the young lady stepped in and led him away..."
"That girl, honestly!"
Briana let out a deep sigh and pressed a hand against her forehead.
First that ridiculous hat.
Then giving flowers to the Vice High Priest.
And now she's involving herself in political disputes too?
