Crazy bastard.
As soon as dawn broke, Richard cursed viciously in his mind as pain threatened to make his back give out.
Recalling what had happened last night sent shivers down his spine.
Crazy male lead bastard...
How could a person be so... all night long...
"..."
Just as Richard’s brow was about to furrow violently, a sharp gaze fell upon his forehead.
...
Richard forced himself to pretend he was asleep and relaxed his body.
His tightly shut eyelids trembled faintly.
So then.
To explain what had happened,
Things had gone wrong—terribly, irrevocably wrong.
Originally, I hadn’t had the slightest intention of sleeping with that damn Cailus.
I had only planned to fabricate a situation that made it seem as though I had forced him to sleep with me and spent the night...
...
To think I really spent the night with that bastard!..
And on top of that, I was the one underneath.
Richard bit his lower lip hard in frustration.
At that moment, the gaze pouring down upon Richard’s forehead turned cold.
"Are you awake?"
"..."
Damn it.
Richard sat up casually, as if nothing had happened, with a sweet smile in his eyes.
Setting aside his displeasure, he had to proceed according to plan first.
Richard had to seduce him.
"Yes, Your Majesty. Good morning—"
"What did you do to me last night?"
Richard’s words never reached their conclusion.
Cailus, looking down at him with a chilly gaze, had mercilessly cut him off.
Eyes as red as blood were fixed on Richard.
"..."
The corner of Richard’s mouth twisted for a moment. A crooked glint entered his watery eyes.
"What did I do, you ask?"
Richard retorted sarcastically.
"Last night, Your Majesty pinned me down."
Soon afterward, Richard smiled brightly, as if on purpose.
If asked whether it was meant to ruin the other man’s mood, then yes, that would be correct.
Asking what he had done. When you thought about it, wasn’t that the question Richard should be asking?
Richard was truly beyond displeased. If someone had asked him, over the course of his forty-nine Regressions, which day had been the most unfortunate, it would have been today.
He did not like men, and he had even less of a taste for spending nights with them. Not only that, but the person he hated most in the world was the man named Cailus le Regnantia.
The man who had taken her from him forty-eight times.
How could he not be displeased after being pinned beneath such a bastard?
"..."
But whether he understood Richard’s feelings or not, Cailus’s voice only grew lower.
"You must have used some underhanded trick."
Eyes devoid of amusement looked down at Richard. His furrowed brow clearly revealed his displeasure.
"..."
The smile playing on Richard’s lips stiffened slightly.
"That’s not true."
"If I had been in my right mind, would I have held you?"
Cailus raised one eyebrow. Then he spoke.
"I dislike you."
Richard chuckled and retorted in kind. The feeling was mutual.
"I dislike Your Majesty as well."
The sharp gazes of the male lead and the second male lead tangled in midair.
For two people who had spent such a fierce night together, their morning greeting was utterly cold.
How cruel it was to watch the wedding ceremony of the woman you loved.
"Waaaaah!"
Applause erupted like thunder.
Endless cheers poured down beneath a cloudless blue sky.
There she was, her pure white dress fluttering like a butterfly as she smiled as brightly as a star, and—
"Long live His Imperial Majesty!"
"Long live Her Imperial Majesty!"
...the other man holding her hand.
...
There was no place beside her for Richard Friedrich.
Clapping with a bitter heart amid the countless spectators,
Pressing down on the pitiful ache in his chest and forcing the corners of his mouth upward,
Sadly, that was all he could do.
It was also his fate.
That was the way of the second male lead.
To endlessly gaze at her from a distance that seemed close enough to reach.
And to wish for her happiness.
But.
Hidden beneath his thigh, Richard’s fist clenched tightly.
Veins bulged as if they might burst over his clenched fist.
This was already...
His watery eyes, fixed upon the beautiful [N O V E L I G H T] couple, sank like a cold, deep sea.
The forty-eighth time.
Yes, this was already the forty-eighth time he had watched this wedding ceremony with his heart trampled miserably, like a leaf crushed underfoot.
...
The eyes that had been fixed on the female lead, smiling like a painting, shifted to one side.
His gaze landed on the man shamelessly occupying the place beside her.
The man’s neat black hair fluttered lightly in the breeze as he offered her one arm, a faint smile on his face.
Cailus le Regnantia.
Emperor of the Regnantia Empire.
And the male lead.
He, who could be described by all those words, was the main "male lead" of this Story.
Why?
A chilling light bloomed in the depths of Richard’s watery eyes.
Why is it always you?
He always took her away, pushing Richard aside. No matter how many times Richard Regressed, that ending never changed.
Even now, on the forty-eighth time, it was the same.
All because of one reason.
Because he was the male lead.
If only you weren’t here...
I should be the one standing there.
Richard was angry.
At the sight of Cailus occupying the place beside her like a victor, whispering sweet words into her ear.
He was disgusted.
At the sight of him shamelessly receiving everyone’s blessings as they marched forward.
And he was also envious.
Of all of it.
...
A fierce killing intent emanated from Richard’s blue eyes.
He wanted to snap that arrogant, stiff neck right now.
His clenched teeth ground together.
"Young Lord Friedrich is truly pitiful."
"That’s right. He adored the young lady of Beatus so much..."
A few nobles around him covered their mouths and whispered.
Sympathy.
And pity.
Those were the only kinds of gazes directed at him.
A man abandoned by her.
He was nothing more and nothing less than that.
"..."
Feeling utterly wretched, Richard bit his lower lip so hard it nearly bled.
At that moment, someone tapped him on the shoulder from behind.
Before Richard could even turn his head, it happened.
Crash!
With a shattering sound, the wineglass on the tray toppled, spilling its contents all over his clothes.
The cold, sticky liquid completely soaked his shirt and trousers.
"I’m sorry, Young Lord Friedrich!"
The face of the servant carrying the tray turned pale. At a loss for what to do, the servant bowed repeatedly.
"..."
Drenched in wine, Richard stood frozen in place, unable to move.
The rich scent of wine pierced his nostrils like strong liquor.
"How unfortunate..."
"Of all days, for something like that to happen..."
The surrounding nobles began murmuring again.
Drops of red wine fell from the hem of his pure white shirt.
"Tsk, tsk. Why is he just standing there like a fool...?"
"Shh. He must feel terrible inside..."
The swarm-like murmuring grew louder and louder.
Faint snickering could also be heard.
Richard was both an object of sympathy and a laughingstock.
Before he knew it, even the nobles standing across from him were watching.
No.
Everyone’s gaze was directed at Richard.
Including hers—the protagonist of the ceremony.
"!.."
Her pale green eyes, tinged with surprise, fell upon him.
Upon him, in his pitiful state, after attending the wedding of the woman he loved only to be drenched in wine.
"Cail, Richard!.."
She stopped walking and looked at Richard with anxious eyes.
Her hand tightened around the arm of the man occupying the place beside her.
"Daphne?"
The man who had stopped abruptly raised one eyebrow.
A cold gaze slowly fell upon Richard.
It was the moment their eyes met across the air.
"Hah."
A clear sneer brushed across Cailus’s lips.
He raised his chin sharply and looked down upon Richard with all his might, as though saying—
Who do you dare to be jealous of?
How dare you, a loser who had her taken from him by me, still hope for anything?
"..."
Richard’s wine-soaked shoulder trembled faintly.
He glared back at Cailus through clenched teeth.
How dare you.
He wanted to return that arrogant gaze.
How dare you occupy the place beside her?
Male lead.
What the hell are you?
A thousand fires boiled inside him.
He could not accept it.
Who are you to dare occupy that place beside her?
Fine.
It didn’t matter even if it wasn’t me.
It was all right even if he was not the one standing beside her. He could endure someone else occupying that place.
Because she was too good for him.
...
But—
He could not accept a man like Cailus le Regnantia.
Does this scene look like a happy ending to you?
Do you think he should be standing beside her simply because he is the male lead?
It’s all wrong.
Cailus le Regnantia was a man who would ultimately make her unhappy.
Richard knew why.
Even though this might look like the final scene of a novel with a happy ending, in the end...
"..."
As if recalling unpleasant memories, Richard’s brow twisted deeply.
Red wine dripped from his entire body.
Richard made no effort to wipe it away.
Instead, he raised his head and glared at the man with a murderous gaze.
The man who had driven her into misery countless times.
Still drenched in a liquid that faintly resembled blood, Richard secretly pulled a single matchstick from behind his back.
Die.
Scrape—
The red match head scraped against the rough surface.
Die.
Tap.
The match, now burning with a small flame, fell to the ground.
Please die.
Whoosh—!
"Kyaaah!"
"W-What is this?!"
The flames met the oil he had secretly scattered beneath the lawn earlier and spread across the area in an instant, like a flooding river.
Screams echoed from every direction, and acrid smoke billowed upward.
"!.."
Before the ashen smoke obscured his vision, the last thing Richard saw was a pair of red eyes trembling like candlelight in the wind.
"Everyone, please evacuate!"
Amid the ashen smoke, where no one could see even an inch ahead, the knights began evacuating the guests.
"Young Lord Friedrich, please hurry!.."
"..."
Ignoring the knight shouting for him to evacuate, Richard trudged forward, forcing his way through the smoke.
Through the acrid haze, he caught sight of her and that man hastily fleeing.
"Damn you, Cailus!"
Richard charged toward him.
"Keuk!.."
He grabbed Cailus by the neck and climbed on top of him.
"Your Imperial Majesty!"
"Your Majesty!"
The moment the Emperor vanished into the smoke, the guard knights cried out for him.
"Die!"
Richard tightened both hands around Cailus’s neck.
Crimson veins bulged on the backs of his hands.
"!.."
A murderous aura flowed through the thick smoke, where only the two of them existed.
The air grew heavy, and killing intent surged.
Richard looked down at him with gleaming eyes and asked,
"Does it feel good to be the protagonist?"
I hate it.
I hate you, who takes her from me every time simply because you are the male lead.
I hate you, who has done nothing but make her unhappy through forty-eight Regressions.
"Keuk, what?.."
"Right. It must feel good."
At the same time, I’m envious.
"I’m so envious. You must feel as though you have the whole world, don’t you?"
Truly, Richard envied him so much.
He envied him enough to make his stomach ache.
How arrogant must he feel?
How much must it seem as though he owned the entire world?
Ever since Richard had begun Regressing, he had been jealous of Cailus more than ten times a day.
Jealous of his innate ability to win over the female lead so easily.
To win her over.
But that was not his ability.
It was simply because he was the male lead.
"Ghk, Fr-Fri-d-rich!.."
The man lying collapsed on the lawn coughed as the lack of air and the smoke closing in from all sides overwhelmed him.
"What nonsense have you been spouting since—"
"Ha, haha!.. Don’t get the wrong idea!"
Richard pressed on without even listening to him.
"You’re only doing so well because you’re the ‘protagonist.’"
That’s right.
That was all it was.
Simply because he was the male lead of this "Story."
Without that, he would not even possess the qualifications or the audacity to be with her.
"Keuk!.."
"So die."
Richard’s voice turned cold, and he poured even more strength into the arms gripping the Emperor’s neck.
Richard looked down at him with half-lidded eyes.
"If you die, there will be no one left for Lady Daphne but me."
Countless deep and twisted emotions churned violently in the depths of his watery eyes.
"So die, Cailus."
The face of the man pinned beneath him grew paler and paler as strength drained from his body.
Thud.
A cold corpse lay sprawled on the ground.
The moment the second male lead finally killed the male lead.
That was what had happened during Richard Friedrich’s forty-eighth Regression.
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