Rolling in Bed with the Male Lead

The world was unfair.

What one person could yearn for all his life and never possess,

another was born with effortlessly.

"......"

So it was with Cailus and Richard.

Even after living through dozens of lives, Richard had never won Daphne’s heart,

while Cailus claimed it effortlessly every single time.

......That is why I hate you.

Richard lowered his head and clenched his teeth.

The grinding of his molars pierced his ears.

I hate you more than anyone in this world.

The face he hated most in the world.

Whenever he saw it, all the patience he had built up collapsed into nothing.

The pain of having his heart trampled underfoot was always the same.

I want to crush your life down to its very roots.

Just as you had done to me every time.

......

Richard recalled Prince Talinos’s words.

I intend to commit treason.

He had spoken calmly, yet without the slightest hesitation.

The prince had said he would seize the throne by force and bring Cailus down.

In that case—

......Fine.

He did not care if someone used him as a pawn.

If it meant bringing Cailus down,

he would resort to any cowardly means necessary.

I will drag you down.

His watery-blue eyes gleamed coldly.

Several days passed.

In the depths of dawn, on a road at the unlit outskirts of the capital,

even the sky was gloomy at that early hour. Only a faint sliver of moonlight spilled over the city walls.

"......"

Richard stopped and silently pulled the hood of his black robe lower.

The fabric around his shoulders seemed to settle heavily upon him.

A hot ache throbbed deep within his chest.

I’m sorry, Richard.

Daphne’s voice still lingered in his ears.

The sorrowful face she had worn as she finally rejected his confession hovered before his eyes.

Like a shadow that followed him everywhere, a specter clinging to his ankles.

But.

Richard forced himself to erase her image.

Today, he had no time to wallow in sentiment.

I’ll introduce you to the core members of the rebel forces soon.

Today was the day he had agreed to meet with Prince Talinos.

"You came."

Clad in a black cloak, Talinos emerged from the shadows of a dark alley.

The corners of his red lips curved strangely.

His expression held a trace of delight, as though he had been awaiting this moment for a very long time.

"As I told you before, I’ll introduce you to the core of the rebel forces."

"......The core?"

"You might call them the heart of the rebellion."

Talinos answered with a low laugh.

"Well, then. Shall we go?"

"......Yes."

Richard silently followed the prince.

Each time the soles of his shoes struck the stone road, the sound echoed through the alley.

At its end stood a cracked brick wall.

When Talinos pressed one of the bricks with his palm, an ancient mechanism creaked into motion.

A moment later, the wall slowly opened like the entrance to a secret passage.

"Let’s go in."

Talinos gave a nonchalant shrug and led the way.

A long staircase descended into the darkness beyond.

"......"

Richard drew a short breath.

The suffocating damp and the smell of layer upon layer of dust assaulted his nose.

There was so much grit in the air that the slightest rub of his eyes made sand dance across his vision.

Even so, Richard did not stop.

Following the sound of the prince’s footsteps, he pressed onward into the darkness.

The passage leading deep underground stretched endlessly ahead, steeped in darkness.

One step, then another.

Beyond a massive iron door, the passage finally opened into a spacious hall.

A long table stood at its center, encircled by towering stone pillars.

Figures in black robes sat around it.

The moment Talinos entered, the robed figures bowed in unison.

"You have arrived, Your Highness."

"We greet Your Highness."

Their low voices overlapped and echoed through the hall.

Talinos raised one hand, casually acknowledging their greetings.

"I’ve brought someone special today."

The corners of his red lips lifted strangely.

"Richard Friedrich. The second son of the Marquess of Friedrich."

A frigid silence instantly swept across the table.

"You mean... that Richard Friedrich?"

The robed figures soon began murmuring among themselves.

"The man who was always following the Crown Prince around...?"

"Can he be trusted?"

The atmosphere shifted in an instant.

"......"

Just as Richard swallowed dryly,

Talinos snapped his fingers once.

"I understand your doubts. But there is no need for such concern."

Talinos’s golden eyes flashed like those of a predator.

"I personally assessed him before bringing him here."

His voice was firm.

The low murmurs filling the hall gradually died away.

Talinos silently regarded them for a moment before slowly turning his gaze elsewhere.

To the head of the table.

The figure seated in the highest place in the hall.

An ornate butterfly pattern gleamed across the black mask covering their face.

"......"

The person in the butterfly mask said nothing.

They merely tapped their fingers against the table.

Tap, tap.

The steady yet strangely unsettling sound cut through the silence.

With a meaningful smile, Talinos turned toward the masked figure.

"What do you think, Butterfly?"

His golden eyes gleamed.

"What is your opinion?"

Every gaze in the hall turned toward the head of the table.

Richard looked that way as well.

......The prince is addressing them with respect?

His {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} eyes narrowed.

Talinos was second in the line of succession.

Apart from Cailus, who stood first, no one in the Empire outranked him.

Yet the prince was addressing that masked figure as "Butterfly" and treating them with deference.

What is going on? Who could that person possibly be?

The silence emanating from behind the mask suddenly felt strangely oppressive.

"......Well."

The lips beneath the butterfly mask slowly curved upward.

"How interesting."

The masked figure leisurely propped their chin on one hand. The butterfly pattern engraved across the mask glittered in the candlelight.

"I approve. Take a seat, Young Lord Friedrich."

With those few words, the tension directed at Richard Friedrich vanished instantly.

As though the word of the butterfly-masked figure were absolute.

"...Thank you."

Richard stared at the mask before making his way to an empty seat.

......Something is strange.

The longer he looked at that person, the more peculiar he felt.

A sense that something was wrong—or perhaps a sense of déjà vu.

The butterfly-masked figure slowly tapped their fingers against the table.

Tap, tap.

The monotonous rhythm echoed through the hall.

"Good. Then let us get to the point."

The voice behind the mask sounded somehow familiar.

"There is only one reason we have gathered here. Our objective is to bring Cailus down."

The robed figures all turned toward the head of the table. In the heavy silence, only the masked figure’s voice filled the hall.

"The balance of the Empire has been tilted for a long time. It needs a new leader."

The butterfly-masked figure gestured languidly. A massive sheet of parchment unfurled across the table, with several names marked in red ink.

"And so we will cut them away one by one. From the pillars to the roots."

As the masked figure’s fingertips brushed across the map, shadows fell over the marked names.

"Once he loses them, the Crown Prince will falter. When the foundations supporting him collapse, he will inevitably find himself isolated."

Richard steadied his breathing as he watched.

"This is no simple rebellion."

The masked figure continued.

"We intend to establish a new order. And the first step is to bring Cailus down. His position must be emptied before we can move forward."

Murmurs of assent passed among the robed figures. Some nodded, while others quietly clenched their hands. A silent but fierce resolve swept through the hall.

"Young Lord Friedrich."

The butterfly-masked figure raised their head and looked directly at Richard.

"I will give you your first assignment."

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