Rolling in Bed with the Male Lead

"Oh my."

Princess Cesica smirked venomously.

Glancing at the wrist Richard held, she asked, "Who do you think you are, putting your hands on someone else's body, Young Master Friedrich?"

"Princess Cesica!"

Richard felt heat surge all the way to the top of his head.

How dare she? Who did she think she was? Lady Daphne was the one person he had failed to protect, no matter how many times he regressed. How dare she...

"How dare..."

Words devoid of reason were about to spill from Richard's mouth when—

"Richard, I'm all right!.."

Daphne hurriedly stopped him.

She grabbed Richard by both shoulders.

"..."

Crunch.

Richard bit his lip.

He turned toward her, his face contorted.

Thankfully, her cheek was unmarked, but how could she possibly be completely fine after being struck?

"You're all right?"

She was always like this.

So brave when it came to other people's affairs, yet so indifferent when it came to her own.

She had been the same back then.

Lady Daphne. How is life in the Imperial Palace?.. His Majesty the Emperor hasn't been too harsh with you, has he?..

Huh? What are you talking about, Richard?

After she married Cailus.

Whenever he asked whether she was all right...

I'm fine.

She always answered as though it truly meant nothing.

Even when she wasn't.

Please...

Couldn't she care for herself a little more?..

But...

"..."

In the end, Richard could only grit his teeth and release the villainess's wrist.

His fingertips trembled slightly, but he clenched his fist tightly.

She had stopped him. He could not go against Lady Daphne.

"You should know your place, Young Master."

As though mocking him, Princess Cesica curled one corner of her mouth.

"Well, then."

Snap.

Her fan closed.

"Shall we continue our conversation, Lady Beatus?"

Princess Cesica wore a malicious smile.

"His Highness the Crown Prince..."

One step.

She stepped forward.

"Has been clinging to you quite suddenly lately, hasn't he?"

"..."

"But..."

Tsk.

"It simply seems too strange, you see."

The tip of her fan prodded Daphne's collarbone.

"His Highness was originally someone who treated you so coldly, wasn't he, Lady Beatus? For him to change so suddenly..."

"..."

Daphne's lips parted slightly, but she could not answer.

Princess Cesica's eyes curved like a snake's.

"As I thought..."

Her rosy lips parted.

"Could it be that you seduced His Highness?"

"!.."

"Using vulgar tricks like the women of the red-light district."

"Princess Cesica!.."

Daphne bit her lip tightly.

"..."

Richard wanted to step forward at once, but he held himself back.

Because Daphne had told him to stay still.

"Hm? I asked you a question, My Lady. You should answer."

"Princess Cesica, I have never..."

It was an unbearably infuriating sight.

Why was Princess Cesica so desperate to torment Lady Daphne?

This was precisely why Richard disliked her.

The villainess.

A being born to torment the heroine.

She was fundamentally incompatible with Richard, who had been born into the "role" of the second male lead.

...

He was gritting his teeth when—

Wait.

Richard suddenly realized that he had forgotten something important.

Torment?

The event originally supposed to happen at this ball.

Amid the villainess's torment, the male lead would make a dramatic entrance and save the woman he loved.

That's right.

Richard belatedly regained his reason.

A cliché.

This was the beginning of a cliché.

The cliché in which the male lead saved the heroine.

"!.."

His watery blue eyes wavered. Soon, the torment would reach its climax, and when it did...

Cailus.

The male lead would appear.

"Oh my. Did I strike a nerve? You cannot say anything."

"That is enough, Princess Cesica."

"What exactly do you mean? Shouldn't Lady Beatus be the one who needs to know her place?"

The tension gradually mounted.

"Since words alone seem insufficient for you to understand..."

Her hand, clad in a black glove glittering with jewels, reached toward the side table.

She picked up a glass of wine.

No.

Richard had a premonition.

The villainess would undoubtedly pour that wine over Lady Daphne!

At the moment she was humiliated before everyone...

The male lead would appear!..

And the romance would progress.

I can't let that happen.

Richard gritted his teeth and glared at the wineglass in her hand.

"Ah, my hand—"

The villainess deliberately let her hand slip.

The instant the wineglass tilted—

"!.."

Richard threw himself forward, blocking her path.

Crash!

The wineglass fell to the floor and shattered.

And then...

"Did you just... slip?"

Richard was drenched from head to toe in the spilled wine.

"..."

He could see Princess Cesica's violet eyes trembling in bewilderment.

"Young Master Friedrich?.."

"Princess Cesica."

Richard decided to act without thinking.

Immediately—

Thud.

He let his knees buckle beneath him.

Bowing his head pitifully, he clutched the collar of his wine-soaked shirt, which had turned translucent and exposed the skin beneath it.

He counted down in his head.

From now on...

Three.

Two.

One.

"His Imperial Majesty's little sun, His Highness the Crown Prince, has arrived!"

The male lead had appeared.

"Princess Cesica..."

A pitiful voice came from Richard as he knelt on the floor. Drenched in wine, he looked up at Princess Cesica while clutching his wet shirt with trembling hands.

"What... are you doing?.."

His watery blue eyes trembled as though he had been deeply wounded, tears threatening to fall at any moment.

"Young Master?"

Princess Cesica continued staring down at Richard in bewilderment.

"..."

And Cailus watched them with cold eyes.

Richard continued his pitiful act like a rain-soaked puppy.

He spoke in a tearful voice.

"Were you... that desperate to see what was underneath?"

"What on earth!.."

The villainess froze.

"Hic. Even so, you should not do this, Princess Cesica."

Richard spoke while desperately trying to cover his chest, his wine-soaked shirt now transparent.

"It is too... shameful."

The nobles who had not properly grasped the situation began to murmur.

So, just now...

Did Princess Cesica harass Young Master Friedrich?

Confused by the situation, the bewildered nobles let out awkward chuckles.

Young Master Friedrich is certainly handsome, but...

Knowing Princess Cesica, she might truly do such a thing...

Thanks to Princess Cesica's poor reputation, the nobles were easily swayed.

It would be ideal if this led to Cailus taking care of me, but...

Pretending to wipe his eyes, Richard discreetly glanced toward Cailus.

"..."

Unlike the other nobles, Cailus merely stared down at Richard, his expression unchanged.

Eventually, he sighed and turned his gaze away from Richard and Princess Cesica as though he had lost interest.

Tch.

Richard clicked his tongue inwardly.

Expecting that much had indeed been unreasonable.

After all, he doesn't like me yet.

"Princess Cesica, never again..."

Though disappointed, Richard was about to bring the situation to a close when his eyes suddenly met Daphne's.

Hm?

Somehow, her expression was different from usual.

Was it determination?

Resolve?

She looked from Cailus to Richard, then nodded to herself as though she had made a decision.

Then she picked up a wineglass.

At her movement, Cailus's gaze returned to them.

What is she planning to do?

Richard blinked.

Somehow, she looks more resolute than ever before...

At that moment—

Splash!

Cold wine poured over Richard's head.

"!.."

Richard raised his head in bewilderment, wine dripping from his hair.

"Ah."

A bell-like voice rang out.

"Sorry, Richard."

Holding the empty wineglass upside down, Daphne smiled coldly.

"My hand slipped too."

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