Rolling in Bed with the Male Lead

For a long while, he could not find the words. His red pupils flickered like a candle at the edge of a precipice.

"Would you like to give it a try?"

"Enough."

Just as Richard raised his hands to undo his belt, a cold voice rang out.

"Hah..."

Cailus rubbed his temples as though he had seen something he should not have.

After a long silence, a single sentence escaped his lips.

"You are truly insane."

One could tell that a great deal of meaning had been packed tightly into that single sentence, for his voice, always cold, trembled faintly.

With that, he sharply turned his head away.

"..."

As though he wanted nothing more to do with any of it.

Turning his back on Richard, he pulled open the lounge door.

Squeak.

With the sound of the door closing, his footsteps faded away.

And so, the ball ended, and the next day dawned.

As soon as day broke, Richard once again headed for the Chesika Dukedom.

Come to the Dukedom the day after tomorrow.

It was to keep his promise to the Duke.

"Please come in, Young Master Friedrich."

The moment he stood before the entrance, the soldiers pulled open the doors on both sides.

Richard gave them a slight nod of acknowledgment and entered the drawing room by the fireplace.

There, the Duke, Bilmar Chesika, was already waiting.

Bilmar's shadow fell neatly across the high-quality carpets laid [N O V E L I G H T] here and there.

"It is fortunate that you are not late."

Bilmar wore a rare, gentle smile.

"I have come as promised, Your Grace."

Richard bowed politely with proper etiquette.

"Good."

Bilmar nodded and unrolled the scroll on the table.

"Let us sit and talk first."

He gestured with his chin toward the sofa opposite him.

"Yes, Your Grace."

Richard obediently sat down across from him. He stared intently at the scroll in the Duke's hand.

"But that is..."

"It is a contract."

The moment Richard voiced his question, the answer came.

"Ah. Of course, it is no ordinary contract. It is a magical contract, you see."

Curling one corner of his mouth, the Duke fluttered the scroll in his hand.

"We decided to be in the same boat now, did we not?"

"Yes, Your Grace."

"Then naturally, we must form a contract."

Thud.

He placed the unfurled magical contract on the table.

"The terms of the contract are as follows."

His deep voice sank even lower.

"Richard Friedrich shall seduce Crown Prince Cailus le Regnantia, and Bilmar Chesika shall provide his absolute support."

"..."

Richard slowly scanned the contract and nodded.

Up to this point, it was only natural.

Seducing Cailus was Richard's goal, and using that to draw him out was the other party's goal.

"And."

A chilly silence flowed between them for a moment.

"The two shall never betray each other's trust."

Violet eyes glinted sharply in the darkness.

"Should the contract be broken, the offending party will receive the 'curse' bound to this magical contract."

A violet gaze that seemed capable of swallowing even the darkness.

Just as goosebumps rose at the madness seeping from the depths of that gaze, the Duke smiled slyly as though nothing had happened.

"Simple, is it not?"

"Yes."

Richard's gaze turned somewhat awkward.

Magical contract.

A type of magical tool imbued with a mage's power.

Such a contract could become extremely dangerous depending on how it was used.

For instance... if it stipulated a "curse" as the penalty for breaking it, as this one did.

According to the rumors Richard had heard, those who broke a contract containing such a clause were said to suffer unbearable nightmares every night.

And they were not merely ordinary nightmares.

They were nightmares that gnawed at the human mind like worms.

Those who received the curse suffered increasingly severe hallucinations until they could no longer distinguish reality from dreams, and in the end, they all took their own lives.

Thorough indeed.

His watery blue eyes rested on Duke Bilmar Chesika before him.

He does not fully trust me, does he?

Producing such a contract meant that he had considered the possibility of Richard's betrayal.

Even though he had shown Richard a subtle familiarity just yesterday, speaking of how alike they were and the like, he was indeed a Duke for a reason.

Today, he was drawing a firm line, calculating everything without leaving a single opening.

"Just press your seal with blood."

The Duke handed him a dagger.

"..."

Richard silently met his gaze.

This was a test.

If I do not press my seal here, I will undoubtedly look suspicious.

Well...

Richard secretly twisted his lips into a smile.

There are ways out of it.

He had not lived through dozens of lives for nothing. Even now, three or four methods had already come to mind.

"Yes, Your Grace."

Taking the dagger from the Duke, Richard made a fine cut on his fingertip without hesitation.

Sssk—

Using the welling blood as ink, he firmly pressed his seal at the very bottom of the contract.

A red mark spread across the document.

"At last, we are truly in the same boat."

The Duke rose from his seat, one corner of his mouth lifting in satisfaction.

"Well, then... now that the contract has been signed as well..." The Duke's eyes curved like a fox's. "Shall we take a look around the mansion?"

It seemed he wanted to build a degree of familiarity beyond that of mere contractual partners.

Since there was no harm in gaining his favor, Richard nodded.

"It would be an honor if you showed me around."

And so, the Duke showed him every corner of the rose garden, the pond, and then the study, in that order. It felt as though the Duke himself had only just arrived at the mansion.

What are these paintings?

While touring the various rooms, Richard paused before one in particular.

Countless portraits resembling the Emperor hung inside, as though casting a curse upon their subject.

He does not seem to be in his right mind.

Richard frowned and passed the room by.

He truly was a strange man.

As he entertained such idle thoughts, Richard reminded himself of his original purpose in approaching the Chesika Ducal House.

The Empress's remains.

To uphold his deal with the Emperor, he absolutely had to learn the location of the remains from the Duke.

"Your Grace."

Richard, who had been following him down the corridor, suddenly stopped.

If he asked directly about the location of the remains, the Duke would sense his true intentions as well.

So.

"Your Grace..."

Like a tiger stalking its prey, carefully. Stealthily closing in.

"Might I ask... why you are so infatuated with Her Majesty the Empress?"

"..."

The Duke's footsteps abruptly halted.

"An interesting question."

A faint laugh escaped his lips.

The Duke slowly turned and looked at Richard.

"You..."

"..."

"What do you think makes one fall in love with someone?"

Richard blinked slowly.

It was a difficult question. He was not unfamiliar with love, but to him, love was something too natural and obvious to require a reason.

"Put simply, one might say it is love at first sight, or that one is happiest when with that person. However."

The Duke slowly raised his head.

"I do not think so."

The chandelier's light shone coldly upon his violet eyes.

He closed his eyes and murmured softly.

"Love is akin to hatred."

"Duke!"

"..."

"Duke Chesika!"

"..."

"Bilmar Chesika!"

The Emperor Raios's sharp cry tore through the ballroom and echoed through the air.

A desperately outstretched hand seized Bilmar's arm.

"..."

Bilmar slowly turned.

His face was frozen like ice.

His eyes were devoid of emotion, warmth, or the slightest agitation.

"Your Majesty."

The smile fixed upon his lips was formal. His voice was unbearably cold.

"Do you have something to say?"

At those words, Raios's face twisted violently.

"Is it because of Elica that you are treating me this way?"

"..."

"Do you have feelings for her?"

The Emperor's hand trembled violently.

The tremor in the fingertips gripping him was not anger, but fear.

The fear of possibly losing a friend.

"Bilmar."

He whispered.

"If that is what you want... I will even divorce her. So—"

"Your Majesty."

Bilmar cut him off.

His gaze had turned icy, and not the slightest trace of hesitation remained in his voice.

Without so much as glancing at the Emperor, he stepped away.

"I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about."

"Bilmar!"

Raios's cry rang out again.

But Bilmar did not look back.

Twenty-five years ago.

An irreversible story had been woven between two men and one woman.

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