Rolling in Bed with the Male Lead

"You truly are..."

Cailus pressed a hand to his head as though he had a headache.

"..."

His mouth covered by that broad palm, Richard Friedrich stared at Cailus with mockery in his ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) eyes.

Cailus, who had him pinned between the wall and his own body, repeatedly let out heavy sighs.

After a long while, he finally spoke.

"Will you truly be able to do it?"

He slowly removed his hand from Richard Friedrich's mouth.

"Can you?"

Richard Friedrich did not readily reveal his true intentions. He lifted his chin and chuckled softly.

"..."

"You...!"

Cailus slammed his arm roughly against the wall. The distance between them narrowed drastically.

They were a handspan apart, close enough to feel each other's breath.

"...!"

Only then did Richard's lake-blue eyes flicker.

"..."

"..."

An icy silence swept between them. The two stared coldly at each other without a word.

"To speak so recklessly..."

Just as Cailus furrowed his brow and opened his mouth—

Scratch, scratch, scratch—

A chilling sound pierced their ears.

"Just now..."

"Yeah, I heard it."

Their gazes simultaneously turned toward the cave entrance.

Skitter, skitter—

The eerie sound was drawing closer.

"Be on your guard."

"I already am."

The two watched the entrance warily.

Not even a few seconds had passed when—

Scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch, creeeeak—!

A disgusting swarm of ice spiders flooded into the cave like a tidal wave.

"...!"

Without a moment's hesitation, Cailus drew his longsword.

Creeeeak—!

One spider rushed toward him.

Its eight legs, as sharp as ice crystals, stretched grotesquely toward his torso.

Whoosh—!

A sharp silver blade swiftly cleaved the air.

Cailus skillfully swung his sword, slicing through the ice spider's body.

Kiiiiik!

The spider let out a chilling scream as sharp chunks of ice clattered to the floor.

"Hah."

He immediately raised his head and looked forward.

Scratch, scratch, scratch, kiiik—!

The enraged swarm's six grotesque eyes flashed. Five or six spiders charged at him simultaneously.

Kyaaaaak!

The spiders spewed icy webbing.

"...!"

Cailus lowered his stance, flawlessly evading their attacks. Then—

Thud!

Crack—!

With swift, precise, and composed movements, he stabbed each spider through the left side of its chest in turn.

Kiiik...

The spiders collapsed around him, their hearts pierced.

"Haa."

Just as Cailus paused to catch his breath—

Kiiiiiiik—!

An ice spider charged fiercely from behind him.

"...!"

Cailus swiftly turned.

He was about to swing his dagger at the spider aiming for his right shoulder, but...

Too late!

The moment he realized he was one step behind—

Thwack!

A dagger flew in a straight line and precisely pierced the left side of the spider's chest.

"You owe me. Put it on your tab."

Richard Friedrich, who had thrown the dagger, was grinning.

"..."

Cailus's brow furrowed deeply.

But there was no time to waste bickering with him.

Dozens of spiders were glaring at them with all six eyes from every direction, ferociously targeting the pair.

Kiik, skitter, kiiiiak!

Having seen their comrades die, the spiders began advancing as a group.

They encircled the two of them.

"I'll take the front."

"Yeah, I'll handle the rear."

Cailus and Richard Friedrich naturally turned back-to-back. Though neither trusted the other, their teamwork was astonishingly seamless.

Kyaaaaaaaaaak!

The spiders spewed icy webbing and charged.

Sssssss—!

Cailus swung his blade in a semicircle.

The spiderwebs that touched it were severed like fragile threads.

Thwack!

Crack-crack-crack!

Crack—!

He calmly dealt with the ice spiders swarming him from the front, one by one.

"Fighting well? As expected of the 'male lead'—"

Richard Friedrich, covering the rear where there were relatively fewer enemies, grinned and curled up the corner of his mouth.

"Male lead?"

"Never mind. Watch your front."

After uttering something incomprehensible, Richard Friedrich turned his attention back to the rear. Like Cailus, he swiftly ended the lives of the spiders rushing at him.

Thwack—!

Bang!

Crack-crack-crack—!

For a long while, only the sounds of stabbing and swinging blades echoed hollowly through the cave.

The two exchanged no further words, but their movements were perfectly synchronized. They protected each other's backs as they dealt with the swarm.

Whenever a spider stealthily targeted Richard Friedrich's back, Cailus stabbed it. Whenever Cailus's back was in danger, Richard Friedrich quickly stabbed the spider's eyes, making it stumble.

One, two, five... ten...

Before they knew it, they were surrounded by nothing but corpses.

Only the limp, motionless bodies of ice spiders remained.

"Hoo..."

Cailus let out a long sigh. He returned the silver-gleaming dagger to its sheath.

Ice spiders.

They were more intelligent monsters than expected. They had realized the two of them were few in number, surrounded them, and attacked from all sides.

"Young Master Friedrich."

Cailus addressed the man still standing behind him.

"You fought well."

"Is it all over now?"

Richard Friedrich's voice came from behind him.

Cailus glanced at the spider corpses at his feet. There was no movement. None remained alive.

"Yes, it's all—"

The moment he answered—

"Good."

An inexplicable chill ran down Cailus's spine. For some reason, Richard's voice sounded peculiarly cold.

The moment he tried to look back—

Thud!

A hard, blunt object struck the back of Cailus's neck.

"...?!"

He collapsed forward without uttering a sound.

As his vision faded, he saw Richard Friedrich holding a dagger by the blade.

The last thing he saw was Richard smiling unmistakably.

Then he lost consciousness.

Richard Friedrich grinned.

You should have stayed on guard until the end.

They were not allies. No, they could never be allies.

They fought back-to-back so they could strike each other even harder from behind, and fought with all their might so they could utterly crush each other.

And if their bodies were ever to mingle, it would surely be a ploy to kill the other in the throes of passion.

"Hmm, hm—"

Humming a tune, Richard Friedrich approached Cailus, who lay collapsed at his feet. He leisurely rummaged through the fallen man's black cloak.

This is a dagger... Not this either... Ah. Found it.

He pulled something from inside the cloak.

Finally, I've reclaimed it.

Joy briefly flickered through his lake-blue eyes.

The Basvalrica fruit.

The Basvalrica fruit that had been stolen from him at the edge of the cliff. At last, it had returned to his hands.

"Sorry, Cailus."

Holding the Basvalrica fruit, Richard Friedrich chuckled and spoke to the unconscious Cailus.

"You stabbed me in the back too, you know. So you'll have to let this slide."

No answer came from the fallen man.

Richard Friedrich grinned and pulled another dagger from inside his cloak.

Sssk—

Pushing up his sleeve, he lightly drew the blade across his forearm.

"I'll leave you a little something to remember me by."

Red blood seeped from the wound. Using his fingertip and his own blood as paint, he trudged step by step toward one of the cave walls.

It was the wall Cailus would most likely face when he regained consciousness and got up the next morning.

Swish, swish—

After leaving his message, Richard Friedrich curled up the corner of his mouth in satisfaction.

"This should do."

With that, he tucked the Basvalrica fruit into his own cloak. Then, without looking back, he stepped out of the cave.

[See you in the capital, darling.]

In the cave where only Cailus remained, a heart and red letters had been drawn on one wall, giving off the distinctive metallic scent of blood.

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