Rolling in Bed with the Male Lead

Senin stiffened as he sensed the frigid atmosphere.

This mood...

The icy air and chilling silence emanating from His Highness the Crown Prince.

Senin prudently closed his mouth.

His Highness was speaking with his entire being.

Because of Richard Friedrich, everything had been ruined.

"Thanks to you..."

Cailus pressed his fingers to his forehead, a shadowed smile on his face.

"I’ve been placed in an extremely difficult position... It was supposed to be an opportunity to convey my sincerity to Daphne."

His voice turned as cold as ice at the thought of Richard Friedrich.

And of course it did.

How deeply His Highness cares for Lady Daphne...

Senin squeezed his eyes shut.

His Highness deeply loved Lady Daphne.

Could the young master of Friedrich truly be aware of those feelings?

No, could he even dare to understand them?

There had not been a single day His Highness did not regret his actions.

"Let us break off the engagement."

From the day he placed the parchment on the desk after uttering that short, cutting declaration,

To just a few days ago, when he had desperately begged for forgiveness.

And even now, at this very moment.

He was likely regretting it again and again.

"Your Highness..."

Senin let out a heavy sigh.

Just what is the young master of Friedrich thinking...?

It was unbearably painful to have to deliver unwelcome news to his master.

"It may be impertinent of me, but there is something you should be aware of."

Hesitating, he brought forward the object he had been hiding behind his back.

A single neatly folded letter rested on his respectfully outstretched palm.

"..."

The moment Cailus saw the seal stamped on the letter, his face hardened.

"The young master of Friedrich has submitted a request to attend the Imperial tea party."

Senin continued, carefully gauging Cailus’s reaction.

"Will Your Highness be attending the tea party?"

"..."

The space between Cailus’s brows narrowed slightly.

A brief silence followed.

Then he parted his lips.

"Has Daphne said she will attend?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

Senin nodded cautiously.

"..."

A low sigh escaped Cailus’s lips.

After a long moment of anguish, he rose from his seat.

The Imperial tea party.

"A few days ago, in the banquet hall..."

"My goodness, calling it rude would be an understatement. It was madness..."

Inside a glass conservatory flooded with brilliant sunlight, the nobles gathered in small groups were as busy as ever discussing the incident.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the young master of Friedrich..."

It was the hottest topic of late.

The young master of Friedrich’s confession of love to His Highness the Crown Prince!

The story was that the young master of Friedrich had confessed the feelings he had long harbored for His Highness the Crown Prince right in the middle of the banquet hall.

"Is that really true?"

"Good heavens, there’s no way the young master of Friedrich would do such a thing!"

The young ladies who secretly admired Richard Friedrich recoiled in shock, waving their hands dismissively.

The young ladies were largely divided into two factions.

The empire’s two most handsome men.

Those who admired the Crown Prince, and those who admired the young master of Friedrich.

The young ladies in Richard’s faction simply could not believe the incident said to have occurred in the banquet hall.

"Ha, you find it unbelievable? I saw it clearly with my own eyes."

"Exactly. He was a madman through and through!"

On the other hand, the young ladies in the Crown Prince’s faction rolled their eyes in deep displeasure.

They were unbearably irritated by the mere fact that His Highness the Crown Prince had suffered such an ordeal.

The young ladies in Richard’s faction glared at them and shouted.

"The young master of Friedrich is not that kind of person!"

"With so many people witnessing that spectacle, how could it possibly be false? The young master of Friedrich is a mad, deviant pervert."

The young ladies in the Crown Prince’s faction snorted derisively.

They intended to publicly disparage Richard Friedrich, who had sullied His Highness the Crown Prince’s dignity.

"Lady Blanche! Have you not said enough?"

"I am merely calling the truth the truth. Is there a problem?"

Richard’s faction and the Crown Prince’s faction.

Fierce sparks flew between the two sides.

Meanwhile, at the garden entrance—

"Uh, Lord Friedrich?"

The soldier guarding the garden door looked at Richard suspiciously.

The much-rumored Richard Friedrich stood before him with a beaming smile.

"Yes."

"Well..."

The soldier continued reluctantly.

"Are you really... going to attend the tea party?"

His expression clearly showed that he did not want to let Richard inside.

Has the rumor already spread?

Richard thought.

It seemed news of the banquet hall incident had already reached even this soldier’s ears. The man could barely conceal his reluctance.

But Richard merely tilted his head, perfectly nonchalant.

"Is that a problem?"

"That’s not it, but..."

The soldier bit down hard on his lower lip.

"No. Please come in."

Still wearing a reluctant expression, he opened the glass door leading into the conservatory garden.

"Thank you."

Richard inclined his head slightly and stepped inside.

Soft sunlight streamed through the glass walls.

At the center of the garden, surrounded by flowers of every kind, cool water poured from a marble fountain.

I see.

So that’s the young master of Friedrich.

The nobles seated in the tea-party area arranged along one side of the garden looked toward Richard.

The garden, which had been bustling only moments before, instantly turned cold.

As though someone had poured icy water over it.

Only the occasional sound of stifled laughter could be heard.

Every gaze was fixed upon Richard.

But that frigid atmosphere was none of Richard’s concern.

Something so trivial was not important to him now.

Objective.

Richard opened his eyes wide and reaffirmed his objective.

The purpose of attending this tea party.

What kind of episode was this again?

Let me say it once more.

The heroine drinks poisoned tea and collapses, and as the male lead worries over her, subtle feelings begin to develop between them.

Then—

What must he do here to prevent the romance between the two protagonists from progressing?

The poisoned tea is mine.

Richard licked his lips.

More precisely, he would steal what belonged to Lady Daphne.

He planned to take Daphne’s poisoned tea and drink it all himself.

He would gulp it down deliciously, without leaving a single drop.

"..."

Approaching the tea table, Richard pulled out an empty chair.

The surrounding atmosphere seemed to grow even colder, but he paid it no mind.

Richard looked around.

Is Lady Daphne not here yet?

After confirming that Daphne was nowhere to be seen, he sat down.

Just as he reached for his fork to eat some cake—

"Lord Friedrich."

A voice laced with thorns pierced his ears.

"Is that rumor true?"

It was the young countess seated to his right.

Her red lips twisted upward as she lightly tapped her fingers against the table.

Richard, cutting a slice of cake into smaller pieces with his fork, asked in return,

"Which rumor are you referring to?"

"My, what rumor could it possibly be but that one?"

The young countess sneered openly.

"There is no greater celebrity these days than Lord Friedrich."

The surroundings fell silent as the nobles strained to listen to their conversation.

"In the banquet hall, you confessed your feelings to His Highness the Crown Prince, did you not?"

The question brimmed with unmistakable malice.

The young lady had brought it up to humiliate Richard.

Whether he answered yes or no, he would be placed in an awkward position.

"..."

Richard nonchalantly popped a piece of cake into his mouth.

Because he was still chewing, it took him a moment to answer.

"It is true."

A flat response flowed from his lips.

"..."

At his unperturbed answer, the young countess’s face stiffened for a moment.

How can he be so brazen?

She was bewildered, but quickly gathered herself and continued.

"Because of this, rumors that the young master of Friedrich is not in his right mind are spreading everywhere."

She was determined to publicly expose his mistake and crush his dignity.

"Aren’t you ashamed, Young Lord?"

The young countess wore a strained smile.

Surely he would understand by now.

"Hmm."

Richard took another bite of cake and thought deeply.

Ashamed?

Of something he had done for Lady Daphne?

"No...?"

How could something done for Lady Daphne possibly be shameful?

If anything, he was proud.

Never ashamed.

"I am proud."

Richard straightened his shoulders and spoke.

That was the conclusion he had reached.

"Ha, ha?"

The young countess bit her lower lip, as though she found his answer absurd.

"What in the world..."

He’s actually proud of being a mad, deviant pervert?

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