Rolling in Bed with the Male Lead

"The engagement is hereby announced."

The moment those words fell, the entire banquet hall froze.

In an instant, dozens of pairs of eyes turned toward the Emperor, and amid them, someone's breath caught audibly. Then a noblewoman dropped the wineglass she was holding.

Clang—!

The shattered glass struck the marble floor with a sharp sound, scattering into pieces.

"Eng... engaged?"

"Aren't they both... men?"

The nobles began murmuring among themselves and exchanging glances.

At first, there were only a few hushed whispers, but gradually, the murmuring spread like a wave.

"But... there were rumors that those two were in love with each other..."

"Even so, this is unprecedented, isn't it? And what about the succession?"

"The Imperial lineage..."

Anxiety, agitation, and confusion swirled together, enveloping the banquet hall. The nobles shook their heads in disbelief as they looked at one another.

Amid it all, there was one person.

One person stood apart, staring directly at the Emperor with his lips pressed into a tight, thin line.

Cailus le Regnantia.

His crimson eyes had sunk into an icy glare.

The moment the Emperor's declaration ended, he took a step toward the dais. A firm, weighty step. His presence was as sharp as a blade.

He had not lost the etiquette and dignity instilled in him as the Empire's Crown Prince, but the revulsion brimming within him was as apparent as thorns.

"Your Majesty."

He stepped forward and immediately opened his mouth. However—

"The Crown Prince and Richard Friedrich will follow me."

Raios cut him off sharply. Immediately afterward, the guard knights fell into formation behind him. Without offering any further explanation, the Emperor disappeared down the corridor.

"..."

Cailus gritted his teeth.

His clenched jaw was so rigid that it seemed ready to creak.

"..."

Watching him from the corner of his eye, Richard Friedrich quietly followed the Emperor.

A distinct smile grazed his lips.

The Emperor's office.

As the heavy door closed, a cold silence settled over the room.

"Sit."

Raios spoke as he looked at the two men standing side by side.

Two chairs had been neatly arranged before the large, ornately decorated golden desk. They appeared to have been prepared for this very moment from the start.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Richard Friedrich obediently sat down, as though he had been waiting for this situation.

He smiled nonchalantly and leaned back in his chair.

"..."

Cailus glared silently at Raios for a moment, then reluctantly pulled out the other chair.

Once they were all seated, without so much as a single creak—

"Sign here."

Raios took a single sheet of parchment from a drawer and silently held it out.

At the very top of the parchment, the words "Engagement Pledge" were inscribed in vivid golden letters.

"Father... Your Majesty."

Cailus pressed his lips tightly together and clenched his fist.

"I was neither informed of nor agreed to this engagement."

His crimson eyes, filled with anger, were fixed on the Emperor across the desk.

His voice was restrained as much as possible, but the emotion within it was razor-sharp.

"..."

Richard Friedrich watched him quietly, his meaning unmistakable.

That's right. You would hate it.

A sudden, forced engagement, and to another man at that.

Even I would find it utterly detestable. Especially if I were being engaged to a rival with whom I had been locked in a tense struggle over Daphne.

But.

In the end, everything will go as I intended.

Because the deal has already been made.

He slowly curled the corner of his mouth upward.

"Cailus le Regnantia."

Raios spoke again. His voice was low and as heavy as cold iron.

"You are the Crown Prince. It is your duty to obey the Emperor's command."

He offered no room for compromise.

"I am your father and the Emperor. My command is law."

"Even so, asking for the individual's opinion is the proper procedure."

Cailus's shoulders trembled faintly.

The words "Engagement Pledge" on the parchment before him were reflected in his eyes.

"And—"

He continued sharply.

"Above all, is Richard Friedrich not a man?"

His crimson eyes turned piercingly cold.

"To take him as my future partner—what sort of nonsense is—"

"Is it nonsense?"

Raios snorted in response.

"Rumors that the two of you share a particularly close relationship have already spread among the nobles, both within and beyond the Empire."

"That is—"

Cailus tried ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) to refute him, but Raios slowly tapped the desk with one fingertip.

"You are merely taking responsibility."

"..."

Cailus's brow furrowed. His voice trembled as he opened his mouth.

"Your Majesty, this is too—"

To anyone who witnessed it, this engagement was absurd.

What Emperor would engage his successor to a man?

There was no precedent for it in Imperial history. It defied common sense.

But—

"Cailus. Sign it."

Raios's voice remained unyieldingly firm.

"If you refuse, relinquish your position as Crown Prince here and now."

"...!"

For a moment, even Richard Friedrich's eyes widened.

This was no longer a negotiation. It was not even an order.

It was a threat.

A ruthless declaration that only an Emperor could make—one that no one could defy.

"..."

Gritting his teeth, Cailus finally picked up the quill.

The nib dipped into the ink and descended upon the pledge.

One letter.

Then another.

His name was inscribed on the parchment in letters as cold and precise as print.

The moment the office door closed behind them—

Richard Friedrich's wrist was roughly seized.

"...!"

Before he could even react, a violent force slammed his body against the wall.

Bang—!

The impact rang through the wall and traveled up his spine.

"Your Highness—"

"Shut your mouth."

Crimson eyes flashed with murderous intent.

The hand gripping his collar trembled.

They stood at a perilous distance, and the slightest additional force would cut off Richard's breath.

"What exactly did you scheme?"

Cailus forced the words out through gritted teeth, his voice low.

"What trick did you pull to make me... become engaged to you?"

"..."

"Answer me, Richard Friedrich!"

Cailus's voice rose.

"..."

Richard Friedrich showed no particular reaction. He merely raised the corner of his mouth in a faint smile.

He glanced sideways to confirm that no one was passing through the corridor, then spoke.

"Well."

There was a distinct hint of mockery in his watery blue eyes.

"Do you dislike me that much?"

He slowly studied Cailus's trembling eyelid.

"That's right. I find you utterly repulsive."

Cailus spat the words through clenched teeth.

"In my entire life, I have never encountered anyone as displeasing as you."

The fingers gripping Richard's collar dug deeper.

"You know I love Daphne, don't you?"

"..."

"Then why—!"

As though he wanted to smash that smiling face right then and there.

But—

Richard Friedrich chuckled.

"That expression."

He murmured.

"Yes. That's exactly it."

A thrill spread through him, as though blood were surging to his head.

I know that gaze.

That gaze blazing with hatred, teeth gritted in frustration at being unable to crush the other person.

The very same gaze I always directed at the male lead—

"Go ahead and hate me like that."

Just as I did.

His whispering voice flowed as though seeping into Cailus's ears.

"Go ahead and struggle like that. Try to escape. Desperately try to deny me."

"..."

Cailus's jaw trembled.

"Even so, you—"

Richard Friedrich's eyes twisted with madness frozen beneath the water.

"Will never escape me."

No matter how much you struggle, deny it, and try to break free.

Insisting that you won't lose to me.

That you can defeat him.

But.

"From the moment you signed that pledge, you became entangled with me."

In the end, you couldn't escape.

No matter what you tried, you couldn't defeat him.

You couldn't trample the hateful man who made you weep tears of blood and win her for yourself.

Because that was the fate this world had bound Richard Friedrich to.

Richard Friedrich looked directly up at Cailus.

Then, as though whispering, he slowly said,

"Now you're mine. So—"

Now it's your turn.

"Go on. Struggle until the very end."

Now it is your turn to endure the same hell I did.

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