Rolling in Bed with the Male Lead

"...Ha."

He could not believe what he was seeing.

The Duke had definitely been bound there. He was certain of it.

The shackles lay shattered, and the floor was scorched black.

Smoke swirled above it.

It blanketed the area around the guillotine, as though trying to conceal what had happened.

But the Duke was nowhere to be seen within it.

A moment later, the others realized the same thing and shouted.

"My God, Duke Cesica has escaped!"

"After assassinating His Majesty...!"

The chaos intensified.

Screams erupted and shouts rang out. Somewhere, a sword was drawn, while a flustered servant lost his footing and tumbled to the ground.

"......."

Yet amid all the commotion, Richard remained frozen in place, unable to move.

An arrow had struck the Emperor in the neck before his very eyes.

At the same moment, the Duke had vanished.

And at the center of it all, Richard merely sat there in a daze.

More precisely, he could not move.

The pounding of his own heart reverberated in his ears like the beating of a drum.

...Magic?

Richard stared at the billowing black smoke.

An escape impossible by ordinary means. Signs of an explosion, smoke scattering through the air, and a disappearance immediately afterward.

No ordinary person could have done this. It was unquestionably magic.

But... could the Duke use magic?

Not as far as Richard knew.

That meant it had been the work of a third party, or that the Duke had an accomplice.

...No. Is that really what matters right now?

What mattered was...

The Emperor...!

The instant the thought occurred to him, Richard jerked his head up.

"...Y-Your Majesty...!"

A cry bordering on despair shook the execution grounds.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty──!!"

The panic-stricken knights of the Imperial Guard rushed over and supported Laios's body. But they soon stopped.

He was not breathing.

There was no pulse, no warmth, no life in his eyes───nothing.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Summon the Imperial physician! Hurry...!"

Cries like screams erupted throughout the execution grounds.

Some collapsed where they stood, while others stared blankly into space.

The nobles murmured among themselves, at a complete loss.

It was chaos incarnate.

"His Majesty the Emperor has passed away."

The commander of the Imperial Guard delivered the news in the sealed execution grounds.

"......."

Too much information had come flooding in at once, leaving Richard dizzy.

So...

The one the Duke had loved was not the Empress, but the Emperor.

The Emperor was dead.

And the Duke had fled.

Had this been his plan from the beginning?

Richard clenched his teeth.

Cold sweat trickled down his forehead. The falling droplets left faint splashes in the silent execution grounds.

Originally... the Emperor wasn't supposed to die at this point.

That much was certain. The Emperor died in the latter half of the "story." Not now.

Did my interference... throw the "story" this far off course?

Richard clenched his trembling fist.

He can't die this soon.

This was a problem.

The Emperor's death had been predetermined, but why did it have to happen now?

Richard turned his head, his expression rigid.

A man was speaking to the commander of the Imperial Guard without the slightest change in expression.

Cailus.

Richard worried at his lower lip.

The Emperor's intervention forced Cailus into this engagement with me. At this rate...

Under the law of Imperial succession, Cailus would become the next Emperor, and...

It's only a matter of time before he breaks off the engagement.

The metallic taste of blood spread across his tongue.

Damn it.

He had only just accomplished everything, and now it had all been ruined in an instant...

Was the world playing some cruel trick on him?

Or was this... a warning?

Don't try to ruin the "story" any further.

A warning sent by the "story" itself?

"......."

...He did not know.

A pure white sheet was draped over the Emperor's corpse.

The lifeless sovereign lay upon the bloodstained floor as it slowly dried. The people stared at him with wavering eyes.

His Majesty the Emperor was dead.

Then what came next was...

"......."

"......."

Every noble's gaze turned in the same direction.

Toward the first in line to the Imperial throne, Cailus le Regnantia.

"The execution grounds will remain sealed for one day. We will investigate whether the Duke had any accomplices, so everyone is expected to cooperate."

At Cailus's command, order was swiftly restored.

The knights sealed off the execution grounds completely, and the nobles lined up one by one to enter the enclosure prepared by the Imperial Guard.

Inside, the knights thoroughly searched their persons and belongings.

......Time passed, and before long, half a day had gone by.

"Your Highness, we found no one carrying a weapon or behaving suspiciously."

"...I see."

In the end, the search concluded without yielding anything of note.

The sun set, and the air grew cold.

By the time the murmuring of the nobles who had filled the execution grounds began to die away with exhaustion, Cailus rose and quietly issued an order.

"We will adjourn for today. Anyone who has been searched may return home."

"......."

"The Imperial family will continue a separate investigation. Every house will be expected to cooperate going forward."

At his words, the nobles, rigid with tension until then, all breathed sighs of relief.

Their carriages were summoned once more, and the crowd gradually began to disperse.

Richard quietly mingled among them, then stopped.

He raised his head and looked at Cailus standing some distance away.

His gaze remained cold and merciless.

...Is breaking off the engagement already the first thing on his mind?

Was Cailus the sort of man who would so much as blink at the Emperor's death?

He was undoubtedly calculating the situation with a cool head and deciding on his next move.

Damn it... Damn it...

Richard clenched both hands tightly.

Then he forced his reluctant feet forward and approached him.

"...Your Highness."

Without turning his head, Cailus slowly shifted his eyes toward Richard.

"Could you spare me a moment?"

This was no time to worry about his pride.

He had to persuade him somehow. Or... beg him, if that was what it took.

At this rate, everything would come to nothing. And...

Lady Daphne would once again──

"......."

Richard squeezed his eyes shut.

That was the one thing he never wanted to happen again.

"There is something I wish to tell you, Your Highness. If you could spare me even a moment..."

But before he could finish,

"A private audience with His Highness cannot be permitted."

The commander of the Imperial Guard's sword barred his path.

"If you have something to say, say it here."

His piercing gaze bored into Richard. The knights around them tensely readied their weapons once more.

The Emperor had just been assassinated, right in the middle of the execution grounds.

They could not trust Richard.

...Damn it.

Then—

"It's all right. We'll speak in private."

The voice was unexpected.

It was Cailus.

"Your Highness, it may be dangerous."

The commander urgently tried to dissuade him, but Cailus quietly shook his head.

"It's all right."

Then he looked at Richard, his gaze impassive and cold.

"Why are you standing there in a daze? Follow me."

"......!"

Richard's eyes widened at the unexpected response.

...What's gotten into this bastard?

He was bewildered for a moment, but this was no time to question it.

Whatever Cailus might be plotting, Richard was simply relieved that they could speak.

Even if that conversation ended with Cailus unilaterally informing him that their engagement was over...

Richard steadied his breathing and immediately followed him.

Surely he isn't planning to bring up the engagement right away?

His heart pounded oppressively in his chest.

The situation was already the worst it could possibly be.

The Emperor was dead, and the Duke had escaped.

Now that the Emperor who had forced their engagement was gone, Cailus no longer had any reason to keep Richard at his side.

If he breaks off the engagement now... everything is over.

Richard clenched his teeth.

The two of them made their way to a secluded corner of the execution grounds, beyond the reach of prying eyes.

A few nobles glanced their way from afar, but they were too distant to overhear the conversation.

"First..."

Just as Cailus began to speak──

"Are you going to break off our engagement?"

Richard cut him off and went straight to the point.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!