There Are Too Many Second Male Leads!

“Huh? what smell?”

“It smells terrible. A strangely offensive odor.”

She thought she recognized the scent Kai was talking about. She didn’t know if Sherry had ever gotten used to the harsh musky scent, but it seemed to have been picked up when she was enveloped in the man’s black smoke.

“Well, I’ve been to so many places, I don’t know?”

She awkwardly made excuses like someone with pins and needles in their feet.

“Is it, that bad?”

“Uh, a lot.”

He didn’t hesitate for a second, and when She blurted out the answer, he held up his hand.

Without warning, a glow emanated from his hand. She reflexively stepped back.

“No healing!”

He jerked her elbow, as if to say he wasn’t going to agree with her this time.

“No healing.”

A soft jade color pooled over her head, soon turning into a fine mist that drifted down over her body. When She shook her head, he spoke bluntly.

“It’s just the smell, whatever.”

Clicking his tongue, Kai turned and started walking away. She smirked at the unchanged [Kai Twilly: 20% likability] hovering over him.

That unchanging favorability comes in handy in times like this!

She followed after Kai, relieved that she hadn’t gotten a minus for her big mistake.

* * *

The next day, for some reason, it felt like everyone could tell She had done something wrong as we all enjoyed lunch together. Even though She was exhausted from not being able to sleep and had successfully completed training, it still felt that way.

‘It doesn’t seem like anything out of the ordinary.’

There was an uneasy feeling at the table. Evan and Louise were also strangely quiet today. It was as if the three of them were waiting for something to say…….

“Roella.”

“What?!”

She looked up, startled by Chase’s sudden call.

“We’re having a celebration in ten days.”

“Chu, a celebration?”

Ha, thank goodness. He didn’t catch her sneaking out yesterday.

“The invitations went out yesterday, so they should have arrived today.”

“But what kind of celebration?”

“The one we’re having to celebrate your awakening. Have you forgotten already?”

Some time had passed since Verger’s visit, so Chase decided he could now announce that she was awake.

However, he insisted that She must fake her awakening in order to keep in line with the Twillies. When She asked why, Chase didn’t give her a straight answer like he did last time.

She decided to trust Chase to be there for her and not ask any more questions about it.

She was finally free from mansion confinement!

Huh? Wait a minute. That means……!

Her eyes lit up as She recalled the list of potential male hosts.

“An invitation! Who did it go to?”

* * *

Emperor Arnold Rumania sat in the greenhouse with a cold face, his aide beside him silently pouring black tea into an empty teacup.

At that moment, there was a flurry of activity at the entrance to the greenhouse. Arnold’s fingers stopped tapping the table, and the aide took a step back.

“Hello.”

Arnold’s piercing eyes focused sharply on the small tree. Exactly where Arnold’s gaze lingered, Aster lifted a branch to reveal himself.

“Crown Prince Aster, greetings, Sun of the Empire.”

On the wall with silver hair. The eyes that shone sky blue like glass seemed to closely resemble Arnold Lumansia’s childhood.

The features of the two were so similar that they could be said to be drawn the same, but the atmosphere was completely different. If Arnold exuded a fierce beast-like aura, Aster gave off a pure and innocent feeling like a delicate deer.

Furthermore, unlike Arnold’s sharp eyes like well-crafted jewels, Aster’s eyes were clear and calm like a lake hidden in a deep forest. Even though they had the same eye color, they seemed different at first glance.

“Sit down.”

At Arnold’s dignified command, Aster sat opposite him.

The Emperor of Blood, Arnold Lumansia, was somewhat lenient towards his counterpart, Prince Aster Lumansia, but the tension was evident in Aster’s expression.

Arnold Emperor’s idea of being ‘lenient’ was a bit different from the general concept. He was not someone who would give a second chance. Mistakes led directly to death. Aster Lumansia was the one where even making a mistake would end in cruel punishment, so being ‘lenient’ towards him meant something.

That’s why on the day the two met, the palace servants were anxious. They feared that the beast-like Arnold might suddenly bite his own son’s neck one day.

Fortunately, today was not that day, as Arnold extended an invitation to his son.

“This is from the Duke of Clemens.”

Aster’s eyes widened at the mention of “Duke Clement.” Arnold didn’t miss the moment when Aster’s eyes lit up.

Aster hastily opened the invitation, forgetting that Arnold was watching him.

“This is……!”

Aster’s eyes widened as he opened the invitation.

“They say that Roella Clemend has awakened.”

“……Is that so?”

Aster’s fingertips trembled slightly as he held the invitation, though he was trying to appear nonchalant. Arnold looked at him as if to ask.

“The princess is having a small celebration to honor her awakening after a year, and you, the crown prince, have been invited. Probably all the powers of the Empire will be there, so it won’t be a simple celebration.”

“I’ll be there.”

The answer came out of his mouth without thought, and Arnold looked at it suspiciously.

“Are you on friendly terms with her?”

“No.”

Aster’s eyes twinkled intelligently, unlike the fragile glazed look he’d had earlier. Arnold studied his pupils interrogatively.

“I thought you didn’t like being in this position.”

“It is my honor. I will go.”

“You speak as if you owe me great loyalty.”

Aster winced at Emperor Arnold’s bony words.

“I have never disobeyed His Majesty’s orders..”

With his tail between his legs and eyes cast down, he may not have what it takes to become an emperor one day, but his timid appearance wasn’t all that bad.

‘The next Emperor is a long way off, anyway.’

Arnold had no intention of passing the throne to Aster as long as he lived. Not even if Aster were to come of age this year.

This was a fact that was no secret, even among the high priests, dukes, and nobles of the Empire. In Arnold’s opinion, the bloodthirsty Aster was unworthy to be Emperor of the Roman Empire.

Arnold’s mouth quirked upward.

“In the temple, Clement younger is being called ‘the child of Luganet’ by the priestess.”

“……!”

“You know the old oracle.”

Aster’s body stiffened as he recognized Arnold’s words.

The False Sun and the Empire’s hidden Great Sun.

There was no one in the Ruman Empire who did not know of this oracle. They just dare not speak of it freely for fear of the aftermath. Of course, in the imperial court, anyone who spoke of this oracle would be executed on the spot.

“Why is that suddenly…….”

“Go and keep an eye on the princess. If you see anything suspicious, report it to me immediately.”

Emperor Arnold’s words made Aster’s head spin in silence.

“Your orders…… are accepted.”

* * *

Late at night, she made a sickening sound as she stared at her notebook.

“Mm-hmm.”

[Candidates]

1. Evan Clemens 8% favorability rating

2. Louise Clemend 36% favorability rating

3. Kai Twilley 20%.

4. haze field intruder ??

5. Enoch Douglust 0%

6. Crown Prince ??]

She hasn’t met anyone from families 1 and 2. She’s also not including Decade 3. The only person she knows is the Matriarch, and it’ll be more than a month since she moved in here next week.

“So, what year was it, actually….”

She muttered with a worried sigh.

When she asked who the invitations went to, Chase obediently handed her the outgoing list.

Back in her room, she scanned the list, checking off the names of anyone who looked like a male lead, but the only ones that stood out were the Crown Prince and the Matriarch. At that point, she suddenly realized what she hadn’t realized.

she mean, she saw Evan, Louise, and Kai every day, so there’s plenty of opportunity for her to develop a crush on them, but…… not the other male leads!

Even if she was released from her mansion confinement, she couldn’t plan to visit the imperial castle, pagoda, and temple every day. Just seeing their faces might be enough to increase their favorability.

“What should I do?”

“Aaaaah!”

She grabbed a handful of her thick hair with both hands and pulled it out. she shook her head vigorously, trying not to think about the withered death of modern life in the basement cell.

‘No, let’s only think good thoughts, good thoughts!’

“Now is the time to study and definitely raise your likability!”

With a firm determination, She closed the notebook with a resolute expression and looked at the pile of books next to it. she confidently picked up the book on the top. The title of the book was a romance novel called “My Lord, Why Are You Like This?”

“A romance novel?”

“Yeah. Don’t you have any of those books here? I have some studying to do.”

“Well, we do have some…”

“Please get them for me! As many as possible!”

These books were her lifeline, obtained in just two days by begging Penny.

Even if she was a lifelong single, studying romance was the way to go! Effort never betrays you!

She flipped through the romance novels with great determination, and it wasn’t long before She closed the book with a blush.

“What, what, what?!”

The romance was romance. but this is…….

She carefully opened the book with her fingers, as if she were trying to untie a puss.

“The Duke’s arms tightened around her slender waist and he buried his lips in the nape of her neck. He devoured her hungrily. The duke’s large hand slipped between the countess’s peaks and…….」

Tsk!

Her earlobes livid as if on fire, she put the book back in its place and creakily walked to the bed. Embarrassed that no one was watching, she pulled the covers over her head.

“Penny, who asked for a 19-rated romance novel?!
That’s not doing anything to increase her likability!

Tsk.

The ominous sound stopped her in her tracks as she tossed and turned under the covers. she knew who was throwing the rocks through the window,

But then the balcony door flew open. At the same time, he heard Kai’s mischievous voice.

“Tick, tick, tick.”

she jumped up, panicking at the sound of a mouth knock.

“Ma, I told you not to enter the room at will!”

She yelled as if she had been startled, and a surprised Kai raised his hands in surrender.

“I just wanted to make sure you didn’t catch me sneaking out yesterday.”

“I didn’t! That’s enough, now get out of here.”

Unfazed by her threats, Kai held her hands up in the air, but her feet didn’t stop moving toward her.

“What’s wrong, your face is red.”

“Oh, no!”

she jerked her head in the opposite direction from Kai’s and saw a stack of X-rated romance novels on the side of her desk. she jumped to her feet and pushed Kai away.

“Come on, get out!”

“Don’t get caught!

she shoved him with all her might, and he was quickly pushed back to the balcony.

“Okay, go, go.”

Kai stopped walking just short of the balcony, tilting his head in question as he looked at her, then placed the back of his hand on my forehead.

“Ella. do you have a fever?, and your face is so red. Are you sick?”

“It’s nothing like that!”

At that moment, his eyes went to the stack of books behind her, a momentary mistake. The moment her eyes locked with Kai’s again, the corners of his mouth twisted up into a sneer. Kai bounced away from her and ran toward the stack of books.

“No!”