I Wasn't Trying to Seduce with the Male Lead - Episode 113

Trapped between the wall and Claude, Minaz was smaller and more slender than he had remembered. He had closed the significant height gap between them, and even widened it, yet he was frustrated that in her heart, he remained just a small child.

How could he get her to see him as a man, at least?

Lost in these thoughts, Claude didn’t realize he was inching closer and closer to Minaz. All his attention was focused on her full, red lips. Just as his eyes were about to flutter shut, a laugh escaped her lips.

“Hehe!”

Minaz’s laughter broke the tension.

Claude furrowed his brow. “What’s so funny?”

“Oh, haha. What is this? Are you trying to kiss me?” Her words, mixed with laughter, instantly deflated the tight atmosphere.

This again.

The mood shattered, and the energy drained out of him. Claude sighed and stepped back. As he turned away, Minaz followed and patted him on the back.

“What, are you mad? I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Don’t be a baby.”

She’s treating me like a child again.

He wasn’t mad, but her words made him furious.

“It’s fine. I’m going to work, so please leave me alone.”

“Oh, come on. This is all your fault anyway, isn’t it?”

My fault?

Claude turned to face her, and Minaz shrugged. “If you wanted to enjoy the festival with a woman, you should have asked her on a date beforehand.”

Her tone was so casual, as if it had nothing to do with her. She can’t possibly not know who I wanted to enjoy it with. Maybe she just wanted to ignore it and move on as if nothing had happened. He had agonized so much over saying those words, and her reaction felt so cruel.

Claude’s voice was serious and low. “Are you trying to pretend you don’t know?”

“Huh? No.”

Minaz answered so nonchalantly, and then turned the question on him. “What do you mean I ignored you? You’re the one who never came to see me again after that day.”

“I saw you several times after that,” he protested. He was in a daze, but he had attended the emperor’s coronation, and later, the cabinet meetings and legal reform discussions. He couldn’t remember the details of how they passed, but he was certain she had treated him with a dry, professional attitude.

“Those were all official occasions. I thought we’d have a private conversation, you know.”

It was true. He had never gone to see her privately.

“Why didn’t you ever come to see me?” Minaz asked, looking straight at him.

Claude was taken aback; he had never expected to be criticized for this. “Well…”

It’s only natural that I couldn’t visit you after you suddenly became the emperor right after my confession. It was hard to put into words, and as he hesitated, Minaz walked past him. She plopped down in an armchair in the middle of the room and said, “Yesterday, the judges submitted a bill to the Bureau of Legal Affairs to prohibit marriage between dukes.”

As the head of the Bureau of Legal Affairs, Claude knew this, and he also knew that while the bill came from the judges, it was Minaz’s will. He had felt like it was her answer to him, and it was why he had a drink last night, something he rarely did.

“Well, maybe a guy like Lian will pop up again later and try to start a rebellion to allow dukes to marry, but that’s a problem for the future.”

He didn’t know why Minaz was suddenly bringing this up. A bad feeling washed over him, and he lowered his gaze with a deep sigh. “Please be clear about what you want to say.”

He thought it would be better for her to reject him outright, but at the same time, he felt a sense of helplessness, not knowing what he would do after hearing a definite rejection.

“You, you know,” Minaz said, frowning at his stiff expression. “Don’t act like you’ve been rejected before you even get an answer after confessing to someone.”

“I… don’t understand.”

Minaz pouted her plump lips and repeated herself. “I’m going to step down as emperor as soon as Lian is ready. I’ll probably be a temporary emperor for about 10 to 20 years.”

Lian, who had rejected the throne, and Minaz, who was so willing to give it up, both seemed extraordinary. That’s probably why I love these two so much.

Minaz tilted her head and said meaningfully, “So if you want to make a move, you’ll have to do it within that time.”

“What?”

“Once I become a duke again, legally, we won’t be able to marry.”

Claude’s blank expression, as he struggled to understand her meaning, slowly began to brighten. “Does that mean…”

“Don’t get too excited. I still feel like I don’t know.” Minaz tried to temper his rising expectations, but his smile couldn’t be stopped.

As Claude approached her with a grin, she blinked and stared at him. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen you smile like that. It’s so cute, just like before.”

He liked the compliment, but being called cute was a problem. Claude consciously wiped the smile from his face. This time, Minaz laughed.

“Why’d you stop smiling? It looks good on you.”

“Because right now, I have to erase your old image of me.”

“How are you going to do that?”

“Well,” Claude said, drawing out the word as he took another step closer to Minaz. He lifted her chin and said in a suggestive voice, “I think seeing is the most certain way.”

He maintained a calm exterior, but inside, his heart was pounding so hard he felt it might explode.

“Hmm, I don’t plan on acting like a prim and proper lady…” Minaz accepted his proposal cheerfully. “So why don’t you take off your clothes first? Let’s see if you get me excited.”

She’s a woman who truly doesn’t mince words. But he couldn’t complain. It was exactly what he wanted.

“If it’s okay, you’ll show me yours, too.”

“Yeah, fine.” She nodded, looking breathtakingly seductive. “But be prepared. I’m much more amazing than before.”

“I’m the same.”

Claude drew the curtains over the window and reached for the cravat around his neck. To think he would be undressing in the office he held so sacred… The thought that this was wrong made it even more thrilling and perverse. His clothes, as neat and wrinkle-free as his character, fell to the floor, piece by piece.

The initial ease on Minaz’s face was slowly replaced with a blush. It seemed like a good reaction. He approached her, leaving just one piece of clothing on.

“What do you think?”

“I thought you just sat at home all day, but you’re not bad.”

To his surprise, she seemed a little shy. Claude boldly reached out and pulled her into his embrace. Minaz flinched. It was probably because she felt his aroused body pressed against hers.

“Can I take off the rest?” he whispered suggestively in her ear.

Instead of answering, Minaz wrapped her arms around his neck. A breathless sigh escaped her lips as their mouths met. He couldn’t hold back any longer, now that he finally held the woman he had only dreamed of.

He carried Minaz to the armchair and laid her down. Sounds that didn’t belong in an office echoed heatedly throughout the room.

Eleanor stood up from her chair, holding the rustling skirt of her new dress. She had just changed into the outfit Sky had prepared for her in the carriage: a festival dress for village maidens.

‘I’ve never worn anything like this.’

The material was rougher than the noble dresses she usually wore, and the stitching was clumsy, but it wasn’t what she would call modest. It was a white blouse full of lace and frills, with a bright, strawberry-cream pink dress. As the wife of a baron, Eleanor usually wore refined, simple-lined dresses in sophisticated monochrome colors, so this cheerful, cute outfit was a novelty.

Though it felt a little awkward, she didn’t dislike it. Being in a different kind of attire made her feel like an actress going on stage, and she was having fun.

‘But how does it fit so perfectly?’

She had never told him her size, yet it fit as if it were custom-made. Shaking her head in disbelief at Sky’s sharp eye, Eleanor skillfully braided her long hair, mimicking the style of common women. She glanced at her reflection in the window, then opened the carriage door.

“I’m sorry to have kept you—”

Eleanor couldn’t finish her sentence. She was speechless at the sight of Lian in his festival outfit.

‘How can a person look so good in clothes like that?’

The clothes Sky had given Lian were a baffling combination of a vivid red top, simple leather pants, a decorative belt, and a cloak. Anyone else would look like a clown at the festival. But her worries were unfounded. The red top made his fair skin, light blond hair, and sharp lips look even more attractive, while the leather pants accentuated his long legs and toned backside. Even the flashy decorative belt and the cheap, meaningless badges looked like high-end accessories on him.

This must be what they meant when they said the face completes the fashion. Eleanor was mesmerized by the magnificent sight of Lian, who usually only wore the Imperial Knight uniform or formal attire.

Lian was just as captivated.

“You’re truly… lovely,” he managed to say, staring at Eleanor as if in a trance. He reached out to help her out of the carriage, then sighed as he looked at himself. “In contrast, I feel like… the Duke of Paidra is getting his revenge on me.”

“Not at all. Compared to you, I feel like a walking wedding cake.”

Lian laughed at Eleanor’s clever comparison.

Standing in front of the carriage, Elias tilted his head and said, “Both of you are too eye-catching. You need to hide your auras, so please wear masks.”

Following his advice, the two picked up masquerade masks. Eleanor looked at the sparkling jewels on her white mask, and tilted her head. “I hope these aren’t real diamonds.” The quality seemed too good, making her feel uneasy, but she put the mask on anyway.

‘It doesn’t have much of an effect.’

His proportions were already too perfect, his hair color stood out, and even the skin, jawline, and delicate lips visible below the mask hinted at how handsome he was. He was definitely going to attract the attention of all the village girls. But Eleanor quickly shook her head, dismissing her worries.

‘No one would think that the noble Stellaris would be in a village festival wearing a mask with a rose on it.’

They would just think he was a very handsome village boy. With that thought, Eleanor took the initiative and spoke to Lian.

“Shall we go now?”

Lian offered his hand to Eleanor, tilted his head, and whispered, “After this is over… we’re going to the place I prepared.”

A peculiar, alluring glint appeared in his purple eyes. Eleanor’s cheeks flushed as she took his hand, and they began walking toward the square.

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