Leave the Villainous Second Male Lead Alone - Chapter 4.12

Callisto, however, seemed oblivious to the weight of his words. He was busy pushing a plate toward me, urging me to eat. I, still staring blankly at him, decided to let it go for now.

Looking back, it wasn’t such a big deal. Either it was a dream, or Callisto had kissed me in his sleep. In either case, one of us was definitely asleep. Why that situation ended in a kiss, I couldn’t fathom, but…

I touched my lips as I recalled last night. The soft, fluffy sensation—like cotton candy—seemed to linger faintly.

Before I knew it, the coronation ceremony for the Second Prince was only a day away. I hadn’t been able to visit the Second Prince’s Palace myself, but I’d heard it had been repaired, and the preparations for the engagement ceremony—set to coincide with the coronation—were nearly complete. Sighing, I looked at the engagement robe hanging in my room.

“There should be progress between Callisto and Lawrence within a year,” I muttered to myself.

Traditionally, the prince of the Peron Empire has an engagement period of about a year before the official wedding ceremony. This period allows the prospective empress time to acclimate to palace life. However, in the original story, Callisto wasn’t formally recognized as the Second Prince. Instead, he led a rebellion to claim the throne, and Lawrence was already pregnant by then. This “engagement period” didn’t exist in that timeline.

In my case, it was fortunate to have some time. While avoiding Roen’s interference, I needed to figure out a way to bring Callisto and Lawrence together during this period.

Roen won’t stay single forever, I thought. He’ll likely seek a marriage alliance soon. The position of First Princess can’t remain vacant for long. With Harrington’s power crumbling, Roen will need to secure another political alliance. Targeting me was only a means to align with Winyates in the first place.

“Young master, the guests have arrived. They’re waiting in the garden,” Elsie called out.

“Ah. Thank you, Elsie. I’ll head down.”

I tore my gaze from the engagement dress I had been fiddling with absentmindedly. Today, after a long time, the old members of our joint class were gathering. The occasion? The Gilos siblings—Kevin and Anessa—who had been guarding the North Sea fleet in Callisto’s stead, had arrived in the capital for the coronation.

Callisto planned to reside in the imperial palace permanently as the Second Prince after the engagement ceremony. Meanwhile, Kevin and Anessa would return to the North Sea. Once today was over, it would be difficult to see everyone together like this again.

The garden prepared for the tea party was already lively. Amid the cheerful chatter, soft laughter echoed—it was Callisto’s voice.

I paused, turning toward the sound.

There he was, standing among the five of them. Even though Callisto had grown taller than everyone else, his presence was commanding. Whenever the wind blew, his black hair swayed gently across his forehead.

Sensing my presence, Callisto suddenly lifted his head. When our eyes met across the distance, his golden irises gleamed faintly in the sunlight. His expression softened, and a beautiful curve formed on his lips.

His mouth shaped a word.

Eti.

Though I couldn’t hear his voice, I instinctively knew he was calling me. A smile spread across my lips before I realized it.

In that moment, I didn’t understand why my chest felt tight.

“…And then the admiral suddenly opened his eyes wide!” someone exclaimed excitedly, recounting the story. “He swung his sword! The pirate captain, thinking the admiral was dead, let his guard down—and before he could even catch his breath, the admiral had slit his throat!”

“Hey, but didn’t we all think the admiral was dead? Who charges in like that with a knife stuck in their back?”

“That’s right, that’s right. The admiral was ruthless back then! After that, I was hanging between life and death for almost a month, wasn’t I?”

“I was really scared. If the admiral couldn’t get up, I thought Étienne would beat me to death…”

“But as soon as he came to his senses, he jumped up with bloodshot eyes and went back into the fray again…”

As I listened to Kevin and Anessa’s stories, my brow furrowed more and more. I had guessed from the scars on Callisto’s body, but hearing vivid accounts of his naval days was a different experience altogether.

I glanced sideways at Callisto standing next to me. He avoided my gaze, looking awkward, and scolded the Gilos siblings.

“We were all in life-or-death situations too. The admiral jumped in, and we couldn’t just let him go alone…”

“I felt like… I was losing my mind back then…”

Still, as I listened, it was too much. I couldn’t hide my displeasure and scolded them.

“Crazy guy. Why do you keep saying that?”

“No, Étienne needs to know! How dangerous it is to marry a madman like that!”

“Does that kid still look like a child to you, Étienne?”

“And he didn’t even look like he was struggling! He seemed really excited…”

“What did you even do right? Don’t do it again. What’s the use if something goes wrong?”

“Yeah. Got it, bro.”

Callisto answered quietly, then added.

Anessa dropped the cookie she was holding. Kevin, with his mouth wide open in disbelief, lightly elbowed Callisto in the side.

“Étienne, don’t you know this? The admiral fell into the icy sea with a bullet wound but didn’t even catch a cold after being rescued.”

“He wasn’t rescued—he climbed back up onto the ship himself, that massive ship!”

“Well, even the flu avoids crazy people…”

“Stop it, you guys!”

I couldn’t listen any longer and shouted. Kevin and Anessa flinched. I quickly turned my gaze to Callisto, who was pretending to be indifferent, but hesitation filled me. The more I listened, the angrier I became, but concern took over.

Finally, I sighed and asked, “Baby, why did you go that far?”

Callisto quietly lowered his eyes. His now slender face and long neck made him look particularly delicate, unlike his chubby-cheeked childhood self.

“I did it because I wanted to come back quickly. Sorry for making you worry, bro.”

“Are you okay now? You’re not in pain anywhere?”

“Yeah, I’m all better.”

I heard the Gilos siblings snickering behind me, which made me furrow my brow again.

Suddenly, a sniffle came from beside me. I turned in surprise and saw Lawrence with his eyes red and teary. My mouth opened involuntarily.

“Lawrence, are you seriously crying?”

“It’s true, I’m crying!”

“No, I’m not! I told you, I’m not crying!” Lawrence snapped back angrily as Kevin and Anessa teased him.

I muttered to myself in disbelief, “Could it be… are you heartbroken because of Callisto?”

The idea that there might have been progress between Lawrence and Callisto sooner than expected gave me a mix of relief and confusion.

But Lawrence suddenly lifted his head and shouted, “What? Are you crazy?”

“Wow, why are you yelling like that?” Kevin pretended to be shocked. Lawrence, undeterred, grabbed my arm tightly. I noticed Callisto’s thick eyebrows twitch slightly.

Lawrence asked me, as if reproaching me, “Étienne, are you really going to marry Callisto? No, right? You’re not, right?”

“Uh, um…” Startled by his intensity, I stammered, unable to form a proper response.

“What? Were we still talking about marriage?” Anessa interjected, bewildered.

“Weren’t we talking about the admiral’s recklessness?” Kevin added.

“Yeah! Why are you suddenly bringing up nonsense out of nowhere?”

Ignoring them, Lawrence stared at me with a stiff expression. It became clear that he hadn’t cried out of pity for Callisto—he didn’t like the fact that I was engaged to him.

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