Leave the Villainous Second Male Lead Alone - Chapter 4.5

In the Perron Empire, members of the imperial family could hold noble titles. The Duchess of Harrington, the Empress’s younger brother, had no heirs, so the next Duke of Harrington would be Roen. The Empress’s power stemmed largely from the Harrington Dukedom, one of only two ducal houses in the empire. If Harrington fell, it would be a grave threat to both Roen and the Empress.

Moreover, the Count of Winyates had become one of the most powerful houses in the empire recently. If the Empress married me off to Roen, she could use me as leverage to fully seize control of the empire, leveraging Winyates’ financial and military might.

The original story had played out entirely differently. Winyates had already fallen, and Harrington had been thriving. But in this altered reality, Roen and the Empress had turned their attention toward me.

It was my fault again.

Furrowing my brow, I bit my lower lip.

I worried that Roen would come to bother me, but to my relief, my fears didn’t materialize.

Instead, the empire was thrown into chaos by a shocking announcement from the Navy Department: the North Sea pirates had been completely eradicated.

Roen, busy handling state affairs in place of the Emperor, had no time to trouble me. But the admiral’s accomplishment weighed heavily on my mind.

I tapped my index finger on the table, lost in thought.

“That admiral is more impressive than we thought,” Brine said, breaking the silence. “I never imagined he’d actually wipe out the pirates in the North Sea.”

“Right,” Lawrence agreed. “And they say he’s still young.”

“I don’t know his exact age, but he’s supposed to be unusually young,” Brine added. “Étienne? Are you listening?”

“…Huh?” I looked up, startled. Both Lawrence and Brine were staring at me curiously.

“Sorry,” I said quickly. “I was just thinking about something else for a moment.”

“What were you thinking about?” Brine asked.

“It’s nothing,” I replied, shaking my head. “What were you talking about?”

“The young admiral of the North Sea,” Lawrence said. “Do you remember? I mentioned him before, back when the pirates weren’t fully wiped out yet.”

At the time, the admiral’s exploits had been classified. But ever since the Navy Department declared the complete eradication of the North Sea pirates, the empire couldn’t stop buzzing about him.

Lawrence, who had first told me about the admiral, now seemed more excited than ever.

“…Yeah,” I said quietly, nodding weakly. “I’ve heard the news about the North Sea.”

Lawrence tilted his head, confused by my lack of enthusiasm.

“Isn’t it good news? Why do you look so down, Étienne?” Lawrence asked, concern evident in his voice.

“It’s nothing,” I replied, my tone flat. “It is good news. It’s good for me too.”

“That doesn’t sound like a happy expression,” he pressed, his worried gaze fixed on me.

I forced a smile, tugging at the corners of my mouth. “I’m happy. The North Sea is stable now, so we can expand trade even further. We should be grateful to that admiral.”

And if that young admiral had been Callisto, it would have been even better.

But the events of last night were likely just a dream. There was no trace of Callisto anywhere. Not a single person had come forward claiming to have seen him.

The dream had felt ominous, and since then, anxiety had been gnawing at me constantly. The hope I had pinned on the North Sea admiral was fading. If the admiral were Callisto, surely he would have landed by now and made his way into the empire—he would have come looking for me.

But there was nothing. No trace of Callisto anywhere. And so, while everyone else was celebrating, I was the only one who felt a heavy sense of loss.

Brine broke the silence, his voice tentative.

“Étienne, is it because of the marriage issue with the First Prince?”

“What?” I blinked at him in shock. “Could the rumor actually be true?”

Lawrence, who had been excited and animated a moment ago, suddenly froze, his wide eyes fixed on me in disbelief.

“There’s a rumor?” I asked weakly, a bitter laugh escaping my lips.

“Yes, the rumor that you’ve re-emerged as an Omega and that Loengrin proposed to you, fulfilling his so-called dream. It’s spread like wildfire—practically a tale of the century,” Brine said, frowning.

Lawrence’s face grew increasingly pale. He leaned forward, as though pressing me for an answer.

“No way… Did Loengrin really propose? That’s not true, right, Étienne?”

“Why aren’t you more worried about the rumor that Étienne has re-emerged as an Omega?” Brine chimed in, looking at Lawrence accusingly.

“Well… I’m a Beta, so it doesn’t really matter to me either way…” Lawrence replied sheepishly.

“Even in the midst of all this chaos, you’re still saying that?” Brine retorted, exasperated.

“Put yourself in my shoes…” Lawrence muttered, avoiding Brine’s glare.

As the two bickered quietly, I gazed up at the distant sky, letting their voices fade into the background. Here I was, drinking tea in comfort, while Callisto could be wandering who knows where. Despite all the chatter about the North Sea admiral, there was no way I could hear any real news about him.

And yet, Lawrence’s next words caught me completely off guard.

“Even so, the First Prince probably doesn’t have the energy to worry about marriage right now,” he said, his tone casual. “It’ll probably be quiet for a while.”

“What do you mean by that?” Brine and I asked in unison, both turning to Lawrence.

Lawrence’s good mood was unmistakable as he beamed at us with a knowing smile.

“That North Sea admiral, you know,” Lawrence began, his tone conspiratorial. “He’s holding out at the North Sea port instead of entering the Empire. His navy is stationed there, with a fleet of dozens of galleons, each carrying hundreds of combat personnel.”

“What?” I exclaimed. “Why on earth?”

“I heard he’s demanding a ceremony from Loengrin,” Lawrence continued. “If the admiral doesn’t get the ceremony he wants, it’s pretty clear where that army will point their swords.”

“And?”

The more I listened, the stranger the story became. Considering the admiral’s achievements in the North Sea, a victory parade or promotion ceremony should have been a given. There was no need for such drastic measures, like threatening the prince with an armed fleet.

“Why is he acting like that?” I asked, my confusion deepening.

“Looks like he’s trying to mess with Loengrin,” Lawrence said with a mischievous grin.

No matter how powerful the admiral was, even if he had been directly appointed by the emperor, it seemed odd that Roen would have such difficulty arranging a ceremony. I furrowed my brow, trying to make sense of it.

“What on earth are you talking about?”

“Well…” Lawrence leaned in, lowering his voice. His chestnut-colored eyes sparkled with intrigue.

“That North Sea admiral—he’s claiming to be the long-lost second prince.”

The promotion ceremony for the North Sea admiral was approved only ten days later. Roen, in charge of the Empire’s political affairs, had resisted until the very end, refusing to grant the ceremony.

However, rumors about the admiral’s pacification of the North Sea had already spread like wildfire. The entire Empire was in an uproar over the perceived unfair treatment. Finally, when the admiral led his fleet toward the imperial palace, Roen had no choice but to relent.

At last, the day of the ceremony arrived.

During those ten days, I had spent most of my time in a daze, barely able to get out of bed. My father often stopped by to check on me, though he himself seemed just as preoccupied, his mind torn between hope and doubt.

“Could that admiral really be Callisto?” I asked one day as we rode in the carriage to attend the ceremony. Staring blankly out the window, the question slipped from my lips before I could stop it.

My father didn’t answer immediately. His silence stretched as a mixture of hope and concern crossed his face.

“Over the years, there have been countless people claiming to be the missing second prince,” he finally said, his voice measured. “But they were all exposed when the marks they presented as the ‘prince’s insignia’ turned out to be nothing more than crude, fake tattoos.”

“This time, it could be real,” I murmured, half to myself. “If it were just an impersonator, they couldn’t have pulled off an operation of this scale. It’s not just about a scar or a birthmark on the body… How could anyone fake a mark that only appears under sunlight?”

“That’s something we don’t know,” my father said cautiously. “The North Sea admiral has achieved great feats. If someone managed to forge a convincing mark and got recognized as the Second Prince, they could seize power in the imperial court almost instantly. It might even be a faction aiming for that.”

“But Callisto also said he was in charge of the fleet,” I murmured, recalling the last letter. “In his last letter…”

“That was two years ago,” my father interrupted. “Don’t get your hopes up too much, Étienne.”

I turned my gaze back to the window, unable to muster a reply. That night, I remembered Callisto suddenly appearing by the window. I had convinced myself that it had been nothing more than a hallucination caused by a fever.

But the more I thought about it, the more contrived everything seemed. Suppressing the growing swell of expectations in my chest, I leaned against the cool glass and closed my eyes.

It was a ceremony unlike anything the empire had seen in decades. Held with unprecedented splendor, it captivated the attention of citizens weary from years of famine and political strife.

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