Leave the Villainous Second Male Lead Alone - Chapter 4.7

In stark contrast, the emperor’s frail face now glowed with the vitality of his youth. At last, with a firm voice, he declared, “He is the Second Prince.”

A deafening cheer erupted from the previously silent audience.

“Your Highness, the Second Prince!”

“Long live the prince!”

Callisto knelt on one knee, bowing to the father he was meeting for the first time in twenty years. The emperor leaned forward and extended his trembling arms, lifting Callisto to his feet.

“Welcome back,” the emperor said, his voice thick with emotion. “You’ve returned and achieved so much… I’m proud of you.”

His wet voice trembled faintly as he asked, “Do you have any requests as a general? Speak freely, and I will grant it.”

A general who achieved great merit and held a triumph ceremony was entitled to request anything they desired. Now recognized as the Second Prince, Callisto could even request a ducal title and territory, solidifying his power.

This is what he’s been aiming for, I thought. After receiving a title, he can fully enter the battle for the throne.

From a distance, I couldn’t help but watch Roen’s twisted expression, finding it almost satisfying. But suddenly, Callisto turned and looked directly at me.

His thick lashes fluttered, and his piercing eyes locked onto mine. For a moment, my mind went blank.

Callisto faced the emperor once again and spoke in a clear voice, “I wish to marry Lord Étienne of Winyates, Your Majesty.”

I froze in place, my body stiffening.

The surroundings erupted into chaos. My father, looking even more flustered than I felt, leaned toward me and whispered, “What on earth is that boy talking about? What did he say to you? Haven’t we just met today?”

“No… I haven’t heard anything about this…” I stammered, still in shock.

The memory of that night, which I had dismissed as a fever dream, came flooding back. Callisto’s soft voice whispered in my ear:

“Everything will be fine. I promise.”

Was he talking about this?

All eyes were now on me—the emperor, the nobles, and even Roen—but I couldn’t utter a single word. The realization that Callisto had become the Admiral of the North Sea, recognized as the Second Prince, still felt surreal. And now, marriage?

Not even to Lawrence, but to me?

Blinking in confusion, I was finally jolted back to reality by the empress’s sharp voice.

“What are you talking about, Your Majesty?” Jeanne’s tone was laced with outrage. “Are you seriously considering this? Isn’t what he’s asking too much?”

The emperor glanced at her, his brows furrowing deeply. Though discord between the emperor and the empress was well known, such open hostility in front of the citizens was rare. Yet Jeanne didn’t back down.

“Lord Winyates is already betrothed to Roen!” she cried. “Have you forgotten, Your Majesty? No matter what, a sacred decree cannot be revoked once issued—not even by you!”

The emperor remained silent, his lips pressed into a tight line.

Jeanne’s words were true. Though the decree had been made during the emperor’s incapacitation, and Roen had acted in his place, no one—not even the emperor—could overturn it.

Tension filled the air. The emperor closed his eyes briefly, his expression heavy with resignation. Jeanne, sensing victory, allowed a triumphant smile to grace her lips.

“Admiral, you may not know this,” Jeanne began smugly, “but Lord Winyates is already bound to the First Prince—”

“The decree, as I understand it, was to unite the imperial family and Winyates through marriage, was it not?” Callisto interjected, tilting his head slightly.

Jeanne froze, her expression darkening. “That’s correct. So what of it?”

Callisto smiled, his golden eyes glinting like sunlight on polished glass. His lashes fluttered briefly, catching the light, as he said with calm confidence:

“Your Majesty, surely you haven’t forgotten what you just witnessed.”

The empress’s lips parted in shock as Callisto’s words registered.

“I am the Crown Prince,” Callisto declared with a radiant smile. “The decree uniting the prince and the count’s child has already been fulfilled. To oppose it now would be to defy the holy ground.”

“What…?”

Roen’s expression turned stone-cold, his jaw tightening as his icy blue eyes darkened. Jeanne’s hand trembled as she pointed at Callisto, her voice rising sharply and slicing through the silence like a blade.

“Are you… are you now toying with the Empress of the empire?” Jeanne’s voice shook with barely contained fury.

“How could you accuse me of that, Your Majesty?” Callisto widened his eyes in mock disbelief, shrugging as if the thought were absurd.

“I was merely referencing the imperial decree,” he continued, his tone deceptively calm. “Have you perhaps forgotten the contents of the holy site? You seem quite tired.”

“You… you!” Jeanne stammered, her voice rising.

“And, Your Majesty…”

Callisto took a deliberate step toward her, his golden eyes flashing with a dangerous light as he stared down at her.

“You should be careful with your words and actions when addressing the prince of the empire,” he said softly, his voice laced with menace. “Do you perhaps not remember that this is no private matter?”

“Wh… what?” Jeanne faltered, momentarily caught off guard.

“Would you like me to remind you?” Callisto asked with an icy smile.

“You… you!”

The empress flinched, instinctively stepping back, though her piercing blue eyes still glared at him with venom.

At that moment, Callisto casually flicked his fingers toward the platform.

The navy soldiers standing in perfect formation slammed their scabbards against the ground in unison.

Bang! Bang!

The sound reverberated across the palace square, menacing and oppressive. The silence that followed was deafening—no one dared to breathe.

The air was filled only with the rhythmic, synchronized pounding of the soldiers.

A faint smile played on Callisto’s lips as he tilted his head slightly, keeping his eyes locked on Jeanne. His voice was gentle, almost coaxing, as he asked, “Why are you not answering, Your Majesty the Empress?”

The empress clenched her fists so tightly that her delicate fingers turned red. Her eyes darted nervously toward the naval forces filling the square.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The tempo of the soldiers’ movements increased, the ominous sound amplifying the tension in the square.

With hundreds of soldiers standing behind him, Callisto loomed over the Empress, his golden eyes unwavering.

At last, Jeanne’s lips parted, her voice trembling as though forced through gritted teeth.

“The admiral is right,” she said weakly. “Do as you wish.”

Her words seemed squeezed from her unwilling throat.

With a subtle gesture from Callisto, the soldiers immediately ceased their movements.

The sudden silence was as jarring as the noise had been.

Callisto closed his eyes for a long moment, then smiled sweetly. “Are you not happy to see me after such a long time?” he asked with mock tenderness.

Leaning closer, he bent down to whisper into the empress’s ear, his voice low and cutting.

“I’m not an admiral. I’m the Second Prince, Mother.”

During the week-long celebration of the North Sea Admiral’s promotion, Callisto only made brief appearances at the official events. Instead, he frequently visited the Winyates mansion, even postponing the formal ceremony to bestow his title as the Second Prince.

The reason he gave was that he wanted to hold his coronation ceremony and engagement ceremony simultaneously.

The emperor, elated at regaining Callisto and satisfied with his handling of the empress, readily agreed to Callisto’s request.

“Engaged, you say…?”

I sat on the parlor sofa, staring out the window, blinking in disbelief. Everything that had happened during the coronation ceremony still felt surreal.

It was astonishing enough that Callisto had truly been the “Admiral of the North Sea,” but to see him brazenly threaten the empress and change my marriage partner was something I could never have imagined.

And now, to be engaged to Callisto—whom I had carried on my back as a baby? It was too much to process. I couldn’t help but wonder if the engagement would even last.

Surely, this will shift to Lawrence later on, I thought. Even if the sequence of events deviated, the overarching story still followed the original’s framework.

No matter how hard I tried to prevent it, Callisto had inevitably joined the navy and become an admiral, just as in the original timeline. Callisto himself had even mentioned that he was dreaming about the future again. That meant his connection with Lawrence, the story’s main character, likely wouldn’t change.

My engagement was simply a shield to protect myself from Roen, nothing more.

“Thanks, but…” I muttered to myself. “I don’t know if this is okay.”

At this rate, I had fully assumed the role of the villainous side character in this story.

I felt as if I were edging closer to the proverbial death flag. Though I had shifted from being a villainous character to a supporting one, I was still the obstacle standing between Callisto and Lawrence. In the end, this too followed the original plot’s trajectory.

I doubted Lawrence would go so far as to target me directly, but the original’s influence was so powerful that I couldn’t predict how the bad ending might unfold.

“Young Master.” Cliff’s voice broke my thoughts. “No, pardon me—His Highness the Second Prince has arrived.”

Callisto had been staying at the imperial palace since the coronation ceremony. I heard he had been given the palace once occupied by Empress Marie Louise. As it had remained empty for years, renovations were underway to transform it into the Second Prince’s Palace.

Yet, despite this, Callisto spent most of his time at the Winyates mansion.

I stood up, a mix of joy and apprehension coursing through me. Before I could respond to Cliff, Callisto strode into the room with his characteristic long strides, stopping directly in front of me. I tilted my head back to meet his gaze.

It was bittersweet. I wasn’t entirely happy that he had grown up so much away from me. I regretted every moment I had missed. If it hadn’t been for Empress Jeanne and Roen, things might have been different. My tone came out sharper than I intended.

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