Leave the Villainous Second Male Lead Alone - Chapter 5.15

I muttered to myself before recalling the northern continent’s situation as described in the original story.

Around this time, the northern continent began opening its borders, leading to increased trade with the Empire and other continents. The region’s abundant resources fueled a booming economy, but prosperity often brings its own challenges.

One of the darker consequences was the rise of illegal slave trading. Foreign military forces raided inland villages, abducting the native residents to sell as slaves to other continents. With no unified monarchy to protect them and little interaction between the coastal economic hubs and the traditional inland tribes, such atrocities flourished.

In the original narrative, these events were mentioned only briefly as a backdrop to the trade deals between Harrington and the northern continent. It was easy to gloss over them when reading, but hearing about it firsthand left a bitter taste.

“So the slave trade is starting to take root…”

Northern plantations operated on fair wages for free workers, yet the continent’s natives were being enslaved and exploited elsewhere. It was a cruel irony, and all I could do was console the grieving farmer before finalizing the purchase.

After completing the deal, we headed to a saffron plantation. While not quite as impressive as the nutmeg farm, the saffron plantation was in decent condition and reasonably priced. However, a minor issue arose during the final stage of the transaction.

While I had briefly stepped away, Callisto had paid for the plantation using his own gold.

“It’s my engagement gift to you, Etienne,” he declared, holding out the deed with a smug expression. His shoulders looked as if they had grown an inch higher in pride.

“What? Do you know how much this costs? Where did you even get that kind of money, Calli?”

Though he was the second prince and an admiral, Callisto was still a soldier, not a merchant. The revenue from capturing pirates likely went straight into maintaining his fleet. Considering the empress controlled the Imperial treasury, it was hard to imagine she had handed him a fortune. A fleeting fear that he might have taken out a loan crossed my mind.

Panicking, I fell into an old habit from when we were children.

“….”

“…Ah… I mean, Calli?”

Callisto’s lips pressed into a thin line as he fell silent. Left with no choice, I followed him out awkwardly.

Back in the carriage, Callisto stared out the window, remaining quiet for what felt like an eternity. Just as I was about to speak, he finally broke the silence.

“Hyung, I need to tell you something.”

“Mm… I’m sorry. I won’t call you that again, I promise.”

Feeling guilty, I apologized immediately. Callisto hesitated for a moment before letting out a sigh.

“That’s not it. I told you I don’t care about things like that. I don’t mind if you call me that—it just shows how much you care.”

“Then why are you upset… or mad?”

“…That farm was a gift, Hyung. I just want you to accept it without worrying.”

“But it’s too much, Calli. A saffron bouquet is one thing, but a whole plantation?”

“I wanted to buy it for you. You seemed to like it. I couldn’t afford a diamond mine, and you wouldn’t care for anything else, so…”

“….”

Whether it was a spice plantation or a diamond mine, I felt embarrassed to have such expensive tastes.

I reached out to Callisto, unsure how to ease the tension. Expecting him to pull away, I was surprised when he instead lowered his gaze and leaned into my hands as I cupped his face.

I pressed my lips gently against his soft, warm cheek before murmuring, “Okay, but can I give you an engagement gift too?”

“You already said you’d give me a ship. What else could there be?”

“That’s not an engagement gift.”

“Then what is it?”

“Just a gift for my little brother.”

“I’m not your actual brother…”

Callisto bristled but froze as I held his face in place and kissed him again. The soft floral fragrance lingering between us deepened as I brushed my tongue against his, earning a muffled gasp.

A wet sound broke the quiet moment as we parted. His face was flushed, and sunlight streaming through the carriage window softened the sharp lines of his features. His long lashes trembled, casting delicate shadows on his cheeks. He looked like a masterpiece painted by a master artist.

Smiling, I gently wiped his lips with my thumb.

“If you were my real brother, that would’ve been a problem.”

Callisto’s expression quickly shifted from flustered to triumphant, as if he’d waited years to hear those words.

“You’ll accept my engagement gift, right, Calli?” I asked, patting his cheek.

“…Fine. Sure,” he mumbled, the corners of his lips twitching upward.

Moments later, he suddenly straightened, as if something had just occurred to him.

“Then what’s your engagement gift to me?”

I intertwined my fingers with his, resting my other hand on the back of his.

“A diamond mine.”

If he could buy me a saffron farm, then there was no reason I couldn’t aim higher.

For now, Callisto seemed satisfied with the idea. Little did he know the odds of finding a diamond mine were slim to none, but the promise itself seemed to make him happy.

“Instead of an engagement gift, you could just… give me a kiss.”

“I already do that every day.”

“Well, then maybe something more than a kiss…”

“Hm?”

Callisto’s ears flushed a deep red at whatever he was imagining. If turning crimson in an instant was a skill, he’d mastered it. Either way, since we were already on the topic, I thought it was a good time to make things clear. I toyed with his earlobe and whispered softly.

“We can think about that later, Callisto.”

“Can’t we just think about it now?”

“If the diamond mine exploration succeeds, you’ll get it as your engagement gift. Deal?”

“…Fine…”

Although he seemed reluctant, I was already gleefully imagining the cascade of diamonds that would soon fall into his lap.

The next day, we set out to locate the diamond vein. Recalling the description of the diamond mine’s terrain and location from the original story, I asked the local guide if he had any leads. While he reached out to his contacts to investigate, Callisto, who had been acting as my interpreter, gave me a curious look.

“How do you know about this stuff, Hyung?”

“Oh, well… I’ve been studying mining for a while now. They say geological formations like these often indicate veins. I also bought a lot of intel from brokers.”

Sweating nervously, I avoided his gaze and offered a flimsy excuse. There was no way I could admit the truth—that I was actually a former genre novel producer from another world who got possessed by a tragic sub-villain’s character while trying to push the author to give him a happy ending. Explaining that would not only take too long but also sound absurd.

Support