The Fate of the Perennial Sub Male Lead is in My Hands

“Will you find the answer by just staring at the Chancellor like that?”

At Cain’s sharp words, Marienne faced him.

As Vileon had said earlier, she also wanted to smile politely. But in reality, she had to be satisfied with not staring at Cain like an enemy

“I took a look after you ran off. The bathroom back there.”

Depilatory!

Marienne swallowed hard at the thought.

“Although my kicking on the way out smashed the tiles and everything, so your tracks are pretty much gone.”

Good. Marienne was relieved. There were times in life when his filthy temper came in handy.

“You were definitely planning something worse than cutting my hair that day, but you got caught in the middle and stopped with the scissors.”

“Do you think I was plotting to assassinate the Duke or something?”

“No.”

Cain cut him off.

“You know enough to know that you can’t kill an immortal.”

How he managed to cuss in every sentence.

“Then again, you’ve been interested in my hair since our first meeting, talking about my black hair.”

Cain persisted.

“Now tell me why you’re obsessed with my hair.”

“Ha.”

Mariennene sighed. Who’s too obsessed with hair right now.

Rather, Marienne wanted to ask how she lived without being caught that she knew hair was his weakness.

I’m starting to wonder.

Are you sure it’s a secret you’ve kept from anyone?

Doesn’t everyone actually know but just pretend not to?

“Answer me this, who told you to cut my hair?”

“There’s no one behind it. Do you have a bad memory? Because I’m in love with Duke… Yes, and I wanted to keep some of your hair, like lovers keep each other’s.”

Marienne swallowed hard, her stomach churning.

“I told you that’s why I cut it off.”

“I don’t believe you at all.”

“Believe me.”

Marienne glanced at Vileon again, who was still glaring at Cain with a stony face.

‘You have every right to be angry. Odette, the woman you’ve loved for so long, chose this bastard, and he’s a bit rude?’

Marienne spoke the closing lines Vileon had given her in advance.

“Anyway, I should have asked the Duke’s permission first, so, uh, I’m sorry, and if you don’t want me to keep the hair, I’ll give it back to you tomorrow.”

“…”

“I won’t do this again.”

For once, Cain had stopped questioning, but that didn’t mean he’d stopped looking at her suspiciously.

Marrienne saw the right moment to rise from her seat.

“What I want to know is, why didn’t you cut off all my hair?”

Crazy, are you still not done?

Marienne let out an exasperated sigh.

“How many times do I have to tell you that I’m happy with what I’ve got, and if I really cut it all off, I’d be exhausted and lie down.”

For a moment, Cain’s ambient temperature must have dropped 50 degrees.

He grabbed a large pair of scissors from under the table and lunged across the table at Marienne.

It happened in a matter of seconds.

“Chancellor Byers, don’t get me wrong. I’m just trying to give your aide a chance.”

Cain glared at the blade of the black scissors.

“Cut it off as much as you like.”

Marienne stared at the two men in tense confrontation. If it hadn’t been for Vileon, she would have been pinned down on her wrists.

“Byers, get your hands off me.”

Cain said. It sounded relaxed, but ultimately threatening.

“If you hold on, I’ll break your arm.”

“You go first, Blackwood.”

Marienne doubted her ears. Was this coming from the mouth of the ever-polite Vileon Byers?

Cain, for once, agreed with her, and raised a dark eyebrow.

Just then, the distant chime of the bell signalling 1:00 o’clock sounded.

“By, Lord Byers. If you’ll excuse us, you have another appointment.”

Marienne gingerly placed her hand on Vileon’s arm. She could feel the strength in his arm, even through his clothes.

Fortunately, the men accepted her attempt at mediation. Each man’s arm slowly returned to its place.

Marrienne was more concerned about Vileon’s arm, which had taken the full force of the other man’s strength, than the scissors Cain still held.

Cain could break down a door with ease. Would Vileon’s arm be okay?

As they left the parlour, Cain said behind them.

“If there is someone that crazy rabbit likes, it must be the Chancellor, not me.”

◇ ◆ ◇

Vileon stared at the investigators’ report for a long time. There was nothing wrong with it. Excellent work done by competent people.

Their culprit was on the last page of the report.

Anyone who had read the preceding paragraphs would know that the investigators had not been wrong.

Knock knock.

A familiar-looking man entered the office.

“Lord Byers, the Fourth Princess wants to see you.”

“Did she state her purpose?”

“She said she wanted to see you for a moment.”

He could feel Marienne’s ears prick up. She wanted to peek over the partition, but she held back, and Vileon wasn’t sure he wanted to leave the Third Aide alone.

A tiny, fluffy aide who could get into trouble at any moment.

And while she was quick to take orders, she was insensitive to threats to her life.

She didn’t recognise a threat as a threat until a knife was held to her throat.

Oh, this is no big deal.

I kept telling myself it was no big deal. Over and over again.

I thought it might be reassuring to keep her within sight, so I moved Marienne’s desk into my office. I let her stay at the Count’s house, and we commuted together.

The only way we could do anything more ‘together’ was to be together 24/7.

“You are so sweet and kind. I appreciate it, but it’s a little too much for my taste, I suppose, and I’m a little … tired of it.”

Odette’s words always come to mind when Vileon Byers’ bad habits threaten to take over.

Once upon a time, her words cut through his heart like thorns made of ice.

He thought time had melted them away. Judging by the way his heart still raced, it hadn’t.

‘Don’t bore her.’

Vileon braced himself.

‘We must keep the line.’

Marienne is supportive and encouraging of my feelings for Odette. Maybe that’s why I can’t help myself from saying yes to all her outlandish suggestions.

It wasn’t just that I was desperate for this to work.

There was also a part of him that didn’t want to disappoint his supporter.

Marienne’s eyes sparkled and she believed him. A love that even Vileon himself was unsure of.

If the way Marienne looked at me changed, it would be too much to bear.

“Lord Byers?”

There was a hint of surprise in the fourth aide’s voice.

“Do you find it difficult to vacate your seat?”

“No…”

It had already been arranged that his bodyguards would enter his office in his absence and never leave Marienne alone.

After all, this is the Chancellor’s office. Unless Vileon is guilty of a felony, even the crown prince cannot enter here by force.

I also have a story to share with Odette.

“I’ll go now.”

Vileon slipped the report into a drawer. He moved closer to the desk to explain it to Marienne. The aide waved him off with a smirk, as if he needed no explanation.

“We’ll take care of the office. Bye!”

Marienne said, moving her lips without speaking. She looked pleased, like it was her job.

‘Have a good time with Her Highness.’

It was hard to describe the feeling. Vileon nodded slightly and left the office.

◇ ◆ ◇

As I entered Odette’s parlour, I smelled a different scent than usual.

It was crisp and clean, a scent that would have been perfect for the cold winter winds. Vileon remembered this scent as one of the specialities of the north.

“A gift from the Duke of Blackwood.”

Odette said, not taking her eyes off the chessboard.

“What do you think, is it good?”

“You don’t get anything of this quality in the capital, and the Duke seems to have taken great care.”

“He’s not an easy man to deal with, but I don’t care, whatever he’s thinking in his head, he’s being good to me on the outside.”

Odette tapped King’s head with her finger.

“The crown prince and the second prince who came to visit yesterday under the pretext of a sick visit also smelled this fragrance and left.”

“Are you feeling unwell?”

“No. I’m always the same. A hospital visit is just an excuse they made up. They’re trying to create their own image of themselves, carefully taking care of the fourth princess and their sister who are prone to illness.”

Odette’s lips drew a soft smile.

“Of course, one person failed to control their expression the moment they smelled this fragrance.”

“The one who failed is probably His Highness the Crown Prince.”

“He’s a pretender, after all.”

Odette wiggled her fingers. Queen, king, bishop. Her slender fingers, as if she hadn’t held any of them for long, settled on the knight.

“I was twelve when I first met you. We’ve been together for ten years now. The only thing I have to thank the Emperor for is sending you to me.”

“In high praise…”

“Byers.”

Odette cut him off.

“Why do you think I asked to see your lordship?”

Odette’s rosy eyes turned to Vileon.

Pale skin, hair like silver threads in the moonlight. She always wears a weak smile, but it’s a deception.

Anyone who has ever come face to face with her penetrating eyes knows that she is no ordinary person.

Odette Rose.

A hunter who appears to be the hunted, but is actually the hunter waiting for the right moment.

He once wanted to be her favourite hunting dog.

“Is this to hold me accountable for neglecting to manage my subordinates?”

Odette snapped her fingers. The white knight collapsed onto the chessboard.

“My lord, you’re getting straight to the point today.”

“I thought you might like it better this way.”

“Yes, that’s much better.”

Odette didn’t ask Vileon to sit down yet. Surely today was the day for a reprimanding.

“You have chosen to align yourself with me, my lord, and you know how much I hope to gain from an alliance with the Duke of Blackwood. It is not as if you do not know why I have chosen him, and why I have chosen him well.”

The Emperor had brought Odette into the palace to keep her in-laws in check, but he neglected her as if it were up to her to survive.

So Odette’s first year in the palace was in some ways even harder than her time in the manor.

There were enemies on all sides.

The Empress and the Empresses had already formed their own factions in the inner court, and they had no intention of allowing any cuckoo’s egg to settle in their nest1A cuckoo’s egg is a metaphor for brood parasitism, where a parasitic bird deposits its egg into a host’s nest, which then incubates and feeds the chick that hatches, even at the expense of its own offspring..

Short of outright poisoning the Fourth Princess, the Emperor would turn a blind eye to the bullying in the inner court.

The last thing the Emperor needed was a weak tool for his inner court intrigues.

The problem was, the women knew it.