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

“Of course.”

Vileon’s expression instantly turned serious as he approached Marienne.

“You left it in front of the office door?”

“Yes, just for a moment.”

“No, stay still. I’ll handle it.”

Marienne panicked. Vileon’s strides were too wide. In just a few steps, he had covered the distance from the spacious office to the front of the door in an instant.

Walking alongside him, Marienne realized that his stride was much wider than she had anticipated. She realized that he had always adjusted his pace to match hers.

‘What should I do? We might run into the bodyguards in the hallway.’

How could she possibly fix this wrong timing.

Fortunately, Marienne’s worries didn’t materialize. At the moment when she was contemplating whether to hold onto Vileon’s coat sleeve and hang on, a bodyguard rushed into the office.

He was holding a large and vibrant bouquet of flowers, enough to hide his well-built physique.

“Today is Lord Byers’ birthday.”

Marienne grabbed Vileon’s arm with a cheerful smile. They needed to create space for the people from the administrative department to enter.

“So I thought I’d celebrate in a small way.”

“You don’t have any suspicious packages……?”

“No, it’s nothing. I just made up an excuse to get closer to the door.”

Marienne’s eyebrows drooped. Marienne tilted her head adorably, looking at him as if to say, don’t blame yourself so much. Vileon softened his expression.

“It’s not fair to look at me like that.”

“What’s wrong with the way I look at you?”

“You always know how you appear to others, don’t you?”

“You’re just saying things I can’t understand at all.”

Vileon glanced playfully as he teased her.

At that moment, the administrative staff rushed into the office. Some of them who were assigned to handle firecrackers were already wagging their tails in excitement.

The administrative department was known for being a gathering place of diligent elites, but they were also ordinary members of society.

They seemed unable to contain their anticipation for setting off firecrackers and sharing a cake during work. It was even more exciting because if they did well, they could extend their break time until lunch.

The grand finale was a birthday cake on a wagon pushed in by the kitchen staff. In the center of the beautiful cake was a candle.

“Happy Birthday, Lord Byers!”

“Happy birthday to you!”

“Wishing you good health and happiness always!”

Firecrackers burst amidst the thunderous applause. Vileon expressed his gratitude with a smiling face. Marienne immediately stopped him as he was about to blow out the candles.

“You should make a wish.”

Vileon asked if Marienne knew that today wasn’t his sixth birthday but his twenty-sixth birthday.

“Even if it’s your twenty-sixth birthday, you still have to make a wish, you know? Hurry up, make three wishes.”

“Three?”

“It’s not a birthday that comes around every day. If you don’t wish today, you’ll have to wait until next year.”

Marienne seemed amused by his persistence. Vileon couldn’t take his eyes off the third aide, but after being urged repeatedly, he finally spoke up.

“My wish is for peace and prosperity in this country.”

This isn’t a toast to the Emperor, and he’s actually wishing for something like this, but I’m sure it’s 100% genuine. That’s so characteristic of Vileon.

Marienne looked at him with curious eyes.

“The second wish is for the health and happiness of our administrative staff.”

Vileon smiled, making eye contact with each of his employees. It reminded Marienne that she was in the middle of a birthday party at work.

Regardless of the occasion, whether it’s a New Year’s greeting, a toast, or a congratulatory speech, they all end up being somewhat similar, don’t they?

If today were her birthday, what wish would she have made?

‘May Lord Byers’ wishes come true.’

That would probably be my first wish. I hope Bileon wished for his own happiness as his last wish.

“For my third wish……”

Vileon trailed off, causing impatience to rise within Marienne, fearing that he might use up his last wish for someone else.

“Save at least one wish for yourself, Lord Byers.”

That way, my wish will also have meaning. Marienne watched Vileon close his eyes after he heard her words. Silently, he made a wish in his heart.

After a while, he opened his eyes and blew out the candles. People applauded and cheered once again.

The cake cutting ceremony followed.

Vileon personally cut the cake and distributed it to the people. It was amusing to see the grown adults lining up one by one to receive a slice of cake.

The surprise party was a great success.

Embarrassing the birthday party to maximize the moment of surprise is not Vaileon’s cup of tea.

Knowing this, Marienne had planned an event that might seem rather boring to outsiders.

It’s a small trick she’s mastered.

To the extent that she had asked the Byers family not to give him birthday greetings this morning?

With a proud expression, Marienne took a bite of the cake. The fragrant sweet black tea cream seemed to dance on her tongue.

“Thank you, Marienne.”

Vileon, who was now at her side, whispered softly.

“I’ll remember this birthday for a long time.”

Marienne smiled warmly at him.

◇ ◆ ◇

By 4 p.m., the sky had indeed turned grim. The dark clouds were gathering and looked like they were about to drop thick raindrops.

Marienne pressed her nose against the office window and peered outside. It had been about forty-five minutes since she had done this.

“It’s almost time.”

Last night, Marianne knocked on Chloe’s door, who was incredibly friendly towards her, but they couldn’t come to a consensus on the interpretation of their coupling.

It was to ask her to send a servant to the upper chamber if the sky clouded over tomorrow afternoon.

The servant would bring a message from the Countess. It would contain a note asking if she could leave work early and come home, and that she had something urgent to say.

“First, we need to get Vileon out of the palace.”

If she could keep him away from the scene of the incident, many things would be resolved.

He wouldn’t have to witness the locket necklace being discarded on the muddy ground, nor would he have to hear the maids’ gossip.

He wouldn’t have to stay up until midnight and realize that his birthday has ended in vain.

This was part of Marienne’s devised solution.

“Once the servant arrives, I can go to the pond.”

And this was the remaining part. Marienne planned to infiltrate the pond area and wait for the Northerner to snatch the locket necklace.

While observing the direction in which the necklace flew, I will quickly pick it up and shout.

Your Highness, I found it! Don’t worry!

He’ll panic as he tries to forcibly pick her up and carry her inside. Even Odette would momentarily wonder what was going on.

‘After breaking the tension like that…’

Marienne suddenly straightened up like a meerkat. The servant of the Count who was supposed to come didn’t show up, but instead, someone from the Fourth Princess’s palace was busily walking towards the administration building.

A bad feeling flashed by.

“I have to intercept that servant…!”

I don’t know the exact details yet, but my first thought was that I couldn’t let that item fall into Vileon’s hands.

It would probably be the cause of him wandering in the rain.

Marienne immediately opened the door and looked out into the corridor. She confirmed that Vileon’s office door was closed.

With her footsteps muffled as much as possible, Marienne moved towards the stairs. There was only one thing left for her to do.

‘At this rate, I should be running more often than the guards!’

Once again, Marienne rushed down to the first floor, her skirt fluttering.

◇ ◆ ◇

As the ending of ⟨The Alliance Marriage⟩ approached, Odette would gain the throne, Vileon would gain love, and Marienne Didi would gain muscles.

“Another long run.”

She didn’t have to blame herself for indulging in a high-calorie cake for lunch. That cake had just completely fell apart.

Marienne leaned against the wall and took deep breaths.

About twenty minutes ago, Marienne intercepted a note from someone in the Fourth Princess’s Palace. She didn’t threaten them with an axe, of course, she convinced them with words.

“I am Marienne Didi, the Third Aide of the Administration Department. Since Lord Byers is taking a short shower, I will receive it on his behalf.”

“You’re telling me he’s showering at this hour?”

“Yes, he accidentally spilled champagne on himself. Of course the Princess must already know that today is Lord Byers’ birthday, right? We wanted to celebrate it in a lively manner this time.”

When Marienne confirmed if it was sent by Her Highness, the chamberlain subtly expressed his displeasure.

“Isn’t it obvious? I came from the Fourth Princess’s Palace.”

It was not appropriate for Marienne to open the envelope in front of the chamberlain. However, if she insisted on examining it too persistently, he might start to suspect her motives. Putting aside her uneasiness, Marienne turned the chamberlain away for now.

Hiding in a corner, she opened the note. Its contents were rather peculiar.

Do not inform anyone and come to the pond with a cloud bridge.

The sentence stating that she had been waiting there since earlier made Marienne stare at the note intently.

The handwriting was straight and clear, fitting of Odette’s temperament. Moreover, it clearly stated that the recipient was Vileon.

“It looks like it’s going to rain soon.”

Marienne looked up at the heavily clouded sky.

With weather like this, she couldn’t help but worry about the people out there. You’d think they’d realize what was going on once they got there.

No wonder Vileon had grabbed an umbrella in the original.

Marienne searched for a suitable place to hide herself. It was the moment she settled in a spot not far from the cloud bridge.

A figure dressed entirely in black from head to toe appeared.

Cain Blackwood.

Did he come alone, where is Odette.

As Marienne squinted her eyes against the harsh glare, she suddenly felt a shock at the back of her head.

Cain pulled a locket from his pocket and held it up.

“So, this is the proof of their childhood friendship……?”

With an expressionless face, he examined the necklace. His gaze was unsettling.

“How crude.”

Marienne glanced anxiously in the direction Cain had come from.

How did the original work get twisted in this part? It would be great if the enraged Odette come chasing after and demanded the necklace back. However, such a thing did not happen.

“It’s not something the Duchess of Blackwood would wear. I’ll have to make that clear to the Chancellor.”

Cain’s words pieced together the puzzle that had been scattered in Marienne’s mind. She gnashed her teeth.

“So, it was you who sent that strange letter to Vileon, pretending to be Odette?”

No wonder the chamberlain who brought the letter, didn’t have a clear attitude, considering he was from the Fourth Princess’s Palace. He got easily agitated with Marienne’s insignificant questions. Odette wouldn’t keep someone like that by her side.

The northerner must have dressed him as a servant of the Fourth Princess and threatened him. Threatening people is his specialty.

Do you think he’ll come to his senses if you cut off his fingernails?

‘He deserves to have the soles of his feet bitten off by a hundred mosquitoes.’

Did she mutter a curse in her mind? Cain started spinning the locket necklace in retaliation.

The thin chain hanging on his finger looked extremely fragile.

In the next moment, Cain didn’t throw the locket necklace, but instead tried to crush it in his clenched fist.

Marienne’s mind went blank.

“Stop right now!”