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

It was the first time she had ever been trapped between a wall and a person. Because of the height difference, his broad, firm chest was right in front of Marienne’s eyes. As long as she didn’t lift her head, the young Lord’s wide chest was all hers.

‘So this is the first-row seat I’ve been told about.’

I didn’t mean to stare, it just came to me. I was standing close enough to feel the texture of his sleekly tailored dark green coat, so I couldn’t help it.

Inside the dust-free coat, I could see a vest of the same colour. It was wrinkled around the rows of bronze buttons, especially the ones on his chest. Vileon had worn this vest once before, last week, and the buttons had been this tight then.

‘Or has he gotten in better shape since then?

What in the world does he do every night after work? Does he drown his sorrows of unrequited love with exercise? God, what a wonderful thing to do. If his vest is like this, his shirt must be in terrible shape. And what about the body inside the shirt? Marienne felt sorry for herself.

‘Odette, Odette, I can’t be the only one to see this.’

Only Odette Rose could peel back the three layers of wrapping paper and grasp the bare chest. It must feel incredible. Up close, Vileon’s skin was smooth, and he didn’t seem to be wearing any perfume, but I could smell a clean scent.

Since she couldn’t bury her face in his chest and sniff him, Marienne took a deep breath. He smelled like softly milled mint soap.

“You’re still the same.”

Vileon’s voice came from overhead.

“This close and you don’t even look at me.”

There was a hint of resignation in his voice. Oh, no. Vileon was better at applying dialogue than Marienne had expected!

“How far do I have to go before you’ll look at me?”

“Uh, hmm. You sound a little strange today.”

As far as dialogue goes, that’s about as good as it gets. Marienne let go of the good smell and moved on to the next step. She moved to the right, and sure enough, Vileon’s arm blocked her path. She turned around and tried to dodge to the left, but this time another arm blocked her path.

He pinned Marienne down, his face inching closer and closer to kiss her.

‘Okay, okay, your expression is perfect!’

Now, I just need to tilt my head slightly and he’ll whisper in my ear, as if it’s risky to speak out loud in front of me. Oh, those Northern guys just blurt out their words, but for Vileon, you should whisper.

“…What should I say now?”

“HEUP!”

“Sorry, that was too close, wasn’t it?”

Vileon pulls away immediately and takes three steps back. A part of him wanted to back away until he touched the opposite wall, but he seemed to have barely stopped there. The young Chancellor held his hands up at shoulder height, like what a surrendered criminal would do.

“That was inappropriate behaviour, even if it was practice.”

“Oh, no, it wasn’t.”

“I apologise.”

Vileon’s sincere apology fell on deaf ears. Marienne was startled for another reason.

‘Because he’s whispering in my ear, it feels like I’m in a movie or drama. It’s making my legs weak.’

It felt different than just talking. Their breaths mingled, and it sent chills down her spine.

“Lord Byers, have you ever whispered to the Princess before?”

Vileon, still looking grave and apologetic, shook his head. There was no need to rummage through his memory, he said, because there really hadn’t been a single time.

Of course, there was no way this man’s temper was capable of whispering like he had just done. In a situation that is usually referred to as an opportunity, he would quietly keep his principles.

“One whisper and you could be walking down the aisle tomorrow…”

“What’s that?”

“It’s the best!”

Marienne covered her mouth with her hand.

“Do you know how good your voice is? Just now, you know, when you whispered in my ear, and the hairs in my ears stood up, and it tickled my eardrums, and it was sweet, and it made my legs go weak.”

Marienne squeezed her eyes shut and shuddered. Just thinking about it again made her body react this way.

“I think I’m about to fall in love.”

“…”

“You did really well, it’s perfect.”

“Thanks for the compliment, but I’m not so sure.”

“What are you talking about. I’m not even going to say it, it was perfect. I’m going to spur you on, you’re going to do what you have to do. You’re going to grab me by the wrist and pull me into a tight embrace!”

In the same situation, Cain Blackwood made no attempt to control his force, leaving red marks on Odette’s snow-white, slender wrist. He could only call himself insane for feeling a strange sense of possessiveness and excitement at the sight of his mark.

Vileon must be different. Apart from mimicking the Northerner’s behaviour, he must not hurt Odette. It was clear that Vileon would refuse. But before that, Marienne herself could not tolerate it.

‘He’s only pretending to be a bad man for Odette. He can’t really be a bastard.’

How barbaric to subdue a woman with brute force. Marienne clicked her tongue as she continued to explain to Vileon. She presented him with a hypothetical situation and told him what to say. Not surprisingly, it was something similar to what the northerner had said in the original.

“Since you seem to have a good handle on the dialogue, this is more of a strength control exercise, to see how much you can pull without hurting the wrist.”

Marienne was already in position. She was motivated her my student’s excellence.

“But don’t hold it too loosely, because if you miss once and grab it again, the picture will look funny, okay?”

“Wait a minute.”

Vileon stopped his excited subordinate.

“Are you telling me to grab Aide Didi’s wrist until we find a point of strength that doesn’t hurt?”

“Yes.”

“I won’t do it.”

Vileon snapped back. It had been expected, and Marienne had to desperately insist that she was fine.

“Okay, I made a mistake in my explanation. I’d be very weak against Lord Byers anyway. Instead of reducing the force until my wrists don’t hurt, gradually increase the intensity until I can’t resist.”

“That’s just the same, isn’t it?”

“No, it isn’t. It’s different. How’s that?”

Marienne rolled up the sleeves of her robe and balled her fists. She forced it to look as strong as she could, making her knuckles pop out.

“I’m fine, and I know Lord Byers would never hurt me, You’re just trying to get some practice in before the real thing.”

Vileon opened his mouth to say something, then closed it. He looked at Marienne with a complicated look in his eyes, and now that he thought about it, he realised she’d had a similar look when she’d been ranting about whispers earlier.

‘I guess I’m just a man who thinks a lot.’

Marienne, on the other hand, didn’t think twice.

‘I’m going to have to stir him up a bit to get him to practise.’

Otherwise, it would take forever. Marienne clapped her hands and shook her fists in the air, right in front of Vileon’s face. I can do this, I’ll be fine, I’ll tell you immediately if I feel the slightest discomfort. I eagerly reassured him.

“I’m off then!”

Marienne called out cheerfully and turned. One step, two steps, three steps. At this point, she should have felt him following her, but his back was silent. After five steps, Marien turned her head. Vileon was still in place, unmoving.

“Lord Byers.”

She sighed and shuffled back to his side.

“I’m sure I’m okay?”

“…I’m not okay.”

“That can’t be helped.”

Marienne retorted without changing her expression.

“It’s because you’re trying to do something you’ve never done before. Well, look at it this way. I’ll do my best for the Fourth Princess.”

For a moment, Vileon’s mouth twitched, an expression that looked more like self-pity than bitterness, something Marienne had never seen before.

They say a handsome man looks handsome even when he’s not breathing. But a man doesn’t have to be heart-stoppingly attractive to be laughing at himself as he had just done, and Marienne found herself liking his shadowy side as well as his bright.

Which was odd. She’d fallen for his warmth and straightness in the first place. Self-pity is a behaviour more suited to Cain Blackwood than Vileon. Or does the same behaviour feel different when Vileon does it?

“Aide Didi, I’m not that brazen.”

Vileon said.

“Not for Her Highness’ sake, but for my own, to make my love successful.”

“In the long run, it will be good for Her Highness.”

“Even if it is, it isn’t.”

Oh, my God. I’ve even mentioned Odette, and it’s still not working. Marienne felt a twinge of impatience. What if he suddenly stopped practising, not just practising, but stopping trying to win Odette over altogether?

That was the kind of decision she might make in the midst of her scepticism. Marienne clasped her hands together as if in prayer. She looked up at Vileon with pleading eyes.

“For me, then. How about for me, the one who supports Lord Byers?”

“…”

“I won’t ask for much, just three rehearsals, okay?”

In the original play, Odette does not sleep easily the day she is taken by the wrist. She’s angry at her fiancé’s rudeness, but she can’t stop thinking about how it felt to be buried in his broad arms. Eventually, around dawn, Cain appears in Odette’s dreams.

In her dream, her fiancé is much softer than in real life, and he is naked, not even wearing a silk robe. After this erotic dream, Odette is somehow uncomfortable with Cain.

This is the beginning of a much more intimate relationship.

That’s why the wrist-grabbing and hugging event had to be pre-empted by Vileon. Marienne clung to her superior even more desperately.

“Please, just three times.”

“For Aide Didi…”

“Yeah, it’s a little shabby, but it’s all I can come up with.”

Vileon rubbed his palms together so that his fingerprints wore off, and he stared at Marienne with a blank stare again, then gave a short nod.

‘That’s it!’

It seems that sympathy tactics are the best for good people. Marienne quickly took up a starting stance in case her opponent changed his mind. This time, when she had taken four steps, Vileon caught up with her. The difference in stride lengths quickly closed the distance between them.

As Marienne had expected, he applied little force to his grasp. Marien was able to turn around and shake off Vileon’s grip at the same time.

“You’re going to have to use more force than you did just now. Now, second time!”

“Didn’t it hurt?”

Vileon asked, his face full of concern. This man seemed to think that every human in the world had a body as fragile as Odette’s. He had spent too much time around her.

“It didn’t hurt at all, Lord Byers. Quick, a second time!”

But on the second practice, Vileon is still hesitant to grip Marienne’s wrist hard, afraid to be rough with her for fear of hurting her wrist.

She was afraid she might blow the chance she barely got through all this. She asked him to please try to give her a chance to at least snuggle up to Lord Byers’ who understood. She added that it would be better to focus on losing balance in the body than pulling the wrist hard.

Vileon eventually succeeded in hugging Marienne on the third try. This time, Marien’s wrists didn’t hurt, and her face, which was nearly pressed against his chest, was still intact.

‘What a cushion!’