The Second Male Lead is Actually a Girl

Upon arriving at the imperial palace, someone approached Rosenta and handed him a letter.

There was no seal, but the handwriting was very familiar.

Without hesitation, he opened it right away.

The contents were brief.

‘Go there.’

There.

The letter contained two short syllables, but it was easy to understand.

This was because there was only one place that they felt belonged to them.

He headed off alone without hesitation.

It was a road so familiar that he could navigate it with his eyes closed.

There was a time, soon after he started visiting the imperial palace, that he went in and out as if he was visiting a hideout.

There was a shrine located in a corner of the forest inside the imperial palace.

There were trees behind it.

He made his way through the thick branches of the trees, step by step.

A small clearing between the trees came into view.

I saw the face of the person standing there waiting for him.

Standing in the golden sunlight falling through the green leaves.

“Your majesty.”

Theodore’s eyes were already looking for him and caught sight of him before Rosenta’s voice could reach him.

The moment his golden eyes turned towards him, Rosenta was at a loss for words.

He looked as though he had been very disturbed and faced with great difficulties.

‘What has been troubling Theodore’s heart all these days? Why did he call me separately?’

When he saw Theodore’s face, Rosenta was confused as well.

“Rosenta…”

He could feel the urgency towards him in Theodore’s voice.

“I’ve reached my limit. I’ve tried to solve it myself somehow…. I’ve failed miserably.”

Rosenta was speechless.

Theodore was falling apart. All while letting out a silent scream.

He was a man a strong as an iron fortress.

His very temperament was warlike yet cheerful. He never lost his composure.

He showed his silly side once in a while, but even that was only in front of his two close friends.

But such a Theodore….

“Your Majesty.”

He couldn’t keep his mouth shut.

Afte barely calling out to him, he shut his mouth again.

Then he carefully grabbed Theodore’s wrist.

This was because Rosenta decided that what he should do now was to hug him warmly rather than ask him questions.

With his other hand, he grabbed Theodore’s back and brought him into an embrace.

Slowly, Theodore’s face came down onto Rosenta’s shoulder and Rosenta hugged him.

“Rosenta?”

Theodore’s panicked voice came out, but even that was short-lived.

After a moment’s hesitation, Theodore put his arm around Rosenta’s shoulder.

Theodore hugged him just as much as Rosenta had embraced him.

That was all.

***

The hug didn’t last long.

It would soon be time for the banquet, so they had to finish as quickly as possible.

So, Theodore quickly started talking to Rosenta as Rosenta listened in silence.

“My body is not within my own control. And it only happens when the saint is present. At first, I wondered if I liked her, but… That’s not it. It can’t be the case.”

After Theodore had finished, Rosenta asked a question.

“Then what is it?”

“I don’t know. But this is certain. The unpleasant feeling of being a puppet. At the moment…. That’s all I can explain.”

Theodore was adamant.

He wasn’t moving according to his own will, and he absolutely didn’t like Yura.

Rosenta closed his eyes for a moment, as if meditating.

And he went through the things he knew as much as he could, putting them together one by one.

He hadn’t figured it out yet.

However, when people were around Yura, they tended to see or feel something suspicious.

Vivian said that Yura didn’t cry; that it was disgusting.

Theodore said he felt like a puppet.

‘The original novel….’

Had Rosenta been so obsessed with the forest, entangled in the novel, that he missed the individual trees?

He was overcome with a strange feeling.

Theodore called for him, perhaps in reaction to his silence.

“Rosenta?”

Rosenta slowly opened his eyes. He wasn’t sure how Theodore had interpreted his expression, but Theodore explained it to him in a cold voice.

“I don’t like her. Her only value is in being a saint that increases the reputation of the Helios Empire.”

There was determination in those gold eyes.

“All I wanted was for her to reside here. Nothing more than that. Our country doesn’t even have a set state religion.”

Hearing that, it really struck Rosenta that Theodore had absolutely no feeling for Yura.

Theodore didn’t fall for Yura. And he was friendly with Vivian, whom he shouldn’t have gotten along with.

Rosenta, who should have been a supporting character, was caught between them. Everything had changed.

They were all small trees, that had been grown with different fertilizers, and took on different shapes.

The novel was just a novel. It was each individual person that shaped this world.

So, as their pasts had changed, it was only natural that the shape of the forest would change as well.

Then, just as they had changed, wasn’t it possible that Yura had changed as well?

“Your Majesty.”

A dark, golden light turned onto Rosenta.

Rosenta met that gaze clearly and put on an ingratiating smile.

“Leave it to me.”

A crow crowed from a tree branch behind him.

Caw.

In line with the crow’s cries, a rustling sound came from among the bushes.

Step, step.

There was also the sound of stomping feet.

Gradually, Rosenta felt the culprit behind the sound getting closer.

Soon, someone jumped out from among the bushes.

“Vivian.”

“Rosen!”

It was Vivian who approached Rosenta with a red smile on her face.

Vivian approached him and stopped abruptly.

The laughter was gone.

At the end of her gaze was Theodore.

Vivian, who had been silent for a while, walked toward Theodore vigorously, as if she had come to some sort of decision, before holding her hand out to him.

“I received your letter. At that time…. I was also rude. Of course, that would have put His Majesty in a troublesome situation. The target of my ire was the saint. And this…. It’s a reconciliation gift… …You can throw it away if you don’t like it!”

Vivian turned her head away as she spoke those words with a bit of frustration.

But their eyes could see Vivian’s ears stained red. She looked ashamed.

Rosenta glanced at Theodore.

Vivian had been the first to reach out to reconcile; now it was Theodore’s turn.

“I couldn’t throw it away.”

Theodore was laughing.

With a smile on his lips, he said, “It is a very nice present. And I was too angry. I apologize for that, Vivian.”

He treasured the bouquet of bright yellow flowers that Vivian had given him.

***

Theodore, who was another main character of the banquet along with the saint, would enter later.

So naturally, it was decided that Rosenta would escort Vivian.

The two of them entered the banquet hall.

“His Excellency, Duke Rosenta Estella, and the young Lady of the Marigold Marquisate, Vivian Marigold are entering.”

A huge door opened.

As colorful as the entrance was, the inside was also brilliant with a five-color color scheme and luxurious enough to be called priceless.

No matter how hard one tried, it would be difficult to host a banquet as grand as one held by the imperial palace.

Vivian and Rosenta stepped into the golden banquet hall.

At the same time, Rosenta felt the stinging gazes of other nobles.

Regardless, they walked out to the middle of the banquet hall, all while receiving the stares that they had long been accustomed to.

After greeting one another, they began dancing to the music.

The dance was soon over.

“Rosen, I will go greet the other ladies.”

Then, Vivian suddenly disappeared as she went to where the other ladies were.

Seeing him suddenly left alone, people began to gather around him. They jostled one another as if fighting.

“Duke Estella is very beautiful today.”

There are many more people who are more beautiful than me; but thank you for saying so.”

“The dance with Lady Marigold, who you brought with you, was very impressive.”

“It was all thanks to the dancing skills of the young lady who danced with me.”

It was an attempt at flattery.

Rosenta reacted to some extent before looking for a time to slip away.

He looked around as politely as possible but saw something that opened his eyes wide with shock.

He even blinked his eyes. He checked again.

But he did not welcome what he saw.

Why was Enoch….

He couldn’t figure out why Enoch, who should have been back at the duke’s castle, was there.

He was even wearing a black velvet suit that looked very expensive.

“Sorry; excuse me for a moment.”

He cut off the nobles around him and approached Enoch without hesitation.

Enoch stood still; he’d been staring at him from the beginning.

It was the look of someone who knew that Rosenta would come to him regardless of who was watching.

Rosenta masked his emotions as much as possible before asking, “Why are you here?”

“I am helpfully escorting a beautiful woman I met a few days ago.”

Enoch shrugged lightly before raising the wine glass he was holding in a specific direction.

A young noblewoman looked at Enoch and smiled.

It was the face of someone who had fallen in love at first sight.

‘What the heck…’

‘Whatever. I don’t care.’

Enoch’s obstinance was something he was used to at this point, and it just so happened that he needed him now.

“Good. Now that I see you’re here, I need you to do something for me.”

Rosenta’s words seemed to startle Enoch. The wine glass in his hand shook.

It was pleasant.

It was fun to surprise someone who always surprised him.

He looked up at Enoch with a light smile.

He was just about to speak, but before he could open his mouth, the gatekeeper’s lout voice rang out.

“Saint Yura Han and the High Priest Conitel are entering!”

The door opened and Yura entered.

Her Ebony hair and eyes stood out. Her apricot-colored skin contrasted with them.

IN addition, as if she wanted to cover herself in pure white, even Yura’s dress and accessories were shining silver.

It was an exotic and elegant appearance.

There was even a sense of mystery.

Everyone looked at the saint’s position with their mouths agape as they held their breath.

“Enoch.”

Light green eyes landed on Rosenta’s cheek.

Rosenta slightly raised his index finger and pointed in Yura’s direction.

He whispered, “Observe her for the entirety of today’s banquet.”