The Male Lead Won’t Let Me Be!

Chapter 5

“Oh, sorry. I should’ve asked.”

“It’s fine.”

I rolled up the paper again, my laugh hiding my panic. Killian didn’t seem to have noticed my agitation as he took the scroll from me.

“I’ll be going now.”

I left Killian waving behind me and hurried straight back to the manor, thinking that it was better than trying to lose him by taking a winding route. I didn’t take the time to wake the guard, who was leaning on the wall, asleep. Instead, I dipped my hand in the guard’s pocket and fished out the key with a practiced hand.

The thick, iron door creaked open, and the guard jerked awake. He had been sleeping without a care in the world, and now he was looking at me like I owed him some kind of explanation. I ignored him. I tossed the key at the guard and immediately went to Siegfried’s room and began pounding on the door.

Knock, knock, knock. Knock, knock, knock, knock.

“Who is it?”

“It’s Ariel. I wrapped your wrist in a handkerchief this afternoon.”

He paused.

“Just a moment.”

I heard some rustling, then the door opened halfway. Siegfried appeared, his eyes half closed—I must have woken him. His hair was in a tangle, but to my awe, it didn’t detract from his beauty. He blinked at me drowsily, a little disheveled. As soon as his eyes focused enough to see me, he frowned.

“What time do you think it is right now?” he asked.

“Two in the morning? Wait, that’s not important.”

“It is. Run along and go to bed.”

Siegfried was about to end the conversation and swing the door closed.

“Wait!”

I quickly shoved an arm inside. He gasped, startled.

“What are you doing? You could’ve been hurt.”

“Your Highness, have you borrowed money from someone?”

“What?”

“I think I saw your portrait and…”

“Go to sleep,” he huffed, not bothering to hide his annoyance.

I wanted to explain a little more about my run-in with Killian. He had thought that I was a maid serving the count’s family and kept asking me about the manor. He had even mentioned Siegfried, calling him a “very important guest.” Siegfried had lost his carriage and his staff on his journey to the south. Perhaps he had run out of cash and borrowed from Killian.

Does that mean that Killian is a…loan shark?

“Just wait a minute! I met someone strange at the tavern.”

“So what? Am I supposed to entertain a drunkard?”

Siegfried seemed to have no intention of listening to me.

Just give me one moment! Please, listen to me!

I felt like sobbing, but despite my desperate gaze, he softly pushed me away and closed the door. I knocked and knocked, but the door didn’t open again.

* * *

In the end, I was forced to return to my room.

Why did Killian have Siegfried’s portrait?

I had changed into pajamas and was draped across the bed, but the prick of curiosity kept me awake.

Was Killian an important character in the novel too?

I hadn’t remembered anything in particular when I had met him.

Was he just a minor side character? Why would a minor side character carry the prince’s likeness in his pocket?

I was organizing my thoughts when something passed by the window. I had left it open because of the heat.

“What was that?”

I shot up in bed.

Was it a ghost? No, that’s ridiculous.

It was such a silly thought. Ghosts didn’t exist. Quietly, I walked over to the window. If it really was a ghost, I was prepared to grab a candlestick and beat it into a second grave. I poked my head out of the window and looked around. Of course, as ghosts didn’t exist, there was no one outside. Relieved, I was about to close the window when I heard a dull thud. Suddenly, someone’s hands covered my mouth.

“Shh.”

The voice was familiar, as if I hadn’t heard it too long ago. I stood there blinking, when I finally recognized whose voice it was. I glared at the man who had pushed me aside and crept inside. The man looked around then sighed, relieved, and glanced down at me. His mouth opened a little in surprise.

“We meet again.”

“Geh yuh ha oh muh muf.”

“Hmm?” He cocked his head, removed his hand, and asked, “What did you say?”

“Get your hand off my mouth.”

Of course, it was Killian.

“Ahh.”

“Is that all you have to say? What are you doing here?”

“What are you doing here, Ari…”

“There he is! Seize him!”

Killian’s voice was lost under the roar of the knights racing over. Killian clicked his tongue loudly and jumped out the window. Nearly the moment he disappeared, knights with torches appeared.

They spotted me poking my head out the window and yelled, “My lady! Have you seen any suspicious figures?”

“He went that way,” I said, pointing exactly in the direction in which Killian had disappeared into the darkness.

The knights bowed their heads, apologizing for disturbing me so late at night, then rushed after him.

What the hell? What just happened?

I hadn’t been very sleepy to begin with, but now I was very awake. I stood at the window, waiting for the knights to return. That was when I noticed dark red drops of blood on the carpet. The knights returned after a long while, seething in anger—they must not have caught Killian.

If I had known that they would lose him, I would’ve gone after him myself. I committed the knights’ faces to memory, so I could tell Avishion tomorrow to make them do endless laps around the training grounds. I shook my head and went back to bed.

* * *

The next day, as soon as I woke up, I could feel the unsettled aura hanging over the manor. I changed quickly and came out into the hallway. When I left the room, a couple of maids went in to clean. They saw the dried bloodstains and immediately screamed, bursting out of the room as they jerked the door open again.

“My lady!”

“Oh, that’s not mine. Don’t concern yourself.”

They looked me up and down, checking if it was true, then started to tear up.

“Y-you scared us! The first thing I heard this morning was that an assassin had broken in last night. And then we find that your floor is covered in blood!”

“Oh? That must have been harrowing.”

“My lady, how can you be so glib about this? And how in the world did those bloodstains get there?”

“I believe it is the assassin’s blood.”

“What!?”

I left the maids to their shock and headed downstairs. By now, Siegfried was probably thinking over what I had tried to tell him last night. I wanted to find him and tell him, I told you so! But first, I had to eat—I was far too hungry. On my way down to the dining hall, I saw that the parlor door was half-open.

Are the maids cleaning in there now?

My curiosity waned quickly, and I was about to pass by the parlor when a pleasant, low voice made me pause.

“Eisa sent him. I know it. Was anyone hurt?”

“Thankfully, everyone is fine. It’s a shame that there were practically no witnesses, though.”

The conversation about the manor’s safety continued for a while longer. The low voice was Siegfried’s and the one answering his questions was Avishion’s. I leaned on the wall, eavesdropping and trying to decide when to go inside. Their conversation continued without pause, so it was difficult to find a good time to interrupt without being awkward.

What do I do? Maybe I should just eat and come back after.

“Who the hell is skulking around outside and—”

The door to the parlor opened aggressively, and Siegfried stormed out, yelling angrily. Our eyes met, and we held each other’s gaze for a long moment. When I saw his purple eyes quietly suppressing anger, I quickly pushed off of the wall. Siegfried’s gaze tracked my movement.

He raised one of his thick, soft brows and asked, “What are you doing here?”

“Hello, Your Highness.” I smiled gracelessly, offering a belated greeting, and bowed.

Siegfried crossed his arms and leaned on the door frame.