The Male Lead Won’t Let Me Be!

Chapter 1

Prologue

The midsummer heat had lingered into the night. Earlier that evening, I had snuck out of the manor. On my way back, I suddenly bumped shoulders with someone in a black hooded cloak. Considering the weather, it was a strange choice, and our collision was audible.

“Seriously? Can you see with those eyes, or are they just for decoration?” I grumbled.

At first glance, the figure appeared petite like a child, but the stranger’s body was surprisingly sturdy. My shoulder smarted from the impact. A warm breeze passed us, lifting the stranger’s sleeves. Underneath, I caught sight of two pale, enormous hands covered in scars.

“I don’t have time for this. Get out of my way.”

His voice was quite deep, suggesting that he had already gone through puberty, and his breathing was abnormally rough and shallow.

Is he hurt?

I narrowed my eyes and spread out my arms to block his path. He had been the one to appear out of nowhere, and now he would pass by without an apology? I didn’t think so.

“Repeat after me. ‘I apologize. Please forgive my atrocious manners.’”

“What?”

“You heard me. I’m calling you out for your lack of ma—”

A shout interrupted me.

“There he is! Seize him!”

A group of thuggish men came running toward us. Rudely cut off, I decided to stand back for a moment and watch the situation unfold. I heard the boy beside me click his tongue.

“See? I told you to get out of my way.”

As his hand grabbed my arm and dragged it down, I was surprised by the scorching heat of his palm. His brutish grip clued me in to the situation.

“Are you being chased?”

“Figured that out, did you? Now stop yapping and go away.”

“What are you planning to do?”

“That’s none of your business.”

We’re practically standing in my front yard. How is it not my business?

As I shook my head, the men finally closed the distance between us. They were each holding blades that flashed under the moonlight. The man who appeared to be the leader spoke first.

“A woman, eh? She’s easy on the eyes,” he muttered, surprised.

He strode up to me and grabbed me by my golden hair. He proceeded to look me up and down, sizing me up.

“Eliminate the target. I’ll be taking her. She’s exactly my taste.”

Ew.

The man’s yellow teeth made me gag. Maybe that explained why my fist shot out before I’d even consciously thought to act. The blow connected with a crack. The man must not have expected a girl of such small stature to throw a punch without hesitation. His eyes were wide in shock as he cradled his bleeding nose in his hands, but then he snarled menacingly.

Whoops.

“You b*tch! Are the rest of you just going to stand around? Get her!”

“How dare you!” another man shouted.

The men surrounded me, growling threats. I heard a low sigh and looked up. The cloaked stranger had pulled his hood lower over his face, so I couldn’t make out any of his features, but I could feel his resentful gaze boring into me. He slipped a long, white blade out from the folds of his dark cloak.

“Run. If you can, call the guards.”

“What if I don’t want to?”

“Do you think I’m joking around?”

I knew he wasn’t, of course, but I didn’t understand how he expected me to run when we were surrounded.

I suppose I can take care of this on my own. It won’t be too challenging.

I flicked the blood off of my hand and lightly sprung into action. With a dull thud, one of the men fell to the ground. My kick had landed squarely in his belly.

What a satisfying punching bag.

Was this the proper way to be whiling away a drunken night? I didn’t have much time to consider it. The men charged at me at once, but it didn’t take long for me to handle the lot of them. In no time, I was rising to my feet and dusting off my wrinkled skirt. I had dealt with the thugs easily. That’s when I heard a voice.

“What on earth… Who the hell are you?” the stranger asked, appalled.

I turned toward him, smiling widely. A lock of black hair had escaped from his hood and was swaying in the breeze.

“Didn’t anyone ever teach you how to say thank you? I should’ve guessed when you didn’t apologize after hitting my shoulder.”

The stranger gave no immediate response, and I felt a surge of annoyance so strong that I wrestled him into a headlock.

“I think my shoulder is dislocated because of you! What are you going to do about that, huh? Just how do you propose to repay me for taking care of those thugs? And why is a kid like you running around all alone at night anyway? Aren’t you sca— Oh my.”

The boy’s hood had slipped back during the scuffle.

“Your shoulder seems perfectly fine, what are you… What?”

Falling like curtains, his hair shined as dark as the night sky. Between his raven locks, his purple eyes peeked out. Silence fell over the two of us. His eyes rose slowly and met mine. I froze in place, unable to twitch even a finger. Just beneath his lash line, there was a small mole. His skin was so pale, it was almost transparent. Each one of his features was unbelievably beautiful and perfect.

Wow, he’s so pretty. It’s honestly unbelievable.

My heart started racing. Forgetting to breathe, I stared at him as if I were admiring a renowned work of art.

“Let me go,” he barked. He straightened and shrugged out of my hold, his eyes creasing into a slight grimace. “Do you happen to know where Ellifritz Manor is?”

“Th-that’s my house, uh, sir.”

“Now you call me ‘sir’?”

Well, I have to use some kind of honorific. I know who you are now.

My eyes kept wandering back to the boy’s face. The sharp line of his nose caught the moonlight like a blade, and his jawline was slightly angular. If someone told me he had been sculpted by hand, I would’ve believed them.

“It’s rude to stare. Did you say that’s your house?”

“Y-yes, sir.”

“Take me there. And I suppose I do owe you my gratitude for what you just did.”

He was so brazen, I couldn’t bring myself to ask why he hadn’t apologized for hitting my shoulder. I nodded awkwardly and led the way. He followed me from a step behind. When we arrived at the manor, I gave the dozing guard a little nudge. The guard’s eyes flew open wide, startled.

“Oh, Lady Ariel! You snuck out again? It’s late. You can’t keep doing this! What am I going to tell His Lordship?”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just open the door.”

“Who’s that with you, any—”

The guard was visibly startled, his keys jangling as he froze—he must have caught sight of the boy’s face. Considering it was a face of such unrivaled beauty, it would have been strange if he had been unaffected. I decided to give the guard a moment to snap out of it. I could be patient sometimes, but the boy seemed incapable. He sighed audibly and aggressively slid his hand down his face.

“M-my apologies,” the guard said quickly as he stepped aside.

The boy and I crossed the vast garden in front of the manor. As I had noticed before, he seemed to be in bad shape. Though I wasn’t walking quickly, he kept falling further behind me. Occasionally, a groan would escape from between his teeth.

“We’re almost there. Just a little farther.”

I glanced back at the boy and encouraged him. He nodded, but even that seemed to drain his energy. When we were almost there, the front door burst open and my older brother, Count Avishion, ran out. The corners of his eyes had tightened slightly in anger.

“Ariel, you’re late again… Prince Siegfried?” Avishion’s eyes, the shade of ripe peaches, widened. He’d identified the boy immediately, just like I had.

To be honest, we would’ve recognized him anywhere. Siegfried Lacien Yan Felicita. He was a prince of the empire, as famous for his beauty as his tragic childhood. Not to mention, he was the male lead of the novel into which I had been reborn.

“Come in, please. I received word that you would be arriving by carriage…”

Avishion held the door wide open to allow both Siegfried and me to enter. Having just left the dark streets, the bright lights were blinding.

“I was attacked. May I explain the rest later?”

Siegfried brushed his hair back with his long fingers. He tucked the sweat-soaked strands away, revealing his smooth forehead and dark, thick eyebrows.

Wow. That face is something.

I felt like I could look at it all day long. As I stared in awe, I met Siegfried’s gaze once again. His eyes widened, then narrowed, and finally he scowled.

Why is he glowering at me all of a sudden?

I hastily looked away, but I felt his glare stick like thorns to my cheek.

“Count Ellifritz, I’d like to rest now,” he gritted out, his lips barely moving, and his eyes still directed angrily at me.

“Of course. Let me show you to the room we’ve prepared. Ariel, go upstairs.”

Siegfried looked away and swept past me. Left alone by the front door, I slid to the floor. Suddenly, it struck me that I was living in the world of a novel. I hadn’t expected to meet the male lead so close to my own home.

Siegfried Lacien Blah Blah Blah. The boy with the long name was the character who would, in the far future, kill the current crown prince and rise to the emperor’s throne. I pictured a beautiful young man in a bloodied suit, sitting crookedly on the throne. The image was as vivid as if I had seen it with my own eyes. In it, he was larger and stronger than he was now.

“My lady, the floor is freezing,” the maid said, locking the door.

She approached me and offered me her hand. I snapped out of my daydream and peered up the staircase where Siegfried had ascended. An intense anxiety came over me—I was destined to be betrothed to the crown prince, who would die by Siegfried’s hand.