The Second Male Lead is Actually a Girl

At last, Theodore entered the banquet hall.

The noisy banquet hall became silent in an instant. Everyone bowed to the emperor.

He sat down on the highest platform, a seat reserved only for himself, which was placed atop.

He looked down at the people and said, "Everyone, raise your heads."

For a moment Theodore seemed to be looking for someone.

Then he called someone after, seemingly, not finding the one he was looking for.

Conitel, called by Theodore, approached him, and they whispered briefly.

Theodore soon nodded.

Then he spoke briefly to the nobles who kept staring at him.

"I’ve been informed that the saint has stepped out. I'll introduce her when she returns. Until then, enjoy the banquet."

Again the banquet hall was busy.

Rosenta wanted to get out of this bustling space. Perhaps because he hadn’t slept properly, his eyes were sore.

Fortunately, the people in front of him seemed to be thinking about going somewhere else.

Having made plans together, they simply said goodbye.

"Then I'll see you tomorrow at our townhouse."

"I'll leave you, too."

Rosenta nodded his head.

They had just had a conversation and invited him to have a meal with the other dukes at the Herace’s townhouse.

Rosenta had accepted the invitation since he’d already spoken to Nike.

He had an appointment tomorrow, and he, who was getting more and more tired, carefully escaped to the outskirts of the banquet hall.

Stuck in a remote corner, he just stared at the wall as much as he could.

He couldn't be more comfortable, simply not talking to others.

Of course, there were people who recognized him and approached him.

However, most people were staying in the center of the banquet hall or near the throne.

He stood idly by leisurely eating wine and finger food.

It wasn’t very long.

The noise in the banquet hall suddenly ceased. Everyone looked at the throne in unison.

Yura had appeared.

Conitel introduced Yura as they stood below the throne.

"This is the holy saint, Yura."

A thunderous applause broke out. Everyone welcomed the saint.

However, Yura's expression at the center of this hospitality did not look very good.

Her face was very white, and she looked like he had seen something she shouldn't have seen.

People whispered and looked at her.

Yura smiled with her pale face. She laughed to pretend to be okay, but that seemed even more difficult.

As if they felt sorry for Yura, people whispered, "The saint must be very nervous."

"Oh, hello. I'm Yura Han, the daughter of Luz. So that everyone can enjoy peace under the protection of the Lord of Light...… I'll do my best."

Yura finished her speech with a trembling mouth.

People thundering applause came again. It was all for Yura.

***

When Yura's welcoming ceremony was over, people rushed toward her once she came down from the podium.

At that time, Rosenta saw some people who had been out on the terrace entering the banquet hall.

Taking advantage of the gap in people's attention, he walked to the terrace.

The terrace, where people had just left, was quiet.

Leaning against a pillar on the terrace, he glanced into the banquet hall.

In contrast, there were loud noises and bright lights were flowing.

‘Caw.’

Just in time, Rosenta saw a crow circling around overhead.

He called out to it.

"Enoch."

The black crow landed in front of him, folded its wings, and it transformed.

Watching this scene, which was now familiar, Rosenta took a sip of the wine that he’d taken earlier.

‘Hmm. What happened?’

Strangely enough, Enoch's eyes were filled with darkness.

"What's going on?"

Yura’s eyes were red, and Enoch was murderous.

Contrary to the order Rosenta had given him, he was not by Yura’s side, observing her.

This alone was enough to tell Rosenta that something was wrong.

"Honestly."

Enoch firmly shut his mouth and stopped talking.

Reaching out to Rosenta, he stole his wine glass and gulped it down.

‘He seems to have lost quite a bit of his composure.’

Enoch roughly wiped the wine from his mouth and scoffed.

"It’s been quite a long time since I last thought that I would lose my mind.”

"What?"

Enoch put his hand on Rosenta’s cheek instead of answering his question.

In a seductive voice, tinged with sadness, Enoch spoke as if he was begging.

"Call my name."

To get what you want, one has to offer a carrot every once in a while.

Rosenta did as he was asked.

“Enoch.”

“Yes. I am Enoch.”

As he himself had observed earlier, Enoch’s mind seemed quite fractured.

What had Yura done to him?

Had even Enoch been shaken by her?

It seemed complicated, but Rosenta was curious about the things he’d experienced during his time with Yura.

"Enoch."

"Yes."

Enoch smiled brightly.

"Tell me."

Enoch's smile cracked. The instability he had barely suppressed came to the surface again.

Rosenta did not rush him and waited for Enoch to speak in his own time.

“That woman….”

Without speaking another word, he closed his mouth again.

Then, he suddenly stared at something that was behind Rosenta at the entrance to the terrace.

Apparently, something was there.

“Enoch?”

At his call, the corners of Enoch’s mouth rose.

Suddenly the corners of his eyes curled as though he was having a fun laugh.

Then, he lowered his head and whispered in Rosenta’s ear, “We have a guest.”

The terrace door had opened and the noise from the banquet hall had flooded in.

Theodore’s voice came from nearby. It was a cold, dark voice.

“What’s going on here?”

Theodore made his way toward the duo.

“Your Majesty, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be inside?”

“Am I not allowed to come out here? Is that something only you can do?”

The displeasure was evident in his voice, but his expression remained calm.

Rather than calm, it seemed impassive.

“That’s not…”

“Rosenta, I only came to the terrace to check on you, but why are you with him? I’m sure you that you told me-”

His aloof, golden eyes, seemingly tinged with anger, looked at Rosenta.”

He seemed to be accusing him.

“-that you’d have no reason to interact with him ever again.”

‘Ah. I did say that before.’

But that had been buried deep in his memories. It only came to mind after hearing what Theodore said.

To think that Theodore would still remember. Rosenta nodded his head to hide his surprise.

“I did say that.”

Even though he was speaking to Theodore, Enoch was the one to respond.

“Did you say we wouldn’t see each other again?”

“I did.”

At the time, Rosenta really did think that they’d never see one another again.

Honestly, he never imagined that he’d be such a tenacious leech, nor that so many unexpected things would keep happening.

He swallowed these extra thoughts.

Instead, he pushed away Enoch, who had rested his head on his shoulder.

“Enoch.”

‘Why is he doing this all of a sudden?’

Until a moment ago, he’d been shaking like a leaf, but now he was coquettish as a cat.

He was even staring at Theodore deliberately, as if to provoke him.

“Stop fooling around.”

‘What are you doing in front of Theodore, who already dislikes you?’

He was making it seem like the two men were conspiring together. It was not a misunderstanding that was worth provoking Theodore.

Rosenta roughly pushed Enoch away and turned his head to Theodore.

As their eyes met, Theodore, who had been silent, began to speak again.

“Very….”

He looked confused; no, he seemed annoyed.

“You look friendly.”

“Because I have no choice but to be.”

‘Because he’s the butler I interact with every day.’

But, before Rosenta could announce the news of Enoch’s employment, Theodore let out a black laugh. It was like he had gone crazy.

“Really? You have no choice but to be? I’m curious. For what reason?”

It was the first meeting between them that was not pleasant. But did Enoch warrant this sarcasm?

‘Or maybe he’s mad at me. Theodore, who’s unfamiliar with the situation, might think I’ve lied. If so, I guess I should explain everything now.’

“I hired him again.”

Rosenta could see Theodore’s eyebrow twitching, but he didn’t care.

Instead, he just spit out his words.

“A lot of people interviewed for the position of my personal butler, but there was no talent that caught the attention of my head butler. Except for Enoch, that is.”

“I can send someone from the imperial palace to the ducky if you want.”

“That’s all right.”

Rosenta firmly shook his head.

The hierarchy of the duchy was already established, and he didn’t want to disrupt it.

Above all, he was currently making good use of Enoch’s abilities.

Especially for his personal matters.

“Is there any reason to keep him?”

“I also want to ask Your Majesty; do you have any reason I should let him go?”

Theodore kept his mouth shut.

He blinked his eyes slowly.

Even in the dark, the golden eyes that were usually bright were gradually growing darker.

A monotonous tone came from Theodore’s mouth, “No. There is none.”

Contrary to his tone, his eyes and expression were icy.

“Your Majesty.”

“Yes.”

Even though he had answered his call, Rosenta was worried about his current condition for some reason.

It wasn’t often that Theodore had such a hardened face, especially towards him.

That didn’t mean that Rosenta would change his decision just because he was worried about him.

 “I’m sorry, but I have authority over who I choose to serve me.”

There must be a clear distinction between public and private matters.

“I know that Your Majesty is very worried because your first meeting with Enoch wasn’t good, but now he follows my orders.”

“…. okay.”

“Please don’t worry….”

Theodore cut him off.

“But I am concerned.”

Then he raised one hand and pointed behind Rosenta.

Enoch would be standing there, ‘What are you doing?’

Rosenta quickly turned around anxiously.

Enoch had his head calmly raised and was watching the start of the deep night.

Then, as though he felt eyes looking at him, he straightened his body.

Enoch seemed to melt into the dark night, his eyes shining like dark jade.

“Are you done talking?”

So far, except in front of Rosenta, he had always presented himself as a proficient butler.

In front of Theodore, Enoch showed off his real personality to the fullest.

“What are you doing?”

“I like watching the night sky.”

“So was the viewing comfortable?”

It was a voice filled with sarcasm no matter how one heard it. However, Enoch responded to Rosenta’s words without hesitation.

He licked his upper lip and smiled lewdly.

“Too comfortable.”

Enoch was inherently impulsive.

It’s not like Rosenta had only seen it once or twice, so it wasn’t a big deal to him, but Theodore….

“You have the attitude of a very good butler.”

‘Uh oh.’

As if he were Enoch’s spokesperson, Rosenta stood in front of him.

“He’s only acting this way because we’re comfortable around each other.”

“Does that make sense? No matter how comfortable he is, this……”

“As a child, he was a close friend of mine. So, I’m comfortable as well.”

A little bit of a lie was mixed into that statement.

Without knowing the full details of this inside story, it would sound like they’d been close friends since childhood.

It stung Rosenta’s conscience a little, but it was better than a long back and forth.

Ignoring that sting, he asked Theodore a question.

“I am also comfortable with His Majesty, so there are times when I show a sluggish appearance. Does that mean that I also have a poor attitude as a subordinate?”

Theodore kept his mouth shut. Then he raised his eyebrows awkwardly.

But just as he was about to speak, Enoch’s voice came first.

“You see the duke’s sluggish appearance.”

‘Did he deliberately cut Theodore off?’

Rosenta looked at him to gauge, but he couldn’t make a determination.

Eventually, drastic measures were taken.

“Enoch.”

“Yes.”

“Leave.”

“Is that an order?”

Enoch blinked languidly.

Speaking of orders, it didn’t seem like he would follow this one easily.

‘There must be something he wants from me.’

“Let’s make a deal.”

“About?”

Rosenta was troubled and tried to think of something Enoch would want.

Finally, a memory came to mind. The night he brushed Rosenta’s hair during their trip to Therian.

“Brushing.”

That seemed to be the correct answer.

Enoch smiled so much that his eyes narrowed to the point that they couldn’t be seen.

“I’ll take my leave.”