In the original story, Ruel was extremely devoted and loyal to the male lead.

Had it not been for the female lead, there would have been no reason for him to betray the male lead.

In fact, the reason for betraying him was quite understandable.

The male lead must have really taken advantage of the female lead.

Anyway, I didn’t really care whether these people were involved in a love triangle drama or a melodramatic soap opera.

The only thing that caught my eye was one thing.

‘If this interrogation is happening without the male lead’s permission, then it’s a big problem.’

Of course, we shared the same superior, but since my boss wasn’t the silver-headed guy, there were enough reasons to make a fuss.

“You seem to have forgotten, but the one conducting the interrogation is not the lady, but me.”

He wasn’t just wearing the title of a second male lead for no reason; he was not to be underestimated.

He quickly recovered from a momentary embarrassment caused by a sharp question and threw at me the most sensitive question.

“Where did you get the invitation?”

I was really left breathless by this question.

Why?

Because I might have leaked that the male lead would be attending a slave auction hosted by the third prince.

There were too many suspicious circumstances.

Given the situation, I had acted too desperately and shortsightedly.

Ultimately, this must have been Ruel’s main objective.

That’s why the second male lead had every reason to interrogate me.

“Answer me, my lady.”

My gaze wandered aimlessly, lost in thought.

What should I say, what should I answer?

“It’s….”

I bit my lip.

My lips had become completely dry.

Somehow, I had to continue speaking without hesitation.

So, to explain.

“I’m sorry, but it’s a secret. I had to inquire around to obtain it for His Highness the Crown Prince’s command, and from the beginning, maintaining secrecy about this matter was a condition of the contract.”

“Do you think that keeping a secret is important right now?”

The supporting male character pressed me hard like a wolf that had caught its prey.

Damn, I messed up.

“If I must tell the truth about how I obtained the invitation, then I will speak directly to His Highness.”

“Speak here.”

He said with a firm expression, and I could only think of escaping by making excuses about the male lead.

After all, the only one above him, a high noble, was the Crown Prince.

“It might be presumptuous to ask, but why do I need to explain to you, a knight, something that is sufficient to report directly to His Highness? After all, it was His Highness who gave the command.”

“My lady!”

He roared and slammed the table with a bang!

I was already frightened by the anger of a burly adult man.

My heart pounded, and his scowling expression seemed threatening. But if I showed fear here, I would lose.

“I belong to His Highness, not to you, sir! Did His Highness directly command you to interrogate me? If not, please let me go immediately!”

“This has nothing to do with the prince!”

“If that’s the case, then you have no right to interrogate me!”

“Answer the question, Lady!”

It was then.

Bang!

With that sound, the room filled with light, and a familiar and pleasant voice echoed loudly in the small room.

“What’s going on here?”

For the first time in my life, I was glad to see his face.

* * *

The male lead furrowed his characteristically cynical face even more.

Arms crossed, he looked at Ruel with a look of disbelief.

‘…….’

“Your Highness.”

The appearance of the male lead seemed to catch the supporting male lead off guard, as he stiffened his expression and immediately stood at attention.

Naturally, I was bewildered.

What? Why are you pretending now after yelling at me earlier?

The male lead looked back and forth between me and the supporting male with an incredulous laugh.

Then, he turned his head to look straight at me.

The male lead’s red eyes slowly moved from my face down towards my shoulder.

“What’s going on?”

The male lead gestured towards me and asked the supporting male lead.

“There were some suspicious circumstances, so I conducted a brief investigation.”

What?

I raised my head and silently shouted in my mind.

That bastard is lying!

Investigation my as$, it was an interrogation!

“Why are you doing that?”

“Your Highness. It’s natural for me, as someone who serves you.”

“Leave.”

I was surprised by the male lead’s reaction.

What?

Why is he taking my side all of a sudden? Indeed, even someone without a conscience wouldn’t repay the favor of saving their life through such an ungrateful act!

“The birthday festival is right around the corner, but you seem desperate to die.”

“I’m sorry, but despite this, the suspicious circumstances have not been clearly revealed.”

“Isn’t that the part I already told you to skip?”

There was an eerie feeling in the room.

A strange atmosphere lingered in the dark room.

This seems familiar.

Right!

In the later part of the novel, there is a scene where the second male lead develops feelings for the female lead, who is captured by the main male lead, and the main male lead cunningly torments the second male lead.

Of course, the difference is that I’m not the female lead, and these people don’t like me.

It was a significant deviation from the original.

Damn.

“Your Highness. It’s clear that this is,”

“So, your suggestion is to kick someone out over such a trivial matter and hire spies again? As if I don’t know that operations have already started from my side in the palace. Are you speaking without knowing?”

I was on the verge of cheering at the moment when I heard that I was going to be kicked out, but I bowed my head in despair at the following words.

Damn it.

That means he plans to keep exploiting me.

The second male character made a stiff face, seemingly unconvinced by the male lead’s words. Staring at the ground for a moment, he then stepped forward and suddenly bowed his head in front of me.

“I apologize, my lady. It was thoughtless of me.”

It was absurd.

How could he apologize so easily? I was so annoyed by his attitude, flipping apologies like flipping a hand, that I forgot the male lead was there and pointed at my shoulder in an accusing manner, my face heated with anger.

And I diligently appealed that I had offered my shoulder to save the prince.

The secondary male lead’s silver eyes followed my finger.

He examined my fierce expression and seemed about to say something, his lips twitching.

“Enough, get out.”

But it was thwarted by the male lead’s order to leave.

The second male obediently answered, “Yes,” and left the dark room.

I was lost in the thought that it was all over but belatedly realized that I was left alone with him.

And then I realized the situation had gotten complicated.

The face that had been covered in annoyance and irritation just a moment ago suddenly changed to one with a playful expression.

I felt a chill.

They say the craziest people are the scariest when they smile.

“Your mind… seems to be quite sharp.”

The male lead said arrogantly as if mocking.

“No, Your Highness. I simply do my best with the tasks given to me.”

“That’s a pretty good answer.”

For some reason, the prince spoke positively. Phew, did I get through another day safely?

“It’ll be worth the investment. I’ll send another potion through the palace physician. Take three more days off and then return.”

What the… Damn it!

* * *

The investment the prince mentioned was really mind-blowing.

The potion the prince sent was amazing.

Its efficacy was so good that I could spin my arms back a hundred times while sitting down and still be fine.

Considering the entire medical system here, it was far behind Earth’s medical standards. However, potions were literally like the miraculous cures you only hear about in stories, which was fascinating.

‘Having applied this, the hole in my shoulder was as if it had never been there when I opened my eyes.’

It was a situation where I couldn’t even complain about losing a week’s holiday as if it was an act of conscience.

“Yikes! His Highness used two more potions on you because you recovered? Rose! The issue isn’t about the holiday now! Do you even know how much one potion costs?”

“That’s exactly the problem.”

They clearly said they would send only one potion yesterday.

He promised to send just one potion yesterday.

Why on earth is he applying six golds worth on me as if trying to fix me up at all costs?

It must be because using me is safer than the assassins they mentioned before. It was a foregone conclusion, but I couldn’t help feeling wronged.

Six golds would be about 6 million won in Korean currency.

They must have a keen sense to tell me not to talk nonsense because it’s clear they spent the money.

How did they know I was trying to avoid work?

“Milla, if I ask for overtime pay in this situation, will I get fired?”

“Huh? Overtime pay? What’s that?”

I sighed at Milla’s response.

What could I expect from a novel that doesn’t even distinguish between maids and servants?

Well, even in Korea, there are many places where they don’t give extra pay for additional work.

I almost slumped into the chair, letting out a long sigh.

Just dealing with VIP customers for a week was driving me crazy, but to do it alone for 365 days? I was really reaching my limit.

“I don’t know what that is, but today is payday! Don’t worry!”

I snapped to my senses at Milla’s words.

Payday? Ah, right. It’s already been a month.

Just as my mood, which had been low, seemed to start preparing for a tap dance, someone plopped down next to me and said.

“Oh, that’s great. There’s going to be a lot to do soon with the festival period in Raimy village!”

The unmistakable scent of excitement.

I felt like I knew who it was without looking.

Truthfully, my thoughts about that guy were quite skeptical.

Especially after that absurd interrogation incident yesterday, I felt even more uneasy.

Is he a spy, or is he truly innocent?

Or is all of this an act, and he’s actually a spy?

“Right! We can go check it out after getting our pay today, Rose!”

Milla cheerfully said to me.

“Of course, I have to work today, though…”

Suddenly, Milla seemed to get irritated, tearing bread and stuffing it into her mouth, then sprawling out in the chair just like me.

Then, Aaron looked at me as if welcoming me and said.

“Come with me! I’m not on duty this evening!”

I was about to immediately express my refusal to his fantastic suggestion.

But when I momentarily glanced at his orange head, it seemed like a pretty good idea.

After all, I needed some alone time with him if I was going to uncover his true identity.

Of course, it’s not like he would simply answer just because I asked.