~Chapter 10~
Entangled with the Male Lead
My shoulders twitched.
“…?”
Normally, I would have jumped in shock and turned around immediately—but this time, I couldn’t react at all.
“I could see from afar that you were stiff as stone.”
“….”
“Judging by your expression, I think my guess was right.”
The voice was low and familiar.
A shiver ran down my spine.
No… I couldn’t take it anymore. Goosebumps erupted across my skin.
In an instant, a faint force pulled my arm.
Naturally, the direction I was facing twisted.
It only took a moment for my vision of Isid, who had been beside me, to change.
‘Eek.’
I couldn’t bear to look and squeezed my eyes shut.
Even a brief glimpse of what awaited in front of me was unbearable.
I can’t do this. I can’t look!
Behind me, I heard Isid gulping.
At the same time, warmth brushed against my cheek.
Startled, I squinted open my eyes—and a flawless face came into view.
Hair dark as night, and those damn violet eyes.
‘…I want to die.’
Whoever said “If you can’t avoid it, enjoy it” clearly hadn’t lived through this.
I held my breath as if my life depended on it.
“Dust.”
Carlos, dressed in a navy suit, smiled faintly.
“There’s some dust here.”
“….”
“You must have rushed out in a hurry.”
Dust my foot.
I stared, frozen, at the back of his hand moving gracefully in front of me.
Was it too small to see? Or was it never there in the first place?
As his hand brushed past my cheek, there wasn’t a speck of dust on it.
Still, I couldn’t contradict the crown prince.
My lips trembled as I forced out a shaky, “Th-thank you.”
His violet eyes curved in a perfect arc as he smiled.
“You’re welcome.”
Was he really that cheerful?
Even though I already knew the answer, my sense of him nearly wavered.
No. He shouldn’t be like this.
Carlos’s personality was explosive—hot-tempered, incapable of controlling anger, and utterly arrogant. A literal collection of every undesirable trait.
It wasn’t for nothing that the story described him as unrecognizable before meeting Elcevita.
Knowing that, I had to doubt my own eyes.
…Why is he smiling so beautifully?
I quickly turned my gaze, trying to escape the flood of attention.
Even though nothing had touched me, I found myself biting the back of my hand repeatedly.
My heart raced.
The pounding didn’t stop—it felt like he could hear it too.
Ah. This is dangerous.
“Um… First Prince?”
The department head, who had almost run out the door, appeared.
Lucky. The face-to-face encounter was momentarily interrupted.
Carlos’s gaze slowly shifted toward the door when called.
There stood Isid and the department head, waiting, heads bowed in salute.
“May the goddess’s blessing be upon you. I am Dice Leander, head of the Security Team. I greet Your Highness, First Prince.”
“May the goddess’s blessing be upon you. I am Isid Fernando, a member of the team. I greet Your Highness, Prince.”
As the formal introductions continued, I took the chance to step behind Carlos and move beside Isid, lowering myself slightly.
With a whisper, I spoke to him.
“Sir.”
“Ah, Miss Lutiense. I heard about the grace period. That’s a relief.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
“For now, just bow. His Highness will become our team leader.”
I nodded silently and bowed.
The premonition of trouble I’d felt earlier hadn’t been wrong.
“May I introduce myself? I am Rose Lutiense, a member of the team.”
In the original story, this had never happened. Carlos had never formally taken the team leader position or anything similar. Had I misremembered?
I tried to recall. Had he ever decided to lead the Security Team in the original narrative?
‘…No.’
Unfortunately, the conclusion was clear.
Once again, the story had deviated from its original path.
I had to seriously consider my chances of survival.
If the male lead became the head of my team,
= A month later, Elcevita—falling for Carlos as in the original story—would come searching,
= And there was a high chance she’d cross paths with me,
= Pulling me back into the original narrative,
= And then I’d be doomed, just as in the original story.
I exhaled dryly.
I truly wanted to just cry.
“Ugh…”
“You okay?”
“Sort of.”
It had been over twenty minutes since the formal salutations.
The middle-aged department head couldn’t endure the silence much longer.
Isid tried asking after his health, but he just shook his head, glancing only toward Carlos.
Understandable. Carlos hadn’t spoken.
No orders were given yet. Until he allowed it, no one dared move.
Whether it was telling us to relax or announcing that he’d accept the greetings, Carlos had remained silent.
“….”
He simply kept his violet eyes focused on us.
Once smiling so warmly, now expressionless.
Had his mood shifted?
The two men bowed low to the floor.
I lowered my body slightly, hand over my heart.
A traditional greeting for ladies—I wasn’t strained.
Still, this couldn’t go on forever.
‘I need to worry about Director Dice.’
I’d heard enough about his back problems at work.
With a sigh, I bit my lip.
Someone had to break the tension.
I closed my eyes briefly, made a decision, and whispered:
“Team leader.”
I pointed nervously at Carlos’s lower body.
“There’s some dust on your pants.”
Specifically, on his pristine navy thigh.
“…Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“Where exactly?”
“I’ll quickly remove it for you. Please stay still.”
Only then did Carlos slowly open his tightly shut lips.
For once, his reaction to breaking the silence was… acceptable.
The violet eyes flickered subtly as if noticing the movement.
I ignored that gaze and stepped closer.
“…Now that you’re letting me remove it myself, I suppose I should thank you.”
Carlos didn’t move, patiently waiting.
He remained in place, loosening his tie, examining me carefully.
I couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling about his slightly amused mouth.
Time to save poor Director Dice. I had no choice.
I stepped closer, keeping a safe distance.
Then reality hit.
‘Why did I say pants…?’
My hand froze midair, heading for his thigh.
This is bad. Extremely bad.
The spot I pointed to wasn’t the center of his thigh—it was slightly higher.
If my eyes wandered up, the buckle… the outline of his…
“Uh, um.”
My eyes darted nervously.
Heat rose to my face.
Yes, this was a disaster.
My hand hovered awkwardly.
No sane person touches a royal’s thigh, especially for dust.
Dust was a lie. One misstep, and I might be arrested for insulting the royal family.
“Will you remain still?”
“Huh?”
“The dust… you said it was on me, right?”
Carlos crossed his arms, looking down at his own thigh.
Spotless navy fabric.
Violet eyes flickered in confusion, and tension filled the room.
I swallowed and forced a smile.
“It seems… it’s fallen off! No need to bother.”
“Huh…”
He returned his hand to his side in an instant.
In that split second, three people were tense:
- Director Dice, unable to complain about his back,
- Isid, muttering “damn it” while standing stiff,
- And me, wishing the ground would swallow me whole.
I had caused this. I had done this to myself.
My mind had completely gone to Andromeda.
Why on earth had I decided to do a “dust check” on a prince’s thigh…?
😂😂