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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Please, Let Me Sleep in Your Bed
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Splash. My hair was soaked as a cold liquid was poured over my head.

Again? Unsurprised, I looked up at the second floor of the banquet hall.

“Oops, I’m so sorry. I had no idea you were standing there, Lady Lindsi.”

Leaning against the railing, the woman tipped her empty champagne flute and let out a sneer.

“Oh dear, what should we do?”

“She looks like a drowned rat. The poor thing.”

The other young ladies beside her chimed in.

‘It’s too obvious a provocation to even get angry about.’

If I threw a fit here, I would be playing right into their hands.

So instead, I offered a faint smile.

“It’s quite all right. Now my hair has a lovely, fresh fruit scent.”

Thrown off by my unexpected response, the young ladies frowned.

“Hmph, how peculiar.”

“Putting on a goody-two-shoes act, are we?”

Fortunately, they didn’t press the matter and simply walked away.

“Phew.”

When you thought about it, I could understand why they hated me—or rather, the owner of this body, Charlotte Lindsi.

‘They suffered quite a bit at the hands of the real Charlotte.’

Charlotte Lindsi. The eldest daughter of the powerful Marquis Lindsi, and the villainess of the romance fantasy web novel, .

Obsessed with the male lead, Grand Duke Hiklrid, Charlotte was the villain who would throw terrible tantrums whenever a woman her age showed the slightest interest in him.

‘If only it had ended there, it might have been manageable…’

The problem was, she even messed with Aila, the female lead whom the Grand Duke had taken a liking to!

Unlike when she had harassed other women, the Grand Duke became furious and issued a warning to the Lindsi family. If Charlotte ever tormented Aila again, he would consider the entire Lindsi house his enemy.

Charlotte, who was already treated as a half-abandoned child, was all but disowned. No, according to the original plot, she should have been disowned.

For better or for worse, I, having possessed her body right at that moment, begged profusely and barely managed to prevent it.

It was frustrating to have to beg for something that wasn't my fault, but it wasn't the time to be picky. I could have been cast out all alone into this unfamiliar world.

‘Still, what a relief.’

After I had spent the last six months living as quiet as a mouse, the Marquis must have thought I had repented, because a few days ago, he told me this:

“If you continue to behave for another month, I will send you to our villa abroad. I’ll also provide you with a generous sum to start your new life.”

He called it a new life, but it was practically exile. Still, it was something, wasn't it? Once I left, I would no longer have to live under the watchful eyes of my family.

Until now, the Marquis had kept me close to monitor me, worried about what I might do in the Lindsi name if left to my own devices. But it seemed he was finally starting to believe it was safe to let his guard down.

It was all thanks to my efforts of staying cooped up in my room. Well, it wasn't much of an effort, since I was a homebody to begin with.

‘Alright. Just one more month!’

First, I needed to deal with my sticky, champagne-soaked hair. I wandered around, looking for a lounge. As I did, I heard people whispering.

“What, isn’t that Charlotte Lindsi?”

“I haven’t seen her in a while. What’s she doing here?”

“Did the Marquis lift her confinement order?”

“If she causes trouble at such an important event, she won’t get off easy this time.”

Hey, I can hear you. And believe me, I’m the one who’s most curious about why I’m here.

The Emperor's Birthday Banquet. One of the most important celebrations in the Rehenbereukeu Empire.

Naturally, Grand Duke Hiklrid and his fiancée, Aila—the two people I wanted to avoid most—were also in attendance. I didn't have the slightest desire to come, but…

‘So why did an invitation come addressed to me?!’

There was no way I could ignore a royal invitation with the name Charlotte Lindsi written right on it. The Marquis had sent me with no other choice, repeatedly warning me not to cause any trouble.

The heirs of each noble family had been invited, but the one to inherit the Lindsi title was my younger brother, Jayden, not me. Charlotte was the daughter of the Marquis’s second wife, not of his bloodline.

Just then, I heard more whispering from nearby.

“Look over there. It’s the genius magician, Kirie.”

“The captain of the Hess Mercenary Group, Yugen Mont, is here too. His nickname is the Mercenary King, right?”

For the record, the two men just mentioned were the novel's sub-male leads.

Normally, I would have gone to have a look, but my sticky hair was my main concern.

‘The banquet just started, so it should be empty, right?’ I thought, as I moved to enter a lounge.

“Ack.”

Suddenly, the door was thrown open from the inside, and I ran right into the person coming out.

“Charlotte Lindsi. You again.”

A chilling voice fell from above my head.

Cedric Hiklrid, the novel's male lead and the person I wanted to see least. Next to him stood the female lead, Aila.

“How did you find out we were in the third lounge and try to approach us?”

Excuse me? This just happened to be the closest one.

“Was the warning I gave you last time not enough?”

“I think there’s been a misunderstanding, Your Grace…”

“What misunderstanding? Do you think I don’t know you? You’re insufferable, Charlotte Lindsi.”

No, it really is a misunderstanding! But Cedric’s eyes narrowed as he glared at me.

“Stop it, Cedric. Nothing has happened yet.”

“Aila, you’re too kind. You don’t know this woman’s true nature.”

Aila tried to stop him, but to no avail.

“Look over there. Lady Lindsi is approaching the Grand Duke and his fiancée again.”

“My goodness! She’s so brazen. Isn’t she afraid of Hiklrid, the Lion of the North?”

To make matters worse, everyone took it as fact that I was clinging to Cedric.

“…”

Instead of actively protesting, I kept my mouth shut.

I knew it was pointless to say anything. After all, they were the protagonists of this world. I, on the other hand, was just the villainess no one would ever believe.

“Hey, aren’t you going to make some kind of excuse…”

Just as Cedric was about to press me further.

“Move.”

A man in a black helmet, who had somehow gotten right up next to us, spoke.

“It’s Margrave Mont!”

“The… the Mercenary King who is said to bring death with him?!”

The frightened voices of the crowd revealed his identity.

“Are you speaking to me?”

Even before the incensed Cedric, the Margrave calmly pointed to the third lounge.

“You’re blocking the way.”

Cedric’s face turned red, and Aila, perhaps worried a fight would break out, tugged at his arm, urging him to leave.

The others, seemingly intimidated by the presence of the Margrave—the subject of so many grim rumors—also began to discreetly disperse.

I had no idea why this guy suddenly popped up, but it was an opportunity for me.

Taking advantage of the moment everyone's attention was off me, I hurried toward the exit.

“Hey, wait a…”

The Margrave seemed to say something from behind me, but I was sure it wasn’t directed at me.

Because, up to this point in the story, Charlotte had had no interactions whatsoever with the sub-male leads.

Fortunately, the hallway outside the banquet hall was empty. I walked quickly toward the building's exit, intending to go straight home, but then I stumbled.

Who in the world spilled water on the floor?

“Whoa there.”

Just then, as I was about to fall forward, someone caught me.

An arm wrapped around my waist.

When I turned my head, the first thing I saw was golden hair, more brilliant than the light of the chandelier.

Elegant features, a haughty expression, and a pair of eyes so blue they were chilling.

I had often come across descriptions of such an appearance in the novel.

If my guess was correct, this man was…

“Your Highness! Your Imperial Highness! The banquet is about to begin, where are you going?”

The Crown Prince, another sub-male lead.

He completely ignored the attendant chasing him from behind and asked me,

“Leaving already?”

His rich, handsome voice tickled my ear, and I glanced behind me, but no one was there.

“I asked if you were leaving already.”

…Was he talking to me?

I quickly scrambled out of his arms and then spoke.

“Yes, I was about to return home, Your Highness.”

The Crown Prince stared at me intently. His gaze made me tense up naturally.

I was scared. In the novel, the sub-male leads all liked Aila, so naturally, they hated Charlotte for tormenting her.

I tensed up, wondering what he was about to say, when he slowly opened his mouth.

“Don’t fall for me.”

“…Excuse me?”

“Don’t fall for me just because I’m so handsome.”

I blinked, not understanding what he was talking about. Then, something clicked in my head.

‘Come to think of it, each of the sub-male leads had a personality flaw.’

There was a reason they weren't the male lead.

Among them, Crown Prince Raynerd was known for his unique arrogance and narcissistic tendencies.

“Because if you fall for me, you’ll only end up heartbroken, my lady.”

…I didn’t realize it was this bad. He must have held back in front of Aila.

“Ah, yes. I will take Your Highness's words to heart. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

“Wait, Lady Lindsi.”

Suddenly, his gaze turned serious.

“By any chance, are you free tonight?”

“W-Why do you ask, Your Highness…?”

“It’s a bit complicated to explain right now. Just tell me if you are or not.”

My heart suddenly began to pound. Could this guy actually be interested in me? As if possessed, I answered.

“I-I’m free. My father has forbidden me from going out, so I’m always at home.”

“Tonight as well?”

“Yes, tonight as well.”

“Then continue to stay at home.”

“Pardon?”

“That will be all.”

And with that, Raynerd walked away, his broad back the last thing I saw before he disappeared from view.

“…What is with that guy?”

My bewildered mutter came a moment too late.

***

“What was that really about?”

In Charlotte’s room at the Lindsi marquisate. I finished getting ready for bed and muttered to myself as I sat on the mattress.

“I should just get some sleep.”

I’ll think about it with a clear head after a good night’s rest.

I turned off the light and lay down in bed, and sleepiness washed over me like a wave. Just as my consciousness was about to drift into darkness…

Click. Half-asleep, I heard something opening. A window, perhaps.

“Mmm?”

The moment I opened my eyes to assess the situation, I nearly fainted from shock. Just as I was about to scream ‘Aargh!’, a large hand covered my mouth.

“Shh.”

It was the same eyes I had seen earlier in the day. The blue eyes that had gazed at me with such arrogance.

“You mustn’t scream. This is sudden, but I have a favor to ask of you, Lady Lindsi.”

The Crown Prince, now hovering over me, whispered.

A favor?

In any case, terrified by the unexpected situation, I nodded my head vigorously, signaling him to say whatever he wanted.

Pleased by my docile attitude, the man’s lips curved into a slight smile as he stated his request.

“I would like you to let me sleep in your bed.”

“…”

…What did you say?