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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: A Brother's Secret
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With an expression that said, *I really don't want to, but since you're asking, I have no choice*, Jayden continued.

“You're still an annoying character, but after seeing this chapter, I feel a little sorry for you. I'll make a special exception and grant you a corner of my bed, so come over here.”

“……!”

As I listened, a memory struck me like a bolt of lightning.

‘That’s right, he was also set up to have a one-sided crush on Aila!’

It was a minor detail I’d forgotten because his image as Charlotte the villainess’s brother was so strong.

Jayden Lindsi. Looking back, he wasn't exactly a villain, but he was a character who left readers with a strange sense of unease.

Jayden disliked his sister, but throughout the novel, he defended Charlotte or tried to cover up and downplay her wrongdoings.

In a way, it was understandable. As long as Charlotte was a member of the Lindsi family, he couldn't just abandon her, if only for the sake of their house.

The Jayden in the novel must have suffered a great deal, caught between his troublemaking sister and the family's honor.

‘It’s not that I don’t understand at all, but…’

Frankly, to any reader rooting for the female lead, Aila, he was just one of the bad guys.

That’s why there were so many comments cursing him out. I even left a few myself.

But in the latter half of the novel, when Charlotte was kicked out of the family, there was a small twist.

Jayden, on behalf of House Lindsi, offered Aila a sincere apology. Aila accepted it and they parted ways.

But at that moment, the narrative suddenly shifted to Jayden’s point of view, revealing the feelings he had kept hidden.

The truth was, Jayden had often been entangled with Aila because of Charlotte, and he had developed feelings for the ever-kind and confident young woman.

But those were feelings he could never confess.

To Aila, Jayden was, above all, the brother of her tormentor—an accomplice who, despite his remorse, had defended Charlotte.

Besides, by that point, Aila and Cedric had already confirmed their feelings for each other and were together.

‘May you live happily ever after.’

In the end, Jayden made a lonely exit, secretly wishing for the happiness of the woman he loved, leaving her to her blissful smiles beside Cedric.

The reader response to that chapter was split.

There were those who still disliked him for defending Charlotte, and those who viewed him sympathetically, thinking he must have been suffering on the inside too.

Naturally, I was in the latter group.

“Aaargh! Jayden! I had no idea! Oh, you foolish boy!”

Unrequited love, one-sided crushes, fated but impossible connections, feelings that go unanswered—these were all the tropes I went crazy for in romance novels.

My tendency to ignore the perfectly fine male lead and always fall for the second male leads stemmed from that same preference.

Jayden’s poignant monologue was more than enough to tug at my heartstrings, and I ended up giving him a small piece of my heart.

‘So this is the result of that…’

Feeling empty, I looked at Jayden, who was anxiously waiting to see how I would react.

I desperately swallowed the complaint I wanted to scream at my past self.

‘You idiot! Don’t leave comments like that just because you felt a little sympathy for him!’

It was so absurd I was speechless.

Of course, it was true that I felt sorry for Jayden the moment I learned his secret.

But why had I buried that part of the story in the back of my mind, only to remember it today?

‘Because there were tons of other characters I’d given my heart to.’

It's a little embarrassing to admit, but I was what you might call… an easy reader.

I had over thirty works I called my "all-time favorites," and I couldn't even count the number of characters I called "my babies."

To a Casanova like me, Jayden was just a fleeting character who gave me a brief, heart-tugging moment before passing by.

In fact, the very next chapter featured the other three second male leads showing off their charms, so I quickly wiped Jayden from my mind.

Moreover, that was the end of any description of Jayden's feelings for Aila; he didn't even appear again after that.

‘Damn it.’

I thought I had only left the "come to my bed" comments for the second male leads, so the possibility of it being Jayden never even crossed my mind.

It was a stretch to call Jayden a second male lead in many ways; he was more strongly perceived as simply Charlotte’s brother.

“Haa, Jayden.”

Now that I knew the truth, his strange behavior finally made sense.

“So this was why you've been suspiciously nice to me all this time.”

Jayden let out an awkward laugh.

“Well… I had to make a rather bizarre request, so I wanted to get on your good side somehow. But it seems my efforts were a bit excessive.”

“Not a bit, a lot. If you had just told me honestly from the start… No, forget it. We weren't on the best of terms.”

There was no way Jayden could have casually asked his sister, who was practically his enemy, to let him sleep in her bed. He was a nobleman who lived and died by his pride.

He was different from a certain crown prince who shamelessly invaded my bedroom even though we were mere acquaintances.

“But, Sister.”

For some reason, Jayden mumbled, almost defensively.

“There may have been an ulterior motive, but it's not a lie that I've started to see you differently, or that I want to improve our relationship.”

“Right, right. I get it. Let's just say that's true.”

“No, it's true.”

“Well, I don't really believe you. You used to glare at me whenever we passed in the hallways. Even long after I started behaving myself.”

Because of that, my chicken-hearted self went to great lengths to avoid him.

“When did I ever do that?”

“Almost every time you saw me.”

At my words, Jayden furrowed his brow as if searching his memory, then let out a small, "Ah."

“…Um, that wasn't a glare.”

“Then what was it?”

“I didn't know how to bring up this ridiculous curse to you. I suppose I was frowning because I was so worried about it.”

“That was your worried face?”

“Yes. Actually, I've been meaning to tell you for the past month or two, but I kept hesitating, so…”

“No wonder you've been glaring at me like you wanted to kill me lately.”

I never imagined it wasn't killing intent, but the look of someone burdened by an unspeakable worry.

“Like I wanted to kill you? Was my expression truly that menacing?”

“Yep. If you worried like that two more times, you might actually kill someone with your eyes, so be careful.”

“…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause you trouble.”

Watching the somewhat dejected Jayden apologize, I let the corners of my lips curl up slightly.

‘What the heck, I was scared for nothing!’

Contrary to my worries, Jayden didn't seem to hold any particular animosity toward the current me.

And look at his face. It was obvious he was anxious, worried that I might not let him sleep in my bed.

Jayden, whom I had always thought was higher on the food chain than me since I arrived in this world, was actually in a position where he needed something from me.

“Eh, it wasn't that much trouble~.”

Feeling good from the surging sense of relief and superiority, I waved my hand.

“Alright, I'll grant your request. You can sleep in my bed.”

“Really?!”

“On one condition. There has to be a give and take, right?”

“Of course, I intended to compensate you.”

Compensation. A wonderful word, but I wasn't bringing it up simply because I was a greedy person blinded by money.

Accepting a reasonable price would keep Jayden from harboring any unnecessary suspicions about me.

Think about it. Although things were much better now, Charlotte and Jayden were originally enemies.

But for me to let him sleep in my bed for nothing?

‘That’s highly suspicious!’

So, I had to demand compensation to make my decision to grant his request so easily seem plausible to him.

It's definitely not because I'm greedy.

“Please tell me what you desire, Sister. I will do my best to repay this kindness, to the best of my ability.”

“I'll tell you the details later. For now, just lie down. It's late.”

“Yes!”

Like an obedient child, Jayden headed for the bed as soon as I gave the order.

But when he saw me about to lie down next to him, his expression clouded over.

“If you're uncomfortable, Sister, you can sleep somewhere else. The voice of the curse told me to lie in your bed, not necessarily to sleep *with* you…”

“It's fine. It would be a problem if someone saw me going to another room, and I can't sleep on the sofa because it's uncomfortable.”

The truth was, I slept so soundly that someone could carry me away and I wouldn't notice, but I didn't want to go through the trouble I had with Raynerd again.

“I see.”

Whether he believed my excuse or not, Jayden said no more and lay down. No, he *was about* to lie down.

“Sister.”

I didn't know why, but his call sent a chill down my spine. Already lying down, I looked up at him.

He had frozen in the middle of lying down and was staring intently at the pillow he was about to use.

“What's wrong?”

In response to my question, Jayden silently picked something off the pillow with his thumb and forefinger and held it out in front of my face.

“There's something like this on the pillow.”

It was a single strand of silver hair—a truly beautiful, shimmering silver.

“No one in our family, or among the servants, has silver hair.”

My heart sank.

“How do you explain this?”

Jayden fixed his gaze on me and tilted his head.