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Chapter 2
“I Am the Villainess, but I’ve Imprinted with the Male Lead ”
The atmosphere in the room changed in an instant.
As if enchanted by the man’s gaze, Luciana’s lips parted in a dazed voice.
As expected, the man was extremely handsome. So much so that even across both her past and present lives, she had never encountered anyone comparable.
But what shocked Luciana wasn’t only his overwhelming beauty that felt almost unworthy to look at directly.
It was his black hair—rare in the empire—and his crimson eyes, which carried a faint, eerie aura.
She had never properly met him before, but the face was familiar. She had seen him from a distance once before.
“…He’s the male lead?”
Richt Cassio.
The moment the identity of the man surfaced in her blank mind, Luciana let out a strangled scream and covered her mouth as if she had witnessed a murder scene.
“Wait… so I slept with the male lead?”
As she realized what she had done, her face turned deathly pale.
“The male lead…? Richt? Really?”
Is this even okay? What about the rest of the original story?
It was just a single night—but suddenly, her thoughts spiraled that far.
What exactly happened at that ball? And why was Richt here with her instead of the heroine?
Luciana bit her lip hard enough to draw blood as she stared at Richt, the male protagonist who had somehow spent the night with her, completely ignoring his “destined role.”
When in the story timeline is this?
Her mind scrambled to recall the novel she had long buried in memory, but Richt didn’t give her time.
“Gah!”
He grabbed her shoulder through the blanket and forced her to face him.
His lips were pressed into a straight line, his jaw tense, and his eyes trembled slightly, unable to hide his shock.
Richt, too, seemed unable to believe what was happening. No—this wasn’t just surprise. His reaction was far too agitated for that.
“I—first, could you let go of me…?”
Luciana carefully pushed against his tightening grip, breaking into a cold sweat.
The expression she had just seen wouldn’t leave her mind.
It would have been better if he had simply looked annoyed—like “How did I end up sleeping with this woman?” That would have been understandable.
But this… looked like panic.
For a male lead who had everything, to be shaken by a single drunken mistake like this—
It felt completely out of character based on what she knew of him.
Something felt wrong.
For the first time in her life, she felt an uneasy instinct creeping in.
Was a predator still a predator even when it wasn’t growling?
Simply sitting across from him made her feel like prey.
“I should wrap this up quickly and leave.”
Just as she decided that staying longer would do no good and tried to speak—
“You.”
“!”
A voice devoid of any warmth grabbed hold of her.
“Speak.”
“W-what are you asking…?”
Is he asking for my name? My family?
For a moment she thought that—but his expression made it clear it was nothing so trivial.
Luciana racked her brain, but panic had frozen her thoughts.
“Haa…”
Richt, growing impatient, added sharply:
“Tell me what you did to my body if you don’t want to be interrogated.”
“…Pardon?”
Luciana flinched at the accusation, thrown at her without a shred of evidence.
Richt also seemed to have no memory of last night.
But still—what did he mean, “what did you do to my body?”
Wait.
Come to think of it, one of the male lead’s traits was that he completely shut women out.
From his perspective, a naked woman suddenly appearing in his bed would naturally be suspicious.
But Luciana swore she was innocent.
At this rate, a misunderstanding was going to become reality.
Since he wasn’t even listening properly, she didn’t need to endure this accusation any longer.
“To be precise… ‘accident’ would be the more appropriate term. Something that can’t really be blamed on anyone.”
“And also… could you cover yourself a bit?”
Luciana avoided looking down at something very conspicuous, focusing instead on the ceiling.
“….”
Only after her faint muttering did Richt realize his own state and pull the blanket over himself.
He didn’t seem particularly embarrassed.
“An accident?”
His voice turned chilling, as if warning her that if she was lying, she wouldn’t get away unscathed.
‘Staring like that—does he think I’ll get scared?’
Luciana steadied herself and met his gaze.
“You’re saying it’s the alcohol, aren’t you?”
“That is…”
As she spoke, a faint champagne scent lingered between them.
Richt tried to recall what happened.
He disliked social gatherings despite his status, but even he had attended the imperial ball due to the emperor’s relentless demands.
Yesterday had been no different.
He had endured boring conversations with nobles and the emperor, drinking wine to pass the time.
The last thing he remembered was drinking champagne on a balcony to escape the crowd.
So—he got drunk on just that?
Richt knew his tolerance well.
Even after multiple glasses, he had felt completely fine.
And more importantly—he never drank enough to lose control.
So he supposedly drank too much, lost consciousness, and slept with a woman he didn’t even know?
You expect me to believe that?
His eyes narrowed coldly.
“You’re talking nonsense.”
“What…?”
He dismissed her claim without hesitation, leaving Luciana speechless.
From Richt’s perspective, there was absolutely no scenario in which he had willingly been involved with her.
He was about to say it outright—that alcohol was just an excuse and she must have fabricated the whole thing—
But he stopped.
Because he noticed something that directly contradicted his assumption.
“!”
As he frowned in irritation, Richt’s crimson eyes suddenly wavered.
The room, minimally decorated, felt strangely empty.
He looked around more carefully.
“This is…”
The realization hit him late.
This was his private bedroom.
That meant—
If Luciana had truly schemed something, there was no way he would have woken up here.
No matter what tricks she pulled, entering this room was another matter entirely.
The servants in this estate knew better than anyone how strictly he guarded his personal space.
There was no way they would have allowed a woman carrying an unconscious man into his room unless he had permitted it.
Damn it…
There was only one possible explanation.
She had entered here with Richt’s full permission.
