Treat the Second Male Lead Like a Stone Chapter 3

“Goodness, Bianca!”

Rayler, who saw sprawled on the bed, let out a sigh and rushed over in a heartbeat.

“Milady, what on earth is this…!”

“...I'm not a lady, Rayler.”

“What are you talking about now! Are you saying you're a man?”

Rayler smacked my back with a loud slap and helped up from the bed.

“The sun is high already, and you’re still doing this! Aren’t you going to get up?”

Isn’t it a bit early for that?

I wanted to argue, but if I did, Rayler’s nagging would definitely go on forever. In the end, I got up, dragged out of bed by Rayler.

Rayler let out a deep sigh, as if she found pathetic.

“Sigh, is this really the ti for you to be lying around?”

“It is ti to be lying around…”

“What?”

“Just kidding, Rayler.”

I had ant it from the heart, but since Rayler’s face looked so serious, I quickly took it back.

“More importantly, Bianca! You don’t have ti for this right now!”

“Why?”

“There’s a rumor going around the social circle!”

Was there a rumor that I’m a sloth or sothing?

In that case, the news was rather slow.

“They say sothing’s going on between Lady Idette and the Duke of Hessen!”

Ah, that.

Seems like the social circle really is slow with gossip. Getting worked up only now.

Maybe I was the only one staying calm. Rayler grabbed my shoulders and shook , asking what I was going to do about it.

Shaken this way and that by her, I blinked my eyes.

It’s true, so what am I supposed to do…

“Haah, Bianca. You’re driving crazy!”

Rayler picked up the brush on the nightstand and started combing through my tangled hair with loud scratching sounds.

“What do you even lack compared to Lady Idette!”

She pounded on her own chest with audible thumps, as if frustrated.

“Compared to Lady Idette, you just have slightly worse hair, you’re lazy, you’re always lying in bed, you’re short, you bite your lips, you lose your mind whenever you see food, you have a weird way of speaking, and you have thin eyebrows—aside from that, there’s nothing wrong with you!”

Rayler stopped talking, panting heavily.

“...Just say there’s a lot.”

“No, there isn’t!”

Rayler shouted loudly.

I let out a small sigh and calmly soothed the fuming Rayler.

“It’s okay. Human emotions don’t always follow our will, right?”

“Right, that’s why you must’ve tornted the Duke like that!”

“...”

“This won’t do, Bianca. Let’s go buy a present for the Duke together!”

Do we really have to?

But Rayler took my hand and pulled along. She was so strong that I had no choice but to follow her obediently.

Well, I have plenty of money, so shopping isn’t bad.

Yes, that’s definitely what I thought just a while ago.

But now I had no idea why Ricardo and Idette were standing in front of .

“D-D-D-Duke!”

Rayler couldn’t close her mouth and clung to .

I reached out and gently closed her gaping jaw, then stared at Ricardo. At that, Ricardo sneered at .

“Looks like you ca shopping with soone you like.”

...Says you.

Upon spotting , Idette’s eyes widened as if they’d pop out.

She had the face of soone caught cheating.

Hey, I really don’t care what you two do, you know?

Go and be happy together!

Still, no matter what I said, it would be hard for Idette to accept.

Just then, Idette hurriedly held out a necktie to .

“T-This, I was on my way to see His Highness! I ca to buy a gift for him!”

“...”

“It was a coincidence, really, that I ran into the Duke!”

“...I haven’t said a word yet.”

Even so, Idette was visibly flustered.

I quietly gazed at her.

She was beautiful no matter when I saw her. She was soone who radiated a protagonist’s aura to anyone who looked. Her personality was bright, and she was kind on top of that.

And above all, she was beautiful.

Her looks alone could definitely make three male leads lose their minds.

By the way, if she said “His Highness”...

Erkishian. The Crown Prince of the Empire.

In other words, the real male lead.

I looked at Ricardo’s face.

As expected, he couldn’t hide his expression at the ntion of Erkishian.

He should’ve realized what was going on by now.

That bastard Ricardo was stuck in the classic second male lead position, delivering the woman he loved to the true male lead—what a bitter situation.

At that mont, Ricardo t my eyes and let out a deep sigh.

Did he not know that sighing at soone’s face was rude?

“Did you co to buy a dress? I heard you already have plenty.”

“I’m more extravagant than I look.”

“I already knew that.”

“Then why ask? What a cheeky question.”

“Not sothing you should be saying.”

Seriously, he always has to get the last word in.

Rayler, who had been listening to our conversation, rolled her eyes and muttered.

“...What kind of conversation is this?”

At her words, Ricardo and I imdiately fell silent. The surroundings quickly grew quiet again.

In the midst of the awkwardness, Idette opened her mouth as if trying clumsily to lighten the mood.

“What brings you two here?”

There was no way I could say we ca to buy a gift for Ricardo!

Startled, I squeezed Rayler’s hand tightly. At a loss for words, she answered awkwardly.

“W-We were just…”

“Yes…?”

Ricardo narrowed his eyes as if he couldn’t understand why we were in the shop. Because of that, Rayler blurted out in a flustered voice.

“We were tailing!”

What the hell was that?

“…Rayler?”

“To tail the Duke! We were curious what he was doing with Lady Idette…”

Rayler, rambling on, looked like she didn’t even know what she was saying.

…Is she out of her mind?

I wondered if I had heard wrong, but judging from the expressions on Idette and Ricardo’s faces, that wasn’t the case.

Ricardo let out a hollow laugh.

“Bianca, I suppose everything you told before was a lie.”

Tailing you, my foot. As if I have nothing better to do than follow you around.

Especially you, Ricardo!

But no matter what I said now, he clearly wasn’t going to listen.

I sighed inwardly and turned my gaze away.

Still, if she was on her way to see Erkishian, he must be feeling quite bitter inside.

“Where is His Highness the Crown Prince now?”

“I didn’t make an appointnt. But I heard he’s in the plaza…”

Idette murmured in a small voice.

Okay, plaza noted.

“Lady Idette, if you don’t mind, would it be alright if I et His Highness first?”

She tilted her head with a puzzled look, but soon nodded.

“Thank you. Oh, and I saw that a new skewer shop you like opened across the street. I heard it’s open until four in the afternoon. If you get a chance today, try dropping by.”

I gave a slight nod to Ricardo. But he just stared at silently with a hardened face.

What’s with him now?

I’m even making room for you two.

I’m seriously rooting for your love!

Taking Rayler’s hand, I started walking toward the plaza.

Rayler kept glancing sideways at Ricardo and Idette, clearly still concerned, but I ignored them as best as I could.

Ugh, whatever. This is the last bit of conscience I have.

To make ands for the wrongs past Bianca committed, and because Ricardo, the second male lead, is just so pitiful.

Two birds with one stone.

* * *

It would’ve been nice to catch Erkishian in the plaza, but he had already left, and there was no sign of him.

After sending Rayler back ho, I sipped a cold drink in a café. But I couldn’t quite relax.

I should’ve t Erkishian and held on to him sohow!

There’s no way he saw Idette and Ricardo, right?

I was too anxious to go ho.

So ti passed. The hour hand on the wall clock in the café pointed to four.

Hmm, I guess I can go back now.

Their date should be about over by now.

With that thought, I got up from my seat.

And that’s when it happened.

“…What are you doing right now?”

A familiar voice rang out. I stared at Ricardo in front of with a blank expression.

He looked, for so reason, quite angry.