The Young Male Protagonist Who is Destined for Ruin Fell for Me - Chapter 39

Kylean Chaield had never experienced shame. The feeling of embarrassment was merely a word in his vocabulary.

Yet now, the thought of Amel reading his dark, hidden thoughts made him want to bury his face and dive straight into the nearest river. The heat on his face was almost unbearable.

Amel, reading his thoughts in real-time, let out a soft chuckle.

“Kylean, how can someone of your stature—a duke, no less—consider jumping into a river?”

“Did you… Did you really see everything? My thoughts? Every single moment?”

When Kylean said “every moment,” he didn’t mean literally every moment. The “moment” he vaguely referred to was just one specific instance. Amel caught onto this and cleared her throat awkwardly.

“Well… yes. I’m sorry. It’s not like I intended to look, but… hearing that you genuinely want me… it’s exciting, you know?”

“…”

“Oh, come on. They say it’s best to share honest feelings in those situations, don’t they? Thanks to that, I also learned what Kylean likes and how to make you happy. Isn’t that a win-win?”

She spoke shamelessly, but in truth, she was embarrassed too. When she first embraced him after receiving the Areté, she had been utterly flustered upon realizing she could hear his thoughts even in those moments.

When she stroked his bare calf and kissed his exposed stomach, her spirited, younger partner was a whirlwind of thoughts—thoughts as improper as they were numerous.

‘Back in Korea, we rarely used the word “vigorous,” but it feels fitting here.’

The more Amel smiled slyly, the redder Kylean’s face turned. Though she had unintentionally left him flustered, Amel returned to the topic at hand.

“Kylean, as I mentioned, I can read people’s thoughts. Starting with Lady Gretel’s acquaintances and others who attended the banquet that day, I’ll identify the true culprit.”

As Kylean loosened his tie and unbuttoned his shirt to cool down, he froze at her next word: “contact.”

Since she needed physical contact to read someone’s thoughts, contact was indeed necessary. His mind understood this, but his heart resisted. Contact, really?

“Among Lady Gretel’s close associates, there are men too, right? You’ll be in contact with them as well?”

“Just a light brush of fingertips should suffice, don’t you think?”

“…”

Amel was startled by Kylean’s unexpected disapproval. She wasn’t proposing holding hands or caresses—just a slight touch!

“Then what kind of contact do you think is acceptable, Kylean?”
“Well, not fingertips.”

His inner thoughts echoed to Amel once again.

‘Your touch is too seductive.’

‘…You’re reading this too, aren’t you?’

Amel resisted the urge to argue that her touch wasn’t seductive but that he was overly sensitive. She held back.

“Legs are absolutely off-limits. Toes are too intimate…”

“Then where is acceptable, exactly?”

“…The back of the heel seems appropriate.”

How was she supposed to brush against someone’s heel? Clicking her tongue at his obsessive gaze, Amel returned to the main issue. Securing Vanessa as her bodyguard was a priority.

“Is this woman, Vanessa, trustworthy?”

“Yes. Vanessa might lack manners, but she’s not the type to switch sides.”

If Vanessa had successfully stolen the Harmonia Necklace, she would have become the boss of the Areteists.

Besides, Amel wasn’t worried. Thanks to the Areté’s abilities, she would notice any betrayal from Vanessa immediately.

“I’m counting on you, Kylean. Please?”

In the face of Amel’s sincere request, her hands clasped tightly around his, Kylean finally raised the white flag.

“…Alright. But promise me you won’t do anything dangerous.”
“I promise. Thank you, Kylean.”

Amel smiled warmly, and Kylean’s gaze was drawn to her lips. She reached out, cradling the back of his head, and kissed him briefly. The touch of their noses and the mingling of their breath sent a shiver down his spine.

“I thought Kylean really wanted my kiss,” she teased.

“…”

Kylean wiped his lips with the back of his hand, thinking that Amel reading his darkest thoughts wasn’t entirely bad. If anything, he wished she would understand him more deeply—even his worries.

Of course, that didn’t mean he would idly stand by if Amel faced danger.

“By the way, I didn’t expect His Majesty the Emperor to make such a decision.”

The Chaield family, a colossal financial power, had long provided enormous funds to the irredeemable emperor, expecting only one thing in return:
To ensure that the Chaield family could remain undisturbed in its affairs and that no external forces could arbitrarily cross the boundaries of the Heil Empire.

However, the current emperor wasn’t fulfilling his role. Instead, he was scrambling to cover his growing incompetence, now glaringly evident.

‘A scarecrow that can’t even guard its own post.’

There was no need for further thought. A scarecrow unable to fend off the crows that eyed the Chaield family’s field had to be replaced.

‘The problem is what that man thinks about it.’

Kylean mulled over the matter briefly before deciding to keep it simple. If the son was no better than the father, the imperial family could just be dismantled and replaced with a new one.

Kylean remained reluctant, but ultimately, Vanessa was allowed to live and work at the Chaield mansion. The term “live and work” suited her situation perfectly, as she was essentially stationed there as an employee.

‘To think Kylean would go so far as to order a thorough investigation on Vanessa.’

Had that order not been revoked, Vanessa might truly have been framed as the necklace thief.

Regardless, thanks to Kylean’s efforts, Vanessa was released from detention under the absurd pretense that the Chaield family wanted to employ her. She was assigned to a small room right next to Amel’s and became her personal guard.

Vanessa seemed to have taken her role seriously—perhaps even overzealously. She acted as if she intended to spend her life buried in service to the Chaield family.

“Vanessa, you remember we’re visiting the royal palace this afternoon, right?”

“Of course, ma’am. How could I forget?”

“Please, drop the formalities…”

“But Steward Hild instructed me to call you that. Though, if we’re alone, I’ll call you Lady Diane.”

The protagonist’s adaptability was remarkable. Without a doubt, Vanessa was someone who could thrive even if stranded on a deserted island.

Moreover, her years in the Areteist mercenary group had honed her social skills to a level that rivaled even the craftiest of individuals.

“By the way, Lady Diane, are you feeling alright? Last night was… wow. It was legendary. I thought there was an earthquake.

How strong does someone’s core have to be to shake a bed like that? The Duke isn’t just a pretty face, is he?”

It seemed Vanessa had chosen playful banter and compliments about her fiancé as her method of building rapport. Whenever they were alone, she would chatter endlessly about the sounds she had heard the night before.

“Vanessa, what if someone overhears you? This is the Chaield mansion.”

“If anyone hears, they’ll just roll around in envy. How could anyone be so intense night after night? You two must be incredibly compatible. I can’t even sleep properly anymore.”

“…”

“Oh, by the way, did you know the bathroom pipes are connected? Sounds travel even more clearly through them. Last night, I went to the restroom and couldn’t sleep after that. With the Duke whispering sweet nothings in that honeyed voice of his, how could anyone say no? Honestly, you’re amazing, Lady Diane.”
“Vanessa, enough.”

Amel fanned her flushed face and tapped her desk.

Damn it. Why was this supposedly kind and demure heroine so skilled in crude jokes?

There was too much work to do today to waste time on idle chatter. Vanessa, sensing the shift in mood, placed the day’s newspaper on Amel’s desk. It was the Heil Times, the publication where Amel regularly contributed columns. Even without flipping through it, she could tell her plan was unfolding perfectly.

[Breaking News! The Theft of the Harmonia Necklace—Why Did It Happen?]

The bold headline grabbed attention, with the article below detailing how the emperor had misused the Harmonia Necklace before it was stolen.

“Just as you planned, Lady Diane. Only the Heil Times has the full details about the Harmonia Necklace. The other papers on the streets are barely selling.”

That was, of course, by design. Amel had shared her anonymous tip only with the Heil Times.

Three days prior, she had typed out the details of how the emperor had used the Harmonia Necklace in his licentious affairs and had Vanessa deliver the report to the Heil Times anonymously.

Editor-in-Chief Pringles had not only paid the promised reward but also sent a pleading letter, asking to be entrusted with any future scandals or information.

The result? The front page of today’s Heil Times was packed with articles that would surely have the emperor trembling.

Most Heil citizens still remembered how the previous emperor, known for his benevolence, had traded the rare necklace with the Kelteman chieftain as a gesture of goodwill.

For them, the Harmonia Necklace was a treasured piece of the nation’s history, meant to be displayed in a glass case deep within the royal treasury. Learning that it had been used to amplify the beauty of a woman the emperor wanted to seduce was like a slap in the face.

Adding fuel to the fire was the identity of Lady Gretel, a powerless young baroness barely of age and practically the emperor’s daughter’s peer. Sympathy for her was inevitable.
“Public sentiment is boiling over. By tomorrow morning, people might storm the palace balconies,” Vanessa remarked, glancing at the paper. It was no surprise. The emperor, having already lost the people’s trust, now faced a scandal of unprecedented proportions.

“That’s probably what will happen. The people are furious. The palace won’t sit idly by, though. They’ll try to discredit the anonymous tip as baseless.”

“What’s your next move, then?”

“Vanessa, could you bring me the typewriter?”

Amel stretched her fingers in preparation for typing, her gaze drifting out the window. The Chaield mansion was serene—a stark contrast to the chaos that would soon engulf the royal palace. She felt a smug sense of satisfaction.

“I’m writing another letter. Deliver it to the Heil Times today. This will force the palace to respond calmly.”

“What will you say?”

“That if they dismiss the anonymous report as nonsense, I’ll release even more damning information.”

After all, there was plenty more to expose about the Heil imperial family. This was just the beginning.