I Give Up on the BL Novel's Male Leads - Chapter 85
Illein looked directly at the Second Prince Rodein as she spoke. He returned her gaze and said,
“Drink it first.”
She sighed with a resigned expression and drank the tea with the truth serum. Her hands trembled, and as she tried to put the cup down before finishing, he gestured for her to drink it all.
Reluctantly, she finished the entire cup.
“Can I go upstairs now?”
“Before that, answer one question.”
Illein’s mind began to fog under the influence of the strong truth serum.
“Are Illein Thierry and Illenas Thierry the same person?”
Rodein said with a mocking tone, as if he already knew everything.
“Ah…”
“Answer, Illenas Thierry.”
“…Yes.”
“Are Illein Thierry and Illenas Thierry the same person?”
“…Yes.”
Illein couldn’t even entertain the thought of resisting. She could only respond to the questions being asked of her. That was all she could do.
“The ring that Illein Thierry wears is a national treasure that disappeared three centuries ago. Did you steal it?”
“…No.”
“Then how did you come by it?”
“My parents gave it to me.”
Second Prince Rodein smirked at her response.
“Who else knows that the ring can change gender?”
“Marquis Wignum and his family.”
“Is that all?”
“Yes.”
Illein answered, dazedly staring into space.
As Rodein’s gaze met Illein’s vacant eyes, he noticed something different about her. The defiance she had shown at the dance party seemed insignificant compared to her current demeanor.
What was it? The beauty he had not fully appreciated before became strikingly apparent.
Even Rodein, who had seen many beautiful women in the imperial court, had never encountered anyone as beautiful as Illenas.
“How long did you plan to keep up the deception?”
“I was planning to leave the family after graduating from the academy.”
“Why?”
“I don’t like arranged marriages, and I want to live my own life.”
“Oh! How? As a man?”
“If I were not a man, I wouldn’t be able to escape. As a woman, Illenas can’t do anything, only Illein, as a man, is allowed to live independently. That’s just the way of a powerless noble’s life.”
Rodein could clearly sense the bitterness in Illein’s voice as she answered. Perhaps because of this, his initially smug smile softened slightly.
“You might end up never marrying anyone and living your whole life as a man.”
“…I don’t want to live pretending to be the wife of someone I don’t love. If it comes to that, I’d rather live as a man. Even if it’s lonely, it’s better than living a painful life.”
Illein said this, blinking slowly.
“There are no nobles who marry for love.”
“I’m just Illein. I’m too much of a coward to marry someone out of obligation and take responsibility for them… I don’t want that. If the person I marry finds out I’m not sincere, they’ll be hurt.”
“There wouldn’t be any nobles like that.”
“Even so, that’s how I feel.”
Perhaps because Rodein understood that she was being more honest than ever before, he felt oddly unsettled.
He was the Second Prince, favored by the Emperor, and the current Empress had high expectations for him. Her perspective seemed unusual to him.
A faint ripple stirred in his chest. Perhaps it was because he had also been pressured into a political marriage.
“You have long fingers.”
“…Hmph.”
He chuckled at her sudden, blank comment about his fingers. It was an unexpected observation, and though it seemed a bit out of place, he didn’t mind it too much.
He understood it was a pure compliment, though it felt slightly risky, as if it was a tempting remark from a beautiful woman.
“Enough! Let’s stop talking about fingers and talk about my brother.”
“My brother?”
“Edwin Ensest.”
“Oh…! It’s because Edwin has similar fingers.”
Rodein’s mood soured at that comment. Yet, seeing her gaze absentmindedly at her own hands didn’t make him feel any worse.
Though he had seen many beautiful women, he had never encountered someone as strikingly beautiful as her, and he found himself oddly sympathetic towards her apparent sloppiness.
“Why did you approach my brother?”
Rodein asked, taking a sip of his tea. Illein stared at his refined demeanor.
“Edwin…”
“Be honest. Everything. Why are you close to my brother?”
“I’m afraid.”
“…What?”
“Edwin is going to kill me someday. That’s why I’m trying to be careful not to be killed.”
Rodein momentarily doubted whether the potion he gave her was indeed a truth serum.
However, when he checked again, it was certainly a truth serum. Yet, he couldn’t understand why she was saying such things. If someone could casually resist such a strong truth serum, they would be a monster.
An immensely powerful one with a vast domain of influence.
