The Male Lead Knelt Before Me

‘It’s the ticket to our theatre, right?’

Sponsored Content

I realized that there were two tickets after I picked them up.

A free ticket to watch the play freely even at any time.

There are only two ways to get this ticket.

Either given by an actor at the theatre or paid a large sum of money for it.

The latter was usually purchased by regulars who often came to see the play.

‘Did Caleb like to watch some play?’

I’m not sure because I don’t remember, but I thought he didn’t like it?

I think he enjoyed watching it because he often went to see the play together with the heroine.….

But one thing is for sure is that Caleb hasn’t already met Vivian.

Vivian and Caleb, who I remembered from my previous lives in the original story, met for the first time when our theatre reenacted the play titled “Song About Love.”

It took months for the play to reenact.

Of course, it was a few months later when Vivian remembered her previous life.
So there was no way she met Caleb and enjoyed the play already.

‘Then all that’s left is the conclusion that he received the tickets as a gift…….’

 

It was when I turned the ticket upside down.
A familiar signature was seen on the back of the ticket.

‘This is my signature, isn’t it?’

It’s the real Lena’s signature, but…….
Anyway, the back of the ticket was marked with ‘Lena’ in spilling handwriting.

‘Am I the one who gave it? When did I ever meet Caleb? Or before I possessed Lena?’

While I was confused, I suddenly remembered what happened.

I mean, when I met bullies in an alley, a guy saved me.

Then I gave the man these tickets in return.

‘Don’t tell me he was….…?’

As soon as I thought about it, I remembered a conversation I had with Caleb earlier.

“I’ve met you before.”

“Once before.”

Could it be that the man was Caleb and that’s what he meant when he said we’ve met before?

Once the link was found, the links were connected one after another.

For example, why when Caleb reached out to me earlier, I thought I had experienced it somewhere, and how he looked at me was familiar.

“The man was Lord Egon.”

 

Because that man is Caleb.

I returned to my seat after putting the tickets I was holding in their original place

* * *

“Miss Lena?”

Sponsored Content

“Yes, yes?”

I lifted my head suddenly.
Then I saw Count Van Der looking at me in wonder.

“Why are you so surprised?”

“Oh…….
I was thinking about something else for a while.
Why did you call me?”

“You don’t look so happy, so I called you.
Did something happen today?”

“No, I guess it’s just because it’s my first day and I’m a little tired.”

“I see.”

Count Van der looked away without any doubt.

But I was still dazed.
Because I found out earlier.

‘I never thought the knight I met on the alley before was Caleb.’

When I thought of Caleb simply as the male protagonist, it was more interesting than what was described in the novel.

Come to think of it, I didn’t waver unconsciously before since I knew that he wouldn’t get along with another woman except for the female protagonist.

But finding out that Caleb and the knight I met in the alley are the same person made me excited and confused.

“Sigh….…”

I’m confused.

Even when we broke up in the past, I didn’t expect that it would work out if I ever met him again.

‘But still, I thought I could ask him out on a date, though.’

Now that even that possibility is completely gone, I feel bitter.

No, let’s just say it’s a relief to know about now.

Though I justified it alone, I came here at the request of the Crown Prince.

It was invariably true that Caleb was being deceived whether he was harmed or not in the process.

And I’d have been dumped if I’d expressed my interest in him anyway.

Because he’s the male protagonist…….

‘By the way, my taste remains consistent.’

It’s surprising.

I used to like Caleb when I read novels, but I still like Caleb even after I started living in the world of novels.

‘At this point, I could say that he’s really my cup of tea.’

While thinking about one thing or another, the carriage stopped, and the horseman opened the door.

“Go in, Miss Lena.”

“Thank you.
Count, have a safe trip back.”

I was about to get off the carriage when I heard the sound of the Count calling and grabbing me.

“Wait, Miss Lena!”

“……..”

“I forgot to tell you.
From tomorrow, Miss Lena has to go to the Imperial Castle by carriage alone.
As you know, the direction of the department is different.”

“All by myself? Then the carriage…….”

“You don’t have to worry about that.
I’ll send a carriage for you to go to the Imperial Castle every morning on weekdays.”

Sponsored Content

“I’m glad to hear that…….
Are you not coming forever?”

“No way.
I’ll come every two weeks to see how you’re doing.
I hope you get home safely.”

* * *

The next morning, I set off for the Imperial Castle in the newly sent carriage by the Count.

It was awkward to ride alone because I went with the Count every day, but it wasn’t bad.
This way, I can train my mind without being disturbed.

I reflected on what I thought yesterday.
Caleb Egon is the male protagonist, and he’s going to get along with the female protagonist, not me, and I am deceiving him after receiving an offer from the Crown Prince.

‘So let’s never be conscious of it.
I heard that a person who looks after a handsome man is meant to be successful.’

Of course, I don’t know who said it, but it doesn’t matter.
The important thing was to kill my feelings for Caleb.

After reciting “Caleb is a stone” as if memorizing a chant, I felt somewhat organized by the time I arrived at the Imperial Castle.

‘Did I go this way yesterday?’

After getting off the carriage, I retreated to the memory of yesterday.

Why can’t I see it? It’s about time I saw it…….
Did I come to the wrong place?’

As anxiety rose, I could see the building of the Royal Knights from afar.

Only then did I feel relieved.

Of course, there’s no way I’m coming to the wrong place because I already came here yesterday.

Standing in front of the building with confidence, I realized that my past thoughts were nothing but arrogance.

‘It’s not this building.’

A crying face is built automatically.
From a distance, I thought it was definitely the building of the Royal Knights

However, when I came here, the decorations at the entrance and the uniforms worn by the guards were different.

The Royal Knights, who I saw yesterday, were in navy blue uniforms while people in the distance were in red uniforms.

‘Why do I get lost so often these days?’

I don’t know if it’s just because I’m not used to it or if I’m really bad with navigation.
Shall I ask them for directions first?

It was when I’m going to take a step back.
A familiar voice came from behind.

“Miss Lena?”

Who is it?

Looking back casually, I took a breath, Gasp! It was him.

“I didn’t think so, but it was really Miss Lena! It’s me, Herschel Themis!”

The knight who proposed to me the day I left the theatre.

Herschel smiled broadly, kindly adding his name.
That kind of kindness is unnecessary.

“Oh… Hello.”

An awkward smile appeared on the corner of his lips.

What the hell is this guy doing here? Oh, yeah, he did say that he is an imperial knight, wasn’t he? So that was real…….

“Looking from the back, I thought I saw a Lady looks like Miss Lena so I tried to talk but I couldn’t believe that it’s really Miss Lena.”

It was a bit of a burden to see Herschel smiling broadly.

Objectively, Herschel is not bad, but when I think of our first meeting and his preference, I want to keep away from him.

“But what brings you to the Imperial Castle? Di, did you come to see me?”

Sponsored Content

No way.

I wanted to answer that, but I couldn’t bring myself to.

I’m not that tough to say that to the face of a person who looks at me with such expectations.

“No, I have a business to attend to.”

“Bu….business? Don’t tell me, did you come to see that bastard then? Does he work at the Imperial Castle?”

Herschel’s face was distorted at once.
On the other hand, I couldn’t hide my wonder.

“Bastard?”

“Well, you know who? The one who cowardly hid behind Miss Lena.”

Who the hell… oh, he means Count Van Der.
By the way, this guy still thinks Count Van Der is a man, so I’d better tell him the truth, right?

“Well, Sir Knight.”

“It’s a shame that Miss Lena still called me Sir Knight between us.”

What’s between us?

I don’t think there’s anything, except Herschel being friendly to me, that can be called ‘us’.

“Call me Lord Themis.
It’s better if you call me Herschel.”

“No, I can’t just call you by your name, Sir Knight.”

I don’t really want to call him, more than that calling his name means we’re pretty close.

“Miss Lena, it’s fine.
I’ll give you my permission.”

I don’t need that kind of permission…….

“Then I’ll call you Lord Themis.”

“I’d like you to call me by my name, but I understood.
It would be rude to push too hard.
Rather, why did you call me?”

Yeah, why did I call this guy? Oh, I remembered.

“I’m trying to clear up a misunderstanding.”

“What do you mean by misunderstanding?”

“The one you think is a man? That person is not a man but a woman.
And she’s my guardian.”

“What is that…… was she really a woman? But the hair was short, and the person wore men’s clothes…….”

“She was wearing it, but she’s a woman.”

“I can’t believe it.”

Herschel recited with a confused face.

Is it so shocking that the Count is a woman?

I don’t really understand, but not everyone feels the same way as me, so I decided to understand his thoughts.

More than that, I need to find the way to the Royal Knight building…l…

….
Herschel must know the way because he’s a knight of the imperial family.

Would you rather ask someone you don’t know than someone you know?

“Sir Knight, no, Lord Themis, do you happen to know where the building of the Royal Knights is?”

“The Royal Knights building? I know, but why do you ask?”

“There’s something I have to do over there, but I came here by mistake.
Could you show me the way?”

Sponsored Content

“That’s what happened.
Follow me.
I’ll show you around myself.”

“What? No, just give me the directions…….”

I tried to dissuade Herschel, but he was already out there beckoning to me.

With a faint sigh, I followed Herschel.

* * *

“Do you see that building? That’s the Royal Knights building.”

Herschel raised his hand and pointed to one place.

Following his fingertips, men in navy blue uniforms stood in the distance in front of the main gate.

I’ve come to the right place.
That’s a relief.

“Thank you.
From here on, I can go alone, so you can just go.”

“No, I’m supposed to take you there, so I’ll take you to the end.”

You don’t have to.

But Herschel was faster to act, again, this time.

He’s already gone that far, his steps really fast.

Gradually I became closer to the building of the Royal Knights.
Just as I was contemplating where to break up with Herschel, a scene I had never seen yesterday unfolded.

‘Those are… horses and women, right?’

At least ten women, who seemed to have crossed over, were sitting and talking on the grass with their horses tied to the trees.

Dressed in a bonnet, as well as a parasol spread out.

On the surface, they looked like people who went out on a regular outing, but seeing the horses next to them made me wonder.

I don’t think they’re out for horseback riding…….

Are they going out on horseback here? In the Imperial Castle?

It was a time when I was tilting my head because it was an irrational sight in my opinion.

“Oh, it must be today.”

“Today?”

When I asked as if I was curious, Herschel kindly explained.

“Most of the women there are high-ranking aristocratic families.
Their mothers are maidens of the Empress, so they come out once a month and go horseback riding.”

“Is it possible to do that in the Imperial Castle?”

Don’t they usually do it somewhere else? A lot of flat lands.

“There is nothing wrong with riding a horse.
This is because it was officially approved by the Imperial Family, and the entire road was lowered so that horses can pass in case of emergency.

If there is no problem…….

And it wasn’t too awkward, perhaps because the building of the Imperial Castle was elegant and well landscaped.

Rather, I felt like I was looking at a picture.

“But if they’re riding, why are they resting near the Royal Knights Order? Wouldn’t it be better to go inside another building and rest?”

I think it’s better than using parasols like that.

“Miss Lena is right.
But their goal is not just rest.”

“Then what is it?”

“To become stand out and noticed by the members of the Royal Knights.”