Chapter 16. The Second Male Lead

Willow entered the dining room, ignoring the butler (Augustine) who sat domineeringly.

The chandelier shone, being a sharp contrast from the dark night outside. "It's late..." Augustine growled, and his deep voice sounded quite disgruntled.

Willow shot a look at him.

There was someone missing from the usual Rubius Manor.

"Where is the great villain- I mean, Lucilline?" Augustine asked.

Willow was quite surprised at the question. She always thought of the butler as a cold-hearted and unmoving person. Who would know that he cared about her family's Young Master so much!?! It turned out that Butler Augustine wasn't so cold after all...

"Huh?" Willow snapped back to herself.

"Young Master? He told me that he'll be going outside with some friends." Willow explained.

Upon hearing this, Augustine's face had darkened. It appeared like he'd eaten something nasty and unclean. He grimaced, "Why didn't you go with him?"

Willow was shocked. Butler Augustine actually cares for Young Masters' safety?

"Hey." Seeing that the maidservant still didn't answer, Augustine's face turned even more ugly. "I just asked you a question."

Willow snapped out of her stupor.

She glared at him. "Be patient, will you? It's not that big of a deal, is it? My Young Master wanted to go out and play with his friends. Nobody from K or M will hurt him, after all, he'll be with other people. Would reincarnators possibly dare to harm him out in public?"

Thinking about it, Augustine felt like it did make sense.

No reincarnators would dare to hurt the great villain out in public. After all, Lucilline Rubius is the Young Master of the Rubius Family! If people knew he got hurt, then there will be hell to pay!

"Oh, now that I think about it." Willow added briefly, "Young Master did say something about ghost hunting..."

In an instant, Augustine whipped his head to look at the maidservant. Shock was written all over his face. Ghost hunting! In the original novel, the heroine Daphnne had said something about wanting to hunt ghosts, after hearing about a strange tale of the experiments laboratory room.

This strange tale was heard from the eldest son of Duke Delta.

That young man was Percival Delta, the second male lead.

Augustine imagined Lucilline hanging out with the second male lead. For some odd reason, his heart really felt uncomfortable at that scenario...

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Willow suddenly came to a realization. "Is this a scenario from the novel? Is something dangerous going to happen!?!"

Augustine didn't answer her. In the original novel, it was only supposed to be Daphnne, Percival, and Azalea who snuck in S Academy. However, now, it was the great villain accompanying them... was this the result of the butterfly effect?

"It isn't exactly dangerous." Augustine admitted. "However..."

The group of students did find something more scary than ghosts...

*****

"Achoo!" A sneeze blurted out in the night.

Lucilline rubbed his nose, with a pitiful look written across his face. He wasn't a weak person, and would rarely ever catch a cold. Then... this must mean...!

"Someone's talking about me!" He blurted with confidence.

By his side, Daphnne darted a weird look at him. What happened to Lucilline? She just awkwardly smiled, and agreed with whatever Lucilline had just said. Meanwhile, Percival paid them no mind, as he continued studying the best methods on ghost hunting.

When Daphnne had suggested them to go ghost hunting out of the blue, Percival was scared out of his mind. Everything he said merely was a lie! What will happen if his lie was exposed?

To prepare for the occasion, he snuck in his father's private library, and searched for ghost-related content.

In the book, it said that ghosts are sensitive to topics that relate to their deaths. It's better to never irritate or enrage a ghost—otherwise, who knows what they'll do to you.

Percival muttered under his breath, "Don't irritate ghosts. Don't irritate ghosts. Don't irritate ghosts." Important things must be said three times!

Hung around his neck was a necklace, with a golden cross strung on the string.

He purposely brought out this necklace, in case he needed to ward off ghosts. Although it was just a necklace, Percival secretly believed that it was a magical artifact able to dispel ghosts until they go crying back to the netherworld! Besides, he also needed to look as professional as possible, in order to make this look as real as possible!

If Daphnne were to hear his inner thoughts, she would've completely changed her opinions on the Grand Duke's children!

The first son of a Grand Duke that she met is a shameless beauty!

The second son of a Grand Duke that she met is a scaredy cat!

Were all noblemen so... diverse?

"We're here." Lucilline looked upwards. They arrived in front of S Academy, with the huge entrance gates blocking their way. The gates were of skinny black bars, arranged to form the shape of a royal crown. Lucilline always wanted to beat up the person who designed the gate.

Whose good idea was this!?! Did you have too much time and had nothing else to do... so you decided to bend the bars to form into a crown? Do you think we're children—wait... some indeed are children.

"H-How do we get in?" Percival quivered, like a leaf on the wind. He used to be a sunny and cheery boy, but when it came to horror events, his optimistic outlook had dissipated, like a cold breath fading into the suffusing air.

All he did was tell a lie. He didn't think that he'd have to sneak inside S Academy!

Lucilline looked at him, as if he grew six pairs of eyes. "Obviously, climb in."

Hearing that, both Percival and Daphnne stiffened. They looked at Lucilline with expressions that yelled, "are you kidding me?" However, they didn't dare to say it aloud.

"Follow me." Lucilline ignored their frantic gazes.

He directly stepped forwards, hopping onto the gate, climbing to the top, then dropping down behind the gates—all in one swift motion.

Percival and Daphnne's jaws had fallen open, "..." How did this nobleman manage to learn such a thing?

"Come on, you guys." Lucilline gestured. "It's very easy."

Daphnne was stunned on the spot. She bravely took a step forwards, but was interrupted by Lucilline. "Come on, only son of Duke Delta. Set an example for the sweet little girl."

Percival snapped out of his stupor. That's right! How could he let a girl go before him? This would set a bad example for all noblemen!

"I'll go first." He said, but his legs were already shaking.

Daphnne clearly sensed the fear behind his every action, but remained quiet. I should just let him show off. I'll try to at least lessen his embarrassment...

She watched quietly, as Percival grabbed onto the metal gate. His knuckles paled in the colour of envelope-white, which resembled the cold skin of ghosts. He couldn't control his wrists, which uncontrollably shook up and down from fright. Percival could barely muster up any strength, as he climbed onto the gates.

He tried to lift himself onto the top of the gate.

Suddenly, it was like lightning struck. A thought had bizarrely outspoken in his mind. I can't get to the top! He wondered how Lucilline had possibly leaped up such a height... so swiftly...

Percival wanted to cry. He was taller and obviously more muscular than Lucilline (who was as slender as a stick), but he couldn't even climb up a gate!

"Young Master Delta?" Lucilline was puzzled. Why did Percival stop...?

The chestnut brown-haired young man felt hysterical. He is embarrassing himself in front of the youngest master of the Rubius family! Percival wondered if he's even worthy to be a descendant of the Duke Delta Family...?

He gave himself one last push.

With mere dumb luck, Percival managed to leap onto the top of the gate. At that moment, he felt like all of his surroundings were insignificant. It was like he finally stood at the peak of a mountain, with his shadow scrounging to cover all traces of what's left of earth. A blow of wind whispered to his cheeks, and his hair danced to its victory.

Suddenly, he was pulled back from that imagery.

He lost his balance from the high jump. Percival found himself falling forwards—planting straight towards the ground...!

His skin was crept with thousands of tiny goosebumps, which had eaten away at his senses. Percival's eyes widened in horror. His hands had been thrown outwards without himself thinking. Then... he noticed a familiar figure standing below the gates, watching him stumble his way downwards.

In an instant, Percival slammed straight into that figure—

CRASH!!! Daphnne winced, having witnessed everything play out. The fall sounded quite painful, especially for the nobleman acting as a cushion...

When Percival came back to his senses, he almost recoiled back in shock.

He had collapsed on top of Lucilline, who'd fallen backwards. Lucilline was pinned to the ground, with a trace of pain fleeting across his plain expression. Percival gulped nervously. His eyes scavenged everywhere, wandering around to look at Young Master Rubius' slender figure.

Lucilline's collar was pulled open from the fall, revealing his clavicles...

"Percival." Lucilline found himself shrinking away.

The said person had flinched. Percival was shocked, this is the first time that Lucilline said his name outrightly!

He gradually got up from the Young Master of the Rubius family.

Percival patted off some non-existent dirt from his pants. He coughed, angling a fist to his mouth, "That was a mere accident. Don't worry about it." Disguising his embarrassment with silliness, Percival laughed. "Come on, stand up, Lucilline. You don't want to sit there all night long, right?"

Lucilline, "..." Why don't you ask me why I'm sitting on the ground? Is it not because of a certain someone who pushed me...?

Percival sensed Lucilline's inquiry gaze.

He just gave a bright smile, "Let's continue, shall we?"

"Watch out!" All of a sudden, a cry rang out behind them. Daphnne had easily flipped herself over the metallic gates. Her figure was dashing and charming, with her uniformed skirt swishing in the depths of night. The moonlight gleamed on her skin, lengthening her shadows.

Daphnne landed on the ground, striking a pose coolly.

"How's that?" She stretched her arms from the climb.

Percival, who'd taken twice the amount of effort to get over the gates, "..." Why do I feel such a heavy sense of shame...?

His shoulder was patted by Lucilline, who'd gotten up from the ground.

The Young Master of the Rubius family seemed to express, "Don't worry, Eldest Young Master Delta. Even if you're not as skilled as a girl when it comes to climbing over gates and sneaking into school... at least you're all prim and proper."

Percival shed some invisible tears.

"Let's continue." Lucilline took the lead. Daphnne's mood had reached the peak, as she was more thrilled than ever to sneak into school. Meanwhile, Percival's mood was... greatly dampened.

I don't want to...!