A large, windowless secret chamber was filled to the brim with various rare taxidermied specimens.
The silver-furred deer, said to be extremely rare, hung limply on the dark wall, while tiny fairies captured from the enchanted forest were stored in glass jars on a white table, sorted by color.
“Hm, hm, hm~”
Arthur, the master of this secret chamber, hummed a little tune to himself from his private workshop tucked in a corner.
His platinum hair shimmered in the light of the lantern hanging on the wall.
A butterfly with undulating blue patterns across its body flapped its wings desperately in his hand, struggling to survive.
“I’ll let you live—even if it’s inside a taxidermy frame. I’m generous, after all.”
Arthur chuckled and dropped the living butterfly into a square taxidermy case.
The butterfly, flapping its wings vigorously at first, seemed to realize it was trapped and soon slumped lifelessly.
“Giving up already? Hey, try harder!”
Arthur tapped the case with his finger, clearly displeased.
After a few weak flutters, the butterfly finally refused to emit light from its body altogether.
Tsking in disappointment, Arthur shoved the case into the trash bin.
“Why do beautiful things never last? Is there truly no way to preserve living beings—fresh and alive—forever?”
At Arthur’s murmuring, a middle-aged butler wearing a monocle, silently observing from the corner, announced the current time.
“Master, the time is twelve thirty-two past noon. You have now secluded yourself in this chamber conducting research for precisely two years and two hundred sixty-four days. And it has been exactly that long since I began handling all your responsibilities on your behalf…”
“…….”
“Master? Are you listening to me?”
Arthur was completely lost in his own thoughts.
The butler raised his monocle slightly and let out a deep sigh.
“I still don’t understand why you, once hailed as a genius mage, insist on attempting to taxidermy living beings. Living creatures naturally resist when threatened; it’s impossible to keep them fresh and alive.”
“…….”
Damn it, persuasion failed again today.
The butler closed his eyes, burdened with complicated emotions.
“Even such a tiny creature can’t endure a few minutes confined in a narrow frame. A living human would be impossible.”
Arthur murmured. His swamp-like, slimy voice sent chills down the butler’s spine.
“Master, who exactly are you trying to taxidermy?”
“No, now that I think about it, if the reality doesn’t live up to my expectations, I might collapse from despair… Maybe I should just keep the hope in my heart forever? Never lay eyes on it at all.”
“So who exactly are you talking about?”
Arthur’s golden eyes flashed like a snake’s, glowing a sharp yellow.
His skin was so pale, as if he had never seen sunlight a single day in his life, and had it not been for the intense gleam in his eyes, one might have mistaken him for a corpse.
“The Brillion Angel. Do you know of her?”
“…Yes, I’ve heard of her.”
“They say she’s truly, truly beautiful. But if she turns out to be less than that, I’ll be utterly heartbroken. Something ugly pretending to be beautiful? I simply cannot tolerate such cruelty.”
What a freak. The butler swallowed the insult deep into his throat.
Still, it was good that Arthur was showing interest in someone.
At least it meant he might have some will to step outside this chamber.
“Incidentally, Duke Gredrick recently sent a letter.”
The moment the butler uttered Duke Gredrick’s name, Arthur’s eyebrows furrowed sharply.
“What does that cunning bastard want? We’re not even close.”
“…Well, I brought it straight to you first, as I thought you’d want to see it.”
The butler pulled the letter from his coat and handed it to Arthur.
Arthur, initially reading with a bored expression, grew so excited upon reaching the final lines that he blushed and let out a thrilled moan.
“Ah! I must go to the imperial palace right away.”
[This is the timeline separator]“So, to everyone else’s eyes, we’re officially a couple now?”
Arthur’s words caused Dietrich, who had been cutting his steak, to pause.
Dietrich stared quietly at Celia.
When he stopped what he was doing and looked directly at her, Celia gently pressed her finger against his forehead.
“Your brow. It’s wrinkled.”
Without showing any irritation, Dietrich smoothed his furrowed brow.
Seeing this, Celia let out a soft chuckle.
“Why aren’t you mad?”
“Why would I be mad at you? We’re lovers, after all.”
Dietrich’s words, laden with potential misunderstanding, caused Celia’s own brow to crease this time.
Why was he speaking about their fake relationship as if it were real?
“Your brow is wrinkled.”
Dietrich repeated Celia’s words back to her.
However, unable to reach out and touch her forehead with the utensil in his hand, he did not press her brow as she had done.
Instead, he fed her a neatly cut piece of steak.
Her soft lips parted, happily accepting the steak he offered.
Celia chewed the steak slowly, her eyes widening in delight.
Dietrich watched her with a gentle expression as she savored each bite.
He kept feeding her bite after bite of food she clearly enjoyed.
One piece after another, he fed her.
Dietrich focused entirely on feeding Celia, not taking a single bite for himself.
Feeling guilty about eating alone, Celia offered a piece of steak to Dietrich.
“You eat too.”
“…….”
“Come on.”
When Celia insisted again, Dietrich reluctantly took a bite.
He ate the steak with a solemn expression.
Seeing this, Celia smiled, her eyes crinkling.
“It tastes even better when we eat together.”
Hearing Celia’s words, Dietrich felt a strange tingling sensation in his chest.
‘…Tingling?’
It was the first time Dietrich had ever felt such a sensation.
So he couldn’t quite tell where this tingling was coming from.
When Dietrich suddenly wore a serious expression, Celia tilted her head in confusion.
“What’s wrong?”
“…Nothing.”
Dietrich continued feeding Celia.
After finishing the mashed potato soup and steak, vanilla ice cream and sweet macarons were served for dessert.
“By the way, didn’t the mansion originally not have a head chef?”
“…Actually, my aide Sir Anderson is quite good at cooking. I asked him to temporarily take over the kitchen.”
“Oh….”
Celia silently paid deep respect to Anderson, imagining the tears he must have shed while preparing the meals.
Anderson’s vanilla ice cream and macarons were incredibly delicious.
[This is the timeline separator]“Hey, Ileon. You knew everything from the start, didn’t you?”
That was the first thing Balt said upon visiting Ileon’s palace.
Ileon, who had been reading a thick holy scripture, raised one eyebrow.
“Knew everything about what?”
“That the Crown Prince would be imprisoned in the tower and effectively dethroned, that his face would be ruined, and furthermore…”
Balt’s storm-gray eyes flashed sharply.
“Are you seriously planning to break the sacred oath that’s lasted for hundreds of years? Is that how you intend to claim the throne?”
I hate sharp-minded people like this.
Ileon concealed his thoughts and feigned ignorance.
“Oath? Balt, are you suggesting I orchestrated all this just to seize the throne?”
Don’t play dumb. You planned every single one of these events. You sly, snake-like bastard…”
The faint smile on Ileon’s face vanished as if it had never existed.
“You may insult me all you want, but never dare call the deity I serve cunning or vile. That kind of remark—I won’t forgive, no matter who says it.”
“…You still believe in that ridiculous prophecy?”
Balt wore a look of utter disgust.
“Do you even know how many people have died because of that damn ‘prophecy’? Whenever I think back to that time… I wish I could cut off the hand that signed it without a single doubt.”
“…….”
“Play around, but only so much. If you truly want the throne, use a legitimate way. No more dirty tricks like last time, you damned fanatic.”
With that, Balt stormed out of the room.
Bang!
The door slammed shut violently.
Ileon’s usually gentle expression twisted into something grotesque.
I thought he was just a muscle-headed fool, but Balt was also the head of the Portman dukedom.
“I brought him here thinking he’d be useful, but he’s turned into a poison instead.”
Ileon steadied his heart with a prayer to the deity he served. After finishing his prayer, he opened the scripture from the first page.
Though some things along the way had displeased him, everything would proceed as it should.
The deity was always on his side, and he was the one and only being connected to the divine.
But then, why—
The image of Dietrich and Celia kept circling in his mind.
Ileon had instantly seen through their act—they had coordinated in advance to publicly announce their romantic reunion.
No matter what conspiracy they were plotting, to others they would appear as a loving couple.
Not a bad strategy.
But.
‘It’s hard to say they’re purely fake…’
Despite being fake lovers, the two genuinely seemed happy.
‘Truly strange.’
Despite Ileon’s piercing insight into people, he couldn’t quite tell whether the two were truly in love or merely pretending.
‘…I’ll just watch them a little longer. I have many cards in hand. No need to rush.’
Top Celebrity Younger Brother Bears Her Child (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: Forced to live stream romance with a top celebrity in a female-dominant world.
Yan Jin transmigrated into a brothel, with a fellow transmigrated junior beside her.
Hearing the obscene words coming from outside, the unfortunate junior covered his ears tightly, his cheeks flushed red, and whispered to comfort her, “Don’t worry, I will definitely help you escape.”
“Don’t worry, I will definitely defend your chastity.” Yan Jin looked at the flawless and delicate features of the unfortunate junior and gently comforted, “Because we have transmigrated into a female-dominant world.”
※※※
Top celebrity Yu Shu suddenly fell into a coma during a concert.
Research scientist Yan Jin fainted in the lab after working overtime.
Two people with no connection were rushed to the same hospital.
Three days later, neither of them had woken up.
Suddenly, the entire nation discovered that a live streaming app had been forcibly installed on their phones.
Upon opening it, they heard the two discussing how to escape from the brothel.
The entire internet was in an uproar.
After the two successfully escaped from the brothel, Yu Shu’s fan group rushed to make a banner and sent it to the hospital overnight.
“Big sister bravely took action to defend the chastity of our idol!”
※※※
When Yu Shu was diagnosed with pregnancy, Yan Jin stared at his belly for a long time.
Covering his stomach, he muttered gloomily, “If you don’t like it, I’ll go get an abortion.”
“It’s not that I don’t like it.” Yan Jin hugged Yu Shu and said softly, “I just feel like I’m not human.”
Yu Shu comforted Yan Jin, “I was already an adult when we got together.”
Yan Jin hesitated, “But you won’t be of legal marriageable age even after giving birth to the child.”
At the same time, a flood of bullet comments appeared in the live streaming room that the two couldn’t see.
[Although it’s inappropriate, I also want a young and handsome boyfriend to have my child.]
①Male pregnancy (highlighted)
The female lead is five years older than the male lead, and the male lead is already an adult when he appears.
