Chapter 253

“Arf arf!!!”

Just as Leon touched the yellow fur on his forehead and was about to say something, he heard an unusually excited puppy roar.

This voice sounded familiar. Leon couldn’t help but look in that direction and saw a little husky with a tuft of yellow hair on its head standing up from a distant counter, wagging its tail happily towards him.

Puppy… so you have a role too?

Thanks to that unique tuft of yellow hair, Leon recognized the puppy’s identity. Looking at the puppy whose face was smeared with some kind of ointment and whose head was tied with pink hair ties into two small braids, Leon was just about to call it when the will through the silk threads made his words change form.

“What I want, Agatha, don’t you understand yet?”

Taking his gaze off the puppy, Leon smoothed the waxed yellow hair on his head and lightly wiped his mouth. Suddenly, a bright red rose appeared in his mouth.

With the rose held sideways in his mouth, after making several flamboyant moves, “Mr. Joseph” grabbed Agatha’s arm, leaned close, and raised an eyebrow seductively:

“What I truly desire isn’t the watered-down wine in this tavern. What I really want is to pluck the blooming rose that is you~”

“…”

What the heck is this cheesy line? Clearly not just Leon was grossed out by this overly flamboyant act. Feeling the overwhelming perfume wafting from “Mr. Joseph,” the waitress “Agatha’s” radiant smile became strained.

“Mr. Joseph.”

Pushing against Leon’s chest gently, she softly distanced herself from his body. Agatha looked at the rose in Leon’s mouth and smiled while refusing: “That’s not proper. If you truly love a rose, let it bloom freely in the garden! The rose you seek doesn’t love those exquisite expensive vases; what she truly desires is boundless freedom and sunshine unobstructed by glass!”

“That’s right! That’s exactly what I mean!”

Seemingly used to being rejected, “Mr. Joseph” didn’t get angry after receiving a soft refusal. Instead, he spat out the thorny rose from his mouth and began licking the wound on his lips while smiling broadly:

“When it comes to land, my family owns the most fields in the entire city. The lands my father left me are absolutely endless, all located on sunny slopes—precisely what your charming rose desires!

Dear Agatha, if you like wild roses, I can plant you an entire field of roses! Haha! We’re definitely meant for each other!”

“…”

I get it now. So I’m playing the dumb son of a landlord, am I?

…

“Mr. Joseph, that’s not what I meant…”

Not expecting her hints to go unnoticed, “Agatha” helplessly shook her head.

Considering she only planned to stay in this city for another two weeks before leaving after escaping her arranged marriage, she didn’t dwell on this any further. Smiling, she said:

“We’ll talk about this later. Let’s take your order first!”

“Alright alright!”

Hearing the goddess he had been pursuing speak, “Mr. Joseph” nodded repeatedly without hesitation. Without even looking down, he skimmed the menu briefly and handed it back, grinning cheaply while winking:

“Just these. And same as always, deliver it to the spot nearest the counter, the best place to admire my roses.”

“Okay…”

While following the will of these “threads” during the performance, Leon wasn’t completely idle. Taking advantage of supporting the arm of the princess playing “Agatha,” he secretly tugged on the threads on her arm, trying to restore her freedom.

Unfortunately, with his current contamination value less than 5, it was already pushing his limits for Leon to escape control using the resistance provided by [Materialism]. Rescuing someone from the hands of the [King of Drama], who had a contamination value of 16 points, was akin to daydreaming.

So he could only keep acting along for now…

After performing some flamboyant actions at his seat without feeling any interference from the [King of Drama], Leon roughly gauged the range of effectiveness of these threads.

Actions that were reasonable, fitting the character, and somewhat dramatic wouldn’t be strongly obstructed.

On the other hand, behaviors like being prepared but not rushing to declare one’s feelings to his “goddess” and instead wanting to chat with her dog first were clearly against the character and would be stopped.

In that case, there’s more room to play around.

Looking at the handsome young man chatting merrily with “Agatha” on the other side of the restaurant, Leon’s eyes unconsciously narrowed slightly.

Judging from their previous conversation, his character was obviously just a foil for the male lead, perhaps even jealously staring at the other side. There might even be a conflict with the male lead due to jealousy later.

And according to the princess’s explanation, the big villain in this drama, *Twelve Days Together*, was Agatha’s family. Therefore, he likely would only appear in the first act, getting beaten up by the male lead, then disappearing, possibly having no scenes in acts two, three, or four.

None of this content should be found on 69 Book Bar!

This won’t do!

Glancing toward the male and female leads, Yellow-haired Leon started pondering ways to “steal the spotlight” while also contemplating the core logic of the abilities of the [Master of Drama] realm.

If his guess was correct, the original actress portraying Agatha, under the ceaseless manipulation of the [Master of Drama], was nearing mental collapse. Hence, the princess known as the most beautiful woman in the capital was chosen as the heroine by the [Master of Drama].

After all, if someone else played the heroine and Princess Veronica played the supporting role, the heroine’s appearance, demeanor, and figure would undoubtedly be overshadowed in every aspect by the princess. In that case, the play would directly become a flop, leaving the [Master of Drama] with no choice.

As for why he became the landlord’s foolish son…

Recalling his past experiences, Leon’s face involuntarily darkened.

Indeed, he was very suitable. Not to mention anything else, just the identity of the Duke of Lionheart alone should make him the biggest “landlord” in the entire theater, perfectly matching the backstory of “Mr. Joseph” inheriting his father’s estate to become the richest in the town.

And coincidentally, everyone viewed him as a huge wastrel, going bankrupt for the princess’s beauty and donating the entire Lane family to the royal family. This way, even the obsessive舔dog persona matched up, making him the perfect candidate to play the landlord’s foolish son.

…

“Mr. Joseph.”

Just as Leon, with a gloomy face, was preparing to stir up some trouble to successfully intervene in the subsequent plot of *Twelve Days Together*, Agatha finished taking the male lead Elijah’s order, went around the kitchen for a bit, and returned carrying a steaming tray.

“Your wine and dishes are ready.”

Pressing two marks on the menu with nails coated in rose juice, “Agatha” smiled and said: “There are still other guests to attend to, so I won’t disturb you much longer. Please enjoy your lunch~”

“…”

Enjoy… my lunch?? Seeing the familiar sheep head roasted red by charcoal fire, its face brushed with black pepper sauce containing tiny meat particles, and its mouth holding a large red apple, glaring at him eye-to-eye, Leon finally couldn’t hold it together anymore.

Wait… if the puppy counts, how come you also have a role?! (End of Chapter)