Adopting the Male Protagonist Changed the Genre - Chapter 164

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 164

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That evening was incredibly delightful.

Cheri, who had hurriedly returned without even brushing the snow off his shoulders, quietly finished his meal as usual.

“And so, the knights lifted me up in celebration, and I flew so high that I made eye contact with Belinda on the second floor!”

Afterward, Leo enthusiastically chattered to Cheri about the day’s events, conveniently omitting the part where I, in shock, scolded the Northern Knights until their ears nearly bled.

Cheri’s eyes, which had been seriously listening to Leo’s story, wavered when tea and desserts different from usual were served.

At the same time, Leo’s gaze naturally turned to the honey cake layered with honey and cream.

As if by agreement, the two sat upright side by side and began devouring the cake.

The sound of burning logs could be heard from the large fireplace, and the Cerberus seemed to love the northern fireplace, lounging leisurely inside it.

It was so peaceful that I wanted to capture this moment on canvas and hang it on a wall at Blanche Manor to cherish forever.

However, time not captured on canvas inevitably flows like grains of sand slipping through fingers.

After confirming that Leo was fast asleep, I wrapped a shawl around myself, took a lamp, and headed back to the drawing room.

As expected, Cheri was there, lightly dressed and deeply buried in an armchair, asleep.

Penandel’s words that his lord had barely slept peacefully in recent months were true.

I carefully moved and settled in the seat across from him.

He must have been exhausted, as he didn’t even stir despite being quite a light sleeper.

Instead of waking Cheri, I opened the book I had brought and read while waiting for him to wake up.

How much time had passed like that?

Before dawn had even broken, during the darkest time of the world.

When I casually looked up, Cheri was gazing at me with clear eyes devoid of any sleepiness.

He was like an explorer who had accidentally encountered a very precious ancient creature deep in the forest.

As if thinking I might flee at the sound of his breathing, he remained motionless like a still life painting.

I smiled gently at Cheri.

Despite the red firelight casting deep shadows on his face, his eyes were as piercingly blue as the surface of a glacier.

“Congratulations, Cheri. Your eyes have returned to their proper color.”

Only then did Cheri exhale deeply, his shoulders rising dramatically as if waking from a dream.

Watching him lightly trace around his eyes, I asked playfully.

“You said that thinking of what’s most precious can help resist a demon’s curse. I’m curious what you thought about.”

What could he have thought about that made the curse that had dominated him for months disappear without a trace?

“I didn’t think… about anything.”

The answer that came back was rather monotone. As I smiled blandly and lowered my gaze back to the book.

“I simply looked at you, Marquess’s Daughter.”

“…”

My gaze wandered over the passage in the book describing the abilities of House Baluashten.

Their abilities are deeply connected to mental strength… The author dares to state that only ‘true love’ will eternally free them from the chains of the curse.

I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them, then faced Cheri with a nonchalant expression.

If my face appeared red, it was surely because of the firelight.

“Well, I am beautiful enough to repel curses.”

“Yes, that’s certainly tr…”

“It’s a joke, so just smile.”

Cheri creakily raised the corners of his mouth to create an awkward smile.

At that sight, I laughed like a sigh and closed the book. Then I opened my mouth as if continuing our conversation.

“I went into the Black Swan’s Room today.”

“I heard from the Maid Supervisor. She said you stayed there for a long time.”

“Yes, I saw many things. The family tree of House Baluashten, the origin of the Barrier Forest, and about the cursed child with red eyes.”

Cheri showed no particular reaction.

He probably expected this day would come eventually.

After all, it was he who had allowed me to examine every part of this castle.

“Is Leo…”

My throat suddenly choked up, so I closed my mouth briefly.

Thinking about how many miraculous coincidences were intertwined in the words I was about to speak made me feel dizzy.

“The son of the deceased Duke and your nephew?”

“That’s what I suspect.”

“…Then is it also true that he was born with red eyes like you?”

My question penetrated not only Leo’s origins but also Cheri’s secrets.

Nevertheless, Cheri affirmed without hesitation.

“That’s correct.”

The frustratingly brief answer made my shoulders relax.

I had so many things I wanted to ask. But at the same time, I felt the contradictory desire to know nothing at all.

After much deliberation, I barely managed to call his name.

“Cheri.”

I decided what to ask. I looked straight at Cheri and spoke.

“Tell me about your childhood.”

That’s where we needed to start.

* * *

“Remember this. No matter what emotions you feel, you must never give them names.”

That maxim was the rational shackle that governed Cesare Baluashten’s life, and the only inheritance and affection he received from his father.

Before Cesare gained his name, he was merely a cursed child confined in Baluashten Castle.

The place where the child stayed was the most luxurious and magnificent room in the North, but it was too small to be his world.

From outside the door, he could often hear the crying of his mother, whom he had only seen in passing.

“Even though he’s my child, I can’t even hold him once… What wrong has that little one done!”

“The young master could become a demon at any time. There was actually a mother who died when a cursed child she held tore out her throat. My lady, this is also for the young master’s sake. You must steel your heart.”

As far as the child could remember, only his father and his aide Penandel could enter that room.

The Duke would always instruct his young son after making him sit down.

“If you hear voices trying to seduce you, ignore them. You must not surrender yourself to such things. Emotions will only shake you and lead you down the path of corruption.”

“What are emotions?”

Facing the child’s innocent eyes with gritted teeth, the Duke answered.

“Everything you feel. So my son, deny all the feelings you have and live following only the duties of House Baluashten. Then you will surely be able to overcome the curse.”

Anger paralyzes reason, so it would encourage the child to become a demon.

Sadness causes depression, so it would encourage the child to become a demon.

Joy brings agitation, so it would encourage the child to become a demon.

Desire is another name for want, so it would encourage the child to become a demon.

For these reasons, the Duke thoroughly controlled and raised his young son’s emotions.

If he lived only for justice, his soul would not corrupt and become a demon.

The Duke’s efforts seemed successful. The child showed no signs of turning into a demon even at age six. However, there was no change in his eye color.

Then one day, a strange visitor came to the child’s room.

He had black hair and blue eyes just like the Duke, but was completely different at the same time.

“I’m called Theodor. I’m sixteen this year, father’s eldest son and your brother. Call me brother.”

The child looked at the stranger introducing himself as his brother with an emotionless face.

The distance was too close, making him uncomfortable.

Kneeling down to meet his gaze was awkward.

His constantly smiling face was somehow…

The child shook his head.

‘No, this is an impure heart. An impure heart will turn me into a demon.’

The child gave a stiff greeting as he had been taught.

“It’s nice to meet you, Brother.”

At that moment, Theodor pulled the child into his arms.

“…!”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t come sooner.”

Receiving his first embrace, the child convulsed and tried to escape from the man’s arms.

He thought the man was trying to kill him. Since he would become a demon someday and kill people, he must be trying to kill him right now.

However, the man’s arm strength was too much for a young child to handle.

His face turning bright red as he struggled, the child finally shouted in a frightened voice.

“Let go, let me go. I, I might bite your throat at this rate!”

Only then did the strength leave Theodor’s arms.

The child crawled under the desk like a wild animal, avoiding his body.

His heart was pounding. Perhaps it was a sign that he was about to become a demon.

The child pulled his knees together and lowered his head, trying to calm his heart.

‘This is nothing. I shouldn’t feel anything. I will never become a demon.’

However, Theodor was persistent.

“You don’t need to worry. I’m strong enough to hug you now. So I’ll never die by your hands.”

“….”

“Come to think of it, you said you don’t have a name yet? I’ll need a name to call my little brother. What would be good? Won’t you choose one with me?”

The child would rather cover his ears.

Even so, Theodor’s voice penetrated the child’s ears as sweetly as honey.

“I had a secret I wanted to tell only my little brother, but it can’t be helped. I’ll have to keep it as my own secret and go back now.”

However, he ended up caught in the trap of that one word, “secret.”

Was he really going to leave? The moment he peeked his head out from under the desk.

Theodor quickly scooped up the child and burst into laughter.

“Caught you! Hehe, you’re still young after all. To fall for such a simple lie.”

The child trembled with shock, his shoulders shaking.

To tell a lie! According to what the child had been taught, that was a really, really bad thing to do.

Meeting the red eyes filled with distrust and suspicion, Theodor rolled his eyes with an awkward expression and quickly changed the subject.

“Good. From now on, I’ll call my little brother Cherry. Look at this, how pretty these eyes are, shiny and red like cherry stones.”

“I can’t receive a name yet. And Cherry is the name of something to eat, not a person’s name.”

“Who does our Cherry take after to be so smart? Hm? Did he take after me?”

“You’re not the one who gave birth to me. So I can’t take after you.”

Ignoring his brother’s words, Theodor rubbed his face against the child’s cheek.

The child terribly hated both the name Cherry and Theodor who had given him that name, but as he had been taught, he never showed his emotions outwardly.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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