Adopting the Male Protagonist Changed the Genre - Chapter 170

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

Chapter 170

* * *

Something warm like spring sunlight kept tickling my eyelids.

I frowned in my sleep and tried to block the sunlight with the back of my hand, but for some reason my entire body wouldn’t move as if it were tied up tight.

I let out a pained groan, gave up trying to move, and was rubbing my forehead against the bedding when.

“My lady! That way is the forest boundary!”

Flash.

Penandel’s words that I heard before losing consciousness came to mind, and I opened my eyes as if I’d been hit by a splash of cold water.

The forest.

Wasn’t this the place where starving demonic beasts roamed around like demons, and trees lurked trying to bewitch people to use as nutrients, also called the man-eating forest?

Thoroughly frightened, I quietly rolled my eyes to survey the surroundings.

However, contrary to my expectations, what greeted me was warm air as if I were inside a glass greenhouse, the fresh smell of grass, and Cheri’s embrace as he held me tightly in both arms while unconscious.

We must have rolled down a slope while falling, as we were in quite a mess.

Nevertheless, I forgot that this was inside the Barrier Forest and gazed up at Cheri’s face endlessly.

Sunlight falling through the leaves of the tree casting a huge shadow flickered on sleeping Cheri’s cheek.

Only after engraving in my eyes that his deep-set eyes shadowed by his eyelashes, his sharp nose bridge perfect even in the shadows behind it, and his neat lips that didn’t know how to lie at all were no different from before did the tension in my entire body release.

Only then did I slip out of Cheri’s embrace and look around.

The moss covering the ground was soft like a carpet, the sunlight was warm enough to be unbelievable for the North, and the scent of deep green foliage pleasantly brushed my nose.

Everything was so peaceful that you could believe we had come out for a picnic in the forest on a sunny day, but I wasn’t fooled by the peace before my eyes.

Because the forest was so quiet that not even the common sounds of birds, insects, or even leaves rustling in the wind could be heard.

This silence was probably the true nature of the Barrier Forest that wouldn’t let even a single living creature escape alive.

“We’re screwed.”

Having finished grasping reality, I covered my face with both hands and sighed.

At first, I thought escaping the forest wouldn’t be difficult.

I had only taken a single step into the forest boundary.

‘Even if we rolled quite a bit while falling, the forest boundary can’t be far.’

Though I was worried about Cheri who still hadn’t regained consciousness, I kept him in the corner of my vision and tried taking one step each in the directions of north, south, east, and west.

“….”

However, far from escaping the forest, I still couldn’t see a single point of accumulated snow.

I glanced back at Cheri and gave up my plan to survey the surroundings while leaving him behind.

Instead, I summoned Cao in the shade of a tree.

Though it was still midday, fortunately the forest shadows were deep enough that if I was careful, there shouldn’t be any problem for Cao to move around.

“Cao, circle around this area a few times and try to find the edge of the forest for me.”

When I scratched Cao’s neck and asked, Cao immediately spread his wings and flew up.

I quickly shared vision with Cao.

In Cao’s vision as he flew high, I could see myself and Cheri.

Just as Cao was about to gaze at the distant forest and flap his wings wide, suddenly the tree shadows covering the sky grew thick and something like dense water mist rushed in instantly.

The fog was so thick that you couldn’t distinguish not only front from back, but even ground from sky.

Even I, who was sharing vision with Cao, felt nauseous as my sense of balance became completely messed up.

“Cao! Come back!”

He should definitely be within hearing distance of my voice, but Cao couldn’t get his bearings at all.

It wasn’t long after panicked Cao randomly chose a direction and flapped his wings.

Thud!

Cao, who had violently collided with something as if hitting an invisible glass wall, fell to the ground.

Cao, who couldn’t come to his senses from the impact of the collision, staggered for a while before barely lifting his head.

Soon, Cao and I were able to confirm the identity of what he had collided with.

It was a demonic beast dried up like a lightning-struck tree.

The shocking thing was that neither had recognized the other until they collided.

Soon the demonic beast slowly turned its head and discovered Cao.

The moment murderous intent and madness flashed in its red eyes.

Crack.

I immediately withdrew from Cao’s vision and gasped for breath.

“….”

I got goosebumps at the fact that not a single sound of Cao’s cry could be heard from anywhere.

I looked at the forest disguised as peaceful, then slowly sat down next to Cheri and once again covered my face with both hands.

“We’re really screwed.”

Though it was a clone, thanks to Cao’s sacrifice, I clearly realized that the only reason I was fine after entering the Barrier Forest was entirely thanks to Cheri.

Because I was with Cheri, I could be safe from the forest’s bewitchment. Only those with royal and Baluashten bloodlines were free in the forest.

I barely calmed my anxious heart and dragged Cheri with great effort to lean him against a nearby giant tree trunk.

Then I gripped a flimsy tree branch as a weapon and sat beside him, keeping watch in all directions.

The fact that the forest protected Cheri was very good news.

It meant at least that the forest didn’t regard him as a demonic beast, and that also meant he was purifying the curse with his ability.

I held sleeping Cheri’s hand tightly and barely restrained the urge to ‘command’ him to wake up immediately.

“Rest well until you purify the curse, Cheri.”

When I had barely succeeded in taming him, I had commanded him to sleep until he purified the demonic beast’s curse.

So I couldn’t wake him just because I was anxious. I could only wait for him to overcome the curse and open his eyes.

However, staying tense and keeping watch of the surroundings the entire time was exhausting work that wore down my nerves.

Fatigue came over me to a strange degree, and even though I knew this wasn’t a situation to feel at ease, my head kept nodding this way and that without my knowing.

Thud.

I realized I had dropped the tree branch, but I didn’t have the energy to pick it up again. My eyelids felt incredibly heavy.

Then, someone’s hand carefully tilted my head to lean against a solid wall.

Soon after, the sunlight that had been annoyingly piercing my eyelids was also blocked.

Ah, now I can sleep comfortably.

With a hazy mind, I thought that and muttered.

“Mm, Cheri…?”

“Yes, I’m right here. Lady Blanche.”

Relieved by the immediate response, I was rubbing my forehead against his shoulder when.

‘Huh? Just now….’

Suddenly my consciousness shot to the surface and I snapped awake.

“Cheri!”

When I opened my eyes, the sunset had already settled at the far end of the forest.

Without even checking the surrounding situation, I reached out my hand first to feel around the seat next to me.

When I immediately gripped the fabric that touched my hand, a familiar voice was heard.

“Did you call for me.”

Cheri, whose eyes had ripened red, was looking down at me while blocking the sunset light falling over my face with his palm.

I was speechless and met his eyes for a long time.

The reason Cheri’s eyes looked red wasn’t only because of the sunset light.

Like the remnants of a curse that still remained, his eyes were redder than ever before.

I couldn’t shake off my suspicion and asked.

“Are you really Cheri?”

“Yes.”

“Then prove that you’re the usual Cheri.”

Then a slight difficulty appeared on Cheri’s face. He thought seriously, but even after waiting a long time, no answer came back.

Ah, this dull reaction that didn’t show even a speck of creativity. It was definitely the usual Cheri!

Just as the strength left my hand that had been gripping his sleeve out of relief.

“Then… I’ll tell you what I couldn’t honestly tell the Marquess’s Daughter before. It’s cowardly inner thoughts that the ‘previous’ me would never have spoken aloud.”

His expression was too serious for me to say it was okay, and more than anything, I was curious about what he had hidden from me.

Perhaps it was the truth about the incident from six years ago.

The lie he had spoken while avoiding my gaze, he who had little talent for lying.

That was the only lie he had told me that came to mind at present.

“Actually…”

Actually?

“When you went out alone with the mage from the Magic Tower on the festival day, I followed you making excuses about it being for your protection, but actually I had selfish motives.”

“…?”

“Also, when you previously wanted to break off our engagement, deep down I wanted to refuse.”

“W-wait a minute…”

“I pretended to accept and kept delaying sending you the engagement annulment confirmation, wanting to keep you bound to me even if only through a hollow engagement relationship…”

I couldn’t listen anymore, so I reached out and covered his mouth. I could feel heat rising to my face.

“My lord, you still don’t seem to be in your right mind?”

At my words, Cheri tilted his head. He seemed to be thinking about something, then carefully removed my hand that was covering his mouth and asked.

“Are my eyes still red by any chance?”

My palm that he was holding suddenly seemed to be sweating, so I subtly pulled it away and nodded.

Then Cheri answered matter-of-factly.

“I suppose it’s because I’m having trouble restraining my impulses.”

“…”

I didn’t ask what kind of impulses, feeling like I’d hear an answer I couldn’t handle.

Instead, I clenched the hand his lips had touched into a tight fist and avoided his gaze to ask about something else.

“N-not that kind of thing. Don’t you have something to say about this situation?”

It was something I said to somehow change the subject, and fortunately it seemed to work.

Cheri nodded and answered nonchalantly.

“My legs won’t move.”

“…?”

“I think poison is setting in.”

“…Poison?”

As I blankly repeated Cesar’s words, Penandel’s words echoed in my mind.

“If Cheri ultimately fails to purify the curse and becomes a demonic beast…?”

“In preparation for that, I coated my sword with poison.”

Only then did I suddenly remember that Penandel’s sword had been coated with poison that petrified limbs.

It looked like he had been beaten one-sidedly, but apparently he had resisted somewhat.

“But your body shouldn’t stiffen in just half a day. He said the effects would gradually take hold over ten days.”

“Due to the forest’s enchantment, time seems to flow slowly in the forest. Half a day here corresponds to four days in outside time. So it’s not strange that the Marquess’s Daughter is tired. In terms of your body’s condition, you’ve been awake for four days without eating or drinking.”

At Cheri’s calm explanation, I looked back and forth between his legs and the sky that was finally starting to darken with sunset.

And only after a long while did I burst out.

“Hey, you human! You should have said that first!”

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