Adopting the Male Protagonist Changed the Genre - Chapter 220

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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 220

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Fortunately, the place where we emerged after clearing the dungeon wasn’t too far from the Royal Capital.

A distance that would take a full half-day of riding on horseback to reach Blanche Manor.

Perhaps it was due to the anticipation of seeing Leo soon.

Even as I walked toward the nearby village under the guidance of the man we met at the lake, I failed to notice the discomfort my body was feeling.

In contrast, Cheri must have noticed something strange much earlier.

Without a word, he draped his coat over my shoulders.

I shrank from the cold and habitually pulled the front of his coat closed, then paused.

The clothes I had obtained in the dungeon were enchanted with magic, boasting excellent performance in both heating and cooling. Yet even that magic couldn’t block the chill that made my fingertips cold.

My steps gradually slowed.

The thick coats worn by the villagers visible in the distance.

The bare trees and the lake covered with thin ice.

When we entered the Sahara Dungeon, it had been spring, just as Leo’s Academy was beginning its new term.

But while we spent 2 months inside the dungeon,

“This can’t be…”

In the outside world, summer and autumn had passed, and winter had arrived.

By the time we found a decent inn to stay at in the village, the sun had already set.

My impatience to immediately find horses and head to the Royal Capital was thwarted by Cheri’s dissuasion.

“Getting horses and heading to the Royal Capital as soon as dawn breaks is the best option for now.”

Riding horses on unpaved roads at night without a guide was a journey that carried considerable danger.

Moreover, tonight the moonlight was particularly dim. While Cheri might manage, I had no confidence in safely riding through the dark night roads.

“So Marquess’s Daughter, you should rest to conserve your strength. I’ll make preparations so we can depart as soon as day breaks.”

I reluctantly agreed and curled up on the old bed.

I was exhausted enough that it wouldn’t be strange if I collapsed right then, having consumed so much mana taming the Queen of Corruption and Curse, but naturally, sleep wouldn’t come.

I buried my head in the pillow and reflected on the time that had flowed past without me.

‘8 months…’

Even though I knew that the stronger the magical energy inside a dungeon, the more the flow of time differed from the outside world, why did I optimistically think it would be at most a month or two?

‘The 5 Nation Conference must have ended long ago.’

At the summit meeting without me and Cheri, did Mikhail successfully obtain what he wanted?

‘Is Leo okay?’

I started to summon the status window to check on Leo’s condition, then stopped.

If Leo’s stress level was close to 100, meaning the child was on the verge of falling ill, I wouldn’t have the confidence to just lie here quietly.

‘No, thinking such negative thoughts won’t help at all. I need to conserve my strength as Cheri said.’

I buried my face in the pillow and closed my eyes, trying to force myself to sleep.

“Don’t touch Cheri. Don’t even look at him. He’s my Cheri!”

“From head to toe, you’re nowhere near my beloved Cheri, you fake.”

Thud! Thud!

I banged my head against the pillow several times.

The moment I stopped thinking even briefly, the words I had blurted out in the dungeon replayed in my head like a forbidden song during exams.

On top of that.

【Betrayal… hatred…】

Whether it was a side effect of taming, the Queen, whose speech had become shorter, continuously whispered cursed words.

‘Ha, there’s no way I’m getting any sleep.’

I sat up and took out the Queen’s core, wrapped in cloth, placing it on the windowsill.

Then I spoke to the orb where something like black mist swirled.

“If you’re going to keep cursing someone instead of sleeping, at least keep me company.”

【Permission…】

I took a deep breath and asked coolly.

“What I said in the dungeon, did it sound like I was saying I li-liked Cheri?”

There was a specific reason I chose the Queen as my counselor. As far as I knew, she was the ultimate expert in romance.

Before leaving the dungeon, I found a diary the Queen had left under the throne, allowing me to guess Lili’s past.

According to what was written there, King Sahla could have wives and concubines, and the Queen, who had been beautiful and strong in life, had kept the most concubines in the kingdom’s history.

However, the jealousy and envy of the wives and concubines, their desire for power and obsession with lovers, led the kingdom to ruin.

It turned out that the traitor who sold the kingdom’s existence to the Holy Empire was none other than the Queen’s lover.

Lili, whose life itself had been literally love and war, cleanly summarized my situation in one phrase.

【More than… guard… less than… lover?】

“Right, that’s exactly it.”

Truly the Queen of the harem! Her experience was different from mine, having never dated in either this life or my previous one.

For easier counseling, I briefly explained my history with Cheri.

“So I thought this was just human kindness. But…”

At that moment when the Queen was seducing Cheri.

What dominated me was intense jealousy that turned my mind completely white.

“What should I do?”

It was so natural that I never even suspected it. That this might be romantic affection toward the opposite sex.

The mist swirl in the orb gradually quickened after hearing my entire story, and after a long while, Lili gave her answer.

【Confession… sleeping together… engagement…】

“What? That’s way too fast!”

【Sleeping together… engagement… confession…】

“I just heard why Sahara fell.”

Just like the Queen of the harem.

Still, Lili’s advice to confess was quite helpful.

“Right, first I should go somewhere with a nice atmosphere and confess my feelings.”

Quick resolution!

Our relationship was maintained through Cheri’s efforts, and such efforts from Cheri weren’t something to be taken for granted.

Now that I knew there was a chance to repay his efforts and feelings, I didn’t want to make him wait any longer.

“If Cheri accepts my feelings, we should start with dating step by step, right? F-first, holding hands. If holding hands takes about 2 weeks, then linking arms would take about a month.”

I was explaining to Lili my plan to go through each stage of physical intimacy one by one – hugging, back hugs, cheek kisses, and lip kisses.

【Sleeping together…?】

“That’s the 32nd, no, 33rd step? Ah, I don’t know. Anyway, that’s still far off.”

【…】

“So, where was I in my explanation?”

【Sound sleep… wish…】

“Lili, don’t sleep, listen to my plan.”

【Couple… hell…】

Suddenly Lili’s voice became quiet, so I grabbed the orb and shook it vigorously while shouting.

“Let’s do something more productive instead of cursing others.”

【Sniff… sleep… desperate…】

“Lili? Lili!”

* * *

The next day.

I greeted the morning with haggard eyes.

“I sent a messenger bird last night… Marquess’s Daughter, did you have trouble sleeping? You don’t look well.”

Cheri, who had borrowed the inn’s kitchen to personally prepare even my breakfast, looked at me with a worried expression.

Chewing on the savory potato soup, I shook my head.

Cheri must have also spent the night running around, sending news of our return via messenger hawk and securing horses. Yet there wasn’t a trace of fatigue on his face.

‘Maybe it’s because I’m half-asleep. Looking at him like this, he really resembles Leo.’

“I have something to tell you once we leave the inn.”

After nodding roughly, I was about to gather my few belongings and leave the inn.

In my haste, I flung open the inn’s door and stepped forward blindly, only to collide with someone trying to enter the inn.

The impact was so strong that I nearly tumbled backward, but Cesar quickly supported me.

I was clutching my bumped nose and groaning when.

“Lady Belinda.”

The man I had collided with called my name.

“Who are you to carelessly call my name…”

As I answered irritably, a crown woven from withered flowers was placed on my head.

In an instant, I found myself captivated by the tall boy who had placed the crown on me.

A height so tall I had to crane my neck to look up.

Neatly cut jet-black hair.

Eyes as clear as ice crystals.

A strange sense of déjà vu, as if seeing something both familiar and unfamiliar, swept through my entire body.

I stared stupidly at his face, then unconsciously spoke that name.

“…Leo?”

Only after the words left my mouth did I realize what nonsense I had spoken.

Leo? That couldn’t be.

In just 8 months, to grow so unrecognizably…

Just then, the boy smiled at me.

Seeing that smile with dimples that formed deep hollows, my heart sank.

“While waiting for Lady Belinda, the crown given to the best player dried up like this.”

Unbelievably, the person in front of me was indeed Leo.

“You’ve grown… so much taller.”

“I wanted to surprise Lady Belinda, so I ate well, slept enough, and trained hard in swordsmanship.”

“…”

“I wanted to study hard too, but I had to take a 2-year leave from the Academy. There were many things to worry about. Still, thanks to His Highness the Crown Prince, my teacher, and Lord Terry, I was able to protect the Blanche Estate safely.”

Those words hit me like a blow to the head.

A 2-year leave of absence.

“How… No. Leo, I…”

My hands trembled. My mind went completely blank, and I didn’t know what to say.

Leo carefully clasped my trembling hands. Then he smiled with a firm expression I had never seen before.

“I was very scared and anxious, but I never once doubted that Lady Belinda would return. You’ve always kept your promises.”

“I came too late…”

Leo shook his head.

“Don’t say such things, just… could you hug me just once?”

I embraced Leo tightly.

The child who no longer fit in one embrace rested his forehead against my shoulder.

I’m sorry for being late.

I’m sorry for making you grow up too fast.

I bit my lips hard to hold back the words that wanted to spill out.

Because these probably weren’t the words Leo wanted to hear.

Without crying, I patted Leo’s back as he leaned against me and whispered.

“I’m back, Leo.”

Leo’s arms around me tightened slightly.

“Yes, welcome back, Lady Belinda.”

Only after hearing those words could I finally realize.

While Cheri and I wandered through the dungeon, not 8 months but 1 year and 8 months had passed in the outside world.

The weight of that time was by no means light.

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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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