Adopting the Male Protagonist Changed the Genre - Chapter 225

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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 225

After a long silence, Leo exclaimed.

“It’s a cake!”

At those obvious words, the tension drained from my stiffly frozen shoulders.

‘I was worried it might look too perfect since Cheri made it.’

Fortunately, it seemed to look like a proper cake to Leo’s eyes as well.

Buttercream that looked as chewy as marshmallows, plenty of dried fruits piled on top, and finally white meringue cookies decorating the cake’s perimeter.

Though it was modest for a birthday cake, it looked so appetizing that one couldn’t imagine it was made in such harsh conditions.

Soon Chaser summoned fifteen magical flames instead of birthday candles.

The stars in the northern night sky sparkled unusually bright, and thanks to the warm breeze Chaser conjured with magic, we huddled together around the cake, forgetting the cold.

Amid the flood of congratulations, Leo clasped his hands together and made a wish.

And then, whoosh.

As he blew out the flames, the cascading starlight became our roof.

“I’ll taste it first!”

Leo boldly gripped the knife.

Leo also seemed to think Cheri’s cooking skills were limited to roasted pork, so he appeared worried about what to do if the taste was strange.

‘Actually, there’s no need to worry about the taste.’

From what I observed, the ingredients included flour, eggs, butter, and loads of sugar, so it couldn’t possibly taste bad.

Unaware of this, Leo wore an extremely solemn expression as he cut the cake in half…

“…?”

Was supposed to cut it?

“W-wait a minute, why is this happening? Is the knife blade dull?”

The flustered Leo blamed the knife and worked hard at cutting, but like trying to cut a log with a short sword, the cake didn’t budge at all.

Leo swallowed dry saliva and stopped sawing, his eyes rolling around as if gauging our reactions.

A moment later.

A faint light appeared on the blade of the crude silver knife, and the cake was sliced cleanly like cutting pudding.

“Phew, I guess the knife blade was just too dull.”

Leo wiped the cold sweat from his forehead as if relieved, but unless my eyes were mistaken.

“Leo, did you just use aura to cut the cake?”

What had formed on the knife just now was definitely Leo’s aura, wasn’t it?

“Well, it just wouldn’t cut at all… But it should still taste good!”

Leo boldly gripped the fork and stabbed it into the cake slice with the momentum of a hunter hunting wild beasts.

However, the result was disastrous.

“…”

“…”

“…”

“Th-that’s strange? The fork must be dull too.”

Everyone’s gaze fell on the bent fork and the cake slice that remained unscathed as if wearing armor.

After a while, Cheri spoke up.

“I suppose the fire control was the problem after all.”

“You’re blaming me here? Anyone can see the batter was the problem.”

“I’ll need to study pastry theory when we reach the castle.”

“Excuse me, Your Excellency. Can you hear me?”

Watching the two bicker like spear and shield, I slyly tossed a piece of the cake Leo had cut to Ker.

Ker, who had recently developed a taste for human food, happily caught and ate the cake.

Crack!

He suffered the disaster of breaking a tooth and whimpered while covering his snout with his front paws.

A cake that could break the teeth of Ker, who could crunch magic stones.

“This isn’t what I meant by hiding strength…”

A cake that hid strength in a slightly different sense had been born.

After cleaning up the modest birthday table where we ended up only picking at the meringue cookies decorating the cake.

While Chaser and Leo were away gathering dry branches to use during the night, I sought out Cheri.

He was sitting on the luggage platform at the back of the carriage, and it wasn’t my imagination that his broad shoulders seemed particularly drooped.

“The night sky is quite different from what we saw in the Sahara Dungeon.”

I made light conversation and sat down next to Cheri.

He had a calm expression as if checking directions by looking up at the night sky’s constellations, but I knew better. Cheri was actually in quite a dejected state.

It seemed he was dwelling on having created the ultimate cake.

“Thanks to you, we were able to prepare a birthday cake for Leo.”

“…I wasn’t trying to make a cake model. I still lack sufficient training.”

Cheri was quite seriously reflecting on his own inadequacy, but from my perspective watching from the side, it was just adorable.

‘Is he really that upset?’

While barely managing to control the corners of my mouth that kept trying to rise.

I suddenly realized.

‘Could this be the moment?’

A time close to dawn when human emotions are said to be abundant.

A place where the beautiful night sky created by northern nature was visible.

Even the situation of being alone with a dejected Cheri.

Time, place, and circumstances had aligned perfectly.

Right now, this very moment was the timing I had been aiming for since returning from the dungeon – to give my answer to Cheri’s confession!

Until now, both he and I had been too busy with our respective matters to even have time to face each other alone.

I had no intention of missing this opportunity that had finally come after several months.

‘Alright, let’s do this according to the simulation.’

After clearing my embarrassment with a few throat clearings, I took the first step of the confession plan I had prepared with Lili’s help.

“Cesar.”

Though I had called him by many titles until now, this was the first time calling him by this name.

Cesar’s head turned toward me.

Pleasantly savoring the bewilderment on his face, I took the next step.

“When I faced off against Lili in the Sahara Dungeon, I realized something.”

The possessiveness and jealousy toward him that I hadn’t noticed because his presence had been so natural.

“Actually, you see. I…”

“Belinda.”

In an instant, my following words were swallowed by Cesar’s quiet murmur.

“Ah, indeed. Calling you by your name makes it feel closer than usual.”

Having misunderstood something, he whispered my name a few more times in his mouth and smiled with satisfaction.

His voice, whispered several times in low tones, echoed in my ears like a reverberation in a cave.

I opened my mouth blankly as if responding to that echo.

“So what I was saying… did I say you resembled Leo?”

…What did I just babble?

“No, I don’t mean I think of you like Leo… S-somehow, you look different from before, you know?”

Even knowing I was spouting nonsense, I couldn’t stop my mouth.

Because…

‘Did Cheri always look like this?’

Cheri’s features, which had always been handsome to my taste, were shining three times brighter than usual.

“So what I’m trying to say is, you like me… and I’ve been avoiding giving an answer to those feelings, right? So… I mean…”

The gears of language in my head kept spinning uselessly.

In my heart, I was shouting ‘I like you too!’ dozens of times, but what came out of my mouth was only idiotic nonsense.

Only then did I realize I had taken this thing called confession too lightly.

Confessing that I liked him, that I felt the same way as he did…

“I, I, that’s…”

It was so embarrassing and my body grew so hot that I feared my heart might actually burst.

In the end, I only managed to climb two steps of my confession plan before retreating one step back, breathing heavily.

Then, Cheri called me in a low voice that made my heart drop.

“Lady Blanche, you advised me to gauge the proper timing before saying something.”

I did?

“You also said that one should listen to what people have to say until the end.”

“I said that?”

“Yes, I remember every single word the Marquess’s Daughter has said without forgetting any.”

Cheri, who spoke of advice I couldn’t even remember, carefully took my hand and pulled me closer.

“I’m confident I’ll always listen attentively to anything the Marquess’s Daughter says. So please tell me when you think the timing is right. I’ll always be here courting and waiting for the Marquess’s Daughter.”

His lips touched my left ring finger for a very long time before pulling away.

“Today too, I hold the Marquess’s Daughter in the deepest part of my heart.”

Aaaah!

I couldn’t bear it anymore and covered my face with my remaining hand. My heart was pounding like it was broken.

I was trying to confess, so why am I sitting here receiving a confession instead!

I glared at Cheri with my reddened face and whispered.

“Just now, you were so incredibly oblivious that you missed a very, very good opportunity.”

“…Pardon?”

“Ah, forget it! Today is over! I’m not doing it!”

“Marquess’s Daughter, I don’t know what this is about, but won’t you give me one more chance? Marquess’s Daughter… Marquess’s Daughter?”

“Don’t follow me!”

“But the night road is dangerous…”

* * *

After Cesar and Belinda left.

Leo stealthily approached the carriage and stepped on the wheel, lightly leaping onto the roof.

There lay Chaser, covering his face with one arm.

Leo checked the empty space at the back of the carriage and carefully called to him.

“Teacher.”

“…”

“Teacher, are you crying?”

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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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