Adopting the Male Protagonist Changed the Genre - Chapter 226

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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 226

Chaser lowered his arm and glared at the unwelcome intruder.

His dry, prim face showed nothing but irritation and petulance smeared all over it.

“Saesaek-i, how are you becoming more and more like our master?”

Even though it wasn’t meant as a compliment, Leo seemed delighted and sat down with a grin, pressing his hip against Chaser’s side.

There was an air of leisure in his profile as he stretched out his legs and sat comfortably, looking up at the night sky.

“How did you know I was here?”

He had clearly used concealment magic to hide his presence.

“Your magical power was fluctuating tremendously. The Knight probably noticed too, didn’t he?”

This is why knights are such…

“…Annoying.”

To be caught by his disciple of all people while eavesdropping on others’ conversations using concealment magic – there was no greater disgrace than this.

Chaser turned his back completely to Leo and lay on his side.

Normally, that is, before Belinda returned from the dungeon, he would have interfered with their conversation even if it meant pouring torrential rain over the area.

However, in the end, all he could do was hold his breath quietly and listen to Belinda’s confession that wasn’t quite a confession.

But the reason he didn’t make it rain with magic wasn’t because he understood her feelings.

“Master, I won’t be greedy for anything else anymore.”

It was simply because he had realized his own heart.

On the day it had been a month since Belinda disappeared.

Chaser, who had been maintaining an awakened state day and night relying on drugs to search for her whereabouts, suddenly woke up in the middle of the night.

Lifting his head from the desk covered with parchments, he examined the magic circle written before him with a hazy mind.

Seeing that his hands were covered in ink, it was clearly something he had drawn, but since he was in such a daze, he couldn’t quite remember what magic circle he had been researching.

Holding his head that felt like it would split from the drug’s side effects, he carefully began to interpret the magic circle.

It was none other than a magic circle to locate Belinda’s position.

What was needed to find her traces was a drop of blood from someone strongly connected to Belinda.

His blood wasn’t enough. He needed someone Belinda cherished most and showered with affection.

Moreover, the First King’s black magic was strongly binding Belinda and Leo together.

‘So if it’s a drop of Saesaek-i’s blood…’

He was thinking vaguely when he suddenly startled and jumped up from his seat.

It was a black magic circle.

What was needed as payment was a drop of Leo’s blood.

A disgusting feeling as if all his organs were twisting washed over him, and Chaser burned all the parchments with the magic circle written on them right there.

It had only been a month since Belinda disappeared.

No matter how out of his mind he was, how could he do such a horrible thing.

That day, Chaser saw his own rock bottom.

He couldn’t dare package this emotion he harbored as love.

This heart would unhesitatingly sacrifice not only himself but even the being she cherished most in the world under the pathetic pretext of being for her sake.

Could such blind emotion that didn’t consider Belinda’s feelings dare be called love?

Chaser knew the answer best.

After that incident, Chaser secluded himself on the top floor of the Magic Tower.

Sleepless nights continued, and even in the moments when he dozed off, he dreamed of Belinda.

At such times, the black magic circle he had tried to forget would come to mind and torment Chaser all day long.

Even knowing that one drop of Leo’s blood would become two drops, two drops would become a bucketful, and eventually he would desire the child’s life, he couldn’t stop thinking about it.

What brought such a Chaser out of the Magic Tower was…

“Teacher, I’m here, you know.”

At the child’s voice breaking his reverie, Chaser’s head turned.

Leo had at some point drawn up his knees and was sitting looking down at Chaser.

“And this is a secret.”

Leo glanced in Cesar’s direction, then steeled himself and whispered to Chaser.

“Actually, I think the cake becoming hard enough to split rocks was more a problem with the dough than the fire.”

At those words, Chaser burst into refreshing laughter.

“Yes. Thank you, my disciple.”

It was the same that day too.

The child who boldly opened Chaser’s door that no one else dared to think of opening spoke clearly to his teacher who couldn’t shake off his terrible schemes.

“I miss Belinda so much.”

“Please help me have a strong heart that can trust Belinda’s words and wait. With your magic, teacher.”

Such magic, Chaser did not know.

However, looking into Leo’s eyes, he realized that such a thing wasn’t needed in the first place.

The magic his disciple wanted, the child already possessed.

“That’s right… Master said she would definitely return…”

He seemed to have burst into laughter from the absurdity of it all.

To think he was so caught up in his own obstinacy that he couldn’t even remember Belinda’s words.

To think he couldn’t trust her words while thinking he loved her.

The fog that had covered Chaser’s eyes for the past month seemed to be lifting.

It wasn’t only he who had lost Belinda.

This small child had also lost the guardian he trusted and relied on.

Bitterly reflecting on that day’s events, Chaser patted the spot next to him.

“Saesaek-i, come lie down here. I’ll teach you about constellations.”

Lying side by side with Leo, Chaser shot magic up into the night sky and traced the constellations one by one.

“Mages call that star the oath star. Just as believers make oaths to gods, mages make oaths to stars.”

“Do you have an oath too, teacher?”

Of course he did, but Chaser firmly denied it.

“Of course not. Oaths are nothing but word games.”

Even as he said this, Chaser repeated his own oath to himself several times.

The oath he made that night when Belinda returned, while being held in her arms.

That he would never let Belinda discover this ugly heart of his.

That he wouldn’t be greedy for more than being by her side.

That he would cherish Belinda and Leo more than his own life.

Until the day the oath star faded, he would keep this oath.

“So Saesaek-i, don’t make oaths or anything like that. Understand?”

“Hmm, let me think about it more.”

“Hey, now you’re letting your master’s words go in one ear and out the other?”

“That last thing you said sounded like those Magic Tower elders you gossip about. What was it again? Ah, old-fashioned!”

“…You really are becoming too much like our master.”

Looking up at the night sky that seemed to pour stars, Leo and Chaser bickered.

The clear night without a single drop of rain continued for a long time.

* * *

Baluashten Castle, visited again after several years, was as magnificent and majestic as ever.

However, if there was one difference from before, it was that all the castle’s employees were busy beyond the blink of an eye.

It wasn’t only because of the guest their lord had brought.

“Oh my goodness. What kind of bolt from the blue is this.”

“Have all the rooms in the east wing finished repairs? The Mages from the Magic Tower will be using them, so bring the most luxurious decorations to adorn them!”

“Hey, look here! That painting should go to the west wing, not the east wing! Are you going to hang such a vulgar painting in the rooms where the Holy Knights will stay?!”

It was because of the visitors who would arrive one after another in two weeks.

Welcoming guests required meticulous etiquette and protocols.

Baluashten Castle had enough rooms and countless luxury items to accommodate even a royal visit without issue, but the problem was that no high-ranking nobles had ever visited the barren North, so the employees had no experience welcoming distinguished guests.

To make matters worse, these guests weren’t even citizens of the Kingdom.

One group consisted of Mages from the Mage Republic, and the other was Cardinals and Holy Knights from the Holy Empire, so the senior employees including the Butler and Maid Supervisor who oversaw the castle held dozens of meetings each day, consulting endlessly.

Since there was no noble lady in the castle to handle the mistress’s duties, it was understandable that everyone was in confusion.

I had no choice but to offer various advice, being careful not to appear too authoritative.

“All the fabrics in the rooms where the Holy Knights will stay should be prepared in cream color, not white. While it might be fine for ordinary Priests, those of the rank of Holy Knights and Cardinals should be welcomed with cream-colored rooms according to Holy Empire etiquette.”

“While it’s true that the Mage Republic enjoys luxurious and splendid culture, this is too excessive. So take down all those paintings hanging in a row over there except for one. The painting to keep should be… that one would be good. Since it has potential to be interpreted as slight blasphemy, the Mages from the Magic Tower will be satisfied too.”

I had only said a few words, but…

“Madam! Where should we place this vase?”

“I say! My matter is more urgent. Excuse me, Madam. I have something to ask about the dinner course for entertaining the distinguished guests.”

“Madam!”

When I came to my senses, everyone was calling me Madam and following me around like baby ducklings.

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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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