Adopting the Male Protagonist Changed the Genre - Chapter 273

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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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Side Story Episode 16

Side Story 2.

It was a spring day in the garden where flowers were in full bloom.

Leo’s expression was more serious than had been seen in recent times.

This was due to the weighty mission bestowed upon the Kingdom’s hero.

He was vigilantly surveying his surroundings with a stern expression when…

“R-Ria? What you’re holding in your hand, where did you get it?”

Seeing what Ria, his twin niece and youngest sibling, was clutching in her hand, his complexion turned pale. As if he had discovered an explosive magical device.

“Vivian gave it to me.”

The 5-year-old girl, unaware of the gravity of the situation, smiled brightly and showed off the cold cocoa in her hand.

“Ria, first calm down and gently put that down. Okay?”

Leo was currently dressed elegantly in a wrinkle-free beige tailcoat.

Not only Leo, but the twin siblings were also neatly dressed in a pale pink chiffon dress and tuxedo respectively.

On a special day like today, the cup of cocoa in Ria’s hand was like a bomb that could dirty everyone’s clothes.

Watching Leo who couldn’t approach carelessly for fear of spilling the cocoa, Ria tilted her head.

Then she nodded as if understanding.

“You want some too, oppa? Then, just one sip?”

When Leo reached out his hand to retrieve the cocoa cup with relief.

“Just one sip!”

The young boy who had been clinging to Leo’s leg grabbed the cocoa cup before Leo could and shouted.

“No, Theo!”

Despite Leo’s shrill scream, the pitch-black cocoa that spilled from the cup engulfed Theo and Ria.

Snap!

He swore it was the first time in Leo’s life that he had completed magic so quickly.

Leo, who barely managed to float the beverage in mid-air and safely protect the children’s clothes, wiped away his cold sweat.

Only then did he realize.

Keeping the 5-year-old twin siblings quietly in place was a far more challenging mission than he had imagined.

‘Good. The clothes are safe. Now I absolutely won’t let my guard down…’

“A fountain! It’s huge!”

“Where, where?”

The children, having discovered a new plaything, began to bolt off like wild colts.

“You little rascals!”

It was the second fastest moment Leo had ever completed magic in his life.

Leo used levitation magic to float the children in the air and line them up in front of him.

The twins, who bore no resemblance to each other, each took after one parent.

The eldest, Ria, who looked exactly like her father Cesar, was a mischievous child with blue eyes sparkling with curiosity and black hair that never stayed still for a moment.

On the other hand, her younger brother Theo inherited red hair and purple eyes from Belinda, and being rather timid, he was a sister-follower who only trailed behind his older sister.

Leo had loved these children every single moment from the instant they were born until now.

However, right now he made a tremendous effort to display the sternest expression possible.

“Theo, Ria. This won’t do. I’ll have to put leashes on you two. Hands!”

“Hands!”

“Hands!”

The twins grabbed Leo’s hands on either side with disciplined expressions.

Leo, holding hands with the children, remained vigilant until the end as he headed toward a bench in the corner of the garden.

Then he brought out the magical words that could keep the children tied down in that spot without moving.

“Shall I tell you an adventure story until the ceremony begins?”

“Adventure?”

“Adventure!”

The siblings’ eyes lit up as they each added a word.

“We’re going on an adventure today!”

“Going on one!”

Good, what story would be best?

The usual subject of the northern journey had already been told to the children until they were sick of it.

The journey to the south to hunt sea monsters was mostly just Asillia’s embarrassing history, making it awkward to tell others.

‘Come to think of it, Ria and Theo said they’re going on an adventure today.’

To properly go on an adventure, it was important to know the history of that place.

The adventure awaiting these two children today could be said to have originated from Leo.

So he decided to tell them about how their adventure came to begin.

“Once upon a time, there lived a boy named Jui-bam-tol…”…”

The story told by the famous bestselling author King-bam-tol, who was usually Marquess Blanche and Count of the Endymion border region, began like that.

* * *

At eleven years old, Leo’s world was turned upside down.

His ankle bound by a whip was tightly constricted, cutting off blood circulation, and the baby bird in his hand was chirping frantically.

It was a silver-haired girl who barely caught Leo as he nearly fell from the tree after swinging the whip.

She scolded Leo with a pale complexion.

“Are you out of your mind? You almost got seriously hurt!”

“…”

Everything about that girl looking up at him upside down was so dazzling that Leo couldn’t say a word.

The girl who took the baby bird from the speechless Leo loosened the whip that had been binding Leo’s ankle.

Thud.

Leo sprawled out on the lawn just like that.

Soon the girl cradled the baby bird in her clothing and began skillfully climbing up the tree.

After safely placing the bird in its nest, the girl slid down the tree trunk and stood in front of Leo again.

Leo, who still hadn’t come to his senses, looked up at the girl as if enchanted.

The girl waved her hand in front of Leo’s eyes and asked worriedly.

“Are you okay? Did you hit your head because I was a step too late?”

Only then did Leo come to his senses, jumping up from his spot and shaking his head.

“N-no. I’m fine.”

“That’s a relief. Let’s go back. Class will start soon.”

“Um… are we in the same department?”

Elsa White of the Swordsmanship Department’s winter class.

Leo learning that girl’s name came a little later.

“Jeni is ridiculously strong. So she likes to show off her strength, but she’s actually incredibly ticklish, you know? Next time she picks a fight with you, stuff a bunch of feathers inside her clothes.”

“I don’t really understand, but Thomson is crazy about long wooden stick-like things. If you pick up any tree branch that looks like a sword and give it to him, he’ll think of you as his soul mate.”

“Hamel is…”

Because of misunderstandings about Leo.

Or because they didn’t know how to treat a noble.

Or simply to show territorial behavior.

For various reasons, Elsa gave Leo, who couldn’t easily get along with the winter class students, various pieces of advice.

Leo took her advice as lessons and resolved the misunderstandings the winter class students had about him one by one.

Being able to get along well with his winter class friends was all thanks to her advice.

The winter class academy life he heard about through Elsa’s words was so warm that Leo couldn’t help but love the winter class too.

Thanks to this, Leo naturally blended into the winter class like ice melting in warm water.

On the last day of winter class that came like this.

Leo learned that Elsa headed to the library every day even after all classes were finished.

Avoiding his friends’ gazes, he went to the library, and sure enough, she was there.

“Leo Blanche? What brings you here?”

Leo finally managed to say the words he had kept bottled up inside throughout fall and winter.

“I wanted to thank you.”

Fidgeting with his hands clasped in front of him, Leo continued speaking.

“That person is, you know, incredibly diligent. And I admire how she never gives up and tries to see everything through to the end. When I watch her, somehow I find myself wanting to cheer her on in whatever she does.”

The girl blinked in confusion at the words that had started out of nowhere.

“She seems like she’s not interested in her surroundings, but actually she knows well what her friends like and dislike. It’s probably because she’s kind. That’s why she helped me too, even though I could hardly get along with the other kids, right?”

Around that time, the girl also began to realize who the ‘that person’ Leo was describing was.

Her face flushed red with embarrassment.

“Wait a minute, Leo.”

“And this is just my guess, but she doesn’t seem to like carrots very much. She eats them like it’s nothing, but every time she does, she makes this expression like her soul has escaped somewhere.”

“I, I don’t dislike carrots, okay? No, more importantly, what are you doing right now?”

Finally unable to bear it any longer, Elsa raised her voice.

Her voice echoed through the quiet library.

Leo scratched his cheek and spoke as if making an excuse.

“You told me all about the Winter Class friends, but it seemed like exactly one person was missing.”

“….”

“I wanted to introduce someone the way you introduced your friends to me. But it doesn’t seem like I did it well.”

“You….”

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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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