Adopting the Male Protagonist Changed the Genre - Chapter 282

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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 25

Soon after, the merchant clapped his fist against his palm and burst out in admiration.

“Ah! The one who visited with her second husband during the divorce mediation with her first husband from long ago!”

What?

Thanks to her unforgettable appearance, the merchant remembered something from very long ago.

“My goodness, you were hiding such a face under that terrifying mask. But what about your second husband…?”

“He’s someone who doesn’t exist in this world.”

Since the second husband was a misunderstanding from the beginning, it was true that he didn’t exist, but depending on how you heard it, it sounded rather ominous.

The merchant felt the same way, and sympathy appeared on his face.

“Oh my, at such a young age, how did… Still, it’s fortunate that you seem to have reunited.”

Cesar, who had been conversing with the merchant with Belinda between them, soon purchased a large cloud cake.

It seemed his purpose wasn’t the cloud cake, but rather the merchant who sold cloud cakes.

Cesar tore off a piece of cloud cake and put it in Belinda’s mouth as she glanced at him lightly.

“Were you still bothered by those old matters?”

“Yes. Because I’m jealous.”

How can he be so brazen about it.

This time Belinda grabbed a piece of cloud cake and stuffed it in his mouth to shut him up.

As they walked down the street sharing cloud cake so harmoniously,

Belinda was seized by a strange sense of déjà vu and looked around at the bustling street.

Was it because she met the cloud cake merchant?

Or was it because she had spoken his pet name after so long?

Being like this made her feel as if she had returned to the very distant past.

The first day she had a date that wasn’t a date with him.

‘Of course, I didn’t even know it was a date back then.’

As Belinda reminisced about the day she met Cesar as ‘Lord Cheri,’ she casually called her husband as if she had a good idea.

“Hey, won’t you do that thing for me once? What I heard the day Lord Cheri first introduced me to His Grace the Duke.”

He was ready to grant any request from Belinda, but unfortunately, to do what she wanted required a more detailed explanation.

Belinda gladly provided additional explanation.

“Speaking about yourself in third person.”

“…Please forget that from your memory.”

I absolutely can’t forget it. It was so adorable.

Linking arms with the stiffly frozen Cesar, Belinda leaned against him and whispered magnanimously.

“I’ll be the only one watching and listening.”

As if he would ever perform such clownish acts anywhere other than in front of Belinda.

Cesar scratched his cheek, rolled his eyes, and looked somewhere else.

Then, covering his mouth with his hand and hesitating for a moment,

“…Ch, Cheri is.”

He opened his mouth in what was probably the smallest voice of his life.

“Cheri is… happy that the young lady is going on a date with him… *ahem*.”

Heat rose to the tips of Cesar’s ears and the back of his neck.

‘Why is my husband handsome, kind, and getting more adorable by the day?’

Resting her head against his firm arm, Belinda answered contentedly.

“I thought so.”

And a little later.

“Cheri would like the young lady to wear this necklace.”

“Mmph.”

“How about Cheri purchasing this and having you try on these gemstone earrings?”

“Mmphrrngh.”

“To Cheri…”

I was wrong, so please stop.

Before she knew it, the embarrassment had become Belinda’s burden.

The couple’s incognito outing continued for a while.

Since they had planned to lightly look around the festival and return to the castle, their steps were leisurely.

As it was the founding anniversary, small plays praising the Duke’s achievements were being performed throughout the streets, but no actor was more handsome than Cesar, so Belinda was quite satisfied.

She asked Cesar about the North’s unique customs and traditions, comparing them to the Bongmaje festival of the Jenos Kingdom.

Cesar answered without hesitation each time, but somehow there was something odd about his words.

“I heard that’s a traditional dance of the North. They say it means wishing for this winter’s cold to be brief.”

It sounded as if he had never properly seen a Northern festival before.

“My lord, is this your first time actually touring a festival?”

There are nobles who have no interest in when village festivals occur, not just social gatherings.

So it wouldn’t be strange, she asked lightly.

“When I was young, I couldn’t leave the castle. So around this time, my brother would explain what happened at the festivals.”

Belinda wanted to slap herself a few times.

“Still, I could see the festival fireworks with my own eyes. It was the only entertainment I could enjoy.”

Looking back, it seems he was desperately eager to see the festival up close back then.

But when he overcame the curse and could freely roam outside the castle, he headed not to village festivals but to the Barrier Forest.

Because he wanted to become a knight who could do his part as soon as possible.

Because he wanted to become like Theodor, who had stayed by his side.

Cesar, who had been reminiscing about the distant past, smiled bitterly.

They had spent such a long time together.

No matter how much he etched Theodor’s image from the portrait into his eyes, it was bitter that what unconsciously came to mind was ultimately him as a demonic beast.

Watching Cesar’s expression, Belinda suddenly grasped his hand tightly.

“…I’ve changed my mind. We’re not just going to watch the festival, we’re going to enjoy it to the fullest.”

“…?”

“I’ll lead the way, so follow me, my lord!”

Suddenly energetic, Belinda began dragging Cesar around to various parts of the festival.

This was the beginning of what would later spread as the reputation of the North’s Festival Destruction Squad.

The first place Belinda went was where the food market was set up.

Without even asking what ingredients were used, she bravely ordered a meat dish and said proudly.

“See, how is it? The true charm of festivals is this kind of street food, ugh, what kind of spice is this so…”

A palate accustomed to food made with premium ingredients and expensive spices couldn’t possibly suit the North’s rough street food.

Cesar stepped in to replace her, as she couldn’t bring herself to take a second bite.

“Next is that! I heard skilled apprentices draw people’s portraits during festival periods to earn pocket money? Let’s ask them to draw us too.”

The couple went to find the most skilled apprentice, but

“Sob, I absolutely cannot capture that couple’s beauty on paper… I’ve been arrogant all this time!”

They only brought despair to a promising apprentice painter.

Following that, Belinda made Cesar participate in every physical competition as if she were conquering dojos.

Cesar, who had been silently following Belinda’s enthusiastic lead, became a bit troubled when he confirmed the last event.

“This time it’s that. Ring toss! It’s a traditional Northern game, right? Let’s participate in that competition.”

“But that’s usually…”

A game that children play.

By the time he finished that sentence, he was already standing alongside children who barely reached his waist.

Among the parents cheering for their children, Belinda enthusiastically cheered for her husband.

Because of that, he missed the timing to withdraw.

“There’s no age limit in the rules, but…”

The organizer looked at Cesar with a reluctant expression.

Having suddenly found himself competing with young children, he made a conscientious declaration that he would throw from 10 meters away as an adult’s handicap.

People who thought he was showing off burst into laughter.

However, Cesar, who didn’t know the meaning of “moderation,” unintentionally displayed divine skill by throwing the ring precisely into the pin, and the laughter turned to admiration.

A child who had been a strong contender for victory (10 years old) looked up at Cesar with tears streaming down his face.

“H-how could an adult… *sniff*… against a child… that’s so unfair…”

It was too accurate a statement to argue with. But Belinda was different.

“Adults are naturally unfair, and the world of competition is ruthless.”

At this truly villainous comment, the child’s face flushed with indignation.

“Hmph, I’m going to tell His Highness the Duke about this!”

“Hah, that Duke is the one who won…”

Belinda, who had been retorting, suddenly came to her senses. She belatedly heard the murmuring around them.

“A noble made a little child cry.”

“How unbecoming of an adult. Tsk tsk.”

“Could they be the Festival Destruction Group that the organizers warned us about?”

Festival Destruction Group? They had just been enjoying the festival more enthusiastically than anyone else!

Cesar wrapped his arm around Belinda’s reddened shoulders and quietly raised his hand.

“I forfeit.”

* * *

A quiet park bench.

Belinda sat there, covering her face in anguish.

“Ugh, I got too excited.”

Unable to lift her head for quite some time, she finally peeked through her fingers and asked Cesar.

“How was it, the festival?”

Even though she had made a fool of herself, if her husband had enjoyed the festival, that would be sufficient compensation…

“The artist who was going to draw our portrait broke his brush in frustration.”

It would have been.

“It doesn’t seem fair that I competed against a miner who had been diligently practicing archery for today.”

“…”

“In the end, I even made a little child cry.”

Unfortunately, he didn’t seem to have enjoyed the festival very much.

‘Ah, somehow this feels familiar…’

It was like this when she had tried to find him a hobby too.

Belinda pulled her legs together, hugged them, and rested her forehead on her knees in her foolishness.

When Cesar mentioned he had never properly enjoyed a Northern festival, she had felt an unnecessary sense of defiance.

She had wandered around the festival with him, saying she would compensate him today for everything he couldn’t do as a child.

‘What kind of Festival Destruction Group. Destruction Group.’

She felt like hiding in a mouse hole.

It would have been the 10-year-old him who wanted to be happy with a crude portrait and participate in ring toss competitions to compete with other children.

Even if she gave him all of that now, he was no longer the 10-year-old who used to struggle to imagine the festival experiences he never had.

That made Belinda sad.

“The festival must not have been fun.”

She muttered dejectedly.

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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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