Adopting the Male Protagonist Changed the Genre - Chapter 59

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 59

The sight of a perfectly normal man saying “My lord has come to find Penandel, how touching!” while referring to himself in third person was quite harmful to the eyes, but indeed, a handsome face makes everything plausible.

Knowing there’s a stunning beauty that strikes my fancy behind that mask makes it seem somewhat fresh, cute, and forgivable.

‘No, let’s stop escaping reality.’

I opened my mouth, hoping my expression would be as shameless and haughty as usual.

“Are you the Duke of Baluashten?”

“…Uh, yes, yes. That’s correct. …Lady Blanche?”

While the Duke was still fumbling, I sat across from him and asked Terry for tea.

Only then did the Duke seem to come to his senses and awkwardly sat back down. The eyes behind the mask busily darted between me and Penandel.

He was quite different from the impression I had vaguely imagined.

Of course, I couldn’t see his features because of the mask, but I had vaguely expected him to be like the men of the North – either taciturn, rough, or perhaps macho.

But the Duke I saw with my own eyes was, how should I put it… like a circus bear.

One that wobbles back and forth on a unicycle while watching the trainer’s cues.

Since the atmosphere wasn’t as difficult to handle as I’d thought, I spoke in a somewhat gentler tone.

“You came without any notice.”

Of course, as always, just because I was being gentle didn’t mean my words were gentle too.

At the reproachful-sounding words, the Duke didn’t know what to do.

“Sor, sorry, no, ahem, I was rude… indeed.”

From examining Penandel with my lie detector glasses, I knew the Duke was far from the person in the rumors… But isn’t this a bit too gentle?

I looked over the Duke’s appearance with renewed interest.

Judging from the lower jaw visible beneath the mask, I could tell he looked older than expected.

I heard the Duke was twenty-four this year.

Looking at just his lower jaw, he appears to be approaching fifty.

Perhaps the Duke doesn’t wear a mask to hide his ugly appearance, but rather to hide his extremely aged looks, and this was maliciously distorted as it spread.

No, maybe only his lower jaw looks aged and he could have a youthful appearance above the cheekbones. Let’s not judge hastily.

‘Wait. But he has to wear a mask when he leaves the North.’

Then the people of the Royal Capital have never properly seen the Duke’s face.

I was narrowing my eyes and examining every corner of him when it happened.

As if he could no longer bear it, the Duke cleared his throat several times and spoke.

“The reason I came to find Lady Blanche is none other than…”

The Duke’s eyes rolled around and turned to Penandel standing behind me.

And as if receiving some instruction, he nodded and continued gravely.

“To get Penandel back.”

* * *

Penandel’s steps as he trudged out of the Blanche Estate were powerless.

Cesar, who had been silently following behind him, opened the carriage door, and the two awkwardly looked at each other for a moment before getting into the carriage.

And when the carriage had moved some distance away from the Blanche Estate.

“Your Excellencyyyy!”

Penandel’s resentful cry burst forth.

“Do you know how scared I was? Lady Blanche looked at me like I was the world’s greatest fool. No, at Your Excellency! That is, at me pretending to be Your Excellency!”

Having investigated his lord’s fiancée on Cesar’s orders, he knew how terrifying Belinda Blanche was.

However, Penandel was a knight who had roamed battlefields fighting magical beasts. He thought dealing with a noble lady causing trouble in social circles would be nothing.

But…

“What do you mean by getting him back?”

“Something came up that requires Penandel’s accompaniment…”

“Look me in the eyes when you speak. So. Something came up?”

“Th, that is, so, something came up that requires Penandel for about two hours…”

“Something came up?”

“I would be grateful if you could lend me Penandel for about two hours.”

“Will exactly two hours be enough?”

“…No. Ju, just in case, about three hours…”

“Then you should have said so from the beginning. You suddenly said you’d get Penandel back, so I thought you were breaking the contract terms.”

Every time Belinda caught each word with a spiteful expression, his mouth went dry.

He didn’t know what had upset her so much, but Belinda ostentatiously pulled out a pocket watch and precisely announced the time.

“I’ll give you three hours from now. You must return him in this exact condition, without a single hair harmed. After three hours, let’s meet at the coffee house on Melvett Street.”

Penandel anxiously checked the time while recalling Belinda’s final words. With each passing second, he truly felt his soul being gnawed away.

He assisted Cesar, who was changing clothes in the carriage, while chattering incessantly.

“When you think about it, this is all Your Excellency’s fault! I naturally went there thinking Your Excellency had told Lady Blanche about your identity… What are you thinking, deceiving the Marquess’s Daughter?”

Cesar’s hands, which had been adjusting his uniform, paused. The word “deceiving” bothered him.

When he first went to find Belinda, he hadn’t expected things to turn out this way.

Even when she added the condition “I want Penandel as my escort knight” before signing the engagement contract, he thought he could reveal his identity later and assign another knight as her escort.

Though he had left the North briefly to confirm something with his own eyes, if problems arose with the barrier, he would have to return to Baluashten Territory immediately.

But… now he wasn’t sure.

Could he really entrust her safety to someone else so easily?

She was in danger and was an essential person for obtaining the mine.

He didn’t like the idea of leaving such an important person’s safety in someone else’s hands.

Cesar calculated the remaining time until returning to Belinda’s side and answered calmly.

“It just happened that way.”

“So what exactly made it happen that way!”

Behind Penandel’s outcry, the carriage carrying them raced vigorously toward the Royal Palace.

* * *

The King’s summons seemed urgent, commanding the Duke of Baluashten to come to the Royal Capital immediately and show his face.

The royal decree Penandel received as soon as he crossed the Royal Capital’s city gate while pretending to be Cesar also ordered him to visit the royal castle without delay.

Therefore, Penandel had gone straight to find Cesar staying at the Blanche Estate without even resting from his journey.

Fortunately, thanks to the mask he had worn throughout, there was no problem returning to his original identity.

Thus Penandel returned to being the Duke’s aide, Cesar returned to being the Duke, and they crossed the threshold of the royal castle to stand before the audience hall doors.

There might be a reason why the King urgently summoned the Duke to the Royal Capital.

Though slim, he had such expectations.

However, hearing the music coming from beyond the thick, ornate audience hall doors, Penandel realized anew that his expectations of the King had been too high.

‘He’s still not in his right mind.’

Even when Cesar and Penandel were announced by the attendant and entered the audience hall, the party taking place inside didn’t stop.

It couldn’t be seen as a place where commoners or nobles requested audiences with the King to appeal unjust matters or petitions.

The red carpet that wronged citizens should have walked on was soaked with alcohol and perfume, and the interior that should have been solemn was noisy with cheerful dance music.

When he saw unidentifiable filth splattered on the national flag hanging behind the throne, Penandel just wanted to return to the North as is.

However, unlike Penandel, Cesar walked along the long carpet without hesitation, not even glancing at the noisy commotion around him.

Step.

For the first time, the movements of the dancers and musicians, who hadn’t cared about any visitors, slowed down.

As if walking a blood-soaked path, everyone held their breath watching the iron-masked figure stride across the carpet.

When he finally reached the King, everyone was tense and couldn’t take their eyes off the man before them.

It was the first day music had stopped in the audience hall where parties had continued for a week straight.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————