I’m Sick of the Kind Protagonist, so I Might as Well Just Die - Chapter 47

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#47
“You’re returning late, Grand Duke.”
The fragile peace shattered beneath the rough sound of footsteps. Perenustus’s hand, which had been toying with my hair, stilled.
“I thought you’d long since passed the age where you needed to be told when it was time to go home to end your little games.”
Leonas Hagpethar Yuletanis leaped directly from the terrace, his strides purposeful as he crushed the gravel beneath his feet. His gaze burned like crimson flame, utterly ignoring Perenustus and fixing solely upon my wrist.
“I’ve come to retrieve what I left in your care.”
Perenustus’s brow furrowed at Leonas’s brazenly casual tone. Regardless, Leonas shoved past the obstruction and seized my wrist, pulling me into his embrace with predatory certainty.
‘What was that? Did something flash white just now?’
The moment Leonas’s hand made contact with Perenustus’s body, white light blazed across my vision. Perenustus, equally startled, glared at his own shoulder where they’d brushed before his eyes narrowed dangerously.
“Grand Duke. Handling another man’s spouse with such roughness—is that truly appropriate?”
“This belongs to me. How I treat my own possessions is no concern of yours.”
“She is my spouse.”
“We both know that title holds no substance whatsoever.”
“No substance? You jest too far. I believe there exists no contract more sacred than marriage in this world.”
“Your beliefs are of no consequence.”
Leonas stared directly at Perenustus, his lips curving upward—not with deference to the Creator, but with naked intent to remove an obstacle.
Perenustus, reading his intentions without difficulty, twisted his own mouth into a bitter smile.
“Your business here is concluded. The Grand Duke will depart at once. Furthermore, you are forbidden entry to the Imperial Palace until I summon you.”
Leonas turned and walked away without acknowledging Perenustus’s words. Without thinking, I reached toward Perenustus, and Leonas’s pace quickened noticeably at the gesture.
“I’ll have to educate you properly on exactly who you belong to.”
Despite such crude words, Perenustus remained motionless. Leaning against the Gazebo Table, his brow furrowed, he merely watched me recede into the distance.
‘Looking at Perenustus’s expression, he seems furious right now… I wonder if Leonas will be alright.’
Sadly, this was no time for me to worry about others. The moment Leonas returned to the chamber, he hurled me with all his strength.
“Ah!”
As always, I expected to land on the bed and have him pin me down, but instead I plummeted into the empty Bathhouse, and I couldn’t help but cry out in surprise.
Fortunately, it didn’t hurt. My shoulder struck the hard floor with considerable force, yet instead of pain, only a dull, slowly resonating sensation rippled through me.
‘It seems the pain reduction Perenustus lowered in the previous world is now fully reactivating.’
Even Leonas seemed to think he’d thrown me too hard, his expression visibly flustered before he quickly composed himself. Returning to that crazed look, he stood rigidly before the Bathhouse, glaring down at me, then suddenly barked orders at the Maids and began dousing me with cold water.
“What are you staring at? Wash her at once!”
“Yes, yes!”
“She’s touched something filthy—scrub every inch clean!”
Leonas looked down at me with the disdain one might reserve for a soiled ornament neglected in maintenance, then left the chamber entirely. The moment his footsteps faded completely, the Maids exchanged glances and began pouring warm water into the Bathhouse.
“That must have been cold, wasn’t it? Pouring ice water on someone with such a delicate constitution…”
The Maids carefully transferred me to the center of the Bathhouse, steam rising gently. They worked up soft lather and gently cleansed every part of my body with tender care—it was less washing than it was comfort and solace.
‘They’re kind people. I never noticed before.’
Suddenly, words I’d heard from Perenustus long ago echoed in my mind. Nameless background characters. Extras.
These people surely thought, felt emotions, possessed names—yet I had never truly looked at them until now. The sudden realization brought a dull ache to a corner of my heart.
“Um…”
The moment I opened my mouth, the Maids’ eyes widened in unison. Why were they so startled? I realized then that I had never spoken a word in this chamber until now.
Good heavens.
“What’s your name?”
“P-pardon? Our names, you mean?”
“Yes.”
The Maids, who had looked ready to faint at the sound of my voice, tilted their heads in perfect unison at a precise angle the moment I asked for their names—like a malfunctioning machine synchronizing itself. Then, without uttering a single word, they resumed scrubbing my skin with methodical silence.
Only the rhythmic sound of water continued endlessly.
‘This is… unsettling.’
Truly unsettling. Even a former hero finds certain things frightening. Whether they had no names by design, or whether they lacked the authority to even answer—something had clearly gone wrong because of me.
‘Machines work again if you hit them… should I try that? No, wait—I’m the one who started talking to them in the first place. Hitting them on top of that seems excessive.’
As I hesitated, caught between two impossible choices, salvation arrived in the form of the Bathhouse door opening.
“Leave. There is something urgent we must discuss.”
It was Bilateia Fernichiosa Venisike.
The moment she appeared, the Maids bowed respectfully as though nothing had happened and retreated backward. When the heavy door closed behind them, only the sound of dripping water remained in the Bathhouse.
“I see you were having quite the pleasant time earlier. Life has a way of making happiness fleeting and bills eternal.”
“…”
“Watching you, I wondered: are you simply dull, thoughtless, or perhaps far too cunning?”
Bilateia Fernichiosa Venisike approached the bathtub slowly, fanning herself with a delicate fan. Her gaze swept across my bare form without hesitation.
Her eyes held the gleam of something being weighed and measured. Not malice—yet not warmth either.
‘She’s assessing me…’
“Listen, I’m telling you this in advance so there’s no misunderstanding: I don’t experience jealousy. This marriage was a transaction from the start, not a matter of affection.”
As I tried to sit up, she pressed her hand down on the crown of my head. I looked up at her in disbelief. Unfortunately, my body was still too weak to shake off her grip. The fact that she knew this and did it anyway infuriated me.
‘Wait… is it because I’m weak? There’s a faint light emanating from Bilateia’s hand right now, isn’t there?’
It was unmistakably the same light I had seen when Leonas Hagpethar Yuletanis pushed back Perenustus moments ago. When I furrowed my brow, Bilateia Fernichiosa Venisike answered with a scoff.
“So this feeling that stirs whenever I see you is probably irritation. A perfectly natural emotion directed at an obstacle that disrupts the smooth transaction between my husband and myself.”
I gave up trying to push her hand away and gazed up at her helplessly, turning her words over in my mind.
‘She speaks of transactions.’
There had to be a reason she emphasized so deliberately that her measure of things was not Leonas Hagpethar Yuletanis’s affection, but rather her transaction with him.
‘Strong denial is strong affirmation, they say. Even she…’
Unaware of my thoughts, Bilateia Fernichiosa Venisike kept her hand pressed on my head while retrieving something from her bosom—a transparent glass vial. The colorless liquid inside gleamed like water under the Bathhouse light. The moment I saw it, my heart lurched.
‘That…’
I knew that vial. It was the very poison I had recklessly thrown into my mouth in the previous cycle when I decided to meet Perenustus.
Bilateia Fernichiosa Venisike must have seen my eyes waver, yet her expression remained unmoved as she continued.
“So I’ve made my decision.”
Before she could finish speaking, Bilateia Fernichiosa Venisike hurled the vial against the edge of the bathtub. The bottle shattered, and the transparent liquid spread rapidly into the bathwater. Thin shards of glass disappeared from view as they sliced across the surface.
Bilateia Fernichiosa Venisike lowered her waist while keeping her hand firmly pressed on my head, staring down at my dying face as though to confirm it. For just a moment, her eyes wavered.
“Don’t resent me. This path is right for both you and me.”
I looked directly into her eyes, relaxed my body, and slowly pushed myself beneath the bathwater. The poison, once dispersed, could not be stopped. Resistance would only prolong the suffering.
As my body sank completely underwater and my breath finally ceased, Bilateia Fernichiosa Venisike remained, watching me from above.

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