The Male Lead Has Gone Mad Over the Troublesome Villainess - Chapter 13

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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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The Male Lead Has Gone Mad Over the Villainess 013
It was merely one of countless thorny paths unfolding before Kael. Looking at it this way, his life truly was pitiful. How was it that every single person turned out to be useless.
“If that isn’t coercion, what is it? If it isn’t violence, what else can you call it? And you have the nerve to stand before your own descendants with pride after conducting yourselves that way? You funnel people’s lives into monster food and gorge yourselves on the profits—how does it taste going down your throats?”
The merchants’ jaws clenched visibly. I watched them flinch and take a step back under the weight of my words.
“If you can’t act with honor, you shouldn’t strut about as though you can. Should any of the Expedition’s knights fall ill from this food and the mission fail, your names will be remembered in history. Don’t worry, though—I’ll make sure to inscribe them in my will.”
My unrelenting barrage left their faces drained of color. Merchants like these required a different approach than black market dealers. Why did they have so little conscience.
But I couldn’t end it here.
“Besides, you won’t find another buyer anyway.”
The merchants stiffened. According to the original story, fewer and fewer people traveled to Greystone, and the town’s merchants were slowly starving for it. That was why they’d resorted to excessive profits.
“Traffic through here has dwindled over the years, hasn’t it. So you couldn’t move your inventory. That’s why you’re trying to dump the surplus on us, isn’t it?”
Even damaged goods should be sold at a discount, not with a conscience stripped bare. I smiled at their ashen faces.
“I’ll set the price. And if you won’t accept it—”
I shrugged.
“I won’t buy, and we’ll detour through another town. That’ll be even cheaper for us.”
I was opening my mouth to press further when they raised the white flag first.
“……What do you want.”
* * *
Kael took in every detail of Rosana, who far exceeded his expectations.
“……Are you quite certain that was negotiation? It looked like intimidation to me.”
Millers spoke in stunned tones. The merchants were clearly the villains, yet Rosana somehow appeared the more villainous of the two—a curious inversion.
Kael’s lips curved upward. What did it matter either way.
What mattered was that in a situation like this, there was no one who could extract results as optimal as Rosana could.
“I won’t object if you men can complete the task in her stead. But I’d prefer to provision my knights with sound food at fair prices, purchased properly.”
Millers fell silent at that. Rosana had already begun paying fair prices for the goods. When exactly she’d done so, Register—standing beside her now—was wagging his tail eagerly and obeying her every word.
The merchants, taken in by Rosana’s words, began pulling out the better items they’d been hiding. Thanks to her efforts, the Expedition secured supplies of genuine quality.
Kael and his immediate retinue were mostly knights of noble birth. They understood the importance of provisions well enough, but they weren’t accustomed to personally inspecting sprouted potatoes or flour ground long ago.
In normal circumstances, the quartermaster would procure supplies through established traders, and the knights need only receive the report and decide on items and quantities.
But this time was different. The town’s merchants, exploiting the Expedition’s desperate situation, had inflated prices beyond reason, holding back quality goods and offering only shoddy merchandise. In the end, even Kael and his knights had to come down to the marketplace and examine the wares themselves.
Haggling with local merchants and hand-picking supplies one by one was unfamiliar territory for them as well.
Rosana had rescued them from being cheated. The way they now regarded her had naturally transformed.
“Your Highness. I’ve completed the assigned task.”
Rosana spoke to Kael with an awkward smile.
“Excellent work.”
Kael praised Rosana with genuine sincerity.
“Then the matter of my desertion……”
“I saw no lady in Rainford.”
“Thank you.”
“On one condition.”
Rosana studied Kael with a puzzled expression. Even he hadn’t anticipated adding this caveat. Yet letting her go now, given how acute the shortage of capable personnel was, felt wrong.
Kael felt a strong premonition that he would need Rosana’s help going forward.
The fact that she’d drawn non-combat personnel into the effort alone proved she had a rare gift for moving people.
Kael was now separating the Rosana of the past from the Rosana of the present.
“I’d like you to stay by my side.”
At those words, Rosana’s face slowly drained of color—a reaction so obvious it made Kael’s brow furrow.
“……By your side means……could it be……sharing a b-bed together……?”
Kael was the one left aghast by the contemporary words tumbling from Rosana’s media-soaked modern mind. His jaw dropped, and his voice rose as his cheeks flushed scarlet.
“Absolutely not! I merely value your abilities! I’m only proposing that you assist me in leading the Expedition!”
The rare sound of Kael raising his voice drew the attention of his subordinates. He raked a hand roughly through his hair. It seemed Rosana possessed yet another peculiar talent.
“Oh, I see.”
Obtaining a capable subordinate truly was difficult, Kael thought, letting out a sigh.
“……So. Will you help me?”
“How much will you pay me?”
Rosana asked with a bright smile. Kael frowned, wondering if he’d misheard.
“What did you say?”
“Salary. Or wages? Monthly stipend? I’m not sure what the right word is. In any case, work requires compensation, doesn’t it?”
“……Are such words coming from you in times like these? The world might truly be doomed.”
Kael asked as if genuinely bewildered. Rosana’s eyes widened as she replied.
“The Expedition’s mission will succeed. And we will return home.”
Rosana’s words came as matter-of-factly that Kael found himself at a loss. Her face was open and unshadowed by the slightest doubt. What could he possibly say before such certainty.

Kael found himself adrift in the ripples spreading outward from her words, unable to gather his thoughts for some time.
Rosana was poison of a different kind.
* * *
‘Do you truly believe there is hope for us?’
‘It’s not a matter of belief—we are the hope.’
‘……That’s a false hope, surely.’
‘Isn’t it far more false and hollow to have no hope at all? And we will succeed. I think you need to have a little more faith in yourself.’
It was truly a brief exchange. And absurd, at that. Believe in himself? Kael couldn’t even guarantee their survival in this present moment. Here in Greystone, overrun by Monsters, where escape itself remained uncertain—Rosana spoke with such unwavering optimism and hope.
Have faith in himself.
Kael ran a hand across his face.
If her words—that absolute, unshakeable confidence—brought him reassurance rather than burden, was that not strange?
No one had ever spoken to him that way before.
Not even the Emperor who had pushed him into founding the Expedition harbored such certainty; he too foresaw failure.
‘Should it come to that, dispatch as many Monsters as you can and return.’
No one believed in Kael. He understood now what excessive doubt and suspicion could do—that while excessive faith might become a burden, excessive concern and distrust broke a person’s spirit far more completely.

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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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