The Male Lead Has Gone Mad Over the Troublesome Villainess - Chapter 16

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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 — Episode 016
At the question, Lillia nodded with her puffy, swollen face. Then, with tears glistening in her eyes, she looked around before burying her face in Rosana’s neck, embracing it tightly.
Seraphine, who had been watching from a distance, finally exhaled the breath she’d been holding, as though in relief. The grip on her sword visibly loosened.
Rosana, cradling the small child, walked forward with the confidence of a victorious general toward Kael.
“……Impressive in every sense of the word.”
Lillia, who had never once leaned on anyone else during their entire journey, now nestled against Rosana as naturally as breathing.
The child’s tousled hair fluttered in the breeze. Without thinking, Kael found himself staring at the sight. At Rosana drawing closer to him.
Her figure, smudged with dust and faint traces of blood, could hardly be called beautiful. Yet he could scarcely tear his eyes away.
A faint luminescence seemed to shimmer around Rosana. Kael frowned and rubbed his eyes. It seemed fatigue had accumulated enough to conjure illusions.
With so many complications already plaguing this expedition, the emergence of such criminal acts felt as though it was wearing down what little composure remained.
Even as everything else seemed engulfed in darkness, Rosana alone remained alight, an ember that refused to be extinguished.
* * *
A military tribunal was convened.
Not content with merely attempting desertion, they had plotted to kidnap a young saint—a crime of the utmost depravity. Word had spread overnight, and by morning, every member of the Expedition had crowded in to witness the trial.
Though their voices chattered endlessly, their eyes remained fixed on the four criminals, on Lillia standing before them, and on Rosana, who held the child’s hand in an iron grip.
Millers stepped forward to oversee the proceedings.
“By Military Law, we must render stern judgment. When a member of the Knight Order has harmed those whom they are sworn to protect, they shall be castrated, never to leave an heir behind.”
In this way, the legacy of such criminals was deemed a taint to be excised. It was an archaic principle, yet it was the law by which knights had been governed since time immemorial.
Kael regarded the criminals with an icy stare.
Millers continued his pronouncement.
“In this case as well, the application of Military Law—castration—would seem appropriate.”
All eyes in the tribunal turned toward two of the four. Two remained relatively unscathed—those subdued by Millers—while two were grievously wounded, those brought to heel by Rosana. The latter pair particularly presented a pitiful spectacle, their minds shattered and vacant as though possessed by spirits.
“Ahem.”
Since receiving a diagnosis from the Knight Order’s healer that they would never father children again, they had maintained that hollow, lifeless expression. The shock was so profound it eclipsed even the agony of their wounds.
Kael rubbed his face with his palm.
They were, for all intents and purposes, already castrated.
“In such a case……”
Millers trailed off and cast his gaze toward Rosana. She stood with an expression utterly unburdened by hesitation.
At her side clung Lillia, the victim of this incident, embracing Rosana’s leg tightly. Her face remained streaked with tears, her eyes still glistening. Noting the pitiable sight of the child, Millers turned his attention back to Kael.
“What shall we do, Your Highness?”
The magistrate, who had never wavered in his commitment to justice and reason, found himself at a loss.
Murmurs among the Expedition members swelled.
One righteous Old Knight among them stepped forward.
“I beseech you, render judgment with severity. There are many children in this company, regrettably so. We must ensure such wickedness never takes root again. Discipline must be absolute.”
His words were just. Kael himself had been entertaining the same thoughts.
“I hear your words and shall hold them close.”
The Old Knight bowed and stepped back.
Kael rubbed the bridge of his nose.
“……What should be done?”
At Millers’ question, Kael released a long, weary sigh.
In all his years as a knight, he had never encountered such a situation. He had not even read of it in the records.
Kael pressed his lips together for a moment. They needed to press on if they were to reach Gracestone according to schedule. There was no time to linger here. Yet to impose a lenient punishment would offer no assurance that such incidents would not recur in the future.
He took in the weathered face of the Old Knight, and behind him, the countless other faces. Each had come to this place for their own reasons. Among them were surely parents who had left behind children Lillia’s age to join this Expedition. Kael understood their anger deeply.
Kael closed his eyes, then opened them again.
“Castrate these two. Bind all four to trees. We depart as scheduled tomorrow.”
Kael’s pronouncement fell with weight. Rosana appeared dissatisfied but offered no protest, expressing her displeasure only through a slight pout.
“Your Highness! What of us, then!”
“You plotted desertion from the start, did you not? You are getting precisely what you wished for. Lady Rosana.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“What punishment do you believe they should receive?”
“Their hands should be severed. So they can never do such a thing again.”
The criminals who met Rosana’s gaze—eyes blazing, teeth bared in a growl—promptly clamped their mouths shut and turned away.
Rosana had truly changed. In ways he could not have foreseen.
Beyond the bounds of his prediction.
Kael swallowed back a faint laugh. Yet he found this predicament—this difficulty—was not unwelcome. Neither her transformation nor her smile.
* * *
Several things had changed since leaving Willow.
Most notably, the atmosphere within the Expedition had shifted in how they regarded me. They no longer saw me merely as a source of trouble, and there was something different in the way they looked at me now.
Kael’s demeanor was no exception.
He had summoned me again. After observing me in silence for some time, Kael finally spoke.
“I’d like the lady to look after Lillia for a while.”
“You want me to take care of the Saint Lillia?”
Kael nodded. His eyes betrayed an exhaustion he could not hide.
He had rescued Lillia from those men’s clutches just before leaving Willow—a full three days ago. And now, of all times, he was asking this?
“Lillia wanted it.”
True, he could send her back to the capital even now, but would she be safe there? The Temple would push a child’s back to the edge whenever it suited their interests.
At least Kael and the Knights of the Expedition treated Lillia as a child. The other children brought along with the Expedition found themselves in much the same position.
There was only one reason Kael refused to send them back: it was not safe to do so. For children who had come here practically sold, there was no safe place left in the world.
According to the original text, Kael had said he wanted to take these children somewhere truly safe. Nowhere, he believed, was safe for them.
How very human of him.
His character was as beautiful as his face.
This request of his was likely motivated by concern for Lillia.
And fulfilling this request, building affection with Kael—it wouldn’t be a bad thing. But.
“I don’t have much experience caring for children, Your Highness.”
Online aunts were one thing; actually dealing with children was another. Besides, Lillia was in a fragile state right now. Could I really be of help?
I’m not confident about this.
“It doesn’t matter, Lady. This is what Lillia wants.”
Kael exhaled softly.
“She’s been unable to sleep properly, unable to eat.”
He glanced at me as though choosing his words carefully. In the sweep of his hand across his face lay all the weight of his anguish.
What was he trying to say?

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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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