The Male Lead Has Gone Mad Over the Troublesome Villainess - Chapter 23

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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 023
It was near dawn when they’d finished off the last of them. Kael blinked his dry eyes and turned his head. At some point, he’d stopped having the luxury of noticing Rosana. Just keeping pace with the exhausted knights, urging them forward, had consumed everything he had.
When the fighting ended, only a desolate silence remained.
Blood pooled across the ground, and it seemed certain some of it was hers. Every image moved in slow motion.
Fortunately, no knight among them had suffered serious injury. They were all simply drained, yet standing on both legs without difficulty. That fact alone made tonight a success.
Millers approached and gave his report.
“Your Highness, I’ve assessed the damages. We have a few minor wounded, but no casualties.”
“Well done.”
Kael answered tersely, then turned his gaze back toward Rosana.
The moment he fully turned around.
“It’s over, Your Highness. Isn’t it?”
Rosana burst into a radiant smile. It burned brighter than the rising sun.
Kael’s brow furrowed. There was a sharp, prickling sensation deep in his eyes. Draped in sunlight as she was, Rosana shone with her own luminescence.
“I kept your back, Your Highness.”
She spoke with quiet pride. Raw scratches marked her face—injuries he hadn’t noticed before—and her limbs were covered in scrapes and cuts.
Yet no matter how battered she was, Rosana had stood behind him. While he ran without pause, she had run at his back, keeping pace. His composure crumbled once more, a habit now.
“Yes. You did.”
Kael ran a hand through his hair. He couldn’t name the feeling blooming in his chest. But one thing was certain: he was seeing her now through different eyes, with a different emotion. It was fierce and passionate, a dazzling sensation.
* * *
While the battle raged, the Camp lay far quieter than usual. Most of the knights had followed Kael and Rosana into the forest, leaving behind only the elderly, the clergy, cooks, attendants, and children.
Around the Tent where the children had been gathered, the few remaining knights kept watch. The clergy stood nearby as well, and Vanessa had spent the night awake, tending to Lilia and the children. Before Rosana left, she’d given careful instructions.
‘If anything happens, I’m counting on you to look after the children.’
Those words kept echoing. She wanted to believe nothing would go wrong, yet her heart wouldn’t stop hammering with unease.
‘What am I supposed to do? Why are you asking me to protect them, my lady!’
‘Call me Rosana from now on, Vanessa. And you’re more capable than you think. Look—you can even hold a sword now, can’t you?’
Bewitched by those words, utterly bewitched… Vanessa murmured to herself.
Rosana was a strange person. Simply by being present, she drew people in. When you stood beside her, you felt certain everything would unfold exactly as she said. It was like being under a spell.
Yes, things here would be fine. She tried to reassure herself with that thought.
Throughout the Camp, those still awake whispered in low voices. The occasional cry of a beast set everyone’s nerves on edge.
Crack.
The sound of a branch snapping came from not far away. Her heart sank.
“There’s a strange sound,” one of the children whispered, fear coloring her voice.
Vanessa hurried to the Tent’s entrance and peered outside. In that instant, what the moonlight revealed stopped her breath cold.
A dark crimson body, as if swallowing moonlight whole, glowed from the shadows. Eight eyes fixed themselves precisely on where Lilia stood.
Vanessa inhaled sharply. What in the world was that doing here?
Weren’t they supposed to keep it out?
“We—we must protect the Saint!”
It wasn’t only Vanessa who’d witnessed it. A priest cried out in a thin, strained voice, but his body remained frozen, immobile. Everyone was the same.
Just as Vanessa began to tremble, a small hand grabbed her sleeve.
“Vanessa.”
It was Lilia. Terror filled her face, yet her eyes remained clear and sharp. In that moment, Rosana flashed through Vanessa’s mind. Rosana would have stood and fought rather than flee. But Vanessa was not Rosana. If she couldn’t fight, she had to find something else she could do.
So she would do what she could.
Vanessa formed a fist with her trembling hands and raised it.
The children immediately clamped their mouths shut and crouched low. No one screamed. No one bolted for the exit. Fortunately, the children understood Vanessa’s hand signal.
‘That’s right, Vanessa. Right now, you’re the only one who can lead them.’
Looking around the Tent, there wasn’t a single person truly capable of fighting. The initial commotion had come from the Camp’s outer perimeter, so the few remaining knights and soldiers had already rushed in that direction.
At least they were fortunate in one respect: following Kael’s orders, most of the non-combatants remaining at the Camp had gathered in this very Tent.
Vanessa took a deep breath. The adults would handle themselves. All she needed to do was see to the children.
Rip.
The sound of the Tent being torn came from outside.
Vanessa carefully parted the canvas and looked out. The sight before her made her spine go cold.
A single layer of cloth would never hold back that massive limb.
Vanessa held up two fingers toward the children.
Left.
The children’s eyes widened. But no one objected. As Vanessa moved to the rear of the Tent and carefully lifted the canvas, a tall boy was the first to crawl out, check behind them, and signal that it was clear.
The children crouched low, paired off, and began slipping out.
“The rest of you—follow the children. Go ahead and move out, or stay put if you must.”
Those who’d remained in the Tent exchanged glances before carefully slipping outside.
Vanessa was the last to exit the Tent.
That’s how they crawled all the way to the Supply Area, where the wagons stood lined in rows.
“Everyone gather here. Don’t make a sound.”
As Vanessa whispered, the children squeezed their bodies under the cart. Then a low voice came from behind her.
“You need to go deeper in. Children, tuck yourselves further back and hide.”
She spun around in shock to find an old cook, a massive kitchen knife gripped in his hands—something he’d apparently brought as a makeshift weapon. Behind him stood several handmaids, stable hands, and porters, their faces uncertain. They must have all been awakened by the commotion, unable to sleep.
“What—what do we do? The knights have all gone into the forest……”
“It’ll take them a while to get back.”
The cook swallowed hard. In the distance, the sound of another tent tearing echoed across the camp.
“That thing’s looking for something. It’s not just destroying—it keeps rummaging through the insides.”
The cook narrowed his eyes and muttered to himself.
“What about running? If we take the children into the forest……”
“Look at those legs. That creature moves twice as fast as we do. Once it sees our backs, we’re just prey.”
Vanessa’s face went pale. There was no running, no hiding. That left only one option.
“……Do we have to fight?”
The moment the words left her mouth, she clapped her hand over it. As if she’d caught Rosana’s recklessness, she was actually suggesting they fight. Was that even possible?
But no one laughed.
Vanessa glanced quickly around at the others.
‘Think, Vanessa. What would Rosana do? Think.’
She clenched her teeth. The pressure to reach a conclusion in such a short time bore down on her.
Then, all at once, words Rosana had spoken came back to her.
‘If all else fails, set a fire, Vanessa. No matter what the monster is, it’ll burn to death.’
The voice in her memory seemed to offer the answer.
Vanessa opened her mouth, her voice trembling.
“The space between those carts is narrow. If we lure it in there, it won’t be able to stretch its legs fully. What if we pour oil there and……set it on fire?”
She was startled at herself for such a thought. The cook let out a dry chuckle and nodded.
“A clever idea indeed.”

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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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