The Male Lead Has Gone Mad Over the Troublesome Villainess - Chapter 28

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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 28
Kael summoned his subordinates. After sealing the tent flap shut, he unrolled a map across the makeshift table. Millers traced the planned route with his finger.
“Our current marching route is this one. We’ll move south along the Valley. The terrain is low and the ground level, which should cut our marching time by roughly a day compared to the existing route.”
“If the water rises as the Saint predicted, that entire path would be submerged.”
“……That is correct, Your Highness.”
The atmosphere turned cold.
“We’ll detour via the Ridge. Revise the combat plan to account for a possible encounter with the Toad Tribe. We need to arrive before them and reach the village first. Can that be done?”
“Yes, Your Highness! We will see it done!”
The order was given, and silence settled over the tent. The sound of rough breathing echoed through the barracks.
But it didn’t end there. One man who had held his tongue spoke up with a question.
“I’ve heard that the Saint possesses Healing Power.”
Rumors about Lilia were rife. She had tremendous Healing Power, she could kill Monsters — some of these tales had been actively spread by the Church. And they had grown embellished. Yet no one knew the truth.
“Couldn’t she simply treat the wounded?”
At the aggrieved tone, Kael exhaled slowly. Then he spoke quietly.
“What grounds do you have for that claim?”
“Your Highness?”
“Has Lilia the Saint’s Healing Power been officially confirmed?”
At his cold voice, the man’s mouth shut tight.
“Well……”
“Don’t be swayed by rumors. Lilia the Saint is nothing more than a child of barely ten years. I do not believe my army is so weak that it must cower behind such a young child.”
Kael cut him off.
“Is there any documented record of her actually using Healing Power? How many can she treat at once? What level of injury can she handle? What aftereffects appear after she expends Holy Power?”
“……”
“You want to entrust dozens of wounded to someone when you know nothing.”
At his cold voice, the man’s face hardened.
No one knows what ability Lilia possesses, nor what its drawbacks are. Not even the clergy who pushed her into this place.
To grow slack by leaning on such uncertainty was itself grounds for dismissal. That was what Kael believed.
“Even if the Saint does have Healing Power, it changes nothing. No commander worth his salt formulates a strategy by counting on unverified abilities as combat strength.”
Kael tapped the table lightly with his finger.
“Testing the Saint would be……”
“You there.”
Kael fixed the man with a piercing gaze.
“Are you suggesting you fall short of my expectations, yet sit at this table anyway? Are you asking whether you’re so incompetent that you need to rely on a ten-year-old child?”
“No, no, of course not!”
The man froze solid. Kael scraped his tongue against the roof of his mouth bitterly. Someone was trying hard to protect the young Saint, while someone else was desperately eager to put that child to work. Lilia remained exposed to danger.
A child, no less.
It stirred up memories of his own terrible childhood.
‘You are the Crown Prince, Kael. Therefore it is also your duty to stand against Monsters.’
When he recalled that cowardly face of the Emperor hiding behind him, merely blinking, it made his skin crawl. Had the man ever truly been a father? Or an Emperor, for that matter? A truly sickening question.
* * *
The order to detour came through. It was likely connected to the prophecy Lilia had made.
The alternate route was treacherous. By the Valley path, the distance would have taken a day. This way was different. The wheels kept catching between stones, and the soldiers had to lift the carts free countless times. Yet no one complained.
Then a halt signal came from the vanguard. The Expedition stopped as one.
“What is it?”
Vanessa gasped, her face flushed red from exertion.
“I don’t know either.”
A shout rang out ahead.
“The path is blocked!”
Moving forward to see what was wrong, the reason for the halt became clear. At the point where the Ridge narrowed, dark shapes tangled thickly together. The Spider Tribe. Even a rough count of the massive ones came to seven or eight, with smaller specimens wedged between them. Corpses with legs twisted at grotesque angles lay piled atop one another, completely blocking the path.
What on earth had happened? The sight alone was enough to turn one’s stomach.
“It appears to be the Toad Tribe.”
Voices carried from where a scout was examining the traces, speaking with Kael.
“There’s dried mucus caked on the rocks, and the footprints lead in this direction. They seem to have passed through several days ago.”
So the Toads had moved through this path and left the Spiders here in this state.
“……They didn’t move along the Valley path?”
Kael’s quiet voice carried as well.
“There are definitely traces of the main herd on the Valley path. These traces are lighter. It seems some split off from the group to hunt.”
A chill ran down the spine. Then Kael’s resolute voice cut through the troops’ unease.
“Clear it and move on. Secure the path for the carts first. Push what can be moved, burn the rest.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
People began to move. I started toward those lowering the oil drums to help, then my feet stopped of their own accord.
Wait a moment.
They’re burning all of it?
* * *
“Millers!”
I hurried after him and caught his arm. He turned to me with a startled expression.
“My lady?”
“You’re burning the whole thing?”
“Yes, that is the plan, but—”
“Couldn’t we preserve some of the venom and carapace?”
Millers blinked.
“Why would we preserve those?”
“The venom could be applied to arrowheads, and the carapace reinforced as a shield. It might be worth considering.”
In fact, the original work contains an episode in Gracestone where the venom and carapace of the Spider Tribe are weaponized. It’s the secret tactic Kael employs when cornered—using Spider venom against the Toad Tribe—but for now, I’ll borrow it. We’re already going to encounter the Toad Tribe, and they’re relentlessly persistent.
Millers’s expression noticeably hardened at my words.
“My lady, are you suggesting we coat weapons with monster venom?”
I nodded. Millers fell silent for a moment, then lowered his voice.
“That is not a decision I can make. You must ask His Highness directly. As you know, this will cause considerable upheaval.”
I nodded solemnly. I already knew he’d clashed with the Emperor over wearing the Wyvern Armor. And he’d faced criticism from the nobility over it, hadn’t he? I should drag every last one of them here and make them watch this. That’s the only way they’ll come to their senses.
“Yes, I understand.”
“However, the Crown Prince might… perhaps even welcome it.”
Millers spoke in a very quiet voice.
I already knew that too. In the original work, Kael had read several scholarly papers on weaponizing monster corpses and deployed that knowledge during this very expedition. I’m simply advancing that timeline.
Kael stood ahead at the crossroads, inspecting the pile of corpses. When Millers approached and reported something to him, he turned his gaze toward me. I smiled awkwardly.
“Your Highness.”
Kael approached me.
“Millers tells me you have a proposal.”
“What if we utilized the Spider corpses in combat?”
Kael’s expression wavered. It seemed he’d been harboring the same thought all along. If I could create that kind of synergy now, it would be perfect.

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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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