The Male Lead Has Gone Mad Over the Troublesome Villainess - Chapter 37

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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 for the Villainous Woman — Episode 37
Today Seraphine and I caught three deer and two wild boar. It was a triumph born of my strategy and her agility. At this rate, we were every bit as skilled as seasoned hunters! And it seemed the rumor was true—that game abounded in these mountains because few ventured up them.
To win the wager, Kael had to bring down a bear. Surely he wouldn’t actually manage it?
By the time we reached the village entrance, the sun was already sinking low.
“Oh……”
Register, who’d been holding the ledger, rushed over to count the tally and let out a gasp of admiration.
“My lady, you caught all of this today?”
“Of course! Has the Crown Prince returned yet?”
The moment those words left my mouth, a commotion erupted from the mountainside.
Kael and his hunting partner were descending. What caught my eye was the cart hitched to his mount. They’d needed a cart? Had he actually brought down a bear?
My heart began to race. The instant I saw what lay on Kael’s cart, my mouth fell open.
A bear.
And an enormous one at that. One of its front paws was the size of a man’s head. Kael had indeed fulfilled the wager’s terms.
When our eyes met, I flinched without meaning to. His eyes were shadowed with exhaustion he couldn’t conceal. Then came his voice, low and gravelly.
“My lady.”
He called to me. Despite the weariness that clung to his voice, it was captivating. Without thinking, I found myself staring at him in a daze. More than the massive bear, his muscles seemed to gleam brilliantly as they caught the light of the setting sun.
Kael possessed the lean, powerful frame befitting a hero of a story. He had been destined from birth to be the male lead.
Even the sweat dripping from him seemed to shine with an otherworldly glow. His silver hair hung loose and tousled, his languid eyes half-lidded beneath it, and the small marks beneath them all stood out starkly.
“So then.”
Kael spoke with unmistakable satisfaction. His red lips curved elegantly.
“I’ve won.”
* * *
I had clearly lost the wager. Rather than receiving a sword, I would be the one paying the price.
‘I’ll tell you what I want next. Once we return to the capital, as you’ve said.’
I’d been fretting over what he could possibly want when, that very night, I received a sword. Millus, who brought it to me in person, spoke as though puzzled himself.
“Why would he give this up?”
“Why ask me? There’s no one who knows the Crown Prince better than you, Sir Millus.”
“……I don’t even understand my own heart. How could I possibly fathom his Highness’s?”
That was fair enough.
“Did he leave any message?”
“He said he would entrust it to you. He’ll take it back once the Expedition returns to the capital.”
He was telling me to keep using it. A sword I hadn’t even begun to properly wield.
I drew the blade from its sheath. The keen edge that sang along its length was breathtaking. Without thinking, I swallowed hard.
Intense training starts tomorrow. This won’t cause the Original Work to unravel, right? It won’t.
“The Crown Prince must need a sword himself.”
“Then should I return it?”
Millus held out his hand, so I quickly sheathed the blade and fastened it at my waist. Watching me, Millus let out a soft laugh.
“I’ll tell his Highness that my lady received the gift with great delight.”
I nodded in agreement.
“Ahem.”
I even let out a small, awkward cough.
As I fiddled with the hilt, an odd restlessness crept over me. I decided I’d have to search the Black Market after all. I wanted to find a decent sword to give him in return.
* * *
That night, I made my way to the Cliff where the Black Market opened, following directions from an Information Guild contact. By now I’d grown so accustomed to slipping out unseen that I managed it without detection.
Torches burned atop the Cliff.
From below, there had been nothing to see, but as I crested the slope, my vision suddenly flooded with light. Torches were wedged between massive boulders, and beneath them lay stalls and carts scattered haphazardly. Many people moved among them. Where on earth had all these people come from?
And every single one of them was armed.
It was completely different from the Black Market in Rainford. No one stopped the men grappling over merchandise at the stalls.
Kael had been right. I could easily get my throat cut here, truly.
But I had no intention of leaving. If someone grabbed me by the collar, I’d simply grab them back.
I lingered long at the weapons stalls before selecting three Daggers. After buying the weapons and passing three more stalls, I discovered a boot maker’s shop with thick leather. The soles were studded with metal plates, and the boots rose up to the ankle.
“Is this Monster leather?”
“You’ve got a good eye. Made from Monster hide brought down in Gracestone. As you can see, the leather’s thick and durable—water won’t even seep through.”
It would be wonderful if we could distribute these as supplies. But I knew Kael was doing everything in his power too.
If I bought several pairs and took them to the tanner in Saltveil, could he make military boots? I believe there was still a fair amount of hide left over.
“How much for these?”
“One gold coin per pair.”
“If I bought twenty pairs?”
The merchant’s eyes went wide.
“……Twenty pairs?”
She nodded.
In the end, she’d bought twenty-three pairs for eighteen silver coins, split between two sacks slung across her shoulders—and her shoulders were already aching.
“Sell well,” the vendor called after her.
“You’ll use them all up in no time!”
She shrugged and stepped away from the stall. As she wandered past a shadowed boulder, she felt footsteps following behind her. At first, she’d thought it was just coincidence—someone heading the same way—but when she slowed her pace, the footsteps slowed too.
Ah.
Someone’s hunting me. She stopped and turned, and the man trailing her shrugged.
“That looks heavy. Thought I’d offer to carry it for you.”
“No, thank you. I’m fine.”
“Fine, is it. How’s a woman alone supposed to haul that down the mountain? Let me help you.”
A hand landed on her shoulder, his voice oily and insistent. She tried to knock his hand away, but he grabbed her wrist instead—and pulled with brutal strength, whispering close.
“Why don’t we head down and spend some quality time together? I’ve booked a nice room down there, you see.”
Goosebumps erupted across her skin. Instinct moved first.
She seized the wrist holding her, twisted it outward, dropped her weight low, and used his own momentum to flip him over her shoulder. Her body moved by memory.
“What—agh!”
The man crashed against the rock beside her. And as he scrambled to his feet, she drove one of the daggers she’d just bought straight down—the blade bit stone with a crack, the rock splintering.
“Eeyagh!”
“Listen here, friend.”
……
“Next time, it won’t be the rock that breaks. It’ll be your skull.”
……
“I just bought this blade. I’d rather not blood a new knife. Still want to keep going?”
The man stared up at her with eyes gone dull, opened his palms in surrender, and began creeping backward. Once he scrambled to his feet, he bolted. She adjusted her sacks and watched him disappear.
Thugs like that were everywhere, it seemed. She spat. She flexed her wrist, brushing off the sting—a bruise was coming, she could tell. That idiot had just brute strength and no sense.
She clicked her tongue and hurried on. There was more to see here, and she regretted having to cut it short, but she needed to get back before anyone noticed. Especially before Vanessa found out.

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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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