The Male Lead Has Gone Mad Over the Troublesome Villainess - Chapter 39

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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 Villainess | Episode 39
“No.”
I jerked my hand back on instinct, but that only made it more obvious.
Kael seized my wrist. Before I could pull away, my sleeve rode up, and the dark bruises that had bloomed along my forearm were laid bare in the torchlight.
“Rosana.”
His voice came soft as a lullaby, brushing against my ear. Kael understood perfectly what his appearance and presence did to people—and he knew how to wield that knowledge without hesitation when it suited him. His eyes gentled, and a faint smile played at his lips.
“Who did this?”
Something in that tender tone made me want to whine like a child seeking comfort.
“Some strange man was following me, and—”
I babbled through the whole thing before clamping my mouth shut. It had seemed like nothing worth mentioning, some trivial incident. But standing before Kael, I’d simply disarmed myself.
I didn’t understand myself. Did I really believe he could protect me? Well, it wasn’t unreasonable—he was the strongest in this world, after all.
“But nothing happened, truly. He ran off with his tail between his legs.”
“What did he look like?”
“Short hair, a scar near his eye. And a prominent jaw—it looked like it had bruising.”
I swallowed the part about how he’d gotten those bruises when he fell because of me.
Kael released my wrist once he’d heard what he wanted, but not before his thumb traced over the marks with agonizing slowness. He spoke in a low murmur.
“We’ll need to apply medicine.”
“For something like this, a little saliva will—”
“Rosana, my lady.”
He was undoubtedly a sorcerer of the voice. At that lowered tone, my entire body shrank inward. I felt like I might just cry out “Come to my chambers!” on the spot. A shiver ran through me, head to toe.
“I’ll apply the medicine.”
Kael exhaled softly and spoke to me.
“I’ll have two knights escort you to my residence. Stay there.”
“Pardon?”
My eyes went wide. No, absolutely not! If Seraphine got the wrong idea, what then? And what had I done to deserve this confinement? Were we really so close? I thought we were just comrades-in-arms!
“You need the medicine applied. I doubt you have access to that sort of thing in your quarters.”
I swallowed the protest rising in my throat. There was no use overreacting.
Kael’s insistence sent me down the Cliff ahead of him, whether I liked it or not.
I could have avoided this. How did he even see through my disguise? I’d been thorough—or so I thought.
* * *
Kael watched Rosana descend before him, then ran a hand through his hair. He didn’t know why his chest was roiling like this. Rosana’s recklessness, the situation itself—every bit of it grated on him.
Kael called for Millers.
“Millers.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Based on the lady’s account, identify the perpetrator.”
“Yes.”
Millers bowed. Seeing the aura rippling around Kael, he didn’t dare add another word. He swallowed hard.
“Ensure he receives appropriate punishment under Imperial Law.”
Millers’ eyes widened. Under Imperial Law? That meant Castration Punishment. The man had attempted to harm a member of the Expedition Party and to sexually assault a noble—the charge was clear.
Millers swallowed again. Kael was behaving exactly like a mother bird protecting her wounded chick.
He likely wasn’t even conscious of what he was doing.
Millers was certain the lady was anything but gentle. The man had doubtless received a thrashing from Rosana that would haunt him for life. Kael knew that too, surely? Or did he?
Millers swallowed once more, reading the cold rage that clung to Kael’s expression. He genuinely wanted this man dead.
Millers didn’t know exactly when the shift had begun, but one thing was undeniable: Kael was surrendering much to Rosana. Not just his sword—something weightier still.
* * *
Kael drew a measured breath. Light spilled from beyond the window. The knights guarding the door were the same ones who had descended with Rosana moments before. So she was inside.
Kael wiped his face. Irritation and anger of unknown origin kept surging upward.
Rosana always spoke of everything as though it meant nothing. It had never once occurred to Kael that her optimism could become a liability. Yet she extended to herself the same generosity she showed others—even toward danger that found her.
According to Millers, the man had testified through mangled speech that the bruises on his jaw and his broken arm were Rosana’s doing.
He knew Rosana would have retaliated. He knew she would have done more than that.
After all, she was a woman who repaid what she received—and then some.
Yet Kael could not bear it. The sheer fact that such danger had come to Rosana in his absence was unbearable.
He didn’t know where this feeling had begun. But it drove him all the same: he wanted this man dead.
Kael suppressed all of it and opened the door.
Rosana was seated with composure, taking tea and conversing with Register.
Kael paused.
“Oh, Your Highness!”
Rosana’s smile was radiant—brighter than the lamps that lit the room. Register bowed.
“The lady was just telling me of today’s haul. And I’ve received a gift of shoes as well.”
Register gestured toward a bundle. A flicker of recognition crossed Kael’s face.
Now that he thought about it, Rosana was quite close with his aides. In the past, she would never have even conversed with them.
Ever since joining the Expedition Party, Rosana had blossomed like a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis, revealing herself fully as though this were her true self. She always shimmered, always drew every eye in the room.
Even Millers, for all his sensitivity, and Register, who worried about everything, seemed somehow diminished in her presence. All of these changes irritated him.
Kael set his jaw and stepped inside.
“Register.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Millers will be waiting. Go back and discuss this with him.”
Register rose and bowed formally. Then he and Rosana exchanged a brief glance. That familiarity bothered him too.
Once Register had left, Kael settled beside Rosana. She immediately began speaking, as though she’d been waiting for precisely this moment.
“I did mention I had a gift for you, didn’t I?”
Rosana’s voice was bright as she produced something from within her robes.
“A new sword. It’s not quite the equal of the one you gave me, but they say this too is a Legendary Sword. Even to my eyes, it’s clearly no ordinary blade.”
Kael examined the sword she offered him. The substantial weight alone, the patterns inscribed along its length, the very aura it gave off—all confirmed what she said. Rosana’s face glowed as she continued.
“Since you gave me a sword, I thought you would need a new one as well.”
“…Thank you.”
Kael swallowed a hollow laugh. Part of him wanted to ask if she’d gone all that way just for this—yet here he was, already pleased by something so simple. He didn’t understand his own reaction, and yet he found himself smiling along with her anyway.
To have one’s emotions stirred by another person was an unfamiliar sensation. And strangely, he didn’t dislike that unfamiliarity. Kael realized he wanted to be shaken more. He wanted to sway further in Rosana’s wake.

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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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