The Male Lead Has Gone Mad Over the Troublesome Villainess - Chapter 41

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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 — Chapter 41
The next morning, we entered Greystone the moment the sun broke over the horizon.
Greystone was truly grey. It lived up to its name at first glance. The city gates hung half-open, frozen in place.
One door panel had been forced inward and now hung twisted on its hinges, and across that thick oak door ran three grooves, each as wide as a finger. Marks of Monsters.
Waiting for us at the gates of Greystone was a guide who had arrived before we did—a man named Hald who had filed the request back in Saltbeil.
Hald looked us over, then opened his mouth.
“From here on is Greystone. I’d advise you to be especially careful.”
The man spoke with a swagger.
“What is the nature of the Monster?”
“No one knows. There’s not just one or two of them roaming around inside. So be all the more cautious. Especially since you’ve brought along such small fry.”
Hald’s gaze flicked past me. Vanessa flinched, but Kael’s reaction came faster. He struck Hald’s shoulder with his scabbard.
“Mind your tongue.”
“Ah, Your Highness! You’ll find that every word I spoke is true!”
Millers sighed and pushed Hald forward by the back.
“You might lose something precious like that. Come on, let’s move!”
The moment my foot crossed the threshold into Greystone, my heart began hammering. According to the Original Story, a first attack happens the instant you enter this place, and in it, several named supporting characters die. One of them was close to Seraphine. That battle would happen today.
Until now, I’d been watching for a chance to warn them, but no suitable moment ever came. I couldn’t just blurt out, “The Wolf Tribe is going to attack today, and about five people are going to die!”
The problem was that I had no knowledge of the geography here, so I couldn’t pinpoint exactly when the attack would come.
I walked around turning my head this way and that like someone gripped by anxiety, when a scraping, clicking sound echoed through the air. We were entering the First Village.
Just before the creatures revealed themselves, I drew a deep breath into my belly.
“The Wolf Tribe! The Wolf Tribe is here!!!”
The moment I screamed at the top of my lungs, my eyes met Kael’s. The instant his gaze swept past me, Kael drew his sword first. Fortunately, he was half a beat faster than they were in attacking.
The creatures had bodies the size of calves and snouts as long as a man’s forearm, and their legs were grotesquely long in proportion to their frames.
And above all, they were fast.
“Raise shields! Hold them back!”
The moment shields went up, the creatures crashed into them. Those holding shields were pushed back, and the beasts’ teeth were puncturing through Shield and Armor alike.
They weren’t coming to bite—they struck with their full bodies first to knock people down, then only went for the throat once they had you on the ground.
“Hold the front line! Second rank, press forward!”
Screams erupted from all sides. I watched a Shield split lengthwise, saw a soldier dragged away with his forearm in the jaws of a creature, and only managed to get free when a knight nearby drove a spear through its ribs.
While we were taking down one, three more came at us. They had no shell to protect them, so they died easily enough—but not before they took at least one bite on their way out.
The Battle Line fell back ten paces.
And within those ten paces, more than three soldiers lay sprawled.
When one knight lost his footing and dropped his Shield, a creature lunged on top of him. I yanked out my Dagger and hurled it. The blade struck true into the beast’s eye, it shrieked, and while it thrashed in agony, the knight rolled clear.
I saw one of the creatures thrust its snout through a gap in the Wagon where Vanessa and the children were hiding.
One child fired a Slingshot. The projectile lodged in the creature’s throat, it yelped and withdrew.
In that moment, I swung the sword Kael had given me at the beast. It was pure reflex. As I drove the blade between its ribs, it tumbled sideways. Vanessa seized the chance to gather the children and flee further back.
Looking around, Kael was at the front of the line.
Each time he swung his sword, golden light bloomed along the blade. That light stood out starkly against the grey dust.
And beside him was Seraphine.
According to the Original Story, this was the moment.
The scene where Seraphine, seeing Kael glowing alone in the heart of the dust-choked battlefield, falls for him for the first time. I’d read that passage three times over.
「He was like a god descended upon this chaos. Standing at Kael’s side, one might believe we could win. His strength was dazzling, and I was grateful to fight beside him. I knew early on that he would become my glory. My heart sank, struck like a bell.」
This was the moment. Just as the novel described it. Kael looked like an avatar of victory that could never lose. But Seraphine’s eyes were fixed on the enemy in front of her.
I had to end this battle quickly. Otherwise the romance wouldn’t advance. Besides, I wanted to save Seraphine’s comrade from dying.
Gritting my teeth, I recalled the Original Story. The Wolf Tribe was weak to fire. They were furred beasts, and their pelts were thick and oily—once flames caught, the fire spread straight through to their bodies. Seraphine only discovered this fact after losing a comrade to the creatures’ teeth.
My heart pounded. If I accelerated the use of fire, I could save Seraphine’s companion. I had to hurry.
I looked around and spotted an unused Torch among the Wagon’s supplies.
My hand slipped on the Flint, but on the fourth try, the flame caught.
I scrambled to my feet and thrust the Torch at the nearest creature. I swung it hard, set fire to its fur, and it shrieked and rolled across the ground. I severed its throat as it writhed, crying out.
“It’s fire! Your Highness, it’s fire!”
I had proven it myself. Kael ordered the Fire Arrows to be loosed.
Then the alpha—a head taller than the rest—emerged from the chaos.
It let out a low howl.
“The alpha! Fire arrows at it! Kill it!”
Kael kicked off the ground and charged at the beast while barking orders. Watching the Fire Arrows streak through the air, I steadied my breathing and wrapped oil-soaked cloth around my Dagger. Then I set it alight. Bracing against the heat, I hurled the blade at the creature.
“Kreeeeeeee!”
The Dagger lodged in the beast’s eye socket. Fire spread to its fur in seconds. The moment flames raced to one side, they consumed its entire body in an instant.
Kael severed the alpha’s throat as it howled in agony and rolled. The moment its massive head flew into the air, the Wolf Tribe tucked tail and fled.
“Don’t chase them! We don’t know what else might be inside!”
Kael’s command rang out across the battlefield.
The battle ended just before the sun reached its zenith. And Hald, who had been hiding, slipped cautiously into view.
In the Original Story, I’d hired Hald as a guide only after visiting the Greystone Underground Market. The Hald I’d seen in the story didn’t seem quite so contemptible. But there he was, creeping out and rifling through the Wolf Tribe corpses, extracting teeth with practiced efficiency.
“Ugh. Why’d you have to use fire? You’ve ruined the hides.”
His belated appearance and grumbling were pitiful to witness.
Vanessa and the children regrouped without incident. Despite the ambush, we’d managed well.
I watched Kael and Seraphine conversing with satisfaction, nodding to myself. When Seraphine glanced back at me, I gave her an approving thumbs up.
I really was rooting for those two. The sight of youthful lovers together warmed my heart.

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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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