The Male Lead Has Gone Mad Over the Troublesome Villainess - Chapter 68

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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 Villainous Woman – Episode 68
Raven’s Nest.
The man in charge of this place, the leader of the Black Hawk who primarily dealt in human trafficking, was named Oliscen.
Originally from the Preland Kingdom, he made his living peddling the poorest wretches from the depths of the Gradana Empire. He’d long since been a wanted criminal in Preland, which was why he’d relocated his operations to the Empire.
And what perfect timing it was—monsters had begun to swarm, reducing the Empire to a wasteland. He couldn’t have asked for better circumstances.
The sound of cart wheels creaking drifted in from outside.
He’d already heard that Kalad had been captured by the Crown Prince. The entire warehouse had been cleared out—years of accumulated stock toppled in a single night.
Yet an unexpected message had come from the man now in custody. Someone bearing Kalad’s mark had brought him a rather intriguing commission.
It seemed Kalad, even while imprisoned, had been clever enough to leave subordinates outside. He wasn’t the type to sit idle even in chains.
Finding decent merchandise had become nearly impossible in recent times, so there was nothing to lose in taking the job.
Shortly after, one of his subordinates entered the room.
“You called for me.”
The man’s accent was thick with the Preland dialect. From the Preland Kingdom to here—they’d been together for a long time, friend and subordinate both. Whatever work needed doing, they’d done it side by side, and this would be no different.
“Do we still have any of that Sleep Incense we used back in Preland?”
“There’s some in the warehouse, but that stuff is potent enough that if we’re not careful with it, we’ll end up passed out right alongside our targets.”
“Then pick someone who knows how to handle it properly. Looks like some decent merchandise has arrived. There’s an Expedition that came to Gloria, remember?”
“Ah, yes.”
The subordinate scratched his cheek.
“Will that work? I heard it’s being led by some Crown Prince or another.”
Oliscen laughed coldly.
“There’s no need to hesitate over a profitable job. We’ll just lie low in Greystone for a while. And coat the city walls of Gloria with that scent the monsters love—make things difficult for them.”
Oliscen’s eyes narrowed as he smiled. There were certain things they’d obtained through their various illicit dealings in Greystone.
“Slather it thick with female monster pheromones.”
The subordinate chuckled wickedly at that.
“Watch out for that Gongnyeo woman, I hear. She knows how to use a sword, for what it’s worth. Though she’s pretty enough, from what they say—down south they’d line up just to buy someone like that. She’s special. Don’t damage her. Drops the price.”
The subordinate nodded.
* * *
The following night, Gloria was as peaceful as ever.
After dinner, I stopped by the children’s room and had to listen to Lillia spend thirty minutes boasting about a special pebble she’d found during the day.
Lillia spoke with utmost seriousness.
“Gongnyeo, isn’t this really a jewel?”
“Well… it’s not a jewel exactly, but it’s prettier than jewels, don’t you think?”
Vanessa smiled from beside her, smoothing out the children’s blankets.
As I left the children’s room, I checked the windows. It was the tail end of summer, and the nights were still humid and warm.
“Should we leave the window open a bit?” Vanessa asked.
Vanessa asked.
“Just a little?”
I returned to our quarters, extinguished the lamp, and lay down. It was undeniably a peaceful night.
* * *
Just past midnight, a grappling hook caught on the eastern wall.
The sound was nearly silent. Thick Sleep Incense had drifted up, and the sentries guarding the walls had collapsed with it, so no one noticed the intruders slip in.
The Toad Secretion that had been applied in anticipation of the earlier attack had long since hardened and lost its adhesive properties.
The uninvited guests dropped into the plaza and immediately scattered in groups of three. They’d already memorized the positions of every guard and patrol route. Any sentries they encountered were neutralized one by one with Sleep Incense, as were the knights protecting the quarters.
Having breached the defenses, they converged on two buildings marked with red symbols. The group gathered before the quarters where Rosana and Vanessa were staying looked particularly menacing.
Those who entered through the window lit more Sleep Incense.
They had their mouths and noses covered with cloth coated in an antidote, so they were fine, but the others inside were not.
As they pushed through the door, black hair scattered across a pillow came into view.
“Black hair,” one of the men muttered.
A woman with black hair and this level of beauty would surely be the Gongnyeo Rosana.
“She uses a sword, so I’ve heard.”
The man moving toward Rosana pulled her sword well out of reach.
“Burn more incense. We don’t want her waking up on the journey—that would be troublesome.”
He brought an incense burner close to Rosana’s face and waved it slowly. Thick smoke wrapped around her nose and mouth, flowing in. Yet Rosana didn’t so much as stir.
As the man hefted Rosana onto his shoulder, her limp body swayed slowly like a puppet suspended on strings.
The carts bearing Rosana, along with the other women and children, disappeared into the darkness in less than thirty minutes.
The intruders didn’t stop there. The remaining four men smeared the walls with thick, viscous secretions harvested from female monsters. They ensured the scent—detectable only to monsters—would spread sufficiently through the air.
“Is this enough?”
“Perfect! The beasts won’t be able to resist. By the time they catch our scent, we’ll have long since left Greystone behind.”
The men laughed softly.
* * *
Something felt wrong with my body. For having fallen asleep comfortably in bed, this couldn’t be right. That stale, musty stench had no place in a proper bedroom. I tried to sit up, but my limbs wouldn’t obey.
“Rosana.”
At the faint sound of a voice, I forced my heavy eyelids open.
“I… I think we’ve been kidnapped.”
Vanessa spoke in a trembling voice.
Kidnapped? My mind felt thick, sluggish—it took a moment for the situation to sink in. I worked my bound body to a sitting position, and as I looked around, I realized children and women were imprisoned alongside me.
“Are we the only ones they took?”
Vanessa nodded. The Black Hawk gang, the ones dealing in Human Trafficking—it had to be them. Among those confined were not only members of the Expedition, but also several unfamiliar faces. As I studied their frightened expressions, something odd suddenly struck me. Not everyone who had been in Gloria had been brought here.
Now that I thought about it…
“Mirel isn’t here, is she?”
In Gloria, we had Mirel and her attendants with us as well. They would have made fine targets for the Black Hawk, yet Mirel and her servants were nowhere to be seen.
“That’s right. Do you think they missed her?”
Impossible. Compared to us and the children, who had deliberately chosen an unassuming house to lodge in, Mirel had selected a grand, eye-catching mansion.
So that was why she’d been so quiet lately. She’d been preparing this little event. It was absurd—no, it was downright horrifying. How could anyone even conceive of such a thing?
I truly hadn’t anticipated Mirel would do something like this. In the Original Story, neither Mirel nor the Black Hawk organization had ever been mentioned.
There were things I didn’t know, unforeseen developments I should have prepared for—perhaps I’d been careless. But nothing catastrophic had happened yet. They would still be within Greystone, and there was time enough to set things right again.
We would make it out safely.
“…Rosana?”
“Yes?”
“Your… your expression looks terrifying.”
Vanessa murmured, her shoulders hunched.
“Does it?”
Vanessa nodded.
“You look like a villain, Rosana.”
I let out a laugh at Vanessa’s awkward smile.
“Then let’s call me a villain who punishes the wicked.”
Did I plan to sit idle in this place? Not for a moment. Those fools would pay for daring to lay hands on us. And they would pay in the cruelest, most terrible way imaginable.

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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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