The Male Lead Has Gone Mad Over the Troublesome Villainess - Chapter 8

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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 8
Meanwhile, at Ardena Duke’s Mansion.
On the fourth day since Rosana had departed with the Expedition, the Ardena Duke returned to his mansion. During her absence, he had surrounded himself only with those of his choosing, drowning in indulgence while his mind remained dulled by substances.
The Head Butler bowed before the Duke as he arrived, his face drawn with exhaustion.
“Your Grace, you have returned.”
For the first time in four days, the study door opened. The Head Butler, watching the Duke’s retreating back, could not conceal his unease, his lips pressed thin with worry.
“What is this! What is this!”
The Duke’s roar echoed through the entire mansion. It had been four days since the Vault in his study was smashed to pieces — four days the Ardena household had hidden the truth. Now the hammer of his wrath was finally falling.
“Head Butler! Where are you! Summon every last one of these cursed wretches! Find out which one of you did this, now! Who, I demand to know!!”
The Head Butler squeezed his eyes shut.
It was not merely the Vault that had been emptied. The Duke’s reason itself, already compromised by substances, had shattered completely. His face flushed crimson, his pupils dilated unnaturally, and a sickly chemical reek emanated from his disheveled hair.
“Head Butler!”
The Head Butler’s collar was seized. He bowed his head in submission.
“It was you, wasn’t it! How dare you lay a hand on my Vault!”
The Duke’s eyes blazed with fury as he demanded an answer. Only the Duke and Head Butler knew the Vault’s combination. Confronted by the mangled safe spilling its contents bare to the world, the Duke had lost all reason.
“No, sir, never! Your Grace, I have served loyally for thirty years! Please, believe me! How could I ever dare such a thing!”
The Head Butler fell to his knees.
“Fetch the Guard Captain at once! Seal the mansion and interrogate every soul!”
The Head Butler scrambled to his feet and bolted from the study, his desperate voice calling for the Ardena household’s Guard Captain echoing through the halls.
The Duke threw his eyes wide and began inspecting every room. His private chambers, the audience hall, and even the Dressing Room.
The Jewels that should have been in the Dressing Room had vanished entirely.
“Aaaaaaah!”
These were treasures the Duke had spent a lifetime gathering with great care.
The Ardena Duke believed that only elaborate luxuries could display the dignity and standing of his house. That pride — his entire pride — had been stripped away. He felt utterly exposed, as though his very skin had been torn off.
“Rosana! Where is this damned girl! Where!”
The Duke shrieked, his reason completely gone. He was certain that all misfortune befalling him originated from Rosana. His wife had died because of Rosana, and it was Rosana who had brought darkness upon the Ardena house ever since.
“The Lady Rosana has departed, Your Grace. She has joined the Expedition……”
“Ha!”
The Ardena Duke gnashed his teeth so hard they might shatter. His entire body went rigid with fury. There was no one left to pour his rage upon. Rosana — who had always borne the brunt of his anger and violence — had already left for the Expedition. The Duke’s voice dropped to something cold and sinister.
“Bring them all. Not a single soul is to be spared.”
In the Duke’s eyes, unable to vent his rage properly, a lethal gleam flickered like broken glass.
The Duke’s command spread through the entire mansion. In moments, the broad lobby was packed with people.
The Ardena Duke swept his gaze across them coldly.
Every face was twisted with fear.
“Who is it. Who dares lay hands on Ardena’s fortune.”
All held their breath.
But no one came forward.
“Fine. Search them all! Every room, every corner, turn it all over! Whoever is found will not escape death! I will hang the neck of the one who dared disgrace Ardena for all to see!”
A sweeping search commenced. They ransacked not only the servants’ quarters but the stables, storerooms, even the soil of the gardens themselves.
Of course, despite all this, no culprit emerged.
Not a single precious object that had vanished was recovered.
The Ardena Duke sent agents to the marketplace, and it was only after another week had passed that he discovered the Jewels had surfaced through the Black Market. Whoever attempted to trace their origin further met with decidedly unfortunate ends.
And so the Ardena Duke lost all hope of reclaiming his treasures.
The Ardena Duke’s screams echoed through the Capital for some time.
Of course, those screams never reached Rosana’s ears as she journeyed northward.
* * *
And in that same moment.
We pressed steadily northward toward Gracestone, our first destination. Day after day, we marched from dawn until dusk, pitched camp, and set out again at first light. The grueling schedule repeated without mercy.
Now, organized by our assigned groups, we took turns standing Sentry Duty each night. Even the young ladies and children who had whined for home in the beginning fell silent. Their tears had dried, and they had begun to accept the reality before them, their mouths sealed shut.
The Non-combat Personnel and Combat Personnel were starkly divided. The Combat Personnel were undergoing constant Training, preparing to fight for survival, while the Non-combat Personnel were left to fend for themselves.
I understand Kael’s reasoning, truly. With limited time, limited manpower, and limited resources, there was a ceiling to how many soldiers could be raised. Fighting Demon Beasts required those with exceptional skill, and concentrating resources on them offered far better odds of success.
A sigh escaped me unbidden.
“Tsk.”
I even understand Kael’s position… but how exactly is he supposed to make these people fight Demon Beasts? It’s almost remarkable he hasn’t abandoned them yet. Remarkable, and bitter.
There was only one reason Kael could not abandon them. They too had come as representatives of their respective houses. They bore the obligation to prove themselves and be recorded in history as having remained with the Expedition until its end or their dying breath — representatives of their families. Should they be cast out, marked as absent from the Expedition, their houses would bear the stain of treason.
That was not a fate any of those families desired.
Most of them had likely been paid dearly to stand in this place.
If they were abandoned or made to surrender, their beloved families or those they cherished might die — or pay a price far worse.
Kael knew this truth as well, which is why he dragged them forward against all odds.
It was the sort of excruciating section even the novel had found unbearable to write.
Even seeing it firsthand, it’s exactly as I thought.
And I myself was counted among those “useless non-combat personnel.” During the journey, I’d been doing Training little by little to recover my combat senses, but before facing real combat, it didn’t seem they would return completely.
At least it was fortunate that my strength wasn’t as disastrous as when I first possessed this body?
I’d recently found a training partner to work with.
“Vanessa! Wake up! We need to exercise before we leave!”
Vanessa let out a groan from inside her supply Sleeping Bag.
“Uhhh…… Rosana…… couldn’t we just rest today……?”
“You said the same thing yesterday.”
“……But I didn’t rest yesterday. You didn’t let me rest yesterday, Rosana.”
Vanessa lifted her head, sniffling. This young lady, who’d been on the verge of tears since the start of the Expedition, had one fatal problem.
She couldn’t run.
Like most noble daughters.
Even walking thirty minutes a day left her convinced she’d done considerable exercise. Her only real exertion was mincing along in small, uncomfortable shoes. For such people, an Expedition spanning dozens of kilometers was nearly unbearable—exactly like Rosana’s condition when I’d first possessed this body.
So naturally, this Marching felt like torture. I’d had to drag her along by force more than once as she shuffled about.
“I really…… feel like I’m dying just from walking all day long……. My feet are completely blistered…….”
“Which is exactly why you need to train more. Do you want Demon Beasts to tear you apart? You at least need to know how to run, Vanessa.”
I gave the Sleeping Bag a light tug, and Vanessa trembled as she hauled herself up.
“I’m more terrified of you now than I am of Demon Beasts…….”
That was easy talk from someone who hadn’t actually encountered Demon Beasts yet. Thanks to not having faced any so far, some in our company had begun to think the creatures were mere fantasy. An escape from reality, really.

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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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