The Male Lead Is Targeting Me, Not My Younger Sister - Chapter 57

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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 Targets Me, Not My Sister — Episode 57
Karl.
The Original Work’s male lead number four.
‘Though I should call him “Key” to be precise.’
Since he’s currently wearing the false face of the Information Guild Master!
“Did you really just say goodbye to me?”
“Ugh.”
The man covered his face as if mortified.
‘This… is a Transcendent?’
In the end, Karl raised the white flag with a dejected expression.
“I can explain everything, so would you mind letting me out of this trap first? I’ll make it worth your while.”
‘Kill him or let him go?’
After serious deliberation, Lydia decided to pull Karl out of the trap.
‘There are plenty of other traps anyway, so I can always lock him back up if need be.’
Finally freed, Karl scratched his head and laughed awkwardly.
“Wow, I really can’t thank you enough. I’m alive because of you.”
Lydia saw no reason to mention that she was the one who’d triggered the trap in the first place.
“Don’t worry about it. No thanks needed. What are you doing here anyway?”
“That… I can’t tell you just yet.”
“Why not?”
“A man must know when to keep his mouth shut. That’s my motto.”
Karl, now fully recovered, flashed a wink.
‘Ugh.’
“Enough of that. Just be straight with me. Did you come because of a commission?”
But Karl pretended not to hear and dodged the question.
“I know nothing.”
This bastard.
‘How dare he sneak into our mentor’s research office like a common thief!’
Lydia’s temper flared.
“Are you in any position to act like this? Tell me right now why you tried to break in here! Otherwise, I’m tying you back up!”
Lydia pulled out the Trap Activation Device again, her threat unmistakable.
Karl recognized the object and went pale.
“Wait, hold on. You mean the Baron activated that?”
“Talk, if you know something!”
“No! I can’t say!”
“You little—”
Lydia was about to press the button in a fit of rage when—
“You!”
Karl’s voice cracked out.
“You came because of a commission you put out.”
Lydia froze.
“…What did you just say?”
Karl exhaled heavily.
“I was planning to tell you once I was certain… but since you’re the involved party, I suppose it doesn’t matter.”
At last, Karl revealed his true purpose.
“The suspicious person who’s been approaching Casstel’s Young Lady in recent months—that person is the owner of this office.”
Silence fell between them.
Karl furrowed his brow as if troubled.
“Should we move somewhere else? This doesn’t seem like the right place for this conversation.”
Lydia blinked blankly.
‘A person approaching Casstel’s Young Lady?’
He was saying it was her mentor?
She understood the words, but somehow they wouldn’t take root in her mind all at once.
“That’s impossible. That can’t be right.”
Karl sighed.
“…I’ll explain the details once we’re there. For now, just follow me.”
Lydia hesitated, then put the trap switch away and followed Karl.
They arrived shortly at a building some distance from the Research Building.
‘This place…’
One of the few refined rooms on the Military Academy grounds.
It was the Guest Reception Room.
‘Ordinary cadets would never set foot in a place like this.’
She couldn’t use the name of the outsider ‘Karl’. Had he borrowed it under his status as a Transcendent?
“Shall we return to the main point now?”
Lydia mentally organized what she’d heard earlier, steadying her thoughts.
“The person who approached Casstel’s Young Lady—you said you came because of a commission about them, didn’t you?”
Karl nodded readily enough.
“Yes, I did.”
“Good. I want to hear exactly what happened. Everything, from start to finish.”
But Karl’s face suggested he was hesitant about it.
“Hmm.”
“What’s the problem now?”
“Are you truly certain about this?”
“About what?”
“Edmund Baise.”
At that name, Lydia flinched.
“I’m convinced that man is the culprit who approached Casstel’s Young Lady.”
Lydia reacted defensively at once.
“Culprit? That’s a rather strong way to put it. We don’t even know for certain, and even if my mentor was the one who approached her, that doesn’t necessarily mean we should use the word ‘culprit,’ does it?”
“No.”
Karl was resolute.
His eyes took on an unusual gravity.
“I’ll be frank with you. I know why the Baron gave me that commission.”
Lydia startled.
“You believe there was deliberate intervention in how Casstel’s Young Lady ‘became what she is.’ Isn’t that right?”
It was the truth.
‘So he’s already caught on to my investigation of the Ainsoo Species Transformation secret.’
Well, she’d never really expected to keep it hidden from Karl anyway.
He was both the Information Guild’s Master and a Transcendent, after all.
“You understand perfectly. To be blunt, this isn’t a simple matter. Handled badly, it could destroy an innocent person. That’s why we need to proceed carefully. And that’s why I want to hear the full account.”
“I agree completely with that assessment.”
“Then—”
“But.”
Karl cut off her words.
“Have you never considered the reverse?”
Lydia hesitated.
“The reverse?”
“Yes.”
His voice was certain.
“What if I’m already aware of that danger, yet I’m confident enough to speak his name aloud?”
Lydia fell silent.
Karl was saying that Edmund Baise was the one who turned Casstel’s Young Lady into an Anceinte.
“There’s no point in me denying it here, is there? It won’t solve anything.”
Lydia exhaled softly.
“So I suppose the right thing is to listen properly and make my own judgment.”
Karl let out a quiet chuckle.
“A perfectly reasonable conclusion.”
“Let’s get back to the main point then. Why do you suspect my mentor?”
At last, Karl began to explain.
He said that from the moment he heard Lydia’s commission, he’d already guessed what she was looking for.
“The commission itself was simply asking me to identify everyone who approached Casstel’s Young Lady. But I happened to have a personal interest in this matter.”
So after drawing up the list, he’d conducted his own deductions and gradually narrowed the scope of his investigation, he said.
“Well, showing you would be better than telling. The details are all written here.”
Lydia accepted the documents he offered.
The papers were densely filled with his reasoning and the evidence supporting it.
After reading through for a while, Lydia spoke.
“Something’s odd.”
“What do you mean?”
“I understand your reasons for suspecting my mentor.”
The documents were detailed and logical—thorough enough to convince Lydia.
But why has the military shown no movement whatsoever?
“I couldn’t say for certain. I’m still not entirely sure what’s unfolding.”
Karl stroked his chin thoughtfully.
“It’s not the sort of matter to rush to conclusions about. We need to approach it cautiously.”
……I suppose that makes sense.
‘At least it’s somewhat persuasive.’
The man across from me carries the duty and responsibility of a Transcendent sworn to protect the empire, so I can’t trust him entirely.
‘And it wouldn’t surprise me if there were other hidden motives at play.’
But for now, at least these documents don’t appear to be falsified…….
“All right.”
Lydia closed the documents at last, having reached her decision.
“I have a proposal.”
“What would that be?”
“You plan to keep tracking your teacher from here on, correct?”
Lydia spoke with quiet resolve.
“Then I’ll accompany you.”
“I beg your pardon? What do you mean——”
But Lydia was sincere.
“You’ll have to keep coming in and out of here for your investigation anyway, won’t you? It’ll be far simpler if I’m said to be accompanying you. And you won’t fall into traps the way you did before.”
“Well, that’s true, but……”
Karl’s expression showed clear reluctance.
“You think I’d interfere with your investigation?”
He offered no denial.
“I won’t. I simply want to know the truth.”
Besides, if Edmund Baise truly is implicated in this——
Lydia would be the one to apprehend him with her own hands.
“What will you do?”
Karl studied her, making no effort to hide his doubt and distrust.
And yet.
“Fine. Why not give it a try.”
Thus the alliance between the two was sealed.
Each concealing their true intentions.

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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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