The Male Lead Is the Villain, and I'm the Only One Who Knows - Chapter 11

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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’s Identity Is the Mastermind, but Only I Know — Episode 11
Moments later, as we arrived at the Reception Room on the first floor, he finally spoke.
“You’ve come this far, so you must know each other quite well. Did you two already know one another?”
“No, we met for the first time in the Library yesterday. He seemed unwell, so I came because I was worried.”
“Going forward, I’d prefer you didn’t meet with Ate separately.”
What? He’s suddenly telling me not to see his younger brother—what is this about? And why does this feel familiar? It reminds me oddly of Leon.
‘Could it be that Bricom thing or something? His expression did look rather unpleasant.’
Is he about to say something like Leon would—”My younger brother is mine, so stay away”?!
“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but let me be clear: it’s not that.”
“Then… why?”
Whether my expression had given away my thoughts or not, Iban quickly and firmly denied it. I’d secretly hoped he might, but I was disappointed.
“Ate has a Terminal Condition. Don’t grow attached to a child who’ll die soon.”
Wait—Iban knew about Ate’s condition too? Could it be that as a Demon, he senses the aura of death?
“Shouldn’t that be all the more reason to treat him well?”
“Perhaps… the stronger the will to live, the more agonizing death becomes.”
He was saying not to give hope or affection to a child who wouldn’t live much longer. I understood his meaning, but… I’m not a Demon, so I can’t be that cold-hearted.
“Is there no way you could save him with your power?”
“All I can offer is death.”
“Well, regardless. I can’t just pretend not to know. Ate is so young, and surely he must be lonely.”
“I see. I understand.”
Understand, my foot—his eyes clearly read “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Maybe it would’ve been better if he did have that Bricom thing.
“Why did you come here anyway? It doesn’t seem like you came because of Ate.”
“Because you’re here.”
He answered matter-of-factly, as if I’d asked something perfectly obvious. But ever since last time, he’s been finding my location with uncanny precision… Are you sure you didn’t attach surveillance to me?
“Iban, you didn’t assign anyone to watch me, right?”
“I didn’t assign anyone.”
……Wait, did he just say he didn’t assign a “person”?
The instant I fixed him with a suspicious stare, a chamberlain knocked on the Reception Room door.
“Your Highness, the Prince has finished his preparations.”
After that, we quickly rendezvoused with Ate, and thanks to the Carriage Iban had arranged in advance, we arrived at Dia Palace without being late.
Things were fine up until then.
‘This place, surely not….’
The problem was where Iban had led me.
I looked around slowly and bit my lip, gradually coming to a halt.
“Iban.”
When I called to him quietly, Iban turned to look at me. Beyond his calm green eyes, my own pale, exhausted face was reflected back.
“What’s wrong?”
“This isn’t the party hall entrance, is it?”
“Well, we’re not simply guests attending a party.”
This was not the first-floor hall where everyone entered, but rather a corridor leading up to a second-floor platform. In other words, the very place where countless gathered nobles could see us without fail.
My eyes instinctively squeezed shut as a dizzying sensation washed over me.
‘No one said anything about entering from the platform!’
There was a fact I hadn’t managed to tell him—that I was far less immune to crowds than he might imagine.
‘All the parties I’ve attended before, everyone treated me like I was air, so it was fine.’
The time in my life when I’d faced the most direct attention was at my seventeenth birthday, when my Debutante Ball took place.
Back then, my family plus Marquis Dayad and his wife, whom we were acquainted with, and a few minor nobles they’d invited—some thirty people altogether gathered in one room. That was the event.
For someone like me, who’d spent my life alone in a quiet laboratory, that was more than enough to trigger hyperventilation.
‘Come on, Rene! Get a hold of yourself! You can’t close your eyes!’
‘Mother, I can’t take this. Let’s kick all these people out.’
‘But, but Leon. These people have all come from afar to celebrate that Rene has come of age….’
‘Our princess will die like this!’
Ugh. I’d remembered things I shouldn’t have.
Fortunately, just because there were many people didn’t mean I’d collapse on the spot. As long as they simply didn’t pay attention to me, I’d be fine.
Which is why I’d been perfectly able to follow Iban to parties all this time.
‘If I think about all those eyes being on me alone, I feel like I’ll pass out already. I’m confident I’d collapse faster than anyone else….’
As my complexion grew increasingly pale, Iban, who had been quietly observing, seemed to recall something and clasped his hands together.
“You’re rather shy for appearances’ sake. Don’t worry. I won’t let anyone see you.”
“Really? Can you do that? …Wait, that shouldn’t be allowed!”
“Just trust me. Your older brother can do anything.”
“But this Demon—no, what does Iban even think he can do…!”
Even Ate, who had been quiet until then, chimed in and seized my other hand.
With both my hands suddenly claimed, I had no chance to protest before my feet carried me forward toward the stage awash in light.
The herald’s announcement of our entrance had barely finished when Iban uttered words in a tongue I couldn’t comprehend.
In that instant, something settled over everyone’s faces.
“My goodness, where did these masks come from?”
“Heavens, how beautiful!”
“Could it be magic? How romantic….”
Domino Masks descended upon every eye in the blink of an eye.
The broad ballroom glittered with newfound richness, each mask distinct and perfectly harmonized with the rest.
‘This makes no sense. How is this even possible? How many people are gathered here?’
Casting magic simultaneously on not just one or two, but dozens of people was no trivial feat. As a High-ranking Magician myself, I could manage at most a dozen or so at the absolute limit.
‘One thing’s certain—this is no ordinary Demon. But I can’t for the life of me figure out what it actually is.’
Higher-ranking Demons, by nature, were less easily harmed by sacred objects.
That’s why I’d assumed it was a low-class Demon when I saw its flesh char the moment it touched Holy Water.
But now it wields High-level Magic as easily as breathing. ……What kind of Demon are we even dealing with?
‘It didn’t look like an act at all… Is it hiding something?’
No matter how gentle it appeared to be, it was still a Demon. I couldn’t afford to trust it too readily.
“Your form, the mask is absolutely splendid!”
Dia had received a silver mask studded with diamonds, and Ate was gazing at Iban with admiration. My own was adorned with amethyst, while Iban’s bore ruby stones.
Like a Demon that toys with human desire, the design of each mask seemed to manifest as what the wearer most coveted.
Thanks to this, pleased murmurs steadily filled the hall.
“Are you all right?”
Iban lowered himself to study my expression. There was nothing more dangerous than a Demon as attentive as this. No wonder humans fell so easily.
“Yes, I think I’ll manage.”
With everyone masked, I couldn’t tell if they were looking at me or not, which actually took the pressure off.
I’d worried for nothing—this might actually be a rather clever solution after all.
“It suits you well. Though you looked better without it.”
“……Iban, people will misunderstand.”
“Misunderstand?”
I hastily pressed a finger to my lips in alarm, and Iban tilted his head with a mischievous gleam in his eyes.
“Aren’t we past such niceties?”
He then reached out and straightened my crooked mask with his own hands. I opened my mouth to respond, then closed it again, struck speechless by his audacity.
‘I almost nodded along with that….’
Behind the crimson mask, eyes of unfathomable green curved slowly toward me, and only then did I snap back to my senses.
“Stay by my side. I’ll shield you as much as I can.”
The restrained aura that radiated from Iban was intensely provocative.
‘My bias’s face never changes, so how could my heart possibly waver….’
Abandon my bias? What does that even mean.
How would I even….

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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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