The Male Lead Is the Villain, and I'm the Only One Who Knows - Chapter 13

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

The Male Lead Is the Mastermind, but Only I Know It — Episode 13
Getting him to come along was good. Good, except…
‘This is like luggage… no, worse than luggage!’
My limbs flailed about like a paper doll’s. It was Evan’s doing—he’d scooped me up with one hand and settled me casually across his shoulder.
I hadn’t expected to be carried gracefully, but this was a bit much.
“Put me down, please. I can keep up on my own.”
“No. You’re too slow.”
My attempt at salvaging some dignity was flatly refused. Against his long stride, I really was falling far behind—I had no argument.
Curse these short legs of mine!
We arrived soon enough at that troublesome place, where only the brutal aftermath of the Beast’s meal remained.
‘There’s barely anything left that looks human.’
The scarlet blood that had soaked the blue grass and the shredded remnants of clothing spoke quietly of what had taken place here.
“I mention this so you don’t misunderstand—normally the Imperial Knights maintain posts throughout the grounds and can keep intruders out. But today…”
“His Majesty is celebrating their achievements, isn’t he?”
That was the polite way to put it. In truth, security had been completely abandoned for a drinking celebration.
The Beasts, seizing that opening, had penetrated all the way here.
The Knights had eventually been deployed, but too late to prevent casualties.
“There’s still a Beast nearby. I can sense its energy continuing to emanate from the surroundings… but where is it?”
“P-please! Help me! There’s someone here!”
I turned toward the urgent cry for help, but Evan caught me first, pulling me back.
His green eyes closed slowly, then opened again with deliberate calm. As though telling me something was wrong.
“Don’t fall for it. That’s not human.”
“That’s impossible. You’re saying Beasts can speak like that?”
“Why do you think they parasitize humans? It makes it easier to enchant people.”
Shocked by Evan’s words, I stood frozen—then a figure burst from the underbrush. A maidservant, her clothes torn and disheveled, rushed toward us with tear-filled eyes and a look of relief at seeing us.
“Gasp—I’m alive…! Please, please help me! That monster is trying to devour me!”
That really isn’t human?
Doubting his judgment, I hesitated—and in that moment, Evan suddenly thrust his arm toward me in a protective gesture. The instant I wondered if he’d misread the situation, our eyes met the woman’s.
“Found you.”
The woman’s mouth split obscenely wide. Her inhuman, grotesque maw twisted into a shrieking laugh as she lunged toward me with blinding speed.
As panic seized me, Evan’s quiet voice threaded through the chaos.
“Rene, can you purify that?”
“I-I’ll try.”
I answered without thinking, but honestly—I had no idea.
The only time I’d successfully used Purification was when I’d panicked at Evan’s exposure to Holy Water and hastily cast a healing spell.
It had been almost instinctive; I couldn’t even remember how I’d done it.
‘Can I do it? That time it was pure luck…’
I swallowed my anxiety and drew on the power of Filth with trembling fingertips. But compared to that desperate need, the sensation never came.
My mind raced while nothing responded. My lips went dry, my nerves wound razor-sharp.
‘It’s not working… I can’t do it. The power isn’t there like it was before.’
The instant I sensed failure, the woman’s radiant face loomed before my eyes. This is insane—it’s really a Beast. So goddamn fast.
Frozen in terror, I couldn’t even scream as my vision went black.
In that sudden darkness, nothing was visible.
Was I swallowed? Eaten?
Slash—
A familiar sound cut through my heightened panic, striking at my sharpened hearing.
“…Evan?”
“I’d prefer you only witness pleasant sights, but it seems I can’t manage that.”
It was Evan’s jacket that had covered my eyes. The moment he’d drawn his sword, he’d draped his clothing over my head to keep me from seeing the Beast’s death.
The cold, lifeless jacket carried the scent he always wore—the fragrance of a winter forest, cool and piercing, the kind that scattered the fog from my mind.
“It’s over. Whether you should look, I’m not sure.”
“Either way, I’m steady now. Thank you.”
I lowered the jacket to find the woman’s head, severed cleanly, rolling on the ground. Deliberately ignoring it, I moved closer to Evan.
‘The Beast’s presence is completely gone. It was so hard to tell on the surface—how did he know to distinguish it?’
As I watched Evan wipe blood from his face, I ventured a question.
“How did you know? There was no sign it was a Beast at all.”
“Look around. Even accounting for the night, isn’t it excessively dark?”
Following his words, I turned my attention carefully and realized the surroundings were indeed unsettlingly quiet and dim. The Imperial Palace’s light was faintly visible, but it was hardly bright.
It was natural darkness—the kind you’d miss if you weren’t paying close attention.
“It’s like a black fog has rolled in.”
“It’s a Barrier. Ordinary humans can’t see inside it, can’t enter, and can’t even hear voices—conversation is impossible. But you heard this woman’s voice, didn’t you?”
Ah, so you realized she was a Beast because her voice came through a Barrier that humans couldn’t penetrate?
‘The fact that the Slaughterer’s true form has remained hidden all this time… that’s thanks to this Barrier.’
Setting up a Barrier and arriving precisely where the Beast dwells was admittedly cumbersome, but at least this way there was no risk of accidentally harming an ordinary human. It was a sound method.
“I just couldn’t manage the Purification. If I’d succeeded, I could have saved her.”
“Of course you couldn’t. You’ve never learned it.”
“That’s true. I only just found out what Filth is, so I certainly can’t use it perfectly—I was arrogant.”
Since someone’s life hung in the balance, I couldn’t afford to gamble on luck the way I had before. I needed to find a solution.
“You might try visiting the Temple. I’ve heard that ability is rooted in the very essence of the goddess Arnoschil.”
“Ah, then I could go tomorrow—”
“I’m coming with you.”
“No, I can go alone.”
“You can’t forget your position, Rene. You’re the highest-ranking woman in the Empire right now.”
The Lakis Empire’s Empress had passed away long ago, and I was effectively the Crown Princess—the highest-ranking woman in the realm. Evan had seized on that point, stubbornly insisting he come along under the pretense of ensuring my safety.
“Hmm. I understand your meaning, but… are you really sure about this?”
“What are you worried about?”
I clearly remembered how his hand had burned when it touched the Holy Water. The Temple would be overflowing with sacred objects of every kind, and there would be priests everywhere—if a demon like Evan accidentally went in there…
“Somehow I have a feeling someone’s going to die…”
“…You’ve already decided it’ll be me, haven’t you?”
Evan caught the meaning of my words at once, his eyes narrowing slowly. He swept back the fallen strands of hair roughly with one hand and spoke in a low voice.
“Anyway, forget that. Earlier, when that Beast saw you and said ‘Found you’—do you know what that meant? Maybe it had seen the original maid before, or knew her somehow.”
“I have no idea. The maid was a complete stranger to me, so those words couldn’t have come from the real her.”
“I’ll look into it separately.”
Something about Evan’s expression didn’t sit right with me. I was about to ask if he’d thought of something when suddenly a blue flame shot up into the sky above, then scattered with a loud bang.
“That’s the Signal Flare marking the end of the operation. Looks like all the Beasts have been captured.”
“Thank goodness. I suppose the other Beasts weren’t in human form.”
“Beasts that parasitize humans are rare. Their numbers are increasing, so I can’t say for certain, but they’re still uncommon.”
The moment I dissolved the Barrier, I heard knights calling out for Evan from a distance. It seemed many were worried, having been away from him for so long.
“Your Highness, I’ll take care of things here.”
Banel arrived just in time, swept his gaze across the surroundings, and with a single gesture casually lifted the corpse. A black hole appeared in the ground, drawing the body toward it like a black hole, swallowing it cleanly.
“Banel, where did you send that body?”
“Are you curious?”
Banel smiled at my question—an unfailingly kind and gentle smile.
But why does it frighten me so…? His eyes seem unusually bright.
“…No, I’d rather not know.”
“If you’re curious, you’re welcome to ask me anytime.”
Suddenly I remembered when I’d asked about the carriage before—he’d practically recited an entire thesis.
…Ah, I really don’t want to know.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————