The Male Lead Is the Villain, and I'm the Only One Who Knows - Chapter 23

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

The Male Lead’s True Identity Is the Mastermind, and Only I Know It — Chapter 23
Now came my turn to receive a prisoner. The number of prisoners was limited, and since many wished to receive one, the odds were high that I would miss out if I didn’t attend.
This was finally the reason I’d come all this way!
“Hmm, let me see. What about that one?”
The Emperor scanned the bowed prisoners, then pointed to a muscular man kneeling at the front, his physique commanding immediate attention. Taut forearms and angry abdominal muscles glimpsed between the tears of his garments seized the eye at once.
“He was originally the captain of the Tarant royal knights, wasn’t he? With such strength, he’d be perfect as a servant. Since he handles horses well, he could make an excellent stable master.”
“An excellent choice, Your Majesty.”
The Advisor laughed brightly, suggesting that this would be appropriate treatment befitting a prospective crown princess.
“My goodness, a captain of the knights! It seems Your Majesty cares very much for the prospective crown princess.”
“I hear the Crown Prince is equally devoted to the princess. Why, just yesterday he accompanied her to the State Hall….”
“Indeed. Otherwise, there’s no way His Majesty would so readily bestow such treasures….”
I wanted to protest immediately, but no one seemed to notice my objections. Excuse me—what about my wishes?
‘I don’t need a muscular stable master with toned forearms!’
The prisoner in question—the captain of the Tarant knights—glanced up at me, then fixed me with an intense, flame-like gaze.
No, don’t stare at me like that. I have no say in this matter….
Normally, it was proper to accept whatever the Emperor gave without complaint, but I couldn’t simply abandon Chahil. Anxiously, I glanced sideways at him, only to find him still staring directly at me.
‘…?’
Chahil had been looking only at me this whole time—could this be a coincidence? I gazed back at him in confusion.
“Then for Linet, I shall give that one—”
Bang! Just as the Emperor was about to gift me the muscular prisoner, my lips flew open with desperate urgency, sensing the crisis.
“Your Majesty, I prefer that one!”
Prefer… prefer…!
My loud voice echoed through the vast Banquet Hall in successive waves. Oh, I wanted to faint.
Every eye in the room turned as one toward the direction my finger pointed, as if enchanted.
“…Hm, but his complexion is so pallid he looks ready to die tonight. Are you quite certain?”
The Emperor looked at Chahil, tilting his head with an expression of bewilderment.
And indeed—Chahil’s long white hair was tangled hopelessly, and his ragged garments resembled burlap, making him look less like a prize prisoner than a dying patient with little life left to him.
The Emperor seemed reluctant, concerned that giving me a prisoner who appeared to be on death’s door might later cast doubt on his own judgment.
“I assure you, that one will suffice. Instead, why not have the knight captain tend to Your Majesty’s warhorses, Perret? It would be a shame to let the talents of one who has crossed battlefields as one with his mount for many years go unpolished—allow them to shine through Your Majesty’s keen eye.”
Even if I’d accepted the knight captain willingly from the start, people would have talked. They’d have called me a foolish woman with no eye for talent, wasting such a capable prisoner as a mere servant.
After years as a veteran reader of romance fantasy novels, I knew this trap by heart. Ahem.
“…Now that you mention it, that does sound reasonable. Truly, it would be a waste to use such talent merely as a servant.”
After a moment of silence, the Emperor slowly stroked his chin in agreement, and the nobles at once began murmuring their approval of the wisdom of the plan.
“My son was fortunate. To welcome so wise a young lady as his consort.”
The nobles, seizing their chance, began showering praise on the clever crown princess, and the Emperor, delighted, raised his cup to drink.
It was as I turned to lead Chahil away that—
The Banquet Hall doors, which had been firmly closed, suddenly flew open, and the urgent cry of a chamberlain rang out.
“The Crown Prince has arrived, Your Majesty!”
What? Who?
‘Why is Ibban here?’
Before the chamberlain had even finished speaking, Ibban appeared. Without sparing a glance for the multitude of eyes now upon him, he advanced directly across the center of the hall toward me, unhesitating.
It felt ominous.
‘…He came because of me, didn’t he?’
I tore my gaze from the approaching Ibban and fixed it on a distant pillar instead.
I’d tried to slip away quickly for exactly this reason!
“I was delayed by duties. Grant me a gift as well, Father.”
Ibban arrived with an easy smile, positioning himself beside me before speaking in a low, casual tone. The nobles who saw him erupted in astonished whispers that filled the Banquet Hall.
“Good heavens, what brings Your Highness here?”
“He, who never so much as glanced at the meritorious service banquet before….”
“Could it be on account of his betrothed?”
The Emperor, too, was startled—his narrow eyes widened visibly. He set down his cup with evident pleasure and regarded Ibban with undisguised interest.
“Ho, wonders never cease. I thought you indifferent to such gifts.”
Then, with a gesture of casual permission, he waved his hand dismissively, urging Ibban to take whatever treasure he wished from the heap before them.
“You grant me free choice?”
“As if you’d bother asking before taking it anyway.”
The Emperor gave a hollow laugh, as though this were not the first such incident, regarding it as utterly unsurprising.
Yet his eyes betrayed keen curiosity about what his son would select.
What could possibly compel him to actually attend a banquet he never failed to avoid before?
As anticipatory gazes rained down, the corners of Ibban’s mouth lifted in a shallow arc.
Without hesitation, he grasped my hand beside him.
“I’ll take mine with me.”
His hand, gripping mine with perfect control, was impossibly cold. Fingers threaded between mine left no room for escape, and he turned to look at me in silence.
Then gasps of admiration erupted from all around. The Emperor broke into a satisfied smile.
“My dear, the gift you’ve chosen will be sent to Marin Palace at once. We must ensure your new possession is properly prepared for his new master, wouldn’t you say?”
The Emperor gestured to his attendants, who lifted Chahil to his feet among the other prisoners. Even as this unfolded, those pale eyes of his remained fixed on me.
But I couldn’t spare him a glance—not with Ibban’s hand locked around mine.
“Women’s tastes are impossible to predict. Do your best, Ibban.”
The Emperor’s careless remark landed like an additional weight, yet Ibban’s composed expression didn’t falter for an instant.
‘This is a disaster….’
Servants led Chahil away to be washed. As his retreating figure grew distant, Ibban—who had been watching him carefully—spoke at last, his gaze unreadable.
“I wondered what you could possibly want so badly that you’d come here—”
His sentence trailed off, leaving silence in its wake.
“Is that your taste?”
“…It’s not like that. Let’s just leave here.”
I knew perfectly well that everyone was watching. He was doing this on purpose.
Dizzy, my eyes squeezed shut, I hastily pushed his back toward the exit.
The moment we stepped out of the hall, the air around us fell silent. Which only made everything feel worse.
‘Wait. I didn’t do anything wrong—so why does it feel like I’m being scolded?’
Only then did I grasp how strange the situation was. Still holding my hand, Ibban said something equally unexpected.
“I didn’t know you liked long hair.”
“No, really, I don’t.”
Not that it was terrible or anything! But if I admitted to it so easily, he’d definitely get the wrong idea!
In the midst of my protest, his shadow beneath the moonlight seemed to stretch unnaturally long.
“Really?”
Even so?
Ibban’s dark hair, which had grown impossibly long in an instant, swayed like river mist in the cool breeze.
Captivated by the beauty of that moment, I reached out instinctively. Ibban bent slowly toward me.
“Linet, Demons have long hair naturally. We live a very long time. So if you want it, just say so.”
So this was really Ibban’s hair?
Soft jet-black silk filled my palm, and my breath caught without my meaning it to. Enchanted—was this what enchantment felt like? It was utterly captivating.
‘That’s strange. When I looked at Chahil, it wasn’t anything like this.’
His deeply sensual green eyes, meeting mine, curved upward like crescents.
“Does it please you?”

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