The Male Lead Is the Villain, and I'm the Only One Who Knows - Chapter 43

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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 Is Actually the Mastermind, and Only I Know It — Chapter 43
“Have you ever seen Monzi?”
“That is… I often saw him moving beyond my sleeve when I was giving you a foot bath. I’m so, so sorry…….”
Chahil answered my question in a subdued voice, watching my reaction carefully. Hmm. He only saw what was visible—I can’t fault him for that.
But this was a serious problem.
If it had been anyone other than Chahil, word might have leaked and caused an uproar.
“Monzi, come here.”
Squeak!
As if nursing some grievance, Monzi—who had been biting Chahil’s nose bridge savagely—fluttered back into my sleeve with a sharp whirr.
I pulled the ribbon tied around my sleeve taut to hide Monzi from view, then lifted my head absently—only to stiffen in alarm.
‘Good grief, it’s gotten all torn up in just a moment.’
Chahil’s smooth, white nose bridge was blotched with streaks of color. Small as a demon beast might be, a demon beast is still a demon beast. I suspected it must have hurt more than I’d thought, yet he’d endured it so capably.
Was playing the fool part of his act too? Either way, it looked as though it would scar if left alone. I exhaled shortly and led Chahil to the sofa, settling him down.
“Master…?”
“Stay still. I’ll treat it for you.”
In any world, the medical profession is held in high esteem. That’s because saving lives is not a simple matter.
In short, medical treatment was an expensive spoil of war reserved for the chosen few. The Grand Divine Temple, which presided over healing and blessing, was its principal institution.
‘That’s how potions were born—manufactured according to a fixed formula, possessing flawless efficacy without the slightest deviation, a commodity anyone could use if they had the coin.’
With a soft clink, I drew a standard-issue potion from my pocket. Inside a small, transparent glass vial no larger than a finger joint, blue liquid sloshed gently.
It was the finest recovery potion I had ever made. Its pristine, vivid hue was proof of the medicine’s worth.
“Master, that is….”
“A recovery potion. I’ve kept it just in case, and it’s fortunate timing.”
Chahil seemed to recognize the potion’s exceptional quality; he swallowed hard, his face visibly startled.
“B-but this will heal on its own…! Please don’t waste such a precious medicine on me….”
Without hesitation, I untied the ribbon bound to the top of the vial, but Chahil flailed his hand urgently, insisting it was unnecessary.
“Since a demon beast inflicted this wound, if we don’t treat it promptly, it will scar. So stay still.”
Standing before Chahil on the sofa, I bent at the waist and carefully poured the medicine over the bridge of his nose.
Glittering specks of light scattered across the small abrasion, and in an instant, the blotchy discoloration on Chahil’s nose bridge vanished completely.
“…Thank you. I wish I could repay you.”
Chahil caught sight of his unblemished nose in the mirror angled across from us, and with a much calmer expression, he looked up at me. He paused lightly before speaking again.
“Master, the wound on your neck… might I remove it for you?”
A persistent gaze pierced down at me from below. Though the injury would be difficult to see beneath my hair, Chahil stared unwavering toward the nape of my neck.
“I appreciate it, but as you said, it’s not an ordinary wound, so standard healing magic won’t work.”
If the mark could have been erased with a potion or Healing Magic, I wouldn’t be wearing a bandage.
‘Besides… I’m reluctant to show this to anyone.’
These weren’t the marks of a simple wound, but unmistakably bite marks made with deliberate intent, so…well.
“…I can.”
“Hmm?”
I straightened from my bow and stepped away from Chahil, but suddenly he caught hold of my sleeve. An unfamiliar warmth grazed my fingertips.
“Master, I’d like to look closely at your neck. You’ll allow it, won’t you?”
This clarity of tone was something I’d never heard from Chahil before, who usually spoke in vague terms. Our gazes locked for an instant in the empty air, then held fast.
‘…I should refuse.’
It was strange. Staring into those abyssal, snow-white eyes, my mind grew hazy as if shrouded in fog, and my lips moved of their own accord.
“Okay.”
The unintended consent slipped out, and Chahil rose as though he’d been waiting for exactly that.
“I’m glad you trust me, Master…….”
The moment Chahil’s hand reached toward the bandage—
Screeeee—!
A sharp, tearing sound accompanied by a harsh sensation struck my defenseless neck roughly.
“—!”
My vision swam dizzily, as though I’d been seared by cold fire.
“Urgh……!”
As I reflexively pressed my temples against the alien stimulus, a strange hand suddenly cut through the narrow space between Chahil and myself.
“That’s enough.”
More precisely: a hand gripping a long, razor-sharp blade with an iron hold.
“Unless you want to die.”
The frost-edged voice that issued from Evan—heard for the first time since our first meeting—cut through the air with merciless coldness.
A neat face strikingly resembling Sis’s, yet eyes of pitch-black that carried an entirely different, chilling presence, were fixed rigidly upon Chahil.
‘What…? Why is Evan….’
The shadows didn’t reveal themselves unless the situation was truly dire, did they?
‘Was I in danger just now? I did feel dizzy for a moment, but…….’
In the midst of my bewilderment at his sudden appearance, the bedroom door—which had been firmly shut—swung open with a bang.
‘What’s happening now?’
After Monzi, now Evan of all people?
Seeing me frozen in shock, he let out a small exclamation and casually rapped his knuckles against the already-open door.
Knock, knock.
The clear sound pierced through the cold tension hanging in the bedroom.
“My apologies for the intrusion.”
……Knocking should come before you open the door.
“W-what is it, all of a sudden?”
“Your luggage looks quite large and heavy. Thought you might need a hand.”
The loose smile he wore while glancing at Chahil was unmistakably the expression of someone who already knew everything.
I couldn’t very well ask him how he’d known about my meeting with Chahil…….
‘Sis went to Ruby Palace to deliver the poison. He must have heard about it then.’
I was finally coming to my senses. It was strange. Why had I listened to what Chahil said? I had no intention of showing him my wounds.
‘This time it really does feel like I was enchanted by something…… but there’s too much to worry about right now to dwell on it.’
More than anything, I’d meant to ask Chahil about Dimension Magic, but it doesn’t seem like today will work out for that…….
Left with no choice, I swallowed a sigh of regret and gave a slight shrug toward Evan.
“I was just about to head to the Laboratory. I can manage on my own.”
After speaking, I lifted my hand onto the blade of Monzi’s sword, which hung perilously close to Chahil’s throat, and slowly drew it downward. The silver blade was already smeared with Chahil’s blood from where it had bitten into his skin.
Fortunately, despite looking as though Monzi might sever Chahil on the spot, he quietly withdrew the sword in accordance with my touch.
“All right then. I’ll wait here.”
At my words, Evan leaned his back against the wall and answered with ease. Both Monzi and Evan—why had they both appeared?
Was there something I didn’t know? An inexplicable sense of discord made my brow furrow slightly.
“There’s no need to…….”
“Go on, Laine. You’ve got to gather your things.”
His face wore the same gentle smile as always, but now I understood. Whenever Evan showed that subtle kind of smile, his mind and spirit were in a rather twisted state.
‘There’s no way I can leave Chahil alone now that Monzi’s here.’
Sensing that Evan wouldn’t back down easily, I glanced back at Chahil and spoke softly.
“You should go.”
Chahil acknowledged my words with a simple bow and began to move, but Evan, still standing near the entrance, tilted his head lightly with that same smiling face.
“Don’t keep hiding things. It only makes me curious.”
If I’d been able to access my Status Window, there would undoubtedly be a barrage of red warning messages flashing before my eyes right now.
‘He’s smiling, so why does the atmosphere feel so menacing…….’
The pressure I felt through my skin was quite intense. What on earth had made him so upset?
“Chahil is Marin Palace’s only servant. It would be troublesome if he were injured.”
In the end, all I could do was speak. After I asked him not to kill Chahil, Evan covered his mouth with a long, slender finger and his eyes curved closed with a soft laugh.
“Ah, I’ll keep that in mind.”
…I’m still uneasy.
It doesn’t feel like he’ll actually keep it in mind…….

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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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