The Male Lead Is the Villain, and I'm the Only One Who Knows - Chapter 44

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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 Chapter 44

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“It’ll take some time because I need to sort the poisons separately. I’ll get back as fast as I can, but…….”
“Take your time, Rene.”
Rene, whose anxious eyes had been darting back over her shoulder, finally left the bedroom with reluctance.
When the sound of Rene’s footsteps faded entirely—growing distant alongside the waiting Siss—the affectionate mask that had rested on Iban’s lips evaporated without a trace.
A gaze cold beyond the reach of words, perfectly devoid of any emotion whatsoever, descended upon Chahil.
“There’s nothing to say, since it doesn’t matter. If you’ve any last words, I’ll hear them.”
Iban strode across and settled into the sofa across from where Chahil stood, tilting his head slightly with a look of utter disinterest.
Go on. Let’s hear it.
The implication was unmistakable: whatever he said, he would die the moment his business was concluded.
The evidence lay in Kan, who stood silently behind Iban still gripping his blade—and notably, without wiping away Chahil’s blood that had dried on its edge.
The intent was bluntly apparent: there was no need to clean it, since it would soon be soiled again.
It was magnanimity dressed in tyranny, and Chahil, having studied the figure before him with care, settled onto the sofa with a serene expression.
Not a trace remained of the fumbling hesitation he’d shown in Rene’s presence—an entirely different composure now radiated clearly from his face.
“It would become troublesome for you to ignore your master’s wishes, wouldn’t it?”
“Ha ha.”
The absolute blankness fractured. Iban laughed aloud, exhaling a long breath before slowly propping his chin on his hand.
“Who. Me?”
Becoming troublesome?
Not a single word or arrangement was without its amusement. Banel had been right. Iban belatedly acknowledged his loyal servant’s assessment.
‘I’ll need to observe him further to grasp the full extent of his abilities… but he’s quite entertaining.’
‘Among the humans you’ve found entertaining, I’ve yet to see one who was sane.’
It is amusing, the way he dares to prattle on. Iban’s green irises took on the cool vitality of a summer forest.
“Well. Skilled servants are a dime a dozen.”
“I’m the only servant who’s earned your favor. You’ll regret it. For quite a long time, perhaps even forever.”
“That’s a long way to beg for your life.”
“A lifespan isn’t something a being like you need concern yourself with.”
As Chahil’s lips closed on his calm riposte, Iban’s mouth curved upward in a fluid smile.
“You know me, don’t you?”
“I mentioned we were acquainted.”
Chahil’s transparent white pupils curved like crescents.
‘Have we met somewhere before? There’s something oddly familiar about you.’
‘When I was an apprentice mage in the Tarant Royal Family, Your Highness visited for diplomatic talks. It was many years ago.’
Tarant. Tarant, was it…….
It had been more than a decade. Why had he gone to such a distant place back then?
There was no way he’d traveled so far merely for talks. He didn’t engage in such pointless, unnecessary movements.
‘Ah. Some fugitive had hidden themselves in Tarant, so I suppose I went to apprehend them.’
It was a trivial matter, scarcely worth remembering. The personnel dispatched to the surface had been few, and there had been no choice but to send him.
‘I caught and killed them in a day, then returned home immediately.’
So it must have been an exceedingly brief encounter. Yet for some reason, the man before him seemed to recall even that trivial, faded shadow.
“So it’s a memory you’ve cherished alone. How unfortunate.”
“Well… it’s certainly a rather shabby memory for a great demon of your magnificence to recall.”
The moment his words ended, Kan’s blade hissed sharply upward through the air.
The dark blood crusted on Chahil’s nape flowed anew across the cold steel.
“Shall I kill him now, Your Highness?”
“Leave it. This is entertaining.”
At Iban’s dismissive gesture, Kan slowly withdrew his sword with visible reluctance.
“So?”
“The fugitive you came to apprehend from the Demon Realm back then—that was my father. I witnessed firsthand as a child while my father’s limbs were chopped into pieces.”
“I see.”
So what? What of it?
“Ah. Is this it, then? Revenge for your father’s death, or some such thing?”
Just as Iban’s expression was beginning to shade with boredom at the cliché, Chahil delivered an unexpected answer.
“I spent a long time cultivating the human I intended to kill myself. Since you’ve stolen my quarry, I’ll have you resurrect them. Then I’ll kill them with my own hands.”
His silver-white eyes flickered with bizarre exultation, fixing on Iban directly. The lengthening gaze held a twisted madness.
“Since I was afforded such an excellent spectacle at the time, I shan’t hold it against you.”
This time, it was Chahil who spoke with magnanimity, his tone honeyed and courteous. Iban let out a hollow laugh.
“…Banel’s insight proves quite useful.”
Until now, every human Banel had found amusing was without exception insane. Not a single one had been truly sane, yet the man before him seemed to be peculiarly unhinged above all the rest.
To kill someone and then bring them back to life, only to kill them again with his own hands. Whatever the reason, it was extraordinarily twisted taste.
“According to your words, there are many demons lately who have lost their positions due to lack of qualification.”
“…You believe that?”
“Looking at this one, it seems possible……. I apologize.”
At the serious tone that came from Kahn, who ordinarily held his tongue, Iban furrowed his brows with an exasperated expression.
Even Kahn, whom he had trusted, was being corrupted by Banel……. Iban sighed with weary eyes and made a dismissive gesture.
“Help them reunite as a family. Kahn.”
“I will handle it.”
He could not allow such a thing to remain at Rene’s side. Did it matter whether he met his father here or in the next world? Let him settle his grudges as he pleased.
At Iban’s signal, Kahn immediately drew his blade.
Chahil, who had been sitting calmly without any particular response, easily deflected the swiftly descending sword strike.
At that same moment, with a chilling screech, the silver blade threaded with aura crumbled into black ash and scattered into fragments.
It was neither human strength nor the power of a Dark Magic user mimicking a demon. This was unmistakably the essence of the Demon Realm.
Something no one could deny.
“You must have seen it a moment ago. What I did to my master’s neck.”
“For a half-breed, you certainly have the trappings.”
With shameless audacity, Chahil had layered his own Magical Power over Iban’s that was inscribed on Rene’s neck, using the power of a half-breed demon.
It was not embedded as thoroughly as Iban’s would have been, and in time it would naturally disperse, but for now, if Chahil were to die, the backlash would strike Rene as well, since she shared his Magical Power.
‘How troublesome.’
Before the aftereffects of embedding his Magical Power fully took hold, any rash action on his part could endanger Rene.
Of all times, this had to happen while his Magical Power was settling stably into Rene’s body. It was nothing but irritating.
‘Rene, of all things to take in, this mongrel……. Tch.’
As a Hybrid of demon and human, Chahil’s presence was faint, and with all manner of spells layered on to conceal his aura, it was only natural that Rene had not immediately seen through his true nature.
Tap-tap-tap. Iban drummed his fingertips on the sofa and opened his mouth with an expression of ennui.
“What do you want?”
“I need the Demon Beast that you possess. To resurrect my father’s soul, I need the body of a perfectly pure, newly born Demon Beast.”
“…Ah, that.”
That lucky little furry thing that had been clinging to Rene’s side all day, growing ever more rotund?
“If you hand that over to me, I will disappear. Cleanly.”
…….
Iban briefly recalled dust, then tilted his head at an angle and parted his lips.
“I don’t want to.”
At this unexpected answer so bluntly delivered, a line creased Chahil’s usually smooth brow.
‘…Don’t want to?’
Chahil’s assumption that it would be easy to obtain, since it was after all merely remnants, shattered completely.
“Might I ask why?”
“Rene seems to like it quite a lot.”
If he took that small thing away and fell out of favor, he had no confidence he could recover from it. If they were to stay together long, he could not afford to let even this slight thing be taken for the sake of a mere hybrid.
“Why not receive a different Demon Beast that resembles it instead?”
“Have you not seen how it’s swollen sideways? There’s no way one like it exists.”
“Hmm……. You make a fair point.”
From a distance, it did look somewhat like dust packed tightly in a window frame. At Iban’s words, Chahil nodded with a contemplative expression and shifted his regretful mouth.
“A newly born Demon Beast is cautious by nature and does not come forward carelessly before people. It reveals itself only to one without malice, a trustworthy presence.”
This had been the decisive reason why Chahil had been unable to find the Demon Beast until now. The same was true for Iban. Among those here, there was only one person before whom the Demon Beast would approach without wariness……and that was Rene.
Chahil, who had fallen silent with a troubled expression, seemed instead rather pleased by this turn, and spoke with a bright tone and an air of resolve.
“It cannot be helped then. I will remain close to my master’s side until a new Demon Beast is discovered.”
The shameless words that he preferred his former master continued on.

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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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