The Male Lead Is the Villain, and I'm the Only One Who Knows - Chapter 45

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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 True Villain, and Only I Know It — Episode 45

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“Lady Rene, we’ll have your luggage sent to Count Astel’s residence right away.”
“Oh, thank you.”
After gathering the most essential materials as quickly as I could, I entrusted my luggage to the handmaidens of Marin Palace and hurried out of the laboratory.
I couldn’t shake the nagging feeling about leaving those three men alone… I hope they’re all right.
“Sys, where is Ibhan?”
“He is waiting for you at Ruby Palace.”
“He went back, then. Chahil is fine, isn’t he?”
“Yes, he is unharmed.”
Sys reassured me with a solid, confident gaze that said there was nothing to worry about.
After that, he escorted me to Ruby Palace, then withdrew with the promise he would pick me up early in the morning.
“…I have a bad feeling about this.”
I had a sinking suspicion I was about to be scolded.
‘No, don’t panic. I haven’t really done anything wrong… have I?’
In an instant, countless scenes from the past flashed through my mind. All the things I’d done without telling him….
…No, I don’t know anything about that.
After steadying my anxious breathing, I shuffled reluctantly toward the bedroom where Ibhan was waiting.
Thump, thump. Thump….
As I walked down the corridor, a sharp, unpleasant ringing erupted in my ears. Was it because I was nervous?
Thump. Thump….
My heartbeat was far from normal—my entire circulatory system seemed on the verge of bursting.
“…What?”
In a single moment, my legs buckled without warning and I lost my balance. For some reason, my body had gone completely limp.
Oh no, the Imperial Palace floors are marble—falling would hurt terribly!
‘I’m going to crash…!’
Softly—
Yes, the terrifyingly cold, hard, and somehow tender, cozy softness of marble…!
…Wait?
“Your tastes are peculiar. The season for lying on floors hasn’t arrived yet,” Ibhan murmured with an amused lilt, catching my helplessly falling body with one arm before scooping me up effortlessly.
I had squeezed my eyes shut as I fell, completely unprepared.
“Gasp—I, I’m alive…!”
I’d almost ended up discovered sprawled on the cold marble, barely breathing….
Breathing heavily from the shock, I looked up at him with aggrieved eyes.
“Ibhan, I suddenly can’t feel my strength!”
It was as if I’d been anesthetized—my limbs refused to obey. I had no choice but to remain nestled helplessly in his embrace.
“It seems the numbness has begun. Any other symptoms?”
“Well, my head feels a bit dizzy….”
As I drawled my answer, Ibhan watched me in silence, seeming to invite more.
“My legs are tingling, my arms hurt, my lower back is stinging, my stomach is throbbing, my feet are exhausted, my shoulders feel stiff too….”
“My, what a haul. Did I pick up a corpse by mistake?”
After unleashing all my symptoms without restraint, I pouted at Ibhan, who was suppressing a wry smile.
“This is all someone’s fault. You’re responsible.”
“Fair enough.”
Strange—I’d expected him to tell me to stop feigning illness.
Once we entered the bedroom, Ibhan simply nodded in agreement and carefully laid me on the bed.
“You mentioned your head was dizzy?”
As he sat at my bedside and placed his hand on my forehead, a cold chill rushed through it, instantly cooling the heat that had built up in my head.
It wasn’t merely the comfort of something cold pressed against skin—the fog that had settled in my mind lifted entirely in a single moment, leaving behind a crystal clarity.
‘What is this? He only touched my forehead and my head cleared up.’
Impressive… Even after confirming my complexion had improved, Ibhan didn’t remove his hand. I held his gaze steadily and let my curiosity slip out.
“Ibhan, what did you talk about with Chahil?”
“Nothing of importance. Turns out he’s a Demon Hybrid.”
…What?
Wait, what do you mean nothing of importance?! How is that not important?!
‘My goodness. Chahil is a Demon Hybrid? Ah, so that’s why he sensed Ibhan’s aura. They’re both demons!’
That explained it! No matter how talented a practitioner of Black Magic he was, I could never understand how a mere human like Chahil could have perceived Ibhan’s presence…!
‘So that means his skill with advanced magic came naturally too. It was simply his birthright.’
Because he died so quickly in the original story, I’d accumulated so many unanswered questions about Chahil. Finally, they were resolved.
“Again?”
“I killed his father.”
“……?”
Right. A true demon—no hesitation whatsoever, just plunging straight through like that.
This man clearly has no idea what the word “restraint” means. I’m certain of it now. I’ve only suspected it until now, but this confirms everything.
“How on earth did that happen…?”
“His biological father was part of the Rebel Forces in the Demon Realm. It was my job to capture fugitives who’d escaped to the surface.”
“What an unfortunate connection.”
Ibhan opened his mouth slowly, his expression utterly indifferent to my sympathetic reaction.
“Any entanglement with demons is an unfortunate connection.”
“…Even me?”
My carefully casual question hung in silence for a moment. Just as he was about to answer, something erupted from his mouth.
“Oh—blood……. Is this another one of those pains you mentioned?”
“Rene, don’t tilt your head back. Look at me.”
The pristine white sheets darkened in seconds. Blood poured without stopping, filling my vision relentlessly, and my stomach began to churn.
So the paper-doll phase was just a tutorial, and now the real boss fight is starting? This is harder than I thought.
“…Yes, …what? Rene!”
Ibhan, always so composed and unhurried, called my name over and over with his face gone rigid. His voice, flooding my ears, scattered like waves sweeping away sand, growing distant and faint.
“Ibhan, don’t panic and listen to me. I think I’m going to lose consciousness.”
“Rene, wait—”
I felt hot liquid dripping beneath my jaw and struggled to state my condition. Then, slowly, I laid my hand over his where it gripped my shoulder. And then.
“—.”
I’m sure my lips moved, but I couldn’t remember what I’d said.
Ibhan’s face wore an unreadable expression. That was the last thing I saw before my vision went black.

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“My lord, I have returned.”
Summoned, Banel appeared at once. Having only just completed his reconnaissance mission in the late night hours, he finished his report with a brief recounting of what he’d found.
“As expected. We won’t visit that area again for now.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
In a corner of the bedchamber, Ibhan sat before a neat stack of documents, spectacles perched on his nose, his gaze fixed downward on the papers. He gave a slight nod.
“By the way… I heard the general circumstances from Kan. Is Rene all right?”
“For now, at least.”
Banel gazed at Rene with concern as she lay in the bed, breathing deeply in a profound sleep.
The attendants had come in moments ago to change the bedding and dress her in a fresh Sleeping Robe, but there was nothing they could do about how deathly pale her complexion had become.
“I’ve never seen anything like this. Nothing is purer than a Great Demon’s Magical Power—the fact that she repelled it is extraordinary.”
“The Power of Filth that Rene possesses must be stronger than I realized. The way she pushed back my Magical Power completely…….”
When someone received Magical Power and coughed blood, it was never a trivial matter. It meant the Magical Power couldn’t be absorbed and was flowing backward instead.
Which meant protecting Rene by implanting Magical Power wouldn’t work.
“What will you do? Her Vacation begins tomorrow, after all. With the Foundation Day Festival right around the corner, the entire Imperial City will be in festival mode—and that limits how much of a protective detail we can arrange.”
It was only two days at most, but it was her first time out since being confined to the Imperial Palace. She was absolutely not the type to stay quietly indoors.
“According to Sys, she’s planning to visit several shops to search for new research materials.”
Warnings wouldn’t make her obey—Rene was sure to wander here and there regardless.
Unaware that her own body had violently rejected every bit of Magical Power that was meant to protect her.
“Well, what can we do…….”
Behind his transparent spectacles, Ibhan’s green eyes—now markedly cloudier than before—fell heavily onto Rene’s sleeping face, as if she were a stranger to him.

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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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