The Male Lead Is the Villain, and I'm the Only One Who Knows - Chapter 48

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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’s True Identity is the Hidden Villain — Episode 48
“It’s been bothering me since earlier. I thought maybe it was an insect, but it doesn’t seem to be.”
Huh? Could he be looking at Mun-ji right now? I put her under Invisibility on purpose, so how is this even—?!
“Wait, you can see Mun-ji?”
“Well, well. You even gave her a name?”
She did look dustlike, and Dayad let out a dry chuckle at my pitiful naming sense. Then he tightened his grip on our joined hands and hauled me up onto the carriage in one fluid motion.
“It’s a Demon, isn’t it?”
As the door shut and the carriage lurched forward, Dayad sized up Mun-ji’s true nature. I nodded slowly at his immediate insight.
“She’s still young. I found her not long after she was born.”
“Unusually plump for her kind. Most Demons that age are skeletal.”
Squeak!
At Dayad’s remark about finding such a chubby baby Demon for the first time, Mun-ji let out a small protest and hugged my neck tightly.
What’s gotten into her? Usually she’d lunge at me right away and bite. But after going through the same situation a few times, I suppose she’s gotten used to it….
“Plump? That’s all fur.”
“What are you talking about? It’s obviously fat.”
“It’s fur.”
Squeak-squeak. Chirp-squeak.
When I laid down the matter firmly, Mun-ji nodded in emphatic agreement, her whole body wiggling. Seeing this, Dayad finally shrugged as if he’d been beaten.
“So why are you keeping that fluffy thing around anyway? You know Demons are dangerous. Looks like it’s chosen you as its master.”
“…She’s fine as long as I raise her right.”
“Right? And I suppose your sudden betrothal to the Crown Prince was also a good choice? What makes you think a Demon is any different?”
Dayad fixed me with a sidelong look and continued with words that stung. Ugh, ugh…. They were all painfully true, so I had no way to argue back.
I moistened my dry throat deliberately and changed the subject instead of answering.
“But how did you see Mun-ji? She should’ve been invisible.”
“Ah, Knights of the First Knight Corps are issued equipment to distinguish Magical Beasts. Thanks to that, we can spot even lower-tier Magical Beasts even if they hide their presence. Demons too.”
Dayad tapped the small, round Magical Device at his waist and added something more.
“It was made at the Magic Tower. Specifically, by my older brother.”
“Leon?”
“There’s a rumor that special equipment to distinguish Humanoid Magical Beasts will come out soon. It’s all a project he’s leading.”
It was the same as what Evan had told me earlier. Seeing that even Dayad, a pillar of Blackmoon, was saying the same thing… Leon must have been involved in this for quite some time.
“My brother’s been out of touch for a while? Probably because of confidentiality, but he’ll contact me soon. That special equipment is the final manufacturing phase of the project.”
Though I’d heard this was a classified request the Imperial Court had discreetly entrusted to the Magic Tower, Dayad spoke about it without hesitation.
Blackmoon… frightening, truly frightening….
“Somehow you seem to know more about your older brother’s business than his actual younger sibling.”
“Anything related to Magical Beasts is high-priority intelligence with heavy demand…. Anyway, there’ve been a lot of Humanoid Magical Beasts around lately, so be careful. Don’t go following strangers on a whim.”
Dayad looked out at the cityscape drawing steadily closer and warned me with a stern expression.
“Did you follow me today because you were worried I’d be abducted by a Magical Beast?”
“The Crown Prince surely arranged an escort, but I don’t trust those Imperial Palace knights.”
I gave him a look that said, “Aren’t you an Imperial knight yourself?” and Dayad reached out to poke my forehead.
“Hey now. I’m different from them.”
Unlike Hannah, Dayad wasn’t from the back alleys, but he’d learned the sword from skilled fighters there from an early age. Thanks to that, his skill far surpassed ordinary knights.
Moreover, after becoming an informant for Blackmoon, his technique only improved further. At this rate, I suspected the current Dayad wouldn’t lose even against Sisna.
“Do you know where I’m going today?”
“Obvious. To buy materials, right? Your first destination is number three, Etwell Street… Want me to name the second?”
Dayad had pinpointed my destination exactly, and I closed my mouth and shook my head. This is why time is so frightening—he knows everything about me, everything.
Soon the carriage stopped, and Dayad draped the Robe I’d taken off back over my shoulders.
“You’ll already know this, but your face has been sold all across the empire for a while now. Even more so ever since you gave that girl from House Herit a beating.”
Apparently the damage Rosebel had caused while I was under her influence had been so extensive that rumors spread at an unusual pace.
At the same time came the unwelcome news that my reputation had skyrocketed—the girl who had satisfyingly defeated Rosebel.
“Ugh. I was only trying to suppress the false rumors, but somehow it turned into this….”
“Anyway, don’t take off the Robe. Don’t let go of my hand either. There’s nothing good about drawing attention.”
Dayad pulled the Robe down to properly conceal my face, then stepped out of the carriage and offered me his hand.
Just as I was about to take it without thinking, Evan suddenly crossed my mind.
‘Everything I do will be reported back to Evan anyway, so is this really okay?’
At my hesitation, Dayad swept his hair back roughly and let out a hollow laugh.
“What. Is your devoted betrothed forbidding you from holding another man’s hand?”
“No, that’s not it….”
“Just take my hand before I start probing into your fateful love-at-first-sight story with the Crown Prince.”
“…Yes.”
…It’s for safety anyway, so it should be fine.
Defeated by Dayad’s piercing gaze, I finally gave in and took his hand. With the Foundation Festival just two days away, the commercial district was exactly as bustling as I’d heard—less a street than a celebration.
“It’s like an ant colony.”
Dayad, surveying the crowded thoroughfare with tired eyes, deftly drew me close by the shoulder, pulling me against him with practiced ease.
“Tell me about it. And the Festival hasn’t even started yet.”
“Hey, if you feel like you’re going to be sick, give me a heads-up. I’ll establish a safe perimeter.”
“How reassuring.”
Of course he’d wait until the last second to mention it and catch me off guard. I swallowed the thought and, relying on Dayad, made my way forward at an even pace.

* * *
“All right, I’ll be back soon.”
“Hurry up. I hate waiting around.”
Dayad watched Rene’s retreating figure as she entered the shop with a murmured assent, then turned his head at leisure.
Etwell Street, number 3—the heart of a sprawling commercial district where countless people circulated endlessly, their chatter an endless stream. Detecting a particular observer’s gaze in such a place was quite difficult.
And yet.
“Hmm. House Bilozé moving in is unexpected, though…”
House Bilozé’s founding patriarch had been the Laxis Empire’s first Sword Master, making them a clan of legendary blades that lived and died by the sword.
Having served the House Erjet with unwavering loyalty across the generations, they were known as the imperial family’s hounds, and with every direct descendant belonging to the First Knight Corps, they were an unprecedented collection of masters.
‘Knights in name, but really just the Crown Prince’s shadow. Yet he assigned two of those rare monsters to Rene?’
…Could it be that the Crown Prince was genuinely sincere about Rene?
Truth be told, no one voiced it outright, but everyone harbored doubts about the union between the Crown Prince and House Astel.
‘The Crown Prince must know that too, which is why he handed over Marin Palace to Rene. That fool probably just thought it was wonderful.’
Two people who’d never had any connection suddenly announced their marriage—it would be stranger not to find that suspicious.
‘I tried to get to the bottom of what kind of deal was struck between them, but…’
Evan. That inscrutable man kept Rene locked away in the palace after the engagement, making it impossible to get even a single message through.
He’d sent letters on the sly, only to have them returned unopened—several times over. He was on the verge of considering sneaking into the Imperial Palace when word came that Rene had finally taken leave.
Rene had spent her whole life buried in a laboratory, living as nothing but a Potion Maker. For her to suddenly be thrust into the center of high society—which was like a battlefield—there was no way she could truly be managing well.
‘She can’t hide anything else, but she’s good at hiding just the hard parts…’
Though he knew her inside and out as a childhood friend, if Rene set her mind to concealing something, even Dayad was powerless. All he could do was gradually learn the truth.
“Dayad, let’s go to the next shop!”
Moments later, sensing Rene emerge from the store, Dayad swiftly withdrew the keen gaze he’d been keeping on the upper reaches of the building across the way.
‘Whether that’s surveillance or protection, time will tell.’
Dayad smoothly took Rene’s purchases in both hands and hurried along behind her.

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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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