The Male Lead Is the Villain, and I'm the Only One Who Knows - Chapter 59

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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 the True Mastermind, and Only I Know It — Chapter 59
“Well, for now he’s still a useful tool.”
It was an evasive answer. Neither one thing nor the other—the kind of reply that left plenty of room to discard him whenever it suited his purposes.
At least until I made it safely home, this world had to remain intact. And for that, Karahan had to stay alive.
“……You know perfectly well there’s no Sword Master in the Rakis Empire with skills to match Duke Barat. Just leave him be.”
Afraid to openly defend him and offend Iban, I subtly praised Karahan’s abilities while masking my concern for his safety.
“Ordinarily, any human who learns my true nature should die where they stand.”
Iban paused mid-sentence, studying me with a curious intensity. His eyes held that peculiar gleam of a child who’d just discovered an amusing toy.
“Since you ask so earnestly, I’ll hold off for now.”
I barely suppressed the sigh of relief that nearly escaped me, instead hastily pivoting to another question to steer us away from this dangerous turn.
“How does Duke Barat know your true identity?”
“He was the Crown Prince’s only friend. So he was quick to notice the changes in me.”
“……What?”
This was the first I’d heard of it. Come to think of it, Iban—being a demon—couldn’t have been born into that body from the start.
‘You said the Crown Prince was sickly as a child. Then could it have happened when…?’
Matters concerning the health of the royal family were never discussed openly, given how they connected to national strength.
But through that spell which had vividly restored the original story’s memories, I’d once glimpsed sentences like “The Crown Prince had suffered from chronic ailments since birth.”
“Wait a moment. You mentioned Banel was also sickly as a child—does that mean Banel too…?”
“Correct. At the time, there happened to be another frail one at the Academy. So Banel went into that vessel, and I took this body. The sickly Crown Prince back then was Karahan’s only true friend.”
In other words, two demons had taken root in bodies whose original inhabitants had drawn their last breath, lingering on ever since.
‘Karahan must have been understandably bewildered when his closest friend suddenly became healthy and underwent a complete change of personality.’
Karahan’s suspicions were actually quite reasonable.
But lacking concrete proof, he’d never revealed his doubts outright. Instead, under the guise of friendship, he’d relentlessly subjected Iban to every test and scheme imaginable, obsessed with uncovering the truth.
“It doesn’t matter. Even if he knows my nature, there’s nothing he can do about it. But Rene, keep your distance from Barat from now on.”
“……But if I avoid Duke Barat, won’t that make him even more suspicious?”
I was already under enough scrutiny; adding evasion to the mix would only deepen his doubts.
When I looked at him with clear discomfort, Iban simply shrugged with practiced ease.
“Suspicion is all it would be.”
“Still, Duke Barat’s family has been guardians of the Holy Sword, a sacred relic of the Goddess Arnosel, for generations. If it came to it, he could pierce you with that blade……”
This was precisely why the Great Temple couldn’t move against Barat carelessly.
The first Duke Barat had been a cardinal of the Sacred Church, and moreover, he possessed the Holy Sword itself as proof of the Goddess’s favor—which made him untouchable.
Politically neutral as well, his family was beholden to neither the royalist nor the aristocratic faction.
They were a house that answered to no one, and simultaneously the only duchy that everyone had to answer to.
‘He’s the male lead of the original story, so he comes with plenty of heavy baggage.’
Which was how Karahan had managed to protect Shana from the Temple.
“Karahan is clever for a human. That’s why he stays quiet even now that he knows.”
“But if Duke Barat ever reveals your identity…you could stand trial before the Great Temple’s judgment seat. They’ll extract your blood. And a single drop would be enough to—”
—expose Iban as a demon. Even if not a Greater Demon, the fact that he wasn’t human would come to light readily enough.
‘If Iban vanishes, I lose my primary means of getting home. Chahil is there, but I acquired them as a stopgap, so they’re still uncertain….’
As I sat there growing increasingly dejected, I heard Iban’s laughter.
……He’s laughing?! This demon really is something.
“What? Are you worried I’ll be driven away once he finds out I’m a demon?”
He studied my anxious eyes, then broke into laughter again—genuine this time, the laughter of someone truly amused rather than mocking.
“Or are you afraid that without me, you won’t be able to return to your world?”
“……Both.”
“How touching that you’d include your concern for me.”
What might have been sarcasm came across as sincere, his hand covering his mouth as he continued to laugh.
I’d only tried to show concern, and yet this man really was……
He reached out with leisurely grace, running his fingertips along the strands of hair that had fallen loose around my face.
“For you to think I’d fall prey to something so trivial—I’ll have to be more careful.”
Adding a curt reminder not to worry uselessly, Iban pressed the tip of his finger gently against my forehead. The cool temperature of his touch left a tingling mark, like a small point branded there.
“It’s gotten rather noisy outside. If you’re feeling better, shall we get moving?”
After a glance at my complexion, Iban rose slowly and skillfully drew me up by the hand.
“Now? There must be crowds of people outside…and besides, my robe is torn……”
I’d ripped it trying to catch the fabric as it billowed in the wind—the material was too thin to survive that. At my words, I heard Iban snap his fingers silently.
With a sharp click, Banel appeared carrying something thick and distributed a piece each to Iban and myself.
“This is……”
“Hold still.”
What Iban unfurled was a brand new robe. Deep black and substantial, it was incomparably finer than the one I’d worn just moments before.
“This should keep it from catching in the wind. And no one will notice a thing.”
A soft robe of plush velvet, weighty and refined, draped gently across my shoulders and head, settling with perfect ease.
Iban fastened the side buckles securely to keep my robe from slipping, then donned an identical one himself.
“Come on, get up. The Lantern Festival will start soon—we should go. I doubt you’ve ever seen anything like it in your life.”
“How could you possibly know that?”
“You said you spent your whole life shut away in a laboratory doing research, didn’t you? It would be strange if you hadn’t missed something like this.”
“……That’s true.”
He had a point. He really did.
Conceding the argument, I let him lead me out of the Waiting Room, still holding Iban’s hand.
The sun had been hanging bright red in the sky just moments before as evening fell, but now deep darkness had settled over everything.
“Stay close behind me. And don’t let yourself be carried away in some strange man’s arms like you were before.”
“That was purely for efficient movement.”
At my words, he tightened his grip on my hand and forged ahead—then stopped abruptly. When he turned back to look at me, all I could see beneath his robe was a dark arc of a smile, his red lips curving upward.
“Shall we test this efficiency of yours—together?”

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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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