The Male Lead Is the Villain, and I'm the Only One Who Knows - Chapter 68

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

The Male Lead Is the Mastermind, but Only I Know It — Episode 68
“Secondary Growth?”
“Yes. Magical Beasts have to go through it to reach maturity. We can’t yet tell what form this one will develop into, so for now, keep a close watch.”
I tensed at the implication that we’d need to kill Dust if it became a Demon-converted Human, but the explanation that followed suggested, based on Dust’s current state, that such a thing was unlikely.
— Squeak?
Dust, waking from sleep, blinked its round eyes repeatedly before wriggling across my palm in no time.
At that, Lion flashed me a languid smile, as if to say, look at this.
“Wow, quite the impressive homing instinct. Just how much affection have you been lavishing on it? I’m getting jealous.”
Lion’s eyes left the squirming Dust at once, and he turned to me with a bright smile.
“Princess, you heard the research wraps up tomorrow, right? Let’s meet at home. I’ll pick up something delicious on the way back.”
It was only natural that my body went rigid.
‘Oh no… how did I not think of this?’
Now that I thought about it, once the experiment was over, Lion would be returning home…!
‘It’s only a matter of time before my engagement is discovered.’
My childhood friend Dayad already teased me about whether we were still just friends, and whenever there was even the slightest physical contact—a hand held, sitting close—it was Lion who’d grab him by the collar.
That wasn’t all. It was Lion who’d filled every servant attending to me exclusively with women, and only those strictly heterosexual at that.
As I grew old enough to marry, whenever Mother tried to arrange blind dates for me, it was routine for him to derail them with the excuse that I was “still too young”—
“…I should head back.”
I remembered something I needed to do and hurried away. Just then, Evian seemed to have finished his own business, as he was receiving farewells from the researchers.
“I feel eyes boring into my back.”
“At least it’s just your back.”
As I left the research facility beside him, Lion’s burning gaze poured down on me like fire the entire way.
Either way, I’d finished what I came for, so I simply ignored it.
What was more, these new facts about Dust proved to be unexpected gains—I’d need to visit the Imperial Library soon and look for texts on Magical Beast Secondary Growth.
I’d raise it well and put it to good use. Mm-hmm.
“Lady Rene, the new research materials you requested arrived by wagon just a moment ago, so I shall escort you straight back to the Palace.”
Barnel, who had been waiting outside with me in advance, guided us, saying we should return to the Palace immediately.
With the Magic Tower’s aid, various wagons and escorts were standing by without losing their way in the mist. I boarded the carriage heading to the Imperial Palace at once with Evian.
“Rene, a moment.”
The instant I climbed into the carriage, Evian pulled out a pristine handkerchief from his pocket and began wiping my lips and cheeks with it.
The way he meticulously cleaned one spot after another with a rather serious expression was more than a little awkward.
“…Evian, what are you doing right now?”
“Disinfection.”
It seemed like he was specifically targeting the places Lion had kissed, and I couldn’t help but wonder if that was really true.
“So, how long do you plan to hide this from your bloodline? It’ll all come out tomorrow anyway.”
As I stared at him in bewilderment, Evian brought up a grimly realistic point—that once Lion returned home, the Count and Countess would speak of it, and the servants would surely say something.
Then he fixed me with a look that seemed to ask: how long do you really think you can hide it?
“Well… it’s fine. After all, I have equipment now, so catching the Rebel Forces His Majesty mentioned is just a matter of time. Once we’ve caught them, the Demon-converted Humans won’t appear anymore, so our contract will be over anyway.”
After that, I just needed to use Dimensional Magic with Evian’s help as promised and head home.
‘It’s a contract engagement that’ll be over before long, so Lion’s fuss is just a temporary thing.’
The moment I simplified matters that way, a brief change flickered across Evian’s eyes.
What was that reaction? His expression was ambiguous enough that I couldn’t quite read his mood.
As our gazes met in the empty air with an odd mingling, his firmly closed lips parted slightly.
“Contract termination…”
The unclear murmur seemed to stretch out unnaturally long. Evian turned his gaze to the carriage window and let his lips curve up loosely.
Soon, as moonlight began to cast its long shadows, we arrived at the Imperial Palace.
The Palace, returned to after two days, was still lavishly lonely and eerily quiet.
Evian escorted me to the entrance of Marin Palace, then pressed something gently into my palm.
From the small, round Metal Brooch that fit perfectly in one hand wafted a dense, refined scent of concentrated magical power.
“Oh, that’s the one from earlier?”
“The equipment, having passed all final tests. I was told to give it to you, but Lion Astel took it without hesitation and handed it over instead. Keep it with you at all times.”
The explanation that followed clarified it could perfectly distinguish not only human-form Demon-converted Humans but even those in the midst of possession.
“Hmm. Is there no equipment that distinguishes demons?”
To begin with, Demon-converted Humans and Magical Beasts were mere byproducts created arbitrarily by demons or from consuming their power.
‘I’m curious whether other demons act as human as Evian does…’
As I fiddled with the equipment and stared at him, Evian smiled dismissively and looked down at me.
“No. In your world, I’m the only demon there is.”
He firmly declared I should not even think of searching for other demons, then personally fastened the equipment—which looked like nothing more than an ordinary brooch at first glance—to my dress.
“Keep wearing it from now on. Biloze will always be watching over you, but human-form Demon-converted Humans are cunning creatures, so there’s no harm in being prepared.”
Starting tomorrow, the Lakis Empire’s Founding Festival was a celebration of such grand scale that people from distant foreign lands would come to see it themselves.
With crowds that massive, the Demon-converted Humans would surely spread their influence far and wide to expand their power…….
“Evian, didn’t you say before that simply catching them wouldn’t be the end of it?”
I suddenly recalled what he had told me not long ago, when he’d informed me that I’d become a target of the Demon-converted Humans.
‘Simply catching them won’t solve anything. We need to catch the ones creating them.’
‘They plant Darkness in ordinary humans to transform them into Demon-converted Humans. They burrow into their darker nature and gradually break them down.’
‘We call them Farmers. According to our investigation so far, they’re likely hiding within major organizations — the Temple, Large Trade Guilds, the Magic Tower, and the like. Places where they can easily sway countless people.’
Barnel, who had been present at the time, had chimed in and offered a detailed explanation alongside Evian.
‘Then wouldn’t they all crawl out during the Founding Festival anyway? Why not just catch them all at once?’
Evian, as if reading my thoughts, shook his head lightly but firmly.
“Your role is to catch the Demon-converted Humans and Purify them so that no further victims are created. The demons — the Farmers — are not your concern. Don’t trouble yourself over them.”
“But…… Filth is fatal to demons too, isn’t it? I’d be really helpful, wouldn’t I?”
As I fixed him with a questioning gaze, Evian let out a soft chuckle and nodded slowly.
“True. It is fatal. And you would be helpful…… in more ways than one.”
He murmured something cryptic, then tapped my Metal Brooch with a languid touch.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————