The Male Lead Is the Villain, and I'm the Only One Who Knows - Chapter 72

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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 Puppet Master, and Only I Know — Episode 72
“Rene, if you feel like you’re about to collapse, give me a heads-up like last time. You came all this way for me, so I’ll take full responsibility.”
“Wow. I’m really so grateful…….”
Ibahn’s playfully self-satisfied face looked rather pleased. The moment he saw that I appeared perfectly fine despite facing the crowd, he relaxed visibly—only slightly, but noticeably.
When I shot back a look of exasperation, Ibahn let out a soft chuckle and gently brushed my hair back.
My rose-violet strands fell loosely between his firm fingers.
The series of tender gestures felt deeply dreamlike. Perhaps because of it, even the deafening roars that had always unsettled me, even the countless gazes, failed to reach me now.
It was truly a moment that felt like a lie.
‘What is this… feeling?’
Simply because Ibahn was beside me, watching over me, the nameless sickness that had tormented me my entire life felt forgotten, at least for now.
Though no such miracle should have been possible.
“Your Highness, I have something to report…….”
In that moment, Ibahn’s grip on my shoulder loosened briefly. Banel had approached from behind to brief us on the next schedule.
It was then that the distant noise began to reach me.
“─!”
Suddenly the world spun, and fragments of a distant, long-forgotten past—a memory so foreign it felt like someone else’s—unfolded vividly before my pallid eyes.

* * *
“Aaaaah…!”
“Ugh, quite a set of lungs on you. I worried you might die on the way here and lose consciousness, but you’re still in one piece.”
“P-please… please spare me……!”
“You’re alive, aren’t you, little one?”
“For now! Ahahaha!”
My small, frail body was dragged helplessly by the hair that had been seized. My screams only made them laugh with cruel delight, their laughter spreading like a sickening ripple.
“Look at this face, would you? And that hair color—wouldn’t we get at least 10 Gold for something like this?”
“Just 10 Gold? According to the ones who brought her in, she’s the daughter of a Magician family—if she’s got noble blood, we’re talking 20 Gold minimum.”
Faceless men chuckled and spoke in voices so cruel they fell like mist upon my childish ears, utterly meaningless to me.
‘I don’t understand anything they’re saying……. Please, save me, please…….’
Gagged and unable to make a sound, I called out silently, again and again, for the mother, father, and brother I had lost at the festival.
My pleas fell on deaf ears. I was dragged to the center of a vast, circular stage.
Locked in a round cage of iron bars, trembling in fear, my small hands grasping at the cold metal as tears streamed down my face, I became the object upon which countless greedy eyes began to place their value.
“Now then, we begin the bidding at 20 Gold! As mentioned in advance, this child carries the blood of a Magician! At only seven years old, she’ll be quite easy to… educate! Please make a wise choice!”
As the auctioneer’s nasal voice echoed through the vast Underground Auction House, people with masked faces immediately raised their Bidding Paddles, eagerly joining in the “purchase.”
Eyes of black, purple, red, and brown—countless eyes—swept across my entire body, laying bare their desires without restraint.
Desires no mask could hide. My breath began to quicken. It was the onset of hyperventilation born from the threat of death.
“Nngh… hah, unh….”
How much time had passed? As I gasped shallowly and my body began to buckle to the floor, I heard a bid of 40 Gold followed by the sound of the hammer falling.
“Sold to the VIP room! Ah, our loyal patrons truly have an eye for quality! I’m certain you won’t be disappointed!”
The auctioneer’s excited voice rang out with a torn, mad laugh as he grabbed my hair roughly, lifting my exhausted face from the floor.
He presented my worn, broken appearance to the seated “customers,” holding nothing back.
“Take a good look, little one. Your new master is far, far above those vermin out there.”
Just as the deafening laughter was about to steal my consciousness, a massive explosion suddenly tore through the auction house, and one section of the chamber collapsed catastrophically.
Crash! Shatter!
As sounds of destruction and breaking glass erupted without pause, the auction house—filled moments before with arrogance and ease—became a scene of chaos in an instant.
“Fire! There’s fire!”
“A M-Magician……!”
It was like witnessing hell itself. The Underground Auction House was swallowed in bright crimson flames, the air thick with the reek of burning and black smoke. Even in the inferno, people clutched their masks tight and screamed, rushing to escape this underground prison.
“Damn it, what the hell? What’s happening all of a sudden……!”
Everyone fled, but the auctioneer refused to lose his valuable commodity. I heard the sound of the cage door being frantically opened, and then—a voice I recognized.
“Rene! Are you there? Rene, where are you…!”
“…Brother?”
The moment my faint voice dissolved into nothing, there came a dull, heavy sound.
Everything after that was a blur.
What I remember is that at some point, Lion was holding me and crying.
“Rene, come to your senses. I’m here. Open your eyes, please…….”
His wet voice, apologizing for being late, wrapped around my ears without end.
“Never again… absolutely, no matter what happens, I won’t let you be in danger. I swear it on everything I have, Rene. My little sister….”
Lion held my exhausted body tight, whispering desperately that he would never allow such a thing to happen again, while I, with empty eyes, opened my mouth and gave some answer in the faintest of voices.

* * *
“…Yes!”
“Rene, come to your senses!”
It was a familiar warmth, reassuring. The hands that shook me carried the same cool touch I’d come to know so well.
By now I’d grown so accustomed to it that I’d have felt slighted if I didn’t sense the sharp, bracing scent of a winter forest—it seized my returning awareness in an instant.
What was that? It felt too vivid to be a dream…
“Ah… Ibahn…?”
“Yes, it’s me. You’ve finally come around.”
As I opened my eyes fully, Ibahn came into view, exhaling a relieved breath. I lifted my head slowly and looked about—I was in the Ruby Palace.
More precisely, I was lying on a bed in the center of Ibahn’s pitch-black chamber.
Ibahn sat perched on the edge of the mattress, studying me with a conflicted expression. Only after he placed his hand on my forehead to confirm I had no fever did he finally speak.
“Rene, who did you see before coming to meet me?”
His eyes held an intensity that demanded I remember, no matter what.
Who did I see? Well…
“The usual servants from the Marin Palace, and Sis…”
I rattled off whatever came to mind, but Ibahn gave a hollow laugh and shook his head.
He reached out and slowly wiped the cold sweat trickling down my cheek with a dry cloth.
“You don’t remember. That’s because Parmer got to you. The nightmare came from that. A normal person would have collapsed long ago, but you held on through the Power of Filth—and now the aftereffects are catching up.”
“I see… What?”
All thought halted. My eyes went wide with disbelief.
What did someone do to me?
“Wait, what… How…? Does that mean I’m becoming a Demon Beast now?!”
As I gasped in alarm, Ibahn pressed a finger firmly to my forehead to silence me. “Don’t talk nonsense. The Power of Filth wouldn’t do that. I’ve already rounded up all the likely suspects, so bear with it for now. If I don’t kill him before I lose my composure, I can’t promise what I’ll do.”

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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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