The Obsessive Male Leads Want to Eat Me Alive - Chapter 46

—————

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

—————

Chapter 46
“…!”
What did you just say, child?
‘Surely you didn’t just call me , you obsessive maniac…?’
I rolled my eyes frantically against Sisrain’s chest.
‘No, I must have misheard.’
There’s no way such an ominous flag could be raised.
I deliberately kept my clouded mind (?) blank and maintained a dazed state.
“Damn it, cough! Ugh, ugh….”
Avilos coughed violently. Seeing occasional pained groans mixed in, it looked like he was struggling to endure.
At this rate, he’ll die.
I lifted my head to look at Sisrain.
“Sisrain, stop and let him go.”
The boy’s fierce eyes softened considerably when they met mine.
“…But he tried to hurt Anette. Someone like that should die.”
―You’re being far too extreme, sir.
‘When did he grow so much?’
Even with the restraint collar on, he possessed that level of destructive power. I knew he would become the Crown Prince called the Battlefield Specter in the future―
‘Now I’m starting to feel it little by little.’
It felt different from when he protected me from Putolio.
Children grow up so quickly….
Sisrain is changing too.
But still, an eleven-year-old shouldn’t be talking about killing someone.
I raised my index finger and spoke sternly.
“Sisrain, at eleven years old, you can’t use the word ‘kill’ like that. Of course, you can’t actually kill someone either! There are exceptions, but….”
The last part came out very quietly. Of course, I dislike killing too―
‘But that bastard deserved it.’
I really wanted to give him a few good slaps across the face.
I glanced at Avilos.
‘…Yeah. If he hits him any more, he’ll die.’
He’s had enough.
Hmm, any more would definitely be bad for his education.
“Why… can’t I kill him?”
“Because then you’d be a bad child!”
Sisrain’s shoulders drooped like a wet puppy.
“…Okay.”
Thud!
Only then did the aura that had been binding Avilos dissipate, and he collapsed to the ground.
“Damn it, ugh.”
Avilos seemed utterly bewildered.
‘Of course.’
I was shocked by such an extraordinary ability myself.
A Special Grade 1 was stronger than the Rekilos Tribe even with a suppression collar on.
I had provoked him based on that belief, but since Sisrain turned out to be even stronger than I expected, Avilos must have felt it too.
‘That he was no match for us.’
Still, he couldn’t fight at full strength here.
If he did, the Forest would become noisy.
Gerard hoped to handle this matter as quietly as possible.
I stepped forward in front of Sisrain and spoke.
“Leave now. The deal is done, isn’t it?”
“…Damn it.”
At my words, Avilos wiped the blood streaming from both nostrils with his hand, then looked at us in turn.
His eyes gleamed with murderous intent. Surprisingly.
“One day, I’ll make you regret this moment with tears of blood.”
Was he really saying something that terrifying to children?
“See you again, you little rats.”
With a line befitting a typical villain, Avilos vanished like the wind.
I watched his retreating figure, then quietly folded my arms.
“―Hmm.”
At least it seemed we’d resolved this safely.
Taking a deep breath, I turned to Sisrain and smiled brightly.
“Shall we go too, Sisrain?”
“….”
The boy nodded quietly.
* * *
‘The lights must be broken here.’
It’s quite dark.
I was walking side by side with Sisrain through the dimly lit Corridor.
Sisrain had the expression of someone with many questions.
‘That makes sense. …He must have overheard that entire conversation from hiding.’
But prudently, he didn’t hastily ask me about this and that.
‘He’s waiting for me to speak first.’
He’d seen and heard too much to keep his mouth shut any longer.
Eventually, I broke the silence.
“Sisrain, you want to know what’s going on, don’t you? Should I tell you?”
“…Tell me.”
Sisrain answered as if he’d been waiting for this.
Good.
If I didn’t explain, my boy would worry and feel anxious alone.
“Here’s what happened―”
I explained everything that had happened so far. Starting with the cigarette case (of course, I didn’t mention the black jewel—I only described it as the imperial prince’s “cherished possession”).
How Gerard had applied for adoption, and the general terms of the negotiation I had proposed.
“―So, it’s all settled now. I’m staying in the Forest. How about it? Isn’t it wonderful?”
I asked Sisrain with a bright smile.
“….”
Sisrain hung his head low.
Oh no, the child’s sulking again!
Why isn’t he happy?
I thought he’d be delighted since we’d be together now….
“Anette.”
“Hm?”
Sisrain lifted his head to look at me. And then, words came from his lips that I could never have imagined him saying—so mature and composed.
“You must have been so worried and frightened all alone.”
“….”
A warm hand cupped one side of my cheek.
In that instant, my heart melted.
The heart that had hardened like armor from dealing with and defending against Gerard.
And only then could I truly understand. How much I had worried alone, how anxious I had been, and how afraid I sometimes felt.
“Anette.”
As if reading my expression, Sisrain pulled me deep into his embrace.
Had this embrace always been this warm? I had only thought of him as a child.
“From now on, tell me if anything like that happens again.”
“…Because I was afraid of worrying you.”
“I like worrying about you.”
―Liking to worry? How foolish.
Even as I thought that, the boy’s blind devotion—that he even liked worrying about me—gradually dispelled my fear, and my heart grew peaceful.
‘He’s really grown so well.’
Suddenly, memories of Sisrain over all this time came flooding back.
The beast-like appearance of him living in the Cave.
The pitiful boy who feared water, who was blowing bubbles for the first time.
The child who couldn’t quite fit in with the other children, like a small wild animal….
That boy whom I always thought I needed to protect and guard, had somehow grown tall and strong.
‘Now I can rest easy.’
Even if I were to disappear someday, Sisrain.
You’ve grown so splendidly that you can find happiness on your own, haven’t you?
Sisrain released me from his embrace. And he whispered.
“Don’t hide anything from me.”
“….”
“I want to know everything about you.”
I flinched for a moment. Because a fervent obsession gleamed in those burning crimson eyes.
But that moment was fleeting.
“I’ll protect you for the rest of my life, Anette.”
“….”
“Even when we grow up… and after many, many years pass… even when you become a grandmother with silver hair, I’ll protect you.”
The promise that followed was so tender and pure that I found myself smiling without thinking.
“Yes! I like that!”
I laughed joyfully at the boy’s earnest words.
Right then,
Ping—!
Lights blazed to life in the Corridor as if dispelling a lie, banishing the darkness in an instant.
Glittering fixtures adorned the ceiling, each casting its own luminous glow.
We faced each other and giggled softly.
“Shall we go, Anette?”
“Yes! Sisrain.”
Two small shadows crossed the Corridor hand in hand, leaning on each other.
For quite a long time, with such tenderness.
* * *
“Sigh….”
The Warehouse at dawn, far from the Dormitory.
I had come here while all the children slept.
During my journey, I had turned back several times to thoroughly confirm no one was following me.
Another incident like the Incinerator could not be allowed to happen.
“Good. No one’s here.”
Now then, let me organize my thoughts.
When I deliberately provoked Avilos earlier—
The important things he had carelessly spouted while falling for my provocation.
“You insignificant little girl, I’m warning you.”
“….”
“My master knows no surrender. You’ll be like a butterfly caught in the web of obsession, devoured from the head down.”
He had continued hinting that Gerard’s obsession was strong, that this wasn’t the end.
Despite the deal being concluded, Avilos’s tone had been absolutely certain.
What was Gerard plotting now?
‘But re-adoption is impossible now. It’s written clearly in the regulations….’
I stroked my chin thoughtfully.
‘I can’t let my guard down. Still.’
If Gerard, who had retreated, reached out to me again, this time he would surely do so in a far more terrifying way.
His thirst for prey he had once lost would only burn fiercer.
‘I need to prepare Plan B.’
I was beginning to need contingencies. In truth, Plan B had been in preparation for quite some time.
―A contingency I had devised long ago. My trump card.
‘Just thinking about it makes me feel reassured.’
What else had Avilos said?
“You will eventually become the Imperial Princess―”
He didn’t say I would become a “daughter of the Imperial Family,” but rather the “Imperial Princess.”
This meant he had absolute faith that Gerard would be appointed Crown Prince and become the next Emperor.
‘And that’s coming from his aide.’
Just how unwavering was Gerard’s conviction for even his aide to speak so naturally about it?
“In the original story, he didn’t seem particularly interested in the Crown Prince position…?”
I murmured in confusion and shook my head.
“No good. I can’t rely solely on the original story.”
After all, Anette, who barely existed in the original story, is making such a spectacle of herself now.
Moreover, not all information was contained in the original work.
‘I need to revise my assessment.’
Gerard had a high probability of being obsessed with power. That was information not in the original story.
And finally.
There remained Avilos’s critical slip of the tongue—a foolish outburst provoked by my challenge.
“To spend eternity as nothing but a tool to squeeze out abilities―”
“…!!!”
I pressed my head in frustration.
“He knew about my abilities all along!”
So that’s why he spouted all that nonsense about being interested only in me, that the other children weren’t necessary.
But how?
How does he know?
I couldn’t tell if he only knew about my talent, or if he also knew the fact that I inherited Exordium’s soul.
Sordi and Um might be able to answer.
“Sordi, Um. Are you there?”
I called out to my guardians cautiously, but there was only silence.
Y-you must be somewhere, right…?
It seems I can’t summon them so easily after all.
To freely use their abilities, I was told I needed to resonate more with Exordium’s soul.
Hmm, should I try praising them?
Praise is the best way to get closer to someone!
“Gorgeous lily-loving Sordi! Magnificent wolf-like Um, please come out!”
Still nothing but silence. Now only I felt embarrassed for calling them such ridiculous names.
I’ve just created one embarrassed person while making another disappear.
I scratched my chin irritably and frowned.
Then I shouted recklessly.
“Mom!!! Dad!!!”
At that very moment, space warped with a sharp sound―and two male silhouettes materialized.
I stared blankly in thought.
‘―This actually works?’
In moments, a pristine beauty resembling a lily and a man with vibrant crimson hair greeted me side by side.
“Hello, pretty little one.”
“Glutinous rice. Did you call for us?”
The two guardian spirits, whom I hadn’t seen in ages, gazed down at me with sweet smiles.

—————

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

—————