The Obsessive Male Leads Want to Eat Me Alive - Chapter 51

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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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Chapter 51
‘What?! A deal out of nowhere? …Who are you?’
But how did you even get in here?
Coming through the window meant breaking through the Mansion’s barrier.
It was a barrier that couldn’t be easily crossed without a noble’s seal of passage…but at least I’d gleaned one piece of information.
My visitor was no ordinary talent.
‘But he’s just a boy.’
He looked to be around fifteen years old.
Based on his build and voice, that was all I could estimate.
I rummaged through my memory of known figures, but no one matched this character. Especially with that black hair—among major players, only Sisrain had it.
‘A disguise?’
“You think a lot, don’t you, Anette.”
Flinch—
My jade-green eyes blinked.
‘Oh, did he notice that?’
“Let me reveal my identity first. I come from the Kirke Information Guild.”
The Kirke Information Guild. I’d heard of it before. In my “Dark Guilds and History” class.
The teacher had said that once you became a noble, you’d eventually need to deal with such illegal information brokers for social politics.
‘…But you didn’t say we’d be doing it at age twelve, did you, teacher?’
“Here’s my business card.”
The neat smile behind the mask (though it was a mask, when the person spoke or smiled, the black eyes and mouth moved) offered me a card.
It was decidedly businesslike in tone.
「 Kirke Information Guild.
We’ll be your friend♥」
‘What’s with this creepy heart.’
“I’d appreciate it if you understood that the heart is the point.”
Twitch.
I stared at the mask that seemed to see right through me.
And I spoke with some caution.
“How did you know my name is Anette, and how did you know I need help?”
The mask chuckled softly.
“There’s nothing we don’t know.”
It sounded like the words of a quite capable information broker, but I thought to myself.
―Hmm, he’s quite the braggart.
By now, rumors of an unmarried imperial prince taking in an adopted daughter would be rife throughout the Imperial Palace, and any information broker worth the name couldn’t claim ignorance of such a major event.
Besides, the existence of the Forest was already known in whispers among the nobility, so connecting it to me wasn’t difficult.
And I’d even gone out for socialization training not long ago.
But the fact that I’m in a situation where I need help right now.
And the fact that he broke through the Forest’s barrier and found my exact location—
‘I have to admit, that’s impressive.’
My trust in him grew a little.
Perhaps I should test him further.
“Do you also know what I need right now?”
“Of course.”
The masked man stroked his chin with an amused smile.
“You want to escape, don’t you? Tomorrow morning, escaping from the carriage heading to the Imperial Palace would be the cleanest approach.”
“…!”
This is real, this is actually real!
“But I have nothing to offer in return.”
I clutched the treasure pouch tightly to my chest, my cheeks puffed out like a squirrel stuffing its mouth with almonds.
If I use Julius, it’s free!
He chuckled deeply.
“Ah, it’s not that treasure I desire.”
‘How did he know it was treasure…?’
“I can tell just from the jingling sound. I have a keen nose for wealth, you see.”
He made a circle with his fingers and laughed.
So he’s just a money-obsessed lunatic, isn’t he, sir.
“Once you’ve grown, do one thing I ask of you. That alone is the price of this deal.”
“…Hmm.”
I regarded him with suspicion.
‘On the surface, this sounds like an incredible bargain.’
He spoke as if I wouldn’t need to pay anything now, and later I’d only have to grant him a single favor—almost casually.
‘If he’s being honest, wouldn’t that make the information broker a complete fool?’
He was showing me such extraordinary goodwill that it seemed like he was offering free service for now.
‘But that can’t be right.’
Men like him never take losses, so once I’ve grown, he’ll demand something that perfectly matches the value of his favor.
‘Could he possibly know that I’m a successor?’
That didn’t seem likely.
If he knew I was a successor, he wouldn’t wait for my abilities to develop—he’d demand I use them right now.
The fact that “resonance” is required to use a sorcerer’s power wasn’t information known to the outside world.
‘This isn’t a bad opportunity.’
“Then could you do one more thing for me?”
Of course, if I use Julius, it’s free.
But if Julius disappeared from the Forest, it would raise unnecessary suspicion, and I didn’t want to lose the children’s capable and well-mannered nobility instructor either.
Most importantly—
‘There are services Julius can’t provide.’
The masked man let out a soft laugh, his expression turning intrigued.
The eye area was so dark that I couldn’t see his actual eye color, yet I could somehow sense the interest in his expression.
“Why don’t you tell me and let me decide?”
“There may be people trying to track me in the future. Erase all traces of me from them. Thoroughly.”
It was probably Gerard and the people he’d hired.
‘But it won’t last long.’
They’d probably search frantically for a while, but like all pursuits of that nature, once enough time passed without their quarry appearing, they’d grow discouraged and the intensity of their search would diminish.
‘Besides, my hiding place is incredibly, extraordinarily far away.’
The bakery’s planned location was on an Island, far removed from the Empire and deliberately isolated.
So if I could just block their initial concentrated pursuit, I should be able to hold out reasonably well after that.
“That’s not difficult.”
The Phantom Boy answered readily.
‘As expected.’
“In that case, I’ll have to increase my favors to two?”
I shook my head firmly at the information broker’s fingers as they rose to two.
“No! I’ll pay for this job with treasure instead. I’ll calculate it based on how long the blockade needs to last.”
‘I can’t give away two wish tokens when I don’t even know what he’ll ask for.’
To minimize future uncertainty, it was best to block whatever could be blocked with money.
Besides, dealing with an information broker meant I could pay with treasures that I wouldn’t be able to convert to cash until I was older.
It meant I could use treasures I couldn’t utilize immediately like currency.
It was advantageous for me in multiple ways.
“…Hmm, I see. So two wishes are off the table.”
The Phantom Boy looked somewhat disappointed (his eyes drooped downward, like a dejected puppy), but he nodded anyway.
“Fine then. We have a deal!”
“Agreed.”
I shook hands with the Phantom Boy.
And then silence.
“….”
“….”
I rolled my eyes around before asking.
“―So now we write up a contract or something, and maybe share blood or drink it together?”
“What? Pfft!”
The Phantom Boy clutched his stomach and laughed.
I scratched my cheek, feeling a bit embarrassed.
“There should probably be some evidence of the contract….”
“That business card is the evidence.”
“…?”
That shabby business card?
I looked at the card again.
「 Kirke Information Guild.
I’ll be your friend★」
―It’s brazenly replaced with an asterisk!
“The contract is valid starting today. I’ll come pick you up tomorrow morning. When you press ‘that’ in the carriage, an escape route will appear.”
Clang―
I heard something drop into my treasure pouch and reached inside to investigate.
A magical artifact no bigger than a fingernail?
“Say, Information Guild Master. If you press this, what happens―”
He vanished!?
When I lifted my head, the Phantom Boy had disappeared without a trace.
Only the tattered curtains of the Warehouse swayed gently against the backdrop of a night sky crowned with an enormous moon.
‘It feels like I’ve been bewitched by a phantom.’
I held the magical artifact the Information Guild Master had left behind up to the moonlight.
I swallowed hard.
“What exactly happens when you press this?”
The answer came soon enough.
* * *
“Welcome back, Master.”
Kirke Information Guild Headquarters.
Guild members bowed respectfully as the boy in phantom attire walked through the dimly lit interior with measured steps.
The guild members’ faces were each so distinctive that a rap sheet of ten or twenty criminals seemed trivial by comparison, and there would be no sense of incongruity even if their faces were plastered on wanted posters this very moment.
The master of the Information Guild who led them.
Kirke’s Master was known in the underworld by the name “Balrog”—a name of considerable renown.
【 Balrog’s gunfire strikes true even when fired into empty air 】
Such an absurd phrase had spread through the underworld like mythology itself.
A prodigy of the magical revolver, the man who had elevated the Kirke Information Guild to the Empire’s premier shadow organization.
His true identity was….
“Ah, is our young master sleeping soundly?”
A father.
“Yes, he has fallen into a deep slumber.”
“The young master displayed his beastly nature while eating his meal, practiced ten consecutive shots with his magical revolver, and has just now drifted off to sleep.”
A guild member whose face bore vicious scars delivered the briefing, naturally glossing over the staggering gap between “eating his meal” and “ten consecutive magical revolver shots.”
“Good.”
Balrog answered with satisfaction, removing his mask and dropping his disguise.
Blonde hair cascaded down in waves, revealing eyes of emerald green.
Dimples formed attractively on smiling cheeks—an Indian heritage marking.
Now that his height had grown considerably, he sat with long legs draped over the armchair. His true identity was…
None other than Marquis Bijae Winston.
Bijae gazed at the guild members with a radiant, innocent smile.
“Ah yes, there’s one thing we need to do when dawn breaks tomorrow.”
“Yes?”
So suddenly?
Though the schedule had been set quite hastily, the guild members—well accustomed to their Master’s impulsiveness—merely wore expressions of “Here we go again!”
Balrog was a single father who had lost his wife and raised his son with devoted care, possessing a warm and affectionate nature toward children―
But when it came to his work in the underworld’s shadow information trade, he was quite a fearsome man.
Men who resembled monsters with such grotesque features, commanded by a single gesture from that one-eyed man.
The one-eyed man gave a subtle signal with his solitary eye.
‘It seems our Master has stirred up trouble again.’
The muscular man across from him quickly rubbed his nose.
‘Just shut up and listen.’
“So… what is the nature of this request?”
Bijae explained.
“Tomorrow morning, we help a girl escape. From a carriage heading to the Imperial Palace.”
“…Master, are you saying we’re to ambush the Prince’s carriage?”
The Master answered with a smile as pure as a flower.
“Precisely correct.”
‘We’re done for.’
At that moment, the men’s already grotesque faces became even more hideous.
Bijae appeared quite delighted.
And for good reason—everything felt like destiny itself.
I had simply gone to bed early that night, but the teleport connected to Anette was right on the nightstand beside my bed, so I received her letter immediately.
After reading Anette’s letter, I teleported and arrived at The Forest in less than a minute (of course, I disabled the barrier with my own power).
All of those circumstances felt so much like ‘the sweet fate between a special father-in-law and his future daughter-in-law’.
―In truth, it was nothing but pure coincidence.
Having completed his interpretation of events exactly as he wished, Bijae opened his mouth with eyes sparkling like the morning star.
“I shall raise that child beautifully and…”
The guild members anticipated what came next.
‘Devour her?’
‘Is he planning to devour her?’
Clenching both fists, Bijae made his declaration.
“I will absolutely make her my daughter-in-law!!!”
What?!
The guild members’ pupils trembled as they looked at each other.
However, they knew well that when their Master’s eyes held such subtle madness, one must never object.
…Why… was he getting so worked up alone?
“Should we prepare for departure then?”
Just then, a voice came from behind.
“Father.”
“…”
It was Kyle, the young master who had supposedly been practicing rapid-fire with the magic gun and fallen asleep.
Having awakened at some point, the boy who appeared at the doorway spoke with bright emerald eyes beneath hair as dark as chestnuts.
“Please lend me your mask tomorrow. I will disguise myself as you and carry out the operation instead.”
“Kyle, that’s—”
Bijae’s expression became somewhat troubled. However, the chestnut-haired boy did not back down.
“I wish to rescue the Lady myself.”
At ten-year-old Kyle’s reckless declaration that he would venture into the slaughter, Bijae Winston raised his most pressing concern.
“However, you….”
It was precisely this.
“You get terribly embarrassed in front of Anette.”
“…!”
Kyle flinched, his cheeks flushing crimson.
“…If I wear a mask for disguise, it should be fine. I’m only embarrassed because I might meet eyes with the Lady.”
“Well, if that’s how you feel.”
Bijae Winston smiled as he looked toward the Kirke Information Guild members.
“Everyone’s alright with this?”
Balrog’s successor, Kyle, had ventured into the field since he was eight years old, just like the other Winstons.
Though he was an embarrassingly shy boy when it came to presenting even a single flower to the Lady, his skill was undeniably impressive.
Especially with the magic gun—he shot as well as his own father. At such a young age.
In a few years, he would become a master surpassing Balrog. The fierce-looking Kirke Information Guild members all nodded readily.
“Working alongside the young master will make the field even more enjoyable.”
“This operation will be a good opportunity to coordinate with the young master again after so long. Hahaha!”
“Then that settles it.”
Bijae Winston stroked his chin, organizing the situation.
“We depart the moment dawn breaks.”
* * *
And as the deep blue sky gave way to morning light.
Thud-thud-thud-thud―
A grand procession of carriages approached through the morning forest in the distance, kicking up clouds of dust.
Gerard’s crimson eyes, gazing out the carriage window, gleamed with an icy chill.

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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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