The Obsessive Male Leads Want to Eat Me Alive - Chapter 60

—————

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

—————

Chapter 60
Anette furrowed her brow as she spoke.
“I’m so sorry for being late—please, let me buy you lunch.”
“That won’t be necessary, my lady.”
“You emphasized not to be late, and here I am tardy—the least I can do is treat you to a meal. Besides—”
Anette asked him to wait a moment, then quickly procured a basket from the Produce Market beside the Clock Tower and thrust it into his arms.
“I’m going to need your strength today, Kine!”
…
Kyle gazed at the basket for a moment, then placed his palm over his chest and laughed.
“I’m truly delighted. To think I can be of service to you, my lady.”
He appeared genuinely sincere. Was he simply a kind-hearted soul who found joy in serving others?
‘He’s remarkably genteel.’
As a shuttle for the Bakery, he scored a perfect hundred.
“Shall we go?”
“Yes.”
While all the other couples headed toward the Entertainment District to the right, we walked with spirited purpose toward the Food Ingredient Market.
The sky flaunted its brilliance, casting such radiant sunlight that everywhere seemed to shimmer with possibility.
As I walked along carrying the small basket, I leisurely recited the list of items I needed to purchase today.
Kyle listened with such grave intensity, as though the list contained supplies to save a hundred lives.
We first bought seedlings of lemongrass, arugula, and basil, then stopped by the Produce Market brimming with fresh fruits.
“Do we purchase the fruit here, my lady?”
“No.”
I covered my mouth so only Kyle could see, and lowered my voice to a conspiratorial whisper.
“It’s expensive here. Jake’s fruit shop deeper inside has better quality at lower prices.”
I opened my eyes mischievously and gestured eagerly with my thumb toward the interior.
Kyle couldn’t help but laugh at that adorable expression.
It differed from what he’d imagined last night, but it was undoubtedly quite an enjoyable outing.
Whether she considered it a date as well remained uncertain.
Jake’s shop was located at the very back of the Produce Market, and even from a distance, a fresh, fragrant aroma wafted gently through the air.
Beautifully arranged fruits were piled high, and the bearded Jake greeted them with a hearty laugh.
“Ha ha, the proprietor of the Little Bakery has graced us with her presence! We have plenty of delicious fruit today—pick whatever you like!”
“What’s particularly good today, sir?”
“Looking for tart ingredients, are you?”
“Yes!”
“Then try these Western pears that just came in. They’re wonderfully sweet.”
“May I taste one?”
“Of course.”
He displayed a golden, pear-shaped fruit, and with his rough hands (yet with the precision of a true professional, executed with remarkable speed), sliced the flesh and offered it to me.
As I bit into it, sweet and subtly tart juice flooded my tongue in abundance.
“Mmm…!”
The delicious taste made Anette’s eyebrows rise with delight.
She quickly accepted the fork and held the fruit flesh out to Kyle.
“You should try it too, Kine. It’s delicious.”
She seemed completely unaware of how much her selfless gesture made Kyle’s heart race.
“….”
He hesitated for a moment, then slowly inclined his broad shoulders and bit into the fruit with a crisp sound, his cool lips closing around it.
“How is it? Delicious, isn’t it?”
Kyle covered his mouth and smiled, nodding readily.
Jake, who had been watching the scene with meaningful eyes, chuckled mischievously and spoke.
“You two are quite affectionate—are you newlyweds? When did our Bakery owner get married?”
“…!”
Oh my, what are you saying, sir!
Anette, flustered, suddenly shoved Kyle, who was standing so close to her. It was an elastic gesture, like the kick of a frog’s hind leg.
“No, we’re not newlyweds.”
“….”
“This gentleman is just a regular customer of our Bakery who happened to help me with shopping today. Isn’t that right, Kine?”
However, this man, standing like a pole and so massive he barely budged from her push, did not join in to deny it.
He simply stood there, neither confirming nor denying anything.
“…!”
Anette’s face flushed slightly.
“Hehehehe! You two match so perfectly—why are you being like this!”
The bearded Jake laughed mischievously.
Anette gave Jake a sidelong glance for teasing her, then quickly returned to her professional demeanor as a shop owner and picked up a Western pear.
Then she surveyed the customer’s preferences.
“Imagine a tart with crispy pâte sucrée, generously topped with sweet cream, and this Western pear placed on top—wouldn’t that be delicious, Kine?”
“It truly… sounds delicious.”
He smiled faintly.
Seeing the gullible customer’s positive reaction, the shrewd business owner thought, ‘I won’t have any inventory left,’ and purchased an entire basket of Western pears.
* * *
After finishing their shopping, the two walked side by side, each having bought ice cream according to their preferences.
Anette had lemon flavor, while Kyle had chocolate.
Now only a few more essential ingredients remained to purchase.
Walking down the bright, sunlit street and savoring sweet ice cream with each bite lifted my spirits.
However, there was little conversation between us.
The Kine I had come to know was a man of few words.
‘He must be quite shy.’
Whenever I whispered something to him, he would dutifully incline his broad shoulders, yet when we parted, his cheeks would somehow be flushed.
He rarely made eye contact either.
“….”
Well then, let me try some small talk.
Anette glanced up at the man walking silently beside her and suddenly asked a question.
“Kine, why are you dressed so handsomely today?”
“…!”
For a moment, his pupils trembled.
“Ah, I’m dressed as I usually am.”
Kyle answered quickly, but Anette tilted her head in doubt.
‘That’s not it at all. You’re definitely more dapper than usual.’
You’ve put considerable thought into your appearance.
It looks like you spent all night deliberating what to wear starting yesterday and finally settled on this outfit, sir.
Observing him with a puzzled expression, Anette now seemed to understand and asked with a smile.
“Ah, did you perhaps schedule something else after shopping?”
Kyle licked his chocolate ice cream slowly with his tongue and shook his head slightly.
“….”
So it was just a day when he wanted to dress up?
Anette thought calmly and took a bite of her refreshing ice cream.
In any case, it was fortunate that he was stronger than he appeared.
I’d known he had a decent build, but I’d assumed he was just a nerdy bookworm with square-framed glasses, completely lacking in vigor….
Yet contrary to that image, he lifted heavy items with ease.
‘I should ask for his help more often.’
She smiled brightly while contemplating ways to reduce labor costs as a self-employed business owner.
Kyle gazed quietly at Anette.
Though he rarely made direct eye contact, whenever Anette looked away, his tender gaze always followed her.
And finding her lovely, he smiled softly to himself.
The young lady walking beside him had no idea.
“By the way, Kine, it seems your eyesight isn’t very good. Do you always wear glasses?”
“I only wear them when I want to see well.”
Though his vision was poor, Kyle didn’t wear glasses on the battlefield or in his daily life. It stemmed from a cynical and cold-hearted desire not to see the world’s filth in detail.
But whenever he went to the Bakery, he always put them on.
Because he wanted to see the beautiful person clearly.
“….”
‘Why is he looking at me like that.’
For the first time, I avoided his gaze as he looked at me. It felt embarrassing somehow.
So I quickly changed the subject.
“Do you happen to remember which items are left on the shopping list?”
“Salami ham and bacon, dark chocolate for baking and whole wheat flour, and we should get three more cartons of fresh eggs.”
Anette’s mouth fell open. There were quite a lot of items on the list, and he remembered all of them?
It easily exceeded fifteen items. Moreover, he’d only heard it mentioned once.
Even the Bakery owner was using her palm as a cheat sheet.
“You have an excellent memory, Kine.”
“….”
He gazed at her quietly, his smile laden with meaning.
“I do have a good memory.”
“….”
“At least for the things that matter.”
And at the center of everything that mattered, Anette had always been there.
Since I was very young.
From our first meeting—something Anette herself never knew about―
I remained unwavering.
* * *
Kyle Winston was nine years old when he ventured onto a demon beast subjugation battlefield with the Kirke members and was devoured by a demon beast.
But it was nothing extraordinary.
The Winstons typically began succession education slowly around age six, which meant early training in “demon beast subjugation” and as a “Guild” member.
Many heirs died during this process.
The family heads believed that if a child could not endure the training, they lacked the qualifications to be a Winston.
But in Bijeje’s judgment, Kyle was different.
There was no way he could be dead.
“He must be alive. Find him without fail. That boy is a true Winston.”
It was a miraculous coincidence that Mimosa discovered Kyle while out on an errand.
A nine-year-old boy covered entirely in viscous digestive fluid, unconscious.
A short blade was clutched in the boy’s hand—he had torn through the demon beast’s belly and escaped.
The child’s spirit contained tremendous magical power.
Mimosa recognized the boy at a glance.
“What a remarkable child I’ve found. This one will become a magnificent Tree.”
And so Kyle became a “Tree” of the “Forest.”

—————

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

—————