The Obsessive Male Leads Want to Eat Me Alive - Chapter 62

—————

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

—————

Chapter 62
Beyond the square frames, emerald eyes grew clouded.
My sharp question had caught him off guard.
But it was only momentary—he laughed weakly.
“I’m merely a regular customer, nothing more.”
The wavering expression vanished as though it had never existed, replaced by perfect composure.
“The reason I noticed that you enjoy apples is simply because the Bakery is overflowing with them.”
“….”
“Apple tarts, apple crème brûlée, the only exclusive item the Bakery sells, and the jam bread uses apple jam. Even the apple pie is baked fresh every week. It was impossible not to notice.”
“…!”
I had embarrassingly given myself away.
I tended to become rather absorbed in the things I enjoyed—like a miner obsessed with his craft.
“The rest was mere coincidence. I’m delighted that it aligned so perfectly with your tastes. It brings me joy to have ensured you a pleasant meal.”
He placed a hand over his chest and smiled—genuinely pleased, his expression unmistakable.
Hmm, it wasn’t a perfect explanation, but it was certainly understandable.
Besides, he remained utterly composed.
Normally he would flush and fumble about, so if he’s truly innocent, this serene demeanor makes sense, doesn’t it?
If this were an act, he’d be no human—he’d be a fox spirit.
‘He helped me, and here I am, suspecting an innocent person.’
―How ungrateful of me.
I laughed and quickly apologized.
“I’m sorry. I was far too paranoid, wasn’t I? Haha, please forgive me. It happens sometimes.”
In truth, after more than a decade of living as a hunted fugitive, one learns to suspect everyone—the neighbors next door, the ones across the way.
I even suspected Noah at first, so there’s nothing more to say.
But regardless of whom I’ve suspected over these ten-plus years―
‘They were all good people. The neighbors of Bayonere.’
It was almost laughable how wrong my suspicions had been.
‘Honestly, I haven’t even seen anyone pursuing me in all this time. Perhaps they’ve given up?’
It had to be one of two things: either my pursuers lacked the resources to continue, or Kirke’s Phantom Thief Boy had successfully cut off their trail.
Given Gerard’s nature, the latter seemed far more likely.
In any case.
If he meant to kidnap me, it would be strange for him to say things like, “Hehehehe, I’ll gift you apples that you adore,” or “Before I kidnap you, I’ll stuff you full of lemon ice cream and delicious steak…!” wouldn’t it?
I shouldn’t waste time suspecting kind people.
Then he spoke.
“I understand perfectly, my lady.”
“….”
“I may have appeared suspicious. From childhood, I was never the type to make a good impression.”
He lowered his head, his expression growing slightly dejected as he continued.
“I was hardly charming. Wherever I went, I stood out awkwardly. …And I was never popular.”
His handsome face, delicate as a young deer’s, sank into deep melancholy.
His ears were flushed as though he were confessing something shameful and embarrassing.
There was something pitiful about his expression.
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
Rustle, rustle—
He quietly organized the groceries he’d brought back, his shoulders drooping.
I raised my eyebrows slightly.
‘With looks like that, he had no popularity?’
Was that even scientifically possible? Most people have eyes, don’t they, sir?
No matter how you looked at it, to claim he wasn’t the charming type himself…
I found him pitiful and endearing.
‘I made him even more dejected by suspecting him needlessly.’
As he quietly tidied up, he overlapped in my mind with a Golden Retriever that had become sullen after losing its snack, and I’d always been weak to people with this kind of atmosphere.
It had been that way since I was very young.
Eventually, my heart softened, and I set down the eggs I’d been organizing and spoke.
“Kine, you seem like such a wonderful person!”
“….”
“You put people at ease, you know. You’re so gentlemanly.”
“…I see.”
“Yes. And when you speak, your accent is really charming and cool.”
Rustle, rustle—
He continued organizing without much reaction, but looking closely, the nape of his neck had turned quite red.
He was terribly embarrassed.
‘Hehe, how cute.’
I thought about getting closer to him. If we became closer, he might come buy bread more often.
“By the way, how much longer will you keep calling me ‘Lady’?”
Lady was an extremely formal honorific, and it wasn’t used that way unless someone was a noblewoman.
Strictly speaking, it was an excessive title for someone who wasn’t even a noble. It felt burdensome to hear.
“I’m not a lady, you know.”
“…Then, what should I call you?”
“You can call me Anette.”
“I couldn’t possibly.”
“Otherwise, people usually call me the ‘Bakery owner’ or ‘Boss’ or something like that.”
“….”
“Try calling me casually.”
He hesitated for a moment, then carefully lowered his thick lashes behind his square-framed glasses and opened his lips cautiously to address me.
“…Owner, ma’am.”
“…?!”
Thump.
(Bakery) Owner ma’am—if you don’t add the prefix, I’ll be seriously misunderstood, Kine!
Why are you omitting the most important word?
It seems you added the honorific “nim” because calling me just “master” would sound disrespectful—
You could have just attached it after “boss.”
His clean, handsome face flushed deeply as he moved his lips again.
“Master.”
It sounds rather suggestive.
But I couldn’t bring myself to point it out.
His expression was so earnest, as though he would offer both body and soul without hesitation, and he was already so embarrassed that pointing it out would only make him utterly dejected.
“…Is the form of address acceptable?”
I answered with an enlightened expression.
“Yes. I like it.”
* * *
Two days later.
After closing the shop as usual, I flipped the sign on the Little Bakery to “closed.”
“Anette, is business finished for the day?”
“Oh, Beverando! What brings you here?”
A man who resembled a beaver—and whose name was somehow Beverando—had come looking for me.
He was carrying a thick stack of documents.
He was an administrator dispatched by the lord, and Beverando alone managed the entire Bayonere Island.
It was such a small island and remote village, after all.
“Well, you see, I’ve been tasked with preparing a ‘census register.'”
“…A census register?”
They’re preparing one even in this remote corner of the island?
A census register was, well, something like a resident registration.
‘Those Fris Empire bastards really are scraping together every last coin.’
This must be an order from the Imperial Court, not the lord. I’d even seen it in the newspaper recently.
They said they would prepare census registers to more clearly monitor the welfare of imperial citizens.
‘Nonsense. They just want to collect taxes.’
The Eldorado Empire doesn’t collect taxes from small fiefdoms ruled by minor nobility like this.
Life is too difficult in remote villages.
But it seems they’ve grown greedy.
‘Cruel bastards. I hope you all go bankrupt.’
“Would you sign here, Anette?”
“Yes, Beverando.”
But this wasn’t Beverando’s fault either.
I smiled pleasantly and signed the census register, which contained my name, the size of the bakery, and details about the building.
Beverando looked up at the Little Bakery and said,
“The first floor is the bakery, the second floor is where you live… who lives on the third floor?”
“That’s just an empty room. I’m using it as a warehouse, Beverando.”
“Ah, I see. Then that red-haired man must live somewhere else?”
“Yes, he’s an employee who commutes to work.”
I couldn’t increase his taxes.
In practical terms, Um essentially didn’t live anywhere.
If I had to pinpoint where he lived, it would be… in my heart?
‘Either way, we don’t live together.’
The bakery owner pondered the tax deductions available to self-employed individuals, then spoke as I stepped inside the shop.
“Just a moment!”
When I returned, my hands were overflowing with warm, freshly baked bread.
“Please, have these, Beverando.”
“…Ah, can I really accept free bread? I’m supposed to be an upright administrator.”
Even as he said this, Beverando was already swallowing hard, entranced by the sweet aroma.
I lowered my brows with a smile.
“It’s just bread, nothing more.”
“Thank you. I’ll enjoy it. Anette!”
“Yes~”
I waved toward Beverando and thought to myself.
‘Since he’s already accepted something, he’ll definitely underestimate the sales projections.’
Hehe, the more delicious the bread, the greater the sense of debt. And the bread from the Bakery is absolutely delicious.
I rubbed my nose and smiled wickedly.
It was an excellent bribe from a bread enthusiast.
But then.
“…I wonder if signing the personnel registry is safe?”
After all, I was a fugitive.
It was best to leave as few traces as possible.
Yet thinking it over carefully, the assumption that Gerard would use the Fris Empire’s personnel registry to find me made no sense.
First, the personnel registry containing the total population of the empire was a Class-1 imperial secret.
It would never be released until the Fris Empire fell.
It was equivalent to the probability of an Argentine administrator on the opposite side of the globe suddenly obtaining all of South Korea’s resident registration data.
‘Besides, there’s no reason for him to even request it.’
Gerard has no idea I’m here, after all.
This is inside a novel, so it has its own internal logic.
Unless he were an obsessive maniac, he wouldn’t succeed at such insane, ridiculous schemes—like obtaining another nation’s personnel registry.
“Hmm, I’ve been a bit on edge lately―”
That’s right, isn’t it?
I tilted my head and entered the bakery.

—————

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

—————