The Obsessive Male Leads Want to Eat Me Alive - Chapter 8

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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 8
Before the carriage disappeared completely from sight, I quietly raised my middle finger.
‘What absolute nonsense.’
Had I truly been nothing more than a child, the vicious insults spewing from Putolio’s mouth would have carved wounds deep enough to haunt me for a lifetime.
But I was no ordinary twelve-year-old—I carried the memories of a past life within me.
With my previous existence as a shield, I could deflect such crude verbal abuse.
“Sisrain, we need to wash our ears. We just encountered a man who speaks filth from his mouth.”
I said this cheerfully while gently rubbing Sisrain’s ears with my hands. There, there, all better.
‘But something feels off.’
The very appearance of that man was strange.
‘This episode definitely wasn’t in the original story.’
If it had been part of the original narrative, I would have prepared myself. Yet no matter how hard I searched my memories, there was no episode of him visiting The Forest.
But what was done was done. Now my only choice was to find a solution.
‘…Marquis Corel, then.’
He was an extra character in the original work, but his peculiar setting stuck with me.
‘He was a man with severe health anxiety. And obsessive-compulsive tendencies on top of that.’
His constant worry about his own health meant he perpetually harassed physicians, and his fear of illness manifested in obsessive cleanliness habits.
He even changed his gloves after shaking hands, and his anxiety was so severe it triggered panic attacks—a truly sensitive man.
‘If I recall correctly, he conducted slave trafficking operations with Putolio several times.’
That must have been why. Rather than entrusting the dispute resolution to the lord of Ferdes where Putolio’s business was located, he had specifically insisted on summoning Marquis Corel from this region.
‘If things proceed as they are, I won’t stand a chance tomorrow….’
“…Are you alright?”
I paused my thoughts and asked Sisrain.
Perhaps it was because he was wet—I could feel his body trembling like an aspen leaf.
Just seeing his frightened face made my chest ache. The nobleman’s cruel words echoed in my mind once more.
“Sometimes there are children who are nothing but the ‘excrement’ of lust.”
…How many times had Sisrain been forced to hear such brutal insults?
If I had been trapped by a man with a tongue as sharp as a honed blade, my own self-worth would have been ground into dust.
Suddenly, I remembered what Sisrain had said when we first met.
“I’m filthy.”
“If you talk to me, you’ll become filthy too.”
…I could imagine what kind of abuse he had endured, and my heart ached with a dull, throbbing pain.
As I stroked the boy’s back, he whispered softly.
“Are you alright, Anette?”
Even in this situation, Sisrain worried about me first.
Even as he trembled like this….
“I’m fine!”
“I’m okay too, Anette.”
Sisrain, you’re allowed to say you’re scared when you’re afraid, to say you’re frightened when you’re terrified. You’re still just a child—that’s permitted.
I gently soothed and caressed Sisrain, and then the boy, who had seemed so dejected, said something entirely unexpected.
“I’d rather go back into the Cave.”
“…Huh?”
“If I’m there, no one can take me away.”
That’s when I understood. Why Sisrain had retreated into the Cave. It wasn’t simply because his senses had grown acute and he needed to hide.
He believed that place was safe.
A sanctuary beyond the reach of those who tormented him. In that narrow, filthy, and desolate Cave, he had actually found comfort.
My chest grew heavy.
“No.”
I cradled Sisrain’s cheeks solemnly between both my hands and spoke.
“I will never abandon you alone in that dark place again.”
‘Goodness, I sound like some noble hero right now.’
“From now on, you’re staying with me, Sisrain.”
His ruby-like, beautiful crimson eyes wavered. He asked softly.
“…Always, together?”
“Yes!”
As I broke into a radiant smile, Sisrain’s ears flushed crimson. The boy lowered his head shyly, as if to hide his handsome face, and answered.
“…Yes.”
‘Oh my, how adorable.’
I winked with confidence.
“That’s right, so trust only me!”
* * *
That afternoon, I visited the Incinerator with Heinrich.
Since this place burned the refuse from The Forest, the trees themselves never dared venture near it.
“…Sister, do we really have to go this far?”
Heinrich couldn’t hide his displeasure, speaking with both hands clasped behind his head.
“We could just send that beast straight to Putolio and be done with it.”
“Heinrich, you shouldn’t say such cruel things.”
“Why!”
“Because he’s our friend.”
“Tch, since when were we friends….”
Heinrich murmured softly, his violet eyes gleaming.
“I have no intention of being friends with him. …And Sister, you like that guy too much.”
I grasped Heinrich’s hand firmly with both of mine and smiled.
“Regardless, thank you for coming with me, Heinrich.”
“…!”
Heinrich’s soft, mochi-like cheeks quivered.
Then they flushed a beautiful peachy hue, like a perfectly ripened peach.
“Hmph, there’s no need to thank me for something obvious.”
Heinrich easily scaled the barbed wire fence that was twice his height and leaped down with a flourish.
“Oh, be careful!”
Thud—
He landed gracefully and dusted off his hands before unlocking the latch from inside.
As I stepped in, I made sure not to forget to praise the little one’s accomplishment.
“There’s really no one quite like Heinrich, is there~?”
Heinrich puffed out his chest like a kitten catching its first mouse, swelling with pride.
‘Oh my, our precious little one is just too adorable…!’
I chuckled and entered the Incinerator, immediately gathering the past month’s morning newspapers in neat stacks before settling down to read.
What I was searching for were articles about Putolio or news from the Ferdes region.
Putolio was quite a prominent figure in the community and a man who operated a large-scale Slave Trade Business. If anything significant had happened recently, it would have the impact to make the newspapers.
‘It’s strange that he suddenly came to The Forest. And just to retrieve one small child.’
Fifty million gold was a substantial sum, but his Slave Trade Business was recording enormous revenues.
Whether it was worth traveling such a distance, dealing with Mimosa—who had a reputation for being difficult—and even summoning the lord to cause such a commotion… well, something felt off about it.
“Hm?”
Then one headline caught my eye.
「 Ferdes Plague ‘Marel’ Spreads. A Demon’s Curse? 」
‘A plague is spreading.’
The newspaper reported that the lord of Ferdes had sealed the borders and prevented commoners from traveling between regions.
‘If a plague is spreading… the Slave Trade Business must have taken a massive hit.’
Who would buy ‘humans’ from a region where a plague was raging?
As expected.
「 Ferdes Slave Market on Brink of Bankruptcy, Putolio Requests ‘Community Assistance’ 」
‘On the brink of bankruptcy!’
Now the situation made sense.
So that’s why he came all the way out to this countryside to find one child and threatened to demand fifty million gold.
Once a business springs a leak in its finances, it collapses in an instant.
“Heh.”
I laughed lightly and lifted the corners of my mouth.
“I finally remember. How to keep Sisrain from being sent away.”
“Huh? Really?”
Heinrich raised his eyebrows with genuine curiosity and tilted his head.
I crossed my arms confidently atop the cardboard box and smiled wickedly.
“Yeah, I just thought of something really nasty.”
“…Something nasty?”
“Our Sisrain won’t go to anyone.”
My eyes gleamed like those of a destitute obsessive hoarder.
If my plan worked, tomorrow Marquis Corel would side with Mimosa.
As for what that plan was….
* * *
The next morning.
The scent of fresh bread wafted through the air from early on.
In the Kitchen, the children were huddled together kneading dough for bread.
“Anette, look at this! I made it.”
Julian held out the dough to me, his lake-like sky-blue eyes sparkling brilliantly.
“Oh, you did a wonderful job.”
I smiled warmly as I spoke.
“Did you make a monster, Julian?”
Beneath his fluffy golden hair, his large eyes began to glisten with tears.
“…N-No, this is Anette…”
‘His artistic vision runs quite deep.’
“Oh! Now that I look at it, it really does look like me~”
Julian’s dejected expression brightened instantly at my words, his smile radiant as sunlight.
Whenever a guest arrived, the children making food together was an ancient tradition of The Forest.
Today was the day a summary trial would be held—one requested by Putolio, who claimed ownership over Sisrain.
The key point of a summary trial lay in the word “summary.”
Normally, we would have to travel to the Marquis’s estate to determine right from wrong, but given that The Forest’s existence was a secret to the outside world, Marquis Corel himself agreed to come here directly.
So from morning, the secretaries of both Marquis Corel and Putolio had visited The Forest to convey their masters’ preferences and tastes.
The menu was prepared without shortage—roasted duck, clam chowder, soft bread, and seasonal fruits.
And finally, just before the trial began.
I met with Sisrain.
“Sis, you’re quite nervous, aren’t you…”
The boy kept his crimson eyes fixed downward, unable to lift his gaze.
‘He couldn’t even properly meet eyes with Putolio.’
To Sisrain, the Count must be a monster.
The one who hurled terrifying abuse, tormented him mercilessly, and on top of that, made him fear even water itself.
Of course, even meeting his eyes would require tremendous courage.
Yet he had to participate in a trial in the same room as that monstrous man who had handled him so ruthlessly.
Moreover, depending on the trial’s outcome, he could be dragged away by that monster.
‘It’s only natural he’d be terrified.’
If he could just keep his head up throughout the trial, that would be fortunate enough.
I cupped his cheek with the gentlest voice I could muster and spoke.
“Sis, look at me.”
“…”
Beautiful ruby-red eyes peered out from between his dark, tousled hair, gazing at me obediently.
‘Oh, he looks like a frightened puppy.’
It was both heartbreaking and endearing, so I spoke with deliberate cheerfulness to keep Sisrain from being afraid.
“Listen, we’re going in there and we’re going to win. We’ll come back victorious.”
“…Anette.”
The boy’s dry lips trembled slightly.
“I’ll go in alone. You stay outside.”
“Why…?”
I thought you’d say you were scared and wanted to come with me?
Shadows deepened in his ruby-red eyes.
“Putolio is a vicious man. I don’t want Anette to get caught up in this because of me.”
He was willing to face the monster alone, and all because he was worried about me….
I’d felt it when I met Putolio before, but Sisrain had a peculiar way of summoning courage whenever it concerned me.
Then I had to be brave too!
I lowered my brows and smiled brightly.
“I’m not scared at all?”
“….”
I grasped Sisrain’s hand tenderly with both of mine.
“Sisrain, from now on we’re going in there and proving that the Marquis was wrong.”
“….”
“Don’t keep suffering from the trauma that wicked man gave you.”
“….”
“So if the Marquis crumbles in there today… your fear of water will crumble with him. Understand?”
The boy’s eyes, which had been trembling like leaves caught in a typhoon, had grown calm and steady. For a moment, determination flickered in his gaze.
“Yes.”
Sisrain nodded.
‘Finally.’
Now it was time to execute the plan I’d prepared.
Today’s operation was called ‘Eliminating Filth with Vermin’.
Defeating a villain with another villain.
Would Marquis Corel move according to my wishes?
My heart trembled with anticipation and nervous excitement.
I grasped Sisrain’s hand and pushed open the courtroom doors with determination.

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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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