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Chapter 24
As Expected, the Male Lead Is Different
Through the leaves, sunlight flickered and shimmered against… a pair of mysterious, dazzling violet eyes.
A fair, clear little face with delicately arranged, cute features.
A faint peach fragrance tickling the tip of the nose…
“Are you all right, Marquess?”
Kailian’s gaze was frozen, locked like a paused image on Himena’s face that was so close it seemed within reach. Flustered, he quickly turned his head away.
“I–I’m fine.”
“Huh? What’s wrong? Did you hurt your face?”
“No, no.”
As Kailian turned aside, hiding his face—which had involuntarily flushed red—with one hand, Himena cluelessly leaned in even closer.
“Let me see! Did you hit your chin on my head?”
“I–I said no… Hm? This is—!”
Just then—
“Captain!”
Sensing a sinister aura first, Kailian snatched Himena into his arms and sprang up. The knights keeping watch around them shouted urgently.
“I saw it too!”
Rrrrraaaagh…
A dark, black mass tore through the barrier and slithered out, swelling larger and larger. It transformed into a gigantic olive-green caterpillar monster, dozens of eyes and legs sprouting as it roared.
Kwoooaaahhh!
“A m–monster appeared!”
“Uwaaaah!”
“Save us!”
As the terrified townsfolk scattered in panic, Kailian set Himena down and barked orders.
“I’ll handle that beast! The rest of you split into two groups—protect the townsfolk and seal the barrier with magic stones the instant the creature falls!”
“Yes, Captain!”
The knights split seamlessly into two teams: one moved behind Kailian to guard against stray monster fragments, while the other readied magic stones to repair the torn barrier.
‘Th–that huge thing… the Marquess will face it alone?’
Himena, overwhelmed by the sight of such a gigantic monster for the first time in her life, collapsed to the ground in fright. Meanwhile, Kailian calmly drew the black sword from his waist.
Hummm…
From the crimson jewel embedded in the blade, red aura flared outward, wrapping around him.
‘That’s it! Kailian’s red aura!’
Though it wasn’t night—when his nickname, the Swordsman of the Blood Moon, made sense—the scarlet aura that shimmered translucent under daylight appeared even more mysterious and beautiful.
Kwooooaaaahh!
“Haaaah!”
With a shout, Kailian charged. As the monster lunged at him, he swung down from the right.
Shhhraaaak!
Kwaaagh!
In a single stroke, the beast was cleaved in two. Before its body even hit the ground, Kailian’s sword sliced twice more, tearing it into pieces that rained onto the earth.
“Now!”
The waiting knights immediately planted the magic stones into the torn section of the barrier. Transparent energy spread, sealing the holes from which black smoke had leaked.
“It’s done, Captain! The barrier is repaired!”
“Well done.”
The rear team sprinkled white powder over the monster’s scattered remains. The pieces smoked away into nothing, leaving behind several glittering monster cores.
The number of cores left behind revealed how many animals had been fused into the beast—the more cores, the bigger the monster. Each year, hunters’ ranks in the Monster Subjugation Tournament were determined by how many cores they collected.
“Everyone, come out! It’s safe now!”
As the knights shouted, the hiding villagers emerged, sighing in relief.
“Our handsome knight doesn’t look so handsome now.”
Kailian chuckled, offering his hand to Himena, who sat drenched in the sticky green ichor the caterpillar had spewed when cut down.
“…Marquess.”
“What is it?”
“N–nothing.”
‘Her face is blank with shock. She really must never have seen a monster before… seeing it for real must have shaken her badly.’
Helping her to her feet, Kailian asked with concern,
“Are you all right?”
“Y–yes…”
“Here, wipe with this. Best to bathe quickly.”
He tossed his jacket to her, then turned to his men.
“That’s enough for today. Gather the scattered townsfolk and escort them back to the castle!”
“Yes, sir!”
But while Kailian assumed Himena was shaken by the monster, her eyes were fixed on his retreating back.
‘Wow… as expected, the male lead really is different. My heart! He was just too cool!’
Later, back at the castle…
“Sir Hermes, this is the Marquess’s nightgown, and here are your spare clothes. Please put any soiled garments into this basket.”
“Ah, yes…”
“Then we’ll leave you, my lord.”
“Y–yes.”
The maids filled the large bath with steaming water, even delivering Kailian’s gown to Himena before leaving.
‘N–now… what do I do?’
After returning from the birch forest, Himena had almost been dragged off by the senior knights.
“Hey, Hermes! Where are you going? You need to wash up!”
“Eh?”
“You stink. You’re covered in monster filth too. Come wash with us at the barracks.”
“T–together?”
“Yeah. We’re all men here, what’s the big deal? Come on.”
“Uh, um…”
“Ahem! Hermes, you should attend me in my bath. Go tell the maids to prepare hot water at once.”
Just as flustered as Himena, Kailian had swiftly intervened to pull her away. But now, inside his bathroom, she was on the verge of despair.
‘Wh–what do I do? How do I even “attend” someone’s bath? And when do I get to wash? At this rate… tonight…’
“This won’t do. I just remembered—Wale asked me to sign an important document today.”
As Himena stiffly held clothes, sweating bullets while her mind raced, Kailian spoke with feigned gravity.
“Oh no, my lord! How could you forget? You’d better go quickly. Paperwork first—bathing should be done after all official duties, of course. Yes, yes.”
“True. I’ll go. You wash first.”
Phew, thank goodness.
“Oh, and—”
“Y–yes?”
Startled, she twitched as he continued,
“The document may be complicated, could take a while. Once you finish washing, go rest. You must be tired from today’s journey.”
“Uh… then, what about bath attendance—?”
“No need for that. I never intended to make my subordinates do such things. I’ve always washed alone. I dislike anyone fussing about in my bath.”
“Ah… understood.”
Once Kailian left, Himena finally sighed in relief and slipped into the tub.
“Ahhh… life-saving. How long has it been since I had a proper hot bath?”
Though Kailian had told her to use his bathroom anytime, she had been too wary—afraid he might suddenly barge in with ill intent. Instead, she had been sneaking cold, hurried baths at dawn in the communal bathhouse with Lois keeping watch.
“But he won’t suddenly come back, right? If he really had ulterior motives, he’d have ordered me to scrub his back or wash his hair or something. This isn’t a BL novel—the male lead’s orientation isn’t going to change out of nowhere.”
Relaxed by this thought, she sank deep into the warm water, finally easing her fatigue.
“Ah, so good… And wow, Kailian’s swordplay… how is he that fast? He looked amazing earlier. Whoosh, slash! Yep, since I’m here, I should also take some proper lessons in swordsmanship.”
Whether she had fallen for Kailian himself, or for his sword, was unclear. Meanwhile—
Outside, Kailian had given her time by using the “document” excuse. Yet as he lingered, a sigh escaped him.
‘Really, how long am I going to play along with this? What is she scheming? If her identity is exposed, then what?’
He recalled her wide-eyed panic when the knights had invited her to bathe together and couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Hah, that flustered face. Honestly, everything she does is clumsy and reckless. Makes it impossible to look away… What? Impossible to look away? W–what am I even saying…?”
Embarrassed at his own words, he looked around aimlessly.
“At this rate, I might get caught up in this. I need to get a grip. Anyway, women take longer in the bath… I’ll just head to my office—wait.”
As he turned toward the office, a thought struck him.
“My bathroom door… doesn’t have a lock.”
“Captain, are you inside?”
Wh–what do I do?! Why is the vice-captain at the bathroom—
Startled by Wale’s voice outside, Himena leapt from the tub and blocked the door.
‘What?! Why isn’t there a door latch? What do I do?!’
“Captain, I’ll enter. The draft design of the sword you ordered is ready for final confirmation—”
Kailian, running toward the bathroom, saw Wale standing at the door and nearly called out.
“Wa—”
“Vice-captain! It’s me, Hermes!”
“What? Hermes? Why are you in there?”
“I–I’m attending to the Marquess’s bath! He said to leave it at the door and he’ll look after.”
‘Damn!’
Kailian quickly ducked behind a pillar.
“Attending his bath? You’re inside helping him?”
“Yes! The Marquess doesn’t wish to be disturbed right now, so if you leave it here, I’ll deliver it. My hands are wet at the moment…”
“…Very well. Be careful not to get it wet.”
“Y–yes, sir!”
Wale set the draft outside the door, muttering curiously as he left.
“Strange… the Captain always bathed alone. Why use an attendant now? Odd.”
Hearing his footsteps fade, Himena collapsed naked on the floor, clutching her pounding chest.
‘Whew… I lost ten years of my life just now. If I use this bathroom twice, I’ll die of heart failure. Better get dressed and leave, quick!’
Hastily, she donned her clothes, put her wig back on, peeked out, and carefully picked up the draft from the floor, feigning calm as she stepped out.
From behind the pillar, Kailian finally emerged, sighing in relief.
‘Haah… what am I even doing? What a tiring day. Still…’
He touched the bathroom door and muttered,
“I’ll have to install a latch. This won’t do.”
