Chapter 67
Chapter 67
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: How to Steal the Protagonist's Woman
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“Haa...”
Lena finished her duties and returned to her room.
“...Was I expecting too much?”
Lena had rushed her evening meal to the guest cabin, her heart swollen with anticipation.
Eating together had felt a little awkward at first, but sharing a calm meal with that man had turned out to be surprisingly pleasant.
But when she entered the guest cabin in high spirits, the woman traveling with him was there.
The woman's name was Viola.
“...She said she was the Hero's little sister.”
Lena didn't know the exact reason why the Hero had vanished.
Her information network was far too lacking to uncover it now.
From what little she had heard, though, Lena surmised that Viola was one of the culprits behind the Hero's disappearance.
But that was all in the past.
“From the way she's so casually sleeping with him, it doesn't seem like he's dragging her along by force...”
Lena had brought the food, only to end up standing by and watching the two of them eat.
For the first time, as she stood beside them, Lena felt a twinge of jealousy.
'Because of that woman...'
Viola had suddenly wedged herself into the seat that should have been hers, and deep down, Lena resented her for it.
Though her mood soured, Lena tried her best not to show it and waited by their side.
Then, as she listened to their conversation, Lena nearly lost her composure.
(Suho, when are we heading back?)
(Hm... In about three days?)
(...)
She had known they wouldn't be staying long.
But hearing the exact date made her feel hollow inside.
Her eyes fell on the book sitting on the dining table.
She had been thrilled when he unexpectedly accepted it, but the man had walked into the cabin with a lukewarm reaction.
To Lena, who had stopped by the library that day, the book stood out immediately—a volume that rightfully belonged in the Perron Kingdom's archives.
She had planned to avoid wandering around and giving anyone cause to pick on her.
But she couldn't just pass by that book.
It was one of the records about Perron IV.
Though it only covered a portion of the chronicles—dry political logs, at that—
even reading those stiff, emotionless accounts made Lena feel as if she were facing her father right before her eyes.
Lena gently stroked the book's cover.
“...Tomorrow, I'll thank him properly.”
Lena left her room and headed to the supervisor as usual to get her Lev Herb.
Her own duties were done, but the noble children were still bustling about.
Lena moved carefully, avoiding their gazes.
She felt a pang of guilt for ignoring the children, but she didn't want to let anything disrupt the feelings that man had stirred in her tonight.
But what the supervisor told her when she arrived was a shock in itself.
“Sorry, but I can't give you any sleeping herbs for a while.”
“D-did I do something wrong...?”
“No. Some executive suddenly demanded every last one, so I had to hand them over.”
“Ah...”
Lena felt a mix of relief and growing anxiety.
Without the Lev Herb, she might end up sleepless all night, which could mess up her duties tomorrow.
“They even took all the strong sleeping draughts. Nothing left. I'll let you know when more comes in. Go on.”
“...Understood. Thank you.”
Lena bowed politely and headed back to the dormitory.
Her steps toward the dormitory weren't entirely heavy.
'With how I feel right now, maybe sleep will come easy?'
Just in case, Lena grabbed a cup of honey water.
She hoped it might help her sleep a little, even if just before bed.
When she reached the dormitory building, a group was grumbling and chatting near the entrance.
They were noble girls.
Of all places, right at the entrance, completely blocking her way in.
'I'll give them space. Eavesdropping would be rude.'
As she turned to move elsewhere, a snippet of conversation caught her ear and froze her in place.
“What the hell is this?! I've been getting chewed out for days now!”
“Without Lena de Perron around, it's seriously tough.”
“But why'd they summon her, anyway?”
Lena knew eavesdropping was rude, but she couldn't tear herself away.
“One of the guys who visited this time—she's attending to him personally.”
“A guy cozy with demons? Bet he's got parasites crawling all over him. Gross...”
Lena clenched her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut.
She was furious.
'He's a far better person than you lot...'
More than the insults aimed at her, Lena burned with rage at these girls badmouthing the one man here who had treated her kindly.
To her, this straightforward man who gave her a sense of relief was far nobler than the girls who only flattered her to her face.
“Oh! I heard last time—the guy's so big a deal, even the Demon King grovels to him!”
“For real?! How do we get close?”
“Me too! If he's human, I could wrap him around my finger in five minutes flat!”
Lena lingered behind the dormitory building, eavesdropping until the girls finally left.
Once their gossip faded, Lena glanced down at her own body.
'...A girl like me probably wouldn't appeal to him.'
Lena had never really evaluated her looks as a woman.
Her palms were rough and callused from wielding swords and spears countless times, and her height—tall for a woman—intimidated some men.
At around 172 cm, it might have turned heads in the modern world where Seong Suho had lived, but here on the Ilunia Continent, she counted as tall.
Even when men praised her, it never really pleased her.
She had always thirsted for her father's approval.
The days he praised her left her too happy to sleep properly.
But here, no one had supported her like her father.
Praise from her peers in this place only made her feel pathetic.
Suddenly, Lena found herself yearning to lean on that man—to hear praise from him.
But she quickly pulled herself together.
“Haa... What am I even thinking? Let's just go in.”
Her mood darkened as she confirmed the entrance was clear and slipped cautiously into her room.
By the time she reached her room, the sun was setting outside the window.
It was time for the headcount.
Lena knocked on every door starting from the first floor, exchanging brief words with the children inside.
They all greeted her with smiles.
'...They're all so friendly when I'm right in front of them.'
She ignored the occasional leering glances from the boys.
Finally, Lena knocked on Berius's door.
Knock, knock, knock.
The door opened immediately, revealing a boy half her height who came bounding out.
“Lady Lena!”
“Working hard again today?”
Lena subtly brushed off Berius's eager welcome and asked.
Berius launched into a rambling account of his day.
The pattern was simple.
They made him do something ridiculous, he rebelled, and he got scolded.
That was it.
“Those guys... They said even worse stuff to me when you weren't around, Lady Lena!”
“...You have my sympathies. Could I trouble you with the key again today?”
“L-Lady Lena! Th-the key! Huh? Lady Lena?”
“Thanks. See you...”
Not wanting to hear more from Berius, Lena habitually handed him the key and returned to her room.
Bowing her head, she let out a bitter smile and murmured.
“Yeah... I'm the one who ruined that kid... It's all because of me...”
Lena reflected on her self-reproach as she headed to the wardrobe.
While changing into her nightclothes, something suddenly hit her.
“Ah... The key today...”
With no sleeping tonic anyway, there was no real need to leave it with Berius.
She had just defaulted to habit to avoid his whining.
“...It'll be fine.”
Lena figured sleep wouldn't come regardless, and it wasn't a big deal.
She slipped into her makeshift nightgown of uneven fabric and headed to the table.
Without her sleeping aid, she'd normally be too anxious to sleep.
But Lena's gaze lingered on the thing that had brought a smile to her face.
“...Shall I read a bit more?”
It was the book containing her father's records, with no due date.
She lit the candle on the table, then carefully turned the pages.
The parchment held little of note.
Just logs of Perron IV's daily duties—which tasks he handled on which days, what orders he issued. State affairs, dry as dust.
Yet Lena stared at the open page for a long time, lost in wistful reminiscence.
“Father... I'm sorry I couldn't keep our last promise.”
Unable to tear her eyes from that single page, Lena rubbed her reddened eyes and closed the book.
“...Later.”
Sleep was creeping up on her now.
Grief and the sweet pull of drowsiness coursed through her veins together.
Lena swept her pink hair to the side and blew out the flickering candle flame.
She navigated the darkened room to her bed and lay down.
She sipped the honey water she'd thought of earlier and set the cup under the bed.
As drowsiness slowly overtook her, Lena murmured.
“...Thank you.”
..
..
Creeeak...
'...Hm?'
Lena snapped alert at the sudden scrape of metal, though her eyes stayed closed.
'Berius?'
Thud, thud, thud.
She recognized the footsteps instantly.
'...Not him.'
The heavy footfalls were those of an adult.
She tensed up, sharpening her senses throughout her body.
Having overheard the boys' gossip earlier, she was certain now.
'No way they'd actually try something like this... But if I make a scene now...'
Subduing an intruder here wouldn't cause issues.
But what if she failed?
It could blow up into a huge fuss, and she might not be able to attend to that man anymore—a fear began to bloom.
'If he gets close, I can take him down easy.'
Lena decided to wait until he was near, then subdue him and give a stern warning.
She planned to scare him so badly he'd never even think of trying this again.
But then a man's voice rang out, deflating her tension completely.
“...Sleep well.”
“...”
'Wh-what? That voice, it's definitely...'
Thinking she'd misheard, Lena kept still to listen again.
As she strained her ears, the man suddenly slipped under her covers.
'W-wait a second!'
Panicking, Lena still couldn't act rashly.
'Should I grab him now?'
If she sat up, she was confident she could overpower him in an instant.
'No, let me be sure...'
She decided to hear his voice once more before reacting.
Lena couldn't make sense of it.
A strange man had broken in.
But instead of anything sordid, he was just hugging her.
'What is he doing? Why on earth...'
As Lena reeled in confusion, the intruder cradled her head in both hands and said,
“Haa... You're really pretty.”