Chapter 136
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 136
I stared into that breathtakingly beautiful face and spat back an answer.
“Yeah. You bastard.”
“…….”
Who did he think he was, calling his savior a ‘wench’?
Even putting that aside, what kind of person has the audacity to call a woman they just met a wench?
“Let go, you prick.”
Tulia wasn't the kind of idiot who would swoon over such arrogant remarks.
Klaus Rocheva, who had been glaring at me as if he wanted to kill me, slowly released his grip.
Finally able to plant my feet on the ground, I gasped for air.
“……Hey. Woman.”
The moment I lifted my head again.
I felt as if my heart had momentarily stopped.
(Time Remaining: 12 seconds)
What?
Didn't I complete the hidden quest?
Why isn't it showing as completed? Why is the timer still ticking?
What is this?!
(Time Remaining: 10 seconds)
(Time Remaining: 9 seconds)
(Time Remaining: 8 seconds)
I could even start to hear the ticking of a second hand.
What—what am I supposed to do…?
In a state of pure panic, I looked up at Klaus Rocheva. He seemed momentarily taken aback by my sudden, intense gaze.
“What……”
The moment he opened his mouth.
A bright red crosshair, like the sight of a rifle, appeared over Klaus’s eyes.
It was as if it were aiming at me.
Reflexively, instinctively.
Or perhaps by pure intuition.
I slapped both my hands over Klaus’s wolf-like blue eyes, shielding them.
“…….”
The silence lasted only a heartbeat.
That was how sudden the action had been.
“You—what do you think you’re—!”
Klaus Rocheva, coming to his senses a beat late, tried to shove me away, but I was faster at pulling my hands back.
Because!
[System] You have completed the Hidden Quest ‘Master of Fate’!
[System] As a success reward, ‘Rainbow Fertilizer’ and ‘White Tulip Seeds’ have been granted!
Yes!
The notification that I had finally completed the hidden quest had popped up!
* * *
Clang!
Clash!
Meanwhile, a fierce battle was raging below.
The knights had succeeded in killing all the fanatics except for a few.
Though the fanatics had nearly led the knights to their deaths with strange incantations every now and then, the knights were the elite of the elite—just as Tulia had (arbitrarily) taken pride in.
They were able to clean up the fanatics without much trouble.
The problem came immediately after.
“Who are you people now?!”
It was because of another group of knights that had suddenly appeared.
No, rather than knights, they were more like the werewolves of legend.
Sturdy physiques. Canines slightly sharper than a normal person’s. And above all, a terrifying bloodlust.
“We found them! The heretics!”
“Hand over the Prince!”
“You filthy things from the Spring Continent! Are you in league with them too?!”
Growling as they charged, they literally tore the heretics apart with their bare hands.
“Agh! Animus!”
“Spare me! Spare m— Gack!”
They even categorized the heretics and the Frezier Knights as the same enemy.
“Do not kill them!”
Captain Samut instinctively knew they shouldn't kill these newcomers.
However, the newcomers, who had already lost their reason, only grew more frantic.
“Do not kill us?”
“Are you looking down on us?!”
Clang!
Clash!
The fight, which seemed like it would never end…
“Hey! Your subordinates are bullying my kids! Order them to stop! Now!”
…was brought to an abrupt halt when Tulia, who had come down from the altar piggyback on a handsome man, started yanking on his hair.
“Fine, dammit! Are all women from the Spring Continent like this? Stop, everyone!”
As if by magic, the violence ceased.
* * *
“Yes. So, we are the Langus Knights, belonging to the 4th Knight Order of the Lupinus Kingdom in the Summer Continent.”
“We came here to find Prince Klaus Rocheva… We sincerely apologize for what happened just now.”
“……Is what they’re saying as they bow their heads, Lady Tulia.”
Max reported, his face wrapped in bandages.
I stood with my arms crossed, not even bothering to look back.
“Tell them to get lost. I don’t want to hear it.”
“……Is what our Lady wishes to convey,” Max relayed.
The moment Max spoke, the bastards from the Langus Knights immediately grabbed the hem of my dress and clung to me.
“My Lady! We are truly sorry!”
“We failed to recognize our Prince’s savior and dared to wound your subordinates!”
“We will pay for this sin with our lives! If you give the word, we will slit our throats right now, so please, appease your anger!”
Grans coldly brushed them off.
“Do not speak of such gruesome things in front of our Lady.”
That was right.
As all the misunderstandings were cleared up in an instant, the tables had turned.
The Langus Knights, who had come to find the kidnapped Klaus, turned pale upon learning that I had saved their master. Now, they were all on their knees, begging for my forgiveness.
Of course, I was fuming after seeing our injured knights, which was why I was acting this way.
“Hey. Klaus Rocheva.”
“…….”
Klaus Rocheva, who had been repeatedly rubbing his face in exasperation at his subordinates’ undignified behavior, looked at me.
I took the chance to observe him anew.
Klaus, who was called the ‘Rarely-seen Male Lead’ instead of the ‘Hidden Male Lead’ because his appearance rate was so abysmal, was standing right in front of me.
Since I had only seen a few illustrations of him, everything about him felt even more novel.
The platinum-gray hair, the deep blue eyes.
The subtly sharp canines.
And a face so beautiful it felt like it cleared my vision.
He really does have the blood of a wolf flowing through him.
But for now, he was just a sucker who owed me not only his life but ‘something else’ as well.
I tilted my head toward the prince of a kingdom in a rather—no, extremely—rude manner.
“You. Don’t you have something to say to me?”
“……Yeah. I do.”
“Then follow me. We need to finish our talk.”
Klaus followed obediently.
I was a bit taken aback when the Frezier Knights tried to follow as if it were only natural.
“Could you gentlemen stay here? We have a few things to discuss in pri—actually, no.”
I flashed a chilly smile and looked at the wolf subordinates who were still kneeling submissively.
“I have something to say to you lot too, so everyone follow me. Whoa, wait, wait.”
The corners of my mouth curled up slowly. You guys haven't experienced Tulia Frezier yet, have you?
“Who told you to stand up?”
“……Pardon?”
“Uh-huh. Crawl. Follow me on all fours. If even one of you stands up, you’re dead.”
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
* * *
Klaus Rocheva.
A half-blood of the Ancient Wolf King.
From the Summer Continent.
And the male lead who boasted extreme rarity, hardly ever appearing.
“How long are you going to make them crawl? Woman.”
“Until I find a suitable spot?”
“I’ll crawl instead, so stop bullying my men!” Klaus barked.
“You’re going to crawl?”
“Yes! The master is responsible for the subordinates’ mistakes!”
I looked him up and down. He was a prince, alright, and his face was so strikingly rare that it was fascinating, but…
He’s awfully skinny too.
Why were all the male leads so thin?
In the illustrations, they all looked tall and sturdy.
What were you guys eating before Corico showed up…
Anyway.
“Fine. Then you crawl.”
At my words, Klaus immediately dropped to his knees. His subordinates cried out in horror and tried to stop him.
“Prince Klaus!”
“Prince! Please don’t do this! It’s our fault for not assessing the situation!”
“It’s only natural that our savior is angry!”
“Enough. I take responsibility for this. You all, stand up.”
The subordinates clutched at their chests at Klaus’s calm words.
“Prince!”
“Please don’t! It’s our fault!”
“…….”
No, this is like…
Am I just background noise?
Am I just ‘Villain 1’ or something?
Having no intention of watching their sob story any longer, I coldly gave Klaus a few light kicks with my foot.
“Hey, hey. Cut it out.”
I’m the biggest piece of trash in this world, I’m telling you now.
“By ‘cut it out,’ you mean……”
“Do you think I’m just going to let you be the only ‘good guy’ here?”
“…….”
“Uh-huh. You lot, keep crawling. How dare you try to walk on two legs after biting the arms of someone else’s subordinates? You shameless bastards.”
I might have let it slide if they had fought with swords, but these guys had used their sharp canines to bite the arms of the Frezier Knights, including Grans.
A few of them even had bone showing. Even Grans.
Thinking about it made me angry all over again.
“I swear to God.”
Klaus’s subordinates flinched and avoided my gaze.
“If you guys film one more melodrama among yourselves, I’m really not going to let it slide.”
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
After that, no one opened their mouth.
Not until I reached the end of the cave.
The space, hung with dark stalactites like crystals holding the night, was silent.
In that place, where a stillness as deep as ancient ruins flowed, I turned back to him.
“Klaus Rocheva.”
“…….”
Klaus didn't answer. He only glared at me with blue eyes full of wariness.
Without a word, I stepped right up to him.
“……!”
Startled, Klaus backed away. His pupils were sharp, reminiscent of a wolf’s. My scowling face was reflected translucently within them.
That was how close we were. Klaus’s eyes clearly showed his wariness toward me, yet they followed my movements diligently.
Yes. This was it.
Another point where things were becoming so different from The Milk Bread.
“Klaus.”
I narrowed my eyes right in front of his nose and asked.
“Both of your eyes are perfectly fine right now, aren't they?”
In The Milk Bread, this hidden male lead was supposed to be blind in one eye. But now, both of his eyes were perfectly normal.