I Will Not Fall For the Villain’s Flirtations - Chapter 65

A small sigh escaped from above my head. For some reason, Keene spoke to Peidos with a slightly hurried tone.

“If you and the other priests don’t do anything foolish, this girl will be safe.”

“……”

“Only she and I will enter the entrance. Sneka!”

At his call, the blocked passage burst open as if a small bomb had exploded from the other side. As the dust storm settled, the identity of the noisy intruder was revealed.

It was the short-haired spy who had fled earlier. Her spiky hair still left a strong impression.

She walked towards Keene and me, accompanied by strange creatures. However, they couldn’t be called living beings. They were small human-shaped figures, but they were just moving stones.

…A summoner?

It seemed she wasn’t just an ordinary dark mage. This was my first time seeing a summoner who could control the forces of nature.

But I couldn’t afford to leisurely observe. Before I could fully grasp the situation, Keene moved, taking me with him. With the sword right in front of me, I couldn’t struggle much and was led to the entrance.

Just before entering the wall, Sneka and Keene exchanged a glance. She nodded once and faced the priests, seemingly ready to block the expedition while Keene searched for the relic.

The damn kidnapper didn’t release his grip until we were well inside. He finally let me go once we were completely out of the priests’ sight. Taking advantage of the moment he threw Peidos’s sword to the ground like a useless burden, I quickly escaped from his grasp.

“You!”

I roughly wiped my tears with the back of my hand and pointed at him, but then I was met with his frowning face. Who was he to frown when I should be the one angry?

“Du, why are you crying?”

“……”

“Did it hurt a lot?”

He took a step towards me. I instinctively stepped back, but there was a wall behind me. Unable to move further and trembling, Keene sighed and reached for my neck.

“Sorry. I didn’t want to hurt you.”

As his magic flowed through me, a cool sensation followed. Though I couldn’t see it, I knew he was healing the cut from the sword.

“I thought this would be better than causing casualties in a narrow space.”

“……”

I impulsively bit my lower lip. The taste of blood suggested I had bitten too hard, but I felt no pain. Perhaps the new information had overwhelmed my capacity to feel pain.

“…Liar.”

The usual me would have accepted his words as they were. I might have even felt relieved, thinking it was fortunate that a major disaster was avoided.

But in my current state, emotions overrode reason. Rather than finding rationality in his words, I felt a surge of resentment and injustice.

With narrowed eyes, I pushed him hard and demanded answers.

“You didn’t want to face Peidos Carmel, did you?”

“……”

A look of incomprehension spread across Keene’s face. Even that expression seemed deceitful and hateful.

With my eyes brimming with tears, I spoke each word with emphasis.

“You can’t ever beat Peidos Carmel. You know that, don’t you?”

“……”

The villain’s fate is defeat. His abilities would be no different. A supporting character’s abilities must never surpass those of the main character. This novel, being a romance that highlights the male lead, had everything predetermined.

Just like how I will eventually be overshadowed by Primis Starring.

“I know how much you respect Carmel. But…”

“Why did you hide that you’re the Magic Tower Master?”

He closed his mouth at my question, having been about to say something. Narrowing his brows, he asked again, still looking puzzled.

“Is who I am that important to you, Du?”

“Do you even need to ask?”

A wave of emotion surged over me, bringing forth a burst of anger.

“If I had known you were the Magic Tower Master!”

“……”

But that anger soon met its own barrier and crumbled like a wave.

If I had known, then what? What would have changed?

“If I had known…”

In that moment, I realized where this sense of betrayal stemmed from. It wasn’t just because he hadn’t told me his true identity.

Since he was a spy from the Magic Tower, I already knew he wasn’t a good person. Yet, the reason my heart felt so heavy, the reason my emotions were so intense, was because…

“……”

Because you are a character from the original story.

Unable to finish my sentence, I dropped my head.

The self-loathing I had forgotten resurfaced. I felt angry and miserable at the same time.

The intensity of my anger made the sudden coldness unbearable. Even though I knew these emotions were a luxury in a ruin where traps could spring at any moment, I couldn’t calm my heart.

I realized I had given a piece of my heart to this man without knowing it. Confirming the fact I wanted to deny.

Even if it was just a faint affection, it hit me hard. And the fact that the object of my feelings could never be the protagonist of the story, but a villain, hurt just as much.

Why did it have to be the Magic Tower Master? If only he had been just an ordinary spy…

“…Let’s just find the relic and leave.”

I stopped my thoughts just before they reached my inferiority complex. My body and mind were already exhausted from the brief moment of resignation.

So, I trudged past him, my steps weak.

“Be careful, Du.”

As if to warn me to snap out of it, a forgotten trap was triggered. I gulped as I saw a large stalactite fall and embed itself where I had been standing. If Keene hadn’t pulled me quickly, I might have died here.

Right, this wasn’t the time to wallow in noble compassion. Reflecting on my foolish behavior, I shook off his arm and continued walking. This time, I was extremely cautious.

Silence enveloped us as we walked through the tunnel. The scenery inside the wall was similar to the caves I had seen countless times before, offering nothing new to admire.

I glanced at Keene, who was walking silently like me. Perhaps influenced by my mood, he was unusually quiet, not making any snide remarks.

Though I hadn’t known him long, he suddenly turned to look at me, sensing my gaze. Embarrassed, I quickly averted my eyes and blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

“So, are you really the Magic Tower Master?”

“……”

Of course, I hadn’t meant to ask such a foolish question. Swallowing a sigh, I tried to add something more naturally.

“Those human experiments…”

“I told you they were all nonsense.”

His immediate denial brought some relief. Honestly, I still couldn’t fully grasp that he was the Magic Tower Master.

Although not as severe as human experiments, the bad rumors I had heard were considerable.

“The terror attack on the Vecchio Bell Tower in the capital…”

“The Vecchio terror happened eight years ago, before I became the Tower Master, Du. And it wasn’t done by the Magic Tower.”

“Then the destruction of Milret with the evil dragon…”

“It was a disaster caused by a mad dragon. No matter how powerful I am, I’m not omnipotent enough to control a dragon.”

“And blowing up the palace because the ambassador from Grazia was unpleasant…”

This time, I expected an immediate rebuttal, but he was slow to respond. Feeling uneasy, I looked back at him, and Keene hesitated before speaking.

“The palace explosion is true.”

“……”

What? Startled by a sudden fear, I flinched and stepped back, widening the distance between us. He hurriedly added.

“But not for the reason you think.”

He stopped walking, sighed, and looked at me. There was a hint of irritation in his slightly furrowed brows.

“I know what the image of the Magic Tower is like in the Holy Kingdom, but Du, can’t you filter out some of the rumors?”

His tone carried a subtle hint of hurt.

…This from the man who attacked Jayton in the tower, calling his face rude.

Grumbling inwardly, I pouted my lips in dissatisfaction. Considering his actions back then, the rumors about the Grazia ambassador seemed quite plausible.

With nothing more to say, silence ensued for a while. Before long, the only sounds in the cave were our footsteps and the occasional drip of water from the stalactites on the ceiling.

The silence was broken when we found a small bridge leading to the other side of a cliff.

“It looks like the relic is over there.”

Keene pointed to the structure with his long fingers. Coincidentally, it was a very familiar shape to me, someone who’s a native of Liche.

“…Stone Arch Bridge?”

An arched stone bridge. It looked exactly like the Stone Arch Bridge I crossed on my way home from my favorite ice dessert shop.

I knew it was a historic structure that had undergone multiple restorations, but I never thought it existed since ancient times. I approached it with curiosity, but the person next to me immediately blocked my way.

“There’s a barrier. It could be dangerous, so step back.”

Upon hearing his words, I noticed a transparent barrier extending to the ceiling. If touched, it would likely trigger another trap.

“Oh!”

But before I could even finish that thought, Keene suddenly reached out and touched the barrier. Staring at him in disbelief for his reckless action after warning me of danger, he chuckled and responded.

“I won’t get hurt. Don’t worry.”

“I’m not worried about you; I’m worried about myself.”

Why would I worry about him?

Glaring at him incredulously, I waited quietly. Contrary to my expectation that something would happen immediately, the cave remained silent no matter how long I waited.

“It seems to be a barrier that prevents exiting rather than entering.”

“So…”

“It means we can’t leave without obtaining the relic.”