The Male Leads Were Stolen By The Extra [EN]: Chapter 62

“Should I come up to where you are?”

“What do you mean…?”

Celonia felt a chill run down her spine at his incomprehensible words.

His eyes right now were the same as when he first entered the estate and threatened her to reveal who she was. That gaze, intensely desiring and wanting something.

“……”

“……”

Silence fell between them, their gazes clashing in the air.

A strange, heated atmosphere filled the carriage.

Perhaps that was why, but Celonia suddenly felt hot.

It was definitely autumn, but it was as if a warm breeze had swept through the carriage, making the back of her neck hot.

Her hands were already starting to sweat.

Was it because of his question, or because of his gaze?

“Anyway, don’t just grab me like that.”

Unable to withstand the atmosphere, Celonia averted her gaze and looked away.

The more she met his eyes, the more she felt like she was suffocating.

“Ella is late. I should go check.”

Celonia pulled her hand away from his grasp and opened the carriage door.

“I’ll go with you.”

Tann stared at her hand slipping out of his before standing up to follow her.

“Do as you please.”

Knowing he would follow no matter what, Celonia simply opened the carriage door.

Stepping out of the carriage, she walked straight ahead. She saw three people struggling to move a rock.

“What’s going on?”

“Miss, we can’t move forward because of this rock on the road,” Ella replied, her face flushed red from straining.

A rock larger than a person was blocking the middle of the narrow road, preventing two carriages from passing at the same time.

As a result, Celonia’s carriage and another carriage coming from the opposite direction were both stuck on the road.

Two of the three people trying to move the rock were Ella and the estate’s coachman, so the remaining person seemed to be the coachman from the other parked carriage.

Celonia’s gaze followed the dirt path leading up the road past the rock.

Seeing the path dug into the hillside next to the road, it seemed the rock had rolled down from there. Fortunately, it seemed to have fallen when there was no traffic on the road, as there were no people or carriages damaged nearby.

“Is it not done yet?”

Just then, the window of the carriage parked across the road opened, and a middle-pitched voice filled with annoyance was heard.

Celonia and Tann naturally looked towards the window.

A man with white hair but a face that looked to be in his early 40s was visible.

It was a face she had never seen before, but judging by the carriage’s grandeur, he seemed to be of high status.

But something was strange.

The man’s expression, which had been listless and weary until just now, widened as if his eyes would pop out the moment he saw her and Tann.

“I-I’ll take care of it right away, Grand Duke.”

The other family’s coachman hurriedly bowed to the middle-aged man before struggling to move the rock again.

“Grand Duke?”

Celonia muttered very softly at the word “Grand Duke,” tilting her head.

“Do you know him?”

Tann, who was standing right next to her, asked. There was no way he couldn’t have missed what she said.

“No. It just sounds familiar.”

She shook her head.

She had never met a Grand Duke in person.

However, she had heard that during the subjugation [military campaign], the Grand Duke and his knights had created an ironclad defense at the forest boundary to prevent monsters from descending into the villages.

The Forest of Monsters was in the north, and the Grand Duke’s castle was also in the north.

But why was the Grand Duke, who supposedly lived in the north, here now?

She was wondering if she should greet him when suddenly the window that had been opened across the road slammed shut. In an instant, the Grand Duke disappeared.

Did that mean she shouldn’t greet him?

She waited, wondering if he would open the door and come out, but the Grand Duke did not appear.

Celonia naturally lost interest and decided to focus on the rock.

The three of them worked hard, trying to roll the rock, but it was no use. It only twitched and didn’t move at all.

At this rate, it seemed like they would be stuck on the road all day, so Celonia reluctantly turned to Tann.

“Tann, can you move that rock?”

“Where to?”

“I think over there would be out of the way.”

Celonia pointed to the dirt path that led up the hillside next to the road.

She asked, wondering if his strength would make it possible, but she was only half-convinced. However, Tann nodded as if he understood and walked over.

“Tann-nim [term of respect], let’s roll it together! It’s impossible alone!”

Ella, who had already experienced the rock’s power, said to Tann as he approached.

“Get back.”

“You must be tired……”

Ella stepped back, worried. The coachmen, who were sweating profusely, also moved away from the rock.

Tann, confirming that people had moved away, drew the sword from his waist and struck the rock in one swift motion.

The rock split into three pieces with a cracking sound.

“Hieeek!”

The coachmen made strange noises in surprise. Was it even possible to split a rock with just a sword?

But the person with that skill nonchalantly began to move the broken rocks.

“W-We’ll help too!”

Ella closed her gaping mouth and headed for the now lighter, broken rock. The coachmen also came to their senses and lifted the rock with Ella.

While Tann moved two rocks by himself, the three of them struggled to lift and move one rock.

Finally, the rock blocking the road was completely gone.

Tann dusted the rock powder from his hands and quickly approached Celonia again.

“Did I do well?”

Tann’s shoulders were very puffed up as he returned triumphantly. His red eyes were full of anticipation.

“Yes. Thank you.”

“That’s all?”

His eyebrows twitched again at the dry response, contrary to his expectations.

Reluctantly, Celonia put on a bright expression and gave him a thumbs up.

“You did great. The best.”

Only then did Tann smile and a grin spread across his lips.

In that moment, Celonia was mesmerized by his smiling face against the sunlight.

Was praise that good? Why was he smiling so beautifully? It was a smile that was easy to misunderstand.

It was then.

The door of the carriage parked across the road creaked open.

The Grand Duke appeared, opening the carriage door. Along with another man.

“I greet Grand Duke Heersbrook. I am Celonia Besin.”

Knowing that they already knew who she was, Celonia bowed, unable to avoid greeting him.

Then, as expected, she nudged Tann’s stiffly standing legs.

Tann was reluctant, but still dutifully bowed at Celonia’s gesture.

“Hiek……!”

The Grand Duke and the man next to him were startled, their pale faces turning even paler.

Celonia, who had already raised her head, looked back and forth between the two with a puzzled expression.

Why were they acting like that? The two looked like they had seen a ghost.

“Ju……!”

“……I am Ious Heersbrook. I appreciate the help.”

As the young man opened his mouth to shout something, Grand Duke Ious stopped him with his arm and introduced himself.

Then, he looked at Tann, who was standing next to Celonia, with very shaky eyes and asked.

“Y-Your name……?”

He was only asking for a name, but the Grand Duke’s lips were trembling as if he had seen the Grim Reaper.

Celonia thought the Grand Duke was surprised by Tann’s incredible strength and was acting like this.

“Tann. Ugh…… It’s Tann.”

Tann, who was trying to end the answer shortly, frowned and added as Celonia suddenly elbowed him in the side.

“……Tann.”

The Grand Duke repeated Tann’s name softly.

She waited, thinking he was going to say thank you, but no more words came from the Grand Duke’s mouth.

“Well then, Grand Duke, we’ll be on our way.”

Celonia turned away with a final greeting, as it didn’t seem like they had anything more to say. Tann and Ella also trailed behind Celonia.

The three boarded the parked carriage, and the coachman took his place in the front again.

“Hyah!”

Until the Besin family’s carriage, which had departed with the coachman’s loud shout, disappeared from the road, Ious and Kelvin remained standing in the same spot.