The Male Leads Were Stolen By The Extra [EN]: Chapter 143

A harsh winter had arrived.

The world was dyed pure white, as if it had never snowed this much before.

The heaviest snowfall in decades had been ongoing for days, and the accumulation was staggering. Roofs were frequently collapsing under the weight of the accumulated snow.

People were housebound, and hardly anyone ventured outside.

On the day that heralded the start of winter, the Empire, which had been abuzz with the execution of Duke Besin and the Princess, and Celonia’s unconsciousness, was now filled only with news and stories about the heavy snowfall.

The head of the criminal, which was to be displayed in front of the Imperial Palace, had been taken down a week ago, a month after the execution.

Time had already passed that far.

“Damn it. They couldn’t even bother to clear the snow.”

MacRyan grumbled, his frustration evident.

Each step was hampered by the snow, preventing him from moving forward quickly.

Thud, thud, thud.

His feet made muffled sounds as they sank into the snow.

The snow, piled high on the ground and chilling his feet, reached up to his calves. It had even been left to freeze solid.

“Would they even think to do that?”

Reyev spoke calmly, showing no signs of difficulty as he walked, making MacRyan feel self-conscious about his grumbling.

At those words, MacRyan turned his head away with a ‘yeah, you’re so great’ look, and brushed off his shoulder.

The snow that had adorned his shoulders was now falling down, thanks to the ongoing snowfall.

MacRyan and Reyev were currently walking to the mansion after getting off the carriage. The accumulated and frozen snow made it impossible for the carriage to reach the mansion.

Before them lay the mansion, covered in snow like a snowfield.

A silent mansion where no sign of life could be heard except for the sound of their footsteps. Snow spread out like a river, untouched by human hands.

It was as if time had stopped in this place. Back to that time a month ago.

“It would be good to clear some of the snow in front before we go in.”

“What? Why would we!”

“Aren’t you coming again? Think of it as being for our convenience. Besides, there are hardly any servants in the mansion.”

MacRyan’s annoyed expression softened. He was right. He would end up coming again anyway.

With the former Duke and the Commander of the Knights gone, the Grand Duke’s residence had only the chef and two servants. One of them was Celonia’s personal servant.

He heard from the servant that they had sent all the other servants away because they were planning to move to the North soon.

That’s why MacRyan had suggested Celonia stay at his house after the incident.

Because this damn house didn’t even have proper servants to take care of her.

“That Ian, he’s really…”

MacRyan, who had been walking without complaint, frowned as he recalled Ian’s attitude earlier.

“I will not go.”

Ian had answered MacRyan’s suggestion firmly, not even raising his eyes from the documents he was looking at.

He wanted to curse Ian to his face, but he held back and ended up accompanying only Reyev.

“Still, didn’t he come to see her once before?”

“Does once even count?! She hasn’t opened her eyes! When you think about it, that bastard is so selfish. Can he really just forget how he came back to life and act like it’s none of his business?”

MacRyan was furious and ranting, even though the person in question was staying put. He was acting like he was more upset and angry than anyone else.

“He must have his own reasons.”

Reyev wasn’t exactly defending Ian, but he understood him to some extent.

A month ago, at the council in the Imperial Palace, he had clearly seen Ian’s expression when Celonia went to Tan.

In Ian’s expression, as he watched Celonia smile at Tan, there was clear frustration.

The despair that no matter what, no matter what he did, he would never receive that smile from her.

Perhaps that was why.

Ian had come to see Celonia when she first collapsed, but he never came again. He didn’t even like the place she was in now.

“Reasons, my ass.”

MacRyan, with his gruff temper, went ahead. Reyev chuckled and followed.

Creak.

Just as the two were about to reach the mansion, the large doors of the mansion opened with an eerie sound.

It took a long time to open even halfway, as if the snow was preventing it from sliding easily.

“Haaah!”

The one who opened the door was Ella.

Looking tired, Ella yawned widely and looked up at the sound of footsteps crunching in the snow.

“Oh? You were coming today!”

Ella’s eyes widened as she spotted the two men.

“Is sweeping now even going to do anything?”

MacRyan clicked his tongue at the thin wooden broom Ella was holding. The snow had already piled up and frozen, so that broom was useless.

“I’m freezing to death! Light the fire!”

He strode over, shook off his feet as if he was used to it, and wrapped his arms around himself as soon as he entered the mansion. It was so cold that he felt it in his bones.

The mansion was even colder than outside where it was snowing, causing his upper and lower teeth to chatter.

“Hehe. You can go up to the second floor.”

Ella guided them as if she was used to it, and fastened the outer garment she was wearing.

He wondered why she was wearing such a thick outer garment, but it was because she would freeze to death otherwise.

“What’s the point of having powers if you’re not going to use them?”

MacRyan went up the stairs, hurling colorful insults at someone. Reyev, who followed, stood in front of the door, watching the white breath that escaped his lips disappear into the cold mansion.

Knock knock.

Despite the regular knocking, there was no voice from inside the room.

But he turned the doorknob and opened the door without permission. He had learned from several visits that there was no answer even if he knocked.

“…Why is it so extreme?”

As soon as the door opened, MacRyan frowned.

It had been cold enough to freeze to death while walking through the hallway on the second floor after passing the first floor.

But as soon as he opened this room, a warm feeling blew in, making his frozen ears tingle.

Crackle, crackle.

Firewood was burning in the fireplace. He wondered how much firewood they had put in, but the room was so hot that it was suffocating just a few seconds after entering.

The mansion, which had been cold and chilly as if time had stopped, was an exception in this room.

The room was so well-decorated. The room, which was sunny, dust-free, clean, and warm, was almost reminiscent of paradise.

“If you’re only heating this room, are you telling the others to freeze to death?”

MacRyan grumbled and headed to the bed in the room.

Next to the bed, a huge, dark man was guarding the spot as always. It was Tan.

“Here it is.”

Reyev handed the potion he had carefully brought to Tan.

It was a preservation magic potion with concentrated nutrients. It was the same potion that Celonia had taken during the three months she was unconscious after the subjugation. She had to take this so that she wouldn’t lose muscle mass and be strained when she woke up later.

“I wonder when she’ll wake up. I wonder if she’ll open her eyes again in three months…”

MacRyan stared at Celonia, who was lying peacefully on the bed with her eyes closed, in a slightly gloomy voice.

A month ago, Celonia had collapsed.

At first, they thought she was dead, but fortunately, she was still breathing.

But that was it. She was only breathing, but she had not regained consciousness at all.

What kind of black magic did that Gayle guy use?

He couldn’t know exactly because he was dead, but it was clear that it was black magic that touched the soul again.

When Gayle was casting black magic, he was holding a missing piece of the altar. A piece of the altar stained with Celonia and Grace’s blood.

Scholars said. Because it was not a complete altar, the black magic cast would also be unstable. So the effect would be minimal, but Celonia had not woken up for more than a month.

She was naturally being cared for by Tan at the Grand Duke’s residence.

When she first collapsed, Ian, who had heard the news, came to see her.

Just once. He never came again after that day. But MacRyan and Reyev were periodically visiting the Grand Duke’s residence to see Celonia.

“Why can’t she wake up!”

Of course, at first, MacRyan grabbed Tan by the collar and threw all sorts of tantrums, asking why she wasn’t opening her eyes.

Even though he knew it wasn’t his fault, Tan was the only one he could vent his anger on right now.

He felt that Celonia was suffering because she was involved with this demon king.

Of course, Tan didn’t just take that collar grab. He just lightly threw MacRyan away.

“Shut up. Don’t whine next to me. Unless you want to die.”

MacRyan, who was about to get angry at those words, couldn’t open his mouth any further. He had heard similar words several times and was already used to them, but he had never seen such an expression before.

A face that was holding everything in. The emotions tangled within were anxiety, impatience, despair, and disappointment. Moreover, the red eyes that were endlessly sinking into the abyss were dull.

In the end, Tan was also afraid that Celonia would never wake up again.

“Did you sleep a little… no.”

MacRyan glanced at Tan and rebuked his own question. He belatedly realized that the demon king didn’t sleep.

But looking at that appearance, he couldn’t help but ask that question.

Even if he didn’t need to eat or sleep, he was much thinner than he was a month ago. Like a person who had dried up.

“Haa… Don’t just stick around like that, get some fresh air.”

In the end, he let out a sigh and spoke his true feelings.

Even with their visits, Tan didn’t even blink and stayed by Celonia’s side, not even taking his eyes off her.

He only moved briefly when Reyev handed him the potion, then returned.

“He’s just sitting next to the young lady like a stone statue… He’s doing everything himself, from feeding her the potion to washing her body. He refuses to let anyone else touch her…”

Ella had told the two of them that before. She begged them to stop the Grand Duke, saying that she was afraid he would die if he continued like this.

They didn’t believe it, but after seeing Tan, who was always the same even after several visits, they realized that those words were true, and that the demon king, who didn’t sleep, was guarding Celonia’s side like a guardian stone 24 hours a day.

It was then.

“Are you cold?”

Tan, who hadn’t moved at all, muttered as he looked at Celonia, then jumped up from his seat.

He quickly walked over and closed the window that had been left slightly open for ventilation. Then he went back to her side and pulled the blanket up a little more.

Perhaps there was a subtle change in Celonia’s face, which was closed.

“…”

MacRyan and Reyev were speechless.

They couldn’t say anything because they saw Tan reacting sensitively as if every nerve was only for Celonia.

“Then I’ll wait. For the day you come back to me.”

What he had said before was true. He was waiting for Celonia, doing his best not to collapse.

Tan, who had arranged the blanket, sat back in his fixed seat and put one hand into the blanket. It was to hold Celonia’s hand, which was hidden in the blanket because she might be cold.

The other hand carefully arranged Celonia’s hair, which was lying down.

Even though she was lying down and couldn’t find any disheveled spots due to his sincere care, his hand didn’t seem to stop as if it wasn’t enough even if he did it.

MacRyan and Reyev, who were watching Tan looking at Celonia with eyes that only contained affection, left the room not long after. They didn’t want to disturb him anymore.

Click.

The door closed behind them, and the two walked silently without saying a word.

The sound of their footsteps echoed loudly in the silent hallway.

“I don’t know anymore, now.”

MacRyan muttered just before reaching the stairs.

He no longer had any worries or anxieties about the demon king.

How could he accuse and talk about him as a demon king when he was doing that, when he had been doing only that for more than a month?

He just hoped that Celonia would wake up soon. She was the only one who could stop that foolish and blind waiting, or that ticking time bomb that could explode at any time.

“Hey. Do you have a shovel?”

“I need one too.”

Reyev chuckled and added when MacRyan, who had come down to the first floor, asked the servant first without being told.

“A shovel? Please wait a moment!”

Maxwell, another servant of the Grand Duke’s residence, hurriedly moved his legs.

Soon after. The two shoveled the snow piled up in front of the Grand Duke’s residence without complaint. Tan was guarding her side, so that was all they could do right now.