The Male Leads Were Stolen By The Extra [EN]: Chapter 20

“Haha, welcome, sir.”

Galloway’s face lit up as he saw the man following Celonia in.

At the head of the long table, in the seat of honor, sat Galloway, with Sir Rubeus, a guest, diagonally to his right.

It was a face she knew. Sir Rubeus, the commander of the Bethian Duchy’s Knights.

‘Wasn’t he the second son of the Sid Viscountcy?’ she thought.

She knew he was so skilled that he had received offers from all over, but he had remained loyal to his father.

Celonia was taken aback by the unexpected guest. She didn’t want anyone to see this suspicious man.

But it was already too late.

“It’s been a while, Princess.”

Rubeus rose from his seat, delighted at Celonia’s appearance.

“Yes, it’s been a while, Sir Sid.”

“How is your health?”

“It’s much better.”

“That’s a relief. I was worried.”

Rubeus scratched the back of his head sheepishly. The tips of his ears were slightly red.

“Seli, something suddenly came up. I think I need to go out with Rubeus soon. Would it be alright to have dinner together?”

“Of course.”

Celonia hid her reluctance and sat across from Rubeus, diagonally to her father’s left.

The Demon King followed her in and sat next to her.

“Would that be alright with you as well, sir?”

“I don’t care.”

The dining room fell silent the moment he spat out the curt reply.

Celonia’s head spun at the abrupt answer.

Rubeus even stiffened, gripped the sword at his waist, and started to rise from his seat.

“This person is very sick!”

She hurriedly interjected and tapped his foot under the table.

He raised his eyebrows and looked at her, seemingly dissatisfied. Celonia gave him a fiery look, telling him to shut up.

“Hahaha. Rubeus, it’s alright. This sir is a benefactor who saved our daughter.”

“I see. I almost committed a rudeness. I’m sorry. My name is Rubeus Sid.”

Rubeus, who had been about to get up, greeted him with a much calmer expression.

Celonia bit her lip and muttered very quietly, just loud enough for him to hear.

“Mumble mumble.”

He understood and let out a stifled laugh, simply nodding his head once.

This was also quite rude behavior, but not enough to draw a sword over.

Thanks to Galloway’s generous tolerance, the situation was settled for the time being.

The chef brought out a whole, warm chicken and expertly carved it into large pieces with a well-honed knife.

“By the way, sir, how is your health? Is your wound alright?”

Celonia, who was receiving the chicken from the chef, was shocked.

She shouldn’t give him a chance to answer, but her father kept asking him questions without any tact. It was driving her crazy.

“It’s fine.”

Celonia was about to intervene at the curt reply, but her father laughed heartily first.

“Haha, I’m glad you’re alright. The doctor said it was festering, so I’ll tell them to take care of you as much as possible while you’re here.”

“Okay.”

“By the way, I heard you’ve refused all meals so far? You need to eat well for your wound to heal quickly.”

“What should I eat?”

He didn’t even put food on his plate and sat there blankly, answering like a machine, as if he was genuinely curious.

“If you don’t eat, you’ll not only be hungry, but your wound won’t heal well either. If you keep starving, you could die.”

It was an incredibly kind answer, as if he were educating a child who had just opened his eyes to the world.

“What is ‘being hungry’?”

“He can’t feel sensations well because he hurt his head,” Celonia quickly interjected, making excuses as soon as he answered.

She was struck by the absurdity of the situation and why she was doing this.

“I see. So you don’t feel hunger as much as others.”

Rubeus stared at him with a suspicious expression and muttered. Celonia was sweating bullets at the difficult excuse.

“Duke.”

Just as the meal was starting, Raymond, the father’s aide, hurriedly entered the dining room.

Raymond covered his mouth with his hand and whispered in his father’s ear, as if it were a secret matter.

“Oh dear. Celonia, I have to go now. Sorry, sir. Let’s have a formal meal again soon.”

“Then, Princess, I’ll see you later.”

Her father and Rubeus left the dining room, too quickly for Celonia to even reply, as if it was quite urgent.

“Haa…”

As soon as the two disappeared, Celonia, feeling utterly drained, leaned back in her chair, feeling as though she had aged ten years in these short few minutes.

“Hey.”

“What.”

“I know you don’t have any memories, but don’t talk down to people.”

“Why?”

He asked back with a look that showed he genuinely didn’t understand.

‘Ah, never mind.’ It was clear he wouldn’t understand even if she told him.

He was the kind of person who had never bowed down to anyone or spoken respectfully to anyone in his life.

Celonia just thought she should eat quickly and leave.

She cut the chicken she had brought on her plate and put it in her mouth.

She was chewing and swallowing when she noticed his still empty plate.

Wondering what was going on, she turned her head and saw him staring intently at her as she ate, with an unreadable expression.

Could it be that he doesn’t know how to eat? Is that why he hasn’t eaten so far?

The suspicion soon turned into certainty.

He had asked his father what ‘being hungry’ was.

“Eat.”

Without a choice, she put the cut chicken on his plate.

It didn’t matter to her whether he starved or not, but she wanted to turn away from those red eyes that were staring at her so intently, which was quite burdensome.

“……”

He looked at the white empty plate in front of him being filled, then turned his head silently to look at her.

His red eyes were shaking slightly, filled with some confusion and doubt.

“You’re not expecting me to cut it for you too, are you? Eat.”

Celonia said curtly and cut the meat in front of her again.

He blankly watched her actions and then looked at the food on his plate again.

The meat she had put on it looked appetizing to anyone.

In that moment, a strange longing swept through his body.

A thirst he had never felt since opening his eyes.

What is this thirst?

It felt like he had to fill himself up right away, no matter what it was.

And what is this feeling?

He hadn’t even held her hand, but why did it feel like he could feel warmth…

Flutter, flutter.

Feeling strange, he stared at the food for a long time and then slowly reached out his hand and began to imitate Celonia’s actions.

First, he picked up the silver knife and fork and cut the thick chicken.

It was awkward, but the meat was cut smoothly, as if he had done it before.

He didn’t understand or was familiar with the act he was doing now.

But he thought this place wasn’t so bad.

Since he had no memories, the memories from the time he opened his eyes three months ago until now were all of his life.

Such a meal did not exist in it. It was unfamiliar. All of this.

The corner of his mouth quirked up slightly without anyone noticing.

‘I guess he has eaten food before.’

Celonia thought as she watched the Demon King cutting the chicken.

She thought he had never eaten food at all, but that wasn’t the case. His hand moving the knife was natural.

Moreover, his actions even had a sense of dignity, as if he had learned etiquette.

“Have you been starving since you woke up?”

Celonia, observing his actions, threw out the question she had been thinking about without realizing it.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s not necessary.”

Celonia blinked her round eyes.

Unlike humans, can the Demon King live without eating food?

But his body doesn’t make sense if he hasn’t eaten food.

His body is not the body of someone who has been starving for three months, but the body of someone who eats chicken breasts and protein and works out a lot.

Speaking from the perspective of someone who has seen his bare body, his noticeably thick muscles seemed to be twice as thick as the bodies of knights who had been holding swords and training for more than ten years, to exaggerate.

“It’s natural.”

He said with a sly expression, noticing her gaze sweeping over his body.

“Wh, who said anything?”

Celonia turned her face away in a fluster, her face turning red at the thought of being caught.

He chuckled and brought the sliced chicken to his mouth.

He thought the savory and plain taste spreading in his mouth wasn’t bad.

“Hey.”

Celonia, who was fixing her gaze on the plate in embarrassment and chewing on the meat, suddenly had a question and opened her mouth.

The thing she had been most curious about since knowing his identity.

“Speak.”

“Why did you give food to people?”

Why was he, called the Beast of the Night, showing kindness by taking leftover food from the cafe and giving it to starving people.

Even if he had no memories, it was a completely different move than before.

“Because they need it.”

He answered right away as if it wasn’t a difficult question.

It was a more obvious answer than she thought.

Celonia didn’t know how to react and hesitated, but decided to just agree.

“That’s right. People need food.”

But the words that followed were unexpected.

“No. Me giving food at that moment.”