The Male Leads Were Stolen By The Extra [EN]: Chapter 25

“Kyaa!”

“Sh-shouldn’t we stop them?”

The closer they got to the training grounds, the louder the commotion became.

Celonia didn’t stop running.

Already, in the distance, she could see people gathered around the training grounds.

The crowd of knights and servants was so dense that she couldn’t see what was happening.

‘I asked so nicely, but he still did it!’

Celonia gritted her teeth and pushed through the crowd as soon as she reached the training grounds.

“Who is it……! Ah, Young Lady!”

The servant who had been pushed stumbled, then bowed deeply upon recognizing Celonia and quickly stepped back.

At the sound, the other servants, startled, made way, parting like the Red Sea.

The training grounds, which had been hidden, came into view.

In the center of the large, dirt-packed training grounds stood the Demon King and Rubeus.

No, only the Demon King was standing.

Rubeus was sitting on the ground, pale-faced, holding a broken sword in two pieces.

They were using real swords, not wooden ones.

“What do you think you’re doing!”

Celonia, horrified, rushed towards them.

She stood in front of the seated Rubeus, spreading her arms as if to protect him from the Demon King.

“…….”

His face twisted strangely at the sight, but Celonia didn’t notice.

“Put that sword down now! Now!”

“L-Lady Celonia. I’m alright, ugh.”

“Sir Sid! Are you okay?”

She turned back at the sound of his groan, furious.

“Ugh…….”

Rubeus clutched his left shoulder, feigning pain.

Alarmed, Celonia quickly knelt down to examine him. She couldn’t see any cuts or blood, but something was clearly wrong, so she shouted immediately.

“Get Sir Sid to the physician, quickly! Now!”

The knights, stunned by her thunderous command, snapped to attention and rushed over.

“C-Commander, can you walk?”

“I’m fine. Just help me up.”

The knights supported Rubeus as they quickly left the training grounds.

The servants, sensing the mood, scattered quickly.

The once-crowded training grounds became deserted in an instant.

Celonia rose to her feet, turning around with cold eyes.

“Was my request that difficult?”

“……You.”

“Was it so hard to promise not to touch the people around me if I helped you?”

Celonia clenched her fists in anger.

She shouldn’t have agreed to this in the first place.

She had made a huge mistake in keeping this dangerous man by her side, thinking she could get away with it if she just endured for a month.

“How long has it been since I said that……!”

“He asked for the fight.”

“Ha…….”

Celonia ran a hand roughly through her hair at his unacceptable excuse.

He had accepted her conditions, so he shouldn’t have accepted any duels.

Naively, she had thought things would be alright while she was with him.

It was annoying that he demanded meals every day and asked about everything, but on the other hand, she felt sorry for him.

Even though she knew he wasn’t someone to be pitied, she couldn’t help but feel sympathy for him, who had lost his memory and didn’t even know who he was.

She even felt sorry for him as he desperately reached for her hand every night, gasping and sweating.

“I’m crazy.”

Celonia scoffed at her own emotions.

Regret washed over her along with a sense of futility.

She felt betrayed. He was not only making a fool of her, who was helping him despite knowing everything, but he was also acting as he pleased.

But even so, she was frustrated by the situation where she couldn’t get rid of this man.

“I want to tell you to leave right now, but I know you won’t. You’ll threaten me again.”

“…….”

“I’m scared. I’m afraid you’ll hurt my people. So even though you broke the promise, I have no choice but to help you. So at least keep your word to leave in a month. I’ll keep my promise until then, too.”

Her icy blue eyes glanced away from him.

Celonia swallowed the rising fear and regret, walked past him, and left the training grounds.

The Demon King stood like a stone statue in the empty training grounds.

He threw the sword he was holding to the ground.

Clang.

The sword fell weakly to the floor with a sharp clatter.

At the same time, blood flowed down his arm, past his long fingers, and dripped down.

Drop, drop.

Blood droplets fell where he was standing.

“……Are you alright?”

Ella, who had been watching, unable to do anything, cautiously approached him.

“Go away.”

But he only left those words and left the scene.

His back looked a little lonely, making it hard for Ella to take a step.

* * *

That evening.

Celonia, of course, didn’t go down to the dining room.

He didn’t come to ask her to have dinner together either.

But he would come without fail at midnight.

“Haa…….”

With a deep sigh, Celonia leaned back in her chair.

How long would she have to keep doing this?

There were still three weeks left until a month passed.

‘This won’t do.’

He had no intention of keeping his promise. He might cause another dangerous incident at any time.

Fortunately, Rubeus’s injuries were minor, probably because she had arrived quickly.

There were no cuts; his shoulder had been dislocated but was put back in place, and the bruises and swelling would heal quickly with compresses.

Her father said that he would not make an issue of today’s events because it was a formal competition and duel, not a fight.

Rather, her father seemed disappointed in Rubeus.

Rubeus, the commander of the Knights of the Duke’s family, who was one of the best in the Empire, had lost to a beast from the back alleys.

He even questioned the qualifications of the commander of the Knights, so the commander of the Knights of the Duke’s residence might be replaced soon.

But anyone would have lost if they dueled him. The power they possessed was different from the start.

He didn’t seem to use magic, but there were a lot of people gathered there to watch.

If he had lost his mind and used magic like before, everyone there would have been swept away and killed.

The thought alone was terrifying.

Even if he had no memory, she had experienced him directly, so she couldn’t help but be afraid.

Celonia covered the dinner that had been prepared on the table without touching it. She had no appetite because of her complicated feelings.

The sun set quickly due to the approaching winter, and it was already dark outside.

Midnight would come soon.

She really didn’t want to see him, but the reality that she had to was so frustrating.

“Young Lady…….”

At that moment, Ella, who had brought warm tea at her request, spoke hesitantly.

“Ella, later.”

Her head was throbbing, and she didn’t have the energy to talk to Ella.

“Young Lady, can I have a moment? It’s something you really need to hear.”

Celonia had no choice but to look up at Ella, who rarely showed this attitude.

Ella hesitated, twitching her lips, and then opened her mouth as if she had made up her mind.

“About the Beast. He was hurt in the duel earlier.”

“You must have seen wrong.”

Celonia scoffed as if that couldn’t be the case.

There was no way he could have been hurt. If he had, Rubeus’s body would have been covered in cuts.

“No! I saw it clearly. He was bleeding, as if he had been cut in the arm.”

Ella retorted urgently. There was no lie in her brown eyes, as if she was sincere.

‘He was hurt?’

Celonia was confused, but she didn’t think deeply about it. In any case, the fact that he had attacked a member of her household despite his promise to her remained unchanged.

“And the reason why the Beast dueled with Rubeus was because Rubeus really started the fight first.”

“I know.”

“Then do you also know that Rubeus said he had no shame and called the Beast a beggar and a freeloader?”

“……What?”

“Of course, the Beast didn’t seem to understand what those words meant…….”

Ella was sure.

When Rubeus uttered the words beggar and freeloader, the Beast’s face was the same as when he heard the word shame.

He clearly didn’t understand and just brushed it off.

“Ella, wait, just wait a minute.”

“And he told him to get lost and stop hanging around the Young Lady…… Because the Beast said he didn’t like it, he formally challenged him to a duel, and if he won, he told the Beast to leave the Duke’s residence.”

“…….”

“It’s too unfair! Rubeus is the commander of the Knights! The Beast isn’t even a knight!”

Despite Celonia’s protests, Ella continued to pour out her feelings and inner thoughts like a torrent, as someone who had witnessed everything.

As a result, he won, but Rubeus’s duel request was truly despicable beyond words.

Was it even reasonable to ask someone who wasn’t a knight to fight with a sword, which was his main specialty?

It was an absurd proposal where the outcome was already decided.

The Beast overturned that, so Ella couldn’t help but be on his side.

“…….”

Celonia’s mind was dizzy with the sudden flood of truth. But she immediately regained her senses because there was one thing she needed to find out.

“Ella.”

“Yes.”

“Bring the knights and servants who were in the training grounds from the beginning.”

“Yes!”

Ella quickly left the room with a bright smile.