The Male Leads Were Stolen By The Extra [EN]: Chapter 29

“Haa.”

Tan frowned deeply.

The good mood he had been in just moments ago soured at the thought of what was to come.

That little rascal was back again, tireless as ever.

“Hyungnim, Hyungnim! Huff, huff…….”

He had sped up, but the boy was even faster, arriving at Tan’s side with a bright smile, panting for breath.

Short, spiky brown hair like blades of grass and brown eyes.

Freckles scattered like sesame seeds were drawn on the boy’s flushed cheeks, and a dimple appeared on only one side of his playful mouth.

The boy’s name was Maxwell.

Eighteen years old, Maxwell was the kid who had found him a place to stay in the slums after he lost his memory, and the boy who followed him around like a devotee.

Maxwell had been getting beaten up by the guy who had tried to pick a fight with Tan a few months ago.

He hadn’t thought much of it when he took care of that guy, but ever since that day, Maxwell had been following him around, calling him his benefactor.

“It’s getting harder and harder to see you these days! But I heard you’re staying at the Duke’s mansion, and you look even better!”

“Go eat some bread.”

“Are you worried about me right now? Hyungnim! I’m so touched!”

Maxwell had a knack for twisting whatever he said.

“Haa. Just go away.”

“Hehehehe. Where else would I go if not by Hyungnim’s side.”

He also had a knack for smiling cheerfully no matter how annoyed he got.

He shook his head at the ever-present Maxwell and turned to leave the slums.

But as expected, Maxwell was following him like a puppy.

“Hyungnim, Hyungnim! How’s the Duke’s mansion? Is Princess Bessian really pretty?”

“Pretty?”

“Yes! You must see her face often!”

Tan stopped in his tracks.

Pretty? What was that? It was an incomprehensible word.

The only thought he had whenever he saw Celonia’s face was that she resembled the nameless purple flower he often saw on the street.

The flower that always caught his eye, always stopping him in his tracks.

“By the way, how do you know that woman?”

He glared at Maxwell with a suddenly fierce expression.

A look of wariness flickered in his savage red eyes.

“Ha, really, Hyungnim. Who in this empire doesn’t know Princess Bessian! She’s a savior!”

“Savior?”

At the strange word, he turned his body completely toward Maxwell.

“You really don’t know? Princess Bessian is one of the four saviors!”

A savior. Was she somehow different from other people?

Was that why the pain disappeared when he held her hand? Tan was intrigued.

“What is that? Explain.”

“Oh my, you really don’t know. Then let me, Maxwell, give you a kind explanation! To stop the Demon King who awakened after 100 years, the four saviors…….”

Maxwell seized the opportunity and began to chatter non-stop.

The boy’s brown eyes were sparkling more than ever. It was the first time Tan had ever asked about something.

Whenever he tried to explain something, Tan would dismiss it as uninteresting, so this was a surprising turn of events.

From Maxwell’s mouth flowed facts that every citizen of the empire knew.

Tan listened silently to Maxwell’s story about the four saviors and the Demon King.

Then, he raised an eyebrow at the strangely unsettling conclusion.

“So, all the men left?”

“That’s right. Only the princess was left alone. They say that even her fiancé, that Duke, was cheating on her while she was on the verge of death.”

“…….”

“Because of that, there was some controversy over the Duke’s qualifications as a savior.”

Maxwell stared intently at Tan, who was showing interest.

It felt like his already fierce expression had become even fiercer after hearing the whole story.

“What’s that guy’s name?”

“Who? Ah, that Duke? It’s Duke Ian Cherbil. He’s the commander of the Imperial Knights.”

“Ian Cherbil.”

A voice colder than a winter blizzard repeated Ian’s name.

It was a name he had heard often.

Where had he heard it? Where…….

“Hyungnim, I’m so amazed right now! It’s the first time you’ve ever asked about someone.”

Maxwell, completely unconcerned even as Tan was exuding a terrifying aura, continued to chatter like a chihuahua.

It was the first time he had had such a long conversation with Tan, so Maxwell was even a little excited.

“The princess is the only one who ended up pitiful. But, Hyungnim, why are your clothes so tattered? Why is this side of your arm torn…… Hyungnim, are you hurt?”

Maxwell was horrified to discover that the right sleeve of Tan’s arm was ragged.

A long wound could be seen on his firm arm through the cleanly cut fabric, as if it had been cut with scissors.

“When did you get hurt? It looks like it’s been treated well…….”

“Tan.”

“Tan? What’s burning?”

“Not Hyungnim, Tan. My name.”

“Huh? Hyungnim had a name? Or could it be, have you regained your memory?”

Tan’s eyes, unfazed by Maxwell’s fussing and commotion beside him, had been flickering with a silent fire since earlier.

That light looked like it was about to kill someone.

“Hyungnim! Hyungnim! Oh no, he’s gone again.”

Then, as if he had never existed in the first place, Tan disappeared without a trace.

“I knew it. Hyungnim is definitely a magician hiding his identity!”

Maxwell stared blankly at the suddenly empty space beside him, then muttered in a very excited voice, his eyes sparkling.

Then, as if it were a familiar occurrence, he soon returned to the slums.

* * *

“Hoh, Princess. How about this one? It will go very well with the princess’s lovely lilac hair color.”

The designer smiled, showing off a flamboyant dress design.

The dress sketched on the paper was a beautiful bell-line dress with a full, flowing hem, but somehow it had an undeniably old-fashioned feel.

Celonia had come out of the Magic District and was now in the Boutique District.

Among the somewhat famous stores, the one she had found was Verondi Boutique.

It was no exaggeration to say that 80% of the Empress’s dresses came from here.

As such, Verondi Boutique, run by a designer favored by the Empress, was the undisputed number one boutique among noble ladies who wanted to have dresses made.

However, it wasn’t just about having money to get clothes made at Verondi Boutique.

Because she was in charge of the Empress’s dresses, she was selective about her customers.

No, she hardly took any customers at all. The boutique’s prestige was the face of the Empress.

Perhaps that was why.

The popularity of Verondi Boutique soared. Young ladies lined up, wanting to get clothes from her even once.

If they could only get clothes from Verondi, they would be able to make a name for themselves in society in an instant.

Of course, Celonia was different from the other young ladies.

Rather, Verondi Debussy, the designer of Verondi Boutique, had sent her a request that she wanted to be in charge of her celebration dress.

“I see. Then how about this one? It’s a design that will further enhance the dignity befitting the protagonist.”

Verondi, who had noticed that Celonia didn’t like it, immediately turned to the next page and explained the dress.

The sketches of the dresses that Verondi was showing now were all drawn with Celonia in mind, so they were combined with colors that suited her perfectly.

However, the problem was…….

‘It’s too excessively flashy?’

Perhaps because she was in charge of the Empress’s dresses, which had to be more beautiful than anyone else’s, Verondi’s designs were all excessively flashy.

Most of the dresses had dozens of jewels dangling from them.

For her, who had come to prefer light and comfortable clothes after spending half a year subjugating monsters in cumbersome, dangling outfits, it was a design she didn’t like.

“Okay! Then how about this one?”

Verondi tore up the sketch without hesitation and showed the next design.

However, neither the next design nor the one after that was to her liking.

“This can’t be…….”

Verondi, who had been burning with enthusiasm until just now, was disappointed.

All the sketches she had drawn with Celonia in mind had been rejected.

“I’m sorry.”

“No! Princess, please wait a moment.”

Celonia was sorry, but Verondi instead burned with fighting spirit and began to draw new dress sketches.

She couldn’t let this go.

Mysterious purple hair and deep blue eyes like the deep sea.

Celonia was a source of inspiration for designers and the perfect model to make them want to dress her at least once.

‘I feel so sorry.’

Celonia felt grateful and sorry as she watched Verondi, who was so passionate that she felt like her body was on fire.

Should I have just said anything was fine?

Somehow, it seemed like it would take quite a while.

“Eek!”

“What’s wrong?”

Celonia jumped up from her seat when Ella, who had been wandering around the boutique to look around, suddenly screamed.

She was just as surprised.

Beyond the glass showcase that filled one side of the boutique, she saw Tan standing outside the store.

But his appearance was…….