The Male Leads Were Stolen By The Extra [EN]: Chapter 33

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“Let’s stop this. Don’t try to harm innocent people.”

Celonia said firmly, looking at MacRyan, who still couldn’t control his anger.

“You. I’ll remember this.”

MacRyan glared at the terrified employees in the distance, warned Tan, and stormed out.

“I’m sorry for the inconvenience. See you next time.”

“Young Lady.”

Celonia stopped Grace, who had been hiding behind MacRyan, merely observing, and was now trying to leave as if nothing had happened.

Why did this whole mess even start? She couldn’t just let her go.

“Don’t expect to be treated as their equal just because you’re with them. That’s a bit ridiculous, isn’t it? You’re nothing on your own. Don’t you think?”

Just because she held the Saviors like trophies didn’t make Grace a Savior.

Her absurd arrogance was laughable. Who did they think they were?

At that moment, the smile on Grace’s face cracked.

“……Isn’t that the same for you, Duchess? If it weren’t for the Besian family, you wouldn’t be called Duchess or receive this kind of treatment.”

Grace said, her expression hardening as if Celonia had hit a nerve.

Celonia smiled, pleased by the provocation, and spoke again.

“That’s right. But I lived and crawled back from that hell for half a year, unlike someone who comfortably stayed at home.”

Celonia’s eyes, unwavering and filled with a solid blue light, held something Grace could never possess.

Grace recognized it instantly.

It was what she always saw in Ian, Leyev, and MacRyan. Their pride and honor.

“……We’ll see.”

Grace glared at Celonia with narrow eyes, uttered those words with trembling lips, and left the boutique.

* * *

“I’ll go up and draw a warm bath!”

Ella, who got off the carriage, rushed into the mansion.

Having weathered the storm and returned to the mansion, Celonia turned to Tan, who was following her, as they headed toward the main entrance.

“Why did you do that?” she asked.

“What do you mean?”

“You’re not really my escort knight, so why did you grab his collar?”

Celonia couldn’t understand Tan’s actions.

He hadn’t used his strength, but MacRyan was a Count. For a commoner to grab a Count’s collar without hesitation was generally unacceptable.

If she hadn’t intervened, claiming him as her escort knight, he might have been arrested without a word. Of course, Celonia knew Tan could easily overpower anyone who tried to arrest him.

“Because it’s him.”

Tan’s reason was simple and direct.

However, Celonia frowned, still puzzled.

“Who is ‘him’?”

“The guy who betrayed you.”

A woman and three men. They were known as the four Saviors who defeated the Demon King. The woman and one of the men had even been engaged.

But due to the man’s betrayal, the woman was left alone, and her former comrades abandoned her.

Tan felt a surge of unpleasantness when he heard this story from Maxwell.

A strange annoyance even welled up. He wanted to tear them all apart if they were in front of him.

He even realized that the moron named Ian, whom he had encountered before, was her fiancé and one of the Saviors when he heard their names.

He regretted not breaking one of Ian’s legs before sending him away.

That’s why he would have twisted MacRyan’s neck if Celonia hadn’t stopped him.

The only reason he restrained himself was because Celonia stopped him.

He was afraid she would misunderstand him again and turn away from him if he used his strength as he had before.

Because she had said he was scary.

He endured it simply because he didn’t want that to happen.

“How…”

Celonia looked at Tan, shocked.

How did he know? Could it be that his memories had returned?

“I heard everyone in the Empire knows about the Saviors.”

“……”

Celonia observed Tan’s expression, her eyes searching for any sign that his memories had returned.

His red eyes didn’t show any particular agitation, as if his memories hadn’t returned.

She felt a wave of relief.

It was such a famous story; he must have heard it somewhere.

“Shall I kill them? I can kill them if you want.”

Tan said sincerely, gazing at her face, trying to discern any lingering affection or sadness.

He had been wondering if she still harbored feelings for them since he heard the story from Maxwell.

“It’s okay. I’m not interested anymore.” Celonia answered indifferently.

“Or I can take revenge on the others, including that woman. If you want.”

Tan was willing to help her if she desired revenge.

He could bring their severed heads right now if she just gave the word.

He could do that much. No, he desperately wanted to do that.

“I just changed. Both they and I.”

“……”

“That’s all.”

Celonia replied, her face calm.

In that moment, Tan saw a flash of loneliness in her eyes.

It was an emotion he knew all too well.

It was the emotion he had felt every day, every minute, every second until he opened his eyes and met Celonia.

A dark emotion like the abyss he felt when he was dropped alone into a world where no one recognized him, without even knowing his name.

That emotion had flickered across her clear face, an emotion that seemed so out of place.

“……”

Tan bit his lip.

Why was he so angry?

Was it because she didn’t seem to want those guys to get hurt?

Because it seemed like she still had feelings for them?

He didn’t know. He just couldn’t quell the anger rising from within.

His stomach churned.

The desires that kept boiling up from deep within his heart were spiraling out of control.

Evil thoughts gradually dominated him.

A dark desire, like a consuming darkness, to burn everything in sight, to tear those guys’ limbs apart and bring them to her feet, clouded his vision.

“Thank you for trying to help earlier.”

Celonia was grateful, even though the reason he stepped in was completely unexpected.

She didn’t know what his intentions were, but he had tried to help her.

The more she knew him, the more she thought she might be misunderstanding many things about him.

She had even defended Tan in front of MacRyan today, even though it was an unavoidable situation.

‘People’s lives are truly…….’

She realized once again that she couldn’t foresee anything.

Who would have imagined that she would protect the Demon King in front of the Saviors?

Celonia, walking with a slight smile at the rather absurd situation, turned around when she noticed he wasn’t reacting.

“Tan?”

His expression, who had stopped walking, was strange.

He was frowning as if he was uncomfortable.

Even his eyes, usually red, were turbid, lacking their usual blue light, as if veiled in fog.

“Tan!”

“……”

When a loud, familiar voice pierced his ears, Tan focused, forcing his heavy eyelids to open.

The darkness that had been covering his vision like black paint lifted, and the familiar scenery returned.

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

Celonia came closer, looking up at his face, checking for any signs of pain, even though it wasn’t midnight.

But she couldn’t find any, and his eyes and expression seemed normal.

“Yeah.”

Tan, pulled from his dark thoughts, answered briefly.

What was that just now?

The feeling of darkness that had momentarily overwhelmed his eyes and mind.

If she hadn’t called him, he felt like he would have been completely consumed by those thoughts.

Having escaped the strange phenomenon, he focused on Celonia’s face.

He didn’t want to forget this face when his vision flickered like that again.

“Let’s go in.”

“Did you know those guys for a long time?”

“Well, I was with them for half a year, so if you consider that long, then yes.”

Tan mentally considered that time.

Half a year. Half a year, huh?

Compared to himself, who had only met her a week ago, it was definitely a long time.

Tan became curious about Celonia during that time when he couldn’t be with her.

At the same time, he wanted to know more about her than those bastards and wanted to be with her longer. If possible, for the rest of his life.

Now, it was him, not those who had left, who was by her side.

So he had to know. From now on, everything about her.

“Okay. So don’t do anything until I ask you to.”

“By the way, are you healing my pain because you’re a healer?”

“Maybe so.”

Celonia walked alongside him, engaging in trivial conversation.

The two entered the Duke’s mansion as if they were familiar with each other, bathed in the setting sun.

And the black shadow watching the scene from behind a tree disappeared.