The Male Leads Were Stolen By The Extra [EN]: Chapter 35

* * *

“Heuheuheung~”

Ella hummed, her arms laden with books as she headed down the hallway.

Tan had already devoured the book she’d given him that morning and was clamoring for more.

She carried three books in total, each carefully selected. These weren’t just any books; they were the ones rumored to induce floods of tears and heart-fluttering sensations in readers.

And it wasn’t all romance, either.

She’d also included “The Empire’s History in One Volume” to provide him with a foundational understanding of the world.

Ella’s reasoning for recommending these books was simple: indirect experience, gained through reading, was a faster teacher than endless explanations.

Without memories, he lacked context—he didn’t understand the world, nor did he grasp emotions.

For instance, he often missed the barbs in Rubeus’s provocations.

Yesterday, at Tan’s sudden request, Ella had spent hours explaining the basics of their world until her throat was raw.

Yet, much of it seemed to go over his head.

Every explanation was met with the same question:

“Why? Why does it have to be like that?”

Ella finally understood why the young lady [Celonia] was developing a twitch from his incessant “why” questions.

So, she turned to books.

Since Tan could read, a well-written book would be far more effective than her clumsy explanations.

It wasn’t just laziness, she insisted to herself.

She hoped that books penned by authors with a deeper understanding of emotions and the world would offer him some insight.

But he’d finished them all in a matter of hours.

As the one who’d recommended them, she couldn’t help but feel a surge of pride.

Ella vividly recalled Tan’s words from the day before yesterday.

“Then does everyone’s heart flutter when they see Celonia?”

His ears had even turned red. There was no way she, with her sharp intuition, would miss that.

“I’m sure of it!”

Ella’s eyes sparkled with conviction.

His sudden thirst for knowledge was likely driven by the young lady.

Ella wasn’t trying to play matchmaker, of course. She simply wanted to help Tan.

The young lady had always been sensitive and quick-tempered, often snapping at those around her.

But since waking up again [after an implied incident], she’d become a different person.

Ella liked this new Celonia. She’d even saved her from a pack of stray dogs the other day.

That day, Ella had pledged her loyalty to the young lady.

The treacherous servants had left, and though the young lady claimed to be fine, she seemed listless and subdued.

But since Tan’s arrival, she’d been shouting with renewed vigor.

Ella liked Tan because he seemed to have rekindled the young lady’s spirit.

She had no idea why Celonia was so animated around Tan.

“What are you guys doing here?”

Ella, having reached the guest room where Tan was staying, addressed the maids who were huddled like thieves, ears pressed against the door.

“Heok! N, no!”

“Nothing!”

The two maids, startled by Ella’s sudden appearance, widened their eyes and scurried away.

“What was that about?”

Ella, making a mental note of their faces for their suspicious behavior, glared in the direction they’d fled. Then, she knocked on the door.

Knock knock.

Almost immediately, the door swung open.

“Did you bring them?”

“Yes! Here you go!”

Ella beamed at Tan, who looked even more striking than yesterday, and handed him the books.

* * *

Tan finished the last of the three books Ella had brought, closing it with a snap.

Looking out the window, he saw that day had turned into night.

The books had been more helpful in understanding the world than any explanation.

“Status, status, huh.”

Sitting on the windowsill, he tapped the frame with his long fingers and muttered to himself.

He now understood why Celonia had told him not to speak informally to others.

In her world, the world he now inhabited after losing his memory, people were ranked by status.

Tan recalled the key points Ella had taught him earlier.

“Title? Where can I get one of those?”

“You can’t just get one because you want it.”

“Then how did others get them?”

“Well, they were founding contributors who established the empire, or they brought tremendous benefits and prosperity to the empire, so the emperor bestowed a title, or they inherited it through their family line, and so on. There are various ways.”

According to Ella, titles were not easily acquired.

“So, you shouldn’t speak informally to Count Ford like you did yesterday… I don’t know what it was like before, since you don’t have any memories, but anyway, it seems like you don’t have a title now. Of course! It was really cool of you to stand up for the young lady!”

Ella had mumbled, as if wrestling with her thoughts, but ultimately, she’d said everything she wanted to say.

“Ha.”

Tan snorted, finding the whole thing absurd.

So, because of this status system, he had to be careful around those punks?

Somehow, knowing this made him feel even worse.

It made no sense.

Regardless of status, he should be able to simply remove their heads if they annoyed him or if he didn’t like them.

“The way to get that crappy thing.”

Despite his disdain, Tan had asked Ella how to obtain a title.

He didn’t understand the system, but he refused to be inferior to those bastards.

“You can receive a title by making great contributions in war or achieving something significant, like our young lady did when she subjugated the Demon King. But now there is no war, and the Demon King is dead, so the only way is to buy it with money.”

“Money?”

“Yes. Sometimes families who have gone bankrupt due to financial difficulties sell their titles for money. Of course, it’s just a facade, so you can’t exercise great power, but you can still have the title.”

Money, huh.

Tan had never needed or desired anything while living, so he knew little about money. He had never considered wanting to possess something.

But if money could buy him that ridiculous title, he thought he needed it.

Then where could he get it?

For the first time in his life, he worried about money and lowered his gaze.

He saw the romance novels Ella had lent him.

All of these novels had endings where the protagonists overcame obstacles and crises caused by vast differences in status, ultimately realizing their true love and finding happiness.

His reaction to these stories was, “What’s so special about that love?”

What was it about love that drove someone to the brink of drowning, another to take a sword for a woman, and yet another to neglect food and drink while pining for a departed lover?

Tan couldn’t comprehend the emotion of love that they blindly pursued.

He couldn’t understand the actions of those crazy guys who were in love.

Kissing and spending the night in their arms.

What was so great about that?

The only thing he could somewhat relate to was that their emotions were similar to the emotions he felt for Celonia.

Tan was satisfied with that.

If others felt the same emotions that he felt, then that was enough.

It would be okay no matter what, as long as he wasn’t the only one who was different again.

Knock knock.

“Um… Excuse me. Are you inside?”

A strange voice came from beyond the door.

Tan’s face, which had been anticipating Celonia, instantly contorted.

How many times had this happened since yesterday?

Celonia never came to this room, but other people kept peeking in.

“What is it.”

“Well, I have something I want to give you. If you’re okay with it…”

Tan flicked his fingers, annoyed. The closed door burst open.

“Heo-eop! H, how did the door suddenly…”

The surprised maid muttered, but quickly forgot her confusion at the sight of Tan’s face.

“T, this is something I made, but I thought you might want to taste it if you’re hungry…”

The maid, her cheeks flushed, lowered her head and held out a plate of freshly baked warm pancakes.

“I don’t need it. Get out.”

Tan turned away, uninterested in food unless he was eating with Celonia.

“…Yes, yes. Then good night…”

“Hey, you.”

“Yes, yes? Do you need anything?”

Tan called out to the maid, who was about to turn away with a sullen expression.

The maid flinched and slowly raised her gaze. She saw Tan sitting on the windowsill again.

In an instant, she unknowingly opened her mouth and spaced out.

How could a person be so handsome?

He was the perfect handsome man she had only seen in dreams and in books.

Her heart pounding, the maid’s face turned as red as a carrot.

Tan, oblivious to her reaction, spoke.

“Hey, do you have any money?”

* * *

“Oh, you couldn’t give it to him? It’s the same?”

Another maid spoke as she saw the pancakes, untouched, being returned to the kitchen.

The maid who had just left Tan’s room walked slowly, dazed, as if walking on clouds, and leaned against the wall with the plate in her hand.

“What’s wrong? Did you get rejected too?”

“I, I had a conversation with the guest.”

“Kyaaak! Really? What did he say? Did you see his face up close too?”

The fellow maid fluttered her feet and made a fuss.

“Tell me. What kind of conversation did you have? What did he say to you?”

“H, he asked me if I had any money.”

“Money?”

“Yeah. He asked if I had any money…”

“…”

A moment of silence enveloped the kitchen.

Then, a dark figure hiding behind a pillar left the kitchen after hearing the story.

“Ha, that beggar bastard. I knew it.”

A bitter smile spread across Rubeus’s lips.

“So? Did you give it to him?”

“No. He just said it was okay.”

The maids chattered like girls, once again discussing Tan’s face.