Home/The Male Lead, Whom I Thought Was the Villain, Is Acting Strange/ch 4

Chapter 4.

The moment I reached out my hand and shouted in desperation, the severed body of the monster lashed out like a scorpion's tail.

The sharp venomous stinger at its tip shot furiously toward the back of Rainer's neck.

It all happened in the blink of an eye. There wasn't even time to cast a defensive barrier with my rifle.

‘No way, no way he's going to die here, right?’

My heart pounded wildly.

In this world, unexpected dangers lurked like buried landmines at every turn.

How many people had I seen lose their lives carelessly while hunting monsters alongside my brother?

Even knowing this was a novel's world, after living here for seventeen years, everything before my eyes was reality.

Just because the original story hadn't begun yet didn't mean there was any guarantee Rainer wouldn't die.

Maybe the dream I'd had recently wasn't a past life at all—just some random nightmare.

Doubts flashed through my mind in an instant.

Suddenly, the monster's tail was sliced cleanly in two.

A following azure-aura slash swept in like a whirlwind, shredding the monster's corpse into pieces.

I stared blankly at the chunks of flesh that fell clattering to the ground.

Before me, a figure landed with the agile motion of a feline predator.

The man stood with his back to the light—broad-shouldered and well-built, yet his face looked young, around my age.

Golden eyes, visible between strands of softly swaying black hair, turned toward me.

At that moment, a shiver ran through my entire body.

Even though I'd never seen him before, I instantly knew who he was.

‘……Azeint.’

The villain of the original story—the male lead who would kill my brother and annihilate House Espello—had appeared.

---

“His features, as if carved from ice, and his languid eyes exuded a cold, decadent aura. Above all, what stood out were his golden eyes—so eerily beautiful they seemed otherworldly. Muriel could not deny that she had been captivated, even for a moment, by those chilling yet mesmerizing eyes.”

His appearance was exactly as described in the original. Though he seemed younger than in the novel, giving him a slightly softened impression.

But his looks weren't what mattered right now.

I blinked several times, as if trying to wipe away the unbelievable reality before me.

‘What the hell is this rapid development?! Why is the male lead appearing now?’

Of course, there was no reason he shouldn't be here.

Even though the original story hadn't started yet, the male lead was still a resident of this world—he had to exist somewhere, living his life.

---

Approaching the future murderer who would come to kill me three years from now—if this weren't a life-or-death situation, I would have run for the hills, original story be damned. I'd have fled to some remote, uninhabited mountain and maintained physical distance for the rest of my life!

But what happened next was even more astonishing.

"Thanks, Jen. You saved me back there."

Rainer sighed and offered his thanks to Azeint. Azeint, who had sheathed his sword, gave a silent nod.

‘What's this now? They know each other?’

I stared at the two men in disbelief, my head spinning.

Nowhere in the original story—nor in any of my memories as Rutesia—was there any mention of Azeint and Rainer knowing each other.

---

“……Bro, do you know him?”

I poked him in the side and asked. Rainer nodded.

"He's a new recruit in our unit. Name's Jen."

Holy crap. The male lead is Rainer's subordinate?

Then did Rainer die in the original because of insubordination?

No—if that were the case, there'd be no need to destroy the entire House Espello. Taking on one of the four great houses carries enormous risk.

This is insane. Why on earth would he join the monster unit? Did he deliberately approach my brother to kill him?

But then it doesn't make sense why he'd wait three whole years before acting!

Just as I was dumbfounded by this unexpected encounter with the male lead—

Rainer patted my head with his large, calloused hand and said,

"Introduce yourself. She's my little sister."

Azeint slowly turned his head to meet my gaze. At that moment, every hair on my body stood on end, as if struck by static electricity.

"Lifeless, like mineral"—just as the original had described—his golden eyes were beautiful yet somehow hollow.

It was like looking into the eyes of a reptile, devoid of emotion. The kind of person who could kill without a flicker of hesitation.

Was he truly a prodigy in the making? I could see the seeds of a fine, budding murderer.

‘I m-mustn't panic.’

I managed to force a smile at the fledgling male lead.

"I'm Rutesia of House Espello. Thank you for saving my brother."

Never in my life did I think I'd have to thank the man who would one day kill my brother for saving him. Damn it!

"....."

Azeint stared at me openly. It was like watching someone observe a mushroom they'd found for the first time in the woods.

I was starting to get nervous, wondering if I had monster blood splattered on my face, when his tightly shut lips finally parted.

“……It's nothing. I only did what needed to be done.”

Azeint gave a slight bow of his head as he answered. He was clearly hiding his real name.

And as for "doing what needed to be done"—quite a cheeky answer for a villainous lead.

"No need to be modest. Your skills are truly impressive."

"....."

"If you don't mind me asking, which house do you belong to?"

I asked, subtly probing.

In the original, Azeint kept his identity meticulously hidden.

That was exactly why it had taken Muriel so long to track him down, even with the help of the information guild.

Even while being tortured mercilessly, he never once let slip a single piece of information about himself.

Finding out why the male lead killed Rainer was one of the key clues to stopping him.

Perhaps it wasn't just personal vengeance—maybe inter-house conflict or political intrigue was involved.

‘Which means I need to pry out as much information as possible.’

But Azeint shot me a look that said, "Why are you asking that?" His guarded, wary demeanor reminded me of a stray cat.

‘As expected, people with shady pasts are always suspicious.’

To signal that I meant no harm, I added with a bright smile,

"I'd like to offer you a token of gratitude for saving my brother."

"It's not necessary."

"....."

"....."

‘Well, Rome wasn't built in a day…’

I gazed off into the distance with a weary expression. I'd expected as much—his defenses were practically the Great Wall.

Just then, Rainer, who had been watching our awkward exchange, interjected.

"Watching you two is making me feel stifled. Both of you, relax and speak comfortably. Jen's a commoner without a knighthood, anyway."

"A commoner?"

I eyed Azeint with wide-eyed curiosity.

In the Arcane Empire, the monster-combat unit accepted commoners as long as they had the skill.

Not because there was no class discrimination—but because monster attacks caused so many deaths that they couldn't afford to be picky about recruits.

If you honed your combat skills and distinguished yourself in monster subjugation, even a commoner could earn substantial pay and honor.

Of course, the risk of dying in battle was equally high, but since these were benefits not easily accessible to commoners, there was no shortage of applicants.

‘But the commoner claim is probably a lie too.’

He might be a member of a noble house so important that he had to hide it—even by posing as a commoner.

For instance, he could be from one of the four great houses.

---

Even though he'd hit rock bottom in the original, he was still the male lead. The villain had his secrets, sure—but I had the romance-fantasy conviction that a male lead couldn't possibly come from some mediocre family.

"Then I'll speak comfortably. Take good care of my brother from now on, Jen."

I switched to informal speech and extended my hand for a friendly handshake.

My plan was to gradually chip away at his wariness while gathering the information I needed.

But Azeint blatantly ignored my hand and walked right past me.

"....."

If the female lead had a passive skill for unconscious emotional manipulation, then the villainous male lead clearly had anti-social personality disorder as his default setting.

I awkwardly lowered my hand, left hanging in the air, and Rainer let out a wry laugh.

"Great skills, but his lack of sociability is a real flaw."

"Aside from that, any other strange points?"

"Strange points?"

"Like, does he seem resentful toward you? Or does he seem like he wants to kill someone when he's angry…?"

Rainer looked baffled by my questions and shook his head.

"He's not the type to cause trouble. He's really quiet."

"Is his background confirmed?"

"The documents he submitted when enlisting checked out… What's with you? Why are you so interested in that guy?"

"It's nothing."

It's not interest—it's suspicion.

I brushed off his probing and approached the area littered with the centipede monster's remains.

If left alone, the poison would spread and contaminate the ground, so it needed to be purified.

Normally, purification of monsters was left to mages or alchemists.

But since I was here, I didn't need to bother them.

‘I'll have to draw a really wide barrier.’

After surveying the area, I let out a small sigh.

For living beings, drawing a barrier over just a portion of the body was enough. But for something this large, I had to encompass the entire area—including the ground where the monster's remains had touched.

Because Azeint had sliced the monster into tiny pieces, the zone I needed to cover had become enormous.

As I grumbled inwardly and measured the key angles for the barrier, my gaze happened to fall on Azeint, standing alone to one side.

With his prickly personality, I'd expected him to finish his part and leave. But for some reason, he was still there.

‘Oh. A male lead is a male lead after all.’

I watched him from afar and let out a pure note of admiration.

His sharp jawline, straight nose bridge, and slightly upturned eyes gave him an overall sharp impression.

His golden eyes were eerie at first glance, but they contrasted vividly with his dark black hair, making them stand out beautifully.

Compared to Rainer, he seemed somewhat leaner—but it wasn't that he was thin; rather, he had a sleek, well-balanced build, like a black panther.

Regardless of his personality, I couldn't deny that he was incredibly handsome.

‘But… he looks really bored.’

Azeint was just blankly watching the knights busily cleaning up the monster remains.

He looked like a transfer student awkwardly watching his classmates clean up after class.

It wasn't that he was acting aloof because he didn't want to help—more like he couldn't easily blend in with the others.

The other knights seemed the same way. Aside from Rainer, no one dared approach him or strike up a conversation.

‘With that attitude, no wonder he has no friends.’

I recalled how coldly he'd rejected my handshake and shot him a sidelong glare.

But just at that moment, Azeint turned his head—and our eyes met dead-on.

To be continued.

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