MBGS 10

Chapter 10

A letter? I heard Evangelin is frail and doesn’t even have friends. Who would she be sending one to?

“It seems to be from that Knight Commander we saw before.”

The Knight Commander? What! Our male lead sent a letter? I hurriedly opened the envelope. The contents, written in handwriting as flamboyant as his face, roughly said this:

Because a problem had arisen in the Donau incident, he wished to visit and hear a more detailed account.

When I explained the letter to Kanna, she frowned.

“Didn’t we already give our statements back then? And now he’s coming again?”

About a week had passed since Donau’s kidnapping incident.

Kanna seemed displeased that Gabriel was coming belatedly, but I could understand. The villainess and the female lead are both in the Rohanson estate—how could the male lead ignore that? This world probably has some kind of original-plot coercion. Even if he didn’t want to come, he’d have no choice but to worry that the female lead might suffer because of me, the villainess.

And the notes I diligently organized also predicted this situation. The male lead must be coming under the assumption that I instigated Donau to kidnap Kanna! He probably spent this time investigating evidence and Evangelin’s bad reputation.

So all I need to do here is show the male lead that I’m very close with Kanna. And also strongly convey that I support their love.

“My Lady, Sir Gabriel has arrived.”

The very next day after sending a reply saying he was welcome anytime, the male lead came.

‘Wow. What amazing execution speed.’

Good thing I’d told the butler in advance to guide guests to the drawing room. Worried he might wait too long, I only brushed my hair quickly before heading down. If the villainess dressed up too nicely, he’d probably sneer, “Ha! Were you trying to impress me?”

When I entered the drawing room, the male lead was leisurely drinking tea. It was my first time here, so I felt awkward. Strangely, he looked more comfortable than I did—like it was his own house. This is completely backwards…

We exchanged brief eye contact, and I sat across from him. Hena poured tea for me as well.

“It’s good to see you again.”

“It’s been a while, Sir Gabriel.”

Wow. Seeing him again in bright light, he really does look even more handsome. Honestly, I wanted to gush, “I’m happy to see you again too. Still as handsome as ever, Mr. Male Lead.” But I endured it. No small talk. I mustn’t look like I’m fawning.

“So. Has some problem occurred?”

I sipped my tea, making it clear I had no interest in him.

“As for the details of the incident, that was everything we said before. There shouldn’t be anything strange.”

I know you came to see Kanna! I shouted internally.

Of course, Kanna was currently waiting in her room. She’d wanted to come down together, but Pudding seemed to want to play with her, so I told her to come if called. Male lead, you should’ve timed your visit better with Pudding’s walk!

“If you’re worried about Kanna’s condition, I can call her.”

Perfectly laid the groundwork. Wow, where could you find someone this considerate?

“Ah. The one who was kidnapped? It didn’t seem like she was seriously injured.”

Hey! Are you really the male lead? What do you mean not seriously injured? Every time Hena and I saw the wound on Kanna’s neck, we were devastated.

We originally planned to find holy water to treat it, but Kanna said she wanted to leave the scar as it was. So we tearfully let it be.

“The reason I came is because I want to hear Lady Rohanson’s opinion.”

Me? Right. This is all my fault. I stole the first meeting between the male and female leads. If he had seen Kanna tied up back then, he wouldn’t be acting so indifferent.

But at the time, I didn’t even know Kanna was the female lead! How could I just leave a tied-up child in front of me? I’m not a monster!

“We have not yet been able to process Donau Blue’s body.”

“Not yet?”

Kanna had told me that criminals’ bodies usually aren’t accepted by the temple. They’re burned and buried without proper funeral rites. Under the reign of the Sun God, cremation is considered particularly heretical, so criminals are mostly cremated.

I remember clearly because Kanna had made a black joke that Donau was already burned, so processing him would be easy.

But then shouldn’t it be easier? Donau had no relatives and was a criminal.

“Yes. Since two days ago, opinions have begun circulating that Donau Blue should be laid in the cathedral.”

Hena’s hand trembled as she refilled my cup. She bit her lip tightly, trying not to show it, but the thought of placing a criminal in the cathedral must have infuriated her. Kanna would’ve been hurt hearing this too. Good thing I left her upstairs.

“Why would such an opinion arise?”

“Because his death was peculiar.”

“In what way?”

“Lady Rohanson must have seen the house—burning alone without the fire spreading.”

Wasn’t that just this-world passive architecture ability? I was impressed the fire didn’t spread and even thought about importing that technology. So it was considered abnormal here too. Not knowing the original plot really shows at times like this.

“Not long after you left, the fire extinguished on its own before we could even suppress it. And when we found Donau’s body…”

The male lead pulled out a sheet of paper. Since there were no cameras, it seemed to be a drawing. Whoever drew it was… terrible.

“I drew it myself to explain. Please understand if it lacks refinement.”

I was speechless. Your handwriting is so beautiful—why is your drawing skill this disastrous? Even a kindergartener could do better.

I couldn’t tell the male lead his drawing looked like it was done with my toes, so I just smiled awkwardly.

“This is the head, and this is the body.”

Honestly, a stick figure would’ve been better. He boldly omitted the limbs. With just a head and body, I thought it was a keyhole at first.

“And behind it, there was soot shaped like wings and a halo.”

That was wings? I thought they were ears. Looking again, it did kind of resemble curled angel wings.

“Doesn’t it look like an angel?”

No… In your drawing, it looks like a moth.

“Because of that… those who saw the body began spreading rumors that Donau Blue received God’s blessing.”

What? That’s ridiculous. Why would Donau be blessed? He kidnapped our Kanna and then committed suicide to escape punishment.

And what? An angel? In all my rofan life, I’ve never seen a kidnapper treated like an angel instead of the female lead. Just because something has wings, it’s an angel?

Wait. They said they saw the body, not this drawing. The drawing’s impact made me forget.

But weren’t the only witnesses the knights? Then shouldn’t the male lead, as Knight Commander, be able to control that? I asked.

“Wasn’t it only the knights of Phararos who saw it?”

“It seems that while security loosened, spectators gathered. At first, it was just rumors. But a painter depicted the scene and donated the painting to the temple. Now the temple is also talking about it.”

So the subordinates were negligent… Maybe the male lead isn’t as imposing as I thought.

There were many onlookers at the fire.

But why would someone go out of their way to see a burned corpse—let alone paint it? Not only did they complete it in just days, they donated it too. Whoever that painter is, their drive is impressive.

And unlike the male lead, their skill must have been good. If the temple had only seen his drawing, they’d be asking why he painted a moth instead of an angel.

“Because of that, those above have taken interest. Just as things were wrapping up, an order came down to reinvestigate so that Donau Blue’s death would not be unjust.”

The Knights of Phararos are holy knights. “Those above” would mean the temple. Since there’s no saint or saintess, probably the High Priest. Definitely high clergy.

Even in a rofan world, case manipulation exists. “Reinvestigate” probably means write a scenario where Donau becomes the victim.

“The problem is, if Donau Blue received God’s blessing, then Lady Rohanson will be accused of dishonorably fabricating the circumstances of his death.”

Right. We testified that Donau kidnapped Kanna and fled before the fire started. If he’s treated like an angel, then I become the liar who harmed him.

Is this also the original plot’s coercion? Since I’m getting close to Kanna and escaping my villainess fate, it wants to use Donau to make me the villain again?

“I ask you, my Lady. Is everything you told me the truth?”

“The truth…”

The male lead seemed to look at me suspiciously. No, he definitely suspects me. He’s probing because he thinks I know something. But Kanna already explained things—how can I change my story now?

“Let me ask you in return. Do you believe I lied?”

From what Hena and Kanna told me, people in this world don’t really know that spirits truly exist. They do, but they’re barely acknowledged. If I say Donau summoned a spirit, who would believe me?

Is this my last chance? Should I just tell him? Damn it! If this were a world where spirits were active, I would’ve said it!

The male lead didn’t answer immediately. After a long silence, he slowly spoke.

“I do not believe Donau Blue received God’s blessing. However, I do know that his death was unusual.”

So basically, Donau was a scoundrel anyway, and I’m the lesser evil? He’s saying he’ll take my side if I’m honest?

What if I confess and just end up betrayed and thrown into prison? Or worse—accused of being a witch who killed a ‘blessed’ man. Then it’s either beheading or burning at the stake. Why is this escalating? Wasn’t getting close to the female lead supposed to avoid death flags?!

As I hesitated over whether to tell the truth, the male lead looked at me intently.