Adopting the Male Protagonist Changed the Genre

‘What on earth is the problem?’

I glanced at Sir Penadel, who was suddenly silent.

After coveting my necklace so much on the first day, he must have lost interest.

I fiddled with the ruby on my choker.

Should I have said no to his question about whether it was a precious object?

With the inscription on the back and the fact that someone as extravagant as Belinda wore it all the time, I assumed it must have been given by someone special.

I must have burdened Sir Penadel unnecessarily. 

To break the awkward atmosphere, I changed the subject.

“By the way, Sir, I know you are supposed to wear that mask, but do you really have to?”

Fortunately, this time Sir Penadel reacted.

I glanced at him once and then at the passersby, gesturing for them to look away.

“They’re all avoiding you because they’re scared. What if someone small-minded mistakes you for a demon and attacks?”

“That’s kind of the point.”

“What?”

“Northern knights wear masks to warn people of the danger they pose.”

“……?”

What strange nonsense is this?

“I guess I didn’t explain it well.”

Sir Penadel tossed another cube of sugar into his coffee cup, stirring it with a teaspoon to dissolve as he considered his words.

“If a man in a devil’s mask commits murder, he shall be executed on the spot. Are you aware that there is such a law in this country?”

I had heard of it. But I thought it was just a metaphor for criminals or those with evil intentions.

But now, with Sir Penadel in front of me, wearing a literal devil’s mask, it sounded like it was referring to him.

‘No way…….’

“Monsters leave a curse of corruption on those who kill them. That’s why the Northern knights who hunt monsters are constantly exposed to the risk of going mad.”

My hand, tilting the coffee cup, stopped.

“That poison eventually kills even their humanity and changes their appearance. We call it ‘monstrification.'”

My mouth felt extremely bitter, so I put down the cup. I was craving something sweet.

“Corrupted knights have red eyes. Once the process of monstrification begins, there is no way to reverse it, so eventually……”

Sir Penadel stopped there, but I could easily guess what he would say next.

He tapped his mask lightly, the cold metallic sound piercing my ears.

“This is the mark of those who walk the line between demon and human. If someone wearing this mask goes mad and commits murder…..”

The surroundings were noisy, but Sir Penadel’s subdued voice resonated strangely well, and I found myself staring at the eyes beyond the mask, as if possessed.

“Think of them as demons, not humans.” 

Suddenly, I wished I could see those eyes in bright sunlight. Those dark, shadowy eyes must be a vivid blue in the sun.

“I can vouch that you are not insane, so…….”

When I told him to take off the mask and reached out with my hand to his face.

Boom!

Before I knew it, the sun had set, and colorful fireworks lit up the darkened night sky.

It was the cannon announcing the start of the parade.

For a moment, my senses sharpened.

‘Leo!’

I quickly looked around the square, but it was already filled with dancers announcing the start of the parade.

The parade had started earlier than planned, and those who hadn’t made it out of the square were stranded under the central clock tower.

I quickly spotted Leo standing in the middle of the dancing crowd.

“Over there! There’s Ratchet over there.”

Although he managed to hold his position now through his experience during the day, he might be swept away by the crowd once the parade started in full swing.

Sir Penadel, gauging the direction from my gesture, offered me a polite hand.

“I will escort you.”

“How?”

My gaze wandered through the dancing crowd. It seemed unlikely that I could push through them with just force. It also didn’t seem polite.

“Hand.”

Instead of answering my question, Sir Penadel politely held out his hand.

“……?”

I hesitantly took his hand.

Soon I felt another hand firmly wrapped around my waist, and I was standing very close to Sir Penadel, with just enough room for my fingers to slip through.

Before I could assess the situation, my body moved first. Following Sir Penedel’s lead, my body naturally stepped forward.

As we gracefully moved forward, swaying through the tangled crowd, the world spun around.

I exerted a lot of force into Sir Penedel’s entwined right hand.

The accompaniment was faster than I thought, and I couldn’t regain my composure as the world seemed to move quickly, leaving only me behind.

“We’re almost there.”

My gaze wandered frantically from Sir Penadel’s chest to his throat, settling on his jaw, lips, and eyes that were visible through the mask.

‘Ah.’

In an instant, a series of fireworks burst, illuminating the night sky with bright flowers.

Under the splendid fireworks, Sir Penadel’s pupils were a clear shade of blue.

Just like Leo’s.

“We have arrived.”

Stepping back politely, Sir Penadel turned to Leo, who had come running, clapping with excitement.

“Wow! You looked like a princess and a knight!”

In response to Leo’s innocent admiration, I realized a delayed flush was creeping up on my face.

Oh, my goodness, dancing. And with a man!

Unlike me, who was screaming inwardly, Sir Penadel seemed unperturbed.

Thanks to that, I managed to regain my composure and bent my waist to check if Leo was unharmed.

He must have seen us coming, because there was no sign of anxiety on his face.

I breathed a sigh of relief and pointed out one fact.

“Sir Penadel is already a real knight.”

“Ah.”

Leo’s embarrassed gaze shifted to the people who were beginning to gather around.

I turned to see where Leo’s gaze was directed.

A child around Leo’s age was excitedly jumping up and down, holding each of their parents’ hands.

“Um, Miss Belinda, Sir Knight.”

As if he’d made up his mind about something, Leo called out to us.

There was a crowd of people milling about, but I calmly waited for him to speak.

Leo hesitated for a long time, glancing cautiously between Sir Penadel and me, then whispered in a low voice.

“Would you mind putting a leash on me again?”

Ignoring the light chuckle that erupted from Sir Penadel, I gladly held Leo’s hand tightly.

* * *

To cut to the chase, we didn’t get to properly see the parade.

Leo, who was watching the parade with sparkling eyes, suddenly looked up at me and changed his mind, saying it was okay not to watch it anymore.

Apparently, he’d had enough people watching for one day.

Seeing Leo and Sir Penadel exchanging glances, I soon realized that the real problem was my physical condition.

Despite my exhaustion, Belinda’s poker face remained intact, but Leo and Sir Penadel seemed to notice that my previous lifestyle had made me weak.

I was embarrassed that I had less stamina than a child and insisted that I had to watch the parade to apologize to Leo, but it was no use.

‘We can see the parade next year, and the year after that.’

At Leo’s mature words, I instinctively glanced at Sir Penadel. 

I might not be in this country next year, or the year after that. Feeling a pang in my heart, I cleared my throat a few times and replied.

“Well, let’s see about that.”

At that moment, Leo’s hand clasped mine a little more firmly, and I hoped it was just my imagination.

Afterward, we decided to walk to where the carriage was waiting.

Perhaps because everyone had gone to the square to watch the parade, the streets were deserted.

The softly lit streets with magical lights were tranquil, and the cheers of the crowd echoed in the distance.

Even the journey back home became enjoyable, as Leo, holding onto my hand and Sir Penadel’s hand, swung his arms widely.

I summoned the status window and checked his stress levels.

The stress that had been steadily rising during Vivian’s magic class had decreased to zero.

It seemed that this outing had been very enjoyable for Leo as well.

‘I’m relieved.’

I felt at ease as I firmly held onto Leo’s small hand.

“Sir?”

Sir Penadel abruptly stopped and turned around, gazing into the distance.

Following his lead, I looked towards the quiet street where a faint darkness spread.

I felt a sense of unease when the streetlights that had been emitting a soft glow from afar suddenly lost their light.

Like a scene from a horror movie, the streetlights were flickering one by one from a distance.

“To a well-lit area. Run right now.”

I didn’t ask any more questions, just grabbed Leo’s hand and ran.