Adopting the Male Protagonist Changed the Genre - Chapter 32

Call it instinct.

‘Go to a well-lit area he said.’

I recalled the optimal path I had obtained through ‘Fragments of Belinda’s Memories’ in my mind.

Our current location was Barset Street.

If we took just one alley, we would immediately reach Gold Street, where the parade was taking place.

‘Although it’s information from Belinda’s childhood memories, which is over ten years old, it can’t be helped…….’

Down below, the main street.

“Ratchet, we’re going to take the third alley!”

“Yes, yes!”

Leo shouted, running after me without understanding a word.

I looked back to see if Leo was keeping up and immediately regretted it.

I saw the identity of the thing that was approaching us, devouring the light as it went.

It was a massive crow. No, it would be more accurate to call it a flock of crows.

Dozens of crimson eyes flashed menacingly in the darkness.

In Sir Penadel’s hand, with his back to us, was a sword that glowed blue in the darkness. However, it seemed inadequate to face such a gigantic threat.

But we couldn’t stop our legs.

I yelled at Leo, who was trying to turn around to look back.

“Never look back, just run!”

Using every ounce of remaining strength, I moved my legs, but our speed was gradually decreasing.

Before I knew it, Leo, who had been behind me, suddenly surpassed me and began pulling me along as we ran. To think that an eight-year-old had more stamina than me.

‘If we make it home safely, I need to start exercising.’

Breathing heavily, we finally entered an alleyway.

From behind, we could hear the flapping of crow’s wings and the dreadful cries of the birds.

“Miss Belinda, I see the street over there!”

Following Leo’s shout, a bright light spread from the end of the dark alley.

It was where the parade was happening. Just ten steps ahead.

Sounds of birds pouring into the alley filled the air.

Seven steps ahead.

From nearby, we heard the flapping sound of the crow’s wings.

Five steps ahead.

Unintentionally, I looked back, and I had a premonition.

That it was already too late.

Before we could leave the alley, we would be surrounded and trapped by those creatures.

Three steps ahead.

I looked at Leo’s back as he ran ahead…

Two steps ahead.

He broke free from my grasp…

One step ahead.

I forcefully pushed his small back out of the alley.

“Miss Belinda?”

As Leo stumbled and was pushed forward, the vibrant light of the festival poured down onto his forehead.

‘Oh, I hope he doesn’t fall and hurt himself.’

I thought that as I wrapped my head with my hands.

What’s the big deal? It’s just a peck from a bird. Would I die from that?

I clenched my teeth, preparing for the pain that was to come.

“Miss Belinda!”

Thump.

With a bursting sound, the surroundings darkened, and a familiar scent suddenly filled the air.

“It’s okay now.”

The low, deeply comforting voice coming from beside me brought such relief that I almost lost strength in my legs.

I placed my hand on his firm chest and barely managed to support myself.

Sir Penadel tucked me into the hem of his coat and spoke in a calm voice.

“Don’t move like this for a moment. That was a shadow crow; it dwells in dark places. So, you need to protect yourself from the shadows.”

The resonating voice from his broad chest helped me regain my composure.

I tilted my head to look up at Sir Penadel, but as always, all I could see were his masculine jawline and thick neck.

I mustered my voice and asked, “What about Ratchet?”

“……The child is unharmed.”

Ah. Thank goodness.

Finally, the tension released, and I leaned my forehead against his chest, taking a deep breath.

“You’re late.”

Oh, no, this isn’t it. I wanted to say so much, but words of reprimand came out first.

However, Sir Penadel calmly apologized in his usual voice, which revealed nothing of his true feelings.

He pulled me carefully into his arms and led me out of the alley.

“Miss Belinda!”

No sooner had I pulled back the hem of Lord Penadel’s coat and pulled myself away, than Leo ran up to me and threw himself into my arms.

“T-The monster crow was coming, and Miss Belinda, you blocked it, so the knight… I ran too fast, and then the feathers…”

Leo stammered through his tears.

The little hand that clutched desperately at the hem of my skirt spoke for the anxiety and fear the child must have felt.

“Ratchet.”

I called out to Leo in a low voice, bending down to be eye level with him.

I gently wiped the tears from the corners of Leo’s eyes with my fingertips and soothed him.

“Sniffle.”

“….”

“Sob. Sniff.”

Leo sniffed once and barely managed to swallow his tears.

With tear-stained eyes and pursed lips, his appearance was pitiful, and I wanted to hold his wet body tightly and comfort him, patting his small back.

But all I could do right now was…..

“Speaking of which, Ratchet, that was pretty good. That was very brave of you to run away like a rat.”

I spoke in a slightly teasing tone, not sure if it was sarcasm or praise, as I gently stroked his small head.

But I did so very cautiously, emitting an aura that said, “I won’t hurt you.”

“But… I couldn’t… do it…”

Leo’s head, as he murmured incomprehensibly, drooped lower and lower.

Seeing him avoiding my touch, I reluctantly withdrew my hand with a sense of regret.

Then, with my empty hands awkwardly gathered in front of me, I called out to Sir Penadel.

At first glance, he didn’t appear to be hurt, but he seemed quite shaken by the sudden attack, so I asked him to carry the child.

“Put this rat-like Ratchet on your back.” 

As always, the translation of the Belinda Translator was merciless.

***

In case of a second attack, Belinda and her companions walked along the well-lit streets to where the carriage was parked.

The streets were filled with excitement from the festival and parade, but Cesar, while escorting Belinda, skillfully distinguished between humans and non-human entities.

As expected, in the darkness of the complex and branching alleys, the shadow crows that Cesar had not yet eliminated were lurking.

Shadow crows, in fact, were creatures that posed a headache for extermination due to their ability to continue multiplying unless their core was eliminated, rather than due to individual aggressiveness.

They were not usually seen in the middle of a city like this.

Perhaps it escaped from a traveling circus visiting the capital during the Founding Festival.

But if that wasn’t the case, the situation was more serious than expected.

Cesar briefly glanced at Belinda’s profile.

Her cold expression exuded the usual sharp and intense atmosphere, but now he understood.

“What about Ratchet?”

“You’re late.”

Even when asking about the well-being of the child, it was before considering her own safety.

Even when she found a place to rest her weary body, her expression remained unchanged.

Belinda’s mask was so sturdy that to infer her inner thoughts, one had to observe her actions rather than words or expressions.

That was what Cesar had learned while being with her.

That’s why the smile that unknowingly bloomed like a winter flower the day before might be more memorable.

‘What am I thinking?’

Cesar shook his head to clear his thoughts.

And in a voice so small that Belinda couldn’t hear, he awkwardly opened his mouth.

“Ratchet.”

At that moment, the warmth that had been leaning against his back trembled.

Leo had been picked up by Cesar, unable to resist his master’s icy gaze, and Belinda’s shawl had been pulled over his head.

Belinda thought the child had fallen asleep, relieved, but Cesar knew otherwise.

He spoke quietly.

“You’ve been very brave today, saving your master from harm, you should be proud of yourself.”

“…… But.”

The boy’s whisper was mixed with sobs.

“I couldn’t protect Miss Belinda…”

The pang he felt when he let go of Belinda’s hand was still fiercely pounding on Leo’s small heart.

He knew that Belinda pushed him away to save him, but still, he should not have let go of her hand.

But despite that, Belinda gently stroked his head as if praising him, and his sword master complimented him.

He couldn’t look up, as if he had cheated, but his face burned with the desire to respond.

Unaware of Leo’s confusion, Cesar asked him a simple question.

“Why are you so protective of your master?”

Because.

To be a good servant, of course.

If I can’t be a good enough servant to satisfy Miss Belinda, then I’ll be useless…….

‘Then Belinda won’t need me.’

He would once again lose a place to stay.

But while thinking that, Leo couldn’t utter a word.

“…….”

Was that all there was to it?

A small doubt sprouted.

The day he coincidentally witnessed the confrontation between Sybel and Belinda, the day the thunder roared fiercely.

Was that the same day he had decided to protect Belinda?

“I’m…….”

Leo’s words faltered, and Cesar’s low voice reached his back.

“It’s okay to find the answer slowly.”

With those words, tension finally left Leo’s body.

The child pressed his forehead against his sword master’s back and pondered, murmuring all along.

In the midst of it all, he forgot to tell Cesar.

The fact that he witnessed a single, unusually red and large crow’s feather melting into Belinda’s shadow.