Adopting the Male Protagonist Changed the Genre - Chapter 63

The festive atmosphere had spread to the vast park established in the south of the royal capital, where families and couples were enjoying a peaceful evening.
We blended into the crowd, leisurely taking a stroll.

During our walk, Sir Cherry suddenly called out to me.
“Lady Blanche.”
I stopped in the middle of a small stone bridge and turned to face him.

With a serious expression, Sir Cherry spoke.
“You shouldn’t show such excessive kindness to someone you’ve just met. I’m worried you might be unjustly taken advantage of later.”

What is he even saying, this naïve man?

He doesn’t take a single penny for his service, yet he’s guarding me.
He wasn’t a particularly talkative man, but it seemed he had been keeping such thoughts to himself all along.

“Just shut up and chew on this.”
I silenced Lord Cherry by stuffing one of the cloud snacks I had bought to give to Leo into his mouth.

Lord Cherry, looking like he had a lot to say, quietly chewed on the cloud snack.

At that moment, the vibrant autumn leaves blended with the sinking sunset on the horizon, painting the world in shades of red.
I found myself gazing at the handsome figure slowly turning scarlet, and suddenly asked,
“Sir, do you know why your nickname is Cherry?”

His eyebrows furrowed slightly at my unexpected question.

“I can’t remember; I was too young.”
“I think I might know the reason. Bow your head a little.”
As I gestured with my index finger, Sir Cherry lowered his head without hesitation.
However, there was quite a height difference, so I had to tilt my own head for quite some time to meet his gaze.

It wasn’t an illusion.
His eyes, tinged with the glow of sunset, shone a bright, cherry-like red.
At first glance, they seemed as cold as ice crystals, but now they appeared sweet and ripe, like juicy fruit.
His parents must have seen this sunset-hued gaze and given him the nickname Cherry.
At that moment, my unfiltered thoughts slipped out of my mouth.
“Your eyes… are very red.”

At that instant, Sir Cherry abruptly turned away, covering his eyes with his hand.
I blinked in surprise.
It was just a fleeting moment, but it seemed that some emotion flickered in his eyes—an emotion I never expected to see from him.
“Sir Cherry? Did something get in your eye?”

“No, please just stay as you are for a moment.”

Sir Cherry couldn’t seem to remove his hand from his eyes.

In that moment, his voice from the festival’s first day echoed in my mind, when he had talked about the reasons why northern knights wear masks.

“Corrupted knights have eyes that turn red. Once the transformation begins, there’s no turning back, and ultimately…”

It was only then that I realized the rude mistake I had made.
The fleeting glimpse of emotion I saw in his eyes was undoubtedly fear.
I quickly stepped toward him, opening my mouth to speak.
“Sir Cherry, that’s not—”

But Sir Cherry seemed to ignore my words, retreating as I approached and speaking firmly.
“I’m sorry.”
“That’s not what I meant—”
“I’ll keep my distance for a moment.”

“Hey! Just listen!”
I glared at Sir Cherry, who kept stepping back as if he were a frightened animal.
“If you back away any further, I’ll have to get you fitted for new clothes and accessories from head to toe.”

He hesitated for a moment.
Fortunately, my threat seemed to have worked; he stopped retreating.
I spoke gently but firmly, like handling a scared puppy.
“Put your hand down and come here. Right in front of me.”
“But…”

“You’ll need a mirror. So come here. You want to see your eyes, don’t You?”

Only then did Sir Cherry approach slowly, like a wary wolf.

Finally, when there was just a step’s distance left between us.

I swiftly pulled his collar and yanked him towards me.
Our faces were so close that our noses almost touched.
He could have easily pushed my hand away, but even in this moment, he refrained from using his strength against me.
I stared at his sunset-colored eyes without blinking.
Just as I could see my reflection in his eyes, he must have been confirming his own image in mine.

“The red eyes tinted by the sunset look as tempting as a cherry, which is why you probably have that nickname.”
“……”
“That’s what I meant to say. But is it that difficult to listen to someone until the end?”
“……No.”
“From now on, make sure to listen to people until they finish speaking.”

Only then did I let go of Sir Cherry’s collar.

I had gripped it so tightly that his collar was in disarray.

I was the one who made a verbal slip, yet it turned into me cornering him.

However, Belinda never apologizes, so I couldn’t afford to act carelessly and say I was sorry.

Feeling uneasy, I walked ahead without looking back at Sir Cherry.

* * *

The carriage carrying Cedric and Belinda arrived at the Blanche residence in the late evening.

As Belinda, escorted by Cedric, was about to step into the mansion, she turned to look at him.
Letting out a light sigh, she looked up at him directly and asked,
“Sir Cherry, are you perhaps returning to the North with the Grand Duke?”
Though the Northern Knights were renowned for their skills, Belinda found that her escort was perhaps excessively competent.
Despite being tainted, he had picked up on the fairy’s presence, which one normally wouldn’t sense at all.
Thus, she anticipated that he had shown his face to inform her that he would be returning to the North with the Duke.
So she had given him plenty of parting gifts as a way to express her gratitude in her own way.
However, even after arriving at the mansion, Cedric hadn’t mentioned anything about their parting.
On the other hand, Cedric had completely forgotten why he was spending time with Belinda, exposing his face like this, until she asked him.
This might be his last chance to reveal the truth in the capital.
Cedric hesitated before finally opening his mouth.
He couldn’t let this opportunity slip away. He should confess everything.
Perhaps this was the right moment to speak the truth, as Belinda had said.
Finally, Cedric spoke.
“No, I am not.”
Only after he spoke did he realize what he had just done.
But there was no taking back the words he had already said.

At that moment, he couldn’t help but notice a faint smile blooming on Belinda’s lips, like a crescent moon.
“That’s good. Maybe we’ll see each other on the streets sometimes.”

With those last words, Belinda turned around without hesitation.

Cedric watched her enter the annex until she was out of sight before he finally moved.
As he stepped away from the Blanche residence, he carefully unraveled the gifts he had received from Belinda throughout the day.

A pair of cufflinks that resembled the color of his own eyes.
A brooch inlaid with amethyst that matched the color of Belinda’s eyes.
Winter leather gloves made of lambskin and an intricately crafted pocket watch.
Handling each luxurious piece with care, Caesar finally spoke.
“Penadel.”

At his call, a middle-aged knight who had been hiding under the shade of a tree emerged.

Cedric furrowed his brow for a moment at the sight of Penadel without his mask, but soon realized he was in no position to say anything.

Instead, he dryly addressed his aide, who had an expectant expression.
“I’ll leave the north in your hands for the time being.”

Penadel’s hand paused as he was about to hand the mask to Cedric.

Looking at his lord with a strange expression, Penadel soon replied vigorously.

“I will gladly accept that command.”