Guiding the Male Lead out of His Trauma - Chapter 49.2
Although Uskal had stopped its petty skirmishes, that didn’t mean we could rest easy without any battle.
Late afternoon.
Mitchel, who had been summoned by the platoon leader, returned after nightfall.
I didn’t know what kind of orders he had received, but he poured all his irritation and anger onto Acteon.
“I knew something was off the moment an S-Class showed up. Who the hell did you piss off? I heard it was the Crown Prince who sent you here. Is that true?”
I was about to step in, thinking Acteon might get unfairly blamed, but he accepted Mitchel’s resentment and spoke up before I could intervene.
“It’s true.”
“…Seriously? What the hell did you do to make the Crown Prince torment you like this?”
“What orders were given?”
It had been me who pulled one over on the Crown Prince.
But Acteon had gone along with it and made things worse by showing that he couldn’t be controlled, and to top it off, the Brondearn family got involved, clearly provoking the Crown Prince far more than anticipated.
Mitchel threw the documents he’d received from the platoon leader onto the table.
The moment I read them, curses rose up in my throat. I was definitely becoming a product of this place.
“Retake Mervaille? They want… less than twenty of us to handle that?”
An absurd plan. A ridiculous order.
There’s no way this came from the platoon leader.
I would bet my barely spared life that the one who issued this command was none other than Crown Prince Sibellin, far above the platoon leader in rank.
Uskal had one S-Class Transcendent, along with an S-Class Guide who worked with them.
However, they were currently engaged in a skirmish along the Uskal–Zenabart border, so they couldn’t be sent here.
Glock Brondearn was also keeping close tabs on Zenabart, which possessed the largest number of S-Classes.
And now, Acteon had awakened as a new S-Class.
In short, the Crown Prince wanted to use this moment—while Uskal’s S-Classes were focused on Zenabart—to reclaim Mervaille from Uskal.
‘The fact that Acteon awakened as an S-Class has probably already leaked to both countries.
But Acteon hasn’t officially revealed himself yet. He’s participated in a few skirmishes with Uskal, but never in a way that showed his face. It wouldn’t be enough for them to confirm his identity.’
But now, the Crown Prince intended to publicly reveal Acteon’s capabilities.
to them.
“The necromancer is an A-Class Transcendent. But since their magic manipulates large numbers of corpses, they’re a difficult opponent even for someone of the same rank… That’s why you were sent.”
The mission to reclaim Mervaille.
It wouldn’t be too overwhelming for Acteon.
The rank difference alone gave him the upper hand, and he could handle wide-area attacks.
But still…
‘Bansi… told us to conserve mana as much as possible.’
This operation would require significant mana usage from Acteon.
Far more than any of the minor skirmishes before.
I could help stabilize him, sure, but.
‘What Bansi said keeps bothering me.’
I still didn’t know why they were so reluctant to use mana.
Considering she brought it up while Mitchel was gone, it was likely Mitchel harbored trauma related to mana usage.
And for Bansi and the others to avoid discussing it so completely… it must be serious.
As Mitchel continued scolding Acteon, I stepped forward and took hold of his sleeve.
“Acteon, if you need stabilization, tell me right away.”
While Mitchel turned his frustration onto Bansi, Acteon leaned toward me without Mitchel noticing.
His face was a little close.
“You’ll help me this time, too?”
“This time? When did I ever…?”
The only time could’ve been during his second awakening.
And what I did then was… kiss him to stabilize him.
Suddenly, my face grew hot.
Those eyes, filled with blind emotion.
He gave me a soft smile with that look in his eyes.
My words caught in my throat, and I couldn’t offer any response.
I wondered if the tips of my ears had turned red again, even though I knew they couldn’t have.
Bansi… your warning came too late.
This guy had already been catching my eye for a long time now.
No matter where those feelings started from.
It was already too late to avoid being entangled with him. Even I knew that.
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* * *
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And then came the reclamation mission.
Just as expected, Acteon retook Mervaille from Barmos without a single injury.
His performance was impressive. Terrifyingly and chillingly so.
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