Chapter 104: Secrets, Surveillance, and Schemes

I had never seen such a beautiful woman before. The boy could feel his heart pounding wildly. For a long time he couldn’t take his eyes off the vividly colored cover until he slowly turned the page. It was the entrance of his paper girlfriend—a form that neither broke nor remained unscathed.

“…That was the first time I met Lilica.”

“I wish I hadn’t heard any of that.”

Lara stated frankly.

Karlahee opened and closed his eyes. After a nostalgic recollection of their dreamlike, fated first meeting, he slowly continued.

“Ever since, I craved another glimpse of Lilica—(loosely: I wanted to read the next volume) so I analyzed every detail from the day we met. And eventually, I discovered a pattern.”

“…You’re really going on with this?”

“It turns out that whenever I behaved like the Male Lead, a sweet reward called Lilica would literally drop into my lap. I acted and, just like that, my wish materialized.”

‘It was like dog potty training… Yeah, something absurd like that existed.’

‘I don’t really want to know that much.’

It wasn’t particularly fitting for either the Female Lead or the Male Lead, so this system had almost been forgotten. Who would have thought someone clever enough to catch on could actually exploit it, turning everything into utter chaos?

“I made a point to show up every time the Female Lead got into trouble, just to catch another glimpse of Lilica. But to do that, I needed expert personnel to monitor her every move and an agency to manage the system efficiently.”

‘Huh?’

It felt like he was about to reveal something monumental. But this wasn’t a mere illusion on Lara’s part.

“So I secretly set up the ’24-Hour Female Lead Observation Agency.’ With hundreds of thousands of magical cameras dispersed throughout the capital, they kept a close watch on the Female Lead and transmitted her location to me in real time whenever she was in danger.”

“……”

“I received the signal on my inbuilt antenna, which let me appear at just the right moment as the Male Lead.”

“…Isn’t that essentially illegal surveillance? Wow… that’s truly chilling… Wow… to think they were even around me.”

“No! I only used street security magical cameras! I’m serious… just trust me.”

But Lara heard nothing. With an author like the Emperor behind it all, it wasn’t long before the Persan Empire turned into a criminal haven. Just as Lara silently resolved to emigrate, a thud rang out—and turning around, she saw Karlahee kneeling.

“I can understand why you’d misinterpret this. I brought it up with this possibility in mind from the start…”

With a posture that epitomized utter dejection, he trembled as he continued in a choked voice.

“But I no longer wanted to hide secrets from you… I didn’t want to disappoint you. That’s when I decided to remove this antenna. From now on, I’ll only watch over you.”

“In this eerie atmosphere, that hardly sounds romantic at all! Aren’t I being watched too?!”

As if proposing, Karlahee looked up at her with desperate eyes, yet Lara’s gaze had already turned irrevocably cold. Wounded in heart, he collapsed before her, overcome with emotion.

“Hmph, the surveillance was handled by the agency—I merely received the signals. I swear… I’ve never personally spied on the Elinas. Not that it ever went well…”

“…Ah, alright.”

“Please… just believe me. Before I met you, I never paid any attention to real women…”

“So that’s how it was.”

These were not Lara’s words. At the main entrance of the Royal Knight Order building, Inyoung stepped forward. Wearing a short silver wig, none other than the cross-dressing knight Edgar III emerged.

“I always said you’d show up at the most improbable moments. How could anyone not suspect the Male Lead when he wasn’t even a shaman?”

Edgar III lowered his silver eyes calmly, though the sharp gleam in them cut like a sword’s edge.

“Who would have thought that the country’s top authority was committing privacy violations? How could a knight sworn to catch criminals pledge loyalty to a criminal?”

“Th-That is, I…!!”

“You’re unfit to be the Male Lead. How can secretly watching a loved one ever be considered romantic? I simply can’t understand it.”

Edgar III raised his hand and clutched his wig. As he pulled it down, his silver hair, once neatly gathered, cascaded down.

Karlahee, known for deliberately wearing a sparse wig to avoid harassment from his superiors, barely flinched. Still oblivious to the fact that he was a woman, he stood shocked as Lady Elina III boldly tossed aside her uniform top.

Only then did Karlahee, nearly fainting at the sight of Lady Elina III’s bandaged chest, stutter, “A-a woman…?” Lara shot him a disdainful glance, as if to say, ‘Took you long enough.’

“You can banish me if you want. I’ll renounce my knighthood and leave this empire within two days.”

Lady Elina III fixed her gaze on Karlahee, slowly parting her lips.

“And I will build a nation where one can become a knight without having to cross-dress. I’ll achieve what you never could.”

“Please, take me with you.”

No sooner had her declaration ended than a faint voice spoke from afar. Unnoticed until now, one of the cross-dressing female knights, Lady Yulbita Youngae, emerged from behind the main gate.

She wasn’t alone. Next to Lady Yulbita Youngae stood Mrs. Waron, Schurin Youngae, and other former influential Youngaes.

“During my time with the Knight Order, I realized that I began to miss my old self.”

“I’ll join you too. I might not be of huge help, but I want to use my experience as a former bandit leader to stir things up once more.”

“I too, who once made a name as a mercenary, had to sacrifice so much when I got married. I thought there was no turning back… but I was wrong.”

“Schomord Youngae, it’s thanks to you that you led us here.”

At that sudden call, Lara blinked in surprise as dozens of eyes fixed on her, as if she had become a pilgrimage site.

“Uh… I mean… I only happened to need a few new admission candidates…”

“No, it was you, Schomord Youngae, who persuaded us to join the Knight Order. We’re all grateful to you.”

“Oh, come on… don’t be like that.”

Waving her hand dismissively, Lara was soon approached by Lady Elina III, whose long hair swirled as she moved. In her characteristically blunt way, she reached out.

“Lara, you’re such a good friend.”

When Lara took her hand, Lady Elina III smiled for the first time—a bright, genuine smile.

“You’ll be staying here, right?”

“…Yeah, of course.”

“I hope you do well.”

With those parting words, Lady Elina III led dozens of cross-dressing female knights away. In the direction of the Female Lead, the burning red sunset blazed, and dozens of long shadows stretched behind—like a movie poster.

‘Are they really going to build a nation…?’

Lara stood dazed, thinking. No matter how grand the Female Lead’s plans were, she never expected nation-building. If this was the path to take, when would there be room for romance? As Lara’s anxiety mounted, a compassionate, divine voice resonated above.

‘So does this mean the novel is giving up on romance novels…?’

It felt too late to pin down the novel’s identity. Even if it stubbornly clung to romance, hashtags like #SingleFemaleLead and #PrivacyViolatingMaleLead would be attached.

‘We’re doomed.’

Misreading Lara’s cold gaze, Karlahee blinked tearfully as if wounded by those very eyes.

“Lara… I’ve disabled the antenna. You can even check by lifting your head… So please, don’t look at me with those eyes. I feel like a creepy otaku who gets despised just for carrying a dakimakura… It really hurts.”

“I’m actually being crept on. Why pretend otherwise?”

In response to Lara’s blunt remark, Karlahee bit his lower lip and a soft, hesitant voice emerged.

“Still, you’ll stick with me, right… even if I’m a creep?”

“Well, yeah, I guess.”

“Honestly, I was jealous… When I saw you roaming Suko with other men, heading off to Only Zone, or visiting Booko, jealousy nearly overwhelmed me. At first, I thought it was simply because one of my close friends was taken away… but it wasn’t like that.”

Karlahee lifted his head. With tears staining his cheeks, his face flushed so deeply that his embarrassment was almost palpable.

“Lara, I want to be the closest person to you. Not just as a friend, but as… as a man.”

“Phut.”

Feeling slightly impolite, Lara turned her head and chuckled. Despite his earlier claims of not being possessive, imagining his jittery, envious state made her smile a little.

“Can I take that as a confession?”

With a gentler tone, his eyes widened and, wiping away the tears, he shyly nodded.

Above them, as a sweet aura enveloped the couple, thunder cracked across the dry sky and a fierce wind roared.