Adopting the Male Protagonist Changed the Genre

I watched the scene carefully.

“What is the festival held to celebrate?” Leo asked.

“It’s to celebrate the king who founded this country, defeated the monsters, and brought peace to the continent.”

The way she answered Leo’s question was natural and fluent.

Her freckled face was not unfamiliar to me. While most of the maids showered me with various compliments and flattery, sending strange jealous glances toward Leo, she was always kind to him.

I raised my hand, signaling the maids to stop their preparations, and discreetly pointed to the maid who was conversing with Leo.

“You, what’s your name?”

“I’m Mary.”

“Come here and finish my hair styling.”

There was a brief hesitation among the maids.

My words were like reordering their ranks. It meant that I valued Mary more highly than the others.

Mary received everyone’s attention and stood behind me. Then, she cautiously spoke up.

“Miss, may I trim the ends of your hair a bit and change the decoration?”

The surrounding maids looked at Mary as if she had gone mad.

I nodded without hesitation.

“Go ahead.”

Soon, Mary gently trimmed the ends of my hair and tied a ribbon after styling it.

I didn’t think it was anything special.

Until I noticed that my headdress was a matching accessory to the one on Leo’s beret.

Oh, look at Mary. She has a good sense of style.

“You’re good at this.”

“Thank you.”

It was the perfect chance to have a capable maid. Being kind to Leo and observant as well?

I should observe her for a while to see if she’s suitable to be by my side.

* * *

“So, Mary, you’ve completely changed sides, haven’t you?”

On the way back from the annex to the main building.

The maids who had gathered to return to the main building all turned their attention to Mary.

In response to their sudden interest, Mary simply smiled nonchalantly.

‘From now on, you’re going to have to keep in line. If you make an effort to support me, even old jewelry will be given to you.’

The day the former marquis’s will was opened.

Belinda’s words sent ripples through the servants, who cheered for her departure.

The tension was palpable, especially among the maids.

Just by catching Belinda’s eye, they could become her exclusive maids when she got married.

A maid brought in from the main house by the mistress of a family enjoyed privileges different from regular maids because of her master’s trust.

Mary, who had worked harder than ever to win Belinda’s favor, was always a step ahead of the rest, and played with a boy called Belinda’s servant.

“Lady Belinda’s servant, have you seen his clothes? I thought he was some kind of nobleman.”

“I mean. If I had known he would enjoy such privileges, I would have volunteered.”

“What about the girls who used to serve her before? Did you forget what happened to them?”

“Yes. Don’t be fooled, everyone. It’s obvious that she doesn’t care for her servants but keeps them around like they’re dolls to play with. You saw the way she glared at them earlier.”

“And the name she gave him. Ratchet.”

Mary, standing slightly apart from the group of maids who were whispering, walked away.

As they arrived at the dining hall, she discreetly spoke to one of them.

“I’m not feeling well today, so I think I’ll rest in my room.”

“Really? Do you want me to go and get you something to eat?”

“No thanks.”

With that, Mary parted ways with the others and instead of heading to her quarters, she took the staircase used by the employees and headed for the office on the second floor.

After looking around the corridor to make sure no one had seen her, she knocked on the office door exactly four times before cautiously opening it and stepping inside.

She glanced at Sybel, who hadn’t taken his eyes off his papers at her visit, and then bowed deeply.

“The lady is off to enjoy the festivities in the square.”

The pen that was busy moving across the paper stopped.

Finally, Sybel looked up at Mary.

“She went to a festival for the commoners rather than the nobles’ party?”

“Yes, I’m sure of it, as she even took her personal servant with her.”

He didn’t answer. Muttering quietly, Sybel rubbed his chin.

“What about the newcomers?”

“Nothing out of the ordinary. The young butler rarely comes out of her room, and it’s hard to see her face. The person called the butler is nothing more than an assistant seamstress who used to work in one of the dressing rooms.”

“Where on earth did she find them?”

Mary spoke politely towards the nervously muttering Sybel.

“And I brought what you mentioned.”

Soon, she took out a bundle of hair tied with a ribbon from her pocket.

A flash of excitement passed through Sybel’s eyes as he saw the reddish hair.

“That was well done. It must not have been easy to deal with a difficult child. Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No.”

“Good, continue taking good care of my sister.”

With that, Sybel handed the aide standing nearby a heavy bag of money.

For the first time, a wicked smile crossed Mary’s dignified face.

With her head bowed, she took the payment for the information from Sybel’s aide and then left the office as quietly as she had arrived.

It was not until the sound of her footsteps had completely faded that the aide who had been at Sybel’s side the entire time spoke up.

“The Northern Knight is staying longer than expected. I will secretly send someone to investigate the situation in the north.”

“No, that won’t be necessary. Belinda isn’t trying to marry into the Baluasten family, as you seem to think. Even if she coveted the position of Grand Duchess, she wouldn’t want to rot in such a barren and deserted land.”

Sybel was convinced.

Belinda, who was accustomed to the luxurious culture of the capital, would despise the barren north.

However, it was necessary to confirm why the Northern Knight was escorting Belinda and what kind of deal had taken place between them.

“First, let’s assess his skills. Whether he’s truly a capable swordsman to protect Belinda. Bring it here.”

The aide drew the curtains on the window to make the room dark, then brought in a cage covered in black cloth.

“He hasn’t had a drop of water for three days since hatching, so he’ll eat anything we give him.”

Sybel roughly pulled off the cloth from the cage.

Inside, a baby crow, unable to even open its eyes properly, crouched as if dead, gasping for breath.

Sybel tossed Belinda’s hair through the bars of the cage.

Immediately, the crow lifted its head and sniffed the scent before eagerly devouring the fallen hair.

Finally, after devouring all the hair, the crow opened its eyes.

Its red eyes, glowing with a strange light, darted around before it lost its temper and began to peck at the cage.

“I see you can’t wait to eat the owner of this hair.”

It was said that demons cannot be tamed by human hands, but by utilizing their instincts, they could perform their duties splendidly.

For example, shadow crows.

They had the instinct to devour their parents as soon as they opened their eyes.

Some assassins took advantage of this instinct and fed parts of the target’s body to newborn crows, causing them to recognize it as their parent and pursue the target.

The crow flapped its wings eagerly, making sharp noises.

Sybel gently whispered, as if handling an adorable pet.

“When night falls, I will send you back to your parent. Peck at their flesh, chew on their bones, and swallow them whole.”

***

The Kingdom of Genos, a country of luxury and pleasure.

Located in the land of Monteo, known for its blue gem, Genos Kingdom was a renowned tourist destination in the continent, drawing people from other countries who came to enjoy the grandest casino.

Among them, the season with the highest influx of tourists was autumn. It was because throughout the entire month of October, festivals, both big and small, and various events were held without a day of rest in different parts of the kingdom.

It was all to commemorate the victory of the Great Demon War, which had brought peace to the continent, 700 years ago.

To be more precise, it was a festival honoring the founding king of the Genos Kingdom, who led humanity to victory in the war against the demons.

He was a legendary hero who was always at the forefront of humanity’s war against the demons, unleashing a massive cross-country battle that drove the demons to the edge of the continent.

Although he succumbed to a mental illness in his final years and ruled with tyranny, executing half of the kingdom’s population, the pride and respect of the people towards their king never waned.

And that was expressed every October through the annual celebration known as the Festival of the Great Demon War.

Leo walked between Belinda and the Northern Knight who was escorting her and looked around the festive streets.