Imprinted with the Obsessive Male Lead - Chapter 11

After the death of the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess ten years ago, Chase ascended to the position of Grand Duke at the age of fifteen. Fortunately, he had already passed his fifteenth birthday, so the title passed to Chase without much issues.

Because his father had been such a good man, there were deeply loyal subordinates by his side, so there were no particular issues with his rule. On top of that, he had been an exceptional child from a young age, and was far stronger than ordinary humans. That was because he was under the protection born of the contract between the previous Grand Duke and a wolf.

The sole heir who received the wolf’s blessing, to which mana did not apply. A strong man who feared nothing, who would not fall ill even when touched by mana, and would not turn into a monster. That was Chase.

However, those were personal circumstances, and even he could do nothing about land that had begun to be contaminated by mana. No matter how many approaches he tried for the sake of the territory’s residents who trusted and followed him, there was little to show for it.

In the first place, the origin of the problem lay with Grace, who monopolized purification magic and managed the Mage Tower. They sent purification mages to every territory, yet refused to send even one to the North, and that was how this situation came about.

Purification magic was rare. There were too few mages. Other places were more urgent. They piled on excuse after excuse, but the real reason was simple and childish. They wanted to take this opportunity to bring down Heinrich, their rival ever since the World Tree had still stood. That was all.

Knowing that Grace would never release a mage, Chase struck a deal with the Emperor. He completely annihilated a single band that targeted only large merchant guilds in the border regions and robbed them.

At first glance, dealing with a few thieves might not sound like much. But they were not simple petty criminals. For one thing, the group was enormous in scale, and they had even settled in three or four cities near the border, operating in a highly organized manner. They were a band of thieves so thorough that they shared information using their own codes and changed hideouts daily, making them extremely difficult to track.

Each time a merchant guild was hit, the damage was astronomical, so the Imperial family had even dispatched a knight commander in an attempt to resolve the issue. Yet even after deploying large numbers of knights, the pursuit failed time and again, and in the end, the Imperial family had given up on capturing them. That such a persistent thorn in the Empire’s side was wiped out in just one month.

Of course, it had not been easy even for Chase. But with the contamination level of the northern lands so precarious that a mana storm could erupt at any moment, he mobilized all of his subordinates and threw everything into suppressing the thieves. He had no choice. Once a storm occurred, nothing could be undone. Just like his parents’ deaths.

There was only one goal. To obtain a mage, no matter what.

And after all that hardship, what he got in return was me. It was irritating, but now I felt like I finally understood a little.

The North is a harsh land. Cold, barren, and even the passing wind is as sharp as a blade, it demands a strong vitality to survive. In other words, the mage Chase wanted had to be sturdy and not weak. That kind of condition had been attached. No matter how powerful one’s purification ability was, it’s useless if the person dies.

I understand it. I do. But I never thought that condition would take priority over purification ability itself.

On one side, they curse me for having filthy abilities. On the other side, they curse me for having a weak body. What exactly am I supposed to do?

But then, an unexpected remark came flying at me.

“Whatever happens, don’t die.”

At the overly gentle voice that suddenly cut in, I widened my eyes. I turned my head and met Chase’s gaze. It wasn’t certain because of the sunlight, but somehow his eyes seemed a little softer than before.

Did I look pitiful just sitting there? Since possessing Nita, I had been subjected to nonstop verbal abuse in a back room of the Grace estate. Hearing words that gentle for the first time made a wave of sorrow suddenly surge up inside me.

Just moments ago, he had acted like he was about to throw me out… It was hard to keep up with his mood swings, but still. No matter what, you really do have the blood of a gentle male lead in you…

“Here.”

At the word that followed after a pause, I tilted my head and asked.

“What?”

Did I mishear him?

“I said don’t die here. It’d be annoying if it became my responsibility.”

“…”

So I heard him right. My moment of emotion shattered into pieces. The tears of gratitude that had been welling up at the corners of my eyes immediately disappeared.

Seriously. I’ve been thinking about this since yesterday. Is there something wrong with his personality?

With my mood flipping instantly, I shot him a sideways glare.

“Got a problem?”

Chase looked back at me with eyes far colder than my own. Instantly overpowered, I hurriedly withdrew my gaze.