I Corrupted The Good Male Protagonist - Chapter 13

“Is that…so. “

“So what did you do for him?”

“He wanted to go to school so I paid for a year’s worth of his tuition. But he’s having a hard time to graduate because he has so many absences.”

Oh, come on. I snorted.

“That child doesn’t even know gratitude.”

Adele shut his mouth.

The boy no longer followed us as we entered another area. Adele gently broke the silence.

“Anastasia, make sure you close the window tonight.”

I looked at Adele curiously.

“Why all of sudden?”

“It’ll be a big deal if you catch a cold because of the rain and wind. And the sound of the rain will be loud.”

Ah, that’s right. He said it would rain tonight so I accepted.

“That’s true, but…”

Before I knew it, I began to see stores selling sour and sweet fruits. A little further from here was a busy street.

I was full of energy now, maybe the medicine has spread all over my body.

I think I could even win if I try arm wrestling with Adele. I’ll try it later.

As I looked around for the parfait shop, I could see a crowd of people a few meters ahead.

It was very noisy. I thought there was a big fight, but the woman who was stamping her feet suddenly looked at us with a pleased expression as if she was very glad to find us, or Adele rather.

“Lord Magnus!”

She ran straight to us. Then she grabbed Adele’s clothes and pulled them.

“Hey, the Marquis’ soldiers are bothering my uncle. Help me!”

That’s very rude.

While frowning, I focused on other topics thinking about Adele.

“Marquis Claude?”

“I suppose so.”

Adele agreed monotonously. Then the woman shouted loudly, still holding Adele’s jacket with one hand.

“Hey, you bastards! Let’s see if you can still do that in front of Lord Magnus!”

Those words signaled the other onlookers and everyone turned to us.

As the people stepped out of the way, space opened up, and the soldiers of the marquis were seen. I could also see a box of fruit that was overturned and a man caught in the back.

Anyway, since the Marquis was not a proper human being, that also turned out to be the case with his son and subordinates. But I heard that other aristocrats don’t quarrel with commoners who don’t do anything.

The people murmured.

“Look, it’s Lord Magnus.”

“I’m alive…You soldiers! You’re stuck with the Lord, aren’t you?!”

A voice with clear relief and victory was heard.

Adele, however, removed the woman’s hand in a polite and determined manner and began to walk in a different direction.

“Let’s go, Anastasia. We’ll get to the cafe in a little while.”

I was dragged along because I was holding Adele’s hand.

“Huh?”

“L-lord Magnus?”

The woman murmured vacantly, but Adele did not look back.

The Adele Magnus, whom people see, was extremely altruistic.

Adele always helped someone. He didn’t discriminate. He treated any person equally and sometimes, even better than himself.

As a high-ranking aristocrat, he was always consistent as if he was doing something natural, not [special] or [just to make himself feel good] to the poor.

At first, people distrusted Adele.

They thought that he was doing good things for his humble self-satisfaction anyway and that even if he did really felt a little bad, he would change like any aristocrat.

Most of them were reluctant to be helped by Adele and pretended not to know him, except for those who were in a very urgent situation. They thought that it would have ended after just a day or two.

But as it continued for years, people were shocked. They can no longer deny that he really was sincere.

One day, Adele became an idol of people. Other aristocrats began to judge that Adele was different, although they could not believe it.

Because it’s Adele. Adele here, Adele that.

Because Adele is the only one. But one day, they became a little bit over the top.

“My lord! My child has a fever, but we can’t pay the medical bills. Please help me.”

“I want to be a great person when I grow up. But I don’t have the money to buy books.”

I don’t know why they are all asking for money and being so persistent.

I dragged Adele, unable to hide my rotting expression. I thought it’ll be better just go back to the count, so I dragged him and now we’re on our way back.

Some people stuck to us while we were going back. Among them, most wore shabby clothes, but the words of the man who was passionate than anyone else were impressive.

“I heard that if I talk to Lord Magnus, you’ll give me money, but is that really true? What should I do for you to give me?”

Look at this guy.

As soon as I entered the count, I asked Adele outright.

“Something doesn’t seem right.”

Adele agreed.

“That’s right. I have a good memory, so I rarely forget the face I saw once, but I don’t know why a servant belonging to the Marquis’ family begs me while pretending to be a beggar.”

I became excited because I guess it right.

In the original novel, Ash Claude also had a precedent of instigating people to trouble Adele.

He was extremely disgusted with those of low status, but he also used them to harass Adele.

Ash encouraged people who dreamed of rising their status to ask Adele too much, and if Adele said no, he will take it as an excuse.

He will then, try to insult Adele, saying he was a hypocrite.

But one thing Ash overlooked was the fact that Adele was a lot more genius than he thought.

As it is now, Adele has already noticed that this is Ash’s doing.

At that time, though, it was before he committed a crime in earnest, and Olga, who was a relatively close friend of Ash, pleaded for her friend so he forgave him generously. Crazy. I can’t do that!

I asked Adele to confirm.

“Adele, you also think it’s Ash Claude who did this, don’t you?”

“I don’t think he likes me.”

“We can’t just let it go.”

We must avenge ourselves. I’ll make him very angry, humiliated, and embarrassed.

I chewed on my nails. What should I do? Should I leak information to people that Ash is distributing money?

No, then it’ll be difficult if Ash got angry at a place where there are young children. There’s no way that an identity discriminator like him will nicely return those who beg him.

Reflecting on my memory, I remembered Ash’s personality in the novel.

He was very proud of the fact that he was an aristocrat. He was also arrogant and inclined to look down on others.

Basically, he thought he was the smartest and best in the world. He was a sucker for flattery and enjoyed being obeyed.

Then it’s better to use a little childish and direct method…

Ah, and he was weak with women.

To be exact, [Beauty].

Suddenly a good idea came to me. But the possibility of it’s effectiveness was unknown.

“Adele, how long does the medicine last?”

Adele explained in a friendly tone even though I was talking about medicine out of the blue.

“Usually, your physical ability will rise extremely during the week after taking it, and you’ll completely be back before 10 days.”

Are you saying it lasts that long? I thought five hours at most would be the limit, but…..

What do you mean, your physical ability is going to increase more than that? It was a really extraordinary medicine.

“I’ve drunk something incredible…”

As I muttered, finding it ridiculous, Adele spoke.

“Once upon a time, when the nation was in an important war, it was said that the king bestowed that medicine to the warriors.”

“I-I see. Please tell the Duke, I said thank you.”

“The prevailing view is that it can delay the deterioration, even if it can’t cure the disease. That’s why my father is looking at how to manufacture it in large quantities.”

I doubted my ears.

“I really want to pretend I didn’t hear that. But isn’t it very precious? I think it’ll be expensive.”

At what I said, Adele looked as if she was wondering why I was worried about such useless things.

“When my father doesn’t want to work, he sometimes threatens His Majesty, that if he doesn’t give him a vacation, he’ll buy the whole empire, so it won’t be a problem if you see it’s working well so far.”

_{(t/n: lmao, their fathers are so cool. Anyway, please read this on novel updates if you’re nor reading it on my site hehehe)} 

How many gold coins does he have in his pile to say that?

“……I’m more afraid of the Duke than the Marquis.”

Adele took my words interestingly.

“Compared to the Marquis who gained power through assassination, my father, who only has a lot of wealth, is more frightening. It’s hard to understand from common sense, but it’s amazing to see such opinions constantly being heard.”

As he said, Marquis Claude had a bad reputation. The title bought with money, the reputation elevated through various crimes, and the violent and radical behavior that continues even now did not fit into a peaceful era.

Well, Ash was still doing well. He was at least friendly to the aristocrats, not as much as Adele, but anyway, he was quite popular because he was a genius and handsome.

He won’t come forward until Adele touches him, but he’ll be playing tricks on him.

“Well, back to the point, to what specific extent is my physical ability going up?”

“Even considering Anastasia’s usual stamina, I think you’ll be able to lift a bag of flour effortlessly.”

Oh, I’ll write a thank you letter to the Duke later.

“That’s good. Then can humiliate him as much as I can.”

I laughed and muttered.

“He’s attending the social club too right? When is the next meeting?”

All the children of the noble family, except me, who’s terminally ill, were in more than one social club. Thanks to that, it was easy to trace Ash’s whereabouts.

“This Wednesday.”

“Can I go there?”

Perhaps Adele would be free to enter any social club.

Since Adele’s evaluation was so good, even Ash was forced to send an invitation reluctantly when holding a meeting.

It was also explained in the original book that even at secret gatherings where only women gather, they constantly send invitations to Adele, half-jokingly, and half sincerely.

There was a strange look on his face.

“I had tons of invitations in the mansion, but can I ask you what you’re thinking?”

I shouted straight away.

“Of course I have to take revenge! He humiliated me.”

As he clenched his fist, Adele asked the second question with a strange expression.

“Is it because of me?”

“Of course. An insult to you is as good as an insult to me.”

“Then I..…”

I interrupted Adele.

“No, it would be much more hurtful for Ash Claude’s pride if I’m the one who came forward. It’s because Adele has never lost against him, but he’s going to be shocked if it’s me.”

I would pay the same for the man who laughed and insulted my hero’s* goodwill.

_{(t/n: this can also be translated as protagonist or male lead but hero sounds fitting so I think I’ll use that from now on.)}

If Adele simply wanted to donate, he would have sprinkled money on the street. I was madly angry that they looked down on Adele’s actions and ignored them.

How hard it is to consistently do good deeds either by yourself or by force. It has never been easier to be for others than for yourself.

The sacrifice was never light.

I felt like I was going to die of anger. The level of anger that I feel rising right now was different from the one I feel when I was reading it as a novel since I’m currently experiencing everything right now in person.

I asked Adele to be thoroughly prepared.

“By the way, can you use magic to build up muscles?”

“It’s possible for a while.”

I laughed like a villain.

“Alright, we’re going to put an end to this. No one will doubt it anyway.  By the way, I might take advantage of your image. Is that okay with you?”

“I’ll be looking forward to it.”

I asked for his understanding in advance, but Adele replied to me with a smile.

Ohhhh~ This is so exciting. I really like the dynamic between these two leads! Ah, so refreshing.