I Became the Male Lead who was Clinging onto the Female Leads

TL/Editor: Raei

Schedule: N/A

Illustrations: Posted in discord.

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Eugene's infiltration plan was straightforward.

"Use the secret passage."

When you're as wealthy as the Hobart Viscount, who controlled the region's riches, you end up constructing various structures, including hidden passageways.

The secret passage was part of this, designed to preserve the lives of nobles in disasters such as wars and fires.

Only the family's nobles and a handful of servants knew of its existence.

It was a long corridor, just wide enough for one person to pass through.

Entrances to this passage were scattered throughout the estate...

In the nobles' bedrooms, annexes, underground corridors, and a section on the periphery of the Hobart estate.

One such entrance was hidden near the largest tree surrounding the estate's perimeter...

Now, Eugene was hiding behind that large tree, observing the situation.

-So sleepy...

-You have night guard duty today, don’t you?

Behind the mask, two eyes watched the soldiers guarding the estate.

-Tired?

-Yeah.

-We're doomed.

-Definitely.

They bantered to alleviate the boredom of guard duty.

-What about that search?

-The missing elder a few days ago?

-What else? Of course, that.

-Well...

The questioned soldier looked around cautiously, then whispered to his comrade upon confirming they were alone.

‘What's that?’

Eugene immediately enhanced his hearing with magic.

-Honestly, that old man. He did nothing but leech off the family’s wealth.

-Is there a noble who doesn’t do that in this house?

-None. But that's not the point. It seems the Viscount had a grudge against the old man.

-So?

-This is strictly confidential...

-Tell me quickly. What is it?

The soldier lowered his already quiet voice.

-They said to just pretend to do the search mission.

-What? Really?

-Keep your voice down, kid. Someone might hear.

-Fine, I get it. But they really said to just pretend?

-Yes.

-Wow...

The listener sighed quietly.

-They don't even search for a missing elder? This family really has no integrity.

-I’m only here for the high salary. I have no respect for these people.

-Who would?

-Just looking at their greedy faces...

-Enough. We know it without saying.

The soldier patted his colleague's shoulder in empathy.

Seeing this...

Viscount Hobart might have a tight grip on the region itself, but Eugene couldn't help but think that the Viscount failed to capture the hearts of his own family members.

'Indeed.'

Considering his unsolicited advances towards Erika, it wasn't hard to imagine him behaving similarly with other women in the household.

'Enough of that.'

There was no need to concern himself with the search for an already deceased individual.

What mattered now was infiltrating the secret chamber.

'Let’s see.'

He needed to locate the hidden entrance in front of the manor without being spotted by the soldiers.

From listening to the soldiers' conversation and assessing their incompetence, he realized their capabilities were merely at the level of simple guards.

Knocking them unconscious wouldn't be difficult.

However, if he did, other guards discovering their unconscious peers would lead to a rigorous search, greatly complicating his infiltration.

Distracting the soldiers' attention was the priority.

Eugene gathered mana within his body and directed it to his fingertips.

Whoosh.

A small flame ignited at his fingertips.

He set fire to the bushes and swiftly concealed himself atop a tree.

---

Raei Translations

---

After a few minutes...

Whoosh!

The bushes caught fire, sending black smoke spiraling upward.

"What the-?"

"What's with this fire?"

The guards in front of the manor rushed towards the burning bushes in a panic.

That moment.

Swoosh.

Eugene leaped from the tree and reached the front of the manor.

"The entrance is in front of the oldest tree when facing the manor."

He recalled the memory in his mind and began sweeping away the sand on the ground.

A faint line between the earth appeared, outlining a circle just large enough for a person to enter.

'Found it.'

Now, he had to open this entrance without the soldiers noticing.

"Argh! It's hot!"

"Why won’t this go out?"

Looking back, the soldiers were fully focused on putting out the fire.

'I made sure the embers won’t die out easily.'

He had secured enough time.

All that was left was to open the entrance and slip inside.

The problem was that the entrance seemed designed to be opened only from the inside, with no visible means to open it from the outside.

The only thing visible was a line, barely qualifying as a gap...

'Have to make use of this.'

Eugene placed his palm on the gap and manipulated his mana.

Ssssss...

The wind generated from his fingertips entered the gap, forming a small bundle below the entrance.

In that instant, Eugene’s eyes widened as he unleashed a powerful burst of mana.

-Boom.

The wind inside the gap caused a small explosion.

The circular entrance slightly lifted.

'Now!'

Eugene grasped the entrance and lifted it.

A small space, just big enough for his body, was created.

He immediately plunged into the opening.

Upon entering the underground passage, Eugene was met with complete darkness.

It seemed the tunnel was designed with the expectation that one would bring a torch.

'No choice, then.'

Eugene cast a spell to summon a light source and hastened his steps.

Given that only a few knew of this passage, he didn’t encounter anyone.

He quickly reached his first destination.

At the end of the tunnel, he saw a circular solid line on the wall.

'It seems they're all connected this way.'

Eugene immediately pushed the entrance and stepped inside.

The space he entered was wider than the tunnel, with a paved path.

It was an underground corridor.

'Now, I need to find the right path.'

The underground corridor was connected to several buildings.

To reach the secret room he was looking for, he had to choose the correct path from the many forks ahead.

A wrong turn would lead him to an unintended destination.

'I must stay focused.'

Recalling all the information in his head, he had no choice but to move forward, navigating based on the structure and terrain of the underground corridor.

He heightened his senses to the maximum, keenly aware of any presence in the corridor, hiding whenever necessary.

Finally, at the end of his journey, Eugene arrived at his final destination without being detected by anyone.

A solid metal door blocked the entrance to the secret room.

On the door, a massive magic circle was drawn, emanating a faint mana.

It appeared to be a magic circle applied by a skilled mage directly onto the door itself.

'To open it, I'll have to utilize this...'

Eugene focused mana into his eyes and examined the magic circle closely.

Recalling that a magic circle is used to develop more precise and powerful magic of the same star, he deduced the purpose of the circle by its structure and form.

'A structure that gathers mana to unleash a rain of lightning...'

Got it.

This was the magic circle for the lightning attribute spell 'Lightning Rain.'

If he touched the circle and accurately deployed Lightning Rain, the door would naturally open.

Click.

Eugene placed his hand in the middle of the magic circle and closed his eyes.

It was his first time deploying a spell following someone else's magic circle, so he needed a bit more concentration.

Tzzzzt.

Eugene slowly channeled Lightning Rain, making sure there were no errors, following the structure of the magic circle.

Vvvvvv.

Blue light flickered along the lines of the magic circle.

The light flowed like waves through the circle, quickly filling it up.

'Done!'

In that moment, Eugene opened his eyes and removed his palm.

The blue light filling the magic circle flashed continuously.

The light converged at the center of the door, emitting a strong glow before disappearing in an instant.

Click.

A sound of something being unlocked came from the center of the door.

Creeeak.

The door of the secret chamber, unopened for decades, made a grating noise as it opened.

'Finally!'

Eugene had successfully opened the door to the secret chamber.

He immediately grasped both sides of the door and pushed it open.

A space wide enough for him to enter was created.

'What?'

But inside, another door and lock were revealed.

The lock was adorned with magical symbols, indicating it could only be opened with a specific key, a mana device.

'This is unexpected.'

Given that the previous Viscount Hobart had hidden all his secrets and misdeeds here, it made sense for there to be another lock behind the magic circle.

Given the wealth he possessed, breaking it in a short time seemed impossible, and Eugene's infiltration might have ended in failure...

'Fortune favors me.'

The magical lock showed no signs of mana.

Such mana devices lose their functionality if there's no flow of magic; unless it's an exceptional artifact, they require regular maintenance as set by the creator.

But this magical lock, left unattended for decades, was in a near-crumbling state.

It appeared that no one from the Hobart family had managed to breach the barrier of lightning attribute magic for generations, leaving the contents of the chamber untouched.

'Luckily for me.'

Eugene lightly struck the lock.

Thud.

The lock, weakened by time, broke apart and fell to the ground.

Eugene immediately opened the door and entered the secret chamber.

A musty, stale air prickled his nose.

"Achoo!"

'What kind of air is this...'

Eugene quickly pinched his nose and shut the door.

He wanted to open the door wide for ventilation, but he couldn't risk revealing his presence.

Thud.

With the door closed, Eugene surveyed the interior of the chamber.

His brow furrowed deeply.

The secret chamber, filled with a dank air, resembled a laboratory.

A massive experiment table was set in the center, with small animal bones and insects' carcasses to the left.

'What in the world was done here?'

Eugene shook his head in disbelief and looked to the right of the experiment table.

There was an old bed, and beside it, a large bookshelf.

The shelf was crammed with hundreds of books, but...

'There!'

He felt a strong intuition that evidence of the Hobart family's misdeeds lay there.

Eugene rushed to the bookshelf, quickly scanning the titles.

His eyes stopped on one.

-Human-Based Gu Manufacturing Methods (Volume 1)

He slowly reached out and pulled the book.

A cloud of musty dust billowed out.

Ignoring the dust, Eugene immediately opened the book.

'This is insane...'

Written in the book were methods for manufacturing Gu using humans as subjects.

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