I Adopt The Male Lead - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

“Together?”

The two children looked at her puzzled, they had no other choice but to react that way.

It was Lord Lenque’s habit that wizards are solitary beings, and that magic enforcement and the consequences should be endured alone.

But Karina knew out there, the collaboration between wizards is taken for granted, and the simultaneous vision is not without it.

“Melissa is the one who builds the Homunculus, and Roland is the one who moves it.”

“I’m the one who… mold it?”

Melissa asked back with an unbelievable face.

“Yeah.”

Karina pulled a small lump of mud out of her waist pocket.

Roland took a breath.

“The Homunculus!”

“Yup.”

Karina put a strand of Lord Lenque’s hair, which was not difficult to find in the lab, into a mass of mud.

On the surface, it was just plain mud, but it gave her goosebumps as if the texture and warmth were squeezing the flesh of a living person.

After finishing the work, Karina handed the homunculus to Melissa.

“Melissa, do you remember how to do it?”

“I do.”

Melissa seemed nervous but not afraid.

She put the homunculus, which had been handed over from Karina, on her palm and concentrated her mind for a long time.

About a dozen minutes have passed. All three breathed in the bedroom that slowly began to fill with acrid smoke. It meant that Melissa was doing it right.

Karina still has her eyes on Melissa, keeping her alert until the end. If things went wrong, they had to take Melissa and the homunculus off immediately.

If taken late, Melissa could have been melted into a homunculus. When the smoke is so thick to the point where she can’t see anything, she felt a heterogeneous chill.

‘No!’

Karina ran to the window door to draw out the smoke and breathed a sigh of relief. This smoke was not very good for her health.

Both Roland and Melissa were so nervous that they forgot to cough, but if they didn’t ventilate properly, they might burst into tears in the acrid smoke that they couldn’t bear.

As the smoke slowly drained away, a perfectly molded Lord Lenque was revealed.

‘As expected.’

Karina knew the various aspects of Lord Lenque.

However, Lord Lenque to Melissa was no less than this award for torturing her under the guise of a kite.

Now, Lord Lenque, molded by Melissa, was a mad wizard with a distorted face.

Karina looked at the girl’s complexion, worrying that Melissa might have been overly frightened by the sudden appearance of Lord Lenque.

‘…?’

Karina’s eyes widened.

Melissa doesn’t scared look at all. Rather, her cheeks flushed and her eyes glistened more than ever.

“Good job, Melissa.”

“Really? Did I do well?”

Karina smiled and stroked Melissa’s head.

“Yeah. I can’t do any better than this.”

“…!”

Just before she shouted for joy, Melissa closed her mouth as though she thought they had managed to get ready to flee.

“Roland, are you ready?”

“I’m ready.”

Roland’s voice was much brighter, as if his sister’s success was also his success.

There was a rosy flush on his cheeks that were only been white before.

Roland closed his eyes quietly and focused his mind. Karina looked at Roland, more nervous than when Melissa molded the Homunculus.

She didn’t trust Roland’s skills.

Because she knew how painful it was to do magic for Roland now. Her heart ached with guilt that she might be causing unnecessary pain.

After a while, Roland did magic much more easily than in Lord Lenque’s lab, despite Karina’s concerns.

The Homunculus, who had the appearance of Lord Lenque, stumbled at first, but soon came to walk with an exact imitation of Lord Lenque’s steps.

Roland spoke with a slightly uneasy face.

“The voice…”

“Don’t worry about that.”

Karina reassured Roland.

“I’ll take care of everything.”

They went down the stairs with the homunculus in front of them.

Roland had never moved the homunculus outside the lab before, but he was adept at manipulating things as difficult as walking down the stairs.

Fortunately, they didn’t run into anyone while they were going to the entrance of the mansion.

‘We gotta get out of here.’

There were still about two hours left between the time until Lord Lenque wake up.

But when Lord Lenque woke up and found out that all three of them had disappeared, Karina trembled, even if she doesn’t know what will be after them.

She and her two children will fall into a hell that they’ve never tasted before.

“Let’s go to the carriage.”

Karina whispered to Roland.

Fortunately, the stableman was in position.

“Master?”

The stable keeper blinked his eyes with a surprised face, covering his hands hurriedly behind him. Karina didn’t miss the firework cigarette leaf falling from his hand.

“Where are you going?”

Karina walked a few steps ahead of the homunculus, leaving the children behind.

“He can’t talk because of the constraints. He said he had an urgent experiment to do, so he asked me to go to the forest.”

“I see.”

The stable acquaintance had no doubt. There were various ‘pharmaceuticals’ under high-dimensional magic.

It was nothing compared to the constraint that one shouldn’t put his right foot on the ground or always speak as if one were singing.

“You’ll need a carriage.”

“Yes.”

Karina nodded. Roland and Melissa didn’t know how to ride a horse. It was common sense that children of both sexes should know how to ride horses.

But the brother and sister grew up in an orphanage without their parents altogether, and even after leaving the orphanage by their uncle Lord Lenque, they received only magic-related education.

The stable keeper skillfully prepared the carriage and horse. Except for the horseman, the cold-blooded Karina picked up a few words.

“The horseman… where…”

“Oh, he got a vacation. But the Lord thought it wouldn’t matter if he was a good horseman… Should I bring someone in?”

Karina shook her head. She didn’t want to be suspicious.

Furthermore, it will take quite some time to find someone to replace the horseman on vacation. They had to run as far away as they could before Lord Lenque woke up.

“I’m sure there’s no problem. I was just wondering because I couldn’t see him.”

“Okay, I’ll get going.”

The stable keeper bowed his head to the homunculus monk behind her as if Karina did not exist.

He went straight back to the stable without even checking if they were properly in the carriage.

His mind seemed to have been fixed to the illegal tobacco leaves.

Karina hurried the children into the carriage.

“Can you take the homunculus with me on the horseback?”

“Yeah, I can.”

Roland put homunculus on the horseback before Karina. Karina sat next to the homunculus, swallowing dry saliva.

Now the biggest problem remains. She has ridden a few horses, but never driven a carriage before!

Karina took a deep breath once.

‘I can do it.’

It was easier to ride a horse.

Whether it’s premature to fall and get hurt or not, she can just take care of her own body. But now, behind Karina’s back were two children who believed only in her.

If Karina fails, Melissa will die, and Roland will have a future of growing up as an adult with a terrible childhood.

‘And I’m going to die, too. Or live a worse life than death.’

Lord Lenque will never forgive Karina for trying to escape with his precious candidate.

She grasped the reins tightly.

The well-trained horse began to trudge.

She wishes she could run faster, but in the event of that accident, they’re stuck. As she left the gate, a windy forest path appeared.

As she is on her way downtown, the problem after that was bothering her mind, but the cold sweat in her hand that grabbed the reins was gone.

It would have been better if the road was straight, but it was bent everywhere, so she had to pull the reins to discharge and drive the horse.

Fortunately, the horse was well tamed, so he turned right when Karina pulled the right reins and left when she pulled the left reins.

Karina thanked the horse for every moment. The situation would have reached an uncontrollable point if she had been a bad rider.

After a period of indescribable time, they completely escaped the dreary forest, where the sun was not properly shining even in broad daylight.

Karina helped the children get out of the carriage after she counted the carriage in a dim corner. The uproar in the noisy village devoured them.

A shabby-colored woman and two children getting off the fancy carriage would have looked quite gossipy, but the villagers were busy doing their work so no one looked at them.

“Are we here?”

“No. We still have a long way to go.”

They just managed to get out of the woods. It’s about time Lord Lenque woke up. She had to get out of this small town as soon as possible.

“It’s time for Lord Lenque to wake up.”

“Ah!”

Melissa opened her eyes wide and climbed up to the seat of the horseman. The next moment, Lord Lenque, who was sitting in the dark horse seat, quickly turned into a lump of mud.

Karina patted Melissa’s head without a word, then put the lump of mud into her pocket. There might be another day when they’ll need it again.

“Now let’s leave. We’re going to a place where Lord Lenque can’t come after us.”