How to Tame That Gentle Male Lead - Chapter 2.1
Alken seemed to be thinking for a moment. He too probably didn’t believe Eldis would remain idle like this. However, he might not have predicted the possibility of the imperial capital beyond the slums being destroyed. He crossed his arms, looked down for a moment, then met Resena’s gaze again.
“Understood. I’ll talk to Commander Daren as well, and I’ll keep watch myself. Of course, we’ll set up guards to prevent Tom Baker from escaping the slums.”
“Thank you.”
“I should be the one thanking you. You’ve pointed out something we might have easily overlooked. So, I’ll keep a close eye on His Highness the Crown Prince to ensure he doesn’t cause any worry.”
Only then could Resena feel relieved.
‘Alken is a person with a strong sense of responsibility. So he’s trustworthy. And Commander Daren Besserd of the Royal Guards, who seems close to him, should also be reliable. Now I can believe that the male lead won’t use his instant death technique.’
A smile naturally spread across her face. Alken looked at Resena like that and chuckled.
“Thank you for your consideration. Then I’ll be going now. We need to start the search quickly to find Tom Baker as soon as possible.”
“Yes. Good luck with the search. I’m truly grateful, Alken.”
With that, Alken gave a silent bow and turned towards the slums. After watching his retreating figure, Resena headed for her carriage. Her steps as she boarded the carriage were refreshing.
“Right. Since both Alken and Commander Besserd will be watching, I can expect that the male lead won’t use his instant death technique. It’s unfortunate that the female lead died, but there was nothing I could do about it…”
But suddenly, a different thought occurred to her.
‘If the female lead stops loving the male lead… Wouldn’t that prevent her from sacrificing herself for him and thus stop the world’s destruction? Maybe the male and female lead breaking up might be better for the future.’
But soon, a chuckle escaped her.
This is a world inside a novel, after all.
‘The male and female lead breaking up is nonsense.’
“How silly of me. What a foolish thought.”
Resena leaned against the carriage wall, resting her chin on her hand. Nodding off in the comfortable carriage, she grinned.
And so, she thought everything would turn out fine.
Until a few weeks later.
Right before being engulfed by the white orb that covered the imperial capital.
***
“Gasp!”
Resena shot up in bed and grabbed her arm. Her body, which had turned to dust in an instant, was intact. Unable to control her trembling, she sat still in a daze, her breathing becoming rapid, forcing her to take several deep breaths.
“Just what…”
It seemed the male lead couldn’t bear losing Lorona after losing his acquaintances. If that was the case, she should have at least told her, ‘Don’t try to resolve everything through sacrifice.’
‘In the end, Tom Baker escaped from the slums!’
Trying her best to calm her trembling body, Resena bit her lip.
Although Eldis’s attempt to suppress his anger had seemed extraordinary… It seems he simply couldn’t endure it.
To the extent of turning the imperial capital into a wasteland in search of the culprit.
‘It’s not that I don’t understand Eldis’s feelings. But doing that won’t bring Lorona back to life.’
But Resena felt she could somewhat understand his anguish. She had seen his tears, and she herself had to face the situation of her mother continually passing away while living Resena’s life.
“It’s painful enough to lose one precious person, but Eldis’s heart after losing all his loved ones…”
She felt a tightness in one side of her chest.
In the end, even the male protagonist is only human.
One who feels pain when stabbed with a sword, who becomes angry and suffers when his heart is wounded.
However.
‘That doesn’t mean I can’t stop him from choosing to destroy the entire imperial capital. I’ll die too, after all.’
To prevent endless regression, she must somehow stop him.
Calming her mind, Resena organized her thoughts.
“Anyway, if the female lead dies, the male lead goes crazy. I need to find a way to prevent the female lead from sacrificing herself somehow…”
After a full hour of organizing her thoughts, that was the conclusion she reached.
And after thinking about it, she realized the male lead needed something that could protect that female lead well.
Not just physical strength, but something that could protect her heart as well.
So that, overall, their acquaintances wouldn’t be sacrificed by murderers or dark wizards.
‘Last time I saw him, he seemed to listen somewhat when spoken to. Should I try talking to him?’
Resena imagined herself directly speaking to change the male lead’s weaknesses and behavior patterns. It seemed like a pretty good idea.
After all, he had momentarily withdrawn his anger when Commander Daren and Alken had stopped him.
Even though they ultimately failed to stop him in the end.
‘So… Until now, I’ve been all-in on a single method once I found one, but not anymore. I’ll thoroughly prevent the world’s destruction from multiple angles!’
She would speak directly to the male lead, completely thwarting the plans that the previous Resena had set up.
And do whatever she could in the meantime.
‘Above all, just in case, I absolutely must not get between the female and male lead to prevent them from becoming close. The male lead can love the female lead, but the female lead must not love the male lead. Because then she’ll try to sacrifice herself again.’
Let the male lead’s love remain as is, but subtly encourage the female lead’s love to be directed elsewhere.
If possible, it would be best if she were drawn to the second male lead.
‘Come to think of it, I should also disrupt the cooperation between the female and male lead, like when they caught the dark wizard Zergard. They became close through those incidents… Instead, I’ll thoroughly help catch the dark wizard Zergard by inserting myself into those events.’
“That way, the female lead will be drawn to another secondary male lead, and the male lead will become close to me or someone else. Then even if the female lead dies or gets hurt, he won’t destroy the world!”
Resena retrieved a notebook and fountain pen from the bedside table. It was originally used as a diary by the previous Resena, but she intended to fill it densely with Korean writing that no one else could understand.
Even when she heard a knock at the door, she ignored it and quickly wrote down the contents in her head before they disappeared. Being already in the third regression, she could vividly express the events she had experienced, making the recording process smooth.
“Done!”
The recording only ended after filling an entire notebook. From now on, she had to act based on these contents to somehow prevent the male lead from destroying the world.
‘The first step starts with my birthday ball. Let’s do this!’
Resena clenched her fist.
