I Became the Male Lead in a Romance Fantasy Novel

045. The Witch’s Man (3)

At the moment the male protagonist confessed his love to the witch, Owen realized.

The name of this emotion he had been searching for so desperately.

This was love.

The world didn’t turn pink as in some novels, and he didn’t think of Lucia all day long, but this feeling was undoubtedly love.

The singer on stage was proving it.

What he was doing was love.

“But I….”

“It’s okay not to force yourself to answer.”

“…Am I being foolish? Don’t you desire anything?”

“All I wish for is your happiness. That alone is enough for me to be greedy.”

Every line from the play struck deep into his heart.

Listening to their voices, Owen gazed quietly at Lucia.

Her eyes still held a hint of worry.

In an attempt to comfort her, Owen faintly smiled and averted his gaze.

“Don’t worry, everything will be fine.”

In truth, nothing was fine, but it had to be.

At least until the end of the play.

Lucia nodded in response to Owen’s words.

It wasn’t a fully convinced look, but she seemed to understand.

Feeling fortunate at her reaction, Owen returned his gaze to the stage.

The scene depicted the male and female protagonists pouring out their emotions and fleeing together.

They escaped together.

Back to the forest where the witch had originally lived.

That way, the two regained peace.

They spent their days together, for each other.

However, misfortune struck again.

While the male protagonist was out buying food, someone set fire to the forest.

The forest burned, the house went up in flames.

At the moment of despair when the male protagonist sank to the ground.

The female protagonist, the witch, calmly emerged from the flames.

“Even if you burn me at the stake, the witch won’t die. Didn’t you know that?”

The witch smiled.

Very brightly, very cruelly.

“To try to kill me, who doesn’t die even if killed. You must be a fool unless you knew that.”

Her cackling laughter echoed.

Without hesitation, the male protagonist embraced the witch.

“You’re not dead…. Thank goodness, truly.”

The witch looked puzzled at the male protagonist.

Asking if he wasn’t afraid of her, the real witch people talked about, but he casually replied.

“I told you. Even if you’re a real witch, it doesn’t matter to me.”

It seemed to be the reason the female protagonist fell in love with the male protagonist.

She seemed convinced.

The two of them fell in love that way.

But…

“I’m not dying. Witches don’t die. I’ll just turn into the wind and fly away. Becoming scattered wind gusts.”

The witch, who lived a long life, died earlier than the male protagonist.

Yet, she closed her eyes with a smile, without any regrets.

“I love you. Very much.”

And the final song of the play began to flow.

＜For My Beautiful and Cruel Witch＞.

The male protagonist sang, remembering the witch who was his lover.

“My world is all made up of you. I can do anything for you. The world may call you a witch, but it doesn’t matter. Because I love that side of you.”

The male protagonist left alone looked lonely.

As if revealing the words of one who had lost everyone in the world, he faintly smiled with a lonely expression.

He sang, remembering the person who was everything in his world.

“I remember. All of you, the moments we shared. I love you. I love you very much.”

—

The lingering of the play was long.

Even at the restaurant where Owen came to have dinner, he couldn’t shake off the emotions brought by ＜The Witch’s Man＞.

No, to be precise, it didn’t bring the emotions.

It made him realize.

“Here is your main dish. We have lamb steak and beef steak, which one did you order?”

As Owen was absent-minded, the main dish appeared.

“This way. Please serve the beef steak over there.”

“Yes, understood.”

Lucia responded instead of Owen, who seemed distracted.

The plated steak arrived at their table.

Owen consciously held the knife and cut the meat.

Thanks to perfect technique, the steak was sliced silently, yet his eyes still held deep emotions.

Unexpressed emotions seemed to overflow and spill out.

“Owen.”

Lucia finally called out to Owen.

Since the middle of ＜The Witch’s Man＞, Owen had been acting strangely.

Initially, she found it fascinating to be so immersed in the beginning, but from the middle, he seemed completely enchanted by the male protagonist.

Even though there was no apparent reason for it.

“Owen?”

When she called him again, Owen belatedly met her gaze.

Lucia was taken aback by the eye contact.

She had been surprised when she called him at the opera house.

Emotions seemed vividly present in his eyes, as if uncontrollable.

She didn’t know the name of those emotions.

He was wearing a color she had never seen before.

But whatever the emotion was, it was intense enough to make her heart race and feel hot.

However…

“Lucia.”

The dark eyes that met hers now were even more intense.

An overwhelming, deep, and dark emotion swept over her.

It felt like a flood was coming.

Lucia couldn’t even utter a word.

She was completely powerless.

Like a feeble human swept away by a great disaster, Lucia could only gaze at Owen helplessly.

“Lucia….”

Even Owen’s responding voice was poignant.

His eyes were filled with the same emotions, without any gaps, in the same color.

It was a voice she had never heard before, a sincerity she had never seen.

He couldn’t hide it.

The emotions were rushing out like a tide.

Lucia found this Owen unfamiliar.

She couldn’t predict what he would say next.

“I think I like you.”

And then, Owen confessed.

Just like how the rushing seawater swiftly engulfed a whole village, that’s what he said.

It was only then that Lucia finally realized.

The name of the emotion he was showing so vividly and honestly.

“No, it seems like you love me a lot.”

This was love.

The reason Owen couldn’t handle his emotions and was so shaken was that he was unfamiliar with love himself.

And the fact that even after receiving numerous confessions, Lucia couldn’t recognize the love in his eyes today was because…

“It’s okay.”

It was a type of love she had never seen before.

“Even if you don’t love me. You don’t have to give any answer.”

Owen’s love was one-sided.

He was loving her unconditionally and sacrificially.

Owen didn’t want anything in return.

He just truly loved her.

“I’ve never asked for anything. Not even once. Just…”

With utmost sincerity, he was loving her with all his heart.

His gaze, his voice.

His actions were proving it.

Yet, he didn’t even feel a hint of selfishness.

It was completely different from the loves she had experienced.

“I just want to fulfill your wishes.”

“…”

“Lucia. I just wish I could do everything you want. I wish you could have what you desire, be surrounded by people who love and cherish you.”

That was Owen’s long-awaited confession.

So, she should have felt happy.

It was a moment to be happy because Owen was now completely hers.

Certainly, that was how it should have been.

However, Lucia couldn’t bring herself to be happy.

She never imagined Owen’s confession would be like this.

“Why?”

She thought he would just say he loved her.

That he liked her, that he also wanted her.

She thought he would say that as others had done before.

That he wanted them to be together, get engaged.

Or that he hoped she would like him back.

She thought he would ask her to reciprocate the love.

Ordinary people behaved like that.

At least, those she had encountered did.

“Why do you expect such a thing?”

Such love didn’t exist.

She didn’t know such selfless love.

Although she didn’t understand love itself well, she had never heard of such love.

Aren’t people inherently selfish beings?

So, surely, a person in love must be selfish.

But why was he like this?

“I just want you to be happy.”

Is this what true goodness is?

“All I desire is that.”

Owen smiled.

The intense emotions hid like lies.

All that remained was a gentle and serene smile.

In front of that smile, Lucia felt a sense of distance.

She suddenly remembered the moon.

The faint and elegant moon they had seen together walking by the ocean in Osean seemed to overlap with Owen.

“That’s my wish and desire, Lucia.”

He truly was like the moon.

He didn’t selfishly dominate the night sky.

He knew how to share the night’s backdrop with countless stars, harmonize with the sea and sky.

He was a person who didn’t know harm.

Owen was, astonishingly, that kind of person.

“….”

He was different from me.

While I had to grasp what I desired by any means necessary, he chose the path of safeguarding what was precious to me.

The happiness, health, and safety of precious beings.

He wanted to protect those seemingly illusory, hopeful things.

“Lucia.”

Owen called her name.

His hand gently touched Lucia’s hand.

He cautiously held her hand.

Lucia’s gaze shifted from his face to his hand.

“My emotions are my responsibility.”

Owen said softly.

“….”

Once again, Lucia couldn’t say a word.

He, who loved selflessly, even matured.

“There’s nothing for you to feel sorry about. These are my emotions.”

He was so perfect to the point of seeming excessive.

With his handsome appearance, tall stature, extraordinary martial arts skills akin to a swordmaster, and the status of the only son of a duke, he was not only perfect in appearance but also in the imperceptible aspects of his inner self.

This fact made her more uneasy.

Was Owen, too, not someone with a desolate emotional world, unable to believe in love?

Yet, he loved with maturity and consideration.

This made Lucia feel sorry for him for the first time.