In a Female-Dominant World with a 5:1 Gender Ratio, I Saved a Girl as a Kid, and She Said She Wanted to Be My Bride—Who Would’ve Thought She Was a Princess… - 52

Chapter 52: Shattered Pride, Whispers of the Dark

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(Leonardo’s POV)

It was humiliating. I had never experienced humiliation this deep in my entire life. The clamor of the grand cathedral faded away, and night fell. I returned to my private room in the Duke Falkenberg household and sank alone into the sofa. The room was furnished with only the finest, highest‑grade decor. And yet, to me now, every single piece looked like nothing more than junk mocking me.

“…Impossible. …There’s no way. That couldn’t possibly have happened!!”

I grabbed a crystal glass vase from the side table and hurled it against the wall.

Crash!

The vase shattered with a sharp sound. But the turmoil and rage swirling inside my chest were nowhere near calmed by something like this. The scene from earlier in the day was burned into my mind and refused to fade. This wasn’t anger over having Lilianna taken from me. It was something far more fundamental. Terror that shook my very identity, and the violent fury I used to mask it.

“Magic, right…? That was definitely magic.”

I stared at my trembling hands. In this world, men cannot become a mage. The organ that allowed magic power to be retained within the body had withered away since birth. That was precisely why I—who could handle magic power, however minutely—was considered a “miracle,” a “chosen existence.”

That was my absolute value, and it was supposed to be the greatest reason I had been chosen as the princess’s husband. And yet… What was that man? He deflected the swords of the Royal Guard and blew them away with a shockwave. He crushed my flames with his bare hands.

Such feats were impossible even for the elite of the Court Mage Corps. And yet a man—no, a fallen noble, of all things—pulled it off?

“Don’t screw with me…! It’s a scam. It has to be some kind of trick!”

I dug my nails into the sofa and clawed at it.

“Did he use an ancient magical artifact? Or drugs? There’s no way a man could produce that kind of output! It’s physically and magically impossible!”

I refused to accept it. I would never accept it. If his power was real, then what became of my worth as an existence? What about my title as the “only male mage”? Wouldn’t I be reduced to nothing more than a clown playing with sparks?!

“There has to be something behind it… He’s using some dirty method. He’s deceiving the world!”

Suspicion hardened into conviction, and that conviction twisted into pitch‑black hatred. Unforgivable. That fraud had trampled my sacred domain with filthy tricks, barging in with muddy boots.

“I’ll expose you… I’ll rip off your mask and tear you to pieces…!”

My teeth ground together. But how? How was I supposed to defeat someone even the Royal Guard couldn’t touch? My thoughts hit a dead end, and despair began to crawl up from within.

『Do you desire power?』

Suddenly, a voice echoed from somewhere in the room.

“Who’s there?!”

I snapped my head up and looked around. The door was closed. No one should have been here.

『Here. In the depths of your heart.』

The voice resonated directly inside my head. Low, emotionless, and yet carrying a strange, oppressive weight.

“An auditory hallucination…? Have I finally lost my mind?”

『No. I am the “Administrator.” The system that once governed this world.』

“Administrator…?”

『Your suspicion is correct. That man—Alto—his power is an “abnormality.” He’s a ”bug.” An error that deviates from this world’s laws, something that should not exist.』

At those words, my eyes flew open. Right. I knew it. There was something wrong with him.

“…So it really is like that. He is a fraud, isn’t he?!”

『Affirmative. He uses illicit code to twist the laws of the world. The only reason a legitimate “chosen one” like you was defeated is because he broke the rules.』

Black noise rippled through the space before my eyes, and a small distortion formed.

From it overflowed something like dark, crimson‑black sludge.

『Unforgivable, isn’t it? That someone like you, blessed with proper bloodline and talent, would have your dignity trampled by nothing more than a system error.』

“How could I forgive that…! He denied everything I am!”

『Then let us form a contract. If you link with me, I will transfer a portion of “Administrator Authority” to you. I will give you the absolute power to nullify his illicit strength and execute him.』

The black sludge took on a human shape—like a “demon,” or perhaps an “angel,” like those once depicted in church murals—and drifted before me.

『In return, you will provide your body as my new vessel… As my hardware. …Not a bad deal, is it? You will become the “true strongest” and pass judgment on that impostor.』

The true strongest. The power to expose Alto’s deception and force him to kneel. The power to prove that I was the one and only “male mage.” Normally, I would have refused. I wouldn’t trust some unknown voice. But now, that sweet temptation was my salvation.

“…You can do it, right? Expose that monkey’s scam and drive him to despair at my feet.”

『I promise. In the name of the system.』

I slowly extended my hand. I touched the black sludge. In that instant, ice‑cold chill and searing heat surged through my entire body at the same time.

“G—GAAAAAAHHHH!!”

Agony. The sensation of my brain being rewritten washed over me. My consciousness was being invaded by something else. And yet, welling up from deep within was magical power on a completely different scale from my petty fire tricks. It was a power great enough to shake the world itself.

『Authentication complete. Login successful. Welcome, new Administrator.』

Just before my consciousness blacked out, I saw my reflection in the mirror. My eyes, once like a clear blue sky, had been dyed a murky crimson with strange geometric patterns floating within them. They were patterns I had never seen before.

Just you watch, Alto. I’ll rip off your mask. I am the protagonist of this world.

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