I Became the Female Lead Ruined by Others - Chapter 18

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 18

“There is no safe kept separately at the Estate, sir.”
“Then what places within the Estate could only I use?”
“Beyond the Study and the Bedroom, I’m afraid I know of nothing in particular.”

The Butler shook his head, his face troubled.
Watching his reaction, I turned only my gaze to sweep across the Bedroom.

“Once every two days.”

The odds would be lower than in the Study, where servants were barred altogether, but this place was still worth investigating.

‘Given that possessed one’s temperament, she wouldn’t have let anyone rummage about and clean here.’

Now I had to move on to the next question.
It was time to mine what information I could extract through the Butler’s mouth.

“About the Marquess Brillante.”
“Ah, yes. Because of yesterday’s commotion, he’s scheduled to visit the Estate tomorrow. Of all the timing—he arrives on the very day he’s sending additional security personnel, and that’s when the assassin infiltrated….”
“I already know that. It’s the other details that matter.”

I meant for him to tell me something else related to that.
The Butler, who had been silent for a moment, slowly opened his mouth again.

“He has been providing Personnel Contribution to the Baronage for the past six months.”

Six months ago. Given the date from eleven months back written on the first page of the Ledger, that was quite recent.

“And?”
“Beyond the Personnel Contribution, the Master dealt with all matters related to the Marquess personally.”
“I dealt with them personally? Only with the Marquess Brillante?”
“Yes, sir.”

That meant I couldn’t learn anything else about the Marquess through the Butler.

‘This is maddening. He said he’s coming tomorrow?’

Of course, the man who’d dug in his heels at the Estate and left the assassin in that state was problematic in his own right.
But since the Butler seemed as ignorant of him as I was, I held no hope for additional information.

‘And now even the Marquess doesn’t know.’

There had to be something hidden somewhere. There was no way someone of the Marquess’s station was being wielded without evidence….

“Oh, would you like me to fetch the Letter you ordered sent to the Marquess?”
“A Letter?”
“Yes, sir. The Master left it just before departing. Should the Master’s return be delayed, I was instructed to send it around the third week.”

An unexpected find. I nodded.
At that, the Butler didn’t even look back—he bolted from the Bedroom and returned briskly moments later with a Letter in hand.
The moment I took it, I tore the seal and unfolded it in one motion.
Unlike the crude scrawl left in the Study’s Ledger, this was written in neat, precise handwriting.

[It’s me. I’m stepping away for personal reasons for a while. Don’t get clever—it’d be good for your health to keep the security detail as usual. Release people to watch if the others are maintaining their security properly, and if anyone smells off, report directly to the Butler right away. That’s all.]

……
For a moment, I forgot how to breathe.
I rubbed my eyes, rubbed them again, rubbed them once more — but the letters scrawled across the rough parchment remained unchanged.

‘What kind of lunatic does this?!’

Never mind that he had leverage over me — the man was old enough to be my father. More than that, he was the Brillante Marquess, the real power behind the Empire.

‘And it’s not just the casual speech and condescension.’

A baron’s daughter without even a proper title, and he was toying with a marquess as though it were child’s play.

‘What kind of filthy secret could he be holding over me?’

My brain felt like it was melting at the sheer depravity of it all — something that would make even a melodrama blush.

“Is there perhaps another letter I left behind?”
“No, my lady. That was the only one.”
“Right, then I should tear it to shreds and burn it immediately——”

My hand, already crumpling the letter in frustration, froze mid-motion. An uneasy feeling washed over me.
I wasn’t particularly intuitive by nature, but because this was my second possession, I could tell.

“No, I should hold onto this.”

This discomfort might have a reason behind it.

* * *

“There’s no remedy for sleep deprivation.”

I muttered this while meeting the gaze of my hollow-eyed reflection in the mirror.
Behind me, the bedroom looked as though it had been bombed — everything scattered and overturned.

“I couldn’t sleep, and now my head’s pounding.”

Yesterday, I’d spent a full hour interrogating the Butler, mining every scrap of information about the Marquess that I could extract. The moment I’d dismissed him, I’d ransacked the bedroom from top to bottom. All through the night.

‘If it’s not in the bedroom, where on earth did he hide it?’

As I sat there nervously gnawing at my fingernails, the blue sleeve of my dress caught my eye.
Suddenly I found myself thinking of eyes that had gleamed with a blue far deeper and richer than that color.

‘Speaking of which, what happened to that man?’

It was ironic — I’d whined so much about him not even giving up a single room, yet he hadn’t returned all last night.
When I’d asked, they told me the assassin in the basement was still in exactly the same condition as yesterday.

“I still need to find out what that man did.”

My head throbbed from churning endlessly without rest since the possession began.
I had no information about the Marquess who might descend upon me at any moment, no clues about the man who did whatever he pleased.

“Ah, I might just——!”

Maybe I should just run away.
Even memories from five years ago, when I’d bungled my first possession spectacularly, were surfacing now — a sign of how utterly hopeless my situation seemed.
That was the moment I had that thought.
Knock, knock.

“My lady, the Marquess of Brillante has arrived.”

At those words, I reluctantly shuffled toward the door. The Butler, hearing my footsteps, promptly opened it for me.
Drawing a shallow breath, I took a heavy step forward.

‘At least I’ve figured out how that possessed person treated the Marquess. He should be easier to handle than yesterday’s man.’

Even so, that knowledge did little to settle my nerves.
Given the circumstances, there was nothing for it but to treat this as a test of the acting skills I’d honed over all this time.

‘When I was Bianca, I did meet the Marquess once, but it was only in passing.’

Behind his gentlemanly bearing and mild smile lay a concealed arrogance.
Turning that observation over in my mind, I arrived at the Reception Room. The Butler opened the door with practiced grace.

“M-my lady.”

Inside the Reception Room, gleaming with gilt, the Marquess of Brillante greeted me—though he’d been pacing anxiously just moments before.
Even then, my mind was still occupied with memories of Bianca’s imperious dialogue from the game, and the possessed woman’s vulgar mannerisms and crude speech.
Because of that, I even missed my chance to offer a light greeting.

“Lady Mushe, I beg your forgiveness for this wretch!”

The moment the door closed and we were alone, the Marquess abruptly dropped to his knees.

“…….”
“…….”

In that instant, a heavy silence settled over the Reception Room.
What unfolded before my eyes was far more shocking than the Letter I’d seen yesterday.
The Marquess of Brillante—the man with that polished, gleaming face, dressed in plainly expensive clothing—

“I am truly sorry, my lady. Ever since hearing that dreadful news, I have been conducting a thorough investigation.”
“Please, sit—”

I gestured for him to be seated, flustered by the sight.
But it wasn’t until I’d repeated the same words perhaps three times that he awkwardly rose to his feet.
And only now are we finally facing each other, seated.

“I am mortally ashamed, my lady.”

He wiped the cold sweat beading on his oily, polished forehead.

“My House’s knights receive traditional and systematic training, and yet I never thought such an outrageous incident could occur…….”

Under Imperial law, the private military management of noble Houses is forbidden.
Only two families—the Bardentia Duchy and the Brillante Marquessate—have been granted permission to raise military forces of knightly order scale.
The situation differed from other nobles simply hiring mercenaries in their personal employ.

“Would you not be merciful in this one instance? I shall exert every effort to ensure such a thing never happens again.”
“……Something doesn’t add up.”

As I trailed off ambiguously and let my gaze wander, his shoulders flinched.
And the more he tensed, the more the knot in my own chest seemed to loosen.

“Why that particular day, of all days? There were so many other days.”

I mimicked the possessed woman’s habit of trailing off—that same evasive cadence—muttering to myself like someone lost in thought.
At that, the Marquess’s face drained of all color.

“Good heavens, you misunderstand me! It’s absolutely not true! The moment I heard the news, I dispatched my adjutant to investigate, and yesterday I gathered every member of the order and interrogated them myself. Based on everything I’ve uncovered, this was certainly no internal conspiracy. Not a single knight broke formation that day, so this must be the work of someone bent on slandering us!”

The way he proclaimed his innocence with his whole body—was it desperate performance, or genuine protestation?
As I held my silence, his voice grew even more plaintive.

“I understand well that everything pales in the shadow of your silence. But haven’t you always said as much—that no one cooperates with you as wholeheartedly as I do?”

As I suspected, the Marquess held some special significance for that possessed entity.
When my eyes narrowed, his voice began to tremble like aspen leaves.

“This deal must be upheld, my lady. Above all else, this matter cannot reach the Crown Prince’s ears…….”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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