I Became the Female Lead Ruined by Others - Chapter 22

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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 22

Inside that weighty cover lay only a single sheet of paper.

“That’s it?”
“Yes, well—that is to say, yes.”

It was academic consensus that wasteful packaging existed only to manipulate consumers, a privilege of megacorporations.

‘Did he draw this himself?’

A crude nine-by-three table sprawled across the page, its lines wobbly and irregular. The handwriting was hastier than the letter I’d read yesterday—rushed, almost careless.
And in the first cell of the first row, I found the name the man had mentioned.

“Ted……”
“Did you call for me, sir?”

– Butler
• Secretary to that wretched Marcus. Marcus’s wife caught him funneling the Duchess’s money, so Marcus pinned it on Ted—embezzlement. Ted was so devastated at losing his honor he wanted to die on the spot, so I stripped Marcus and took him in lol
└ Ugh… annoying how devoted he is… keeps threatening to die for me;;;
I told him his life isn’t that special, just do your job right, but he keeps pulling that death threat BS;; I DON’T NEED THAT;;;
└ Handles the income tracking and all the household expenses—works like a dream at it, no joke, must have the experience. Said he’d die if he ever embezzled, so now he keeps begging me to kill him if he does

The man had said he kept a loyal subordinate by his side.
Not just by my eyes, but by any stranger’s measure, it seemed true enough.

‘I’d only thought of him as something to fear until now.’

That wasn’t it at all. He was afraid of disappointing the master to whom he’d pledged his very life.
My eyes lit up as if I’d stumbled upon an oasis in a barren desert, as if I’d glimpsed a single ray of light from the far end of an endless cavern.

“Is there… is something wrong, sir?”

Without a word, I thrust my thumb up toward him.
Flustered by such a small gesture, yet clearly pleased beneath it all, Ted’s mouth twitched with the ghost of a smile.
I took the fountain pen he’d been holding and turned my eyes back to the roster.

‘But….’

I narrowed my eyes and examined the second row.
The information on the remaining eight names differed from the butler’s in one crucial way.

…… Chef (Director) ……
…… Gardener (Manager) ……
…… Head Maid (Executive) ……

How many years had it been since I’d last seen words like these…?
I found myself muttering under my breath, my eyes wide with disbelief.

“Manager…?”
“Ah, you refer to the special titles within this Mansion that the master himself devised?”

He paid no mind to my jaw hanging slack in astonishment.
He seemed to think I was confused because my memory had failed me.

“Nowhere in the Empire do they examine servants one by one. We’re treated as nothing more than replaceable consumables, no matter where we go. But you granted each of us a special title suited to our nature. That honor you bestowed upon us became the driving force behind this Mansion, behind our service to you.”

He pressed a hand to his chest reverently, making no attempt to hide his fervor.

“Prodo, in particular, has made the day you gave him the title ‘Steward’ into a memorial he says he’ll cherish until death. When he learned the deep meaning behind it—’the most faithful man of this age’—he wept tears of joy and danced while holding his saw.”
“…….”

When I raised my hand to stop him, his mouth thankfully closed.
These modern job titles couldn’t possibly exist in this place. To them, they must have felt extraordinarily special.

‘Given that possessed one’s nature, he probably just did it for amusement.’

Masa, Rose, Cordon, Cain…….
Below the steward’s information were accounts of eight others, each with their own circumstances written down.

‘Can people’s lives really be this twisted?’

And every single account was something that made my face tighten instinctively.
Suffering severe financial hardship, nearly sold off, abused in illegal facilities.

‘Why did he take these people in?’

Based on his usual conduct, he was the sort of person who’d wave goodbye with a cheerful ‘Safe travels’ even if an old friend died right before his eyes…….
Ah.

‘He needed people who wouldn’t betray him. People he could trust.’

So he’d thought through every detail like this and moved accordingly.
Terrible in how meticulous it was, and yet somehow it opened my chest.

‘At least they can live comfortably within this Mansion.’

While I was sitting in a daze of relief, idly rolling the pen, I absentmindedly began to scribble in the corner of the paper.
The sharp nib glided smoothly across the rough surface of the paper.

[Death hasn’t scheduled me yet]

The moment my hand moved freely and I scrawled it down.

“My lord, you remember your cipher!”
“My cipher?”
“Yes! The cipher you created—not a single code-breaker in the Empire, not even the most renowned scholars, has ever managed to decipher it.”

At the point he indicated with pride was the scribble I’d just written.
What on earth…….
I picked up the fountain pen again and pointed to a random section.

…… They said they need hospital fees so I’m giving them money, though anyway it’s pocket change lol because I’m loaded^^ ……

“Here. What does this say?”
“Pardon? Ah, you once taught me your cipher, my lord, but my humble abilities were insufficient to master it…….”

This time I pointed to a section written in slightly larger letters.

“What about this?”
“Hmm…….”
“Look, this one’s written even bigger.”
“Uh…….”

In the end, I’d unexpectedly become an eye doctor, administering a vision test.

‘She can’t read this?’

It was strange. Just by looking at the words “Servant Roster” written on the cover, I could tell. Ted had excellent penmanship, and there was no way someone with his hand could be illiterate.
So this time I scrawled an additional line beneath the graffiti.

[If you say you can’t read this too, you’re fired on the spot — back to Count Marcus]

“This one?”
“I apologize……”

Ted broke into a cold sweat, shifting nervously. It was clear he was terrified of disappointing Roselina Marsh.

‘This makes no sense.’

Now that I thought about it, I had no memory of writing anything myself during my days as a young lady.
When I wanted to win someone’s favor, I’d pull out money, buy gifts, have them delivered. Even a simple postcard I’d delegate to the butler.

‘Could it be……?’

On a hunch, I pressed a fountain pen into Ted’s hands.

“Go on, write down what I say in the Imperial tongue right here.”
“In the roster, ma’am?”
“It’s fine — here. Write down ‘It seems even death can’t take me.'”

The butler looked bewildered but hurried to obey the instruction.

[It seems even death can’t take me.]

Perfect script. Flawless.
There was no difference between what he’d written and what I’d written before it.

‘My eyes automatically convert the Imperial tongue into Korean characters, and others can’t perceive the Korean I write as anything but their own script?’

My heart began to race.

“I’m afraid this cipher is beyond my capacity to master, ma’am. It’s far too sophisticated……”
“Mm.”
“I am deeply ashamed, ma’am.”
“Mm-hm.”

Day by day, this was my second possession — a new awakening each morning.
Perhaps what I hadn’t known wasn’t merely the atrocities of that previous possessor.

* * *

Meanwhile, at that same moment, the Brilliant Marquis Residence was like the ruins left by a storm.

“You useless little insects! Worth less than the food you eat!”

Outside, Brilliant the Marquis took pains to maintain appearances, but this was how he had spent his entire life. Insulting and trampling those beneath him was routine.
As it should be, of course. After all, such creatures were born to be trampled underfoot.

“Get out of my sight at once!”

The aide struck by the book he hurled clutched at his torn wound and withdrew.
Yet the marquis’s tyrant remained unsatisfied, breathing roughly through his nose, the force of his breath sending his mustache all aquiver.
Just then, with a sharp voice, the door burst open.

“Father!”

It was Mielo, his eldest daughter—the one he treasured more than life itself.
The Marquis had long since decided to pass his title to Mielo in due course, and so shared with her not only the family’s affairs, both great and small, but his secrets as well.
Like the Marquis, she was lauded in society as the Empire’s finest lady, yet within these walls she revealed herself to be headstrong, unbridled, and forthright.
But unlike her father, she did not look down upon or trample over others. If anything, she possessed a certain sense of justice.

“He’s served our house faithfully for three generations! And you took out your frustrations on him just because you met with that mad woman?!”

The Marquis found himself shrinking under his daughter’s cutting edge, his gaze sliding away.

“You know as well as I do—that woman holds our family’s leash right now.”
“Did that young lady ask you to strike Brian, Father?”

When his most beloved daughter fixed him with a glare, the Marquis yielded entirely.
Only after he’d promised Brian both an apology and compensation did Mielo finally grant him her smile.

“So you’ve learned nothing new, then?”
“No—it’s exactly the same as yesterday.”
“Not an insider, and not someone who slipped into our knights’ ranks either. Clearly the work of an outsider. And even after she warned that worse would happen if anyone touched her… still.”

But so long as their adversary was Roselina Marsh, they had to uncover who was behind this.
Someone so stupidly incompetent they’d botch the job with sheer lack of wit…… Ah.
A face suddenly surfaced in Mielo’s mind.

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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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