I Became the Female Lead Ruined by Others - Chapter 28

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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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Chapter 28

Of course I hadn’t known that “situation” meant my own funeral.
That cold voice whispering it would tear me to shreds, the gaze that clung to every corner like an unwelcome shadow.
All of it flashed vividly before me.

‘Should I run?’

This wasn’t the first time I’d entertained the thought, of course.
The real reason I’d checked my finances recently was to see if I could scrape together enough to escape.

‘But I have no idea where it’s hidden. Failed on that front.’

If I bolted with empty hands, there was no telling what horrors awaited me.
The crushing weight of despair held me only a moment before I clenched my trembling hands into fists.

‘No—as long as I don’t die.’

No matter how different the circumstances were from my days as a Lady-in-Waiting, five years of experience in this world counted for something. I’d prove it.
I couldn’t afford to stand frozen like an idiot. I had to move, now.
The moment I threw back the blankets and sprang from the bed, Ted yelped in alarm.

“Master! You may not have fully recovered yet!”
“No, I’m fine. Actually, I feel light.”

I rotated my wrists and ankles, checking myself over as I spoke.
The rest had sharpened my mind, and ideas tumbled out of me with increasing clarity and speed.

“Ted, the Crown Prince has never visited here before, has he?”
“No, sir! This will be his first time receiving a guest at this residence!”

I finished rolling my shoulders, then bent at the waist and reached my hands toward my feet.

“I need to redecorate the entire route from the Mansion’s lobby through to the Reception Room right away.”
“Yes, yes! I’ll gather the servants at once and fetch the rare items from the Third Floor Storage—”
“No. Clear out the decorative items and lay down worn carpets instead.”
“Pardon?”
“Cover every window with thick curtains. Not a sliver of light should get through. Place candles here and there, sparsely.”
“Yes…?”

Ted squinted at me in disbelief, tilting his head as if doubting his own ears.

‘Whether Baron knows about the Possessor’s atrocities is anyone’s guess.’

But regardless, if he saw this ostentatiously luxurious environment, he’d think something was amiss.

‘There’s no benefit in letting him know Roselina Marsh has this much wealth. One way or another, he’ll question its source.’

Now I interlaced my fingers and stretched my hands overhead, elongating my body.

“It hasn’t been long since my only friend, my Lady-in-Waiting, passed away. This is my own mourning ritual.”
“Ah…!”
“I’ve simply been too distracted to attend to it. But now that something important is upon us, my mind is clear again.”

Ted’s eyes reddened as he seemed genuinely moved by my plausible excuse.

“I’m so sorry, sir. Please punish me for my negligence!”

Five years as a Lady-in-Waiting, six days as what amounts to a crime boss, and I still haven’t gotten used to this fatherly type groveling before me like that……
I waved my arms dismissively through the air, my expression sour.

“Never mind that. The most talkative person in this Mansion, the one with the loudest voice—that’d be Mary, wouldn’t it?”
“Ah, yes. That girl is chattier than anyone. Should I stuff something in that mouth of hers tomorrow?”
“No. Call her now.”

Ted looked bewildered, but the moment I narrowed my eyes threateningly, he bolted from the Bedroom.
I rotated my stiff neck and recalled the servant roster I’d read so many times I could recite it backwards.

– Maid (Acting)
• Supposedly raised as a famous opera singer but worked to exhaustion until she coughed blood and got thrown out. Even so, her sociability is off the charts and her persistence is creepy, so I recruited her as a spy lol. That noble bastard who runs the Theater enjoys corrupting naive kids and ruining their lives—seriously, these idiots in this world don’t get me at all ㅗㅗ
└ Failed;; doesn’t seem cut out for spying;; straight-up firecracker instead..
└ Had the guy running illegal slave trafficking torch the Theater at dawn^^ The year’s premier fireworks venue debut ㅊㅋ
└ Ah ㅆㅂ nearly blew my eardrums out;; surgery worked great apparently huh… talks way too much gonna lose my mind told her to shut up but she won’t…

‘No matter how I look at it, Mary’s the right person for this.’

When Mary arrived shortly after, her eyes were wide as saucers.
I shifted my gaze from her neatly braided chestnut hair to her eyes, which were brimming with tension.

“Mary, I need you to go into the City right away.”
“The City?”
“Visit the famous tea shops and boutiques, and bring back the finest tea they have. For the money, take half the Mansion’s maintenance budget from Ted.”

After I finished speaking, I paused a beat, then emphasized just how critical this task was.

“Don’t haggle over the price or grovel. Tell them to bring out their rarest stock. Tell them it’s for entertaining His Highness the Crown Prince tomorrow.”
“W-w-His Highness the Crown Prince?!”
“Yes. His Highness will be visiting this Mansion tomorrow. Make sure word spreads everywhere about this. Otherwise, the merchants might try to swindle us.”
“That’s right! I know just how lowborn those shopkeepers are! But sir—ma’am—His Highness visiting the Mansion, oh my goodness, my heart is pounding!”

She rattled on about how this would be her first time seeing the Crown Prince up close, how as a child she’d tried to mimic the Imperial Family’s black hair by washing her head with charcoal, and more.
For the next thirty minutes, Mary continued her solitary monologue.
I kept touching my ear canals with my fingers, half-convinced my eardrums were about to burst and bleed.

“So, Mary, when are you leaving……?”
“Oh goodness, look at the time! Sir—ma’am—I’ll head out right now!”
“Right……”

The moment the door closed, I collapsed onto the sofa with a heavy sigh.
My body felt fine just moments ago, but now all my energy had drained away.

* * *

After sending Mary off, I scoured the Mansion, but came up empty once again.

‘Looks like the money and account books are hidden outside the Mansion after all.’

When I made my way downstairs covered in dust, the servants—everyone except Mary—were busy laying out Carpets and moving Decorative Items.

‘I can’t afford to collapse again tomorrow.’

Thanks to sleeping for two days straight, my headache had cleared completely, which was a relief.
Still, my poor fitness showed—I staggered back to the Bedroom on the second floor.
Just as I was about to throw myself onto the bed, I stopped and drew back the Curtain at the window.

“It’s already afternoon.”

Somehow, the bleak landscape beyond the window had draped itself in crimson twilight.
The table and chairs gleamed in that rosy light, and beyond them lay the Garden in neglected disarray.
And there, glimmering in that glow, stood a man.

‘When I sent word for him to come earlier, they said he was out.’

Then the man turned around.
The moment he turned, his gaze locked directly onto me where I stood holding the Curtain, staring at him blankly—as if he’d known all along.

‘I feel caught, like I’ve been spying on him.’

I opened the window and stepped onto the balcony.

“Young lady, how are you feeling?”

Perhaps because even Frodo, the gardener, was helping with work on the first floor of the Lobby, there was no one else about.
And so his smile was subtly different from the one he wore for an audience—his tone noticeably changed.
I gripped the balcony railing as I looked down at this man, somehow transformed.

“Yes, I’m perfectly fine.”
“You collapsed so suddenly—I was genuinely startled. I was worried about you.”

His white hair, shot through with gold, caught the pouring crimson light and bloomed into an otherworldly hue.
Yet his transparent eyes had lost none of their peculiar luminescence.
Perhaps that was why.
Even knowing full well his reasons for worrying over my welfare, I found myself wanting to believe him anyway.

“What are you doing over there?”
“Watching the sunset. Though now that you’ve come out, it finally feels complete.”

…No. The wisest thing is to let such words pass through one ear and out the other.
Only after I’d shaken my head lightly did I bring up the reason I’d been looking for him.

“Tomorrow afternoon, the Crown Prince will be visiting the Mansion.”
“Yes, I heard.”
“So I’m going to give you a task.”

The man looking up at me crossed his arms and tilted his head to one side.

“Tomorrow, hide yourself on the Reception Room balcony and wait there.”
“Ah, I was thinking of giving up using that route anyway.”
“It’s not about using it—I need you there while we receive His Highness.”
“Why?”
“Because whether it’s you or an assassin, you both slip past the guards through the balcony just fine.”
“So what you’re saying is…you want me to lie in ambush?”

His voice carries a tenderness, but those eyes are the problem.
I know by now that they gleam like that whenever he’s found something interesting.

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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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