I Became the Female Lead Ruined by Others - Chapter 31

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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 31

‘That wasn’t something I could dismiss as mere irritation.’

What if Baron threatened me? What if he attacked faster than the man hiding behind the curtain?
These were the worries that had kept me groaning through the night.
But now, this Baron wearing an expression I’d never seen before in my life…….

“I apologize.”

I’d never imagined anything like this.

‘Which one was real?’

The past, when his hand pressed down on my shoulder, and the present, when he offered a formal apology.
The gap between them.
My lips, stiff with that uncomfortable aftertaste, wouldn’t move.
Tap, tap.
That’s when it happened.
As if to urge my response, Baron’s index finger began tapping the armrest at regular intervals.
Tap, tap.
It had been three years since I took on the name Bianca and was allowed into Baron’s life.
I hadn’t had grand expectations. I’d simply been resigned to laying groundwork for the future.
But Baron laughed more readily than I’d anticipated, cherished his people dearly, and was remarkably tender.
Tap, tap.
That tapping was one of his long-established habits.

‘He’s apologizing while calculating something in his head?’

Baron, wearing an expression of bewilderment I’d never seen even when he was with Bianca, was running through some scenario in his mind.
What could an apology from those lips possibly mean?
I steadied my trembling voice and opened my mouth.

“Not at all, Your Highness. Given such sudden grievous news, I imagine even you found it difficult to bear. I understand your feelings well enough—there’s no need to trouble yourself further.”

And I met those calm eyes beyond the loosely lowered lids.
Baron didn’t blink even once.
He simply stared through me.
That dry gaze had something relentless about it, and sweat beaded on my palms.

“Unfamiliar.”

The tapping of his finger on the armrest ceased.

“No demands for compensation, and such formal courtesy. Since when have you carried yourself so nobly before me?”

At his soft, murmuring voice, fine hairs rose on my skin.
Compensation? Courtesy?

‘This mad bastard……!’

When I’d shown proper respect earlier, Baron had said it was nothing.
I’d simply thought that the transmigrant who inhabited this body had never bowed before, but——

‘He’s saying I treated him the way I would a marquis?’

You used that street-thug way of talking even in front of the Crown Prince?
It was shocking on multiple fronts, but now wasn’t the time to panic.

‘Should I just mumble my way through this, slur my words a bit?’

But if I suddenly shifted tactics now, it would only look more suspicious.
In the end, I lowered my gaze quietly to hide the turmoil beneath the surface.

“I’ve learned a great deal from recent events.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Until now, you’ve looked after me, but I can’t remain foolish and dependent forever. I mean to start pulling my own weight now.”

I didn’t know how he’d receive it, but I thought it was a plausible excuse—one that held together well enough.
I hoped he’d accept that my backing had disappeared, so I was withdrawing into myself, and that this was the reason behind Rozelina’s changed demeanor.

“That detachment is surprising. Or perhaps it’s unavoidable.”

Fortunately, there was no shift in the pitch of his voice.

“At first, I thought everything had concluded just as you wished. But when I saw you appear at the funeral hall, I was quite taken aback.”

And yet the message beneath those words made my breath catch.

“I willingly bore the trouble and guided you personally, you see. It’s a pity that you failed to achieve your purpose after all.”

Even as I listened to his soft voice, my gaze remained fixed on the teapot.
An unsettling intuition crept up my spine at these cryptic words.

‘Concluded as I wished? Guided me personally—what does he mean by that?’

The transmigrated person said they’d left to find a way back to their original world. As far as I knew, that was their true purpose.

‘Could he have known that secret all along?’

If Baron knew about the transmigration, and if he’d discovered the way back and helped them…

‘No. That’s impossible.’

Who would believe such an absurd claim?
Besides, even if it were true, there was no way to explain that savage killing intent Baron had radiated toward Rozelina at the funeral hall.

‘In any case, it seems I’d been in a relationship where I received some help from Baron.’

In the end, I gave an ambiguous answer.

“Things don’t always work out as planned.”
“So you’re giving up?”

It was a technique I’d learned after the transmigration—when lacking information, vague and evasive responses worked well enough.
The other person would interpret it as they wished and draw their own conclusions.
But I’d never felt such extreme tension before.

“That is…”

Sweat had begun to seep from my palms, making them damp.
Confusion sent my eyes darting about.
Then I realized I’d been pinching the back of my left hand without thinking—an old habit that surfaced whenever I grew anxious.
I hastily withdrew my hand and lifted my gaze.

“I think I need time to consider.”

Baron regarded me in silence at my evasive answer.
His deep red eyes remained perfectly steady.
As the silence stretched, the air in the drawing room grew heavier, and I found myself gasping as though invisible hands were closing around my throat.

“Very well.”

Not long after, Baron rose from his seat.
Clink.
He leaned forward as if bearing his full weight, bracing himself against the table with one hand, then lifted himself up with deliberate slowness.
Before I could so much as startle at the sound of the untouched teacup trembling, he raised his head.
And those crimson eyes turned slowly—so very slowly—toward the window.

‘What…?’

Cold sweat trickled down my spine.
Beyond the window, hidden behind the thick velvet curtain I had drawn, a man was concealed.

‘Could he have noticed?’

I had chosen a seat far from the window precisely to guard against discovery.

‘If I’m found out, I’ve already prepared a good excuse. No need to panic.’

Even as I told myself this, my heart had already sunk to my feet—when it came.

“My bumbling aide’s mistake seems to have drawn quite a crowd outside.”
“…I beg your pardon?”
“It appears I’ve caused more commotion than intended. I’ll take my leave now.”

I forced my stiffened neck to turn and confirmed where his gaze had been directed.
The crowd visible beyond the gate seemed to have swelled.

‘Ah, he was looking at those people.’

I wiped the sweat pooling in my palms on my skirt and moved to stand, when Baron threw out casually:

“Spare yourself the effort of seeing me out. Focus on your health instead.”

Baron didn’t wait for a reply. He simply turned and walked toward the door.
Then my gaze, which had been following his retreating figure, came to an abrupt halt.
Beneath the flutter of his cape, his fist was clenched so tightly the veins stood out.

* * *

Baron emerged from the drawing room alone, his face rigid and his lips sealed.
Dominic, who followed him alongside three knights, was busy exchanging glances with the others.
The man’s crimson eyes, as he crossed the dim corridor, held a bleak and desolate light.

‘What sort of cunning scheme is she plotting now?’

Mourning Bianca’s death? As if she had any right to do so.
And now, putting on airs of dignity—it was utterly contemptible.

‘The world does not bend to one’s will.’

The thought of that face, bound up in deception, twisted something inside him.
Nausea threatened to overtake him.
He pressed down the seething fury with cold rationality, barely holding back a curse.

‘Yes, I’ll accept whatever scheme you try to pull.’

And this time, he swore to himself, he would extract that wicked woman’s death at any cost.
As the Entrance Hall came into view, Baron exhaled slowly. The rage that had twisted his face drained away; his fists, which had been clenched so tightly his knuckles whitened, gradually relaxed.
In a heartbeat, he locked away every trace of emotion and returned to the flawless mask of the Crown Prince.
The moment he stepped outside the Mansion, the world erupted into chaos.
In that clamor, Dominic hovered at Baron’s elbow, reading his expression.

“If you have something to say, say it.”

At Baron’s words—spoken without breaking his forward gaze—Dominic drew alongside him and lowered his voice.

“While you were inside, managing the crowd, I overheard that yesterday one of this Mansion’s servants visited every shop in the city searching for the finest Tea Leaves to present to you. The rumor must have leaked from there.”

Baron’s mouth twisted at these words.

“Naturally.”
“Your Highness?”

At Dominic’s questioning tone, Baron simply walked ahead, his gaze fixed on the distance.

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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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