I Became the Female Lead Ruined by Others - Chapter 35

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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 35

My lips trembled as I surveyed the basement.

“Ha-ha, ha… ha-ha-ha!”

Laughter burst from me in disbelief, echoing through the basement.
There was nothing left to question.
Someone who ignored the house owner’s warnings about staying out of the basement, who carried a key on him at all times like Ted did, yet still found some means to slip in and out of this place whenever he pleased—someone who could spirit assassins away.

―Oh, I just remembered—I was cleaning and ended up down here before I knew it.

Yes, I’d known that was a lie from the start.

“This mad bastard.”

I spun around and kicked the iron door wide open.
Then I stormed up the stairs with sharp, thunderous footfalls.

* * *

Count Leouve had made his debut in Imperial High Society three months ago.
The story went that the previous count, a distant relative, had adopted him as an heir and passed down the title—but it was all calculated deception.
The man currently known as Count Leouve in the Karzen Empire was Uriah’s creature through and through.

“Ah.”

Uriah, who had been reviewing documents on the reception room sofa, suddenly scratched the rim of his ear.
Adolf, who had been bringing tea, looked troubled.

“Is there something uncomfortable, Your Highness?”
“My ear’s itching.”

Uriah shook his head lightly and let out a low laugh.

“Someone must be cursing me.”

Adolf swallowed a sigh and set the teacup before him. He had served since childhood, yet he still could not fathom what lay beneath that surface.
It was three months ago, then.
When Uriah had suddenly issued the command to infiltrate Karzen.

―Dior’s followers have already nested themselves there. This time, as a dutiful younger sibling, I should pave the way for my sister’s ambitions as well.

For the twenty-third prince to speak such words—someone who had always been indifferent to Royal House affairs—was wholly unexpected.

“Your Highness, if news of your presence here reaches the Crown Princess’s ears, blood will flow. Did I not report to you thoroughly on the situation of this place?”
“You never show a moment of joy when you see me, no matter when. Quite disrespectful.”

This time he sighed outright, yet Uriah merely gestured for him to sit, nothing more.
Adolf glanced at the documents in Uriah’s hand before speaking.

“By the way, that man you brought here four days ago—who is he…?”

He trailed off and stopped.
It would be pointless; he knew well enough that Uriah would not answer today, just as he hadn’t that day.
So instead, he broached a question he was curious about anyway.

“In any case, I had the man loaded onto the bottom of a large merchant vessel departing from the Southern Harbor. As you instructed, I also provided a settlement sufficient for him, his wife, and their child to live on. Tess will guide them once they arrive.”
“Well done.”
“Your Highness, surely you won’t answer my question, will you?”

Even knowing better, an uneasy feeling prompted the careful question to slip out.
Uriah, who had been tilting his teacup, widened his eyes as though he understood yet knew nothing.

“He didn’t seem like an ordinary man, if I’m being honest. Yet he kept trembling and repeating the same words over and over, which suggests something wasn’t right about him either…….”

The man had seemed like someone who knew only how to apologize and beg for his life. Adolf furrowed his brow merely recalling the memory.
Uriah observed that expression and blinked slowly.

―I know who sent you. But it’s none of my concern, so I’m going to let you go—on one condition. You forget everything.

Until that moment, the assassin’s eyes had gleamed with lethal intent.

―Of course, you’re free to spread the word. But if you do, Krista won’t get to see the Star Flower Festival she’s been looking forward to. You’ll never taste Emma’s soup again, either. After that, perhaps…… Emma won’t stay with you, will she? What woman could love a man who can’t even protect his own child?

By the time those words were spoken, the man had turned ashen.

―Look at these arms, which will never bend for the rest of your life, and remember. Forget everything about the person who sent you. Do you understand what I’m saying? From now on, you know nothing.

In the end, he had nodded like a madman, begging desperately to spare Krista and Emma.
Uriah Sandri had done it all to tidy things up.
Irritating loose ends needed to be cleared away beforehand. If Roselina’s attention scattered elsewhere, the very purpose for which he had come to this place would be pushed aside.
The assassin’s backer and such—none of it interested him. His interest had been clear from the start, distinct, and singular.
Having no inclination to spell out the details for Adolf, Uriah simply laughed.
And Adolf knew all too well that whenever the Twenty-third Prince evaded an answer, he maintained that smile.

“Ah, Your Highness. There was a strange rumor circulating in a small village near the harbor.”

A memory suddenly surfaced, and Adolf lowered his voice.

“Apparently, a peculiar statue appeared that grants wishes. They say it’s already raised three people who couldn’t walk to their feet. Could it perhaps be a Sacred Object?”
“Of course not.”

The answer came swift and decisive, with no hesitation whatsoever.
Uriah’s gaze remained fixed on the documents in his hand, unchanged.

“But Your Highness, we don’t have definitive proof that the Imperial Court possesses the Sacred Object. The Empire suffered considerable damage in the recent war, and we cannot rule out the possibility that the Sacred Object was lost in the process of recovery.”
“I said it’s not, so drop it.”
“If they still possessed the Sacred Object they plundered in the past, they would have made a wish when the negotiations over Western Sea rights became contentious recently. Those barbarians would never have forgone using the Sacred Object while sustaining such massive losses. It must surely no longer be in their possession.”

It was a sharp observation, but Uriah was not persuaded in the slightest.
He had seen it himself. The Sacred Object had shown him.
But no one in this world knew he possessed such an ability. He had no intention of revealing it either.
So he laughed.

“The more one possesses, the more easily one becomes entangled.”
“What do you mean by that…….”
“They know the rule too—that the price of a wish is losing something you love. So they’d hardly rush to make a wish, would they? Or perhaps the Emperor is simply a man of little attachment.”

Uriah now waved a finger dismissively, his face betraying no interest.
With nothing left to refute, Adolf cleared his throat softly and chose his next words carefully.

“I did inquire into the young lady Marsh’s daughter as you commanded, but her reputation has been poor both when she first came to the Empire and now. The uncle serving as her father’s proxy is merely a provincial nobleman with little influence.”

Adolf accepted the documents from Uriah, his brow furrowed.

“And whenever his name comes up, everyone clamps their mouths shut. As if these barbarians want to save face—all the high nobility do the same. From what little gossip reaches us, he’s so ignorant he doesn’t even know the etiquette of holding cutlery, his speech and gait are more vulgar than a vagabond’s, and he’s ruthless and brutal.”

As the frank criticisms that followed washed over him, Uriah’s smile deepened.
It bore no resemblance to what he knew.
The woman he’d seen was neither ignorant nor brutal.

“I heard the Crown Prince visited that dilapidated mansion recently, but it’s probably just baseless rumor. Though that cunning Imperial Clan member might match his level, why would he bother seeking out a disgraced woman?”

Uriah started to correct him but held his tongue.
If he mentioned that he’d been living in that mansion and had hidden behind a curtain that day, would Adolf’s heart have stopped?
The thought alone was amusing.

“……What dark imaginings are you conjuring now?”
“Ah, here I am, treated as if I don’t exist, and yet you begrudge me even a smile. When my sister takes the throne, you’d better start preparing for your execution.”
“I’ll wait. Though honestly, I suspect I won’t live to see it—your Highness will kill me first.”

Adolf’s expression grew markedly grave as he studied the eternally inscrutable face before him.

“As for Lady Bardentia—apparently she had no chronic illness to speak of, and her reputation these past few years has been good, though it wasn’t so in the past. But there’s little use in learning more about someone already dead. Since Duke Bardentia remains in a coma, Dior will likely withdraw his involvement soon enough.”

Uriah rose from his seat, tilted his head, and stretched languidly. His steps toward the window were light and unhurried.
His face, gazing out at the distant Imperial Palace, never ceased smiling.

“That woman—I’ve always wanted to meet her at least once.”

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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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