I Became the Female Lead Ruined by Others - Chapter 7

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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 7

I found myself at a loss for words.
I couldn’t believe this place was the same as the dilapidated old house in my memory.
And the countless eyes fixed upon me, using this grand space as their backdrop.

“…….”

Whether by fortune or misfortune, I was something of a seasoned Possession veteran.

Since this wasn’t my first time experiencing Possession, and I’d lived through five years of it, I instinctively knew one truth.
For a Possessed individual’s survival, what mattered most was ultimately acting ability and quick wit.
Yet faced with this bizarre situation, I’d become utterly tongue-tied.

‘What on earth is all this?’

No matter how hard I thought about it, something didn’t add up.
The female protagonist in the game had been desperately poor.
I’d heard she’d gone hungry for days at a time, living in such penury that she could barely maintain even a shabby Mansion.
Yet here she stood commanding a luxury Mansion with countless servants at her beck and call?

‘My uncle did return the inheritance he’d seized when he took over as acting baron, but it couldn’t have been that much.’

That left only one possible answer.

‘All of this must be the work of that Possessed person?’

But there was no way she could have generated income beyond the living expenses I provided.

‘Just what has she been doing all this time?’

It had been only a few hours since I’d opened my eyes in the funeral hall.
Yet in that brief span, everything I thought I knew had been turned upside down.
Just then, the middle-aged man standing before me broke the silence with a trembling voice.

“Master, I sincerely apologize. We had no idea you would return so urgently. My deepest apologies!”
“My apologies!”

The servants lined up behind him bent their waists nearly parallel to the ground, crying out in unison.
The sight made me feel as though I’d become the leader of some violent syndicate.

‘Even the Duke’s Residence wasn’t this theatrical.’

If I remained silent any longer, it seemed someone might genuinely offer their life.
I finally made up my mind: I needed to get out of this situation immediately.

“Ahem.”

I cleared my throat once.
Then I recalled ‘that Possessed person.’
Eyes sharp and fierce, and a voice as arrogant and impudent as possible.

“You want me to rest?”

At those words, the middle-aged man’s sagging head snapped upright.
He suddenly raised his clasped hands, pointing toward the central staircase.

“Yes, yes! Right away, sir! I’ve kept the Mansion in perfect order even during your absence!”

He took the lead, his voice pitched high with deference.
As I followed him, my eyes found no rest—there was too much to see in every direction.
A plush carpet laid neatly down the center of the stairs, ornamental fixtures on the railings that seemed to serve no purpose, gold-framed paintings hung along the walls.

‘Where on earth did he get all of this…?’

The second floor, to which the Butler had guided me, was little different from the first.
Small display pedestals positioned throughout held expensive artworks—or at least what appeared to be such at first glance.

“Sir, which room shall I prepare for you?”

The sudden question reached me as I scanned the hallway.

‘Which room?’

I knew nothing, so answering simply was impossible.
So I widened my eyes fiercely again and let out an irritated exhale.

“Didn’t I say I wanted to rest?”

Fortunately, I’d spent a year observing this man’s true nature beneath his facade.
Seeing him startle at my words, I knew my act was working seamlessly.

“My apologies! I-I shall show you to the bedroom at once, sir.”

He quickly turned and led me down the hallway to the left edge of the second floor.
The door to the room we reached was the most ornate I’d yet encountered.
Its surface was rough, decorated with what looked like molten gold applied and re-applied in haphazard layers.
Yet the handle and edges bore intricate engravings, and it was clear considerable effort had gone into them.

“Please, enter.”

I narrowed my eyes, bracing myself for another assault of blinding gilt.
But contrary to my expectation, the interior of the bedroom proved remarkably plain.

‘The bedroom is… ordinary?’

A bed and its nightstand, a desk on the opposite side, a table in the center, and a large wardrobe—beyond these, there were no decorative flourishes at all.

“Sir, shall I prepare tea?”

Only then did I notice my throat was parched from swallowing nervously all this while.
So I nodded without turning around and answered simply.

“Yes.”
“Very good, sir. I shall return shortly.”

The moment I heard the door close behind him, my shoulders sagged.
With tension released, a thin sigh escaped my lips.

“Ah…”

I shuffled toward the large window that faced me directly.
Drawing back the gray curtain revealed a spacious balcony beyond the glass.
But when I saw the golden tea table and chairs placed on that balcony, a hollow laugh escaped me.

‘I’ve seen a lifetime’s worth of gold in a single day. I’m absolutely sick of it…….’

In the end, I drew the curtains shut again with a grimace.

‘Given the circumstances, this has to be the work of that Possessed one.’

I couldn’t fathom how he’d managed to decorate the interior of the Mansion with such extravagance, or how he’d come to command so many servants.
Not a single mystery had been unraveled, yet new ones kept cascading down one after another.

‘At this rate, it’s mountains beyond mountains!’

I turned away, raking my fingers through my hair in frustration, but then I stopped short.

“What’s this?”

A scrap of paper lying on the desk.
Creased and crumpled, it looked as though someone had deliberately crushed it.
I moved slowly toward the desk and unfolded the hopelessly wrinkled paper.

[I shall accept it with gladness, kind one. The blooming Yulia will have no objection either.]

Courteous language that didn’t match the person who’d once occupied this room.

“Kind one?”

Then was this something he’d received, or something someone else had meant to send?

‘Yulia…… that’s the National Flower of Karzen.’

Yulia was Karzen’s National Flower, known by the epithet of Frost Blossom.
Yet despite being the National Flower, it was rare enough to be regarded as a flower of legend.
Its transparent petals possessed a fragile vitality that matched their beauty, making it difficult to cultivate.

‘Could he have been dealing in flowers?’

As I was fitting together hypotheses like puzzle pieces, a knock sounded and a man’s voice called out.

“I’ve brought tea.”
“Come in.”

I answered while tossing the crumpled paper carelessly into the desk drawer.
A man entered carrying a tray with a steaming Teapot and Teacup.
I approached the table and sat down, deliberately pretending not to pay attention as I murmured absently.

“……Butler.”
“Yes? Did you call for me, sir?”

He’d responded even to that small murmur.

‘So he really is a butler.’

I’d called him out and then waved it off as if it were nothing, yet he didn’t press the matter. He simply poured the tea.
The moment the Teacup was set before me, I reached for it.

“Hoo.”

After cooling it with my breath, I took a sip and felt a bitter flavor bloom across my tongue.
My throat was parched, so I drank three quick gulps in succession, and my entire body seemed to melt with relief.

“Ahh.”
“Yes, sir.”

Now that I’d identified this man’s true nature, a peculiar confidence bloomed in me.

‘Besides, there’s only the two of us in this room now, so there’s no harm in pressing further.’

I furrowed my brow as though struggling to recall something, drawing up an air of vague distress.

“Yulia. That rare flower.”

However he’d acquired such a rare bloom, if he’d accumulated this degree of wealth through trafficking in it, then his fortune would begin to make a certain kind of sense.
But the response that came was wholly unexpected.

“Pardon? Yes, yes—you mean the National Flower of the Empire, sir?”

The Butler replied with the bewildered air of someone hearing something entirely out of the blue.

‘His reaction says he knows nothing about it at all.’

Whether my hypothesis about the flower trade was right or wrong, further probing would yield nothing.
I simply shook my head a couple of times and lifted the teacup to my lips once more.

‘A kind gentleman, Yulia, no disagreement there…….’

Whether that Possessed one had received or sent something, it was clear he’d conducted some manner of transaction with someone.
I swallowed the warm tea in quick gulps, turning the note’s contents over in my mind.

‘Did that person offer this much financial support in return?’

I was about to move on to the next line of questioning.
At least, I was—until I saw the Butler’s horrified expression as he watched me drain the cup entirely.
His face had gone a ghastly white, his mouth falling open in shock.
He looked between me and the teacup, his voice emerging in a trembling whisper.

“M-master, sir. Was the amount of poison you put in the tea today perhaps less than usual? You’ve drunk it so much faster than you typically do…….”

And it was not only the Butler whose face had gone pale with shock.

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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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