I Became the Female Lead Ruined by Others - Chapter 9

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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 9

The Butler set a medicine bottle down on the table.

“Since you won’t remember at present, allow me to explain—this poison was selected by you personally.”

Somewhere along the way, he had shed his initial bewilderment and continued his explanation with perfect composure.
His manner suggested this was far from an isolated occurrence.

“You have been building immunity by consuming various types of poison over time. However, you are still adapting to this particular variety, which is why you are experiencing temporary memory confusion. But such symptoms typically resolve within half a day or so.”

He spoke with remarkable casualness, then handed me a cup of water he had brought along with the tea.

“So do not worry. As time passes, the symptoms will improve.”

I accepted the cup and stared at him blankly.
The explanation had been sufficient, yet it hardly made the situation any more comprehensible.
Not even as the cool water slipped down my throat.

‘Why would anyone need to consume poison in the first place? Wait.’

Then, in a sudden flash, understanding struck me like a blow to the back of my skull.

‘This is an opportunity.’

I deliberately crumpled my face and shook my head.

“My head feels completely blank, I have to say.”
“Is it possible you haven’t taken it at all since leaving the Mansion?”
“I can’t even remember what I’ve been doing for days now.”

Five years of navigating situations with small and large lies had trained me well.
Any possessed being must give the other party no thread of suspicion to pull on.
Especially not when circumstances demanded such careful manipulation.

“The severity does vary depending on your condition. It seems today’s taxing schedule has left you particularly exhausted.”
“But here’s the thing.”

Now I cradled my head in both hands, pressing my eyes shut.

“Why was I away from the Mansion?”
“A fortnight ago, you said you needed to leave the Empire for a time.”
“I still can’t remember anything.”
“That, I’m afraid… I do not know either. You said there was something important to attend to, and after several days of preparation, you left alone. I was never informed when you might return.”

I already knew that the possessed one had left the Empire a fortnight ago.
The problem was that not only had I heard no detailed account of it, but the Butler had been equally uninformed.

‘Well, that’s a wash. But he did say half a day at most, didn’t he?’

Until that time had passed, I could feign memory loss without arousing suspicion.
So I had to make full use of this window.

‘What should I ask first?’

I was maintaining an air of confusion, leaning back against the chair, when the Butler spoke carefully.

“Shall we have a look at the study?”
“The study?”

I straightened up in my seat and studied him carefully.

“Before your departure that day, sir was organizing documents. It may help ease any side effects if you examine the records directly.”

His voice carried the composure of someone who had never known fear.
An odd sense of trust washed over me, and I found myself nodding and rising to my feet almost without thinking.
Strange to think that even someone as rotten as I had such a reliable ally. Perhaps I’d been blessed with some protagonist’s fortune after all.

‘The study must have something useful.’

I followed the Butler down the corridor, keeping my head slightly bowed to look like someone battling a headache.
Caught in the convincing performance, he glanced back at me from time to time.

“My head feels a bit cloudy, that’s all.”

And I unleashed every ounce of acting prowess I’d honed during my years as a palace servant.

“That’s because you haven’t developed proper immunity yet. But like the other medications, your body will adapt in time.”

He believed I’d lost my memory to the poison’s effects.
But now, my mind was sharp as a blade—not a single thing troubled me from head to toe.

‘Then I’ve already built immunity to that poison.’

And hard on the heels of that realization came the biggest question of all.
I didn’t hesitate to voice it aloud.

“Why did I start drinking poison in the first place?”
“To condition your body through regular doses, sir. You were already developing your tolerance long before I arrived at the Mansion.”
“But why?”

My voice dropped to an edge, sharp with irritation, and the Butler startled just as he had in the Entrance Hall.

“I-in case of emergency, sir. You said that if you had immunity to poison, you could never be killed by it, and you—”
“What?”

In the game, the female protagonist had been involved in exactly zero incidents involving poison.
So the possessed girl would never have told me anything about poison.
Yet death by poison?

“Was someone threatening me?”

The Butler hesitated, then shook his head firmly.

“Not to my knowledge, sir. And such a thing couldn’t happen here. Not with the systematic security arrangements of this Mansion.”

No threats until now, yet security was maintained systematically and poison was treated with unusual caution.

‘Does that mean danger was coming, even if it hasn’t arrived yet?’

In that moment, scattered pieces of information began to tangle together like puzzle fragments searching for their place.

‘This doesn’t add up.’

It was a different matter entirely from being disliked for a bad temperament or poor reputation.
The murderous gleam in Elder Brother’s eyes at the Funeral Hall. The cold warning in Baron’s voice.
Not content with just that, he drank poison and even kept careful watch over the mansion’s security.

‘What in the world has this possessed man been doing?’

He must have done something terrible enough to earn someone’s bitter hatred and make him fear for his life.
I wanted to ask more, but by then we’d already arrived at the study entrance.
The study was situated in a far corner of the mansion, accessible only through a long corridor.

“Please, do go in.”

As the door swung open smoothly, five tall bookshelves stood directly ahead, positioned right before me.
They seemed to serve as a sort of partition, as if deliberately blocking any view of the interior.
Between the shelves lay a gap so narrow that only a single person could squeeze through, and it appeared one would have to crab-walk sideways to enter the room beyond.

“Call for me whenever you need.”

The Butler bowed with practiced ease at the doorway and stepped back two paces.
I walked slowly and uncertainly toward the space beside the bookshelves.
The door closed immediately behind me, and as I passed through the narrow gap, the spacious interior of the study opened up before me.

‘A dark room?’

Though the study had no windows, a large lantern suspended from the ceiling bathed the interior in daylight brightness, and a thick carpet lay soft underfoot.
On the broad desk at the center lay stacks of documents arranged in neat rows.

“This is a commission form. This one here is… an expense statement.”

Nothing appeared particularly unusual about them.
Rather than continue rifling through them, I gave the desk drawer handle a light tug.

“It seems like there’s something hidden in here.”

I pulled harder a few more times, but the locked drawer only rattled and refused to give.

“Ah, so a key is needed.”

Suddenly the moment flashed back to me—right after swallowing the poison, when my hand had unconsciously gripped my throat.

‘That didn’t seem like a simple necklace at all.’

The ruffled collar had hidden it from view, but it had felt rather weighty and cold against my skin.
I carefully slipped my hand inside my neckline and felt around.

“There it is.”

My fingers brushed cold metal—a small key hanging from a chain.
The moment I drew it out, I let out a cheer.
It was my first real triumph since the second possession!
I unfastened the necklace and fitted the key at the end of the chain into the hole beside the drawer handle.
Click.
The drawer lock released with a crisp, satisfying sound.

“It’s open!”

My voice came out bright with an odd sort of triumph.
Inside the drawer lay two thick document envelopes.

‘So he carried this key hidden on him all this time.’

I settled comfortably onto the sofa and tore open one of the envelopes.

“A letter?”

Inside were document envelopes filled with blank pages.

I will never forget the kindness you showed in guarding this precious secret.
Thank you. The cooperation you desired will be realized.
I have made the preparations as promised.

The contents of each letter were uniformly brief and terse.
Obscure enough that their purpose could not be inferred.

‘This is far stranger.’

A chill ran down my spine.
The complete absence of specifics, the lack of any family seal or signet mark pressed into the envelope flaps—all of it seemed deliberately designed to conceal something significant. Looking at the traces of removal along the envelope’s surface, it appeared to have been tampered with on purpose.

Terse sentences that revealed no true meaning, envelopes that bore no discernible sender.

I swallowed hard and reached toward the remaining document envelope.

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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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