Didn't Plan to Become a Companion (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 11
“I’m feeling a little stifled right now.”
Most likely, my family’s reaction had contributed significantly to Ricardo’s frustration. Though startled by his abrupt declaration that he would take me away, they had behaved as if it were an inevitable event.
In the Empire, they probably called me the Catalyst of the Awakening.
“When did you complete your Ascension?”
It was said that no Rochester had ever failed to achieve Ascension after Awakening, but Ricardo had attained it even faster than the others. I’d heard countless imperial wars had been averted because of him. Thanks to that, the Empire’s territory had nearly doubled.
I had believed everything was over then.
He had gained power unreachable by anyone, existing in a distant realm beyond my grasp, and I—no longer connected to him—would never again be consumed by those flames.
Ricardo remained silent for a while after my question, then slowly parted his lips.
“Seven years ago.”
That meant he had achieved Ascension almost simultaneously with his Awakening. I tried my best to avoid meeting his eyes and continued as naturally as possible.
“If you have any questions for me, please ask.”
“Until I met you, I thought I’d never have anything to ask anyone…”
“…”
“My first question: you weren’t designated as the Catalyst for my Awakening. So how was it possible?”
It was the same as asking, “Aren’t you not the Saintess?”
“Oh, that was just a coincidence.”
At the word “coincidence,” Ricardo’s face instantly crumpled.
But what could I do? It truly had been an accident. I later learned the wooden sword that struck Ricardo’s head was made from a tree in the Black Forest—a place no one could enter without royal permission.
There, not even a fallen branch rotting on the ground could be taken out carelessly.
Once a year, however, the royal family would cut sacred trees from that forest to build an altar, and sometimes leftover pieces were used to craft practice swords.
I’d heard those swords were twice as hard as ordinary wooden swords yet weighed only half as much, making them quite valuable.
Thus, I suspected Ricardo’s Awakening might have been caused by that very sword.
But how could I possibly tell him, “I struck your forehead hard enough to trigger your Awakening”?
That would be far too frivolous a cause for a Rochester’s Awakening.
“Fine, no need to rush. Then, the second question.”
I nodded slightly. It would be fortunate if he let it go at that.
“Count Fennel and his heir were executed under imperial law.”
The period between sentencing and execution felt like existing without truly living.
Ricardo’s sudden Awakening had left them no time to flee, and by then, so much had already changed—so dramatically that abandoning their family and surviving alone would have been utterly meaningless.
“But how did you and the rest of your family survive?”
To answer that, there was something I needed to know first.
“How did Your Grace find us?”
“It took some effort.”
Ah, so he doesn’t remember that either.
“But once I decided to look again, you were found quickly enough.”
Of course. You were the one who hid me and my family here in the first place. For a moment, I recalled that day long ago.
“Why that expression?”
Our eyes met, and memories of the past flashed by like a reel of film. When he’d returned to the Pernelle estate after becoming a duke, he’d looked at me with the same bewildered gaze as now.
That young Ricardo of that day had ultimately protected me and my family—as if repaying my irrational, unreasonable faith in him.
I’d thought that was all the reward I needed for my efforts to protect you…
“What are you thinking about… right now?”
He loosened his grip slightly on the tie choking my neck as he asked. The way he raised one eyebrow mirrored exactly how he used to look, and without realizing it, I blurted out:
“I’m not thinking anything.”
“That sounds like informal speech…”
“I—I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”
I quickly lowered my eyes and tried to pull away from him, repeating to myself that I mustn’t meet his gaze… But my feeble effort crumbled with just a touch of his hand. He gently grasped my chin and fixed my eyes firmly onto his.
“Touching a lady without permission is hardly proper etiquette.”
“…”
“But you keep making me impatient.”
His inscrutable black eyes shimmered only with ash-gray hues.
“Perhaps this is the first time I’ve ever felt impatience.”
In other words, he meant I should behave myself.
“And earlier, I was too flustered… It’s very unfamiliar to hear someone speak informally to me.”
“Were we that close?” he asked in a gently probing tone, though it wasn’t truly a question. What must it feel like to know you’ve lost your memories? Somehow, I didn’t want to make him feel even more helpless.
“Not long after Your Grace left for the Empire, Emperor Dermayer ordered the execution of the entire House of Pernelle.”
“I know that.”
The execution was delayed much longer than expected. We were confined in the mansion, waiting for months only for the day we’d die. We guessed there must have been some political reason between the Empire and the Duchy, since they neither sent us to prison nor executed us immediately.
“Before the knights of the Dermayer Empire arrived at Count Fennel’s estate, Your Grace came to find me first.”
“You mean me?”
Back then, Ricardo had come looking for me while I was asleep. Even then, he’d stared at me as if I were a complete stranger.
“Yes. You took me and my family away before the knights surrounded the house.”
At first, he’d intended to take only me. But when I fiercely resisted, he smuggled out the rest of my family as well and brought us to a house he’d prepared in advance. It hadn’t looked like something hastily arranged.
“So you’re saying I still retained some memory of you until then?”
I gave a slight shrug. Was “retained memory” even the right way to put it?
“You didn’t remember me, but you said you felt you had to save me.”
“Look me straight in the eyes.”
He stared intently into mine, as if trying to uncover the truth.
Beyond wielding overwhelming power encompassing all strength in the world, Rochesters were also said to possess eyes that discern truth—perhaps a divine safeguard to prevent memory-loss-stricken Rochesters from being swayed by lies.
The emotions a Rochester had to reveal as the price for wielding power were basic ones—joy, sorrow, curiosity, anger—but for a duke who must conceal his inner thoughts, this was fatal.
His emotions appeared as fleeting hues within the depths of his pitch-black eyes: red for anger, yellow for interest.
Thus, Rochesters trained all their lives to quickly suppress their emotions. As a result, those momentary feelings often vanished before one could even register them.
“If it wasn’t memory, then… was it some kind of feeling?”
Why ask me about your own feelings? There’s no way I could know.
I gently pushed away his hand from my chin. Meeting his eyes was still far too overwhelming—especially staring into those emotionless eyes he reserved for strangers.
“It might have been, or it might not. Either way, it was Your Grace who brought us to the house where we live now.”
He remained silent for a while, his face full of confusion. Of course, that confusion wasn’t mine to bear. Now, he had to be someone entirely from a different world than mine.
“You’re taking me away because I helped with Your Grace’s Awakening, right?”
“Yes.”
After a brief pause, his affirmation came quickly.
I closed and reopened my eyes tightly, as if hearing my heart crumble inward. He watched me with a sidelong glance, and a slight chill made my shoulders tense and my body shrink involuntarily.
His gaze, unusually deep and calm for the situation, remained unreadable—impossible to guess what lay beneath.
Slowly, his eyes drifted past my ear, lingered in the empty air behind me, then returned to settle on my face. I felt I couldn’t even breathe without making the slightest sound.
I was deeply afraid of those cold, lifeless eyes.
‘So in the end, am I to become a witch merely imitating the Saintess?’
I immediately shook my head vigorously. It was too soon to jump to conclusions.
“Thinking something else again?”
“Huh?”
“Lady Fennel.”
Ricardo called me gently, his eyes sweeping over my hair without laying a finger on me—yet goosebumps prickled across my entire body.
“But you know…”
“Y-yes?”
His eyes were deep and mesmerizing, like darkness that never failed to cloud my mind.
“There’s something truly strange about you since earlier.”
His low, resonant voice made my throat tighten, and I struggled to swallow.
“You… like me, don’t you?”
“Oh…”
Suddenly, a memory from ten years ago flashed before me. Twelve-year-old Ricardo had asked me with that same expression.
〈You… like me, don’t you?〉
Though no wind blew inside the carriage, the scent of fresh, metallic grass filled my nostrils just as it had that day. Then as now, I couldn’t give a proper answer—because every time I met his eyes, I felt bone-deep the truth that I still liked him.
“How is that possible? So much time has passed.”
“I… suppose so.”
Before those truth-discerning eyes, there was no will left in me to conceal anything. Before his Ascension, it might have been a lucky guess—but now, Ricardo could see everyone’s raw, unfiltered truth.
“Ha… but that’s just like the feeling of seeing delicious food when you’re hungry.”
His brow furrowed slightly at my ill-fitting analogy.
Male lead first thought she played hard to get, only to realize she
really disliked him
Short intro:
What she can’t stand the most is the streets full of effeminate men, especially that so-called top beauty whom she avoids at all costs.
Shen Yaoxing looks at Jiang Mingyue, who keeps approaching her with coy shyness.
Shen Yaoxing: Bro, don’t be like this, I’m really about to throw up!
She fears nothing in heaven or earth, except for him getting close to her.
*
At first he thought she was just using the trick of feigning indifference to attract his attention. Later, he learned that she truly despised him.
This dealt a heavy blow to Jiang Mingyue, and he vowed to make her, like everyone else, fall at his feet in worship!
***
Synopsis:
Before transmigrating, Shen Yaoxing only wanted to find a reliable man to spend her life with. Who knew that after transmigrating, she would become a reliable woman herself…
A forced misandrist, highly skilled, and reliable female lead
vs.
An initially aloof and arrogant, later morbid, obsessed male lead
_____
Please help me, I want to bring you the best possible things.
If you find any chapter or novel with poor translation and editing quality, let me know by commenting directly under that novel or chapter. I will retranslate it as soon as possible.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
Most Commented This Week
The Villain Has Gone Mad For Me (Completed Main Story)
I’m The Lowest-Ranking Daughter Of A Martial Arts Villain (2 Chapters Left to Complete)
I Became the Assassin Family’s Foster Daughter (Completed Main Story)
The Duke Only Needs My Child (Completed Main Story)
Men of the Harem (137 Chapters Left to Complete)
At the End of Ruin, There You Are (56 Chapters Left to Complete)
She’s a Villainess but her Husband is Handsome (Completed Main Story)
People Aren’t Meant to Be Fixed! (4 Chapters Left to Complete)
My Discarded Fiancé Returned (Completed Main Story)
Summer Must Die (16 Chapters Left to Complete)
I Received The First Time Of My Extraordinary Superior (9 Chapters Left to Complete)
Regret With All Your Might (Completed Main Story)