Eventually, the Female Lead Ran Away (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 16
“What? Why so suddenly!”
Deborah’s mask-like smile vanished. Seemingly satisfied, Zen spoke with a deliberately unpleasant smirk.
“It’s that maid’s job to attend to your comfort, yet you said you disliked it because you felt uncomfortable. So she must be dismissed.”
“Couldn’t she just return to the duties she performed before I arrived?”
“That position has already been taken by another maid. Or would you prefer I reassign your personal maid back and dismiss the one currently working?”
‘He’s pulling this again? Ugh, I suppose I have no choice.’
Clenching her fists, Deborah suppressed a sigh and spoke.
“Very well. I shall gratefully accept your generous consideration.”
“I trust you will.”
Zen gave an arrogant nod and flashed a haughty smile.
“However—”
Deborah slowly spoke, her voice laced with subtle amusement. Anyone could see she had something more to say, and Zen’s smile faded.
“What now?”
“Would it be possible to at least move me to a different room?”
“Fine. I can grant you that much.”
Grateful for this remarkably charitable concession, Deborah offered her thanks.
“Thank you.”
She lowered her head gently, then raised it again with a faint smile.
“Then I shall take my leave—”
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Zen cut her off before she could finish. How many times had he interrupted her like this already?
“I haven’t finished speaking yet.”
“Oh, I see.”
Deborah waited briefly for him to continue. But the man who had so boldly held her back earlier now remained stubbornly silent, lips tightly pressed together.
He even frowned and avoided her gaze—clearly uneasy.
Had Deborah been in his position, she might have asked, “Are you perhaps nervous?”—just as he’d asked her earlier, “Are you uncomfortable?”
“Well, about this morning…”
As if he’d never intended to stay silent forever, Zen finally forced the words out with difficulty. But that was as far as he got. Again, he fell briefly quiet.
‘Just what is he trying to say?’
By now, she was growing genuinely curious.
“…”
Zen glanced at Deborah’s eyes, which regarded him calmly and without concern. He worried how foolishly hesitant he must appear in her gaze.
“Hmph.”
This time, Zen truly mustered his courage. Clearing his throat, he spoke earnestly.
“I misspoke this morning.”
“…”
“I apologize.”
Though Deborah’s expression remained unchanged, she was in fact quite surprised.
That remark earlier—surely, from Zen’s perspective, it had been nothing more than a trivial slip of the tongue.
‘Frankly, it was a little harsh, but the kind of thing one could easily let pass.’
Yet he was apologizing? From any other gentleman, perhaps—but Zen Baker?
“Don’t mention it. I’m perfectly fine.”
She gave that answer, yet still couldn’t quite believe he had actually apologized. Was the man before her truly Zen Baker? This behavior was entirely unlike the Zen Baker she knew.
Yet the Zen Baker standing before her was indeed the real Zen Baker.
“Since you’re fine, then spare me some time. You likely don’t have much to do right now anyway—you could even take a nap at this hour.”
‘He could have just asked me to spare some time—why add that unnecessary remark?’
Deborah watched Zen, whose brow was furrowed, and tightened the faint smile she’d let slip.
“What for?”
“To apologize properly—and also because there’s something I’d like to teach you.”
Though she wondered what he meant by ‘something to teach,’ Deborah decided first to correct something.
“You’ve already apologized, and I’ve already said I’m fine.”
“Unfortunately, I don’t know how to apologize with words alone.”
Zen rose from his seat. Instinctively, Deborah looked up.
“Go prepare to leave.”
He gazed down at her with that same arrogant smile.
“May I ask where we’re headed?”
Deborah lowered her eyes demurely as she spoke. Zen’s eyebrows twitched in evident displeasure.
“You’ll see for yourself.”
At that moment, Deborah’s intuition flared.
‘This feels uneasy.’
Zen stared seriously at the hesitant Deborah.
“Are you truly unwell?”
“No.”
Deborah quickly denied it.
“Then why hesitate?”
She couldn’t possibly say, ‘I just feel uneasy.’ Besides, her employer had offered to teach her something—she couldn’t very well object.
“I’ll get ready right away.”
Seemingly satisfied with Deborah’s reply, Zen spoke with a faint smile.
“Good. Meet me at the entrance in an hour.”
“Understood.”
After leaving Zen’s study, Deborah walked toward her room, lost in thought the entire way.
‘It’s probably nothing. I shouldn’t worry needlessly.’
While Deborah sighed inwardly, Zen, still in the study, slowly opened the hand he’d clenched tightly—afraid he might unconsciously reach out for her.
‘How pathetic.’
His heart pounded as if ready to burst from his chest. His ears burned hot. Merely suggesting they go out together had reduced him to this.
“Aah…”
Zen felt as though he’d turned into a fool.
[This is the timeline separator]Even though Zen had invited her out, Deborah had assumed he wouldn’t cross boundaries. She’d expected him perhaps to explain the garden, telling her later to teach Dia about it.
“You’re here?”
Zen waited for Deborah at the main entrance, impeccably dressed for an outing. His thick, lustrous coat and gleaming shoes made him shine so brilliantly it was almost intimidating to stand beside him.
In contrast, Deborah wore a simple outing dress—plain and, of course, black.
“Are we going far?”
“Far? Distance is relative to the person.”
“Then may I ask our destination?”
“I believe I already told you to see for yourself.”
With one corner of his mouth lifted, Zen strode ahead just as he’d done before.
‘Would it kill you to just answer plainly?’
As Deborah followed him out the door, a crisp winter breeze brushed her nose.
‘It’s a bit cold.’
Zen stopped silently in front of a car waiting just beyond the mansion gates. When the driver hurried to open the door, Zen raised a hand to stop him.
“Get in.”
Holding the car door open, Zen addressed Deborah. Such chivalry made her uncomfortable, though she assumed it held no deeper meaning.
‘Reacting to every little gesture like this would only exhaust me.’
Deborah offered a faint smile.
“Thank you.”
She remembered from her past life that cars had been common—fast, convenient, and widely used. Yet she recalled no memory of ever riding in one herself.
In fact, even in this life, this was her first time inside a car.
“Fascinating?”
Zen, having seated himself beside her, observed Deborah closely examining the car’s ceiling and windows.
“Yes. There were no cars in my neighborhood.”
“Even in the capital, they aren’t widely available yet. Until fairly recently, I still used a carriage.”
The car began to move. After crawling slowly through the estate grounds, it accelerated once they entered the street lined with towering metasequoias.
“How does it compare to a carriage?”
Zen asked as Deborah watched the trees flow past the window.
“It’s wonderful.”
“Hah. Such a simple answer.”
Zen gave a mocking laugh before continuing.
“Are there no drawbacks?”
‘Why ask something like that?’
Indeed, the automobile was a remarkable feat of engineering—an invention destined for widespread adoption.
But the one Deborah rode in now was an early prototype. Naturally, it had shortcomings compared to the carriage, currently the most common mode of transport.
‘Perhaps the biggest drawback is the noise.’
Yet this car belonged to Zen. Even if he asked, openly listing its flaws wasn’t easy.
Deborah gave an awkward smile.
“All I see are advantages. After all, I’ve only been riding for about ten minutes.”
“You don’t need to read my mind so carefully. You must have noticed the noise or how it’s not as fast as you’d expected?”
Deborah replied with a faint smile.
“I was simply marveling at how plush the seats are and how much smoother the ride is compared to a carriage.”
It was a lie. Zen likely saw right through her—that’s why he stared at her so intently now.
“Are you dissatisfied with your automobile, Mr. Baker?”
“…How could I be satisfied with something so full of flaws?”
His words sparked sudden curiosity in Deborah.
‘Then why use a car instead of a carriage?’
She considered asking, but seeing Zen abruptly turn toward the window, she decided not to offer him another question.
Turning her head in the opposite direction, Deborah quietly observed the streets growing colder, drifting further from autumn and closer to winter.
It would be beautiful when snow fell upon the tall, majestic trees—though of course, they’d shed all their leaves before the first snow.
“…”
Zen also faced the window—but not at the scenery beyond. He watched Deborah’s profile reflected in the glass.
Seeing her utterly absorbed in the outside view, he thought,
Just turn your head inward a little. What’s so interesting out there anyway?
[This is the timeline separator]Zen exited the car first and walked around to open Deborah’s door.
“Come out.”
“Thank you.”
Though Deborah found his chivalry unnecessary—and thus burdensome—the flood of stares the moment she stepped out weighed even heavier.
Even in the capital’s most famous district, automobiles remained a novelty.
‘Mr. Baker did say cars were rare even in the capital…’
So she had no choice but to endure the attention.
Yet while the crowd’s gazes were bearable, the building before her eyes was not.
‘This place is definitely…’
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
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