Eventually, the Female Lead Ran Away (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 9
“I never expected that seeing such a young woman would remind me of him.”
Lady Saint said with a faint smile.
“If you hadn’t helped me back then, I might have foolishly swallowed the vomit rising in my throat and choked to death right then and there.”
“Don’t say such things. That would never have happened.”
Deborah spoke firmly. But Lady Saint truly believed it could have.
It was Lady Saint’s bad habit to hold back the urge to vomit and swallow it again. Because of this, she often suffered from choking fits.
Two people had scolded me relentlessly about this bad habit of Lady Saint’s.
“He and this very girl.”
Perhaps Deborah had been saving Lady Saint not just on the day they first met, but throughout all the years they’d spent together.
“Though she’d never admit it herself.”
She said with a languid smile.
“I still haven’t forgotten the taste of the mint tea and pickled lemon-ginger you gave me. They helped me so much.”
“I’m glad I could help, but anyone else would have gladly done the same for you.”
“You always reply just like that.”
Humility is a virtue. That truth would remain unchanged no matter the era. But in Lady Saint’s eyes, Deborah could afford to be a little more bold.
“I find it a pity that you keep swallowing your wise words just to appear humble.”
“Wise? Hardly.”
“There you go again, there you go.”
Lady Saint frowned slightly, playfully. Deborah gave an awkward smile.
“In any case, as I said at the very beginning, I want you to stay here.”
Deborah had known Lady Saint would say exactly that. Of course—after all, it was she who had sent Deborah here in the first place.
Yet Deborah still couldn’t let go of hope.
Surely, she could reason with her better than with Zen, she thought.
“Lady Saint, I appreciate your kindness, but I’m a widow. A woman who hasn’t even put off her mourning clothes—how could I possibly serve as a lady’s maid for personal grooming? The world won’t look kindly upon it.”
“Deborah! Isn’t this the fifth time you’ve used that excuse?”
Lady Saint said with a kind smile. Deborah nodded.
“And every time I say that, you pretend not to hear me.”
“Oh my, did I really do that?”
Lady Saint placed a hand to her cheek and chuckled.
“In any case, you gave in to my stubbornness and attended the interview.”
“Lady Saint, I only took the interview because I thought I’d surely be rejected.”
“Oh, be honest! But look—you got the position anyway.”
“I don’t understand why Mr. Baker made that choice… But even if I’ve been accepted, nothing has changed. I’m still not suited to be a lady’s maid. You know that.”
Deborah spoke earnestly to Lady Saint.
“Lady Saint, I don’t wish to cause trouble for anyone—especially not for someone so closely connected to you.”
“Hmm. Then consider this, Deborah.”
Lady Saint set her teacup down on the table as she spoke.
“Is there really anyone better suited for this than you?”
Caught off guard by the unexpected question, Deborah was momentarily speechless. But then she remembered the crowd she’d seen yesterday.
“Of course there is! Yesterday alone, so many women came who were more graceful and better educated than I am!”
“Hmm, Deborah. Not that kind of thing.”
Not that kind of thing? Deborah looked at Lady Saint with a bewildered expression.
Lady Saint watched Deborah’s confusion with evident amusement before speaking again.
“They say the daughter of House Blaise—the young lady who will become the mistress of this house—grew up poor in the countryside. Naturally, she’s lacking in education and reportedly very timid in character.”
Deborah knew this already. She might even understand Dia’s flaws better than Lady Saint herself at this very moment.
“To a young lady like that, the capital’s high society will seem like a pack of hungry dogs. She needs someone who can offer her gentle comfort.”
“There are many kinder people than I am.”
“That may be. But it’s not easy to identify such a person from just one interview.”
Lady Saint was right. In the original story, they surely hadn’t deliberately chosen a malicious lady’s maid. Yet Dia still ended up wearing outdated clothes and suffering clear, childish humiliations.
“But even so…”
Lady Saint didn’t miss Deborah’s hesitation.
“My dear, you’re someone I can personally vouch for—a genuinely good person, capable of caring for others sincerely. How many such people exist in this age?”
This truly was an age of upheaval. Never in all of history had industrial technology advanced so rapidly.
In the blink of an eye, something surged forward while something else fell behind. That “something” could be an individual—or an entire society.
People struggled fiercely day by day just to survive in this era. Thus, finding someone who could genuinely care for others was no simple matter.
“Deborah, I see no better choice than you for this role. Of course, I fully understand your concerns, which is why I’d like to propose this—what do you think?”
Lady Saint continued.
“Just work for this family until she truly becomes Mrs. Baker.”
“What?”
Deborah found herself blurting out louder than intended. She quickly covered her mouth, but her flustered expression remained.
Until she becomes “Mrs. Baker”? In the original story, Dia had married almost immediately upon arriving in the capital—and only met her lady’s maid after the wedding.
“Hehe. Does that sound impossibly far off? But it won’t take that long—perhaps barely a year?”
“Barely a year”? To Deborah, who knew the original story, that sounded more like “a whole year.”
Sweat began to chill Deborah’s palms.
“Fate has changed.”
Even the story’s very foundation had shifted. Why?
“Could it be because of me?”
Deborah subtly clenched her skirt as she wondered.
What on earth had she done to alter fate itself?
No matter how hard she thought, she couldn’t even guess.
“So, Deborah, couldn’t you stay by her side just a little while? And then return to me.”
Lady Saint’s voice was unbearably gentle, yet Deborah felt as though she were being driven to the edge of a cliff.
Deborah couldn’t comprehend why fate had changed—or why she, of all people, had to be swept into the grandest tide of this world.
Had she not known Dia and Zen’s story, she would have peacefully accepted Lady Saint’s request. But she did know it. She knew just how dreadful this tale would become.
“That’s exactly why I don’t want to get involved…”
Unconsciously, Deborah frowned. The bright face of Dia—whom she’d never even seen—appeared vividly in her mind.
“Yes. I know all too well that hell awaits her. And knowing that…”
In the novel, from the moment Zen offered her the position, Dia had been anxious. Yet she kept reassuring herself that everything would be fine, that her future would gradually improve.
“She told herself her unavoidable choice would blossom into hope amidst misfortune.”
Thus, Dia had suppressed her unease and entered the Baker household—but sadly, her fears became reality.
Dia had been poor since birth and suffered a painful life, yet she still dreamed of happiness. But her future held nothing but misery.
And no one here knew of Dia’s suffering—no one except Deborah, who’d never even met her.
“I didn’t want to be dragged into Dia and Zen’s misfortunes—no, honestly, I still don’t. But…”
Deborah felt her breath catch from self-loathing and guilt over turning away so easily just to avoid being entangled in someone else’s sorrow.
What finally loosened her choking guilt was a small sense of responsibility.
Seeing Deborah give the faintest nod, Lady Saint smiled elegantly.
“Oh dear. Now that you’ve agreed, I feel completely relieved.”
“Lady Saint, I say this only because you overestimate me so—I doubt I’ll be of much help.”
“Hehe. Don’t burden yourself so.”
When Deborah met Lady Saint’s eyes, the older woman spoke in a voice as warm as sunlight yet as dignified as a lion’s.
“Deborah, just in case you’ve forgotten—you belong to me. Never forget that. No one in this mansion may treat you carelessly, and the same goes outside. So always hold your head high.”
Deborah grumbled inwardly at Lady Saint, who had pushed her to the cliff’s edge only to offer her hand.
“Your words are truly kind, but I really don’t know… I feel I might tarnish your honor somehow.”
“No matter how much trouble you cause, you’ll never bring shame upon me.”
Lady Saint declared confidently. Deborah smiled awkwardly. Her inner turmoil was plain to see, so Lady Saint shook her head and teased gently.
“My dear, how can someone so young be so lacking in spirit?”
“Goodness, Lady Saint—‘young’? I’m twenty-eight.”
“Hehe. To me, you’re still just a baby.”
“But I’m old enough to have a child—wouldn’t that be strange?”
“What does that matter? To me, you’re just a child!”
Following Lady Saint’s light laughter, Deborah allowed herself a slightly more relaxed smile.
Of course, she was still uneasy and anxious—but avoiding this storm now seemed impossible. If so, Deborah had only one course of action.
“To stand against the tempest.”
Perhaps it was impossible for a mere human to defy great fate. Deborah certainly lacked such extraordinary power. But trying was still better than doing nothing at all.
“By the way… what exactly is the relationship between Lady Saint and Zen?”
Seeing Deborah lost in thought, Lady Saint asked,
“What on earth are you pondering so deeply?”
She couldn’t possibly admit she’d been wondering about Lady Saint’s connection to Zen, so Deborah asked another question instead.
“But Lady Saint—a lady’s maid’s duty is simply to assist with fashionable grooming, not to offer comfort, isn’t it?”
“Hehe. True. From now on, you’ll be Lady Blaise’s personal maid. Your duties will increase somewhat, but knowing you, it won’t be much of a problem. Will it?”
“Lady Saint…”
Lady Saint laughed heartily at Deborah’s mock-reproachful look. Deborah, in turn, found herself fond of that laughter.
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.
_____
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