Eventually, the Female Lead Ran Away - Chapter 52

Fortunately, the teacup obscured Zen’s lips, so Bellus didn’t know he was smiling.

Composing his expression, Zen put down the teacup and said seriously,

“How could I dare attend such an esteemed gathering?”

Bellus thought quietly.

‘Come to think of it, this man probably hasn’t participated in any social activities except for our club.’

Shrugging his shoulders, Bellus spoke as if bestowing a favor.

“My grandfather is different from other old nobles. Ah, you know not to speak to him casually, right? Let’s just go and show our faces.”

Zen bowed his head politely in greeting.

“It’s truly an honor. I’ll be careful not to make any mistakes.”

“Hehe. It wouldn’t be bad if you did make a mistake. I can’t even imagine you making one.”

Making an unfunny joke and laughing softly, Bellus suddenly frowned.

“Haah…”

“What’s wrong?”

“Just thinking about my party partner is already irritating me.”

“When you say partner…”

As Zen couldn’t bring himself to say the name, Bellus said it instead.

“Yes. I mean Duke Buin’s daughter.”

Bellus stared at the ceiling as if exhaling smoke and muttered,

“Ah. That woman alone is annoying enough, but Duke Buin is also attending this party…”

“…”

Zen’s heart pounded. Just hearing his name made contempt frost over his eyes and his lips curled in mockery.

“There’s no helping it. Sometimes people have to eat things they don’t like, right?”

By the time Bellus lowered his head again, Zen had already composed his expression and gave a careful smile.

“By the way, this party requires a partner. Do you have someone to go with?”

At that moment, the person who came to Zen’s mind was Deborah. Zen thought he couldn’t be more pathetic even if he tried.

That party was like a cage gathering beasts.

Zen too had to attend wearing the skin of a harmless herbivore.

How could he go to such a disgusting place with that person? It was absolutely out of the question.

Having organized his thoughts, Zen answered.

“Yes. I have someone to go with.”

At Zen’s unhesitating answer, Bellus recalled what those three friends had said before.

‘They said they saw him with some woman.’

Bellus asked with his eyes crinkling in a smile,

“I’m curious, may I ask who it is?”

Bellus thought the person with Zen wasn’t a noble. If she were, rumors would have spread far and wide by now.

‘They said she didn’t seem to be an actress either.’

Then she must be bourgeois, but was there a bourgeois woman who matched Zen’s standard?

To Bellus, who couldn’t hide his curiosity, Zen replied with a sheepish smile,

“It’s Count Blaise’s daughter.”

The smile that had spread across Bellus’s face froze into a cold expression.

“Count’s daughter? Is she Gracian?”

“Yes.”

“Ha.”

Bellus let out a scoff without realizing it. A commoner, and a foreigner at that, meeting a count’s daughter!

“It’s problematic to bring a count’s daughter as a casual date. You know how the nobles in this country are, right?”

Bellus said playfully.

“One can’t just bring anyone as a partner to a gathering of such esteemed people, can they?”

Zen’s words implied that their relationship wasn’t ordinary. Bellus found this situation quite amusing.

Most nobles, including Duke Buin, would foam at the mouth if they knew about this.

“By the way, the Blaise family, you say? I’ve never heard of that house.”

“It’s a family from a small town in the east, so it’s understandable that you don’t know.”

Bellus stroked his chin in thought. How did a foreigner like Zen become connected to such a rural noble?

‘No. That’s not the important thing here.’

Leaning his upper body forward, Bellus asked in a low voice as if sharing a secret,

“Is Count Blaise’s daughter in this mansion?”

There was a reason for Bellus’s deduction. Zen was currently the focus of much attention.

If he had met Count Blaise’s daughter outside or been frequenting another mansion, rumors would surely have spread.

“Let me introduce you. I’d like to see her face in advance.”

Even before hearing Zen’s answer, Bellus spoke as if he naturally expected to be introduced.

‘How presumptuous. How unpleasant.’

Zen hadn’t expected Bellus to seek out Dia. But it wasn’t a surprising situation.

“Unfortunately, she’s not in the mansion right now.”

Zen said, pretending to be troubled. Zen had no intention of showing Dia right now.

It was a problem that Dia couldn’t yet convincingly imitate the appearance of a decent lady, but Bellus, this man, was an even bigger problem.

‘He’s the type to cause unnecessary trouble and then some.’

Bellus wasn’t someone who cared about others’ feelings. An insolent person who had only received excessive love since birth.

Someone who found it as easy as breathing to hurt others.

‘If Dia Blaise gets hurt, Debby will be concerned.’

Zen vividly remembered Deborah’s expression when she was worried sick about Dia. And he never wanted to see that look again.

“Really?”

“Yes. I’m sorry.”

The brazen Zen answered without a moment’s hesitation.

“Hmm…”

Bellus shot him a suspicious glance. Zen endured that gaze with an awkward smile.

Given Bellus’s personality, he might pester him not to lie, but he wouldn’t be able to search this entire mansion, so there was no worry of being caught.

“Come to think of it.”

Suddenly sitting up straight, Bellus snapped his fingers.

“Ah, yes. That car.”

Bellus spoke as if he had just heard the explanation to an unsolved riddle.

“Car?”

“I saw a car leaving this mansion earlier.”

Zen’s eyes widened. Bellus was quite surprised to see bewilderment in those usually composed golden eyes.

‘I didn’t know you could be surprised like this.’

Bellus smiled slyly and said,

“The car looked familiar, so at first I thought you were going out.”

He had even sent someone to visit, but you’re leaving? Annoyed, Bellus furrowed his brow and checked the interior of the moving car.

But Zen, with his unmistakable bulk, wasn’t there.

‘I don’t think I saw a woman either… Well, I might have missed her.’

Bellus let out a laughing sigh and said,

“Ah, what a shame. I was curious about what kind of person she is.”

“…”

“But I’ll get to see her soon enough, so I won’t be too impatient.

Zen belatedly managed a smile.

“Thank you.”

[This is the timeline separator]

After visiting various shops in the shopping district, Deborah’s hands were quite heavy.

‘I didn’t intend to buy this much.’

Indeed, shopping was both fun and dangerous.

“Please, let me take those bags.”

Pol, the driver who had been following Deborah all day, held out his hands. Deborah smiled and shook her head.

“It’s alright. I can carry them easily.”

“No, I insist. The head butler instructed me to take good care of you, Miss Deborah.”

Deborah was perplexed. Why would Cedric give such instructions about her?

Deborah handed the bags to Pol, who showed no signs of withdrawing his hands, and they walked to the parked car. Then she said to him,

“In that case, I’ll go to the stationery store, so will you wait in the car?”

“No, I can’t…”

“It’s really close. It’s right there, see?”

The stationery store Deborah pointed to was just about 5m away.

Pol wanted to follow her, remembering Cedric’s instructions, but he also understood Deborah’s position.

‘She probably couldn’t look around freely with me following her all the time.’

Clicking his tongue and scratching the back of his head, Pol answered,

“Alright then. Please go at your leisure.”

“Thank you.”

Deborah smiled. At her elegant yet friendly smile, Pol unconsciously blushed.

“Y-yes.”

Watching Deborah’s retreating figure walk towards the stationery store at a pace neither too slow nor too fast, Pol thought,

‘She’s a beauty, isn’t she?’

There were quite a few beauties among the maids of the Baker household, but he had never seen one with such an aura before.

‘She’s an interesting person, that’s for sure. Going out alone with the master, and the head butler giving orders to take good care of her.’

Pol could at least guarantee that Zen and Deborah weren’t so-called ‘lovers’.

Though he couldn’t hear what conversation the two had due to the engine noise and partition, one didn’t need to hear the content of conversations to know if people were lovers.

‘But they didn’t seem like mere employer and employee either.’

Zen didn’t get close to anyone, especially servants.

Just like a ‘proper noble’. But while the two didn’t seem overly friendly, they did appear subtly intimate.

‘The fact that they went out together in the first place is…’

Pol furrowed his brow and pondered for a while, but soon let out a sigh to clear his thoughts.

What good would it do to know the nature of their relationship? He just needed to keep his mouth shut and work hard.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Welcome!”

A cheerful voice greeted Deborah as soon as she entered the store.

“Hello.”

Deborah responded pleasantly and looked around the store. The unique scent and atmosphere of a stationery store calmed her mind.

“Are you looking for anything in particular?”

“I came to buy a gift…”

As she looked around, Deborah soon spotted a pen identical to the one Irene had gifted her.

“Could you wrap this fountain pen for me?”

“Of course! What color would you like for the wrapping?”

Deborah pondered. A warm color would suit Madam Saint. A cool color would suit Abigail.

‘But it shouldn’t be too flashy…’

Having finished her deliberation, Deborah said,

“Brown and black, please.”

“Certainly. I’ll carefully check and wrap them for you, so please wait a moment.”

“Take your time.”

While the owner was wrapping the gifts, Deborah looked around the store. Just then, the door opened.

“Oh?”

Hearing a voice that seemed to be calling her, Deborah turned around.