I Pretended To Be Dead And Ran Away - Chapter 19

Reniel froze, not knowing how to handle this situation.

Even to her eyes, Ianathas’ embarrassment was visibly apparent.

He seemed to have difficulty even understanding what was going on right now.

Felix was slightly frowning, perhaps due to his presence.

When Reniel gestured for him to leave, Ianathas looked at her incredulously, but upon seeing the wrinkles on his lord’s forehead, he slowly left.

As no sound was made while he was leaving, one could imagine how quietly he had entered.

Perhaps due to managing the casino’s assassins, he clearly seemed to be a skilled professional.

Of course, not only Ianathas’ steps but even opening and closing the door made no sound.

Like a feather.

Fascinated by this, Reniel was startled when Felix burrowed into her arms, and she calmed him down by stroking his hair.

Felix must be a very sensitive person to detect Ianathas’ presence as he moved silently.

Being very sensitive to killing intent, he was probably relatively dull to Ianathas, who had no hostility towards him.

Reniel waited, stroking Felix’s forehead.

Dong, dong, dong.

Soon, the grandfather clock struck 2 o’clock.

She stayed by Felix’s side until it became 3 o’clock.

When Felix’s breathing became completely calm and regular, she slowly moved away from his embrace.

Only then did she pick up her shoes from under the bed and walk out very slowly.

Creak-

As she opened the door and came out, Ianathas was standing with his arms crossed, smiling.

Perhaps due to his dark brown hair and mysterious smile, he looked very fox-like.

His yellow eyes seemed to make him look even more like a fox’s eyes.

“Ah.”

As Reniel was about to close the door, Ianathas closed it for her without making a sound.

Then he gestured with his chin for her to follow him.

She quickly put on her shoes and closed her clothes.

Soon, they headed to the duty room on the 5th floor.

Ianathas opened the door as if he were the owner of this room and gestured for her to enter.

As she entered his duty room, Ianathas closed the door.

He sat down in the chair next to the table in that modest room and said,

“Let’s take off your clothes.”

“… Pardon?”

Reniel looked at Ianathas again, confused by his words.

As if she couldn’t understand what she had just heard.

“Shall I undress you, or will you do it yourself?”

“I’d like to know the reason, at least.”

“I need to confirm if you’re really a man.”

Reniel wondered why he was acting like this.

Since she was now in a perfect male body, she felt no hesitation.

But if she complied with his words now, it seemed he might make such unreasonable demands confidently in the future, so she was troubled.

“Why are you hesitating?”

“I’m worried that Lord Ianathas might be interested in men.”

“Pfft… What?”

Contrary to his previous seriousness, Ianathas burst out laughing.

“Don’t worry. I definitely prefer women.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Why else would I only hire female employees?”

Because you’re training female assassins.

Unable to say that, Reniel tilted her head and smiled innocently as if she had no idea.

“It’s all a reflection of my preferences.”

“Isn’t it more because female dealers manage the games better?”

“That’s part of it. They have delicate hands.”

Ianathas then smiled threateningly again and said,

“So, without further ado, let’s undress.”

“What if I’m actually interested in men?”

“… Pardon?”

The smile completely disappeared from Ianathas’ face, replaced by a confused expression.

“I thought this might be that kind of thing.”

“Reniel, are you interested in men? Is that why you did that to my lord?”

Ianathas seemed genuinely flustered.

“I’m joking. I said that because you keep making unreasonable demands.”

As Reniel laughed while speaking honestly, Ianathas laughed as if he found it ridiculous.

Yet, as if he wasn’t displeased, he soon composed his expression again and said,

“Do you remember the courtesan from Nuremberg I mentioned before?”

“I can barely memorize the guest list. If it wasn’t an interesting story, I probably don’t remember the details.”

As Reniel joked around saying that, Ianathas’ expression gradually softened.

From his perspective, Reniel seemed too clumsy to be acting.

The trembling chin and voice trying to act nonchalant, yet the attitude of not avoiding eye contact as if asserting innocence.

This was clearly the appearance of an innocent twenty-year-old.

Perhaps due to working in a noble mansion for a long time, he seemed oddly less worldly.

“Then did you do that to test if my lord is interested in men?”

“… Ah, no. How could I dare to do such a thing?”

Reniel averted her gaze. In reality, she was flustered because she knew Felix was interested in men.

“My master is absolutely not interested in men.”

“… How do you know that?”

“I may not know everything, but I’m certain about that.”

Reniel momentarily felt certain that Ianathas didn’t know much about his lord, and her expression turned slightly sympathetic.

“So, let’s take off your clothes.”

“Even if I were a woman, I couldn’t be the courtesan from Nuremberg. I’m from the poorhouse, and you can verify this with the poorhouse director, can’t you?”

“Let’s stop with the unnecessary talk. We shouldn’t misbehave, right? Let’s resolve this cleanly, Deputy Butler.”

Feeling that this situation was unreasonable under Ianathas’ pressure, Reniel frowned in displeasure.

“It’s unfair if only I undress.”

Reniel was truly afraid but was speaking impertinently.

The reason being, if she complied with this request, he might ask her to undress anytime in the future.

She knew well that if she appeared easy to push around, she would become an easy target, so she tried to push back against Ianathas with absurd reasons.

“You say it’s unfair, but my lord was quite disheveled earlier.”

“He undressed himself.”

“Then what, do I need to undress for Reniel to undress too?”

Reniel felt that Ianathas seemed somewhat flustered by her words. So she decided to push further.

“Yes.”

Her bold answer caught Ianathas off guard.

“Didn’t you say you weren’t interested in men?”

“Yes.”

“But you’re asking me to undress?”

“And you, Lord Ianathas, why are you asking me to undress when you’re not interested in men?”

Ianathas thought for a moment at those words, then began to undress without hesitation.

“Kyaa!”

Reniel cried out, covering her eyes with her hands.

Yet she spread her fingers slightly, not missing Ianathas’ actions.

Soon, he removed all his upper clothes except his pants and placed them on the table, revealing his firm chest muscles.

“Now it’s your turn.”

Reniel slowly nodded at his words.

She thought Ianathas’ smooth and muscular body was quite beautiful.

Unlike when she saw Felix’s chest, which made her feel fearful as if seeing the body of a huge beast while also realizing she was a woman, Ianathas’ body gave more of a beautiful impression.

“Aren’t you a businessman? Why is your body so knight-like?”

Reniel, recalling her own smooth body, became a bit uncomfortable about undressing.

Even when she was in a male body, she wasn’t very muscular.

“The more noble ladies who like me, the better.”

Not understanding Ianathas’ words, Reniel tilted her head and then took off her vest.

Then she put her hand on her neckline to undo her shirt. Though she had made up her mind, she kept hesitating.

Despite wearing the ring, she worried, which even she found ridiculous, about what would happen if she turned into a woman while still wearing the ring.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m… a bit embarrassed.”

Ianathas sighed and reached for her chin.

Then he began to undo the buttons below her neck without hesitation.

“Ah…!”

Despite everything, Reniel involuntarily tensed up, perhaps because Ianathas was a man, much larger than her, and half-naked.

“Why are you making strange noises?”

“But didn’t you check last time? Why are you trying to do it again? It’s suspicious, isn’t it?”

He couldn’t argue with that. But he needed to check again.

He needed to be certain that there was someone who could put his lord to sleep, and that it wasn’t a woman but a man.

If it were a woman, there was a high chance she could be the courtesan from Nuremberg, and if things didn’t work out after his lord took a liking to her, it could leave a scar.

“Please undress me gently.”

As he roughly undid the buttons, Reniel’s skin was chafed.

Ianathas had seen the bodies of countless women, yet.

The chest before his eyes clearly belonged to a man.

But the more he undressed Reniel, the more she felt like a woman rather than a man, which he couldn’t understand.

Moreover, the body scent coming from her was so fragrant that his body was reacting unconsciously, making the situation feel strange.

“Ugh… I said it hurts.”

“… Yes.”

Just as Ianathas realized his mistake and loosened his grip, about to undo another button, it happened.

Bang.

The door opened roughly. And there stood.

“Reniel.”

Holding a long sword, with a dazed expression and an angry smile.

“Master?”

“You’ll need to explain what’s going on here.”

It was Felix.

Male lead is a Destined Young Husband (Female-dominant)

One-sentence summary: Wife-master, listen to my explanation!

Li Ruantang, a young lady from a prestigious family, stumbled and fell. When she woke up, she saw a noble and beautiful young man sitting by her bedside, wiping away tears.

The young master had slightly reddened eyes, and his every move exuded charm.

The sight made Li Ruantang’s eyes hot and her heart flutter. After all, she had made a bet with the young master Meng from the neighboring family. If she couldn’t marry a husband before the end of the year, she would have to admit defeat and give up the jade she had worked so hard to obtain.

Outside the window, the flowers were in full bloom.

Rather than losing the bet, the jade, and her face, Li Ruantang calculated that it would be better to seek marriage with the young master in front of her, killing three birds with one stone.

…

Meng Jun never thought that an accident during a spring outing would lead to them rolling down a cliff and into a river, yet still survive.

Now they were trapped in an unknown village, and Meng Jun had overheard that the family who had rescued them had their own intentions.

After all, it was Li Ruantang who had lost her mind and sought marriage first. He was only trying to protect himself!

Glancing at Li Ruantang, who was listing her own merits, the young husband’s voice softened, and he blushed as he lied, “W-wife-master, Wife-master, don’t you remember me?”

The young husband’s voice was clear and handsome, coaxing Li Ruantang’s heart to be soft and sweet, and she spared no effort to protect him.

It wasn’t until they returned to the capital that Li Ruantang suddenly remembered.

When they had fallen off the cliff, in order not to implicate Wei Yunruo, whom he secretly admired, the young husband had instead pulled her, who was slightly farther away, down the cliff with him…

Short summary by Yuushi L: Initially, the male lead (ML) liked another girl, while the female lead (FL) liked the ML. Both fell off a cliff. The FL temporarily lost her memory, and the ML, fearing others might take advantage of him, claimed FL was his wife while they were staying in a village. Later, when they returned home, the FL regained her memories and remembered that the ML liked someone else, so she kept her distance from him. However, during their time living together in the countryside, the ML’s view of the FL had completely changed. From this point, his pursuit of the FL begins.

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