I Pretended To Be Dead And Ran Away - Chapter 42

Reniel had no memory of living as a woman.

Even at the orphanage, they didn’t differentiate between boys and girls when dressing them.

Taking advantage of the change in the orphanage’s director, she used a ring to live as a man.

She judged that living as a boy was better than living as a pretty girl in this harsh world.

It was easy to see how pretty girls lived without having to look far.

Most girls, when it was time to leave the orphanage, went to farms, ranches, or factories.

If they were good with their hands, they could become assistants at a dressmaking shop, and if they were lucky, they could be adopted into an ordinary family.

Of course, most of the adoptions happened when they were under the age of five.

In very lucky cases, there were also adoptions into aristocratic families.

However, contrary to what Reniel envied when she was young, she learned that the lives of the adopted girls who became maids were quite different from what she had vaguely imagined before.

Most of the children from the orphanage who were adopted into aristocratic families ended up living difficult lives.

Even if they had plenty of money, they were not fully treated as aristocrats.

And there was only one purpose for adopting girls. For marriage business.

The children who knew nothing simply became sacrifices.

Having grown up seeing such things, Reniel decided to live as a boy.

Although she didn’t have advantages like being sturdy, strong, or particularly tall like other boys, it seemed much better than living as a girl.

She also knew quite well about the pretty women who became concubines after being taken to aristocratic houses under the pretext of being caregivers for elderly aristocrats.

“What’s making you so excited?”

Of course, Ianathas didn’t know much about Reniel’s thoughts or her past.

He found it suspicious that Reniel looked so excited, but seeing her flushed cheeks, he couldn’t criticize her.

“Actually, I don’t have any women’s clothes. I’ve never worn them before.”

“Why is that?”

“I should have bought some women’s clothes with the money I earned so far.”

Reniel smiled brightly, unable to hide her anticipation. Ianathas was staring at her face as if he was enchanted.

“……You’re foolish. You worked so hard to earn money but didn’t spend it on what you wanted?”

“I thought it would be nice to do that when I retire later…… I forgot about it for a long time. The work at the mansion was so busy. I didn’t expect to be promoted so quickly either.”

As Reniel spoke with a laugh, Ianathas sighed. Then he naturally reached out his hand. As if to escort her.

However, perhaps because Reniel had never lived as a woman, she didn’t understand that arm and grabbed his hand firmly.

“What is it?”

“Huh?”

“……Never mind.”

Ianathas seemed dissatisfied with her grabbing his hand like a close friend, so he interlocked his fingers with hers again.

Then, glancing up and down at her transformed into a woman, he sighed.

Despite her clumsy behavior, her appearance began to attract people’s attention as soon as they came out from between the buildings.

He took her to a familiar dressmaking shop.

****

“Oh my! Ianathas, you brought a woman this time too!”

“Oh, ‘this time too’?”

Reniel said those words while looking at the dressmaking shop owner who greeted Ianathas and even clapped her hands.

“Of course! Ianathas often comes to this Andres Dressmaking Shop! This lady is probably the 50th……!”

“Watch. Your mouth.”

When Andres, the owner of the dressmaking shop, saw Ianathas’ deadly smiling face, she closed her mouth.

He was smiling with his mouth, but his eyes seemed to be full of murderous energy.

His sharp golden eyes were curved, and someone who didn’t know him well might have thought Ianathas was smiling brightly.

“What kind of clothes are you looking for? I can immediately present 50 kinds of lovely dresses!”

Andres changed the topic while saying those words.

“I need something to change into right now. Do you have ready-made clothes, not custom-made?”

“Of course! And we have display products, so you can also look at flashy ones, not just plain ones!”

“I see.”

“May I take your measurements?”

“Measurements…… It’s my first time getting measured.”

Reniel said that with an excited heart. Then Andres laughed and looked at Ianathas.

She thought this woman would also soon be trained as an assassin. However, unlike before, Ianathas’ expression was relaxed.

Unlike how he used to look at women he brought each time, as if checking their product value while measuring them, he now seemed to be in a state of confusion mixed with tension and comfort.

“Oh my, with such a great figure, why is it your first time?”

“Thank you.”

Reniel smiled brightly at Andres’ words.

Andres wondered if this gentle-looking woman could really become an assassin.

“Ah, Ren. There’s an employee discount here too.”

“Pardon?”

“Andres, this is Assistant Head Maid Reniel’s sister.”

“Oh my, is that so! No wonder!”

At that moment, Andres realized that she was not someone who came to be trained as an assassin, but simply the sister of the mansion’s assistant head maid, the “Reniel” who was said to be able to catch even flying birds these days.

Of course, it was not true information, but since Ianathas said it, she had no doubt about those words.

No wonder she looked too kind-hearted to be an assassin.

With those gentle eyes that seemed unable to catch a single rabbit, how could she kill people?

“The employee discount for the Le Pelique ducal house is 20%!”

“Goodness.”

In fact, even with such benefits, the servants had no reason to come here.

Andres Dressmaking Shop was originally created for high-ranking aristocrats, so the clothes were flashy and the prices were not cheap.

Even if the servants of the Le Pelique ducal house received high salaries, they wouldn’t pour half a year’s salary into a single dress, let alone have a place to wear such a tailored dress.

So even if such a place existed, it was not a topic of discussion among the employees, and it was natural for everyone to be indifferent.

Moreover, since this place mainly dealt with women’s clothing, it was even more impossible for Reniel, who lived as a man, to know about it.

“Please follow me this way!”

When Reniel saw Andres’ eyes taking her somewhere, she felt a little scared.

But on the other hand, she thought it would be fine since Ianathas said he would buy it for her.

As she moved inside the dressmaking shop, she was captivated by the displayed dresses and stared at them blankly.

The dresses were very luxurious, and some had jewels dangling all over them. Among them, there was even a dress that looked like a jewel, as if it had been made by finely crushing and attaching crystals.

She just wanted to buy a few ready-made clothes, but it felt like she had come to a place that was too dazzling, making her break out in a cold sweat.

And so, roughly thirty minutes passed.

Reniel was very tired.

Ianathas was sitting on the sofa, drinking coffee and reading a newspaper, looking familiar with the place.

It seemed like he really had brought many women here before, as he knew the dressmaking shop’s procedures very well and was at ease.

“Ianathas!”

Soon, Andres called out to Ianathas while holding the curtain.

“Don’t do anything silly and just draw the curtain.”

He already knew the action of drawing the curtain like a magic show to build anticipation.

Unlike when he brought female assassins and had to pretend to be expectant and react, there was no need for that with Reniel.

“Why are you like this today? You’re being too much.”

Andres said that and swiftly drew the curtain.

“Ta-da!”

Ianathas, who narrowed his eyes in annoyance at Andres’ cue, roughly put down his coffee on the table.

“How do I look?”

However, he was very surprised to see Reniel’s appearance as the curtain was drawn.

“Are you in your right mind? You made her wear this kind of outfit?”

Ianathas was very startled. The dress Reniel was wearing was too absurd.

“This was her preference, though?”

“Ren, are you crazy? Is your preference a chandelier?”

Reniel was bothered by him calling her by a nickname to treat her as a woman, but now she didn’t care. Because of Ianathas’ startled expression.

“What’s wrong with this? Isn’t it so pretty?”

“Shall we go outside like this? People will think you’re a chandelier. What kind of nonsensical dress is this……!”

Ianathas was appalled at the silver dress with crystals all over it that Reniel was wearing, which looked like a chandelier.

“I’m just kidding. This was just for fun……”

Reniel, who had played a prank in her excitement, realized she had chosen the wrong person to joke with when she saw Ianathas’ disgusted expression, and felt a little embarrassed.

“……A joke?”

“Yes, I just…… wanted to try it on.”

“Your taste is a bit unusual.”

“I don’t have an eye for dresses.”

Reniel spoke with an awkward smile. Then he sighed and replied.

“That dress is too flashy, so it will be difficult to wear it outside.”

“I suppose so.”

Ianathas brushed his brown hair that had fallen onto his forehead with his hand and narrowed his eyebrows.

“For now, let’s have that altered to your size and send it to you.”

“Yes, Ianathas.”

“Now, let’s choose some proper clothes, Ren.”

“Wait a moment! You don’t have to buy this one for me……”

“It’s fine.”

When Ianathas saw her flustered face, he finally felt a sense of victory.

Moreover, seeing Reniel so happy to receive that strange and flashy dress, he had no regrets about his decision.

By the way, the dress she received was more expensive than the mansion in the capital that the previous head maid received as severance pay.

She didn’t know, though.

“This time, please dress her in some normal clothes and bring her back, Andres.”

“Yes!”

Soon, Andres made a serious expression and took Reniel back inside again.