“Really?”
I asked again as if doubting his sincerity, given how absurd it sounded. Thanasis nodded slightly in response.
His clear silver hair and golden eyes like melted gold beads sparkled beautifully.
Perhaps because of this, I was under the illusion that he seemed like someone who couldn’t tell a lie at all.
Maybe he needed human comfort because he was suddenly kidnapped and subjected to harsh humiliation.
“Yes.”
He opened his eyes intently, as if urging me on.
I felt a little afraid, thinking he might change his mind and bite me at any moment.
At the same time, feeling sorry for him, I slowly caressed his cheek. Thanasis submissively rubbed his cheek against my face and teared up.
Though his face was stained with blood, it was incredibly alluring.
Thanasis was the most pure and beautiful person I had ever seen in my life.
“I’d like to clean your face.”
“…Please do.”
The initial gruffness was gone, perhaps from being beaten so much, he had become quite docile.
I removed my hand and dampened a cloth in the water basin I had brought. After wringing out the excess water, I gently wiped his face.
The bruised eyes and torn temple. The split lip and sad expression.
I felt tense, as if looking at a masterpiece painting.
“Do I look funny to you?”
“Ah, no.”
For a moment I almost said he looked pretty, but I dismissed it and wiped his cheek.
Even like this, I absolutely must not feel sympathy for Thanasis.
After all, in the original story, Reniel Beila – that is, me – was the first to be killed.
‘Am I not pitiful?’
‘No.’
‘Pity me. Look how much your master hates me.’
‘…Your Highness.’
‘I’m in so much pain, Reniel.’
In this way, the original Reniel gradually came to sympathize with Thanasis and began to accommodate him.
Then one day.
‘Urgh…!’
‘I’ve wanted to kill you every time you looked at me like that. You know?’
Saying that, he mercilessly murdered Reniel.
The reason for treating her well in the first place was to make her let her guard down. The reason for appearing pitiful was also for that purpose.
Since the only people who came in and out of this secret room were me and Felix, or occasionally Ianathas, he was looking for an opening from me, who was relatively easy prey compared to Felix.
But I was in no position to pity anyone.
I was the one who didn’t know when or how I might die.
If it was discovered I was a woman, I would be killed by Felix, and if I pitied Thanasis, I would be killed by Thanasis.
How could someone like me dare to pity anyone?
“It hurts.”
“I apologize.”
I accidentally scratched the torn part of Thanasis’s temple with my hand. He lowered his gaze as if hurt.
Deliberately ignoring his pitiful expression, I wiped his lips. He gently bit my finger.
Ignoring that, I pulled my hand away and wiped his cheek. As his face became smooth again, I wiped his neck.
“The cut on my face hurts.”
“I’ll treat it after I finish cleaning.”
“Okay.”
He remained still even as I wiped his neck. Soon, his blood was smeared on the white cloth.
“Aren’t you going to do my ears?”
“Your ears?”
“My ears hurt too. They might be torn.”
At those words, I looked carefully at his ears and saw that blood from near his temple had flowed in very slightly.
“They’re not torn.”
I folded the cloth over and gently wiped around his ears. He exhaled as if ticklish.
His breath touched my cheek and dissipated, giving me a strange feeling as if my peach fuzz was trembling.
He leaned his body towards my hand. The clanking sound of chains rang loudly throughout the room.
“How long do I have to stay tied up like this?”
“That’s not up to me.”
“Why did your master send you here?”
“Because he trusts me, I suppose?”
“Then can’t you make me a little more comfortable?”
“No, I can’t.”
After wiping his ears, I quickly took a step back. Thanasis glared at me coldly.
“Then can I ask you something?”
“I’m afraid I’m not in a position to answer.”
He put away his cold expression and looked at me again with a sorrowful face.
“I see, then it can’t be helped. I don’t want to trouble you.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
Saying that, I picked up the first aid kit.
I opened the box and poured disinfectant generously onto cotton. Then I pressed it against the cut on his face.
“Ow!”
“Of course. It’s disinfectant.”
I mercilessly dabbed the disinfectant on his torn wounds. Bubbles fizzed as it disinfected the wounds.
Thanasis frowned as if stinging and twisted his body this way and that.
However, since his body was fixed to the wall, he could neither touch his face with his hands nor curl up his body.
“Can’t you be a little gentler?”
“If I’m too gentle, it won’t disinfect properly.”
Dismissing that, I opened the lid of the ointment. After transferring some ointment to my hand, I applied it to Thanasis’s face.
“They say I’m a monster. So be careful.”
‘They say I’m a monster. So be careful of me, Reniel.’
Suddenly, I recalled Thanasis’s words from the book.
‘Why do you say such things?’
‘Father said so. That I’m a monster that spews fire. If it weren’t for the control device, you would have been in danger too.’
The original Reniel pitied Thanasis for saying such things.
“Yes, I’ll be careful!”
But not me.
After applying the ointment, I quickly moved away from him.
“I’ll loosen your right arm. Would you like to eat?”
“How about feeding me?”
“I’ll extend the chain for you. Eat when you want to.”
I immediately headed for the lever on the right wall.
“Hey!”
“Yes?”
“What’s your name?”
I gently loosened the pulley.
With a creaking sound, he was able to move two steps forward from the wall. I placed food nearby.
“Just… call me servant.”
Saying that, I turned around with the first aid kit, water basin, and towel.
“Wait!”
“The medicine there is an antidote and fever reducer! Take it all!”
I quickly went out of the room.
I felt that if the conversation went on longer, I might soften up like the original Reniel.
It seemed better to get out of the room quickly.
****
Once I was completely outside, there was another problem.
The fact that it was dawn now, since I could only see Thanasis at dawn.
And the fact that Felix roamed the 3rd floor like a sleepwalker at dawn.
‘That woman stole something important yesterday.’
I didn’t know what he mistakenly thought had been stolen, but it would be troublesome to face Felix in a woman’s form again.
“Still, it seems he doesn’t remember.”
The one fortunate thing was that he didn’t seem to remember me at all.
After all, with the ring on, I was a perfect man.
Ever since entering as a servant, I had to undergo annual physical examinations, and I had no problems even when I received regular check-ups from doctors.
They would never suspect that someone like me was actually a woman.
“This is the only way after all.”
Today, I deliberately went outside the mansion.
Outside the mansion, there was an emergency ladder that went up to the top floor.
I could use that ladder to go up to the roof and then go down the stairs.
The night duty room was on the 5th floor of the 7-story building, so I only needed to go down about 2 floors.
So I climbed the emergency ladder.
Climbing the outer wall of a 7-story building, I thought I absolutely shouldn’t look down, and I felt my body was very heavy as I was out of breath.
Moreover, the world at dawn was too dark.
When I glanced at the ground, it was so pitch black that nothing was visible, as if the ladder was floating above a black hole.
“I’m scared.”
I shook my head and continued climbing the ladder.
It felt like climbing a rope ladder attached to a helicopter, but I managed to reach the top while trying to calm my pounding heart.
“Haa.”
My chest was still pounding, but it got a little better when I reached the roof.
Looking down from the roof wasn’t as frightening as before.
Now I planned to open the roof door and go down.
I went down to the 5th floor where my private night duty room was, being careful not to make any footsteps.
The 5th floor was very quiet. That was to be expected. There shouldn’t be anyone on the 5th floor except me right now.
Feeling relieved, I entered the night duty room with peace of mind.
“I should wash up.”
A little later, after changing clothes completely, I lay down on the soft bed in the night duty room.
Just as I was starting to feel drowsy.
Knock knock.
Someone was knocking on the door.
If Felix was looking for me, he would have rung the bell. So it must be another servant knocking on the door.
“Yes?”
With that thought, I opened the door. But.
“Found you, Reniel.”
Felix was standing outside the door, holding a knife in one hand and smiling at me with a dazed expression.
“Master?”
“I’ve been looking for you for a while, Reniel.”
He instantly grabbed my hand and took off the ring. Then he pushed my shoulder and entered my bedroom.
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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