I Pretended To Be Dead And Ran Away (22 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 14
“Being around you makes me feel strange.”
“…Excuse me?”
Leniel was struggling to swallow a large piece of meat that painfully scraped down her throat.
She had no idea how delicious the food she was eating actually was.
Seeing Felix suddenly look displeased, she wondered if perhaps she’d made some mistake.
“Perhaps it’s because I’m sitting with you…”
“No.”
Felix always felt oddly unsettled whenever he saw Leniel looking afraid of him.
Physically, she was clearly male.
Though her neck was slender and long, an Adam’s apple sat right in the center, just like any other man’s.
It was a strangely contradictory yet fitting appearance.
Her hair was cut short and neatly combed forward, just like any ordinary steward’s.
Yet, if he let his guard down even slightly, her figure seemed to resemble that of the woman from his dreams.
He began to suspect Leniel might be an assassin sent to kill him.
Since he had been so distant from women, they must now be sending the most beautiful man imaginable to finish him off.
Perhaps, since female assassins no longer hesitated to kill, they had changed tactics altogether.
At that thought, Felix’s anger surged instantly, and he crushed his fork in his hand.
“Master!”
He’d already confirmed there was no poison in the food, yet his mood was so foul that he decided to hand his plate over to Leniel.
“Eat all of it.”
“Oh—yes. Thank you.”
Regardless of his mood, Leniel couldn’t hide her genuine gratitude for the food, even as fear lingered because of his anger.
It felt as if he were watching a small animal trembling uncontrollably.
“Oh, Master! Shall we head to the casino afterward?”
When Felix suddenly stood up, Leniel immediately rose as well.
Though he didn’t answer, Leniel, who roughly knew his usual routine, promptly fetched his coat from the wardrobe and draped it over his shoulders.
Felix was inexplicably irritated by Leniel’s unusually small hands for a man.
“Master…?”
Trancelike, he interlaced his fingers with hers and wore a strange expression.
“…Don’t touch me so carelessly.”
Felix, who had been the one to grab her hand first, now shoved it away with those words.
“My apologies.”
Seeing Leniel’s instantly subdued expression, Felix’s certainty wavered for a moment.
Such flawless acting…
He was reevaluating Leniel again.
A perfect steward who’d made not a single mistake so far—promoted from apprentice steward in just one year, favored by the retired chief steward for her competence.
She even seemed clever enough to prepare flawless budget proposals.
Clearly, this was the caliber of someone with a high-level education. And on top of it all, her beauty was mesmerizingly intense.
He reminded himself once more: someone like this wouldn’t have just randomly entered his mansion.
Felix scowled, annoyed at how briefly he’d nearly been fooled by Leniel.
“Don’t see me out.”
“But…”
“I thought I told you not to make me repeat myself.”
“Yes, Master.”
He immediately left the room, abandoning Leniel inside and even throwing his coat to the floor.
Leniel’s ears rang from the loud “Bang!” of the door slamming shut.
She tilted her head, utterly confused about what had upset him so badly.
“Why’s he acting like that?”
She picked up the coat Felix had abandoned.
The sleek, pitch-black coat was sharply creased—proof of how meticulously she’d pressed it.
Knowing he’d be angry if he found out it had fallen on the floor, she’d probably have to wash and iron it again.
Thinking this, she hung the coat over the chair Felix had been sitting in.
Then she looked back at the plate of food.
“He said to finish it all!”
Being alone somehow improved her mood a little.
She couldn’t understand why Felix had stormed off as if having a fit, but if it was something important, he’d mention it later.
After all, he was her employer, and she was merely hired help.
If he had any issues with her, it would only be natural for him to speak up first.
“Goodness.”
The meat tasted completely different now that she could eat it comfortably, compared to when Felix had shoved in a huge chunk just to test for poison.
“This is so delicious… Goodness.”
She cut the steak into small pieces and placed it in her mouth, then shivered in awe at its flavor.
It was astonishing that food this delicious could even exist in the world.
As it entered her mouth, the juices seemed to melt right in.
She couldn’t tell how it was seasoned, but its rich flavor filled her mouth with a sweet, lingering aroma.
“Goodness.”
Leniel unconsciously kept exclaiming as she put another bite of steak into her mouth, though inwardly she thought such taste was only natural.
The Le Pelique household’s head chef had once served in the imperial kitchens. Felix had lured him away by offering ten times his imperial salary.
Felix was notoriously sensitive about everything, especially food—he was famous for his exacting taste.
Even though this meal was apparently inferior to usual, it was still this delicious.
Leniel had always thought the servants’ meals were tasty, but she was amazed at how vastly superior the master’s food was.
“This is the best. Truly the best workplace ever.”
She said this with heartfelt emotion and happily finished the rest of the food,
completely unaware that Felix suspected her of being an assassin.
****
“Investigate Leniel Bailla.”
As soon as Felix arrived at the casino, he ordered Ianathas.
“Yes, my lord.”
Ianathas smiled faintly, realizing his master had finally grown irritated with that steward.
“Why are you smiling?”
“Well, isn’t he exactly the type of person you dislike, my lord?”
“…Me?”
“Yes—you absolutely hate people who smile so guilelessly.”
“Then shouldn’t I hate you the most?”
“I’m the exception.”
Ianathas stepped aside with a fox-like grin. It was odd—his lord had come out without a coat.
Felix himself didn’t even seem to notice, repeatedly scowling as he kept reaching for the inner pocket of a coat he wasn’t wearing.
Ianathas quickly took out a cigar and handed it to him.
Felix accepted it with a momentary look of hesitation, then pulled out his cigar cutter and unfolded the blade.
“My lord?”
But then he suddenly stopped.
“…Never mind.”
He folded the cutter back up, tucked it into his shirt’s breast pocket, and handed the cigar back to Ianathas.
“…My lord.”
Ianathas was genuinely bewildered.
His lord was someone whose magic power became severely corrupted whenever he used his formidable abilities.
Because of this tainted magic, he was cursed and couldn’t fall asleep normally.
Felix smoked cigars to suppress his pain—they contained an analgesic effect.
His extreme sensitivity stemmed from the fact that he couldn’t sleep even after absorbing magic stones.
And yet—
He’d just refused the cigar.
Ianathas wondered if this was real, but seeing his lord’s furrowed brow, he couldn’t deny it was.
“Why the sudden change?”
“Who knows?”
Felix didn’t give a proper answer.
He himself couldn’t understand why he hadn’t smoked that cigar, even though catching and torturing Leniel seemed barely sufficient to uncover whoever had sent the assassin.
His body definitely felt better than usual. In the past, he would’ve been utterly overwhelmed by headaches and irritation.
But now, he was fine without smoking.
All of this was thanks to Leniel helping him sleep.
Felix hadn’t overlooked that fact.
At the same time, if a steward had risen flawlessly to his side over ten years without a single mishap, it wasn’t as if he couldn’t guess who might be behind it.
With his usual sensitivity dulled, confusion now sharpened Felix’s expression.
“Start the investigation.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Regardless, delighted that Felix was finally wary of Leniel, Ianathas followed him with a satisfied grin as his lord inspected the casino.
In truth, Ianathas disliked it whenever his master gave someone a chance to prove their trustworthiness.
He didn’t want to see him betrayed again and suffer more pain.
****
“Agh, ugh…! Stop it!”
“Why would I?”
Leniel descended to the basement at dawn.
Because of Felix’s order to keep Tanasis alive, she came down every day around 1 a.m. with supplies.
There had never been anyone else there during her visits, so she never imagined another visitor would be present today.
“Aaaah!”
Startled by the scream from inside, her body froze.
When her footsteps stopped, the noise from the secret room ceased as well.
“Oh dear. We seem to have a guest.”
Leniel instantly realized it was her they meant. Giving up on turning back, she decided to step inside.
With a creak, the door opened—and Leniel was unconsciously taken aback by the horrific sight within.
“Good heavens.”
She was stunned by the gruesome scene before her eyes.
“Welcome, Assistant Steward Leniel.”
Ianathas stood there, grinning cheerfully as he held a whip.
“Aren’t you supposed to be at the casino right now?”
“It’s Monday. We close early on Mondays.”
Ianathas said this and raised the whip high.
In that instant, Leniel leapt in front of Tanasis’s battered body and cried out desperately.
“P-please stop!”
She immediately regretted grabbing Ianathas’s wrist without thinking.
Meanwhile, Tanasis was bewildered—had this timid rabbit of a person really just stepped in to stop this for him?
In truth, Leniel had only done it out of fear that the ticking time bomb that was Tanasis might explode at any moment.
Male lead is a Love-Obsessed Merman
When he discovers she has gone, he risks everything to pursue her on land, enduring agonizing pain to transform his tail into human legs…
One-line summary: Male lead chases female lead. The male lead’s love is a bit sick, an invincible love brain.
Synopsis
During a voyage at sea, Jiang Yang accidentally captures a merman.
Servant: I heard that mermen are fierce and brutal.
Jiang Yang looks at the merman obediently rubbing her palm like a puppy: “You call this fierce and brutal?”
Servant: I heard that mermen have no human nature.
Jiang Yang looks at the merman with wet puppy eyes, obsessively calling her ‘A Yang’ like a childish infant: “You call this having no human nature?”
With great difficulty, she releases the merman back into the sea and returns to shore.
Who would have thought that in less than half a month, the merman, who should have been freely wandering in the South China Sea, would shed his scales, endure the pain of losing his tail, transform into human legs, and come ashore to find her?
He kneels at her feet, rubbing her palm, with merman tears rolling down: “A Yang, don’t abandon me.”
_____
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Chapter Comments (22)
Inline Comments (54)
‘The missing Princess of Nuremberg is a mana purifier—one born only once per cen
Could it be her? Is it possible that she’s living in a state of shock and no one knows her identity?
Reniel trailed off uncertainly, unsure whether this warranted gratitude.
Could it be her? Is it possible that she’s living in a state of shock and no one knows her identit
“Th-thank you…?”
Could it be her? Is it possible that she’s living in a state of shock and no one knows her identit
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Wait, what? For real? How come the Nuremberg Princess is hiding her gender and work at the mansion of the Duke who technically her archenemy? And Renal is Tanasis’ fiancee? Wow, never expected it to be revealed this early.
Very good story and i do prefer it if any person will give it a try worthy of your time
So apparently Renal is regarded as a threat for imperial family for her purifying ability and decided to make her Tanasias’ fiancee for close monitoring and helped him control his artificial ability. But Renal must’ve sensed or found out something that can put her life in danger. Thus she went into the hiding in the enemy’s nest and disguised as a man with the ring’s help. I wonder what kind of finding Reniel got to the point it threatened her life.