I Pretended To Be Dead And Ran Away (22 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 16
“Do you happen to have a younger sister?”
Since I had heard that question from Felix too, I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Because a lot of people ask me that. I guess I seem like the gentle type who would have a younger sister.”
Reniel took that as a compliment.
Perhaps because she gave off the image of a caring older brother who has a younger sister.
“You must not know much, but siblings—younger sisters and older brothers—don’t get along well.”
“Why not?”
“Forget it.”
Tanasis shuddered as if in horror at the thought of his own sisters.
‘Too bad for you, big brother.’
‘Why didn’t you just die instead?’
He sighed, recalling his full-blooded sisters who never hesitated to hurl venomous words at him.
“Stop clinging so much. I told you I won’t do anything.”
“It’s pretty cold here.”
Reniel made that excuse as she watched Tanasis carrying her while holding onto her.
Soon, upon reaching the bathroom, a clean interior came into view.
Reniel wondered who had cleaned this place, since it wasn’t her.
There might be someone else assigned here besides herself. After all, Ianathas clearly came and went.
As expected, Felix wasn’t the type to trust just anyone carelessly.
Thinking that, she seated Tanasis in the bathtub.
Then she turned the faucet sideways and let the water run.
“It takes a little time to heat up the water.”
She held the shower hose and placed her hand under the water coming from the showerhead.
The sound of rushing water filled the quiet and luxurious bathroom.
Reniel knew she had to undress Tanasis but stayed still.
She figured he would take the hint and undress himself. However, he remained seated in the bathtub in his disheveled state.
The bathtub he was in felt extremely small.
Was it because Tanasis’s body was larger than she had thought?
Unconsciously, a random thought crossed her mind: if Felix, who had pinned her down at dawn, got in this tub, wouldn’t his legs stick out?
The bathtub was incredibly luxurious.
The white tub wasn’t straight-edged but curved, so ornate and artistic that it made her forget this was a prison underground.
The bathroom lighting was also an expensive chandelier.
The walls were made of rose granite, giving off a pinkish hue, and matched perfectly with the white marble floor.
It almost seemed like a bathroom you’d find in a high-end resort hotel.
“How about undressing me first?”
“Pardon?”
“Aren’t you going to wash me?”
Tanasis was wearing his crown prince uniform, which was torn here and there from the whip.
The water stream from the showerhead created a gentle breeze, carrying Reniel’s scent toward him.
He truly found this situation strange.
To think that the scent wafting from Reniel felt similar to the one once emitted by the Princess of Nuremberg.
“Ah… Your Highness?”
He suddenly reached out and brushed the nape of Reniel’s neck with his palm.
Then he clearly felt a man’s Adam’s apple on her neck.
“That’s weird. You really don’t have a younger sister?”
“I’m from an orphanage, so I don’t have any family.”
Reniel said that while shivering from the strange ticklish feeling.
Feeling the still-cold water from the showerhead, she thought it would take quite a while for warm water to come out.
Warm water had come out quickly from the sink, but it seemed to take longer from the shower in the tub.
“If I undress you, it might hurt.”
“Do it yourself.”
“I don’t know where or how Your Highness is injured. If I undress you, won’t I touch the wounds?”
“I said do it.”
Reniel was flustered because Tanasis spoke so casually.
Inevitably reminding herself that she was currently in a man’s body, she temporarily set the showerhead down on the floor.
Suddenly, she wondered if a man’s body might make this even more dangerous. But even if she screamed, the one who would be overpowered wasn’t her.
So she felt she shouldn’t show too much wariness even in this situation.
She reached for the clothes of Tanasis, who was lazily leaning back.
Fortunately, the outer coat was almost torn, so it ripped off easily when she touched it.
She set the torn coat aside. Then she reached for his shirt.
Somehow, lately, she felt strange because she had been touching men’s shirts a lot.
Tanasis’s shirt was also very easy to remove.
As expected, it was damaged by the whip, torn in places, and since the buttons weren’t fastened, the front was already wide open.
After undoing just a few, his bare skin was fully exposed.
“How long are you going to keep undoing buttons?”
Seeing Reniel tense, Tanasis looked at her with a peculiar expression.
And reading the tension in her eyes, he let out a small laugh.
Whenever her hand touched him, the pleasant sensation made his pain considerably duller.
It was as if her breaths contained some painkiller that eased his suffering.
“This is my first time serving someone other than my master, so it’s a bit difficult.”
Tanasis frowned deeply upon hearing Felix’s name from her mouth. He glared at her and said.
“Move aside. I’ll undress myself.”
“Really?”
“Go get a towel.”
Tanasis said that when he saw her surprised by his words.
Soon, she nodded and placed a towel beside him. Then, pretending to pick up the showerhead, she turned around.
“You might as well leave. You don’t seem very helpful anyway.”
“Is that okay?”
“Do you think it’s okay? Don’t you think I’ve washed myself alone before?”
When Tanasis spoke irritably, Reniel became flustered.
He was simply in a bad mood because she kept trying not to touch him.
The way she looked at him now was similar to how others saw him as a threat, and that made him feel deeply hurt.
‘You’re a monster.’
‘Big brother is a monster.’
‘We shouldn’t have given birth to you.’
His mood soured as his family’s voices suddenly resurfaced. He hadn’t wanted to absorb the fire magic stone.
If he didn’t become crown prince, his mother’s family would be in danger, and his mother too. So he risked his life to absorb the power.
But after absorbing the fire magic stone, as he grew stronger yet increasingly unstable, everyone distanced themselves from him.
And they busied themselves creating substitutes to replace him.
Somehow, Reniel’s expression seemed similar to theirs.
“Your Highness?”
“Get out.”
Reniel realized Tanasis was crying. But helping an unrelated man wash still seemed too difficult, so she left as is.
Once she was gone, Tanasis sighed.
He didn’t want to keep this unpleasant feeling, so he decided to wash.
****
When Tanasis returned to the room, his gloomy mood had improved a bit, perhaps because Reniel had cleaned it neatly.
“Help me get dressed.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Reniel thought it was a relief that his gloom seemed somewhat lifted and tried to dress him in the clothes she had brought.
Tanasis was still uncomfortable with the clanking shackles around his neck.
He watched Reniel’s small hands brush his body while wiping away the moisture.
Washing alone had made the wounded areas hurt a lot.
But now, with her by his side wiping his body and meeting his eyes, he could clearly feel the pain dulling again.
“It hurts.”
“Didn’t you take any painkillers?”
“It stops hurting if you touch me more. Painkillers don’t work.”
Tanasis said honestly. But Reniel didn’t respond to his words and just smiled.
She didn’t believe him. He was surely trying to gain her favor before killing her.
Come to think of it, she realized in surprise that she had unwittingly shown considerable kindness to Tanasis.
She felt anxious, wondering if she might end up manipulated and killed like in the original story.
Still, she thought this kindness was necessary now.
What if Tanasis got beaten too much by Ianathas and went berserk faster than expected? That scared her more, so she had no choice.
“Why that expression?”
“No, I was just wondering if I’m wiping properly.”
Reniel said that as she wiped his nape and abs.
Because of their considerable height difference, wiping the water dripping from above his head was more strenuous than wiping his body.
“Do you like working here?”
“Huh? Of course! I totally love it. It’s the best!”
Reniel emphasized that without realizing it.
She felt she shouldn’t show any openings like in the original story.
Because of the big opening she had already shown, all she could think was to fill that gap.
“Really? You’re satisfied living as a mere servant like this?”
“Well…”
When Tanasis looked down at her intimidatingly, she suddenly felt their physical difference acutely.
Tanasis had the strength to choke her neck anytime, and his explosive ability could manifest if he lost emotional control, so she naturally tensed up.
“Didn’t I tell you I’m from an orphanage?”
“So?”
“It’s uncertain for me. For someone like that, just working in a noble household is great fortune.”
“…”
“In that sense, I’m a very, very lucky person.”
“So. You’re satisfied?”
“Yes.”
Reniel said firmly.
She tried to relax, thinking the necklace around his neck would at least somewhat control his ability.
When Tanasis looked at her with a blank expression, she felt strange.
“Then how about becoming an imperial attendant?”
Because this was the first time since absorbing mana that his pain had vanished, Tanasis didn’t want to let Reniel go.
In a life that had been nothing but pain until now, feeling this comfortable was a first.
“Ah…! Wait a moment!”
Unconsciously, he pressed his face against Reniel’s nape. Because of the clouded mana, he could no longer hold back.
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
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.