I Pretended To Be Dead And Ran Away (22 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 3
Seeing Felix’s smile sent chills running down my spine.
His bright red eyes stood out even beneath the chandelier’s lit flames.
Those crimson eyes, more intense than any primary-colored light, were laughing like a child who’d just found something amusing.
Yet at the same time, they felt cold—as if ready to cut down anything without a second thought.
“I think so too.”
But the reason I’d returned this far was simply to survive.
I had no choice but to avoid directly experiencing the Le Pelique family’s true line of work.
After all, Felix Le Pelique was the most suspicious person of all.
He probably believed I might betray him.
Had I not come here leaving Tanasis behind, he would have sent other subordinates to take my life and disguise it as an accident.
“Puh.”
Amused by my reply, he chuckled softly and pulled out a small concealed dagger.
Then, after waving it briefly in the air, he placed it on a nearby table.
“I’ll bathe first.”
“…Yes, I’ll prepare the bathwater.”
“No. You clean up afterward. There’s probably a lot of blood splattered on the stairs.”
I nodded at Felix’s words, and he gave a short, quiet laugh.
Thus, I had to head toward the stairs.
****
The sun was slowly rising. Perhaps because of that, things previously hidden by darkness now became clearly visible.
“Wow, this is insane.”
On the first floor of the main building, where I’d met Felix earlier, utter chaos reigned—as if a murder had just taken place.
My shock lasted only a moment before I focused solely on fetching a bucket and a large mop to clean it all quickly.
Servants always woke much earlier than nobles.
Judging by the dawn light, it must have been just past five in the morning.
That meant I had to tidy up this mess within the next hour—otherwise the other servants would see it.
And if they did, the dungeon would fill up again.
“That can’t happen.”
Shaking my head, I gripped the mop tightly, then sprinkled lemon-infused water onto each bloodstained spot and scrubbed vigorously.
The stench of blood nearly made me gag, but I had to endure it.
Right now, cleaning up faster mattered far more than throwing up.
At least I was somewhat lucky—the floor was soaked and filthy, but the blood hadn’t splattered onto the railings or walls.
Recalling Tanasis’s condition, it seemed he’d been dragged into the manor after becoming completely drenched in blood.
I’d roughly stopped the bleeding from his abdomen before leaving, so he probably wasn’t dead yet.
Still, I couldn’t go down to treat him without risking the master’s displeasure, so it was better to leave him alone until receiving explicit orders.
After all, the Tanasis Avein Apentina I’d seen in my “dreamless dream” was a living weapon who couldn’t be killed by something so trivial.
Crown Prince Tanasis himself was a human weapon engineered by the Imperial Family.
Magic had nearly vanished from this world of the novel.
Yet a few very ancient items still retained traces of it—
like the ring I was wearing, for example.
In Tanasis’s case, his mother’s greed led her to have him continuously absorb a stone that generated fire.
As a result, he gradually grew stronger than ordinary people.
Later in the story, he would begin by killing Reniel Bailla, a servant of House Le Pelique, then go on to imprison and obsess over her, ultimately killing the mad Duke Felix Le Pelique and burning the entire mansion to the ground.
Afterward, unable to let go of his twisted affection for Felix, he would take his own life.
Thus, everyone would meet their end in that tragic finale.
Therefore, I had to flee before Tanasis showed any ominous signs.
Cleaning seemed to help clarify my thoughts.
My plan was clear:
First, gather as much money as possible.
Second, launder that money appropriately.
Third, if I simply ran away, I’d surely be caught.
Given that House Le Pelique’s primary business was precisely that sort of thing, I’d have to fake my own death before escaping.
Fourth, disappear quietly and live in a foreign country.
Perhaps in that foreign land, I could finally live as a woman.
After living so long as a man, I now genuinely wanted to experience a proper life—
fall in love like everyone else, wear pretty dresses, and enjoy delicious food all by myself.
I decided to stay positive about it.
“Huh.”
By the time my thoughts settled, the cleaning was done.
Seeing the stairs and entrance of the first floor now spotless—so clean you couldn’t even tell blood had been there—brought me a measure of calm.
“I’d better hurry.”
But my work wasn’t finished yet.
After tidying up the cleaning tools, I had to return to Felix’s room—he’d told me to come back.
****
“You’re here?”
‘Kyaaaah!’
I swallowed my internal scream and lowered my eyes.
“Since you’re here, get to work.”
“Yes, Master.”
I quickly looked around for a towel—he’d come out wearing only one wrapped around his waist, his body still damp.
Moreover, a large wound on his abdomen was covered by a cloth, already stained red.
Though I wondered how he’d managed to bathe in that state, the countless scars covering his body suggested this was probably routine for him.
“How’s it outside?”
“Cleaned up neatly.”
I replied while approaching him with a dry towel.
His body, covered in wounds and glistening with moisture, looked exceptionally slick.
A droplet fell from his jet-black hair, slid down his temple, and trailed slowly along his neck.
It then traveled down his throat, passed his Adam’s apple, and pooled in the hollow of his collarbone.
As he breathed, the droplet rolled down his chest.
What fascinated me was how his perfectly sculpted, muscular body guided the water along defined paths.
The droplet passing between his pectorals merged with others already gathered there, then flowed along his wounded chest muscles down to his abdominal muscles.
There, illuminated by the chandelier’s glow, the droplet sparkled brilliantly as it rolled into the towel tied around his waist and vanished.
Though I currently inhabited a perfectly male body, watching Felix’s form always reminded me that I was originally a woman.
“You’re slow.”
“I was worried about irritating your wounds.”
I feigned composure, stood on tiptoe, and began drying him from his neck down to his abs. He looked at me with mild annoyance.
A droplet from his hair dripped into his eye, making him grimace and squint one eye shut.
I quickly reached for a clean, dry towel to dry his hair.
Since I could barely reach the top of his head even on tiptoe, I tried gently patting the moisture away—
“The hair’s dry enough. Tend to my wound.”
“Yes, Master.”
He said that, draped the towel over his head, and walked over to sit on the bed.
Around the bed, crystal ashtrays filled with crushed cigar butts lay scattered everywhere.
It was astonishing he’d managed to smoke three cigars in such a short time before even entering the bathroom.
“Would it be better to call your personal physician, Master?”
As he removed the blood-soaked cloth, a long gash became visible. Startled, I couldn’t hide my shock, and he mocked me with a laugh.
“What? Why not just tell everyone right now that you kidnapped the Crown Prince as well?”
“Oh—yes, I’ll do that.”
His order was so strange I didn’t understand at first, but I nodded anyway. He stared blankly for a moment, then genuinely laughed as if amused.
“Master…?”
“Never mind.”
Unable to think clearly, I forced a smile, fetched the first-aid kit, and sat down.
“Are you really sure you don’t need a doctor for this?”
He gazed at me with gleaming red eyes—yet again testing me.
“Looking at this wound… do you really think you’re necessary?”
At first, I thought that was his intent, but then I realized he’d kept me only to clean up the room’s mess. I gave a slight nod and stepped aside.
He soon found his cigar cutter and sliced off the tip of a fresh cigar.
Then, placing it between his lips, he casually spun the lighter’s wheel, ignited it, and took a deep drag.
Until now, I hadn’t known what kind of cigars he smoked.
But if this truly was the novel I remembered, those cigars had pain-relieving effects.
With the cigar still in his mouth, he took out a sterilized needle and thread from the first-aid kit,
“Hup…”
and began stitching his open wound himself.
Grimacing slightly, he sewed his abdomen with detached efficiency, then tossed the bloodied needle and thread toward me.
I quickly retrieved them, soaked some cotton from the kit with antiseptic, and wiped his abdomen clean. Then I swiftly cleaned the blood from his hands as well.
He looked at me with evident satisfaction.
I was holding my breath to avoid coughing from the cigar smoke,
“Not bad sense.”
but he blew the smoke directly into my face. My eyes stung and I felt nauseous, though holding my breath made it somewhat bearable.
“The Chief Steward’s position must be vacant now…”
“Oh—yes. I confirmed Chief Steward Mariven is also in the dungeon.”
Chief Steward Mariven had recently been caught embezzling and dragged underground.
“Go take over his duties.”
With that, he carelessly pulled out a key from the top drawer of the bedside table and handed it to me.
Male lead says he’s pregnant — and it’s female lead’s child
Something seems a bit off about this world.
Wang Zhao thought as she watched a pregnant man walking towards her…
Intro
Female lead finds herself in a world where the men who possess the ability to bear children.
As she navigates this unfamiliar reality, she is caught off guard by the sudden appearance of her boyfriend, who reveals that he is pregnant.
Is this truly her boyfriend?
Why can’t she recall any details about their time together?
She begins to doubt whether the child her boyfriend is carrying is even hers.
Is there a hidden reason behind her amnesia, or could it be a side effect of her sudden arrival in this strange new world?
Just when it seems the protagonist’s life couldn’t become any more entangled, her ex-boyfriend makes an unexpected appearance, raising questions about the protagonist’s past.
__________
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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.