I Pretended To Be Dead And Ran Away (22 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 4
“Then… does that mean I’m going to become the chief steward?”
The moment I received the key, I involuntarily blurted out the question, carried away by dreams.
“We’ll see how you do.”
At Felix’s words, my heart began beating strangely fast.
Then it hit me—becoming chief steward was impossible.
What I needed to do was escape from here, not get entangled in the chaos between the duke and his retainers and end up dead.
“Yes, my lord. I’ll do my very best.”
Even so, because this had been a long-held wish, my voice trembled.
“Do as you please.”
I accepted the key and instinctively held it close to my chest as if it were precious. Then, regaining my senses, I carefully placed it into my pocket.
Bowing deeply in repeated gratitude, I stepped out of the room—and faintly, as though barely audible, a soft chuckle reached my ears.
Wondering if he’d actually laughed, I looked back, only to meet his indifferent glare, clearly annoyed.
“Please call me whenever you need me.”
“Oh, and…”
“Yes, my lord?”
Just as I turned to leave, Felix called out. I swiftly approached him again and bowed low.
“Crown Prince Tanasis.”
He frowned as if troubled, slipping a cigar into his fingers before placing it in his mouth. After taking a deep drag, he spoke.
“Keep him managed—just enough that he doesn’t die.”
“Yes, my lord.”
He then blew cigar smoke right into my face. Fortunately, I’d held my breath at just the right moment, so I didn’t cough.
Thus, I managed to preserve my life.
****
I had to head straight down to the basement to receive the handover.
“Hello, Chief Steward Mariven?”
“Mmph…! Mmmp! Mmph!”
Chief Steward Mariven was locked up in one of the several underground dungeons beneath the estate.
There were multiple reasons for his imprisonment, but the main one was that he’d been caught embezzling the household’s management funds.
“Mmph!”
Like others brought into the underground cells, he wore a gag, an iron collar chained to the wall, and shackles on his wrists and ankles.
Since I needed to hear what he had to say, I set down the notepad I’d brought and unhooked the gag near his throat.
“Phew!”
Now that Chief Steward Mariven’s mouth was free—
“Release me at once, Reniel!”
His booming voice reverberated so loudly it made my head ring.
“Chief Steward, have you already forgotten why you’re here?”
My heart pounded in surprise, and blood rushed to my head.
I nearly stumbled from panic but barely managed to steady myself and stand before him, who was fixed firmly to the wall.
“Tell my lord I’ll repay every bit of the money! I’m begging you!”
“Yes, I’ll be sure to pass that along.”
At that, Chief Steward Mariven’s expression gradually softened.
“It’s not as if I embezzled because I wanted to! My family suddenly fell into hardship…”
“But you embezzled for a full five years, Chief Steward.”
“Five years of working extra at the ducal estate—for such petty sums, they treat me like this…!”
“That amount could’ve bought you a countship.”
“Who said that!”
“My lord did.”
“Th-that’s… well, yes, that’s true.”
Chief Steward Mariven’s pupils trembled wildly.
“Since you’ll be unable to work for a while, I’ve come to take over your duties.”
“What? He said he’d kill me like this?”
“No, nothing like that.”
Every time he spoke, spittle flew onto my face, making me instinctively step backward bit by bit.
“You were the only one originally allowed into my lord’s private quarters, weren’t you? That’s why it’s so inconvenient now—there’s no one to clean or manage that space.”
“Oh… r-right. Yes, he’s always been terribly particular.”
Even as he calmed down, he quickly grew agitated again, making my own heart sink to the floor in dread.
“But my lord is merciful, isn’t he? Weren’t there others before you who embezzled, yet still received letters of recommendation to other households?”
That, at least, was what I’d heard from others.
“D-d-d-don’t tell me! Did he say he’d write me a letter too? I won’t accept it!”
“I don’t know yet. I haven’t heard anything about it myself.”
House Le Pelique was truly wealthy. All of the imperial family’s illicit funds passed through here.
Perhaps the visible wealth was merely the tip of the iceberg, and the hidden fortune beneath was far greater—it wasn’t just an idle saying.
Thus, during my ten years here, I’d seen many people embezzle money or steal items and get expelled.
“Oh, Celen? She was caught stealing jewels last time and left. Got a recommendation letter too, they say.”
“Where did she go?”
“She couldn’t stay in the capital, so she probably got a letter to some remote estate.”
Though they’d all been banished, I’d always heard they received recommendation letters to move elsewhere.
“I’m begging you, Reniel! I’ve always cared for you so much!”
He never had. To be precise—
‘How dare someone from an orphanage act so full of themselves!’
‘I’m sorry.’
‘So desperate to impress my lord you’ve lost your mind!’
‘My deepest apologies.’
‘Do your job properly. Otherwise, someone like you vanishing from this estate would be nothing!’
He’d been someone who disliked me intensely.
“Yes… well, in any case, I’d appreciate the handover.”
Since he’d soon be leaving the estate, there was no need to leave a bad impression between us. With that in mind, I opened my notepad.
I removed the cap from my fountain pen and grasped it firmly.
“Sigh… I’ll tell you everything. But please be sure to tell my lord…”
“Once the handover is done, I’ll write down any additional messages separately. Would that be alright?”
“Yes, you’ve always been sharp—you’ve got good sense like this.”
Only then did he finally begin a very long, exceedingly detailed explanation.
Thus, I learned precisely how to manage the ducal estate.
****
“I’m exhausted.”
After organizing everything from the handover, I entered my room.
Becoming chief steward had been just one step away.
With the chief steward now imprisoned, one of the two deputy stewards implicated in the embezzlement had fled and met with an accident, while the other, fearing punishment, turned himself in to the city guards.
That left me—the longest-serving regular steward—as the most likely candidate.
“If I become chief steward, my salary will be ten times what it is now.”
The thought only made me more determined to gather as much money as possible while I still could.
“Though my current pay isn’t bad either.”
I removed my ring to catch my breath for a moment.
“Huh.”
Taking off the ring didn’t change much.
To anyone’s eyes, my male and female forms looked so alike that people often mistook us for siblings.
This specially enchanted ring allowed me to take on a fully male appearance—
From head to toe, I became a perfect man, albeit slightly slender and delicate for one, appearing somewhat frail.
“My hair’s gotten really long.”
Because I hadn’t had time to cut it, the hair reaching down to my back felt terribly awkward.
Sometimes, my long sky-blue hair even felt as though it didn’t belong to me.
It felt that way now.
I looked into the mirror. Reflected back was myself as a woman—no Adam’s apple, with a face slightly rounder than in my male form.
“Maybe I really will get to live my own life soon.”
With the money I earned here, I wouldn’t need to struggle anymore. I thought of the savings I’d accumulated over ten years.
“Let’s keep going.”
With that, I gently encouraged myself and slipped the ring back on.
****
Soon, dawn arrived, so I took a brief nap before waking to gather my things.
One advantage of being a long-serving steward was that I had two quarters.
One was in the servants’ annex, and the other was a duty room on the top floor of the main ducal mansion.
Right now, I was leaving the duty room to go downstairs.
After gathering what I needed and dressing properly, I descended to the secret basement chamber.
The underground dungeon was as vast and massive as if there were an entire second estate hidden beneath.
Even within that dungeon existed a secret chamber—a place located at the deepest, most concealed level, impossible to find easily.
So deep it made my thighs burn just walking down.
Soon, I opened the secret door.
With a creak, lights inside flickered on all at once.
“Ugh…!”
Tanasis, apparently still adjusting to the sudden brightness, winced and curled up his body.
“Hello. I’ve come to treat you. Please cooperate.”
As I said this, I scanned the interior.
“Good heavens.”
What was surprising was this: when Tanasis had first been brought here, he’d been secured to the wall with multiple shackles, just like Chief Steward Mariven.
Yet now, he lay sprawled on the floor.
And in that instant, I realized how he’d managed it.
“He got free…!”
Panic froze my blood as I understood he’d undone his shackles and moved. I immediately tried to call the guards stationed outside the cellar.
But—
“If you don’t shut your mouth, I’ll break your neck.”
“Ugh…!”
Though his eyes still hadn’t fully adjusted to the light, Tanasis swiftly pinned me to the ground before I could cry out.
“Yes! I’ll cooperate!”
Hearing that, he seemed reassured. His eyes started adjusting properly, and he released some of the pressure from my throat with a sigh.
“Then get me out of here right—Urk…!”
Clang!
“I’m sorry.”
In that brief opening, I struck his head with a nearby flowerpot.
It was the only way to survive.
“I do ask for your cooperation.”
I apologized quietly out of guilt as I said it.
But Tanasis was already unconscious.
When the male lead is punished by carrying the female lead’s child and having periods like a woman
“I’ve given birth to two children for you, yet you still think about him.
Was I nothing but his substitute to you from beginning to end?”
Synopsis:
Meng Huan, a scumbag who has dated countless girlfriends, transmigrates to a female-dominated country.
Day 1: Whether it’s female dominance or not doesn’t matter. The beauties here are passionate and amorous. Isn’t it easier to date them than in modern times?
Day 2: After a night, Meng Huan discovers the differences in the female-dominated world. Men here actually have chastity locks and menstrual cycles. This hinders his ability to perform, damn it!
Day 3: What’s wrong with sleeping around? I don’t want you to marry me. I’m meant to be a playboy. I don’t care about male virtues… What? You want to drown me in a pig cage? Marry, I’ll marry!
Day N: Meng Huan inexplicably vomits and receives the shocking news of his life… He’s pregnant.
_____
Please help me, I want to bring you the best possible things.
If you find any chapter or novel with poor translation and editing quality, let me know by commenting directly under that novel or chapter. I will retranslate it as soon as possible.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
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
YOUR COMMENT
2. Inline comments are now available. Tap the end of any line in a chapter to share your thoughts instantly.
Log in to comment.
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.