The Runaway Female Lead Doesn't Run Away (13 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 5
“This isn’t just a matter of whether or not I’m misunderstanding something!”
She’d thought it would be fine to loaf around until the original female lead ran away, then reconcile with the male lead and simply have a child.
Suddenly, it felt as though the game’s difficulty had skyrocketed from the lowest to the highest level.
Right now, the best course of action would be not to have the child—but she might already be carrying one.
Thus, she couldn’t help but consider improving her relationship with the male lead.
“Even if I’m already pregnant, I can’t possibly get rid of the baby.”
She’d already seen the adorably precious child of the protagonists in the original story—how could she possibly kill it? That was absolutely unthinkable.
Therefore, the best option available to her was to seduce Clayton.
“Why did the male lead fall in love with the female lead in the original again?”
Dahlia rolled her eyes, digging through the dusty memories of the original plot.
Yet, she couldn’t recall any clear reason for the male lead’s love.
“It seemed like he just gradually grew attached after sleeping together….”
In the original, after their contract marriage, Clayton slowly began caring for Dahlia as they went through various incidents big and small.
Especially the day he saw the female lead secretly shedding tears—he couldn’t focus on anything else and spent the whole day thinking about Dahlia.
“So tears really are the key, then.”
Looking back, it seemed every incident was tied to the original female lead’s fragile, delicate demeanor.
As the male lead became concerned over her tearful face, he grew eager to see her smile instead—and began crushing anyone or anything that made Dahlia cry.
At the time, he didn’t realize his actions stemmed from love; he only recognized it as love after she ran away…
It was the most cliché of all clichés.
“So all I need to do now is act like the original female lead—play the role of a frail, wounded maiden. But the problem is…”
Just as Dahlia, forgetting she was at dinner with the male lead, sank deep into thought,
a quiet voice came from across the table.
“How much do you actually know?”
“…Huh?”
“I mean, do you already know who’s behind the poisonous herb incident?”
Right—the problem was that her delicate image was probably already ruined.
“He thinks I deliberately sabotaged the head chef.”
Her thoughtless actions had abruptly transformed the novel’s female lead from a vulnerable maiden into a sharp-tongued heroine.
Dahlia glanced at the man, who exuded an inexplicable pressure even while merely drinking water, and let out an awkward laugh.
“What I need right now isn’t a self-reliant heroine who overcomes adversity without the male lead’s help—but a fragile girl whose mere sight makes his heart ache!”
Though her expression remained peaceful, inside she was utterly flustered.
How could she possibly switch from being an independent woman who solved her own crises to a delicate girl who made others want to protect her?
After a long, troubled silence, Dahlia finally clenched her fist as if making a decision.
“Ugh, whatever. I’ll just squeeze out some tears.”
Immediately acting on her resolve, Dahlia suddenly lowered her eyes and began feigning shock.
“Forgive me, but I don’t understand what you’ve been saying this whole time… And what’s this about poisonous herbs? Could someone really have deliberately tried to poison me?”
She imagined the moment her all-time favorite celebrity announced retirement—and tears quickly gathered at the corners of her eyes.
“What could I have possibly done wrong to deserve such a horrible thing…? Hic.”
She even made her hand tremble as she deliberately wiped away tears. Surely, this performance would fool the male lead…
“Quite a convincing act.”
…Like hell it did—he wasn’t fooled at all.
Clayton, seemingly amused by Dahlia’s sudden shift in behavior, actually quirked the corners of his lips upward.
“But since my one and only wife doesn’t want her secrets exposed, as her devoted husband, I suppose I have no choice but to let it go.”
A hint of amusement laced his voice.
He dabbed the corner of his mouth with a napkin and stood from his seat.
“Dinner was delightful. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.”
Then, as if his business were concluded, he headed straight for the door—but paused.
“Oh, and one more thing.”
Clayton, already gripping the doorknob, turned back to look at Dahlia once more.
“Next time, let me handle it before you rush in to solve things yourself. That way, you won’t cry like you did today.”
His teasing tone,
“The way you fed that food to the head chef was quite entertaining. Thanks to you, I won’t need to punish him myself. Well then—”
coupled with that strangely mischievous smile,
allowed him to finish saying his piece before stepping outside.
The moment the door clicked shut behind him, Dahlia, now alone, burst out in frustration.
“No! I didn’t do it on purpose!”
But no one was there to listen to her sincerity.
[This is the timeline separator]“What? The Dowager Duchess sent for me?”
It had been three days since the misunderstanding remained unresolved, and she’d stayed locked in her room the entire time.
Dahlia, lying dazedly on her bed, was approached by a maid.
“Yes. She said if you’re free, she’d like to share a cup of tea with you now.”
“…”
‘Why would the Dowager Duchess summon me? This wasn’t in the original story…’
In the original, after failing to poison the female lead, the Dowager Duchess used declining health as an excuse to go recuperate at a southern villa.
Though it was called “recuperation,” it was effectively banishment from the estate.
‘Come to think of it, there’s been no word yet about her leaving for the estate either…’
She could let Clayton’s silence slide, but what on earth was the Dowager Duchess thinking? To want to meet the very person she’d tried to poison?
Meeting the Dowager Duchess, who’d tried to harm her, felt deeply unsettling—but as her official mother-in-law, Dahlia had no valid reason to decline a tea invitation.
“…Alright, I understand.”
Dahlia rose from her seat with a reluctant nod.
“Now I finally get it—why all those transmigrated heroines kept obsessing over the original plot.”
Even the slightest deviation from the original made her feel uneasy.
When situations became unpredictable, it almost felt like her transmigration buff had vanished.
Before she knew it, she’d followed the maid—and suddenly, the Dowager Duchess stood right before her.
She didn’t look at all like what one would expect from someone with that title—she appeared to be barely in her mid-forties.
Her golden hair and leaf-green eyes lent her an almost ethereal grace.
“I heard you already knew. That’s why you had Max taste it, isn’t it?”
The Dowager Duchess spoke of her own misdeed with startling calmness.
‘Wait, even she thinks I did it on purpose?’
Desperate to salvage her image—no longer wanting to be seen as a strong, self-sufficient woman—Dahlia quickly tried to explain.
“No, I truly didn’t know! Everything that happened that day was pure coincidence.”
“To think you’d lie even to my face now. You’re more reckless than you appear.”
Yet despite Dahlia’s honest attempt, the Dowager Duchess refused to believe her.
“I thought you were just a timid child who couldn’t even look after your own plate… I clearly underestimated you.”
Apparently, stubborn disbelief ran in the Seyear bloodline.
“But isn’t that right, Dahlia?”
The Dowager Duchess’s gentle tone was so warm it almost made Dahlia believe she meant well.
“I did it for your sake.”
“Oh… uh… what?”
Now what was this about?
“I only wanted to make absolutely certain of your infertility, my dear.”
The Dowager Duchess, now standing right before her, cupped Dahlia’s cheek with one hand and continued.
“If you were to conceive Clayton’s child, you would…”
But she trailed off, as if imagining something horrifying.
Yet Dahlia already knew what the Dowager Duchess had been about to say.
“You’d die, wouldn’t you?”
“!”
Her answer startled the Dowager Duchess, whose eyes widened in shock.
“You… could it be—you know? The Seyear family secret?”
“That any mother who bears a child of Seyear blood will die?”
The secret of the Seyear Dukedom.
And the untold truth behind the male lead’s conversation that had forced the female lead to flee upon learning of her pregnancy.
‘If milady were to conceive, what would you do?’
‘It couldn’t possibly be my child.’
‘Then what of the child and milady…?’
‘I’d have them killed.’
That statement was half right—and half wrong.
What the original female lead had missed was the rest of his words…
‘I’ll kill the child—before Dahlia gives birth.’
It wasn’t Dahlia he intended to kill, but the baby.
Of course, even if she’d heard the rest, the original female lead would still have run away.
“You knew… and yet you…!”
“That’s fine with me.”
Because in the original, the female lead gave birth and remained perfectly healthy.
Isn’t that just how the heroine’s plot armor works?
More importantly…
‘Was she really so afraid I’d die during childbirth that she went this far?’
Dahlia studied the Dowager Duchess carefully. This woman didn’t seem at all like the one who’d ordered her poisoned just yesterday.
In fact, she looked more like the only person in this mansion who genuinely worried for Dahlia.
‘Her method was a bit misguided—but she doesn’t seem like a bad person.’
So Dahlia wanted to reassure her.
To tell her the very thing she feared would never happen.
But of course, she couldn’t just say, “Don’t worry—I’m the heroine, so I won’t die~.” As she struggled to find the right words…
“You… surely…”
The Dowager Duchess asked, as if struck by a sudden, incredible realization.
“You truly love Clayton. Enough to accept death if it means bearing his child.”
Huh?
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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MANGA DISCUSSION
1 Comment
Chapter Comments (21)
Yes…. Just inadvertently let slip the truths… this is so refreshing
Yes!!! Slap her back. Loving your cool attitude!!!
I don’t think it has any effect, but at the same time he didn’t seem to be suffering from sunlight?
Inline Comments (67)
Clayton murmured with a cold, sharp smile.
You ignored her first. To me ,you don’t have rights to anything about her
And so, unintentionally, Dahlia ended up ditching Samantha and Daniel yet again.
Noo. They won’t trust you again girl. Anyway I am still mad at Clayton
Unlike the Duke, who didn’t even care whether his own wife was being humiliated
Yes. So I want you to become male lead. Clayton did a lot of mess. But there is bot a chance for you🥲
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VKotaku28
I feel like you have plot armor strong you that is driving the character reactions… lol