The Runaway Female Lead Doesn't Run Away (13 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 7
Huh?
Only then did Dahlia sense something was off and looked around.
That’s when she realized the eyes of the gathered ladies, who had been chatting in groups, were now fixed on Orly and herself.
‘…What did I just say again?’
Could it be…? Embarrassed by the thought that she might have accidentally spoken her inner thoughts aloud, she rolled her eyes.
Just then, the ladies—who had been quietly watching the two—began to whisper among themselves.
“What exactly did Duchess Seyear just say? That Baroness Molden fed Zahmyungcho to her? Isn’t Zahmyungcho the poisonous herb that causes infertility?”
“I’ve heard it’s an extremely potent herb. Could Baroness Molden really have given it to Duchess Seyear…?”
“Now that you mention it, it was strange from the start. How odd that the eldest daughter of the unmarried Baron Molden’s household was rumored to be barren before marriage! Where did everyone even hear that rumor?”
“I heard it from Baroness Molden herself.”
“Oh my! Me too! Then it really was Baroness Molden who…”
Their eyes, which had been focused on their own conversation, instantly locked onto Baroness Molden.
Their gazes were now sharp and accusing—as if looking at someone who’d committed a heinous crime.
They understood better than anyone how harshly a woman unable to bear children was treated, so they viewed what Orly had done as just as dreadful as murder.
Stories of stepmothers resenting their husbands’ daughters from previous marriages were old and commonplace, but a stepmother cruel enough to render that daughter infertile—that was rare indeed.
Noticing the meaning behind those stares, Orly shivered and clenched her fists.
“You—what are you talking about right now? What did I feed you? How dare you frame me like that…!”
“Yes! What did Mom ever do to you that you’d spread such a horrible lie about her?”
Sophie, refusing to believe Dahlia, passionately defended Orly.
And just as she stepped forward, eyes blazing as if ready to tear Dahlia apart—
A man approached and announced that everyone should gather by the lake.
It was the signal for the boat ride—the main event of the garden party—to begin.
Thanks to this sudden interruption, the attention that had been intensely focused on the three women dispersed.
After all, everyone had been eagerly awaiting today’s outing all winter, so the Molden family scandal was temporarily set aside.
Besides, there would be countless opportunities from now on to bring it up again.
Reading the room, Orly and Sophie also decided that continuing the argument would only worsen the situation and turned to leave—
Though not before shooting one last glare at Dahlia as they walked away.
‘Wow. I thought I was about to get slapped.’
Dahlia, who had been sharply receiving their glares, let out a sigh of relief.
‘It’s actually true that the female lead was fed Zahmyungcho—and yet she’s throwing a tantrum?’
Fortunately, the female lead had noticed the distinctive smell of Zahmyungcho as soon as her stepmother started slipping it into her food, so she’d only pretended to eat it and remained unaffected.
Still, when she later stopped menstruating, she’d unconsciously assumed she’d become infertile without realizing it.
‘How shameless.’
Dahlia clicked her tongue in disdain as she thought of the mother-daughter pair and shivered,
Resolving to avoid those two for the rest of the garden party.
[This is the timeline separator]The boat ride—considered the highlight of any garden party—began precisely when the sun was at its hottest.
And, as expected, Clayton’s face was clouded with irritation, clearly displeased by this fact.
He made no effort to hide his mood, merely glaring stiffly at the boat he was supposed to paddle.
Seeing him, Dahlia smiled inwardly, sensing her chance had come.
‘A boat ride right under the blazing midday sun? Perfect for me. It’s the ideal setup for natural physical contact.’
To board the boat, Clayton would have no choice but to offer her his hand—and the moment their palms touched, he’d suddenly sense something different.
Everything was going according to plan.
Well… except for the fact that Orly and Sophie were now glaring at her as if they wanted her dead.
When her eyes met Orly’s—filled with a demonic intensity—Dahlia quickly looked away as if she hadn’t noticed.
‘If I get tangled up with them, it’ll just cause trouble.’
Thinking that, Dahlia moved closer to Clayton’s side,
Knowing that as long as she stayed near the male lead, they wouldn’t dare provoke her.
However, Dahlia was so preoccupied with Orly that she completely failed to notice Clayton watching her.
Clayton glanced back and forth between Dahlia and Orly, then let out a faint chuckle.
“Wasn’t you who eagerly ate it earlier? And now you’re finally looking uneasy?”
“Huh?”
Dahlia turned toward him, bewildered.
But when he jerked his chin toward Orly, she finally understood what he meant and sucked in a sharp breath.
Damn it.
He must’ve seen the earlier incident.
‘Ugh. I need to show him only my fragile side now.’
As the female lead of a reincarnated-into-a-novel story, she was supposed to endure silently—unable to speak her mind or even defend herself properly against injustice.
‘Whatever. I still have my secret weapon—the unique female lead buff that makes the male lead feel: “Being with you isn’t painful at all.”’
Clayton might pretend nothing was wrong, but he couldn’t deceive his own senses.
He was surely struggling right now to suppress a surging wave of irritation.
And the perfect opportunity to gift him that revelation was right before her.
Clayton, already seated in the boat, extended his hand toward Dahlia.
She took it, carefully hiding her racing heartbeat.
Now, the male lead would look at her in surprise, suddenly feeling an inexplicable sense of clarity and refreshment…
“Are you just going to stand there?”
“Huh?”
Clayton frowned at Dahlia, who was still standing on the dock, only holding his hand without boarding.
“I was wondering if you even planned to get on the boat.”
“Oh—no! Of course I’m getting on!”
Realizing he was scolding her for standing there like a fool, Dahlia hurriedly climbed aboard.
‘This… this is strange. Why does he seem completely unaffected?’
The moment they touched, the world was supposed to transform for him—yet he showed no reaction whatsoever.
‘Was the contact too weak?’
Maybe the touch had been too slight to trigger the effect. If that was the case…
“Oh my!”
Dahlia let out a short, feigned cry and deliberately swayed her body—
Falling naturally into Clayton’s arms, burying her face against his chest.
She then lingered there, deliberately rubbing her cheek against him to buy time.
‘This should be enough to make something happen…’
“What are you doing?”
Huh?
At the man’s impatient voice above her head, Dahlia snapped her head up.
Seeing the way he looked at her—as if she were some strange creature—Dahlia furrowed her brow.
“Aren’t you feeling anything at all?”
“Should I be feeling something?”
Wait—?
That’s not how this was supposed to go.
Faced with his genuinely confused expression, Dahlia’s anxiety spiked.
“Like… your mind suddenly clearing up? Or an unexpected surge of energy? You feel absolutely nothing like that?”
But at Dahlia’s words, Clayton’s eyes narrowed. His expression clearly said: ‘Are you insane?’
“This is weird… It shouldn’t be like this. It just shouldn’t!”
Now genuinely panicked, Dahlia began frantically patting down Clayton’s body.
‘Why isn’t he reacting at all?! Could it be that after my soul transmigrated, the female lead buff vanished?’
No, that couldn’t be! What kind of ridiculous nonsense is this?!
Just how long Dahlia kept groping him, he finally couldn’t take it anymore—he pulled her hands away from his body.
“It seems you’re not in any condition to go boating, my lady.”
Dahlia stammered at the clear irritation in his voice.
“Huh? No, wait—!”
But he had already stepped away, leaving her alone on the boat.
Dahlia stared helplessly at Clayton’s retreating figure and quietly murmured,
“Am I really doomed?”
A heavy sense of foreboding crashed over her—she just knew things wouldn’t go smoothly from here on out.
[This is the timeline separator]The lake at the heart of Cadwell Park was the most famous boating spot in the capital.
Especially when the cherry blossoms lining the shore were in full bloom—which happened to be the case today, one of those rare, breathtakingly beautiful days of the year.
Thus, everyone was eager not to miss this moment and was thoroughly enjoying their boat rides.
Everyone, that is, except one person.
“What am I going to do now?”
Dahlia muttered as she repeatedly thumped her forehead against a tree in a secluded spot.
The most crucial plot point from the original story—the moment the male lead fell for the female lead—had been rendered utterly useless.
Worse, she’d probably only earned his resentment by groping him without permission.
“Sigh…”
Just as Dahlia let out a despairing sigh over this unexpected setback—
“Dahlia!”
At the familiar, sharp voice, she looked up to see Sophie and Orly staring at her with furious glares.
They stomped toward her as if they’d been searching all over for her.
“How dare you humiliate our mother?! What are you going to do now? Because of you, people keep whispering behind our backs!”
The girl who’d pretended to adore her older sister in public just moments ago was now practically ready to yank Dahlia’s hair out.
Realizing she might actually get hit, Dahlia frantically scanned her surroundings—but unfortunately, this secluded forest area was far from the bustling lake, with no one in sight.
In other words, neither of them had anyone to worry about watching, and Dahlia had no one to come to her aid.
Figures.
Too annoyed to deal with them, Dahlia blurted out carelessly just to get rid of them quickly,
“I might’ve slipped up and said something I didn’t mean, but I didn’t exactly make up something that never happened, did I?”
Orly, caught off guard by Dahlia’s sudden boldness, stammered in shock.
But she quickly recovered, jabbing a finger at Dahlia and nearly shouting,
“What?! W-what do you mean?! Because of you, we’re about to be ruined in society! And now you act like nothing happened? Is it because you became a duchess that you’ve grown so arrogant you look down on everyone?!”
As she spoke, Orly raised her hand, ready to slap Dahlia across the cheek.
Dahlia just sighed softly at the sight.
‘So it’s come to this, huh?’
This was such a cliché, predictable move—it was practically yawningly dull.
If she were the original female lead, she’d probably just stand there silently and take the hit.
Unfortunately for Orly, Dahlia had no intention of offering up her cheek so willingly.
So, just as she was preparing to coldly grab Orly’s wrist—
Thwack.
Someone stepped firmly between them.
“…Your Grace?”
It was Clayton.
Dahlia awkwardly lowered her hand—she’d been just about to deliver the same slap back to Orly herself.
My Arch-enemy Sealed My Memory and Said That He is My Husband
This is an incredibly captivating story that you absolutely shouldn’t miss! I’ll give a brief introduction here, and below you’ll find a detailed synopsis of the plot.
The female lead is a fierce and powerful demon king. The male lead is a once-in-a-millennium celestial lord, admired by the entire cultivation world.
They are equally matched, legendary rivals who have battled for centuries.
In the final duel, the female lead is gravely injured. The male lead saves her, seals her memories, and hides her true identity. He tells her that he is her fiancé. His entire life has been flawless—except for the one thing he never expected, never controlled, and never wanted to control: falling for his greatest enemy. She is his inner demon, his obsession.
When the female lead regains her memories, she is furious at his deception.
She makes his life a living hell.
And somehow, the male lead—possibly a total masochist—doesn’t mind at all. In fact, he’s happy she’s paying attention to him.
Yep, we’re back to my favorite trope: male lead suffering. If you love this kind of story, jump into the pit with me now!!!
Intro
Dong Xia lost her memory.
Her handsome and extremely powerful fiancé Li Qing comforted her: “It’s okay if you can’t remember. I’ll always be with you.”
Everyone thought Dong Xia’s ancestors must have burned incense to get such a perfect fiancé. He was the number one person in the immortal realm, yet he remained chaste and only loved her.
…
The day before marrying her fiancé, Dong Xia finally remembered everything.
She wasn’t suffering from memory loss at all.
Her arch-enemy had made her fake her death, destroyed her cultivation, replaced her memories, and pretended to be her deeply in love fiancé.
No wonder he said, “It’s okay if you can’t remember”!
Dong Xia laughed coldly as she pulled out her long knife: Li Qing, prepare to die 🙂
*
Li Qing, as the supreme being of the immortal realm, was the people’s shining beacon.
The only unknown stain in his life was his affection for Dong Xia, the ruler of the demon realm.
In the final battle of the war between immortals and demons, the sky collapsed and the earth shattered. The ruler of the demon realm was finally slain under the sword of the supreme being of the immortal realm, and everyone in the immortal realm applauded.
The cultivation world lost a ruler of the demon realm.
And in the back mountain of Li Qing’s cave dwelling, he secretly hid away a fiancée.
Notes:
1. The female lead is white on the outside, black on the inside, and the queen of flattery; the male lead repeatedly tests the edge of darkness, a VIP guest at the crematorium.
2. Fantasy cultivation world setting.
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MANGA DISCUSSION
1 Comment
Chapter Comments (19)
I don’t think it has any effect, but at the same time he didn’t seem to be suffering from sunlight?
Is the curse about you being vampires without out the need for blood?
It is the carriage bringing the not-mistress Dalia.
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
Yes!!! Slap her back. Loving your cool attitude!!!