Hiya– It’s Me, The Runaway Female Lead - Chapter 49

Life as a barmaid was, even as a lie, hard to call pleasant.

The innkeeper who hired me was a miser who worked his employees like oxen, and the harassment from the so-called customers coming and going was beyond words.

“How did such a young and cute girl end up in a place like this? What, did you commit some kind of crime?”

“In the end, you might as well sell yourself while you’re still young, yeah? You’ll get a better price. What do I mean? Obviously, I’m talking about your hole, ha ha ha!”

Just hearing such vulgar jokes was enough to make my ears rot, but the sneaky hands trying to grope me were no different from beggars.

I realized anew that, had I not been lucky enough to enter the ducal estate, this is how my life would have been all along.

At this rate, I was more worried that I’d end up breaking someone’s head with a bottle and being arrested for murder before the Duke ever managed to catch me.

It was around then that I heard, not news of Claude’s happy married life, but rather a rather shocking rumor.

“Did everyone hear? That terrifying Duke Clausewitz is dead.”

“Hey, why bring up a story about someone dying and kill the mood?”

“You idiot, don’t you know? Even the Count’s family you tried so hard to get in with collapsed at a single word from the new Duke! And you still want to act tough? Some people are just hopelessly ignorant!”

“What? Ignorant? Did you just say what I think you said?”

In an instant, the bustling common room of the inn turned into chaos. I alone was frozen, having learned by accident that Claude had inherited the title and become the new head of the family.

But that wasn’t the only news.

The marriage between House Clausewitz and House Swinden had, for some unknown reason, fallen through, and for the past few months, the ducal household had been combing through nearby villages searching for a certain maid who had disappeared.

As soon as I heard that brief summary of the situation, my survival instincts came to a swift conclusion.

If I wanted to live, I had to go back immediately.

* * *

As if my stylish escape from the estate had been a joke, I now stood once again before the Duke’s mansion.

It was like I had crawled into a tiger’s den of my own accord. This was truly all or nothing, life or death.

I glared at the imposing iron gate, determined not to be intimidated, even by the new master of the estate.

I looked even more ragged and shabby than when I left, but at least my expression was confident.

It was only false bravado, forced out so I wouldn’t completely lose my nerve, but still.

“A-Ayla Bell? Is that you?”

At that moment, the guards who saw me turned pale, as if they’d seen a ghost, and opened the gate without any resistance.

After a long walk down the familiar path, I arrived at the front entrance, where the head butler himself ran out to greet me.

“Ayla Bell, where on earth have you been all this time…!”

From his expression, it seemed he wanted to smack me several times across the back. Unable to do so, he simply twisted his poor handkerchief in agitation, which left quite an impression.

I received similar stares as I passed through the halls and up the stairs. One maid was so startled to see me that she dropped her laundry basket on the spot, and only then did I feel a bit sheepish, as if I’d been struck on the back of the head.

Finally, the head butler stopped in front of the Duke’s office—now Claude’s office—and knocked on the door. As soon as there was a sound from inside, I was shoved into the room in the blink of an eye.

No, but still, shouldn’t they have given me some time to prepare myself? Or at least time to change clothes…

I thought it was a bit much, but given my situation, I straightened up right away. Especially with that terrifying gaze that hit me the moment I entered the room.