How to Tame That Gentle Male Lead - Chapter 1.9
However, while repeating this to herself as she descended to the vault, Resena stopped her steps at the sound of water droplets falling. Drip. Drip.
“Ugh…”
She quickly crouched down on the landing and pressed herself tightly against the wall. Someone had definitely entered the mansion. And if it was someone being chased, their pursuer would have entered the mansion as well.
Though scared, Resena slowly and silently went back up one floor. The vault was just one more floor down, but if she, who had no means to protect herself, encountered a man with a sword, her chances of survival would be close to zero.
“Damn it…”
The water droplet sound from earlier was undoubtedly from a man dripping blood. Resena went up to the 4th floor while listening to the man’s voice and quietly locked the door.
“……”
Then she held her breath.
“Kiaaaargh!”
A monster’s scream rang out, followed by a thud. After that, there was no sound. Either the man or the monster must have died.
Resena suddenly felt her heart pounding as if it would burst out of her chest. The thought of being in the silent mansion with an intruder made her whole body tremble like an aspen leaf.
“Is anyone there!”
The shouted question revealed that the man was alive. Resena’s eyes grew hot. She held her breath. The sound of staggering footsteps came closer to her room, and then the sound of the doorknob turning was heard.
“It’s locked. I’m sure I heard something here.”
Resena’s wildly beating heart felt like it would jump out at any moment.
The man spoke in a calm voice.
“I’ve escaped here after shaking off the monsters. This is the only mansion left standing, and if I can’t find a place here, I will surely die. If there’s anyone hiding here, could you show some compassion and provide me with food and a place to sleep?” “…”
“I know it’s hard to trust a stranger easily. Moreover, with the Imperial City in this state, you can’t help carelessly. But please, I beg you. When the Imperial City is restored, I will surely compensate you. So please…”
Resena slowly calmed her violently trembling heart with deep breaths. Listening to him, he seemed to be handling the situation very rationally. Moreover, the fact that he wasn’t trying to force the door open in this situation and was trying to persuade her gave Resena a slight sense of relief.
She slowly got up from her seat. Then, as she was about to unlock the door, she hesitated again. What if he tries to kill me the moment I open the door, despite his words?
He could be persuading me like this to monopolize the food storage in the mansion. What if he’s trying to find out the location and then kill me?
“……”
Frozen, Resena couldn’t open the door. She just stood there blankly. When Resena didn’t answer, the man fell silent. Then there was a sound of him leaning against the door.
“Haa…”
At the sigh mixed with deep fatigue, Resena bit her lip hard. She would have to pass by this man anyway if she wanted to go out. Hoping that the man wouldn’t attack her, Resena opened the locked door with trembling hands.
“…Lady Arnasus?”
The man sitting leaning against the door opened his eyes wide. Resena’s eyes also grew round. Though she had no memory of seeing him, her face was famous, so it wasn’t unreasonable for him to know her.
‘Moreover, my face was even in the newspapers.’
Of course, not in a good way…
“You know me?”
“Of course, my lady. Didn’t you dance with me once at the spring ball in the past?”
‘It seems he knows the Resena from before I possessed her.’
Then he must know about my infamy too.
Even though he must know that she went to prison for instigating the murder of the Crown Prince and Lorona Weiz, the man just looked her over from head to toe.
‘Red hair…’
Moreover, the Sword Master fighting earlier also had red hair.
“By any chance… did you duel one-on-one with Crown Prince Eldis?”
“You saw that?”
The man looked up at Resena with a surprised expression. Resena felt relieved at the thought.
He’s a skilled person who managed to shake off that monster horde and even defeat the monster that chased him.
Moreover, with him in the mansion, she wouldn’t have to worry about dying when moving around inside the mansion together.
“Yes, I saw. You fought remarkably well. Although it seemed Crown Prince Eldis won, he is called the strongest in the Empire after all…”
“Haha… I’m embarrassed.”
As she looked down at him smiling awkwardly, Resena could see blood still seeping through his shirt. Frowning, she extended her hand to him.
“…?”
“Let’s get up and treat you first. I’ll guide you to where the medical room is.”
“Thank you.”
As she guided him, Resena felt fortunate to have the family keys in her possession.
Not only the front door but most of the rooms were locked when everyone fled, so Resena could freely access any items that hadn’t been looted using her keys.
Soon, she opened the door to the medical room on the second floor. While he washed his hands in the bathroom in the corner of the medical room, she brought bandages, disinfectant, and ointment. Being blessed by the priests, these items would have wound-closing effects as well.
“Thank you. I didn’t think such supplies would be left… Actually, I considered going to the temple, but the temple itself had completely collapsed, making it impossible to enter.”
“You did well to come here. Of course, this place isn’t completely safe either. There are plenty of rooms, but rooms without windows are limited, so if you want to stay in a less dangerous place, you’ll have to put up with a somewhat inconvenient location.”
He nodded and continued applying the ointment to his wounds. Seeing his blood-soaked shirt, Resena waited for a moment for him to finish his treatment.
“Now it would be good to change your clothes. It’s winter, and there are broken windows in the hallway, so even if you’re a Sword Master, you’ll catch a cold if you stay shirtless like that.”
“Is it alright if I ask for clothes here? You’re giving me too much.”
“It’s fine. Having a Sword Master in this mansion makes me feel more secure. I don’t have the ability to repel monsters, so I have to avoid and hide, but with you here, I don’t have to fear monsters as much.”
The man slowly nodded. After finishing the treatment and standing up, Resena asked.
“By the way, what’s your name?”
“I’m Alken Rawley. The first son of the Rawley Count family. Haha. But it’s curious.”
“What is?”
Alken chuckled at Resena’s puzzled look.
“You look better, both in face and atmosphere, than at the spring ball before. Back then, you seemed somewhat sharp, but now you look soft and comfortable.”
“…..”
“Of course, there is something in common between then and now.”
“What’s that?”
As Resena asked softly, Alken shrugged.
“You don’t remember my name and ask for it, just the same. Hahaha.”
“…I’m sorry. I’m not good at remembering people…”
In fact, she had been too busy. While running around trying to destroy all the plans the previous Resena had set up, she couldn’t even remember all the names of the people she had encountered.
So it was natural that she forgot the name of the Sword Master who had danced with the previous Resena. Even though she had read the novel, there were countless names that didn’t appear in it.
“Hehe. It’s alright. You’ve helped me so much. It’s also nice to introduce myself anew.”
He stood up. Resena saw the wounds across his bare chest starting to heal and turned her back.
“Let’s go to my younger brother’s dressing room for now. There should still be clothes left there.”
“Thank you.”
“Renard is also a Sword Master, so the physical conditions should be similar. So you don’t need to worry about them not fitting.”
“…..”
He just grinned silently. For a while, it was quiet as he followed Resena’s lead. When they entered her brother’s room, they saw a tidy room.
‘He used to make a mess every day… A room this tidy feels a bit strange.’
