“It’s my hideout in the Pandora Forest.”
Upon hearing Duncan’s words, I belatedly looked around.
It seemed to be a log cabin, with walls and ceiling all made of large pieces of wood.
Bright light was coming in through the window.
I must have been unconscious for a whole day.
After assessing my surroundings, I immediately looked for Bless.
I hoped there wouldn’t be a terrifying situation where Bless appeared as a long-haired handsome man like in my dream.
Fortunately, nothing like that happened.
Bless, who had been sitting on the bedside table, flew over to me.
―Kyukyu! Kyukyu!
‘I was worried! Really!’
Somehow, Bless’s face looked angry.
It was as if he was reproaching me for putting myself in danger.
‘Maybe I shouldn’t have confronted Rosie.’
Instead of answering, I stroked Bless’s head.
I didn’t want to reveal to Duncan that I had the “Tamer ability”.
“Is that a pet you’re raising, Guide Yerena?”
“Yes. It’s my pet bird. Isn’t it cute? You wouldn’t believe how smart it is.”
Bless flew over and pecked Duncan’s head a few times.
“I’m not sure about other things, but it seems to dislike me for certain.”
Why is it doing that?
“Come here. You shouldn’t peck at innocent people’s heads.”
Bless puffed out its beak sulkily and flew back to me.
Now that I had confirmed it was fine, it was time to deal with my own matters.
“So, Duncan, has my resignation been processed?”
“It will be processed as soon as the debt is cleared.”
“If it’s about money……”
I checked the clothes I was wearing.
They were still the same rags from yesterday.
It seemed Duncan had brought me to the log cabin and put me to bed without changing my clothes.
Rummaging through my clothes, I quickly found the small pouch containing the jewels.
Thanks to being securely tied inside my clothes, it seemed to have survived that ordeal.
“Here it is.”
Duncan received the pouch and examined the jewels inside.
“These are good jewels.”
“Is that enough to offset the money my parents took?”
Duncan replied with a brief “Yes.”
He seemed indifferent despite the large sum of money involved.
“I’ll pay the remaining balance in cash when we go to the center.”
“So, am I free now?”
This time, Duncan didn’t immediately agree.
“Guide Yerena.”
“Yes?”
“There’s something you need to do before you resign.”
“Wh-what is it?”
He answered meaningfully.
“You’ll need to act out a play with me.”
Duncan’s golden eyes flashed dangerously as he made this strange proposal.
What on earth was this man planning?
I desperately hoped that his plan would be beneficial to me.
“Ah, before that, let me apologize. I’m sorry.”
“What are you apologizing for?”
“I didn’t pay much attention to Guide Yerena because I was uninterested, had many external affairs, and haven’t been the center director for long, so I wasn’t aware of what was happening in the center.”
I listened quietly.
“It may sound like an excuse, but I wasn’t very interested in the center director’s job either.”
Duncan spoke as if he had other work besides the center’s affairs.
For instance, work related to his family that wasn’t known to the public.
Come to think of it, there was a part where the original female lead suspected Duncan might be “the heir of some family.”
Duncan had suddenly appeared out of nowhere and taken on the important position of center director.
It was impossible without being a noble.
But the female lead never found out Duncan’s true identity.
As the story progressed, Duncan stopped appearing.
Duncan’s name was only mentioned occasionally, while the female lead spent almost all her time with the trio from the Allen Knights.
“So?”
Duncan finally got to the point.
“The fact that Guide Yerena was being bullied.”
“……”
“And that the bullying was extremely severe.”
Duncan said that when he heard belatedly that I had been dragged to the cliff, he thought Rosie might actually throw me off.
Still, just in case, he went to the bottom of the cliff, and I had actually fallen there.
“……When I found you, I was so shocked. I’m still dizzy.”
“It’s fine. I’m not a child. And the center isn’t a school, is it? I’m not asking you to punish the people who bullied me.”
“Yes.”
“But I’d like Rosie to be punished. I almost died because of her.”
I said that, but I couldn’t gauge how Rosie should be punished.
Should I bribe the knights who witnessed me falling from the cliff?
I don’t even have money to bribe them. Damn.
“Punishment…… Perhaps we can punish her with the play we’re going to do.”
“Oh! Please tell me what this play is about.”
Duncan began to explain his plan.
“Let’s say you died from falling off the cliff.”
“And then?”
“I’ll testify that I witnessed Rosie killing you. Then Rosie will receive some punishment. Of course, it’s only circumstantial evidence, and given how powerful Rosie’s family is, it will be difficult to impose a severe punishment, but……”
I thought that would be enough.
It was something I could never have done alone.
“If you’re considered dead, Rosie and others at the center won’t be able to bully you anymore.”
I nodded.
“However, you might never be able to live as Yerena again. Is that okay?”
I wasn’t Yerena to begin with. I had no lingering attachment to Yerena’s life.
“Yes!”
I answered loudly and then grinned.
Yerena’s life, full of mistreatment from others and only debt.
The day to say goodbye to that barren life was near. Oh yeah.
“I like your cheerful answer.”
“Haha. I’m quite cheerful.”
Ignoring my words completely, Duncan continued with what he wanted to say.
“For the perfection of the play, we’ll announce your death after a few days have passed. We need to procure a fake corpse too.”
“Oho. Sounds good.”
“Is this enough to offset my failure as a center director in not taking care of you?”
I gave a thumbs up.
“Good boy.”
Isn’t this identity laundering plan too good…?
Seeing my pleased reaction, Duncan sighed as if relieved.
“I thought I was only going to be hated like this.”
As he said that, he smiled a clear smile.
It was an incomparably beautiful smile.
***
The next day, I was resting in Duncan’s hideout, the log cabin.
A white parrot flew in through the slightly open window and delivered a message.
It was Honey Guildmaster’s parrot.
‘How did the Guildmaster know my whereabouts?’
I wondered if he had attached some GPS-like device to my body.
I reluctantly felt around my body, but there was nothing particularly suspicious.
I gave up and opened the message.
⌜Baby! It’s Honey ^^
It’s already the third message ^^!
You’ve been keeping my messages well without throwing them away, right?⌟
……I crumpled and threw them away.
It was a sad fact that I couldn’t tell the Guildmaster.
I read the next part as well.
⌜Today, would you like to come to the place where we first met?
I’ve prepared a gift for you ^^
Then I’ll be waiting for you∼∼^^ S2⌟
The place where we first met. It clearly meant the guild’s base, the potato wholesaler ‘Hot Potato’.
“Wait, but why has he been using informal speech since last time?”
I decided that if I met him today, I would have to scold the Guildmaster.
I put on the new clothes and robe that Duncan had brought me yesterday.
Duncan said he was busy dealing with matters related to me, so he wouldn’t be able to come to the log cabin for a while.
But he said he’d have a trustworthy person look after my needs, so I should rest comfortably here.
“However, when you go out, please wear a hood to hide your face. And don’t go anywhere near the center.”
He left such a warning.
I had no intention of going near the center either. There was nothing to bring from my room at the center.
The only thing precious to me was Bless.
By the way, the log cabin where I’m hiding now was located in the opposite direction from the center.
Just as I was about to leave the log cabin, a sudden question occurred to me.
Doesn’t Duncan find it strange that I’m too fine for someone who fell off a cliff?
He must know that if I had fallen from that height, at least one bone should have been broken.
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TropicalHighland
On one hand, he’s a deceptive two-faced man. On the other hand, he genuinely cares about her, values her financial independence, gives her exactly what she wants, and apologizes for his mistakes.
I give him an 8.