I Ran Away And The Reverse Harem Started Chapter 113

Young Yvette stood beside the viscountess, watching a bee tumble through the flowers. When the bee suddenly flew toward her face, she fell back onto the lawn in fright.

The viscountess scooped up the crying Yvette with ease and sat her on her lap.

‘It’s okay. Wounds heal with a bit of medicine. There’s no wound in the world that doesn’t heal. Hush now, little one.’

She looked at Yvette playfully, then gently blew on the scraped knee.

Ah, such a tender mother…

The two of them picked up fallen hydrangea petals and returned to the mansion. They wanted to bring the scent of the flowers to the newborn baby sister, who was still lying in bed.

…It was a long-forgotten memory.

The lingering image of the two at the edge of the garden faded away.

Yvette wiped her chin. Her cheeks and jaw were damp with tears.

She lowered her gaze and brushed away the tears with the back of her hand.

“…I’m sorry. For making such an inappropriate request. I just…”

Her voice caught, the words coming out in broken fragments.

She had always wanted to return her family to the way they were. The past had been so sweet and perfect. She wanted to rebuild that home filled with endless laughter.

But she had been searching for happiness too far away.

Her parents likely hadn’t ventured that far. Still, Yvette had burdened herself with that responsibility.

Our family has to be perfect again… I can bring it all back. I can fix it.

But because she kept looking so far ahead, she failed to see her parents watching her back with sadness. She never realized that her own desperate struggle was what made them unhappy.

“…To your parents, Lady Yvette, you are just as much their daughter as Irene is. But if even you are tormented by guilt and anxiety, how can they truly be happy?”

“…”

“You don’t need to carry their pain anymore. That’s not your burden to bear. All you need to do is be happy first…”

Rosieta looked at Yvette, who wept silently, and slowly reached out her hand. The fortress-like woman had finally broken down.

Suddenly, she felt an urge to comfort those trembling, delicate shoulders.

Hesitating for a moment, Rosieta carefully placed her hand on top of Yvette’s.

She felt Yvette flinch slightly—but she didn’t pull away. That was a relief.

Yvette curled into herself and cried quietly for a long time. Like someone who hadn’t cried out loud in years.

 

 

 

 

*****

 

 

 

 

By the time Yvette and I returned from the hydrangea garden, evening was settling in. Just then, the viscountess came down from upstairs and greeted Colin and me with a bright smile.

She looked far livelier than when I had seen her at the dessert shop a few days ago.

“It’s been a while since we’ve had guests. You were with Mr. Lucas in front of the dessert shop, weren’t you?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“I had no idea you were close to Yvette. And Yvette almost never invites anyone to the estate, so I was doubly surprised. But since we’re all here, why don’t you stay for dinner?”

It seemed the viscountess had no idea why Yvette had invited me. We decided to stay and have dinner with the Büllossen family, and she thanked me again for helping choose the snacks for Yvette.

While waiting for dinner in the parlor with Colin, I dozed off. I had been trying to appear calm and confident in front of Yvette, but in truth, I’d been tightly wound the whole time.

And then, in my dreams, I saw a familiar scene.

‘Wait… this place is…’

It was a place both comforting and painful, bringing back memories of hard times.

The musty smell of dust, children whining, pale sunlight streaming through the clouds…

The Hollis regional orphanage I had entered when I was eight years old.

The moss-green roof was worn, the grimy windows barely let in any light. The wooden floors creaked no matter where you stepped, and mice scurried about noisily in the corners.

I stood at the end of the first-floor hallway.

‘The library.’

Only called that in name—it had just a handful of books.

I looked at the sign on the old wooden door. It read “Library.” Drawn in, I opened the door and saw the familiar tiny room.

And when I saw the far corner of the library, I gasped.

‘…It’s me.’

The first thing I noticed was the tangled red hair, uncombed and unruly. A girl with wavy hair hanging down sat in the corner of the library, reading a book.

It was a spot so dim that sunlight barely reached through the dusty windows.

The girl read with faded purple eyes.

Her cheeks were hollow, lifeless. Her gaze dull and unfocused. Her body thin and her clothes soiled. Her fingernails were long.

And I knew instinctively.

‘Ah, this must be what Daniel meant. When I had just arrived at the Hollis orphanage.’

Daniel had told me once how gloomy and withdrawn I was when I first came to the orphanage.

Though I had no memory of it myself, this miserable, dirty child seemed like the version of me he’d described.

I felt breathless. That little girl looked like someone who had given up on life.

She didn’t even flinch at the noise from outside. It was as if she was detached from this world. Like the living dead.

Strange.

Even knowing it was a dream, the state of my younger self was worrying. My heart beat unevenly with unease.

‘That book—what is she reading?’

I stepped farther into the library. Just then, the girl slumped like a doll murmured,

“So that’s it. This is inside a book…”

“…”

“I’m a character in a book. I… I see now… That’s what I am…”

A lifeless murmur. But somehow, like a spell, the dullness in her eyes began to fade.

And then the floor fell away beneath me.

The scene shifted.

Time in the dream rewound further into the past—before I was taken to the orphanage. I stood alone in the middle of the night, at a train station.

‘Wait. A train? A train station?’

It was a dark night. The gaslight on the platform cast a faint glow over my cheeks. A pale blue light began to rise in the distance.

Someone came and took my hand.

“Come now, young miss. Let’s go.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Little me nodded obediently. It was late at night, and I must’ve been sleepy, but I didn’t cry or whine. I simply followed.

The woman in the cloak—her face was hidden. But her voice sounded very young.

‘…Is this a real memory? Not just a dream? A memory from before someone abandoned me?’

But before I could see her face clearly, the two of us boarded the late-night train and disappeared.

That’s where the dream ended.

 

 

 

*****

 

 

 

 

‘What a strange dream.’

I awoke with a restless feeling but kept my eyes closed, trying to piece together the fragments still fresh in my mind. They felt like scattered puzzle pieces.

‘That scene in the library—what was I reading?’

The young me had muttered something strange. It seemed like that was the moment I realized I was just a background character in a book.

‘Was I reading The Deluded Saintess then? Was that when I remembered my past life?’

In the train station scene, I looked much younger—around three years old. I boarded a night train holding someone’s hand.

As if leaving for somewhere very far away.

And then…

‘She called me “young miss.”’

The woman in the cloak definitely said that. Young miss.

That meant she probably wasn’t my real mother.

But still—young miss? That was odd. Was I… a noble in my previous life?

The more I tried to make sense of it, the more the dream faded.

It could’ve just been a completely nonsensical dream, and yet… the uneasy feeling lingered.

That’s when I noticed an odd sensation in my hand.

I was touching something soft and firm—and then a familiar voice came from above me.

“Rose, you’re awake?”

“…Huh?”

I opened my eyes and found Colin’s face right in front of me.

“Wha—ahh!”

Startled, I let out a small scream and shot upright. At some point, I must’ve fallen asleep with my head resting on Colin’s thigh.

Flustered, I straightened myself on the sofa. My wild curls were surely sticking out in all directions.

“S-sorry, Colin. When did I fall asleep?”

“Not long ago. Maybe about an hour. You were tired while we waited for dinner.”

“Ahh, so I ended up sleeping on your lap? Sorry for the trouble.”

“It’s fine. Not a problem at all.”

Colin smiled warmly, his eyes crinkling.

Oh right, we’d been waiting for dinner.

I glanced out the window—the sky had darkened, dusk settling in. The rich scent of food drifted in through the door crack. Dinner must be ready soon.

“But… why was I holding your hand? Did I grab you in my sleep or something…?”

I glanced at him awkwardly. Colin was gently untangling my messy curls, and when our eyes met, he said,

“Oh, it wasn’t that. You tend to move a lot in your sleep, right? I just held your hand so you wouldn’t get hurt.”

“Because of my sleepwalking. I must’ve worried you.”

“It’s nothing.”

I sighed.

I’d been so overwhelmed by everything with Yvette that I hadn’t even realized I’d fallen asleep in someone else’s house. Colin must’ve been watching over me the whole time I was out cold.

Using his lap as a pillow, and receiving all this care… I was feeling embarrassed when the parlor door opened.

The Viscountess of Büllossen entered.