I Ran Away And The Reverse Harem Started Chapter 124

A heavy silence settled between the three of us. I offered a light smile to ease the stiff atmosphere and spoke.

“But if His Majesty would make me just one promise, I won’t step foot in the temple. No matter how they try to persuade me.”

“A promise, huh.”

“……”

“So that’s why you barged into this room unannounced, isn’t it?”

I didn’t deny it. Instead, I smiled sweetly, playing the part of a naive young lady. The king looked at me like he was holding back laughter, then tilted his head with a faintly amused expression.

“Alright then, what is this request of yours?”

His tone said: Let’s hear it, just for fun.

He clearly thought this was nothing more than some lowly creature’s little act— but I didn’t mind.

Instead, I straightened my posture and stiffened my expression, sitting up properly. Then I looked the king straight in the eye and said:

“Please stop using my friend Daniel as a political tool. Whether it’s marriage or anything else, stop treating us like cards to be played and discarded. That’s all I ask.”

The king, who’d been leaning his chin on his hand with a bored look, opened his eyes a little wider. He clearly hadn’t expected that answer.

Deborah might be disgracefully removed from the saintess seat due to her immoral father, but Daniel’s position remained unchanged. The king could still toy with him at any time—and I had finally had enough of that.

Until now, I thought it was just part of the story, something inevitable…
But not anymore.

As I fell silent, the king stroked his beard with interest and asked,

“Is there more? Anything else?”

“And… I’d like you to promise to protect the people of Holden and the Bullosen family. Even after Deborah is removed from the position of saintess, please protect her too. Baron Louis and the kidnappers don’t matter, but Deborah is innocent. She’s served for twenty years.”

The king raised his eyebrows. It was impossible to tell if he was intrigued or just watching a cheeky girl climb too high.

But I wasn’t finished. Looking directly at the king, I lowered my voice and spoke as coolly as I could.

“If you don’t grant my request…”

“If I don’t?”

I put weight into every syllable.

“I’ll live the rest of my life unmarried and enter the temple as their saintess. Just so you know.”

“She’s totally insane. A commoner, meeting with the king one-on-one and even making deals? Her guts must be spilling out of her ribs.”

“You say that, but… that was a compliment, wasn’t it?”

I gave Roan a silly grin.

I was already feeling drained and dizzy from my private talk with the king. Roan clicked his tongue in disbelief as he looked at me.

“With nerves that small, why’d you make such a request? You don’t even fully know how cunning he is.”

“Why wouldn’t I know? I know all too well. That’s why I made the deal.”

I let out a long sigh and glanced toward the upper floor of the mansion. Even after my proposal, Daniel and the king had remained in the room, continuing their conversation.

“I know how calculating and pragmatic he is. That’s why negotiation was the answer. I was already sick of it—ordering Daniel around, telling him who to marry and when, treating him like property.”

I turned back to Roan.

“And this was the perfect chance. The king may treat Daniel like a pawn now, but if he’s on our side, that’s a powerful asset. Better to tilt him slightly toward us than let him fall into the enemy’s camp.”

“True. That man’s no ally. He could stab us in the back anytime.”

Roan scrunched his nose as if the mere thought of the king disgusted him. I chuckled at the sight.

“But I bet he’ll grant my request if only to avoid seeing me become the new saintess. It’s not even that big of an ask, really.”

Our real threat was Baron Louis and the temple. And I had no desire to see the temple walk away cleanly from this mess.

They say the enemy of my enemy is my friend, right? Then nudging the king a little closer to our side was the better option.

Not that I expected him to fully side with us. That would be naive.

Just then, Roan narrowed his eyes and looked me over.

“Hmm. Are you sure you’re not doing this for personal reasons?”

“What?”

“I mean… was it because you didn’t want to see Daniel married off to some other woman?”

I feigned ignorance, but Roan was already giving me that smug, teasing look. This overly perceptive middle-aged man…

I was just about to swat away the clingy Roan when the third-floor door opened and the king emerged.

His guards and attendants immediately stood at attention. Through the perfectly aligned knights, Daniel followed behind him at a distance. It seemed the conversation had ended peacefully.

Roan, watching the scene, snorted.

“Why are they acting all formal in my house? What a bunch of clowns…”

“Please, Roan. Don’t whisper that in my ear. I don’t want to be arrested for treason.”

I jumped back in panic.

The last thing I wanted was to get locked up for royal slander just for hanging around with this notorious monarch-hater.
I quickly moved away from Roan and headed toward Colin and Lucas. But then the king descended the stairs and approached me.

Colin, Lucas, and I bowed in greeting. The king turned his gaze toward me.

I’d thought it before at the palace party— The highborn have a way of looking at people that’s perfectly tailored to make others shrink.
That unique royal pressure.

But strangely, I didn’t feel as afraid as before. Maybe it was the sense that things were finally moving in the right direction. Or maybe it was because Daniel, standing behind the king, looked visibly more at ease.

While we all held our breath and waited, the king slowly opened his mouth.

“You’re a sharper young lady than I expected.”

“…”

“Lift your head.”

When I raised my head and met his gaze, he puffed out his chest and declared in a solemn voice:

“I will make a deal with you.”

“…”

“Let us meet again on the day of the trial.”

Deal made. That short reply seemed to carry a world of meaning.

Everyone in the mansion turned their attention to the king and me. I stared at him, stunned for a moment, then gathered my skirts and offered a respectful bow of thanks.

 

 

 

****

 

 

After the king left, the four of us also boarded the carriage Roan had lent us. Time had been slightly delayed, but there was no need to rush.

“We’ll be back before the trial begins. It might get noisy in front of the house until then, but we’re counting on you.”

“So you do realize I’m being inconvenienced because of you.”

“Well, should I bring you back a present on the way?”

At my teasing comment, Roan shook his head firmly. Sure enough, the capital would be buzzing while we were gone.

The fact that Count Drunia was somehow involved in this bizarre kidnapping case, as the king had figured out, would soon be on everyone’s lips. And perhaps, rumors about me would start spreading quietly as well.

Sensing how tangled my thoughts had become, Roan placed a hand on the back of my head. He didn’t ruffle my hair. He must’ve known how carefully I had braided it. As expected—an eerily perceptive man.

“Forget the present. Just make sure you come back soon, Miss Jensen.”

“You used to act like I was some contaminant stuck to Daniel…”

“That perspective hasn’t changed.”

I squinted and let out a sly laugh at that.

“You say that, but you’re fond of me now, aren’t you?”

“…I just enjoy dressing you up. When you get back, plan to return all those off-the-rack clothes.”

“Yes, yes.”

Why are the people around me always so bad at being honest? Still, it didn’t make me feel bad.

While I was chatting aimlessly with Roan, Daniel approached.

“Let’s go.”

“Mm.”

Colin and Lucas were already seated in the carriage. As I climbed up the steps, Daniel followed behind me. I opened a small window and waved to Roan.

“We’ll be back before the trial! If anything happens, I’ll send a telegram!”

Roan didn’t reply. Instead, he let out a long, sharp sigh through his nose, a stern expression on his face.

It was the look of a man watching four disasters on wheels drive off.

Leaving Roan’s large capital estate behind, the carriage rolled forward and headed down the road.

It had been ten years since I returned to Holis.

I had avoided the place consciously to stay off the other male leads’ radar, but in truth, there hadn’t been any reason to go— the Hollis orphanage had burned down completely in a fire.

The carriage continued on through the capital for half a day, then traveled through quieter and quieter areas without stopping.

As I gazed out the window at the thick forest stretching beyond, Lucas asked,

“Wait, but the orphanage building’s gone, right? What could we even find in Holis?”

“Yeah, probably nothing left at all. Not even a trace.”

I nodded calmly. Lucas and Colin both knew I had no memories from before the age of eight.

“Still, it’s where my memories begin. And someone set the fire there on purpose. I think there’s something we haven’t discovered yet.”

“Like what?”

“Maybe someone who witnessed the fire being set?”

I shrugged, pretending it wasn’t a big deal.

But what I was truly curious about… was my missing memories.

From age three, when I lived at the orphanage in the kingdom’s west under Rumiz’s care, to age eight, when I returned to Holis— a five-year gap.

It might be normal not to remember things from that far back, but my past kept surfacing in fragments— floating in and out of my dreams, as if telling me it could be recovered.

And in those dreams, the child version of me seemed to be reading The Deluded Saintess. She realized she was a character in a book and was thrilled.

After that, the girl who once had no will to live
managed to push through life in grimy Holis.

Where had that sudden positivity come from?

Am I really someone from another world?

That question lingered in my mind the entire journey.

For several days, I ran countless theories through my head inside the carriage.

And finally, the carriage came to a stop on a quiet country road.

We had arrived in Holis.