I Ran Away And The Reverse Harem Started Chapter 131

The black pupils quickly gleamed with a stubborn light. His gaze seemed to capture every corner of my face. I could clearly see the way his heavy stare slid down from my cheek to my lips. At his blatant gaze, my face quickly grew hot.

“Ah.”

The fingers that had been brushing my cheek slipped behind my neck. Daniel’s fingers slowly stroked my curly hair, as if combing through it.

The chilly yet unfamiliar sensation made my toes curl and my heart pound noisily. Daniel was still looking down at me, his face unwavering.

In contrast, I had no idea where to look. So I stared at the area around Daniel’s neck, which was at my eye level, but he caught on instantly and said,

“You should look at me.”

“……”

His face drew close enough for me to feel his breath. The sound of breathing, whose it was I couldn’t tell, filled my ears. Daniel’s hand passed my hair and slid down to my back.

“If you don’t look…”

“If I don’t?”

I lifted my gaze slightly. Then I saw Daniel’s face, now so close.

His eyes were swirling with countless emotions.

There was longing, worry, and also a kind of desire. I could read those feelings in his gaze without much difficulty.

And maybe, just maybe, I looked the same way to him.

When Daniel and I first kissed, I had worries. That kissing a childhood friend for no reason would turn into a horrible memory, or that it might completely ruin our relationship.

But my childish emotions and impulses fanned me on, and in the end, I kissed him. I felt sorry toward Daniel, but honestly, it was nothing more than an impulse.

But now…

I stared at the lips approaching me. The lips, usually pressed together stubbornly, were slightly parted, and as they moved faintly, they looked a little redder than usual.

That I had kissed these lips once before.

Even as I reached out, dazed, Daniel just kept watching me quietly.

As if testing how far I would go, he blinked slowly like a languid cat, slid his hand down to my waist, and half-embraced me.

As though urging me to go on.

At that silent permission, my fingertips, starting at his pale chin, slowly rose to touch his red lips.

Our first kiss had definitely been impulsive. An impulse is almost the same as a mistake. But if a mistake is repeated twice…

Then it’s no longer a mistake.

From between the lips I had touched, hot breaths spilled out. The warmth tickled my fingers. My chest ached from my racing heart.

No matter what happened, I was the type to endure by pretending it was someone else’s business, by acting like I was detached. But whenever I reached my limit, I only thought of running away.

And whenever I wanted to run from reality, the one who held me back was Daniel.

If my family were the ones who comforted and encouraged me, Daniel was the one who made me stay grounded in reality.

He was the one who told me not to run, but to fight— and who stayed by my side.

Regretfully and embarrassingly, I think I’ve only just realized that now.

But to honestly confess my feelings was too embarrassing. After all, he was my longtime childhood friend. So I asked back in a slightly sulky voice,

“…If I don’t look, what then? Are you saying you’ll force a kiss on me? Like you said before, to cover up where Colin had been?”

Even though I was being somewhat provocative, Daniel’s lips twitched, and then he chuckled. The fingers around my waist fiddled with something.

“When you ask me like that, while clearly expecting something… I feel like I have to meet those expectations.”

I only later realized that what he was fiddling with was the ribbon tied around the waist of my dress.

“Who says I’m expecting any—”

Before I could finish, bristling with protest, Daniel’s lips touched mine.

Hup— the peach-colored lips that had only stared at mine covered them as if swallowing them whole, and I swallowed my breath.

Just a moment ago, I had been grumbling at him in annoyance, but now, I was completely disarmed. Daniel tilted his head slightly, cupping my cheek with his other hand.

The arm around my waist pulled me in loosely. It was a weak force, one I could easily push away if I wanted.

But I gripped the collar of Daniel’s shirt as if it were a handle.

He must have felt how hard my fists clenched, because I could sense him smiling between our joined lips.

My face burned hot.

 

 

****

 

 

After lunchtime passed and the afternoon came, the heat grew fiercer.

In the stifling weather, even the reporters loitering at the front gate left their posts for a while to escape the blazing sun. It seemed they would return the next morning, during the cool hours.

Daniel’s secretary had gone to the Bullosen family estate, planning to bring Deborah back with him and enter quietly through the back gate, away from people’s eyes.

When the time came, I went out to the shaded rear garden to wait for the secretary and Deborah. From far away, I saw a small, modest carriage approaching at a slow pace.

It was a small carriage chosen deliberately to avoid drawing attention. It stopped near the rear garden, and from it, a familiar face stepped down.

“Oh, Miss Jenny!”

It was a welcome sight. Among the countless nobles I’d seen for months, she was the only commoner besides the maids.

Feeling inwardly glad, I approached her, and Jenny smiled and greeted me in return.

“It’s been a while, Miss Rosieta. Oh, though now you’re…”

She explained that she had heard from Yvette what had happened while I was away from the estate—
that I was the lost second daughter of the family.

If I hadn’t been kidnapped and abandoned at the orphanage, my relationship with Jenny would have been very different, wouldn’t it?

Because of that, Jenny seemed unsure how to address me. I, too, wasn’t used to this situation.

“Mm, for now, just call me Rosieta. There are eyes and ears everywhere, and it could be troublesome if someone overhears. At least until the trial begins.”

“Yes, understood.”

Jenny gave me a gentle smile, as if showing her care.

“And Deborah?”

“She’s inside the carriage.”

The moment Jenny finished speaking, Deborah stepped out of the carriage. She wore a dress borrowed from Yvette, instead of the plain robes she used to wear at the temple, and it made her look more beautiful than usual.

But with the trial ahead, Deborah’s face did not seem at ease.

“Miss Rosieta, did your trip to Hollis go well?”

“Oh, yes, thanks to you. But why do you look so troubled?”

In the few days I’d been away in Hollis, she had noticeably grown thinner. Her face was pale, her purple eyes clouded with worry. The expression on her face reminded me why she had come here— because she had something urgent to tell us.

“Shall we go inside and talk? Everyone is there.”

I stepped closer to Deborah. At that moment, I noticed another small carriage entering through the grove beyond the rear garden.

Unlike Deborah’s quiet carriage, this one was noisy enough that we could hear it even from a distance.

What is this, had the reporters caught a whiff and followed?

Alarmed, I grabbed Deborah’s arm to lead her quickly toward the back door of the mansion. But then I froze, seeing the crest on the approaching carriage.

It was the same as the one Deborah had ridden in.

The carriage stopped right behind Deborah’s, and Yvette stepped down.  She seemed a little flustered, skipping the usual formal greeting, and came straight toward me.

It was the first time I’d seen her since the night of Rumiz’s confession under the moon. She rushed forward, opening her mouth to call me, but quickly shut it again, as if realizing something.

It wasn’t hard to guess she was hesitating for the same reason as Jenny.

“Call me however you feel comfortable.”

Jenny had been an acquaintance, so I asked her to use the name Rosieta for certain reasons. But Yvette was different.

Still, at my words, Yvette’s lips parted slightly.

“Later… Can I call your name later?”

“……”

“It doesn’t feel natural on my tongue yet.”

She looked at me with a somewhat confused expression.

Well, it was true we hadn’t built any bond since that night, and my schedule had kept us apart for nearly five days straight.

And after all, I had lived twenty years as Rosieta. The name Irene was not easy to grow attached to.

Even so, Yvette seemed uneasy, glancing at me as if something weighed on her.
So I hurriedly changed the subject.

“What brings you here? Why didn’t you come with Miss Deborah? You should have come together.”

“Sorry for dropping by so suddenly. It’s just that…”

Deborah also looked at Yvette with some surprise. Yvette’s carriage seemed to have set out not long after Deborah’s, as if chasing right behind.

“Ah, could it be…”

Deborah muttered, as though realizing something late. Yvette trailed off, her eyes darting toward the carriage she had come in.

All four of our gazes turned to that carriage. Through the open door, someone was being slowly helped out.

And I recognized him instantly. It was the face I’d seen in the portrait hanging in the Bullosen family estate.

But with the passage of years, the man who had looked so strong and dignified in the painting now appeared far too thin and gaunt.

I could faintly tell it was from long years of illness.  And the moment I recognized his face, a distant, hazy feeling washed over me.

The man stepped down with the support of his wife. The coachman hurriedly brought a wheelchair, but the man refused it. From the moment he got off the carriage, his gaze had been fixed on me.

A middle-aged man, his face deeply marked with sickness, stared at me blankly.

“Irene…”

“……”

“Is it really you?”