I Ran Away And The Reverse Harem Started Chapter 76

Angela’s room remained firmly shut, refusing to open. The maids only knew that Angela had been given disciplinary action for committing some serious mistake.

“Angela may have a twisted personality, but she’s not the type to act out so much that she’d get punished like this, right? What on earth happened?”

Mika muttered as she entered the communal kitchen, shaking out her freshly washed hair after a long day of exhausting work. Angie also looked puzzled. All the maids were dressed in their nightwear.

“Exactly. Did something happen while we were too busy?”

“Maybe she stole something…”

As the two whispered, I silently ate the leftover food beside them. Whether it was because of the heavy workload or just emotional exhaustion, I felt hungry.

The two glanced at me and shrugged.

“Well, she must have done something wrong to deserve it. Let’s not worry about it. Ugh, I’m so tired.”

“Good job today, Mika, Angie,” I said. Marie was already so exhausted that she had gone straight to bed.

“You too. Since we worked hard today, we can rest properly on our day off tomorrow.”

“If we finish the morning shift quickly, we get two full days off, right?”

“Yeah, the afternoon is completely free.”

“Since we’ve come all the way to a resort, how about we go to the beach tomorrow afternoon?”

Angie suggested cheerfully. I swallowed the last bite of bread. The promise I had made with Lucas a few hours ago came to mind.

“Sorry, I have somewhere to be around that time. Let’s go together another time.”

“Really? That’s a shame.”

“What’s there to be sad about, you silly girl? You can just go with me,” Mika teased, pinching Angie’s cheek. Angie made a face of disgust.

“You’re just going to drag me to a pub full of men again!”

“Hey, what else is the point of going out? What do girls even do by themselves?”

“You and I do not speak the same language.”

“That’s my line.”

Watching them bicker, I chuckled. Mika turned her head toward me.

“Anyway, Rosieta, you should head to bed early too. We can all go to the beach together another time.”

“Sounds good.”

“Now that Angela’s under disciplinary action, we won’t have to run into her. Maybe this worked out for the best.”

Mika still seemed curious about why Angela had been punished, but she didn’t ask me if I knew the reason.

We blew out the candles and returned to our rooms.

When I opened the door to the room I shared with Marie, the dim candlelight revealed her sleeping form. She must have been truly exhausted—she wouldn’t wake up even if someone carried her away.

I quietly approached her.

Whether out of habit or sheer exhaustion, she had fallen asleep with her glasses on.

Carefully, I removed her glasses and placed them on the nightstand. Then, I blew out the candle.

Slipping under the covers, I turned onto my side.

“Oh, right. I almost forgot.”

I took out a string. Then, I wrapped it tightly around my wrist and tied it to the bed.

“Now that I think about it, I haven’t had any sleepwalking episodes since I started working here.”

Of course, my sleepwalking was highly unpredictable.

Back at Lynne’s place, there had been times when I went months without an episode. Other times, I’d wake up wandering aimlessly multiple times a month. I had only realized it thanks to Lynne’s accounts.

“But still, you never know when it’ll happen again…”

Lynne had once told me that I would stumble around in my sleep, tied up like this, calling out for my mother.

‘That “mother”… it must be the mother from my past life, right?’

Not Rosieta’s mother, but the one I lived with in my previous life—the one I hadn’t seen for so long that I had forgotten her name and face.

My sleepwalking had started after I escaped the orphanage and was separated from the male leads.

Being an orphan with no parents, and having lost even the friends I considered family, the loneliness and fear must have triggered it.

“How complicated… Not that it matters, since I’m just an extra anyway.”

I mumbled sleepily, my eyelids growing heavy.

Through the small window, the pale moonlight seeped into the dark room. I gazed at the old, frayed string that had been used for years. And before long, I drifted off into slumber.

****

“…Lyn?”

A gentle voice seeped into my ears. My body felt light, as if I were floating, but for some reason, I couldn’t move my feet.

What is this? A dream?

I was alone in deep darkness. I couldn’t see an inch ahead, and oddly, it felt like I was looking at myself from a third-person perspective.

There I was, standing in the darkness—long red hair cascading down, dressed in a white nightgown.

‘Ah, it must be a dream.’

What a strangely vivid dream.

I tried to wiggle my toes. As I did, I felt something slipping between them.

A ticklish, slightly rough sensation—like stepping on fine grains. And then, the earthy scent of soil filled my nose…

‘Am I dreaming like this because today was too exhausting?’

But usually, when I’m dead tired, I fall into a deep sleep without dreaming at all.

As I pondered this, someone’s voice touched my shoulder.

“…Irin.”

‘…Are they calling me?’

It wasn’t my name. And yet, I had the eerie feeling that the voice was calling for me. But I couldn’t turn around. My entire body felt stiff, like a tree, frozen in place.

As if I didn’t want to look back.

As if I was afraid to.

‘This is strange.’

Why is my body reacting like this to that name? It’s not even mine.

I pressed my lips together tightly and wiggled my toes again. Though trapped in darkness, I could clearly feel the ground beneath my feet.

And then…

“Irene!”

A sudden shout made my eyes snap open.

Or rather, I had woken up.

I gasped, inhaling sharply in shock.

Before I could stop myself, a name slipped from my lips.

“…Irene.”

I jerked my head up, shaking off the lingering haze of the dream. A bright full moon hung high in the night sky, its glow illuminating the black leaves swaying in the wind.

I was outside. In the middle of a forest path.

As if drawn by an invisible force, my gaze slowly lifted.

I was standing in front of a mansion

A two-story villa built of red bricks. It seemed abandoned—dense vines and overgrown bushes covered its walls. The moonlight cradled the house, casting a soft glow over its surroundings.

I exhaled a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. My throat tightened, as though invisible hands were choking me.

‘Why… does this feel familiar?’

I was sure I had never seen this place before. I had never been to Rewybourne.

And yet, the aged villa before me felt deeply, hauntingly familiar.

Then, once again, someone called out to me.

A trembling, fragile voice.

“…Irene?”

I turned around.

****

Deborah’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Her father’s blatant sneer. And the burning sensation on her left cheek.

It had happened before she could even react. She raised a hand to touch her heated cheek.

Before her stood her father, his veins bulging in his raised hand. It was an indescribably dreadful feeling.

Baron Louise glared at her and growled.

“You came to me just because of that?”

“…….”

Just because of that?

But Deborah bit her lip and glared at her father. He let out a sigh, as if he’d lost interest, and slumped back into his chair.

After a long, piercing stare, Deborah finally spoke.

“You knew, didn’t you?”

“…….”

“Or… was it you?”

She didn’t specify what she meant. But Baron Louise showed no change in expression. Instead, he simply looked at her, as if waiting for her to continue.

“You hid that noble girl, didn’t you? The one who was born on the same day as me.”

“…….”

“Why? Because you had to sell me off to the temple? If there was a noble girl born on the same day as me, she—not an illegitimate child—could be chosen as the Saintess. So you got rid of her on purpose?”

Deborah’s voice was harsh with accusation.

Baron Louise didn’t even glance at his daughter. He simply clipped the end of his cigar and exhaled a stream of smoke, lounging back in his chair with his feet up on the desk.

“Did you sit alone in your room, playing detective?”

“Just answer me. Was it really you?”

“Yeah. It was me.”

“……!”

Deborah’s eyes widened in shock. The baron spoke in an almost casual tone.

“But is that all you’ve figured out?”

“What do you mean?”

“I thought that arrogant girl from the Büllossen family had told you something… but I guess not?”

“What are you talking about? Explain it properly.”

At the mention of Yvette’s name, the color drained from Deborah’s face. Baron Louise chuckled as he played with his matchbox, clearly amused.

“So you really didn’t know that the girl who disappeared was from the Büllossen family?”

“That…”

“One step forward, two steps back, my dear daughter. You were being used.”

Deborah frowned. She couldn’t understand what he meant.

“I knew for a while that the Büllossen family was lurking around you. They must have been sharpening their knives for revenge. Against both you and me.”

“Revenge…?”

Deborah’s face twisted in confusion.

Yvette had been like an older sister to her—someone who comforted her and stayed by her side in the temple.

But revenge?

Baron Louise swept his gaze over his daughter, his expression one of thinly veiled contempt.

“The Büllossen family lost their daughter the day you were born. It was partly because of the oracle, and partly because of me. But why do you think they stuck around you all these years?”

“Because… they prayed for their lost daughter for years, and they regularly donated to the temple. Since I was always there, we naturally spent time together…”

That’s why they became close, wasn’t it?

Baron Louise shook his head theatrically. Then, suddenly, he stood up and pointed a finger at her.

“They acted all kind on the surface, but deep down, they resented you. Because they knew you shared the same birthday as their daughter. They blamed you for her abduction!”

“What…?”

“If the oracle hadn’t pointed to that specific day, their daughter wouldn’t have been kidnapped by someone like me. No—if you had never been born, their daughter would have become the Saintess, basking in the kingdom’s adoration.”

Deborah felt as if the air had been knocked out of her lungs. She was speechless.

Baron Louise sneered cruelly.

“So tell me, how could they not hate you? How could they not want revenge?”