The Fate of the Perennial Sub Male Lead is in My Hands

As soon as I heard the janitor, I knew I had to change my clothes.

At first glance, it sounds like I’m going to be scrubbing the floor in a dirt pit. Not in a crystal-strewn dress.

Marienne borrowed some old clothes from a younger waitress of her size. She put on gloves and lifted her glassy back.

As they descended the stairs to the basement, Chloise clung to Marienne’s side, shivering.

“Miss aide, ah, I think we need to get the people… down here.”

“If it’s a basement, it’s probably sealed. With all the stuff that’s been shoved in there for the last 250 years by people who couldn’t be bothered to organise their stuff.”

“Miss… Aide…”

“It’s probably full of invisible toxins.”

Marienne walked briskly down the stairs. The basement level was pleasant. It was beautifully decorated, but unassuming, and showed signs of daily sweeping and mopping by the cleaners.

The problem was the second floor.

At the top of the stairs, Chloise drew in a sharp breath at the sight before her.

“Five years ago, the man who tested his courage said he spent thirty minutes in the storeroom.”

Marienne continued down the stairs, unperturbed by Chloise’s pause. Chloise followed close behind.

“Young lady, as far as I know, there’s no illness that makes you hallucinate in thirty minutes, there’s no incubation period. It’s not an illness, it’s probably…”

“Ah, ah, probably, ah, ah, probably.”

Poor Chloise, she ended up having a breakdown. I told her she didn’t have to come with me, but she insisted.

“It’s probably oxygen deprivation or noxious gas poisoning.”

Chloise blinked several times. It was another breakdown.

“They said no one’s dead yet, so maybe it’s not that serious… or maybe they all just got out and survived for a while.”

“Miss Aide, it’s me…”

“Are you from the Department of Letters?”

“What?”

“Sorry, I was just trying to make a joke, the lady was so scared.”

Marienne stood in the doorway of the basement. They both wore gas masks that Chloise had borrowed. They were crude, but necessary for the job.

Hiss.

Marienne opened the basement door. Chloise decided to wait in the open doorway.

“Watch the clock and call me every ten minutes. Ten minutes look, five minutes rest, repeat.”

“Aide Didi…!”

Chloise grabbed Marienne’s arm as if she were catching a friend leaving for war.

“Just in case you start hallucinating…”

“Then take me outside immediately. No need to call a priest, what I need is fresh air.”

Without hesitation, Marienne entered the warehouse.

It was rather spacious inside. Fortunately, the only place where things were stacked haphazardly was near the door, and the further in she went, the more organised they were on the iron shelves.

“Shall we get started?

Ten minutes later.

Marienne exited the warehouse, spitting out every swear words she knew.

“I’ll cut him into as many pieces as there are stars. You think I’ll forget this bitterness? I’ll hang him upside down and soak him in a vat of manure…”

Dark, scary, and dirty?

It was indeed, and it was also dangerous.

It was annoying that the northerner was as fearless as Marienne herself. Wouldn’t it be nice if he believed in superstitions?

If he did, he’d have stashed the envelope near the door if he cared about the curse.

“Lady, I’ll need you again in ten minutes.”

“Yes!”

“If you’re scared, sing a song.”

“Oh, may I?”

Chloise sang a deliberately cheerful nursery rhyme. Meanwhile, Marienne was confronted with a large prop spider, nearly fainted, and dug into the box.

“What a bunch of spider props. When did they ever do a show with spiders as the main characters?”

Hallucinations don’t scare me.

That bastard Cain Blackwood was in here too, hiding evidence of his crimes.

The real horror is when one of the spider props that Marienne has so graciously set aside suddenly starts to move.

“A pink envelope… I will definitely find it. Evil, damn centipede props! Ha ha ha, I have to see with my own two eyes the scene where Sir Byers puts on the earrings…!”

An hour had passed since they descended into the basement.

Chloise was most fidgety at the half-hour mark, but grew steadier as the hour wore on. Finally, she decided she would look for the door.

Another hour passed. Chloise went upstairs to check on the situation.

“We’ve already wasted two hours.”

In her impatience, Marienne stepped on an overturned bucket and slipped.

A heavy hanger collapsed on top of her as she fell to the floor.

“Ah…!”

The weight of the pile of old clothes was immense. No matter how much Marienne flailed her arms, she couldn’t escape.

No one would call her every ten minutes, and her mind was becoming increasingly nervous. Before she knew it, she was looking for the envelope nonstop.

And then it happened.

She knew in her head that she needed to stay calm and move her body slightly, but her heart wasn’t cooperating.

“Oh my God, I’m out of breath.

In her struggle, she must have touched something, because the pile of clothes grew heavier. Vileon stood in front of Marienne’s eyes.

‘I haven’t even found Odette’s earrings yet, let alone made her happy…’

He thanked her for being upset enough to show tears for him. Marienne wished he would stop smiling so wistfully.

‘Marienne Didi, you promised me that today would be different, that I would do my job properly.’

So don’t panic, and breathe slowly. Move your hands and legs in synchronisation to pull yourself up a little bit.

Even if you’re exhausted, just a little bit.

Just a little more.

One more hard kick.

What seemed like an eternity passed. Finally, Marienne’s head poked out of the pile of clothes.

“Miss aide, are you all right?”

Chloise rushed over just in time. She grabbed Marienne by the shoulders and tried to pull her to her feet, then switched targets and dug through the pile of clothes.

Marienne mustered the last of her strength and pushed herself up. By the time she was completely out of the pile, she didn’t even have the energy to thank Chloise.

‘That Cain bastard… couldn’t have been lying to me, could he?

If he did, I’d be damned if I’d let him get away with it. Something she didn’t know if it was sweat or tears trickled down the inside of her gas mask. Marienne gripped the floor with her hands, trying to pull herself up.

“Huh?

The feel of something through her gloves was unusual. Marienne picked it up and lifted it to her eye level.

An envelope.

In her excitement, Marienne threw off her gas mask. Inside the stiff envelope was a pair of dazzling earrings.

There are no words to describe the ecstasy that filled her at that moment. Marienne’s sweaty face broke into a grin.

“I found it!”

“…Oh my God, it’s real.”

“I found it, that’s it, now I just have to get it upstairs and deliver it to Lord Byers.”

Marienne picked herself up off the floor. The joy of finding the earring made her legs feel strong. Chloise trotted after her, equally pleased.

“He’s on the first floor. He was worried that he couldn’t see you, so I told him that you were searching as well.”

The two climbed the stairs side by side.

“And then he kept asking me about your whereabouts…”

Marienne paused at the steps. Chloise turned around.

“What’s wrong?”

Marienne was looking down at her body. She hadn’t realised it when she was in the dark basement, but now that she was out in the light, she could see her mole.

It was bad enough from the stairwell, but she knew it would look even worse once they were upstairs in the light of the chandeliers and wall sconces.

“Look at me, young lady. I can’t go anywhere near the Princess in this state, the guards will stop me in the corridor.”

Marienne handed the envelope containing the earrings to Chloise.

“Give it to Lord Byers for me!”

“And what are you going to do, Miss aide?”

“I’m going to go to the lavatory and freshen up a bit, and then I’ll catch up with you.”

“But…”

Chloise hesitated.

“Come on, young lady. I’d be so glad if you’re flying off like you’ve sprouted wings. Run!”

Marienne clapped her hands excitedly, urging Chloise on. Chloise looked back several times with a puzzled expression, then quickly ran up the stairs.

◇ ◆ ◇

“It’s my death.”

Marienne stopped running up the stairs and flopped down on the ground floor. Part of her wanted to lie on the floor, but she knew she’d never get up again.

She couldn’t lean her back against the wall. She don’t want to stain the pristine walls.

The spill on the pile of clothes earlier must have some kind of dye. Marienne’s clothes are also stained.

“I’ve got to get upstairs. I’m so relaxed now that this is over. I don’t even have the energy to lift a finger…”

Her eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and then someone came running down. It was a familiar face, Chloise. Marienne looked at her questioningly.

“Why did you come back, lady? Are you worried about me? You look a little dirty, but you’re not hurt.”

So, the lady told her brother to go quickly. Go and give the treasure we found into her hands, and see the sight of winning the trust of the beautiful princess.

Chloise shook her head.

“Actually, it’s mostly the Aide’s fault, you’ve worked so hard to get us to this point.”

To be fair, Marienne Didi was in a bad way now. Her hair was dishevelled, and the clothes she’d borrowed from the waitress were nearly ragged, so bad that she’d have to pay the owner for new ones.

“I’m fine, young lady.”

“I’m not okay. I’m not okay because you’re completely ungrateful and thoughtless and whatever.”

Chloise stepped closer to Marienne.

“Come with us, Miss Aide.”

She held out her hand, a halo behind her head.

“You found this, Miss Aide, and you should be the one to deliver it to the Princess and accept the prize, but if you’re going to attribute it to my brother… it’s only fair that you at least get it into his hands.”

“Ah.”

“It just doesn’t seem right that the one who worked the hardest isn’t there.”

Vileon alone is good enough to distract me, and his sister is just as good as her brother.

Marienne rose to her feet, thrilled. Chloise added briefly.

“But I think you should wash your face and hands.”

“…Yes.”

She smelled a little. A lot.

◇ ◆ ◇

Now that Chloise had agreed to wait, Marienne wanted to change, but Chloise’s attitude was stubborn.

“We have to go just like this.”

“Better than before, but still sweaty and dirty?”

“They don’t stink anymore.”

Then I asked if I could at least tie my hair back, and she said no. She didn’t tell me why not.

And so Marienne was dragged to Vileon. For once, she resented the bright lights of the ground floor.

“I, Lord Byers… I found the earrings.”

Her voice was so low that Vileon didn’t turn around. Chloise coughed in vain.

“Brother, Aide Didi has found the earring.”

Vileon whipped his head around.