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

Marienne looked up at the night sky in disbelief.

“It’s stopped raining…….”

A gurgling sound came out of her choked throat, and it was horrible to hear. It sounded like a sick frog. A warning that she would be sick for at least three days.

It felt like three or four hours had passed since she’d entered the pond.

Marienne reached for her pocket watch, but stopped. It was in the inside pocket of her jacket. She left her jacket hanging on the railing of the suspension bridge.

‘It was too dark to see it anyway.’

Marienne shivered. Even though it was summer, there was a chill in her body from being in the water so long after sunset.

‘It would be nice to have a pump……. I’ve seen pondkeepers use them to drain the water. If I’d known it would take this long, I’d have rented a pump to start with.’

You don’t even have to drain it all. If you drain half of it, the water will be knee-high, and you’ll be able to retrieve your shiny silver locket necklace in no time.

‘Of course, I’ll lose my shoulders trying to get that half of the water out.’

I didn’t understand. All this searching and no necklace.

“Achoo!”

I sneezed. I feel like I’m going through the stages of an ominous sign. If it gets any worse, I’ll have a fever.

“Achoo!”

Marienne turned over the back of her hand to check the heat on her forehead, then stopped. Her hands were muddy from hours of digging at the bottom of the pond.

‘I’m cold.’

First, I need to warm up my body in the shower at the aide’s quarters. Just a brief moment of rest until daybreak, then I’ll borrow the pump from the pond caretaker.

It’s best to think about the excuse for draining the perfectly fine pond water at that time. Right now, my mind is completely blank, and I can’t think of anything.

Marienne slowly moved toward the edge of the pond. The wet clothes made each step through the water even more difficult.

‘It feels like a water ghost is grabbing my ankle and pulling me down.’

Once out of the water, she was tempted to lie down on the bare ground.

But I can’t. I don’t have the strength to get back up. I have to crawl on all fours to get to the shower. Marienne grabbed her jacket and socks.

Too cold, too hungry, too sleepy, too tired.

It was her choice to jump into the pond, but why did she feel so bad about it? She felt bad that she had to circle the building to avoid dirtying the hallways.

Think of the good.

‘At least I avoided giving Lord Byers the worst birthday ever.’

Well done. Marienne Didi. That’s the most important thing, isn’t it? Actually, that’s the most important thing. Not letting Lord Byers pick up the discarded necklace with his hands.

There’s no need to be depressed over a half-success. You’ve done your best, and if you can find the necklace before dawn, you’ll have achieved complete success.

Marienne patted herself on the back.

“Achoo!”

Vileon must have left work alone for the first time in a long time. She had written a note and left it on his desk so he wouldn’t worry.

I have some business to attend to, so I will stop by Aunt’s place. I might even stay there overnight, so don’t wait for me.

That was the content of the note I wrote while waiting for Lord Byers’ servant to appear outside the window.

Knowing Vileon’s personality, he wouldn’t let Marienne go and leave work early. Having received a message from his mother, he would naturally seek out the third aide’s office.

‘Then I’ll be long gone, and Vileon will have no choice but to return home.’

After sending him away, I had planned to hide by the pond.

Somehow, the original plan got a little off track, but the excuse in the note still holds.

Vileon is probably enjoying some quality time with his family at the Count’s manor right now.

Crisp, soft linen shirt, satin slippers. Sun-dried bed sheets that smell clean. Zesty lemon tea that you have to blow on to keep from burning your tongue.

So nice.

I wonder if the he has even considered the thought of the third aide staying over at her aunt’s place.

At least, I hope he has given it some consideration, even if just a little.

“Achoo!”

My bones rang with each sneeze. My condition seems to be deteriorating rapidly. That’s why I keep falling into strange delusions.

Like wanting to see Vileon, for example. I miss his sweetness and his overprotection, the way he’d pick me up like a princess if I sprained my ankle.

That kind of delusion.

‘I wonder if he ever hugged Odette like that?’

A sudden tingling in her chest was added to the mix.

Marienne rolled her eyes. Chest pain as a symptom of a cold? She’d never heard of it.

‘Why does it hurt so much? It’s like rubbing coarse salt on an open wound.’

Don’t overthink it. You’re not in a good place right now, and it’s all because of him.

‘Who are you to judge my feelings? I really admire Lord Byers….. I hope everything goes well.’

Fortunately, Marienne had arrived at the building where the aides’ quarters were located by then. She made a beeline for the communal shower, stripped off her flimsy clothes, and stood under the showerhead.

“Ah…….”

The hot water poured over her head like holy water. Even the crude bar of communal soap at each stall felt precious today.

Marienne stood under the shower for a long time even after washing her body. After that, she has no recollection. She doesn’t know how she made it up to her room.

The room was still cramped, but it was big enough for Marienne’s tiny body.

Her fumbling fingers found the blankey, and as soon as she pulled it over her body, she was out cold.

◇ ◆ ◇

“……What time is it?”

Marienne opened her eyes and looked at the pocket watch.

5:30 a.m.

She woke up on time, better than she’d feared. It was still light outside the window, so it was time to get moving.

“At least I didn’t come up here naked last night.”

Several large towels were strewn about.

Marienne found a slightly worn blouse and skirt in the closet drawer. She had debated whether to discard them or not, but in the eyes of the bodyguard Hugo, they seemed like items to be thrown away.

“You left it behind without taking it. This will save Didi’s social graces today…….”

Seeing myself spouting nonsense, it seems like I’m in a better state than before. I want to believe that.

Marienne dragged her heavy body and headed to find the pond caretaker.

She used the excuse that an important item belonging to the Chancellor had fallen into the pond. The caretaker was bewildered by Marienne’s offer to handle it alone if they would just lend her the pump.

“Are we talking about the Cloud Bridge Pond in the west? No, that pond is huge. To drain the water, ten workers would have to take turns pumping.”

“Yees.”

“And you’re going to do it alone, Aide?”

“I can’t help it, I have to get it done by the time you get to work. I can’t get people to help me at dawn.”

“Good luck.”

The caretaker clicked his tongue, but he couldn’t resist Marienne’s request, so he gave her a pump and a wheelbarrow. He even pulled the cart to the pond.

There is still some kindness in this world.

Marienne was thrilled. Not all men are as fierce as Cain Blackwood. Though Cain himself would laugh at her.

“Are you sure you want to do this alone?”

“Yes, for now.”

“Good luck.”

“You’ve helped me this far, and I appreciate it. Now, please go inside!”

Marienne said, deliberately cheerful, and patted the caretaker on the back. The caretaker left the pond with a reluctant look on his face.

“Just a little longer, really just a little longer.”

An hour later.

Marienne sank to the ground in a heap. She realized she hadn’t had a sip of water, let alone a meal, since lunch yesterday. No wonder she was exhausted.

“I’m dizzy…….”

My eyes fluttered as if I were seasick. And then I heard a voice. It was Vileon’s voice.

“……Aide Didi!”

“Interesting. Is this how hallucinations work? I can’t tell the difference.”

Marienne looked out at the pond and laughed weakly.

The damn pond.

She’d been pumping her shoulders for an hour and the water level hadn’t dropped by a finger.

‘The caretaker wasn’t giving me that stern look for no reason. He was annoyed because I insisted about doing the work of ten men all by myself.’

Marienne had to admit bitter defeat.

‘I don’t think I can do this anymore.’

I have no energy.

“Marienne, how long have you been here?”

“Vileon…….”

I hear a voice, then a vision. Marienne stares in wonder at Vileon, who appeared before her.

His disheveled bangs, worried face, and chest heaving from a long run looked ‘real.’

“I’m sorry.”

Marienne mumbled into the realization.

“I can’t find it. I guess my abilities can only go so far.”

“What do you mean? I mean, what the hell…….”

Vileon looked like he didn’t know where to begin, then rubbed the corners of his eyes, his hands trembling faintly.

“I’ve been looking for you all night.”

A slightly hoarse voice flowed through the coral-pink lips. Vileon’s voice, like Marienne’s, was tired and parched.

If there’s a difference, it’s that Vileon’s hoarse voice is strangely pleasant to listen to, even to the point of being eerie.

It was the voice of a weary adult man, filled with fatigue. It was completely different from Marienne’s sickly frog-like voice.

“I sent a servant to your aunt’s house because you showed no signs of returning home last night. The note said you might sleep over, but I didn’t feel right about it…….”

Vileon trailed off.

“I just felt a little empty without you in the house, and my family agreed, though they did make some comments about me being overprotective.”

“Hehe.”

Marien laughed like Chloe.

“I like Lord Byers’ overprotection.”

“…….”

“I’m not a princess. Just an extra passing by. But you make me feel like a princess inside a glass castle… I can’t help but want it all for myself.”

“Where have you been?”

Vileon asked.

“You weren’t even at your aunt’s house in the first place. You haven’t spoken to her in months. The moment I heard those words, my heart sank.”

He bit his lip nervously. Each subtle change in his expression was more real than the last. Vileon held out a trembling hand.

“I don’t think I’m hallucinating…….”

Marienne murmured. The sensation of his palm enveloping her cheek was vivid. It was a pleasantly cool touch.

“Are you really Lord Byers?”

“Why are you so feverish?”

“Really…….”

“Marienne, have you been out here all night?”

Vileon looked around at the pumping equipment. With a puzzled look in his eyes.

“You were trying to drain the pond?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Marienne’s facial muscles twitched in response to a simple question. It’s a sign before she starts crying.

‘I shouldn’t be crying, I did a good job, but when Vileon asks me this…… I feel like I’m going to burst into tears that I’ve been holding back all night.’

Marienne pressed her lips together to keep from crying. Only after she had gotten past the brink did she speak.

“I’m looking for the Fourth Princess’s locket necklace.”

“How did Marienne… No, more importantly, how did it end up in the pond?”

“That, that.”

Oh no. A second crisis quickly followed. Marienne finally answered in a voice full of tears.

“That bastard, the Duke of Blackwood, threw it in in a fit of anger……! Hmmng, I’m so sorry…….”