Chapter 56 – Tag (1) from “The Tragic Female Lead Hates Obsession.”
As the door burst open, it was Strah who rushed in, breathless.
“Milady!”
Strah rarely ever came looking for me, too busy with her duties. So this had to be something serious.
I didn’t know exactly what was going on, but her urgency was obvious.
I got up to follow Strah into the dressing room when Lucy suddenly burst through the door.
“Milady! The bath! You must wash right now!”
“Why all of a sudden?”
As Strah entered the dressing room, Lucy forcefully shoved me into the bathroom.
“Wait, Lucy! At least explain—!”
“You can listen while bathing! Just hurry!”
Without any further explanation, Lucy yanked off my nightgown and dumped me into the bathtub before rushing back out.
Soaking in hot water, completely clueless, I just stared blankly at the bathroom door.
“…You said you’d explain. Where are you going…?”
Lucy, who had promised to explain everything while I bathed, never came back for a while, leaving me floating like a boiled dumpling.
Well, I could guess the situation roughly.
Just before I was dragged to the bathroom, I had caught a glimpse out the window.
Odelia’s room faced south, giving a clear view of the mansion’s front entrance.
And so I could clearly see the long line of carriages stretching from the gates all the way to the front door.
It was probably because of what happened at the birthday banquet yesterday.
The timing lined up perfectly.
At the banquet, people saw me with Ian—and with Diane, whom I was close to.
A young marquis’ daughter, friendly with the Empire’s Crown Prince and a Holy Kingdom princess.
And of all days, today Baizen had gone to the palace for some business.
There’s no way the nobility—who had surely spent the night gathering rumors about me with their ears perked—would stay still.
As I stared blankly at the water trickling between my fingers, I slowly sat up.
“Should I run away…?”
They were probably after my connections to royalty and the Holy Kingdom.
They wanted to use me as a pawn.
They probably thought a nineteen-year-old marquis’ daughter would be easy to manipulate.
I didn’t want to see their fake kindness and veiled malice.
Especially the boxes dangling from the backs of those carriages—definitely filled with rare treasures.
I am a proud capitalist who loves money, sure—but I draw the line at bribery with obvious ulterior motives.
I stepped out of the tub and cracked the bathroom door open.
“Make sure the dress is elegant, but sleek and eye-catching!”
“Bring out the bigger gemstones!”
“I’ve brought the jewels!”
Outside the bathroom, not only were Strah and Lucy bustling around, but Annie stood there with her arms full of jewels and accessories.
I guessed they were trying to pick out the outfit and decorations while I soaked in the bath.
Too bad for them—I was about to run away.
The dressing room was right next to the bathroom.
It had plenty of windows, and the garden trees below were tall and thick enough to climb down safely.
I quickly made a plan, threw on a robe, and dashed into the dressing room.
Everyone was so absorbed in their tasks that no one even noticed.
Once safely inside, I stretched lightly and glanced at the wardrobe.
All I saw were frilly, poofy dresses that would fall apart if I tried to run in them.
No way I could escape in those.
I bent down and pulled out a hidden box from behind the dresses.
Inside were men’s trousers and shirts I had secretly ordered during a shopping trip—without Lucy and Annie’s knowledge.
I’d told them the box held “racy underwear” and warned them never to open it. Apparently, they believed me and hadn’t touched it since.
I changed quickly and tied my hair up.
With hair as long and thick as mine, tying it up alone was about all I could manage.
As I opened the window, the heavy summer heat hit me in the face.
It felt especially hot in the daylight.
From the front gate, I could hear nobles murmuring and chattering.
Sounded like they brought their sons and daughters along too.
This damned world’s mindset…
Why do people here insist on tying every relationship to marriage?
Suddenly, I worried about the poor servants who would suffer once I disappeared.
But I still had no intention of dressing up prettily and entertaining those people with fake laughter.
“…Should I do something crazy for the first time in a while?”
A sudden idea popped into my head, and I smirked.
“How about a blue-toned dress instead—?”
“Oh no.”
Just then, Lucy opened the dressing room door.
Maybe it was the fluttering curtains, but her face went pale in an instant.
“Milady!”
Her voice was so loud that even the front gate crowd reacted.
I could hear someone shout that they spotted me—clearly someone with good eyesight.
If there really is a god of timing, they must really like me.
I climbed onto the windowsill and shouted toward the front gate.
“From now on, only the person who catches Odelia Snifter will get to meet her! Time limit: until sunset!”
“Wait, Milady—!”
Ignoring Lucy’s shocked cry, I waved lightly and jumped out the window.
Luckily, the tree across wasn’t too far. I grabbed a branch and landed on the ground safely.
Well—almost safely. I nearly broke my ankle.
I waved up at Lucy, who was mouthing words from the window, probably checking if I was alive, then turned toward the front gate.
The nobles were still confused, so I raised my voice again.
“No matter your family, status, or title—if you catch me, you’ll get a wish granted! First come, first served!”
At the mention of “first come, first served,” the nobles scrambled to run.
I dashed straight toward the garden.
Physically and stamina-wise, this game was against me—but strategically, I had the upper hand.
Do they even realize how many times I’ve run wild in the marquis’ estate since I woke up in this world?
I’ve chased Baizen when he ran off, dodged servants trying to catch me—
I’ve been doing this constantly for the past three months.
Avoiding slow-footed nobles? Child’s play.
I darted into the garden’s maze-like paths.
The tall shrubs formed walls over two meters high, making it nearly impossible to see anything unless you were towering over them.
“She went that way!”
“Don’t lie, you bastard!”
I could faintly hear arguments beyond the shrub walls.
Someone had apparently tripped and started crying, and another was angry after giving someone a piggyback ride only to fall and bleed.
But none of them got close to where I was.
And of course—they couldn’t.
This maze was where Odelia had hidden from Baizen in the original story.
Unless someone was incredibly skilled, they would never find it.
Even Baizen had failed to find Odelia and ended up setting the whole garden on fire.
There were still at least three hours until sunset.
I quickened my pace to reach a safer hiding spot.
Slightly left of the maze’s center, there was a bushy area just big enough for a person to hide in.
In the original story, young Odelia had used it to play hide-and-seek.
It wasn’t far from where I’d run, and matched the novel’s description, so it was easy to find.
From the outside, it looked like a regular shrub, but I saw a spot near the ground where the leaves had wilted.
Beneath it was a fake wall her father had built when she was a child.
When I opened it—
“Oh!”
A surprised gasp escaped me as a cozy hiding space appeared.
Unlike the novel, it had a few additions: a low stool to sit on and a tarp overhead to keep off rain and snow.
Probably the bushes above had grown thick enough to hide it even from above.
I sat down on the cushion and leaned back.
It felt like I had my own secret hideout.
All I had to do now was wait until sunset.
But just as I started to relax—
“You damn brat!”
An angry voice rang out.
It was probably one of the nobles, still searching.
A middle-aged man, furious and out of breath, stomped and kicked at the bushes.
Beside him, a younger man with a softer voice spoke.
“Please calm down, Father. What if someone hears—”
“So what if they do! They’ll all be cursing that damn girl anyway!”
Wow, what a foul-mouthed noble.
I tied up my sweaty hair again and listened.
Nothing interesting would happen as long as I stayed hidden.
And once Baizen arrived, the nobles would likely leave.
Even they wouldn’t dare challenge the man who controlled the Empire’s largest merchant guild.
But the middle-aged man didn’t calm down, even as the younger man urged him to.
“She’s clearly playing with us! How can I stay calm?!”
Well, at least he was aware.
I stretched and nodded.
“But Father, she’s close with the Crown Prince and the Holy Kingdom’s princess. Speaking badly of her—”
“So what?!”
There was a dull thud, followed by a pained groan.
It seemed the father had hit his son in a fit of anger.
The older man stomped his foot, not even glancing at his hurt son.
“You should’ve seduced her! Can’t even handle one woman, you useless fool!”
So this guy had planned to pair his son with me?
Unless he looked like Rudolf or Ian, he didn’t even have a shot.
“I raised you right, and for what?! You can’t even do this one thing properly?!”
“But, Father—she’s—”
“She’s what?! Why are you acting all respectful to that damn girl?!”
Another thud. Then the sound of someone collapsing.
The younger man must have been struck again while trying to speak up.
Who the hell were these people? Beating his son in another family’s mansion?
I brushed aside the bushes for a look.
The middle-aged man looked just like I imagined—big belly, and a ridiculous mustache.
And the young man lying on the ground was—
“Father, please stop!”
