I Became the Substitute for the Runaway Heroine - Chapter 50

‘What can I do to save myself and the two young lords of House Saxen?’

Odette desperately tried to think, pushing her mind to work.

But it was as if fear had frozen her brain, no thoughts would come, only endless tears streamed down her cheeks.

“I… I truly just happened to run into the young lords of House Saxen.”

Surely, that much was safe to admit?

Tears falling, Odette clasped her hands tightly together.

“But we parted ways quickly. I swear it’s true.”

“So you’re saying you didn’t pass them any information this time? You sent a letter.”

A chill, like icy water poured over her head, made her whole body tremble violently.

“If the letter you sent to the Imperial Academy had reached those bastards of House Saxen, Kirill’s identity could’ve been exposed.”

Kirill, disguised as a merchant while serving secretly as Caesar’s adjutant, was a frost mage. He was investigating which imperial officials had taken bribes under the pretense of ordering ice sculptures.

“I sent the letter to Leorahill Saxen. He just graduated from the academy.”

“His older brother, Maxcallion Saxen, an imperial scribe, is being paid off by the Count to do filthy, corrupt work. Are you going to pretend you don’t know?”

“I… I didn’t know.”

Odette clutched the hem of her skirt with hands damp from cold sweat.

“You didn’t know? Even though you met Maxcallion Saxen in Raon Town?”

Caesar’s eyes bore into her with a coldness sharper than ice, his gaze filled with contempt at her lie.

Oh no… what do I say? One mistake here, and Maxcallion and Leorahill will die.

‘What words can persuade Caesar?’

Blood rushed to her head, her temples pounding with pressure like drums.

If he knew Leorahill’s upright nature, he wouldn’t think this way.

If Leorahill had known about Maxcallion’s wrongdoing, he would’ve tried to stop him—or taken him away from it all.

But if Odette said that here, Caesar would accuse her of defending them.

He might decide to kill Leorahill first.

Tears welled up again, blurring her vision.

“I… I was foolish.”

She could only beg.

“What use is empty regret?”

“……”

“When all of Maes’ retainers were either killed or imprisoned, I regretted it too. I regretted trusting a traitor.”

Caesar’s fury didn’t subside; it built into a storm, crashing over her.

“One traitor cost over a hundred retainers and their families their lives.”

His tone, his cold aura, and the disdain in his eyes—

Odette’s whole body stung, her chest ached as if being torn apart.

Glaring at her, Caesar’s voice was laced with venom.

“But even if I vomited blood in regret, it couldn’t bring back the dead.”

“…I won’t… I won’t do it again.”

“Again? Do you think you’ll ever have the chance to write another letter? To see the sun again?”

Odette sank even lower, her body pressed to the floor.

“If you’re going to lock me up—bind me—then… fine! Do it! Just…”

“Just let that bastard from House Saxen go?”

“If you’d only do that… I’d do anything… Ugh!”

His hand seized her shoulder with brutal force.

It was so violent that she nearly cried out.

Like a bird with its wings broken, she was hauled upright, unable to resist, and Caesar growled through gritted teeth.

“I wasn’t the only boy dragged into war. Princess Tricia, Jacques, Kirill, Golden, Euroin… even Aden. We were all just children.”

“……”

“The empire that countless knights bled to protect… is now rotting because of evil handed down through generations.”

His grip tightened even more, twisting her lips in pain.

“Hrk!”

“And here you are, begging to save that trash. You’d sacrifice yourself for them? Do you love them that much?”

Caesar yanked her even closer, his face inches from hers.

“N-No… I don’t love—”

“Then do you love me?”

“…Yes.”

“Pfft. You lie to the bitter end.”

Caesar released her, and she crumpled to the floor like a rag doll.

Looking down at her coldly, Caesar spat his words.

“I’ve lost too much. Everything I had has been taken from me. That’s why I won’t lose anything again, Odette. That includes you.”

“……”

“You want to save Maxcallion?”

Yes, I do…

But Odette couldn’t bring herself to nod.

“And Leorahill Saxen?”

Please… don’t kill him…

“Hrk… I was wrong. I should’ve played dumb—pretended I didn’t know until the day I died…”

“Then kill me instead.”

Caesar crouched beside her, brushing her disheveled hair behind her ear, and growled in a low voice.

“You know what that means, don’t you?”

“W-What… what are you saying?”

“It means, as long as I’m alive, that bastard can’t be. Do you understand now?”

After spitting out those chilling words, Caesar barked an order at Aden.

“Lock her up. Don’t let her take a single step out of her room until the engagement ceremony.”

“It hurts…”

Trapped inside her room, Odette managed to sit up, trembling.

‘I have to get out of here.’

She had arranged to meet Maxcallion and Leorahill of House Saxen tonight.

They were probably waiting near the hotel—the one where she’d seen fireworks explode from the rooftop.

She had to warn them to flee.

But first, she needed to save lives.

The place she had seen in her vision—the room where flames consumed the ceiling, walls, and floor—must have been the annex.

She couldn’t pretend not to know, not when she had seen the fire.

She remembered the young maids in Count’s livery, lying unconscious from the smoke, suffocating.

The western forest hadn’t gone up in flames—yet.

‘It’s okay. I can do this.’

Steeling her wobbly legs, Odette walked to the wardrobe.

Beneath it were glass vials filled with stored divine power.

Odette grabbed one and poured the orb into her mouth.

Then another.

And another.

After about three vials, the aches and pains that had gripped her body melted away like snow.

With one more vial, she felt strength surge through her like a tide.

Finally, she swallowed a last one, packed the rest into her bag, and turned toward the terrace door.

Crack! She tore the locked door from its hinges with ease.

She hadn’t imagined it would be this easy—like breaking a biscuit.

Odette stepped onto the terrace, divine light glowing from her fingertips as she wrapped it around a tree.

“Ugh!”

Gripping a bent branch tightly, she kicked off the ground, and her body shot into the air like a stone flung from a slingshot.

I’m going to fall!

But just before hitting the ground, a radiant light burst from her hand again, and her body floated safely.

“Wow! I actually did it!”

Landing gently, Odette glanced back up at the third-floor terrace of her room.

“I did it. It worked.”

She turned immediately and sprinted toward the western forest.

The full moon was bright enough to light the path without a torch. But then—footsteps behind her made her whirl around.

“Jacques?!”

The red-haired Jacques had been following her and scratched his head sheepishly as he approached.

“Lady Odette, where are you going?”

Should she say she was just out for a walk?

But with her hood pulled up and a bag slung over her shoulder, that excuse wouldn’t fly.

‘No lies. I need to tell the truth.’

Odette steadied her breath and spoke with a trembling voice.

“The annex… it’s going to catch fire tonight. I need your help.”

In the original story, Jacques had sided with the heroine.

It was because of his kind heart, his deep empathy for those weaker than himself.

‘Maybe… he’ll want to help me too.’

Odette calmly explained everything she’d heard from Eric.

That he was preserving Andrea’s body through black magic, and that Katarina planned to burn down the annex tonight to destroy the evidence.

“We should tell our lord immediately, don’t you think?”

Jacques looked concerned, but Odette shook her head.

“If he finds out I escaped my room, he’ll lock me up again.”

Odette pulled a vial from her bag.

“This is divine power—enough to break through the black magic barrier. If I use the power of the High Saintess, I can destroy the barrier.”

She pleaded with Jacques to help her break the barrier, save the maids, and find Andrea’s remains.

“…Understood. I’ll help.”

As Jacques gave his answer, Odette’s eyes welled with tears.

“Thank you. Truly, thank you.”

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