THMLM Chapter 03

Posted by Freya, Released on October 12, 2025

Chapter 3

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The servant looked relieved by my answer.

Bang!

Just then, a loud thud came from somewhere.
It sounded like someone had slammed something down hard, but the servant acted as if he hadn’t heard anything and calmly said,

“Then I’ll come back to escort you when you’re ready.”

“Alright.”

I met the male lead again less than five minutes after the servant left.

I had wondered why such a big, luxurious carriage was being used by a mere servant—turns out it wasn’t.

As soon as I answered, the servant ran to the carriage and opened the door… and I caught a glimpse of that familiar hair.

He must’ve been really eager to make things right with Bella if he came running back the next day.

Seriously, people in love are the same everywhere!

I regretted running away before we could talk properly yesterday.
He was trying so hard—of course, I had to help.

I couldn’t help but chuckle.
Cute couple, really.
Even though he and I were the same age, combining my real age and this body’s age made me feel like an old mom watching her kids grow up.

Just keep growing up this smoothly, my sweet children.

A mischievous smile kept creeping up my face.
Even though no one was watching, it probably wasn’t a great expression to have—so I let out a little laugh, “Pfft.”

A moment later, loud noises—thud, thud, thud—came from inside the carriage.
The servant stepped out looking quite pale.

He had politely said he’d come fetch me when I was ready, but I was already done preparing, so there was no reason to delay.

Just as the servant stepped away, the carriage door—which had shut with a loud bang—suddenly opened again on its own.
The man inside frowned slightly.

I looked at the servant, and he quickly changed his expression, pretending nothing was wrong.
When I looked away, I caught him silently mouthing something to the man inside—clearly scolding him.

It reminded me of how Bella’s head maid would often scold her.
Since I’d seen that scene plenty of times, I could tell.

Bella’s head maid had always been suspicious of me at first—naturally so.
Nobles were constantly surrounded by people pretending to be friends while secretly scheming against them.
You could never trust anyone completely.

But then, why isn’t that servant suspicious of me?

Someone who served his master through multiple life-or-death crises should’ve been cautious, especially toward someone hanging around his master’s lover.

“Did Hashin say something foolish again?”

He asked me carefully, but the question itself wasn’t polite at all.
The servant beside him—Hashin—glared at him.

Ah. Now I remembered.
I had seen him before—in the original story.

That explained the uneasy feeling I’d had earlier.

He was one of Kahen’s closest companions—his right-hand man.
And because of that, his hands were often stained with blood.

Like the time he secretly “disposed of” Bessia after she tried to poison Bella out of jealousy for Kahen.

His loyalty was absolute.

Still…

I lowered my gaze.

Kahen seemed to sense the change in mood.
Before I knew it, he was standing right next to me, leaning down to whisper near my ear.

“Lady Bessia.”

“Uh, w-would you like to come inside first?”

It wasn’t my house, technically—but it was my temporary one.

I moved too fast, tripping over myself in a fluster.
My face was hot.

I thought I was ready for this.
Helping the heroine or the hero—what difference did it make?
Turns out, a big one.

It felt just like the first time I met him.

Hashin had been sent far away under some excuse, leaving just the two of us.

We sat across from each other at the round table inside Bella’s glass greenhouse.

Whenever I was with Kahen, the air around us changed.
I couldn’t tell if it was in a good way or a bad way—but it made my mind go blank.

Did he have some kind of power or charm?

Kahen stared at me quietly.
That was all.
But somehow, my chest tingled, so I just kept sipping tea nonstop.

Don’t run away this time.

Whenever we were alone, I turned into a tiny mouse trying to amuse a tiger.
But as they say—if you keep calm, you can survive even in a tiger’s den.

I tried to speak, but only a soft pfft sound came out instead of real words.

With a sigh, I took another sip of tea to moisten my dry throat.
When I finally gathered my courage and looked up, Kahen was still staring straight at me.

Unlike my fidgeting, he sat calmly, and then finally said,

“You’re finally looking at me properly.”

“…What?”

“Nothing.”

I thought I’d misheard, but he brushed it off quickly.

At least he spoke first—maybe now I could talk too.
I didn’t know what his true intentions were, but that didn’t matter.

I swallowed hard, like a soldier heading into battle.

“I must apologize for my behavior last time. I misunderstood and acted foolishly. If I offended you, please forgive me, my lord. I will devote myself to helping you!”

I stopped mid-sentence.
Kahen’s face gave away nothing.
He just sat there, calmly watching me.

The greenhouse grew silent—so silent that I could hear the faint chirp of insects outside.
Even my own breathing felt too loud.

This time, I didn’t look away.
It felt like we were in a staring contest.
But it was Kahen who broke eye contact first.

“Your voice… no, never mind.”

My voice?
Was there something wrong with it?

I’d practiced my speech in my head so much that I hadn’t paid attention to my tone.

“If I said I want your help… what would you do?”

He didn’t specify what he wanted help with—he already knew I understood.

I gave him my most confident smile.
Bella would’ve called it my “troublemaking grin.”

If only he could see the wings of a love cupid fluttering behind me!

Bella had seen this smile plenty of times—usually when I was about to play a prank or defend her against jealous nobles.

He could refuse me, of course.
Or find it ridiculous.
But if they kept acting cold and awkward like this, things would only get worse!

I’d seen how painful their misunderstandings were in the original story—so frustrating!

Bella, especially, was possessive.
It wasn’t just about romance—anyone she considered “hers,” she held tightly.

Even with her knight—when I once tried to talk to him out of curiosity, she’d immediately stepped in, panicking like she might lose him.

That was just her nature—she only realized her true feelings after something or someone she cared about seemed to slip away.

Knowing that, I boldly made my proposal.
In the original story, they had reconciled thanks to a similar event.

So I smiled brightly and said,

“Would you like to have a contract relationship with me?”

Sometimes, it’s best to just go big from the start!

A heavy silence filled the greenhouse.

Ah… maybe that was the wrong thing to say?

It felt like I’d picked the wrong dialogue option in a game—like choosing the final choice before raising enough affection points.

I glanced at Kahen nervously.

But to my surprise, his expression didn’t change at all.
His flawless, porcelain-like face remained calm and unreadable.

So I decided to keep going.

If they kept acting distant like this, Hashin would definitely notice.
And if that happened, I might end up on Bessia’s death route from the original story.

No, that’s not happening!

Feeling a chill at the thought, I quickly continued, trying to look as harmless as possible.

“What do you think of Bella Havelion?”

He tilted his head slightly, watching me carefully.

Then he answered slowly,

“I think she’s a good person.”

“Exactly! And she’s also the one you have feelings for, isn’t she, my lord?”

Crack.

A faint crack appeared in his perfect expression.
It was somewhere between annoyance and disbelief.

Probably because I caught him off guard.

From what Bella told me, the two hadn’t reunited at the debutante ball like in the original story.
They’d stayed in contact secretly instead.

No one in high society knew, so their relationship was hidden.