How to Run Away from Obsessed Men

Episode 71

“They’re not treating us poorly, at least. What’s with Crain Kesion acting so polite?” Felia remarked.

Lindsey shrugged. They were currently staying at the Kesion Marquisate.

“Indeed. This is much better than any room I’ve stayed in before,” Lindsey said as she glanced around the luxurious room. Crain hadn’t wanted her to stay at the Kesion estate, but he had little choice.

‘He has an obligation to treat the delegation well.’

Thanks to that obligation, Lindsey would be staying at the Kesion Marquisate for a few weeks. Even the room assigned to her was lavish.

As a member of the delegation, Crain couldn’t treat Lindsey poorly.

‘It seems he’s especially cautious around Mother.’

What a cowardly man.

Lindsey smirked at the thought of Crain’s fearful behavior. It was amusing to see him so frightened, a stark contrast to the tyrant he had once been when he held her life in his hands.

Lindsey rose to her feet.

‘I should see how things have changed around the Marquisate.’

It had been months since she disappeared from this place.

The atmosphere in the estate seemed quite different from before she had left.

‘It feels even gloomier.’

The mood had never been bright to begin with, but it was now even darker.

She decided that the first thing she needed to do was find Mikhail. Lindsey quickly began walking through the halls.

She felt an overwhelming desire to see him, to confirm his presence with her own eyes. She hadn’t seen Mikhail in all the months she’d spent in the Riken Duchy.

As that thought crossed her mind, Lindsey found herself puzzled.

‘Why do I want to see him so badly?’

Karen’s words echoed in her mind before fading away.

“Those with strong souls can even come back to life in this world.”

‘What am I trying to find out?’

She realized she was still clinging to a foolish hope.

‘I know how foolish this is, don’t I?’

Lindsey suddenly came to a stop.

She wondered if her desire to witness Crain’s downfall was just an excuse.

Had she come here just to see Mikhail? To confirm the faint hope lingering in her heart?

She wavered, trying to steady herself.

It was at that moment that a familiar voice reached her ears.

“Lindsey? Lindsey Kesion?”

Lindsey’s expression twisted.

‘Right, I almost forgot that he’s here too.’

Her heart sank. Raysis Kesion.

It was his voice.

But what truly alarmed her was the fact that Raysis had spoken her name.

‘How did he recognize me?’

Slowly, Lindsey turned around.

She saw Raysis staring at her with a stunned expression.

Various emotions flickered across his face as he looked at her, only to disappear just as quickly. But the moment didn’t last.

His expression hardened, and he began to stride toward her with determination. Lindsey felt a sense of confusion.

He looked angry—unusually so. But that wasn’t all.

Suddenly, Raysis clutched his head and began muttering to himself.

“I know… I know it’s not true.”

“Damn it, be quiet!”

Lindsey stared at him, bewildered. Raysis looked far more haggard than the last time she had seen him.

Mumbling to the air, he appeared anything but sane.

Servants passing through the corridor lowered their heads in fear as they glanced at Raysis.

Raysis turned to Lindsey and spoke.

“Who are you?”

Felia quickly stepped between him and Lindsey, blocking his approach. But the moment he spoke, Lindsey felt a strange sense of relief.

‘He called my name, but it seems like he doesn’t actually recognize me.’

It must have been just a slip of the tongue, a moment of delirium.

It would be problematic if Raysis discovered her true identity.

It was the butler beside Raysis who answered his question.

“I’m Roana, a cleric with the delegation,” Lindsey introduced herself.

“Roana, the cleric?”

Raysis’s eyes never left Lindsey. She dipped her head, concealing her irritation.

“Hello, I’ll be in your care for a while.”

“She’s with the delegation?”

Raysis scowled, glaring at Lindsey as if she were an annoyance.

Lindsey frowned back, feeling the weight of his unrelenting gaze.

“When is she leaving?”

“She’ll likely leave when the delegation departs,” the butler replied on her behalf.

Raysis’s displeasure deepened, his expression souring.

“Keep her out of my sight. Make sure she doesn’t leave her room. She’s an eyesore.”

Lindsey tilted her head, puzzled by the hostility from someone she had never met before. Raysis’s eyes burned with something that resembled hatred.

“I don’t like strangers wandering around the estate. Make sure nothing disrupts even a trace of her memory,” Raysis demanded.

Lindsey smirked, lifting one corner of her mouth.

“I’ll make sure to stay out of your sight if it bothers you that much. It would be nice if you did the same, Lord Raysis.”

Raysis seemed momentarily stunned by her bold response.

Shock flickered across the butler’s face, and even Felia stared at Lindsey in disbelief.

“Who is this woman?”

“Lord Raysis, she’s a member of the delegation. If you treat her poorly, it could—”

Lindsey couldn’t help but sneer.

She had no intention of tolerating Raysis’s arrogant behavior.

She planned to wield the delegation’s authority to her advantage.

“You… you’re being insolent. Are you defying my orders in the Kesion Marquisate?”

“It seems to me that you’re the one being insolent, Lord Raysis. Perhaps you should mind your manners before accusing others.”

Lindsey expected him to lose his temper. Knowing his nature, it seemed inevitable.

But instead of lashing out, Raysis stepped closer, scrutinizing her face intently.

Then, he muttered to himself.

“You look like her.”

Lindsey instantly knew who he was referring to.

She found his behavior absurd.

She understood that he was thinking of Lindsey Kesion.

‘Does he think he’s like this because of me?’

He was consumed with guilt over her death, enough to mistake someone with a completely different appearance for her.

She shoved his arm away roughly, repulsed by the sight of him wallowing in regret over her death.

Raysis staggered back at her touch, making no attempt to reach for her again.

⋆★⋆

“Do you think he recognized you?” Felia asked.

Lindsey shook her head.

“No, he couldn’t possibly recognize me. I look completely different now.”

Her encounter with Raysis had left her feeling unsettled, but thoughts of him faded as she neared Mikhail’s room.

She couldn’t afford to let anyone see them together.

‘It would seem suspicious for a member of the Riken delegation to be familiar with him.’

Initially, she had intended to head straight to Mikhail’s room, but after seeing Raysis, her mind had cooled.

Instead, Lindsey made her way into the deep woods within the Kesion Marquisate.

She turned to Felia and made a request.

“Felia, can you keep watch and let me know if anyone comes close?”

Felia glanced at her curiously but nodded in agreement.

Lindsey let out a small sigh and gazed up at the sky.

What she was about to do might be utterly pointless.

In the past, Baek Ji-hyuk had always come running whenever Han Ji-yoo called for him.

The Mikhail of this world had been the same. He had appeared whenever she needed him.

‘That was right after I returned to this world.’

It might be foolish. But Lindsey felt she had to see Mikhail.

She moved to a secluded spot and softly whispered.

“Mikhail.”

She closed her eyes briefly and then opened them. Mikhail was nowhere to be seen.

Even though she knew better, disappointment washed over her.

It was unrealistic to expect him to appear just because she called out to him.

‘Let’s go back. This was a foolish idea.’

She was about to turn away when—

“Lindsey.”

The unmistakable voice reached her ears, halting her in her tracks.

It was Mikhail’s voice. Lindsey found herself speechless.

Her appearance had completely changed.

She no longer looked like Lindsey Kesion.

Not even her father, Crain, or her blood relative, Raysis, had recognized her with her altered appearance.

Yet Mikhail spoke her name with certainty.

As if the idea that he might not recognize her based on appearance alone was unthinkable.