I Ran Away And The Reverse Harem Started

Chapter 1 “Rosieta, take this to Mrs. Hannah next door.”It was another morning with the smell of bread in the air.Early in the morning, birds chirped on the branches and the spring sun was gently shining down.Before the restaurant opened, I pulled my hair into a tight bun and turned my head to look toward Lynne. I saw a pile of bread in the kitchen and Lynne.“I wondered why you were baking so much bread so early in the morning… Are you talking about the lady who recently moved to our town?”I said in admiration. The freshly baked, warm bread smelled strongly of butter.As I was about to rummage through the bread in the basket out of habit, Lynne slapped my hand and said.“Get your hands off it right now. If you put it in your mouth now, it won’t be fun.”“Tch. We’re going to eat it later for breakfast anyway!”“I’m taking it to the lady next door first”Whether I grumbled or not, Lynne professionally moved the remaining bread onto the tray.“Mrs. Hannah, the one who just moved into our neighborhood?”“Yes, that’s right. She said she got divorced from her previous place and now lives here alone. She doesn’t seem to have adjusted to the neighborhood yet, so I think she’d like it if we brought her some bread.”“Wow.”“She just moved in, so we should at least bring her something.”I watched Lynne’s actions with my mouth open. Even though she moved a few pieces of bread onto the tray, the bread in the basket didn’t decrease.Lynne, who was the daughter of Marilyn, had big hands, so no one would think she was Marilyn’s daughter.‘That bread will probably be eaten by our family for three meals a day.’I looked at the pile of bread with tired eyes and turned my head away.“You’re always nagging me, but you take care of our neighbors so well. I really don’t know if you’re an angel or a devil, Lynne.”When I spoke in a deliberately sarcastic tone, Lynne glared at me with eyes that were just like Aunt Marilyn’s.“Rosieta Jensen. If you have time to talk nonsense, go out and clean with father. If you get caught slacken off again, you’ll really die.”“Yes, yes.”“You only get one answer!”As expected, there’s no such thing as cuteness.I secretly stuck out my tongue.After giving bread to the new lady who moved in at Lynne’s order, I returned to the restaurant and cleaned the floor with Uncle Hans.This is Danten, a small town a day’s carriage ride from the kingdom’s capital.Lynne’s Restaurant, located in a corner of Danten Village, is the town’s mainstay, welcoming both locals and tourists for several years.In other words, I, who live in this house, have been waking up early in the morning and helping them for several years now.Of course, I am in a position where I get free food and even receive a salary.“If I am born again, I will definitely be born as a nobleman. I will not clean with my own hands, and I will not wear my own clothes.”“If you’re going to do that, just be born as a sloth. Stupid.”Lunchtime, before opening. I’m spreading strawberry jam on a scone when Lynne clucks her tongue and gives me a stern reminder to grow up.“Tch, that is too much.”I pout my lips in sorrow.However, I agree with Linne a little.Even though I have been earning my own living for 10 years, I still feel like I am not living up to my age.I stopped mumbling to Lynne and looked out the window.The scenery of the midday sun shining and the birds chirping was always lively, but this life that had lasted for ten years felt unrealistic at times.‘If I hadn’t known that this world was a novel, would I be more desperate to live?’With a strange feeling, Lynne took a bite of the bread baked since morning. The crispy texture and the sunlight streaming in through the window were no different than usual. * * *  Lunchtime is a busy time.The restaurant came alive at lunchtime. Of course, it’s a small business in the village, so the customers were all the same.Lynne’s restaurant had many regular customers thanks to the friendly service, and the delicious food.When people asked to recommend a restaurant, they would recommend this restaurant on the outskirts of the village.While she was busy moving soup and chicken steak, the other customers waited for their food while reading the newspaper.Among them, some shabby men who seemed to be tourists clicked their tongues while reading the newspaper.“Another article about these rich people. Don’t reporters have anything to do? All they do is talk about this young man!”“Hey, he’s the most famous person right now. Haha.”“A guy who’s only twenty-three is getting headlines everywhere because he’s loved by the Emperor. This is the end of the world.”“Just be honest. You’re jealous of the money he has.”The men chattered loudly for quite a while while reading the newspaper.I knew who they were talking about without even having to look at the newspaper.A new rich young man loved by the Emperor.When the kingdom lost in a war and suffered a huge economic blow from the war reparations, it was a young man who founded an organization to help the kingdom and was even given a castle and estates by the Emperor.And that young rich man was someone I knew well.I felt a little proud and raised my head.‘Actually, he and I were in the same orphanage. We were really close. There was a time when I was best friends with him!’… I wanted to say that, but even if I said it, no one would believe me.And there was no way to prove that I was friends with that rich man.“Rose, just one beer here!”“Mister, I told you not to call me Rose, and why do you drink beer in broad daylight?”When I scolded the regular customer, he chuckled as if he had expected the reaction.“Rosieta is too cold. What’s wrong with calling you by a nickname? It’s not like we’ve only met a few times. We’ve been together for years, already.”“It doesn’t matter how many years. It’s because when you call me by a nickname, I think of someone.”I put down the glass of beer with a bang. The wooden table shook slightly.He looked at me with an interested face.“Ahem, let me guess. It was your ex-boyfriend, right?”“No!”“A strong denial is a strong affirmation.”Lynne, who was serving next to me, interrupted the man. Lynne was sassy, argumentative, and only sulked at times like this.While I was talking, he chuckled and opened his mouth as if he remembered something.“Oh, by the way, a nobleman came to town this time. I heard there was a shiny carriage parked at the entrance to town.”“What? A nobleman? in a town that doesn’t even have a proper inn, let alone a hotel, and the roads are in shambles?”“That’s harsh… I’ve lived in a town like this my whole life.”“Why did they come?”“I don’t know.”The regular customer, Jackson, shrugged.“But my intuition tells me. There must be a reason why the nobles came to this town.”“Yes, yes. I guess so.”“Why are you so indifferent? It’s good when the nobles come. Didn’t you say you’d open an inn soon?”“Yeah, construction hasn’t even started for two days. It’ll take years to finish.”Just like Mr. Jackson said, I was thinking of opening a small inn in the town with the money I’d saved from working for nearly ten years and money I’d borrowed from here and there.That’s understandable, because it’s already been ten years since I left the orphanage and lived with Lynne, uncle, and aunt. I couldn’t be a parasite on their care forever!In fact, there was another sinister reason.‘This damn life has already been going on for ten years. I’ve been working since I was thirteen, so how can my joints still be in good shape? I’ll definitely open an inn next year and hear them calling me owner.’I’m sorry to say this to Lynne’s family, who have been living in poverty for 10 years, but Lynne, uncle, and aunt will need more energetic and younger blood than me.Of course, the debt on the inn was staggering.Three million bills.It was a price that I, who barely made 50 bills an hour, would have to pay off in almost 30 years, saving and saving.‘But I’m going to open an inn, so I’ll be able to do something with the money I get from it.’I had to take on a 30-year loan, but I’m still happy.After all, it was my first time saving up money and opening my own business after being an orphan for 10 years!I imagined a future where I would hear them calling me owner.My sweet imagination didn’t last long.Because the place in front of the restaurant was noisy.Lynne frowned and looked back at the entrance while serving.“Didn’t the thugs fight in front of our restaurant again? Rosieta, go check it.”“Huh? Me?”Humanly speaking, if thugs are fighting, how can I, who is weak, go out and solve this?I stared at Lynne as if to say, “How can I stop this?” but Lynne went away coldly to finish what she was doing.Well, Lynne will soon be the owner of this restaurant, but I have to crawl now. I owe Lynne a debt.I sighed loudly and stomped toward the entrance, holding a dishtowel. If anything, I was planning to mediate the fight by throwing the dishtowel in the thugs’ faces.Lynne’s father also said that I was the loudest in town.“Hey! What are you doing in front of someone else’s restaurant!”They say that the one who speaks loudly wins a fight. As soon as I opened the door, I screamed.But surprisingly, there was no one in front of the restaurant.All I could see was a large carriage and the neighborhood kids gathered in front of it, watching.Huh? A luxurious carriage in a town like this?“… What? They said a nobleman was coming. Was it true?”A luxurious carriage with a coat of arms engraved on it was parked far away, and the neighborhood kids were gathered in front of it, sucking on candy and watching the carriage.If they keep doing that, won’t the carriage get dirty?I couldn’t bear to watch that, so I took a step toward the carriage.“Rose.”I stopped.A soft voice came from behind me. And at the same time, goosebumps prickled up the back of my neckThe voice my body remembered before my brain did…And the voice of the man I’d been avoiding for ten years came from behind me.I stiffened and slowly turned around.I guess the voice I heard wasn’t a hallucination. A man in black robes was walking towards me from afar.He looked like a grim reaper who had come to take my life.Huh? Why is he here…“Rose.”The man called my name again. A mocking expression appeared on his face as he walked up to me.I swallowed hard and took a step back.But my back hit a wall right away. My escape route was blocked.The man muttered eerily as he came right up to me.“No, I shouldn’t call you Rose, I should call you Rosieta Jensen.”“You, you….”“Yeah, I guess a nickname would be a waste for someone who abandoned a friend she’s known for five years.”He continued to walk toward me, even though I was flattened against the wall.I still couldn’t believe it. Here was a man I never thought I’d meet in such a shabby place!What should I do in this situation?Oh, right!“I, I, that…. I think you’ve got the wrong person? Who… are you? Hehe.”Let’s pretend we don’t know!“Hey.”“……”“Do you want to die?”For a moment, the man’s face lit up. Involuntarily, his hands came together in front of me politely.“… No, that’s right. I’m Rosieta.”“…….”Only then did the man, no, Daniel, twist the corners of his mouth and look down at me arrogantly.Ten years had passed, and his sculpted face was beautiful, even with the sneer on it.However, the words he spoke made people feel creepy, like a north wind blowing.“… Did you think I wouldn’t find you if you hid in a remote place like this?”Daniel’s beautiful face was saying to me,‘You’re really good at it.’