The Male Lead Knelt Before Me

Anyway, the shock was quite great when I heard that such a pervert was a knight.
Not to mention that the image of the knight I had, was shattered that day.

Afterwards, whenever Herschel Themis visited, I would run away with great displeasure.

It was around the time Veloca, who witnessed me like this, laughed as loudly as before and teased me.
Seems like it’s already become her daily routine.

I had a dream.
No, it’d be right to say that I peeked into someone else’s memory under the guise of a dream.

I saw the memory of Lena possessed by me.

Through my dream, I was able to learn about Lena’s life and some unexpected facts.
Lena, who thought she was just a commoner, is actually a noble.

To be exact, she was adopted by a noble family and became a noble.

Lena was abandoned as a baby and grew up in a nursery.

Many people wanted to adopt Lena, as she had been pretty since she was young.

It was Baroness Oreu who won through the competition and adopted her.

The Baron Oreu couple, who had no children, gave Lena their last name and named her “Lena” by modifying the name originally called in the nursery so that she could quickly adapt to her new name.

She lived under the name ‘Elena Oreu’ and turned 18.
Then the Baron Oreu couple died in an accident.
It was a carriage crash.

In an instant, she became an orphan again, but she was not discouraged.

But she believed that it would be okay since she would inherit a legacy and live well.

Until she found out that the Baron couple had little wealth around them and even guaranteed it to their close acquaintance.

When the Baron couple died, the acquaintance ran away and their remains became her debt.

But it wouldn’t be the case if Lena inherited the title and the estate.
In order to inherit a legacy, it had to be a direct blood relative or a will.

The Baron couple had earlier considered Lena their successor and educated her for that, but had not written a will.
Maybe it’s because they didn’t know they were going to die so early.

In the end, Lena did not inherit the title or estate because she was not a direct blood relative.

The title and estate that lost its owner were naturally returned to the imperial family.

The only thing left for her was a shameful nobility position and enormous debt on the aristocrat list as an adoptee of the Baron Oreu couple.

After I found out about Lena’s situation through the dream, I burst into anger.
It was unfair no matter how much I thought about it.

Lena didn’t get a title because she wasn’t a blood relative, but she still had to pay their debts, how could that make sense?

Sadly, however, that is the law here.

Lena pretended to be a commoner, got a job to survive and to pay off her debts.
If she lets people know she’s a noble, they won’t hire her.

Fortunately, Lena was good at studying and well-educated as the Baron’s successor, so she was good at handling documents.

She could easily get to the top and start working really hard.

The employer was also a generous person, so he paid her constantly.

The problem is that her salary is on a “common” basis while the amount she owes is huge.

No matter how hard she worked, her debt didn’t decrease.
Lena’s life was full of shadows.

Then, by chance, Rael’s mother, the owner of the theatre, found Lena and offered to pay her more than the top salary, and she became an actress.

However, her career as an actor was not smooth.
It was because Lena was really bad at acting.

It was okay when she practised, but strangely her expression disappeared whenever she went on stage.

She noticed that it wasn’t an aptitude for learning late, but she couldn’t quit.
The forced-to-stage consequences caused stage fright and knocked her self-esteem to the ground.

Lena knew her personality was becoming increasingly neurotic, but she couldn’t fix it.

Despite these circumstances, she was able to continue to act and play the leading role thanks to the constant sponsorship of the aristocrats, who fell in love with her natural pretty appearance, body and fine voice.

Because a lot of money was needed to maintain the theatre.

If you were invited to the Imperial Palace to perform and receive a lot of support, like in the preeminent era, she wouldn’t have to worry, but after the current emperor rose to the throne, the situation has changed.

For some reason, the current emperor prohibited the performance of the play in the Palace, as well as cut off their support.

The theatre industry quickly declined and many theatres closed and actors left.

The only way the rest of them chose to survive was to be sponsored by wealthy aristocrats.

However, it was rare for aristocrats to enjoy banned plays in the Imperial Palace and to support them for no reason.

Then the theatre company recruited actors with outstanding appearances and aristocrats who were willing to self-proclaim their patrons to satisfy their eyes and desires.

As such, appearance became more important than the acting skills of the main actor, so the ransom and roles of the actors varied depending on how many sponsors they had.

Under the circumstances, some actors did not hesitate to have a secret relationship with their sponsors because they wanted to be ‘treated well’.

Thanks to this, the “actor” profession in the world has long been tarnished by the image of a secret lover or even a mistress of the aristocracy.

Fortunately, Rael’s mother, the owner of the Chloe theatre where I am working, disliked this trend, so whenever actors were found to be more than just sponsorship with their sponsor, they were kicked out, and there was no such person in this troupe.

However, in local theatre companies, it is quite common for actors to have a deep relationship with their sponsors, so they often treat and communicate with the actors to convey them.

I don’t like this perception, but I thought it was a relief that I was working for Chloe’s theatre.
Anyway, now that I have to live Lena’s life instead.

‘I’m a little stifled to think that I have to pay the debts, but……….
but it’s not as bleak as I thought.’

Lena had paid off quite a bit of debt during her career as an actress.
Even if she doesn’t have to be sponsored, she can pay back everything if she works a few more years.

‘So let’s cheer up a little bit!’

…..
is what I’m saying, but how many minutes have passed since I pledged.

I suddenly frowned a lot because of my sore head.
Soon after, Lena’s knowledge flooded in.

Not a Knowledge that I saw in dreams but everything she learned as a “Elena Oreu” in general, such as etiquette as an aristocrat and document processing.

Of course, the price was formidable.

The more knowledge I got, the worse my headache got, and I’ve been suffering from a splitting headache for hours.

Just in case, I even found medicine and took it, but there was no improvement.

‘I hope I’ll be fine before the show…….’

But I guess God wasn’t on my side.
My headache was still there right before the performance.

I tried not to show as much as I could because I didn’t want to make others worry, but it just showed without my will.

“Are you sick?”

I nodded instead of hiding it at Veloca’s question.
I’m tired of struggling alone.

My appearance, which was pale and colder than usual, so people wouldn’t not noticed it.

“Yes, my head is a little……….”

While answering, memories flooded in with headaches.

Velosa’s face became serious as I frowned hardly at the headache that began again.

“Did you take your medicine?”

“Yes, but I don’t think it’s working.”

“I don’t think you’ll be able to perform…….
Do you want to just relax? I’ll stand-in for you.”

“It’s okay, Veloca.
Thank you for your intention.
But I’ll be fine.”

There were only a dozen minutes left before the performance began.

If Veloca took the role, the performance would be finished safely, but a refund would be inevitable.

It’s not the main character that the audience wants.

I shook my head thinking about tickets that were already sold out.

“I’ll be able to do it.
Don’t worry, Veloca.”

No, I had to do it.
No matter how.

***

‘As expected, was it too much?’

I bowed my head, exhaling a rough breath.

Normally, it would have been sad to see the curtains come down after the stage, but I couldn’t have been happier today.

It was so hard because the memories kept flooding during the performance.

‘Now it’s over, so I can go back and rest.’

Contrary to the light thoughts, the already exhausted body staggered every step.

I’m fine.

There’s no way I could fall down like this……..

“Oops!”

As the heel of the shoes slipped on the floor, an unpleasant roar rang.

“Lena!”

I hear the voice of stupefied Veloca.

Oh, now I’m falling like this.

In case of pain, I shut my eyes and boom! The body was shocked with a heavy sound.

‘Uh, but why doesn’t it hurt so much……? I thought it must hurt a lot.
Besides, why is the floor so soft?’

I opened my eyes, pressing my hand against the floor.

At the same time, I saw Rael underneath me.

‘Why is this person under me………?’

Veloca and the others rushed around us while I blinked wondering.

“Oh, my God, Lena!”

“Lena, Rael! Are you guys all right?”

Even then, I was surprised and couldn’t do anything.

After hearing the low groan that Rael let out, I quickly came down when I realized that I was crushing him.

“I’m sorry, Rael.
Are you okay?”

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine.”

“You’re bleeding on your arm, you idiot!”

Rael’s arms were really bleeding as I lowered my gaze to Veloca’s rant.

Ugh!

“I think it needs to be treated quickly.
Do you have any disinfectants?”

“I’ll go get it!”

Veloca, who quickly ran somewhere, came back with a small barrel, opened the lid and sprinkled it on Rael’s arm.

“Ouch.
It stings…….”

“Even if it stings, hold it in.
You’re hurt.
What can I do?”

Veloca put on disinfectant and ointment thoroughly before letting Rael go.

I was very sorry to see the clotting blood mixed with ointment.
He got hurt because of me.

“I’m so sorry.
Because of me…..”

“It’s okay.”

“Lena, are you hurt? Tell me if you are.
‘Cause I need to put some ointment on.”

“I didn’t get hurt.”

Although the area where I bumped into Rael was light skin, there was no bleeding or severe pain.

“I’m glad to hear that.…… Why aren’t you and Rael protecting your own body?”

Starting with that, Veloca began nagging me and Rael.

Rael must have thought that my complexion was bad from a while ago, that’s why he just threw himself away to save me.

“Sigh, I’ll take care of the mess, Lena, you go in and rest.
Rael, you should go rest too.”

“Thank you, Veloca.”

“Thank you.”

Of course, I and Rael gave a small thank you because I knew it was all out of concern.

“This is nothing.
Don’t be like this.
Go ahead and rest.
If you don’t hurry up, I’ll have you take care of this mess!”

Velocca threatened and pushed us both.

Thanks to that, we both came out earlier than others.

I told Rael I was sorry and grateful on my way back to the room, and he just laughed it off, saying ‘never mind’.

They’re good people anyway.