Bloodline is a Cheat Code - Chapter 20

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 20
Hailey cut off Deneb’s words with an impassive expression. The invitation she held directly in her hands bore the Imperial seal—there was nothing more to verify.
“Ah, it seems I was mistaken.”
“Of course, misunderstandings can happen. I do tend to live within so many stories, after all.”
Deneb’s smile grew subtle at those barbed words. How transparent this man was, unable to conceal his expressions.
“Perhaps Hailey and I have come somewhere we shouldn’t? This floor should be accessible to anyone invited to the Palace as an auction participant. You still seem rather flustered.”
….
“Is it because we overheard that conversation? Or perhaps our Rosena is too insignificant in rank to purchase the honor of nobles?”
Deneb, who had appeared troubled by the barrage of questions, kept glancing sideways at Hailey.
After all that gossip, he was essentially asking Hailey to defend him instead. How absurd.
Hailey endured this humiliation with remarkable composure.
Minabell was right. If I couldn’t bear this much, how could I possibly sit in a tavern and listen to their insults without reacting?
I could tolerate insults directed at me, but not at those around me—I’d step in immediately.
“Perhaps it’s simply that I fall short of my fiancé’s renown. So naturally, you assumed I wouldn’t receive an invitation?”
Once Hailey had organized her thoughts, she responded in her characteristically measured voice.
Not cutting, not reproachful—her tone was remarkably gentle, almost as if she were recounting a fairy tale from a world that didn’t exist.
“What do you mean? Surely this isn’t related to what you two were discussing beyond the terrace?”
I tilted my head as though I were a noblewoman utterly ignorant of worldly affairs and rumors. A glimmer of interest flickered in Deneb’s eyes. He seemed ready to brush past this and move on.
Certainly, he moves more predictably than Jade does.
He didn’t even bother hiding that calculating look—’I can use this oblivious noblewoman.’ Why do those with wicked intentions wear their emotions so transparently on their faces?
“Ah, it’s perhaps not entirely appropriate to discuss such matters in Lady Hailey’s presence….”
He partially concealed his mouth with his fan, then turned his gaze away as though in thought. In truth, it was to hide the tight line of his lips, clenched from anger.
How much longer must I play along with this farce? It would be nice if people could simply respect the appointed time.
At that moment, the tardy guest arrived.
“A servant of House Faneshula has been caught making false testimony that Lillian Faneshula visited a plague-stricken region. An investigation is currently underway.”
Lucian Advein appeared at a leisurely pace with Jade in tow, leaning against the terrace railing as he looked down at me.
I laughed softly, my eyes crinkling slightly while keeping my fan raised to my lips.
“Ah, so it was that matter?”
“Sending a servant to a plague-stricken region and then allowing him to roam freely throughout the Empire is rather concerning. There were worries he might compromise the health of the sickly Third Prince. So I offered the Crown Prince some counsel—perhaps House Genevre shouldn’t receive an invitation to this year’s auction.”
“My, is that true, Hailey?”
“The servant did visit the plague-stricken area, but he hasn’t returned yet. Besides, he contracted that illness in childhood and has immunity to it.”
Hailey delivered her prepared response smoothly, while I turned my gaze to the two men with an expression of regret.
“I wonder why Lady Lillian Faneshula would do such a thing?”
Her expression had hardened by then. I’d told her to manage her face better.
Feeling somewhat pleased, I decided to generously enlighten them on the point they’d be most curious about.
“Oh, and Hailey and I received our invitations from Prince Lucian Advein. After I received my invitation, I contacted Hailey to find she hadn’t received one.”
“Ah, I….”
“We’re quite close, after all.”
I left them room to imagine whether “we” meant Lucian and myself, or Hailey and myself, then turned to leave without hesitation.
This should distance the Crown Prince from House Faneshula somewhat. And incidentally, that insufferable Deneb as well.
* * *
Beneath the moonlit sky, Lucian Advein and I sat alone in the quiet Imperial Garden, presenting ourselves as lovers to any observer.
Yet the conversation we actually shared could not have been further from such a relationship.
“I hadn’t anticipated even the servants’ accounts. Impressive work.”
“Before you question me, allow me to present my analysis first.”
“Of course, I’ve only deduced what I observed with my own eyes, so it may differ from the truth. You don’t mind that, do you?”
“I choose to trust your judgment regardless.”
“Please don’t place such faith in me. While I would never deliberately deceive Your Highness, I remain merely human—far from omniscient.”
I busied myself explaining how drastically the faction centered around House Faneshula had contracted.
Hailey followed us with remarkable composure as we departed the Palace interior, appearing the very picture of serenity.
Yet the moment we distanced ourselves from the crowds, she stumbled like a puppet with severed strings, forcing Jade to catch her swiftly.
“Escort your betrothed inside.”
“But Your Highness, ensuring my lord’s safety is my paramount duty.”
“Your lord is several times stronger than you—worry not. Right now, attending to your proud beloved, who faced such contempt and dismissal alone, takes precedence. It seems the more chivalrous course as well.”
With an ambiguous tone that both dismissed and cared for Jade, Lucian ultimately drove them away.
Those two likely had much to discuss.
“Now then, regarding the two present there. One was a knight I recognized. The other must be from House Faneshula’s ranks.”
“The same person Ser Jade mentioned. They appear to have connections to House Faneshula and received a knighthood, or so I heard. Though they scarcely resembled a true knight.”
When Lucian appeared, Deneb instinctively showed proper deference to the Imperial Family, yet his gaze remained fixed upon Jade.
That stare burned with such vivid contempt, inferiority, and jealousy that I found myself unable to suppress my disgust.
Healthy jealousy may drive mortals forward, but he was clearly not of that wholesome variety.
“Yes, the Raud Family. They cling desperately to their knightly titles, yet in truth they merely spread rumors at House Faneshula’s behest.”
“I see.”
Not a grand organization like the Information Guild, but rather the three-tongued rabble who trafficked in gossip.
Yet sometimes such fabricators of “plausible” falsehoods prove more dangerous than assassins or Information Guild operatives—those with sufficient standing, considerable eloquence, and the ability to weave exaggerations naturally into conversation.
When spoken as jest, those who hear it pass it along to others with equal levity.
“There’s more, surely.”
“Naturally. They wouldn’t employ only these few.”
This time, House Faneshula selected the Raud faction merely for their “modest” purpose—tarnishing House Delpoi’s honor among the nobility and tormenting Hailey.
Doubtless House Faneshula had planted operatives throughout every stratum of society.
As I relayed this information, Lucian, seated beside me, studied my face intently for a long moment.
“Did I perhaps make some error?”
“No, nothing of the sort. But listening to you speak, it seems you believe House Faneshula isn’t entirely the mastermind.”
“Regarding Hailey and Ser Jade’s matter, Lillian Faneshula acted maliciously of her own accord, I’m certain.”
Lillian—selfish in nature, possessing everything she desired. She had never known contempt from anyone, never failed to achieve what she wanted.
Yet the man who should naturally have chosen her looked elsewhere, and some woman who had languished bedridden suddenly rose, meticulously cultivated her Reading Circle, and then destroyed it utterly.
How could she not have acted out of spite?
“Isn’t ‘spite’ too gentle a word for what she committed? Truthfully, she deceived the Crown Prince, my lady.”
“Yes, she must face the consequences of her crimes.”
Those who fail to restrain their desires and wound others with that blade must answer for it.
“You don’t think Vincent Crown Prince is the one orchestrating this, do you?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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