Hiding the Fact That We Are Dating From the Amnesiac Villain - Chapter 10

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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 10
* * *
The day of the triumphal procession.
The Caesar Knights rode forth in grand procession.
Banners sliced through the air in perfect unison.
Sunlight cascaded across gleaming armor, while the rhythmic clang of steel and hoofbeats filled the thoroughfare.
As the knights passed, countless flower petals swirled through the air, and the roar of the crowd rippled like waves across the city.
“It’s the Grand Duke Caesar!”
“Long live His Majesty the Emperor! Long live the Grand Duke Caesar!”
Decklin Caesar.
Countless voices erupted in cheers as they gazed upon him in reverence.
The hero who had restored the Empire’s glory.
He guided his horse slowly toward the main gates of the Imperial Palace, moving through the thunderous acclamation.
Today would surely be a momentous day for him.
“Your Grace.”
Just then, the Aide approached discreetly.
“I have investigated the registered individual named Renia Felt, as you commanded.”
Decklin, who had been looking ahead, briefly turned his gaze toward the Aide.
“Among the Holy Registered, there were twelve individuals bearing the name Renia Felt.”
Renia Felt.
It was an exceedingly common name.
“However, among those twelve, not a single one possessed pink hair and pink eyes.”
Decklin recalled the moment when the woman had told him her name.
Those pink eyes, unfocused and trembling with anxiety.
So that was it.
She had lied to me?
“It appears she was never registered with the Holy Registry.”
“That’s illegal.”
The man who, not long ago, had been laundering black money behind closed doors now spoke casually of the law.
“Or perhaps she simply gave you a false name.”
At Decklin’s offhand remark, the Aide’s expression stiffened with tension.
“…To dare deceive Your Grace. I shall investigate further at once.”
“Never mind.”
Decklin smiled faintly.
“What can be done if I have no interest in it?”
“…”
“If it’s fate, we’ll meet again someday.”
Despite having ordered the investigation in the first place, Decklin now feigned indifference.
His apathetic expression revealed nothing of what he was truly thinking.
“Understood, Your Grace.”
Decklin Caesar’s capricious nature was hardly a recent development.
All that mattered was prioritizing their ‘plan’.
“…I have completed all preparations as you commanded.”
Decklin Caesar lifted his gaze toward the Imperial Palace.
Gleaming white spires pierced through the clouds, rising majestically.
They resembled a dazzling sacred temple, or perhaps the altar of some grand funeral pyre.
That sight, where light and shadow intertwined, possessed an unsettling, terrible beauty.
* * *
“Wow, Freena! The Caesar Knights are passing through!”
Thump.
Freena hastily steadied the bundle she was carrying. She nearly dropped it.
“W-who’s passing through?”
“Be careful, Freena! We barely got it stacked on the cart—don’t knock it over!”
“I-I’m sorry….”
The mere mention of Decklin Caesar passing nearby startled me so badly that I nearly toppled the carefully arranged provisions piled on the cart.
This was the supply storage behind the Imperial Palace.
Inside lay mountains of various meats, seafood, sacks of wheat, bundles of vegetables, and boxes of spices stacked haphazardly.
‘Is Decklin Caesar passing through this area?’
The faint sound of marching echoed from a distance.
But tucked away in this corner, there was no way to know what was happening outside.
‘It’s better not to know anything.’
…Because a bloodbath would soon descend.
Specifically, on the final day of the four-day victory banquet!
‘That’s when the assassination attempt on Decklin Caesar will occur.’
But why an ‘attempt’ and not an actual assassination?
There was only one reason: it would fail.
According to the original story I had read, a knight bearing a similar appearance to Decklin Caesar would drink the poison instead.
What crime had Decklin Caesar’s knight committed?
If someone had to die, it should be Decklin Caesar himself.
That mad mastermind would soon drench the Empire in darkness and offer it entirely to the Demon God in the not-so-distant future.
Because of him, the protagonist would endlessly regress and struggle to protect the Empire from the Demon God.
Watching me lose myself in thought at the mention of Decklin Caesar, my coworker Hanna began to grumble and gossip.
“Sigh, our fate is truly harsh. I knew it from when we were rolling around dealing with those troublemakers at Daisy Hall. But then we got dragged here for the victory celebration, and now we’re just hauling luggage all day—what is this?”
“Right? What is this! They say the Grand Duke is passing by outside, but we can’t even catch a glimpse from this corner!”
“…Did you all hear? Just seeing his face makes noble ladies collapse in droves?”
“No, noble sons collapsed too.”
“Hey. Won’t you all collapse if you see the Grand Duke’s face?”
At the sudden flood of talk about Decklin Caesar, I held my breath.
My coworkers from Daisy Hall expressed their disappointment at missing the procession.
‘…You guys! We’re actually in the safest place there is.’
Running into Decklin Caesar would only drag me into the whirlwind of chaos unfolding within the Imperial Palace.
“You lazy good-for-nothings! Stop dawdling and move faster, will you?!”
At that moment, a sharp, irritated voice rained down from above my head.
“Because you all move like snails, the kitchen work is piling up!”
The man currently foaming at the mouth and shouting was the Imperial Head Chef. During this triumphal procession period, he was the meticulous overseer of the Workers hired from outside—from Daisy Hall.
My goal was singular.
To remain hidden in some corner of this kitchen throughout the entire procession, quietly collecting my wages and leaving.
‘Just stay quiet and invisible.’
* * *
But life rarely cooperates with our plans.
‘This is too much, even for me!’
The fact that the day hadn’t even ended yet felt terrifying.
“Stop wasting time! Move now!”
The man demanding I sprint a hundred meters while carrying a sack of flour.
“What?! Why are you using so much water!”
The man insisting I use only one bucket to scrub the massive pot crusted with grease.
“Ha! We’re all sweating from hard work, yet look—not a single bead of sweat on your face!”
The man lecturing a Worker who’d just returned from the Freezing Storage that sweat is proof of laziness.
“…This madman.”
The one cursing about madness—that’s me.
There were all manner of cruel people here.
The Imperial Kitchen housed a diverse collection of characters.
The work never ceased.
By the time the sun dipped below the horizon, evening had arrived.
“Everyone, hurry and transport the food to the Banquet Hall!”
Servants working in the Banquet Hall entered the kitchen and began collecting dishes.
“Which one is the main course? We’re short on staff right now, so it’s difficult for us to carry everything. So if we could start with the main….”
“What? This is all one set—what are you talking about? Presentation is everything for this!”
“But right now, carrying everything is….”
Whether here or there, the kitchen was always a place where loud voices clashed.
“Hey! You take it!”
I poured hot water into the pot regardless of their bickering. The grease wasn’t coming off easily.
“Hey! You there! Aren’t you listening to me?”
Let me see where the grease comes off better….
“You! Freena!”
I startled.
“Take the food and go with them!”
I blinked in surprise.
So they were telling me to….
Go to the Banquet Hall?
Decklin Caesar is there! And a murder happens just two days later, no less!
I absolutely despised this.
“What are you doing? Hurry up and go!”
But I had no choice in the matter.
‘…It should be fine. Nothing will happen today, after all.’
Freena, who had been hesitating, finally rose from her seat.
“If you make even a single mistake, I won’t let it slide. Understood?”
“S-sir, if I’m going to make a mistake, wouldn’t you rather not send me…?”
“Go at once!”
Freena found herself accepting the food before she could think.
A servant carrying food walked ahead as if leading the way. Freena quietly followed in his footsteps.
‘Decklin Caesar is in the Banquet Hall.’
It felt like stepping into the eye of a typhoon.
But there was that saying—the eye of the typhoon is safe.
The problem was that she was trapped inside the typhoon’s mouth.
A sensation of being swallowed washed over me.

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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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