Hiding the Fact That We Are Dating From the Amnesiac Villain - Chapter 32

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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 32
* * *
A day at the Caesar Grand Duke’s Residence was never idle.
Ronan, Decklin’s Aide, found himself buried beneath towering stacks of documents.
All day spent on materials related to Count Seiton and budget proposals besides—his eyes had grown weary.
“Aide!”
Just then, an Attendant rushed to find him.
“What is the matter?”
“An unidentified woman has arrived at the Main Gate, but she claims the Grand Duke himself offered her employment.”
Ronan’s brow furrowed a moment later.
‘The Grand Duke himself offered her employment?’
He had heard nothing of this.
“However, she carries neither letter nor token to prove the Grand Duke’s summons. Shall we turn her away?”
“No. I shall verify this myself.”
Ronan rose from his seat.
Decklin had sprung surprises before, after all.
Yet to bring in a commoner woman without a single prior word was unusual.
He would know the truth once he saw for himself.
As reported, a woman stood before the Main Gate of the Grand Duke’s Residence.
Pink hair danced wildly in the gentle breeze.
‘Wait.’
Ronan’s pace slowed as he approached the gate.
Pink hair and pink eyes?
“What is your name?”
“…Freena Crowell.”
Ah, of course.
She was the maid Ronan had investigated personally on Decklin’s orders not long ago.
And recently, he had investigated a woman of unknown identity named Renia Felt. She too had pink hair and pink eyes.
They were the same person.
And there was one more peculiar fact.
Shortly after she appeared in the Banquet Hall, the assassination plot had failed.
Judging by circumstances alone, she was a woman one could not help but suspect.
Ronan found her highly suspicious.
‘…Yet she seems far more ordinary than expected.’
She even appeared somewhat simple-minded.
It was enough to make him doubt whether she had truly been the one to switch out the poisoned wine.
“I understand the Grand Duke himself offered you employment.”
“Yes.”
“In what capacity did he make this offer?”
“Likely as a Purifier recruit, I would think.”
Amarani.
What on earth had His Excellency proposed? Ronan swallowed a sigh.
Now that I thought about it, word had spread far and wide that Decklin had personally taken some commoner woman to the Grand Temple for sacred registration.
‘…So that was Freena Crowell.’
Ronan adjusted his monocle and posed his next question.
“I see. What rank of sacred power does Miss Freena possess?”
“…7th rank.”
“Pardon? You said 7th rank?”
“Yes.”
Ronan found himself momentarily at a loss for words.
“…Is there perhaps some problem with that?”
“To be frank, there are quite a few problems. A 7th-rank holder has no suitable position in this residence. We only employ those with at least 3rd rank or higher.”
Employing a 7th-rank would require creating an entirely new position.
The Aide exhaled heavily.
‘What on earth was he thinking, insisting on bringing this useless 7th-rank woman into the residence?’
And a suspicious woman at that, one who might have disrupted Decklin’s plans.
“…Well then, let us proceed inside.”
* * *
The Grand Duke’s Residence was nothing short of magnificent.
Across the finest carpets stretched an endless procession of embroidered crests in golden thread, while an enormous chandelier scattered light so dazzling it nearly hurt the eyes.
Freena found herself quite perplexed.
‘…It seems Decklin didn’t properly explain my employment to anyone.’
His Aide’s expression made it clear he knew nothing about it. I had nearly been turned away at the entrance.
‘Still….’
Freena followed behind the Aide, observing him carefully.
‘He really doesn’t seem to know my true identity, does he?’
That is to say, that Freena was Orbannon’s illegitimate child.
Freena believed that Decklin, before losing his memory, must have known her identity and approached her with that knowledge.
For that to be the case, someone among Decklin’s people would have thoroughly investigated her.
‘It’s always been a mystery. Even with his memory loss, he would have had no shortage of close associates who could have informed him of what they’d discovered about me….’
The person closest to Decklin would surely be his Aide.
Yet even he seemed unaware of Freena’s true identity.
Then how had Decklin learned of it?
Or had he even approached her knowing she was Orbannon’s illegitimate child in the first place?
‘Perhaps not.’
Then what reason could Decklin possibly have had for….
A chill crept through my chest.
But this was not a mystery I could unravel now. For the moment, I would have to set it aside.
“His Excellency is currently away.”
At that moment, the Aide stopped before a door.
“It is customary for the Caesar Grand Duke’s Residence to conduct several verification procedures before hiring anyone. Would you mind waiting here for a moment, Freena?”
“Of course, I don’t mind at all.”
The Aide departed.
I settled onto the sofa to await his return.
‘What sort of room is this, anyway?’
It appeared to be the Aide’s office.
Documents were stacked before the desk.
I had no intention of touching anything, yet one sheet of paper spread across the top of the desk inexplicably caught my eye.
‘A report on the Caesar Grand Duke’s outer territories?’
Well, a Noble House of Caesar’s stature would naturally manage more than one or two territories.
My gaze, which had been scanning idly, came to an abrupt halt on a single line.
‘…What?’
This seemed rather suspicious.
* * *
After escorting Freena to his office, Ronan stepped back outside.
‘I need to properly verify that woman.’
He couldn’t fathom why his lord had decided to take in that suspicious woman….
As Decklin’s aide, Ronan had no choice but to follow his orders.
It was then.
“Aide! Lord Ardan has just arrived at the residence! He is requesting an audience regarding the quarterly report….”
It was a matter that had been troubling Ronan considerably of late.
The Ardan Territory was a fief granted by Caesar long ago.
And recently, Lord Ardan had been requesting a budget proposal to manage the surplus grain from the abundant harvest.
“…Please escort Lord Ardan to the Reception Room for now. Since His Excellency is not present, I shall meet with him personally.”
Occupied with Lord Ardan, Ronan completely forgot about Freena Crowell, whom he had left in his office.
It wasn’t until an hour had passed that he realized he had abandoned her there.
‘Blast….’
After dismissing Lord Ardan, Ronan hurried back to his office.
“Freena, I apologize for the long wait. There was an urgent matter I had to….”
Ronan’s gaze froze as he began to apologize to Freena.
She was peering suspiciously at his desk.
“Oh, you’re back?”
And the woman herself….
Her face bore an expression of startled alarm at Ronan’s sudden entrance.
Ronan’s expression hardened.
“What exactly are you doing?”
The woman had clearly been reading the report on his desk in a suspicious manner.
There were no classified documents….
Yet leaving her alone in his office had been his own mistake.
So Ronan could not help but press her on the matter.
Beneath it all lay a rational suspicion: his liege would never have made an employment offer to a 7th-rank Purifier without reason.
A woman who had deceived Decklin under the alias Renia Felt, and who might very well be the mastermind behind the failed assassination.
And now, didn’t she stand before his desk looking every bit the spy, peering about with suspicious intent?
“That is….”
Even my gaze upward trembled.
“I asked what you were doing.”
“….”
“Right in front of my desk.”
The woman was too busy breaking into a cold sweat to answer my question.
Indeed, something was amiss.
Perhaps His Excellency had extended the employment offer precisely to catch her in such suspicious circumstances.
“There’s nothing on my desk that Miss Freena would be looking for.”
“Yes, yes?”
The woman stammered.
“That’s not it….”
What tumbled from her lips next was nothing short of shocking.
“Aide, I believe you’re being embezzled from….”
At those words, Ronan’s expression shifted.
…What did she just say?

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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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