Pretending to Be Human Is Exhausting Again Today - Chapter 10
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Struggling to Pretend to Be Human Today Episode 010
After that, I desperately made excuses to sort out the situation.
I said that Ruslara was crying because I had sponsored her with a large amount, and that I couldn’t respond to the knocking because I was too busy comforting her.
The knights seemed unconvinced, but thinking they couldn’t interrogate a princess, they withdrew saying they understood for now.
“Oh, gods…”
And I returned to the Separate Palace with Ruslara, who was still intoxicated by magic power.
I couldn’t leave her alone in that state.
She had been crying incessantly and eventually became dehydrated, fainting by the time we arrived at the Separate Palace.
After laying her on my bed, I collapsed onto the sofa. Liribel, who had helped move Ruslara, glanced at the bed and asked.
“Your Highness, what happened?”
“Well, you see…”
Normally I would have said it was nothing, but mentally exhausted as I was, I needed a companion to confide in.
I explained the situation appropriately.
Since Liribel thought of me as some kind of great dark mage, she understood easily.
“So… that person named Ruslara was actually a different race, and she accidentally saw you use dark magic and mistook you for someone else?”
“That’s right.”
Liribel nodded, saying such coincidences do happen. Then she looked at Ruslara’s sleeping face and exclaimed in admiration.
“But to think an arena fighter was such a beautiful woman…”
“That’s more surprising to you than her being a different race?”
“Well, this is my first time seeing a female warrior in real life. I’ve only seen them in fairy tales.”
True, unlike the Demon Realm where anyone with magic power was treated as a warrior, this world’s standards were quite conservative.
‘Wait, come to think of it, didn’t Loreil’s knights also not seem surprised to see Ruslara’s face?’
What surprised them was Ruslara praying, not her gender.
Suddenly, I recalled what the middle-aged knight had said when letting me into the rest area.
‘There won’t be any gossip, so don’t worry and go in.’
‘That reaction… he knew Ruslara was a woman.’
Of course, he wouldn’t have known she was a fairy. Even I can’t distinguish between humans and fairies by appearance alone.
But the fact that he knew Ruslara’s gender meant his superior, Loreil, had also noticed.
‘That cunning young master knew but still recommended I sponsor her.’
For Loreil, it was probably an act to gauge my reaction. If Loreil, who could detect magic power, had actually come along, something big might have happened. His busy schedule had saved me.
As I sighed in relief and was lost in various thoughts, I heard Ruslara’s voice from the bed.
“Where am I…?”
“You’re awake?”
I sat in the chair beside the bed.
Then I ordered Liribel to leave, saying I had something to discuss privately.
Ruslara sat up with a dazed expression.
‘A beauty is indeed a beauty.’
Her hair was disheveled and her eyes were swollen from tears, but she was still unrealistically beautiful.
Beautiful appearance was also a characteristic of the Baobhan sith, who bewitched enemies to steal their blood.
“My lord.”
“I told you not to call me that.”
The madness had disappeared but the memories seemed to remain. When I immediately denied it, Ruslara spoke with an awkward expression.
“But you are Lady Asmodina, aren’t you?”
‘As expected, she even knows my name.’
Ruslara’s conviction was too strong to deny. Moreover, she seemed to have seen my past appearance due to my magic power.
Magic power was the essence of the soul. Though it was a hallucination, what she saw was definitely me.
It was difficult to deny it now.
‘But this is strange, I don’t remember meeting Ruslara.’
I had countless subordinates under me, but the number of Baobhan sith was small. So I remembered all their faces and names, but Ruslara wasn’t among them.
“Ruslara.”
“Yes.”
“Setting aside my identity for now… where did you hear the name Asmodina? You’re not from that side.”
Now that I had figured out her identity, I asked in a casual tone. Ruslara nodded as if it didn’t matter much.
“Of course, I’ve never met Lady Asmodina directly. Instead, I heard about her deeds and appearance from my grandmother.”
“What’s your grandmother’s name?”
“Mihilda.”
‘She really was my subordinate.’
Mihilda was the name of the youngest among the Baobhan sith.
Had so much time passed since my death?
My chest felt heavy with complex emotions, whether sorrow or regret.
“Then why is Mihilda’s descendant in the Human World?”
“My family migrated to the Human World during my grandmother’s generation. Because my mother contracted magic sickness and couldn’t survive in the Demon Realm.”
Magic sickness was an incurable disease where one became weak from magic poisoning, a terrible illness that worsened just from breathing the air of the Demon Realm.
The Baobhan sith grandmother, Mihilda, had migrated to the Human Realm for her daughter’s survival.
“But the sun in the Human World was too strong. Outdoor activities became completely impossible.”
“Right, this is the Sun God’s domain after all.”
The sun above ground was several times more powerful than that of the Demon Realm. The elderly and weak couldn’t just avoid sunlight – they had to hide deep underground to survive.
“So we decided to settle in an abandoned mine. Fortunately, the underground of the Human World was rich in resources, so living wasn’t a problem. I could come up to the human world to buy whatever we lacked.”
Born in the Human Realm, Ruslara had some immunity to the sun, so despite being weaker than those born in the Demon Realm, she could engage in outdoor activities.
Their life was inconvenient but happy. However…
“The appearance of humans was the problem.”
“That’s right.”
What followed was as I had heard earlier.
The Baobhan sith couldn’t resist the humans because they had to hide their Demon Realm origins.
There were even priests among the group that found the abandoned mine, so they had no choice but to be helplessly victimized.
‘Not resisting was a wise choice.’
If their Demon Realm origins had been discovered, it wouldn’t have ended with just being driven out.
No matter how strong demons were, it was difficult to handle a group of humans.
“Fortunately, I disguised myself before being seen by the nobles, so my face wasn’t exposed. Thanks to that, I could avoid disgrace.”
“Disguise?”
“Like this.”
She roughly rubbed her face with her hand. Then her beautiful face changed to a strangely ordinary one.
“I knew Baobhan sith were masters of disguise, but… that wasn’t magic?”
“No, it’s a kind of physical ability. Though I’m inexperienced and can’t maintain it for long. That’s why I didn’t remove my helmet.”
‘True, that appearance would cause an uproar if discovered.’
Having returned her face to normal, she looked at me again with reverent eyes.
“I grew up hearing about Lady Asmodina from my grandmother since childhood. The Black Lion ornament was also made by my grandmother. She said Lady Asmodina would protect me…”
“Salvation is an exaggeration. It just happened by coincidence.”
The Baobhan sith and I were merely in a transactional relationship. I needed subordinates, and the Baobhan sith needed someone to depend on.
When I brushed it off, she smiled brightly.
“That’s exactly what my grandmother said too. She told me Lady Asmodina always deflects when receiving praise.”
‘Mihilda, that little one.’
It seemed she had created strange rumors in my absence.
I cleared my throat and returned to the topic.
“Anyway, I understand the situation. You need to win for the other Baobhan sith to be freed.”
“That’s right. But I keep making mistakes in important matches…”
She bowed her head, saying she was ashamed.
‘Not just once or twice, but every time such mistakes happen?’
Something smelled fishy.
I crossed my arms and fell into thought.
The option of taking away the emblem ornament she possessed was gone. I felt bad about taking away something my grandmother had given her.
Since she was none other than Mihilda’s granddaughter, I couldn’t treat her harshly.
​’Besides, her family is being held hostage.’
​I wanted to go find that abandoned mine and help them, but I lacked the power. Both as a princess and as a general.
​’Then there’s only one option left.’
​I looked at Ruslara, who still had a pale complexion.
​”Ruslara, do you really want to win?”
​”Yes, absolutely.”
​”You might face extremely difficult hardships, you know?”
​”I’m prepared for that.”
​If I couldn’t help directly, then I had no choice but to help Ruslara win and free her family.
​Besides, helping felt better than ignoring her.
​”Then I’ll help with your training. So you can win without losing to any interference.”
​”R-really?”
​”Why, don’t you want me to?”
​”No! Lady Asmodina, the god of war and savior, is going to train me! I’m so moved!”
​Seeing her face that looked ready to cry gave me a headache. I waved my hand before her emotion could deepen further.
​”No, don’t call me that. I’m not Asmodina right now in the first place.”
​”Huh? Then…”
​”I’m human. Asmodina died in the distant past, and now I’m trying to live a second life. I’m a perfect human named Deina.”
​Adding unnecessary details made my words grow longer and longer. Feeling awkward, I cleared my throat and finished my explanation.
​”So, call me Princess. Got it?”
​”Ah-“
​Then Ruslara clapped her hands and summarized it in one line.
​”That’s your setting, isn’t it?”
​”…This is real.”
​It seemed like she and I still had a long way to go in our relationship.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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