Pretending to Be Human Is Exhausting Again Today - Chapter 100

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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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Pretending to Be Human: Episode 100

It was something the Illusion would never say.

The Illusion showed the Countess every form she desired, yet there was one thing it could not say—that she had returned home.

Because the Illusion had never left the house, unlike the real Biki.

The words “I’ve returned” could only be spoken by a child who had truly departed and come back.

“Ah… ah.”

Life returned to the Countess’s eyes. For the first time, she seemed to truly perceive Biki, her voice growing clearer as she murmured.

“Good heavens, Biki, why are you…?”

Biki shook her head, a faint guilt washing over her.

“Mother. Please, just listen. We are now….”

But Biki was not the only one who noticed the Countess regaining her senses.

[Ahhhhh—]

[Ah!]

The fading Illusions began to advance toward them. As the Countess’s longing dimmed, their forms seemed to crumble.

“What is that…?”

But they could not reach the bedside. Deina, who had entered the Glass Box at some point, blocked their path.

“It’s alright, Biki. Continue.”

Deina smiled gently, shielding them with her wings.

Biki approached the bewildered Countess and clasped her hand.

“Mother, it’s time to wake up.”

“Wake up? You mean… leave this dream?”

“Yes, we must return now.”

Yet the Countess’s expression remained clouded. She hesitated, her lips trembling slightly, before reaching out to caress Biki’s face.

“But Biki, you’ve already… in reality….”

“It’s all right, Mother. I will always be by your side.”

Biki offered a faint smile at the warmth of the Countess’s touch—something she hadn’t felt in years.

“I know I am dead. But as a spirit, I will always watch over you.”

Of course, Biki would return as an invisible spirit, and the Countess would never again hold her daughter in her arms. The fact of Biki’s death would not change.

The Countess, knowing this truth, spoke with a trembling voice.

“If you stay here, I can always be with you. I can erase all the pain, all the sorrow….”

Biki shook her head.

“That’s not what I want. All I wish for is that you awaken from this dream.”

The Countess’s eyes wavered. Biki took a moment to steady herself, then continued.

“Yes, it hurt when I died. It was sorrowful and painful. If I could return to the past, I would wish for it. But I cannot. I cannot ignore tomorrow forever.”

This was the very lesson parents should teach their children—to forget yesterday and move forward into tomorrow.

“I want you to return to reality, Mother. I don’t want you bound to us any longer.”

“…But won’t you be sad?”

The Countess asked carefully.

“Will you truly be all right if I stop grieving?”

Biki hesitated for a moment, then offered a gentle smile.

“Yes. Mother’s happiness is our happiness too.”

It was the wish of Biki, of Father, of my Sisters.

The Countess closed her eyes tightly. The tears she had held back for so long finally spilled down her cheeks.

“That’s right. It was only Mother who yearned for the dream. And yet you’ve been waiting all this time for Mother’s sake….”

She quickly wiped away her tears and continued, her gaze now clear and resolute.

“I cannot disappoint our youngest any longer.”

The moment her longing and attachment to the dream vanished, the world began to crumble slowly.

The Illusions that had tried to hold her faded like mist, leaving no trace behind.

The ornate walls of the Bedroom crumbled like a sandcastle, and the Ground itself sank quietly. A sense of weightlessness—the kind that comes when awakening from a dream to reality—engulfed everyone present.

“Mother.”

“What is it, Biki?”

In that crumbling world, Biki grasped the Countess’s hand.

“I love you.”

“…Mother loves you too, dear.”

“And thank you for protecting me.”

“….”

Her voice grew thick with emotion as she murmured.

“Thank you for waiting for Mother, Biki.”

With those words, the long dream—woven from both happiness and tragedy—finally drew to a quiet close.

The moment my eyes opened, I was greeted by Ruslara and Ivan, both wearing expressions of urgency.

I stopped them before they could whisk me away to the Imperial Palace and asked a question.

“How long was I unconscious?”

Ivan laughed with a hollow sound and answered.

“Unconscious? You were only out for about five minutes. What, did you have a dream in that time?”

As I’d suspected, barely any time had passed in reality.

Incidentally, both Ivan and Ruslara said they had no recollection of the darkness that had seized them just before we were separated.

‘Either their memories have vanished, or that too was an illusion….’

In any case, I rose from my position and immediately ordered Ruslara to search the Manor while instructing Ivan to assess the situation outside.

Shortly after, Ruslara discovered Loreil in another basement, having regained consciousness just as I had.

Fortunately, Loreil also retained memories of what had transpired in the dream, so we were able to exchange a brief account of events.

Loreil, like me, had come to this place immediately upon receiving the letter. But unlike me, who had fallen into the basement from before the door, he said the staircase leading up to the second floor had collapsed, sending him tumbling into the basement below.

‘Strange fellow, this one. He came here alone based on nothing but a mysterious letter.’

The letter must have weighed heavily on his mind indeed.

Still, I wondered if the heir to the Prime Minister’s Family could really afford to wander about without a Guard Knight.

As I was turning this thought over in my mind, I noticed Loreil gazing at me intently.

“…What are you looking at?”

“Indeed, this is better.”

“Better? What do you mean?”

But he didn’t answer. Instead, he let out a soft chuckle and walked past me.

“The Countess should be upstairs. I’ll have someone bring her down, so please escort her outside.”

“Wait, you haven’t answered my question——”

“Let’s say the Countess recovered from an illness of unknown origin. I’ll also send word to the County of Adonia.”

Loreil left me with those parting words and swept out the door without another glance.

As I stood speechless at his audacious departure, Ruslara beside me spoke hesitantly.

“The atmosphere has changed.”

“You feel it too, Ruslara?”

“Yes, he seems somewhat more… human than before.”

It wasn’t the most precise description, but I couldn’t think of anything better.

There was a vitality to him now, perhaps? His expressions and eyes conveyed emotion far more vividly than before.

After sending Loreil on his way, Ruslara and I made our way to the second floor. Just as he’d said, I found the Countess lying in bed.

Unlike the vision I’d seen in the dream, she appeared terribly gaunt.

The Countess recognized me and asked in a faint voice.

“Are you… Princess Deina?”

“Yes, Countess. Your daughter, Biki, called for me.”

I gave her a brief account of how Biki had summoned Loreil and me through her letter, and of the efforts I’d made to awaken her from the dream.

At first, she listened to my explanation with a bewildered expression, then closed her eyes for a moment to collect herself. When she spoke again, her voice was weak.

“I see… the dream has ended.”

“You must be dizzy from just waking up. Loreil said he’d have someone brought here, so——”

“No, I understand the situation.”

She struggled to sit up on the bed, her movements labored.

Then she swung her legs over the edge to step down. But after lying in bed for so long, her body wouldn’t obey her will.

As I moved to help her, she spoke with firm resolve.

“No, I’ll stand on my own.”

Gathering her strength, she rose to her feet and stood before me with her spine perfectly straight. Grasping the hem of her skirt, she offered a bow with flawless grace.

The movement was so impeccably executed that I could truly understand why she had once been called the flower of High Society.

“It is an honor to meet you, Princess Deina, Child of the Sun. Please forgive my rudeness in not greeting you first.”

Her gaze was so steady and resolute that it was hard to believe she had been lost in dreams mere moments ago.

“I am deeply grateful for saving my life. I swear upon my family’s name that I shall repay this debt.”

As I was about to stop her, I finally understood.

This was the most sincere courtesy she could show me.

Though her body had grown frail, her dignity remained untarnished.

Recognizing that I could not dismiss her resolve, I returned her bow.

“I forgive your rudeness, Countess of Adonia. And I look forward to your repayment.”

“It is my honor.”

“….”

“….”

We straightened again and regarded each other for a moment, then broke into quiet laughter.

“…?”

Only Ruslara, unable to grasp the situation, widened her eyes in bewilderment.

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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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