Pretending to Be Human Is Exhausting Again Today - Chapter 104

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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 104

“What do you mean by that? Weren’t you commissioned by Loreil?”

Ivan first revealed himself through an assassination contract targeting Deina.

Ruslara and Deina naturally assumed Ivan had appeared on Loreil’s orders.

Loreil was aware of Ivan’s existence, and the circumstances of his involvement were unmistakably clear.

But there was another client?

Ivan stepped back and spoke.

“I’ve never once mentioned my client. The Princess even granted me her understanding on that point, didn’t she?”

It sounded like wordplay, but it was true.

He had never claimed that all his commissions came from Loreil.

But that wasn’t what mattered.

“The Princess doesn’t know there’s a real mastermind behind the assassination!”

Pinpointing Loreil as the culprit and remaining vigilant against a mastermind yet to reveal themselves were entirely different matters.

Had Deina known earlier that the assassination’s mastermind wasn’t Loreil, she would have devised countermeasures.

At Ruslara’s pressing, Ivan scratched his cheek awkwardly.

“…I’ve said it countless times—I cannot reveal my client’s identity. Regardless of my affection for the Princess, I am an Assassin.”

Ruslara’s fury surged at his words.

“You…!”

To Ruslara, whose life had been saved, Ivan’s adherence to his creed felt like a betrayal.

Ruslara, emanating an ominous aura with her hand resting on her sword, prepared to dodge and flee at a moment’s notice. Watching Ivan’s defensive posture, Loreil let out a soft chuckle.

“The Princess must be having quite the ordeal. If she still had her former subordinates, such troubles wouldn’t arise.”

“What would you know about that… Wait, former subordinates?”

Ivan tilted his head in confusion at the cryptic remark.

Loreil deliberated for a moment before speaking, as though the matter was of little consequence.

“I witnessed the Princess’s past within the Countess’s dream. There were those with black hair and crimson eyes like mine. They all appeared to be her former subordinates, and they seemed far more reliable than you two.”

“…!”

Ivan and Ruslara drew their swords simultaneously—a reflexive reaction to the revelation that Deina’s identity had been exposed.

Yet Loreil simply gazed at them with caution and spoke.

“There’s no need to worry. I have no intention of exposing the Princess’s secret now.”

“…I’ve heard that you were obsessed with the Princess’s secrets, Lord Loreil.”

“That was in the past. I’m still curious, certainly, but it’s no longer necessary.”

‘What is he talking about now?’

Ruslara and Ivan exchanged glances simultaneously.

“It means I can now achieve what I desire without relying on the Princess. So there’s no reason to expose her.”

At those words, Ivan’s lips twisted into a sneer.

“Then why do you cling to the Princess? If you want nothing from her, why not simply stay out of her affairs?”

“…Cling?”

Loreil’s expression clouded momentarily, as though he hadn’t expected such a characterization.

“Yes. You may claim it’s coincidence that you keep becoming entangled with her, but your interest in the Princess is clearly abnormal. Don’t you feel it yourself?”

“That is…”

As if he had never given it thought before, Loreil fell silent for a moment.

Ivan, regarding him with irritation, sheathed his sword and spoke again.

“If you were merely bound by mutual interest, there’d be no reason to concern yourself like this. But right now, my lord, anyone can see you have ulterior motives.”

“Me? Ulterior motives toward her?”

“Of course there are… Ugh, really!”

Ivan scratched his head in frustration. Witnessing this, Ruslara felt a sudden pang of sympathy and spoke to Loreil on Ivan’s behalf.

“From our perspective, it seems clear that you do harbor ulterior motives, my lord. Truthfully, this is not our concern… but if it poses a threat to the Princess, the matter becomes different.”

“You think I would harm the Princess?”

“Even without malice, unintended consequences can arise. The less honest a person is with their own emotions, the worse the outcome tends to be.”

“…”

Confronted with Ruslara’s far more logical argument than Ivan’s, Loreil held his tongue.

Then, resting his chin in his hand, he began to ponder deeply.

“Ulterior motives, ulterior motives… I suppose that could be the case.”

With an expression like that of a student learning a new concept, both Ivan and Ruslara blinked in disbelief.

Then, a question occurred to Ivan, and he opened his mouth.

“So why did you come here? What’s your business?”

“…I have matters to discuss with the Princess.”

“What, you came to satisfy those ulterior motives again?”

Loreil started to deny it but hesitated. The thought crossed his mind that it wasn’t entirely untrue.

He let out a short, hollow laugh and brushed back his bangs.

“How foolish. To realize it so late….”

“What did you say?”

“Never mind. It’s not meant for your ears. Just take this.”

Loreil pulled a small letter from his pocket and tossed it to Ivan. When Ivan caught it and sent him a questioning look, Loreil spoke with a sigh in his voice.

“The Princess’s destination in the Direct Dominion has been decided. I’ve compiled information about that place. Since Your Highness lacks intelligence resources.”

“You’re doing this to look good?”

“Keep quiet. Even I think my excuse is pathetic.”

Then, as if unwilling to continue the conversation, he turned away.

But after taking a few steps, he suddenly stopped and turned his head back.

“Ivan, let me ask you one thing. Do you think a demon and a prince would suit each other?”

“What kind of nonsense is that? Have you been reading fairy tales?”

“Just answer.”

“Well….”

Ivan met Ruslara’s gaze. She wore an expression suggesting she had no idea what he was talking about.

When neither of them answered, Loreil chuckled softly and resumed walking.

Ivan, who had been staring blankly at his retreating figure, suddenly remembered something and asked Ruslara.

“Hey, did I just dig my own grave?”

“….”

Ruslara looked at Ivan as if he were a fool.

Leaving the Imperial Palace, Loreil made his way toward a small manor on the Capital Outskirts. It was a Safe House established by the Prime Minister’s Family, and he was going there to meet someone who had been hiding within its walls.

‘Sticky. Murky.’

Even as he rode, Ivan’s words continued to echo through his mind.

Perhaps because it was a matter he had never deeply contemplated before. His thoughts were tangled in disarray, refusing to be organized.

The reason I had unconsciously pursued her, my fascination with the power she possessed, curiosity from the past, her occasional displays of innocent and oblivious behavior, and the fake engagement proposal I had received….

‘Now that I think about it, I never gave her an answer about the engagement.’

When I first received the proposal, the shock was too great to even think about it. Since then, only I had agonized over whether to refuse or accept. Deina was behaving as though she had forgotten the matter entirely.

‘She probably thought I wanted to refuse. She’s keeping her distance to avoid forcing me into anything.’

That fact irritated me in a peculiar way.

The fact that she had assumed I would naturally refuse, the way she was maintaining distance out of consideration—none of it sat well with me.

At the same time, I was aware that this emotion was childish.

To be angry without reason meant this tangled feeling had nothing to do with rationality.

Intense emotion divorced from reason, the mistakes that arise from it… My past self would have surely hurled bitter criticism, declaring that my mind had become unsound.

The most absurd part was that I knew the answer to this emotion, yet I was deliberately turning away from it.

‘Good heavens, I never knew I could be this stubbornly foolish.’

As I quickened the reins, a wry smile escaped me. It was mockery directed at myself, still refusing to speak that word aloud until the very end.

‘When I see her next, I should give her an answer about the contractual engagement first.’

Yet once I acknowledged the problem, my heart felt lighter. The emotion that had made my demeanor ambiguous all this time finally seemed to have a name.

I found myself thinking that even a bat-like creature like Ivan had his uses at times.

‘Of course, that’s assuming I survive to return after this promise.’

Standing before the Safe House, I wiped the smile from my face and tensed my body.

The one waiting for me inside the Manor was someone I would need to stake my life against from the moment we met.

Just as I was about to open the door and step inside, a sharp scream pierced the air from somewhere distant.

“Aaahhhhh—!”

“…!”

Recognizing the voice as belonging to one of my Subordinates, Loreil quickened my pace. Upon reaching the room from which the screams emanated, I furrowed my brow at the sight before me.

“What in the world is this situation, Asmo-rina?”

In the center of the room stood a woman drenched in blood. Asmo-rina, shaking the crimson-stained purple hair from her face, caught sight of me and smirked.

“You came faster than I expected. I was planning to clean up these fools first, then set up a negotiation table.”

“You mean extortion, not negotiation. Using my Subordinate’s life as collateral.”

The blood coating Asmo-rina’s body was not hers. It belonged to the three or four Knights sprawled across the ground.

The fortunate part was that none of them were dead. Since she had used the word negotiation, she must have wanted to keep them alive.

Observing the groaning Knights, I spoke quietly.

“What’s the problem now? I thought our deal was still in progress.”

“You call that a deal?”

Asmo-rina furrowed her brow in irritation. With her anger, a formidable surge of magical power flowed forth, shaking the Manor violently.

“Human, you’re hiding something from me, aren’t you?”

I forced my expression into blankness to conceal my emotions as much as possible.

Asmo-rina glared at me with contempt and spoke.

“Lie to me, and I’ll kill you. Answer truthfully: is Asmodina at the Imperial Palace right now?”

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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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