Pretending to Be Human Is Exhausting Again Today - Chapter 114

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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 114

After the meeting concluded, I remained alone in my room, lost in contemplation.

It was because of what Chloe had conveyed.

‘Dragging me to Hell? Me? Who would I be dragging?’

The Lake Deity did not speak falsehoods, though he might convey twisted truths. His words surely held meaning.

‘His tone was strange. As if someone else had already fallen to Hell, not just me…’

Yet surely I alone had fallen to Hell.

As I remained absorbed in these thoughts, someone opened the door to my room and entered.

“Your Highness, the Princess.”

“Loreil?”

It was Loreil, whom I thought had already departed.

“May I enter?”

“Of course. What brings you here?”

He seated himself in the chair across from me, then hesitated briefly before speaking.

“I came because there is something I wish to clarify from what I said earlier. I could not speak of it before the others.”

“What do you wish to clarify?”

“Regarding the contract I made with Asmo-rina.”

Still uncertain of his meaning, I tilted my head, and he continued softly.

“There were two things she desired from me. First, forged credentials to move freely throughout the Empire, and second, information about Your Highness, the Princess. Similarly, I imposed two conditions upon her.”

“Hmm? But earlier you only mentioned one purpose—that you sought her power.”

“That’s correct. However, there was another reason. The remaining truth is something I wish to reveal only to the Princess here, in this very moment.”

Unable to comprehend his meaning, I regarded him with a bewildered expression.

“I understand to some extent the circumstances that led Loreil to contract with Asmo-rina. So there’s no need to delve into personal matters.”

Loreil’s position in the political circles was precarious. Though he bore the title of Prime Minister’s Heir, he received no protection from the Prime Minister himself, and vicious rumors dogged him from all sides.

In such circumstances, when transcendent power appeared before his eyes, reaching for it would have been the natural choice.

‘I would likely have made the same bargain with Asmo-rina. She’s so simple-minded, after all—easy to manipulate.’

Rather, I held him in high regard for never selling my information and gaining only what benefited him.

Yet Loreil spoke with unwavering resolve.

“No. I wish to tell you. At least regarding the matter of Asmo-rina, I want to reveal everything to the Princess without reservation.”

“Well… if that’s what you wish.”

I couldn’t fathom what had driven him to this resolve, but I had no grounds to stop him when he insisted on speaking.

When I nodded, he slowly opened his mouth.

“What I sought from her was regarding my origins… the true nature of my soul.”

“Your origins? You mean concerning your parents?”

Suddenly, the rumor that Loreil was the Prime Minister’s half-brother surfaced in my mind.

“No, it was about my true identity. I needed to know whether I was human or a Demon.”

“A Demon?”

At this unexpected suspicion, I let out an involuntary laugh.

“Loreil is not a Demon. I can prove it.”

“Yes, Asmo-rina mentioned the same thing. She said she couldn’t sense any magical power from me. Though I couldn’t be certain I was human either.”

Loreil suddenly unfastened the top button of his shirt. Then he grasped my hand and brought it to his neck.

“Wait, just a moment. What is this….”

“Focus on your fingertips. Don’t you feel something?”

“…?”

Following his words, I concentrated on my fingertips. A strange energy brushed against my hand.

‘Magical power? No, this is… a curse?’

As I faltered, he revealed the truth.

“It’s a leash.”

“A leash?”

“Yes, it’s a spiritual shackle my parents use when issuing commands.”

“….”

Faced with such an unbelievable truth, I remained silent for a long moment.

A binding spell that enslaves the soul—it was a high-level magic that only a select few in the Demon Realm could even handle.

“As long as this exists, I cannot refuse my parents’ commands. If they wish it, they can inflict pain on me anywhere, at any time.”

‘A contract where disobedience brings suffering… that’s why it felt like a curse. The mechanism is similar.’

But something troubled me.

Such shackles were originally magic that only worked on souls of considerable weight. If a soul was as light as a human’s, no matter how powerful the binding, it wouldn’t function properly.

Rather, the soul should have been crushed beneath the weight of the magic itself, annihilated entirely.

‘Then does Loreil’s soul possess enough weight to withstand such a shackle?’

Loreil spoke while observing my bewilderment.

“Asmo-rina was equally startled when she saw my shackle. She said it was magic that a human soul couldn’t bear.”

“…I think the same way.”

This alone was sufficient grounds to suspect I wasn’t human.

“Moreover, that’s not the only reason. Since birth, I’ve never once felt like a human.”

When I sent him a questioning look, he smiled bitterly.

“It’s difficult to express in words. For example, every single physiological function of humans irritates me. Waking in the morning and drinking water, squinting at the sunlight, feeling the cold…everything feels foreign and unpleasant.”

Loreil paused to choose his words carefully.

“It’s as if I’m born anew each day as a different being. Everything feels unfamiliar, like I’m merely imitating it all. I’m not sure if I’ve conveyed this well.”

“No, I understand. I experienced something similar once.”

Loreil’s eyes widened as if asking whether I’d had such an experience.

“When I was reborn, I felt that same sensation. After spending half my life bedridden, the feeling of moving my body directly was truly foreign.”

But if there was a difference, it was that for me those sensations brought joy and happiness, while for Loreil they brought only alienation and displeasure.

In any case, I now understood what he meant by “the sensation of being human.”

Combined with that mysterious shackle, I could now understand why he believed himself to be something other than human.

‘I would have doubted my past life too. Or perhaps possession.’

Could the rumors be true? Was he truly a Demon, or something equally otherworldly?

It was far too complex a matter to conclude without any concrete evidence.

‘…Wait, now that I think about curses, something comes to mind.’

My first meeting with Loreil suddenly surfaced in my memory—the moment when a spider-shaped curse appeared as he tried to speak of his past, draining his life force.

“Loreil, did you perhaps receive orders not to speak of certain secrets?”

“No such complicated orders were given to me, but….”

“What about your dead brother?”

Loreil’s expression froze cold.

“…It wasn’t Father, but Mother who gave me such an order.”

“What was it like?”

He hesitated, as if uncertain whether he should speak, before finally opening his mouth.

“Mother believes my brother Jorgue never died. More precisely, within your mind, I am known as Jorgue.”

“What do you mean by that… You’re saying she’s mistaking you for your brother?”

“Yes. Mother calls me Jorgue and believes she has only one son.”

A sigh escaped me unbidden. To fill the void left by the dead with the living—such a thing should never occur, not even on the battlefield.

When I found myself unable to continue, Loreil resumed his explanation.

“There was a time when Mother would remind me every time we met. You are Jorgue, she would say, so you must never deny him. I remember the shackle activating faintly at that moment.”

“…So Mother actually knows your brother is dead.”

The very fact that she issued such an order was proof that deep within her heart, she acknowledged his death.

Loreil offered a bitter smile. It was his way of refusing to answer.

‘Then the curse must be one of the shackle’s effects. When Loreil speaks of his brother’s death and tries to deny being Jorgue, it manifests and torments him.’

Unlike the method of inflicting pain for disobeying orders, the curse that drained his life force had a clear purpose.

‘If you cannot live as Jorgue, then die instead… How horrifying.’

This was the first time I had encountered a human who disregarded family bonds to such a degree. Even the Demon Clan, whose familial ties were tenuous, would never go this far.

I drew a deep breath and rose from my seat.

“Ah… now I understand. Why Loreil came to doubt his own identity, and why he had no choice but to join hands with Asmo-rina.”

“I’m glad it’s clear to you. …But why are you standing up?”

“Just stay still for a moment. First, I need to brush off this profane thing.”

From our conversation about Jorgue, a terrible curse had manifested itself upon Loreil’s shoulder.

It bore the form of a spider—grotesque and unsettling—the same one I had encountered when I first laid eyes on him.

Before we could continue our discussion, I had to dispel the curse first.

“Tch—!”

I channeled faint demonic energy into my fist and struck the curse with all my might.

This time, thanks to my restraint, there were no side effects.

Loreil’s eyes widened at the sudden punch.

“…This feels oddly familiar somehow.”

“Same here. Are you planning to greet me next time with a carriage full of holy relics?”

“Not anymore.”

We locked eyes and burst into laughter simultaneously.

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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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