Pretending to Be Human Is Exhausting Again Today - Chapter 116

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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 116
Ivan, who stood beside me, also sensed the peculiarity, his brow furrowing as he muttered under his breath.
“Something’s off. The people here… they’re not ordinary.”
“In what way?”
“I’m not sure. They’re not particularly strong, but…”
I shared his sentiment.
Among those inside the tavern, I detected no one radiating formidable power. An ordinary tavern filled with ordinary people. Yet something about it nagged at me inexplicably.
As Ivan and I surveyed our surroundings, a familiar voice suddenly emerged from a table in the corner of the tavern.
“Your Highness, here.”
The Countess of Adonia sat alone at that table. Though she wore an evening gown that clashed with the chaotic tavern atmosphere, the people around her paid her no attention whatsoever.
As if she didn’t exist in that space at all.
As we approached cautiously, the Countess gracefully offered me a seat.
“Please, sit.”
I took the chair while Ivan positioned himself behind me.
The Countess spoke, observing the robe I wore.
“You may remove it if you wish. No one at this table will see you.”
True to her word, when I removed my robe, no one reacted. It felt as though I had concealed myself with illusion magic.
“How did you manage this? Did you issue orders beforehand?”
“Orders? Quite the opposite. I issued nothing at all—they simply go about their business normally.”
“…?”
Upon seeing my bewildered expression, she smiled faintly.
“Before I reveal this tavern’s secret, I must share my own story first. That is the true reason I’ve brought you here.”
I had indeed wondered why she chose to meet in a tavern rather than at the Count’s Estate.
When I nodded to show I was ready to listen, the Countess turned briefly behind her.
“But first, is my daughter present here?”
She seemed to be searching for Biki, the necromancer who had become a specter. I glanced behind her for a moment before nodding.
“Yes, she is. Though she’s expended considerable energy and hasn’t maintained a solid form. She clings like a shadow.”
Her presence was uncertain, like a spirit of darkness, yet I could sense Biki’s essence.
It was a remarkable phenomenon, though not entirely surprising. That a human with talent in necromancy would retain such power even after becoming a specter.
“Still, she hasn’t abandoned her mother.”
The Countess wore a sorrowful expression for a moment before composing herself and meeting my gaze once more.
“First, how much do you know about House of Adonia?”
“I know it was extraordinarily renowned in High Society ten years ago. That you were the flower of society…”
“Precisely. At that time, the Empire’s High Society was virtually within my grasp.”
She showed no inclination toward false modesty, continuing with confidence.
“The debutante ball I attended was the highest honor, and countless dressmakers lined up to create my gowns. Back then, I was a flower more exalted than the Empire’s First Lady herself.”
Naturally, the Empire’s First Lady could only be the Empress. The Emperor, with rare exception, had never taken concubines.
Yet the Countess claimed her influence had surpassed even that of the Empress.
‘She’s not exaggerating, surely. Even Viscount Gorden seemed to know of her…”
But this story wasn’t brought up merely for boasting. I waited quietly for what came next.
“In truth, House of Adonia was never a family of great power. We possessed neither wealth, nor reputation, nor history. Yet the moment I became the lady of this house, everything changed.”
She closed her eyes as though reminiscing about the past.
“Your Highness, what do you believe is necessary to dominate High Society?”
I hesitated briefly at the sudden question before answering.
“Perhaps influence? Or an undeniable background.”
“A perceptive answer. The ecology of High Society dictates that one becomes kind to those with strong backing and opens their mouth to those with influence. But that is merely a virtue for surviving in High Society, not a tool for dominating it.”
“Then what do you believe it is, Countess?”
“Information.”
She opened her eyes once more. Those blue irises, resembling the Imperial Family’s yet deeper in hue, gleamed with the sharp killing intent of a warrior stepping onto the battlefield.
“It need not be some grand secret. Even the most trivial information becomes a weapon in High Society. Their favorite foods, preferred dress styles, family gossip, quarrels with friends… the accumulation of such small details is what matters.”
Remembering a husband’s forgotten wedding anniversary, secretly revealing a quarreled friend’s weakness, discovering forbidden books one had been collecting in secret—such small favors and alliances.
She explained how these accumulated into power.
‘Isn’t that obvious?’
Yet I could not nod easily. Anyone knows that information is necessary. The problem lay in the difficulty of obtaining truly useful information in abundance.
Knowing information and actually obtaining it are entirely different matters.
As though reading my thoughts, she spoke.
“It may sound like grasping at clouds. But I possessed the power to gather information. That power was….”
Like this, the Countess said, clapping her hands together.
In that instant, silence descended upon the tavern.
“…!”
“What, what is this?”
In a silence so complete that even breathing became inaudible, Ivan and I simultaneously surveyed our surroundings.
The patrons who had been drinking and singing moments before were all watching us. They still held their cups in hand, yet none brought them to their lips. It was as though time itself had stopped.
The Countess glanced at them and spoke.
“These are all my informants. Each one is an Imperial citizen living in different parts of the realm, and an actor.”
“An actor?”
“When my orders come down, they perform flawless acting regardless of their station or profession. The reason this tavern appeared ordinary, the reason this silence is so perfect… it is all thanks to them.”
Only then did I comprehend the true nature of the feeling I had experienced upon entering this tavern.
This was no tavern—it was a stage filled with actors.
“Nobles who operate information networks have been mistaken from the start. By focusing solely on planting spies to extract information, they overlooked the most crucial element: concealment.”
She held up an empty cup from the table that no one had touched, gesturing with it as she continued.
“Spies inevitably get caught. Their purpose is to steal information, which makes them inherently suspicious. But actors are different. They behave as though they belong exactly where they are.”
As her words concluded, several patrons resumed drinking as though nothing had happened. Laughter gradually returned. Even the silence from moments before had been part of the performance.
I felt my skin crawl. I had never witnessed acting of such perfection, even in the Demon Realm.
“Information is not stolen—it is overheard. Chance conversations encountered while living one’s daily life, unexpected encounters, such scenes must be orchestrated to avoid suspicion.”
“Then the actors’ purpose is not espionage, but….”
“To live their daily lives ordinarily. That is how one obtains a first-rate informant. Therefore, I gathered not spies skilled in concealment, but actors skilled in performance. I cultivated them for decades and dispatched them throughout the Empire.”
A farmer who had served a village for years.
A virtuous bridegroom who married through a friend’s introduction.
A regular patron of the tavern whose hearty laughter left an impression.
A Chamberlain with such excellent social grace that the young master follows him like an older brother.
They did not venture out searching for information. Instead, they lived their daily lives with sincerity—tilling fields, drinking wine, attending to their master.
And then, one day, they would quietly relay something they happened to overhear.
Thus, the ordinary intelligence they gathered became the Countess’s strength.
‘If she has been cultivating actors for decades… when exactly did she begin her preparations?’
Perhaps even before her marriage, before she became the Countess of Adonia, she had already begun.
And with enough personnel to dominate High Society itself.
“Yet despite possessing such intelligence, I could not contend with calamity on such a scale. Misfortune arrived without warning, as if to mock my efforts.”
The Countess paused to collect herself. Recalling the past still caused her pain.
“I could not even discover the source of my misfortune. Whether someone had cursed me or if it was truly the will of the Deity… I could not uncover it with my own power. That is why I placed my Theater Troupe on indefinite standby and disappeared.”
“….”
“But I can no longer remain idle. For my daughter Biki’s sake, and for my revenge.”
She suddenly rose from her seat and approached my side. Then, as a Knight would, she knelt on one knee.
“M-Madam?”
Startled, I tried to help her up, but she fixed me with a resolute gaze and spoke.
“My Theater Troupe remains intact. I can provide the Princess with the information and strength she requires. So please.”
Her eyes held a tangle of anger and sorrow.
“Help me with my revenge. And… please ensure my daughter never cries again.”

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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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