Pretending to Be Human Is Exhausting Again Today - Chapter 13

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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 013

“…I’m not sure what you mean.”

The Empress quickly regained her bright expression, but I had already confirmed my suspicions about her true intentions.

‘The Empress must have already set her sights on Loreil as Jeina’s betrothed.’

From what I’d heard, Loreil had suddenly ascended to the position of heir when his older brother died young, and he hadn’t yet secured an appropriate betrothed.

My younger sister Jeina, on the other hand, had no shortage of betrothal candidates.

Unlike me, who hadn’t even found a partner at my debut ball, she could choose one immediately if she so desired.

‘But Jeina is such an exceptional child that the Empress wouldn’t be satisfied with just any ordinary candidate.’

I already knew that the Empress doted on Jeina. She had barely spoken a word to me in my childhood, yet she treasured Jeina like a precious gem.

In any case, the heir of the Prime Minister’s Family, Loreil, had appeared before such an Empress.

I covered my smiling mouth with my hand so as not to appear rude, and spoke to the Empress.

“I also think Jeina and Loreil make a wonderful match.”

“Then why are you….”

“You don’t need to be wary of me, ‘Mother’. I’m her older sister—I’m capable of at least wishing for my younger sister’s happiness.”

“….”

The smile vanished from the Empress’s face. Her expressionless countenance, which I had never seen before, seemed to bring a chill into the cozy greenhouse.

“I’ve been perplexed since earlier. I find myself genuinely curious about what Princess Deina is thinking and what her true intentions are.”

“You’re worried that I might become entangled with Loreil, aren’t you? But Loreil is the one you’ve already marked as Jeina’s betrothed.”

“That’s precisely why I don’t understand why Jeina would even come up in this conversation.”

I had expected her to ask something like why I was targeting Loreil, but instead, she posed an unexpectedly straightforward question.

I caressed the cooling teacup, gathering my thoughts.

“Well, this situation would become problematic if it weren’t for Jeina’s sake.”

“…?”

“This entire circumstance was orchestrated by His Majesty the Emperor. He commanded Loreil to assist me, after all. His true intention was likely….”

I took a sip of tea and continued.

“After I successfully return to high society, he intends to link me romantically with Loreil.”

The Empress did not deny it.

The gossip-loving nobility would inevitably inflate the cooperation between two unmarried individuals into countless rumors.

The Emperor, seasoned in political intrigue, could not possibly have failed to anticipate this.

‘From the Emperor’s perspective, he captures two birds with one stone. He can plant a member of the Imperial Family within a rival faction’s house, and his discarded daughter suddenly gains utility.’

The reason I was shocked when Loreil first sought me out was that I had never considered he might lack a spouse.

Once I learned he was unmarried, the Emperor’s intentions became abundantly clear.

‘Of course, he never genuinely believed Loreil and I would prosper together. If it happens, all the better; if not, he simply discards me.’

“Yet Your Majesty the Empress sought to separate Loreil and me. Despite how it might appear to contradict His Majesty’s will.”

“….”

“You would never have overlooked the risks of exposure… so you must have prepared an excuse.”

A legitimate reason compelling enough to obstruct the Emperor’s scheme.

The answer was already predetermined.

“One princess’s failure can be offset by another princess’s success.”

A justification that would resonate with an Emperor who views people not as human beings, but as expendable resources.

Without a rational alternative, he was the type of man who would cast aside even the Empress without hesitation if she became an obstacle to his plans.

‘Our siblings number three brothers and two sisters. If not me, then Jeina would naturally claim that position.’

The Emperor would accept such an excuse.

Or perhaps he might even prefer Jeina’s certain success over my uncertain prospects.

“That’s why I believed the Empress approached me for Jeina’s sake. If that weren’t the case, there would be no excuse the Emperor would find acceptable.”

“…Is there more?”

“Well, the way you called Loreil ‘kun’ so familiarly was also suspicious. You were deliberately showing closeness. And summoning me at this hour seemed odd as well.”

“Why the hour?”

“When someone arranges a sudden meeting for negotiations, their true intent falls into one of two categories.”

I raised my index and middle fingers as I spoke.

“Either I’m in a hurry, or I want to put the other party in a hurry.”

“…And in my case?”

“Likely the latter. Your Majesty the Empress lacks for nothing, so there would be no reason for you to be in a hurry.”

And such an intention suggested there was something fishy about this negotiation.

‘Only a fool wouldn’t be suspicious.’

I drained the remaining tea and regarded the Empress.

Her expression was cold, devoid of any smile, yet I felt oddly more at ease than before.

I had no talent for conversing with a smile with someone who might become my enemy. I preferred this—meeting her with such directness.

“So, Your Majesty the Empress, there’s no need to hide from me. What you and I desire is the same.”

“What could that be?”

“I wish to return to high society, but I have no desire to become engaged to Loreil.”

The Empress’s pupils trembled faintly. She looked incredulous.

‘Loreil is certainly the finest suitor if one considers only his background. But I’ve had the wrong footing with that man from the very beginning.’

He suspects me of being a Demon. There was no possibility whatsoever that our relationship would develop into an engagement.

Besides, what I truly wanted was freedom under the guise of an engagement—not an actual marriage partner.

“If Your Majesty desires it, I shall gladly yield Loreil to you.”

“You would refuse Loreil and accept my assistance instead?”

“Yes. I need only tell Loreil that circumstances prevent it. And truthfully, Your Majesty would prove far more valuable to me.”

Ah, and I added, lest she forget—

“Not the hollow assistance you offered just now, but genuine help when I truly need it.”

As the greatest sun in high society, surely such things were entirely within her reach.

The Empress fell silent for a moment at my words, then the corners of her mouth lifted.

“…Ha.”

Whether it was a scoff or an expression of exasperation, she laughed shortly, then rested her chin on her hand with her elbow propped upon the table.

“I never imagined Princess Deina could be so shrewd. I thought my own performance was quite convincing, but apparently I left so many openings.”

“It was merely a fortunate guess. I do tend to be rather suspicious by nature.”

“A fortunate guess, you say….”

She narrowed her eyes.

“Had I known Princess Deina was this sort of person earlier, I would have taken measures before you entered the Separate Palace.”

‘Whether that means she should have eliminated me beforehand, or made me her ally instead.’

I didn’t bother asking further.

“Very well, I accept. This approach should also help us avoid the Emperor’s wrath.”

I, who had been a discarded piece, would reclaim my position as Princess, while Jeina would gain an excellent husband in Loreil.

For the Emperor, it was the ideal outcome, so the Empress had no reason to refuse.

“Then, what assistance does Princess Deina require?”

“First….”

I explained what I needed in simple terms. The Empress seemed displeased with a few points, but ultimately accepted them all.

“Since I was the one who initially tried to deceive Princess Deina, I’ll bear the losses this time.”

“I appreciate your consideration.”

It took us dozens of minutes to deduce each other’s positions, but concluding the negotiation was swift. We finalized our agreement and rose from our seats with satisfied expressions.

Then, as if the Empress had just remembered something, she asked.

“By the way, may I ask one more thing?”

“Yes?”

“It seems that if I showed sincerity, you would have readily accepted my proposal… Why is that? Don’t you dislike me? Don’t you dislike us?”

I answered without the slightest hesitation.

“I do dislike you. There’s no reason I wouldn’t.”

“….”

“It’s simply that this was necessary for me to live as Princess Deina.”

Had I abandoned the title of Princess and forsaken Deina, perhaps I could have lived a more comfortable life.

But I chose to remain in the Imperial Palace.

To do so, I needed to bow my head before the Empire’s two suns.

The Empress fell silent, and I grasped the door handle to leave the Greenhouse.

“…Ah, since I’ve been asked questions, may I pose one to Your Majesty the Empress as well?”

“Go ahead.”

“The person on the tree in the corner of the Greenhouse—that’s a Guard Knight, isn’t it?”

The Empress flinched in surprise. From my perspective, it was such sloppy concealment that I wondered if she’d even bothered to hide him, but regardless, he wasn’t the important one.

“That’s correct. How did you…?”

“Then the person clinging to the Greenhouse ceiling like a spider isn’t a guard, is it?”

“…What?”

In that instant, I saw the Guard Knight on the tree launch himself toward the ceiling. But the Ceiling Spy hiding up there wasn’t foolish enough to wait—the moment my words left my lips, they fled through the window.

‘It seems the Ceiling Spy is the stronger of the two.’

Inwardly praising their remarkably swift movements, I left the Greenhouse, abandoning the Empress to her gaping silence.

“Until next time, Your Majesty the Empress.”

She did not return my greeting.

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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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