Pretending to Be Human Is Exhausting Again Today - Chapter 136

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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 136
“Lili… So, I came here to meet the child living in this house. That child gave a gift to the Princess, and I wanted to convey her appreciation. But then….”
Having received a full account of the situation, Ruslara crossed her arms and fell into thought.
‘So Ivan’s organization was powerful enough to make him serious—they tried to abduct the residents of Monos without anyone knowing.’
She had heard about it during the morning meeting, but it was still a situation difficult to comprehend.
Even though all but their leader had been defeated by Ivan, their skills were said to rank among the finest in the Empire.
So why on earth would such people infiltrate Monos?
‘I’ll need to hear the true circumstances from that leader.’
Ruslara gazed at the bloodied Intruder lying in the corner of the room. With so many wounds covering his body, she worried he might die from blood loss.
‘But that man… I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere before.’
His face was smeared with blood, so she couldn’t be certain, but an uncanny sense of familiarity nagged at her.
After ordering a Soldier to bind the man securely and take him to the Manor, Ruslara spoke to Ivan, who still looked utterly dejected.
“First, since you seem to be under a misunderstanding… they didn’t die.”
“…What?”
“The people that Soldier just took away—none of them died. The Couple who were in the sack, and the girl named Lili—all are safe.”
“…!”
Ivan shot to his feet.
His eyes regained their usual light.
“Is that true? Lili didn’t die? But… but she wasn’t breathing properly….”
“Whether by fortune or miracle, they avoided fatal wounds. Lili’s injuries are more severe than her parents’, but there’s no danger to her life.”
In truth, had Ivan reported to headquarters even slightly earlier, they might not have suffered such grievous wounds. The wounds had opened, and her breathing had become shallow.
But Ruslara chose not to voice that thought.
‘As long as they’re alive, that’s what matters.’
The very fact that an Assassin like Ivan had become focused on protecting people gave this incident meaning.
“The Soldier will handle the rest. Come outside. We’re not finished yet. You’re not tired already, are you?”
“I’m not tired, but what are we going to do?”
Ruslara’s lips curved into a smirk.
“We need to raid their Hideout. Shouldn’t we make them answer for laying hands on our Princess’s Direct Dominion?”
Ivan wasn’t the only one who was angry. Fury gleamed in Ruslara’s eyes.
“Do you know the location?”
“We’ll find out starting now.”
“How will you….”
“Don’t you remember? My ability.”
The moment Ruslara finished speaking, magical energy flowed from her body.
Baban Si—a fairy skilled in mind control and blood drinking.
She spoke while watching the enemy being dragged toward the Manor.
“My abilities are inferior compared to my kin, and I have many limitations… but making someone reveal their Hideout’s location is simple.”
And she added, as an afterthought, that today’s dawn would be their last.

* * *
Morning.
The moment I opened my eyes, I received a shocking report.
I had gone to bed early due to being swamped with work all day, and apparently something major had unfolded while I slept.
“What? You caught an unidentified kidnapper, and they turned out to be one of the Emperor’s Imperial Guard? And you’ve already captured all of their associates?”
Every word I heard before even washing my face was shocking.
It was absurd enough that the one kidnapping villagers was an Imperial Guard, but to learn they’d all been captured and imprisoned while I slept was even more bewildering.
I stared at Ivan and Ruslara, who were reporting with expressions of utter bewilderment.
“Wait, if something like that happened, you should have woken me! No matter how urgent the situation was….”
“Well, about that, Your Highness. We did try to wake you.”
Ivan continued, gauging my reaction.
“Don’t you remember last night? We came to wake you, but you told us to handle it and went back to sleep.”
“…I did that?”
I couldn’t believe I’d said something like that in my sleep, and I had no memory of it. I quickly turned to Liribel, who was tidying my bedding. She smiled wryly and nodded.
“I heard from the night watch that you said that to Count Iwan and sent him away, Your Highness.”
“Good heavens, I had no idea… I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking clearly.”
As I apologized, Ruslara quickly shook her head.
“Not at all. We judged that we could handle the situation on our own, so we share responsibility for not asking you a second time.”
She gave a brief cough and then redirected the conversation.
“In any case, those hiding in the hideout were part of the same group. We captured all of them and locked them in the Underground Prison.”
“Didn’t some of them resist? It couldn’t have been easy if we were dealing with Guard Knights.”
“Only those who executed the kidnappings were Knights. The ones at the hideout were Spies and servants. It wasn’t difficult. However….”
Ruslara approached me and withdrew a piece of paper from her pocket.
“We couldn’t decipher this order.”
“An order from the Emperor?”
“Based on the circumstances, it appears so. We believe the kidnappings were carried out based on this order.”
I took the paper and examined its contents. Indeed, as she said, it was filled with difficult-to-understand writing.
[Execution date: Full moon. 4. Minimum 1,000]
‘Full moon… the full moon this month is next week. So something is planned for next week?’
The problem was the number written after that.
“Does ‘four’ refer to the missing persons? Didn’t you say there were four disappearances?”
Ivan raised his hand and answered my question.
“No, there were five people kidnapped in total. Both of Lili’s parents were targets.”
“Hmm, so it’s not the number of people? Then what does this ‘minimum 1,000’ mean?”
Given that a date was written, it seemed to be a legitimate order, but the contents were completely incomprehensible.
I set the paper on the table and turned back to Ruslara.
“You said you captured the ringleader? Didn’t you extract any other information from him?”
I thought that with Baban Si’s abilities, they would have forced him to divulge everything in his mind. But Ruslara shook her head with a troubled expression.
“The moment he revealed the hideout’s location, he seemed to realize something was wrong. He suddenly began trembling, then lost consciousness. He hasn’t regained it since.”
“Did he harm himself to prevent brainwashing?”
“I’m not sure of the method. It wasn’t like she bit her tongue or anything… She simply lost consciousness.”
Well, as someone close to the Emperor, it made sense that she’d possess at least one technique to resist brainwashing.
I instructed them to keep a careful watch for whenever she might wake, then shifted my gaze back to the paper.
‘I don’t know what they’re trying to accomplish, but now that I’ve caught the kidnapper, should I consider this matter settled? Still, something feels off.’
If only I could understand the contents, I might find a clue.
As I pondered this, Ivan casually asked me a question.
“Should we ask someone else?”
“We should. If there’s someone knowledgeable about ciphers… Ah!”
In that moment, a name flashed through my mind.
“What is it? Did you remember the answer?”
“Not exactly, but I did think of someone who might know… ”
Someone well-versed in such confidential information, someone skilled at deciphering codes.
Asking that person for help again would be troublesome, but I had no other choice.
“Liribel, could you bring me a pen and some writing paper?”
“Oh, yes! Who are you sending it to?”
“The Countess of Adonia.”
I had a strong intuition that she, the Empire’s foremost information broker, would be able to decipher this code.
I quickly wrote down the situation on the letter Liribel brought me.
“Send this letter as quickly as possible.”
“Yes! I’ll deliver it right away!”
After Liribel left with the letter, I spoke to the two Guard Knights.
“The Emperor is definitely scheming something, so strengthen Monos’s security further. Ivan, I’m sorry, but could you increase the night patrols as well?”
“I don’t mind, but it’ll be difficult to increase the number of soldiers. Everyone’s focused on making sacred artifacts.”
“Of course, we can’t forcibly conscript people who aren’t volunteering.”
I couldn’t abandon this venture that had just caught favorable winds because of the Emperor.
I laughed briefly and continued.
“So I’m planning to call some allies to this sacred site.”
If there were no humans to serve as soldiers, I could simply recruit soldiers from another race.
And I had a very convenient means at my disposal.
“I’ll summon Demons. Grid is in the Domain right now, so call him. Once the materials are gathered, I’ll prepare the summoning ritual.”
‘Your Majesty. I don’t know what scheme you’re plotting… but this time, you’ve made a grave mistake.’
This place was far removed from the Capital, beyond the Temple’s reach.
If that was the case, I no longer needed to hold back.
It was time to show the face of Asmodina the Demon, not the sickly Princess Deina that the Emperor knew.

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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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