Pretending to Be Human Is Exhausting Again Today - Chapter 14

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Struggling to Pretend to Be Human Today Episode 014

After coming outside, I joined Liribel and Ruslara who were waiting for me.

“Princess! Just now, there were two strange people over there…!”

“Leave it be, it’s none of our business.”

Though I had a guess about who was behind the suspected spy, there didn’t seem to be any need to explain it.

I urged the two to hurry back to the Separate Palace, saying the night air was cold.

“Did everything end well?”

On the way back, Ruslara asked cautiously. She knew little about the Imperial Palace and was curious about everything.

“Yes, there were no major problems. I agreed to cooperate with the Empress too.”

“Really?”

On the other hand, Liribel, who knew about my reputation in the Imperial Palace, tilted her head with an anxious expression. It was common knowledge that the Imperial Family and I didn’t get along well.

I patted her shoulder, telling her not to worry.

“Our interests aligned with each other.”

And I gave them a summary of what we had discussed.

After hearing everything, Liribel’s mouth fell open in surprise, while Ruslara kept nodding and muttering “As expected…”

“Why are you so surprised?”

“Well, it’s just… I realized that you’re truly an amazing member of the Imperial Family…”

Liribel muttered something incomprehensible.

“Ah! Then are you breaking up with Lord Loreil? Weren’t you two on bad terms?”

“Me? With Lord Loreil?”

I widened my eyes, wondering what she was talking about, and Liribel nodded with a flustered expression.

“You two were exchanging meaningful glances and all that.”

“That was…”

Did she think my cautious observation while trying to gauge his identity was a sign of affection?

I moved my lips, wondering how to explain, then let out a sigh.

“We’re not in that kind of relationship. Since it could cause misunderstandings, you shouldn’t say such things elsewhere, okay?”

“Ah, yes!”

To set up Jeina and Loreil, I couldn’t afford to create unnecessary scandals.

I comforted Liribel, who was repeatedly promising to watch her words, as we headed to the Separate Palace.

* * *

“The intruder?”

Unlike the darkness outside, the greenhouse was filled with the bright light of magical illumination.

Empress Chersil spoke to the guard standing in her shadow.

“Don’t tell me you failed to catch them?”

“…I apologize.”

The guard wearing a black mask bowed deeply in apology.

His body bore small scratches. The Empress glanced at his appearance and sighed.

“How incompetent. Perhaps I should have brought your brother instead.”

“…”

“Setting aside that you let them escape, why didn’t you notice the intruder’s presence in the first place?”

“I didn’t expect them to have infiltrated inside the greenhouse beforehand. It was my oversight.”

“All you do is apologize whenever you open your mouth.”

The Empress looked down at the empty teacup. It was the cup that Deina had completely emptied before leaving.

“The possibility that the spy was one of Princess Deina’s subordinates… would be low.”

“Yes, there would be no reason to reveal their identity.”

If Deina hadn’t told them, they wouldn’t have sensed the spy’s presence.

“Is this an act to make us indebted to her?”

“I’ll monitor the Separate Palace. If the intruder returns there…”

“No, never mind. I don’t think they’re related to that child.”

It was intuition.

To the Empress, Deina didn’t seem like someone who would use such shallow tricks.

Unlike Deina, the Empress dipped her finger into her own teacup, which she hadn’t touched a single sip of. Stirring the lukewarm tea, she recalled Deina’s face.

‘She was a bold child.’

A peculiar child who confronted her with sincerity the moment she cast off her smiling mask.

Though she had lived in the Imperial Palace for decades, it was the first time she’d met someone like that.

Deina had a completely different atmosphere from the always sensitive Jeina or the dim-witted princes.

‘It felt like I was looking at a fellow Imperial Family member of equal status, not a child…’

Her manner of speaking could have sounded rude, but it didn’t feel arrogant. Rather, that confident attitude even seemed elegant.

It was unimaginable compared to the Deina of the past, who always walked with her head down, bringing misfortune wherever she went.

“Whether everything until now was an act, or if she became a different person after recovering her health…”

If it were the former, it would be easier to handle. Lying meant there were hidden desires. The Empress was experienced in dealing with such people.

But if it were the latter, the situation became complicated.

‘I’ll have to change all the plans I prepared for her.’

Starting with the first step of spectacularly ruining Deina’s return to high society, everything began to go awry.

It seemed she would have to tolerate Deina standing on the same stage as the Empress.

‘Though I never wanted that.’

She had never desired a small sun that wouldn’t listen to her and seemed likely to shine brighter than herself.

The Empress pushed the teacup away, spilling tea onto the pristine white tea table. Watching the tablecloth get stained, she asked the guard.

“You don’t know why Princess Deina noticed the intruder, do you?”

“No, I apologize.”

“Actually, is the Princess a great expert herself, or does she have unimaginably powerful allies, or did she just get lucky… which do you think it is?”

The guard pondered for a moment before answering.

“I think it’s the second option. If some expert had informed her of the intruder’s presence in the greenhouse before she entered… it’s possible.”

“Don’t tell me, that Armored Knight?”

“It wouldn’t be him. I’ve seen him a few times at the Arena, but his skills don’t even reach my toes.”

Perhaps finding the answer with its subtle pride amusing, the Empress laughed silently.

“Then we should assume she has allies nearby that we can’t see.”

“In the worst case scenario, yes.”

“Oh my, that’s not when you use ‘worst case.'”

The Empress rose from her seat. The guard draped the coat he had hung on the chair over the Empress’s shoulders.

“For us, the worst case would be if Princess Deina was actually a tremendously skilled expert.”

“That’s impossible… I sense no power from her whatsoever.”

The guard dismissed it as a situation that couldn’t even be considered as a hypothesis. But the Empress shook her head.

“That’s exactly why it would be the worst case.”

Then she glanced at the exit Deina had used and continued.

“She could be a being with strange powers that don’t show on the surface, like the rumors say. That would be very…”

Disgusting.

The Empress muttered as if she wanted to erase Deina’s hideous golden eyes from her memory.

“Indeed, I should have let that cursed child die. Before that filth could defile my Imperial Palace.”

With those words, she left the greenhouse.

* * *

After that, I was able to focus on Ruslara’s training.

This was because I had pushed most of the trivial tasks that needed to be done at the Arena onto the Empress’s faction.

Of course, everything was hosted under my name. Even if this succeeded, it was structured so the Empress couldn’t gain any benefit.

‘As expected, it’s better to clash head-on.’

Indeed, rather than aristocratic conversations filled with metaphorical expressions, duels where we showed our true intentions and clashed directly felt more comfortable.

‘Let’s see, if we train for about another week like this, do a final check at the Arena, then when the matches start, report to the Main Palace and…’

“Aaah!”

In the middle of my deep thoughts, a scream that assaulted my ears brought me back to reality.

“Oops!”

Then I spotted Ruslara sprawled on the ground and relaxed my grip.

“Sorry, I got distracted for a moment… Are you alright?”

“I-I’m fine.”

I had intended to deflect the attack, but it seemed I unconsciously counterattacked instead. Ruslara pressed her shoulder that had collided with my wooden sword and smiled with difficulty.

Though she said she was fine, her hand was trembling quite badly, suggesting the pain was considerable.

“Let’s take a break. It’s already been two hours.”

“Yes.”

Since she didn’t refuse, she must have been struggling. Feeling slightly guilty, I supported her as we headed toward a large tree.

Leaning against the tree trunk and taking deep breaths, she glanced at me sideways.

“Your Highness.”

“What?”

“Am I… really improving?”

When I turned to look at her, asking what she meant, Ruslara continued in an uncertain voice.

“I haven’t succeeded in landing a single attack so far. I’m wondering if I’m just being a burden to Your Highness…”

It seemed her pride had been crushed from continuous defeats.

Protecting a trainee’s pride was also part of an instructor’s job—this was my mistake.

‘Come to think of it, she’s never won even once. In situations like this, it’s good to have her fight a different opponent…’

To feel how much she had grown, she needed to fight against someone of similar skill level.

No matter how much it was training, if she only kept losing, even her improving skills would deteriorate.

While I was pondering what to do.

‘Ah, there’s that person.’

A suitable opponent came to mind.

“Alright, let’s try a new type of training.”

“…?”

I told Ruslara to wait for a moment, then approached the forest behind the Separate Palace.

‘It should be around here…’

“Here.”

And I spotted someone hiding in the darkness concealed by trees.

“Gotcha.”

“…!”

Perhaps because it was so sudden, the man in the darkness allowed me to grab his collar far too easily.

Dragging the dumbfounded man, I returned to the open clearing. Then I threw the man in front of Ruslara, who was gaping with her mouth wide open.

“Here, your opponent.”

“Opponent, you mean…”

“An assassin who came to target me. This is your next opponent.”

Both Ruslara and the man were left speechless.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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