Pretending to Be Human Is Exhausting Again Today - Chapter 24

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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 024

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—Ah, no—the Armored Fighter has defeated Captain!

Even I, who had been watching the match with bated breath, and Liribel beside me could not close our mouths.

‘Did he just… discard his sword?’

Frustrated by the endless tedious exchange of blows, Captain had made a bold gambit.

His strategy was to obscure Ruslara’s vision with his shield, then swing his blade with tremendous force—a grand motion that seemed likely to work against an opponent committed to evasion.

That is, it would have worked if Ruslara had not abandoned all her weapons and crouched spider-like upon the ground.

‘Grappling techniques? Where did she learn something like that?’

Moving with fluid precision, she seized Captain’s body in an instant and strangled him like a serpent coiling around its prey.

The choking and grappling technique known colloquially as grappling was not a popular discipline in the Empire, yet she wielded it with practiced ease.

‘She must have learned it from Ivan.’

The spectators and we were not the only ones caught off guard by this unexpected technique.

“Ugh, ahhh!”

Captain thrashed on the ground, his arms pinned by Ruslara’s legs, his neck locked in her grip. I clicked my tongue at such futile expenditure of strength.

‘How foolish. Choking techniques cannot be escaped through brute force.’

Grappling allows one unit of strength to overcome five. To escape, one must employ technique—something Captain clearly lacked the experience to do.

Ruslara, by contrast, possessed experience in abundance.

‘Young and reckless as he is, he cannot master his emotions.’

After all, Captain had lived a life where victory was inevitable.

It will be different from us, who have always known defeat.

As the Captain’s face grew increasingly pale, Liribel turned to me with a question.

“Your Highness, is that… acceptable?”

“Why not? It’s not a real duel between Knights anyway—it’s the Arena.”

In fact, the Spectator Stands erupted with even greater excitement at the display.

“But it looks like he might actually die…”

“Ah.”

I called over an Arena Staff Member standing nearby.

When I gestured that the match was already decided, the staff member responded with a flustered expression.

“Yes, yes! I’ll inform the Referee at once.”

Then he muttered in an uncertain voice.

“This shouldn’t be happening…”

Liribel and I exchanged glances simultaneously.

‘That staff member must be connected to the Nobleman who deceived Ruslara.’

He seemed to regard Ruslara’s victory as something that should never have occurred.

But that wasn’t all.

‘Looking more carefully, among the shocked spectators, I can spot those whose faces are twisted with something else.’

With so many people in the stands, I couldn’t verify everyone, but I could identify those nearby.

Of course, they might simply be frustrated about losing money… but the killing intent was far too thick for that.

“Liribel, over there…”

“Don’t worry, Princess Deina. I’ve committed everything to memory.”

In moments like this, Liribel was truly dependable. Watching the passionate gleam in her eyes—as if she were sketching portraits in some mental ledger—I nodded reluctantly.

-Match concluded! The Referee declares victory for the Armored Fighter!

“Waaaaaah!”

“I knew you could do it, Armored Fighter!”

The Announcer had just proclaimed Ruslara’s victory.

The crowd erupted even louder at the unexpected upset. While some praised Ruslara’s technique, others shouted that the Captain would have won if they’d fought with swords.

As the Arena descended into chaos, the Announcer hastily restored order.

-Now then! We shall proceed immediately with the medal ceremony to celebrate this victory!

‘Finally, I can breathe.’

I leaned back in my chair and exhaled with relief.

The event had concluded without incident, which eased my mind, but I was even more delighted that Ruslara had won unscathed. It was almost as if I were genuinely concerned for a subordinate—the realization made me smile.

‘I never thought I’d feel this way again.’

As I was swept up in these unfamiliar emotions, Ruslara ascended the platform before me.

It seemed she was preparing for the medal ceremony.

‘That’s right—I’m the one who presents the medal.’

Finally, I was performing a duty befitting a princess. I rose from my seat. The Announcer, who had drawn near the platform, proclaimed the champion’s name with resonant authority.

-The Armored Fighter, whose name is Ruslara! At last, her first championship medal shall be presented. Everyone, join in celebration and applause….

Unlike the match commentary, the ceremony proceeded with solemn tone and voice. I straightened my posture and reached for the medal that the Arena Staff Member had brought. In that very moment—

-Now then, Ruslara, you must show proper courtesy to the Princess…wait?

The Announcer gasped, his words catching in his throat.

Ruslara had removed her helmet.

—Good heavens.

In the Demon Realm, the Baobhan sith were a race persecuted for their abilities, yet even their oppressors could not deny one undeniable truth.

That the Baobhan sith were the most beautiful race in the Demon Realm.

—She’s beautiful.

The Announcer murmured in disbelief, his pupils dilated as though his very soul had fled his body. The spectators nearby were no different.

“By the gods, was the Armored Fighter truly such a beauty?”

“Wow, she looks like a goddess….”

Her emerald hair cascaded past her shoulders, shimmering brilliantly in the sunlight. Just yesterday it had been an unkempt, jagged bob, yet now it flowed as though touched by magic itself.

Her crimson eyes gleamed like rubies that entranced the soul merely by gazing upon them, and her proud nose and pallid complexion made her seem not human, but a goddess descended from a painting.

A bewitchment that seduced reason itself with a mere glance.

Even I, accustomed to the Baobhan sith, forgot to breathe—such was the devastating beauty before me.

Ruslara, already renowned for her striking appearance, had now cultivated herself with genuine care, and her Baobhan sith abilities began to surge uncontrollably.

—So she truly meant business.

I bit my tongue to regain my senses and hurriedly scanned the surroundings. Not only Liribel, but nobles and commoners alike—everyone was entranced by Ruslara.

This enchantment was not magic that consumed mana. It was an innate racial ability, as natural as mermaids breathing underwater or werewolves possessing keen senses.

Because the ability made no distinction between friend and foe, the Baobhan sith typically restrained their power—but Ruslara was different.

—So that’s why she mentioned visiting a beautician.

Only then did I grasp her true intention in preparing her appearance.

She chose not to hide herself—instead, she revealed her true nature to the enemy lurking within the crowd.

“Well then….”

Ruslara, who had captivated everyone in the Spectator Stands as she surveyed them all, approached me slowly. Then she knelt on one knee and offered a respectful greeting.

“My Deity, my sun, Princess Deina Ripeon.”

“…!”

The words that left her lips were exceedingly graceful and elegant. The problem was that such a greeting should have been directed toward the Emperor, the Empress, and the Crown Prince—not toward a Princess like me.

As I stood bewildered, wondering where she could have learned such a greeting, Ruslara lifted her head and gazed at me.

“I behold the blessing of the sun that dispels all darkness.”

‘Dispels all darkness…. She aimed for that.’

Faced with her unexpected assistance, I let out a hollow laugh.

Though it was merely one phrase, I could already anticipate what lies she would weave next.

Regardless, she continued boldly with her victory remarks.

“I have been trapped in the Arena for decades. It was because I made a cowardly pact with certain individuals. They knew my identity and sought to exploit me.”

The audience likely believed Ruslara to be a fighter in her middle years. After all, she had competed as a gladiator for decades.

Now that she had revealed a youthful face, an explanation was necessary.

“I am an Elf.”

“Gasp, an Elf!”

“Didn’t Elves already leave the Empire?”

And so Ruslara chose to reveal only half the truth.

She would acknowledge her non-human nature while concealing the true identity of her race.

Ruslara swept back the hair covering her ears.

With that gesture, the elongated ears created by her disguise ability came into view. The spectators, who had only heard rumors about elves, erupted in commotion at the sight of a genuine elf.

‘Elves disappeared from the Empire over a century ago, or so I’ve heard. Now they’re a rare race found only in the Polar Regions.’

In other words, they were the perfect species to hide behind a fabricated story.

Of course, the traitor Baobhan sith would know Ruslara’s true identity, but it would be difficult for her to expose me.

‘Since she’s also Baobhan sith, she won’t want to reveal the disguise abilities of our kind to the world.’

For a scheme devised in merely a day, it was remarkably meticulous.

Ruslara spoke with a faint smile.

“Along with my contract, I was cursed with a malevolent hex that prevented me from winning. Because of it, I suffered for decades. I was forced to live as a loser for all those long years.”

Whether moved by Ruslara’s words or simply enchanted by her presence, several spectators exhaled deeply with sympathetic murmurs. They were all under her spell.

“My goodness… now that I think about it, her losses did seem unnatural.”

“Do you believe her?”

“But elves don’t lie!”

Sensing the moment had ripened, Ruslara rose from her seat and turned to face the crowd.

“However, that curse held no power in this tournament. The reason is… none other than!”

The reason she had fabricated this lie and wielded her abilities to enchant the masses was simple.

“Princess Deina, who possesses the blessing of the sun, has saved me!”

It was all a performance to prove that I was not a cursed princess.

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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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