Pretending to Be Human Is Exhausting Again Today - Chapter 3

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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 003

Liribel rushed toward me, waving her hands frantically.

“I-it really is dark magic! I heard that shadow manipulation is the foundation of dark magic, but I never thought it would actually be real!”

“Um, well….”

“Is it easier to use because it’s nighttime? I heard that shadow magic can be used infinitely at night…!”

“Liribel?”

“Ah! And you saved me with that magic!”

Liribel didn’t even hear my call, too busy chattering away with her face flushed crimson.

“My goodness, you saved me. I’m so moved!”

‘Something’s off about her.’

Normally, people fear dark magic, don’t they?

Liribel’s common sense was clearly skewed.

To quell her excitement, I grabbed her arm firmly and pulled her into my embrace.

“W-Your Highness?”

“Stay still.”

She tried to wriggle free from my arms, but I was already extending my hand forward.

“This damned…!”

Hans came charging toward us, a dagger gripped in his other hand, his face twisted with murderous intent.

His clenched jaw revealed both his malice to kill me again and his desperation.

Only then did Liribel realize Hans was targeting her, and she trembled in my arms.

With my other hand, I patted her back in comfort, assuring her it would be alright, then drew forth my demonic power.

‘I hope you won’t harbor resentment.’

This time, I aimed precisely at the shadow.

Until moments ago, I had considered attempting conversation, but seeing that he refused to suppress his murderous intent even after being caught, it seemed there was no need for such pleasantries.

‘I have no intention of dying again.’

“Th—!”

Though I had never wielded shadow magic in human form before, it came as naturally as if I had practiced it for years. The shadow unfurled like cloth, swallowing Hans whole.

“…!”

Hans vanished into the shadow without even a scream.

Crack, crack—ominous sounds echoed from within the shadow. There was no need to verify his fate.

With him gone, only the dagger remained on the bedroom floor.

“Um, um… where did Chamberlain Hans go?”

Liribel, who had slipped from my embrace, looked around in confusion.

To change the subject, I picked up the dagger left on the ground and spoke.

“Liribel, could you explain what’s happened? I’m still not entirely sure what occurred.”

“Oh, yes! Actually, I came to the bedroom today to change the candles, and…”

Liribel haltingly explained the situation that had unfolded before I awoke.

‘So I really did die.’

Without thinking, I placed my hand over my chest.

My heart beat vibrantly, unlike before. Within it, the demonic power from my true nature surged.

It wasn’t at my peak, but the magical power being wielded was unmistakably beyond what any human could channel.

‘But my soul is that of a Demon. If the Priests ever discovered it….’

The horrifying specter of a witch hunt loomed before me.

“Your Highness?”

“…It’s nothing. So, what’s next?”

“Ah, yes. Hans, the Chamberlain who appeared suddenly, found a stake. And then he confessed to killing that Princess….”

I wasn’t surprised that Hans was an Assassin. After all, he wasn’t the only one at the Separate Palace who desired my death. I’d long known that the Servants had conspired to kill me.

The problem was the word ‘stake.’

It was an unfamiliar term to me as Deina, but to Asmodina the Demon, it was all too familiar.

‘It’s typically a tool used by curse sorcerers.’

I recalled the method—placing a stake or totem infused with concentrated malice beside the target of the curse, then sending the curse through it.

‘Thanks to my magical power, all the poison that had accumulated in my body has been neutralized. The curse should be the same.’

Weak poisons and curses are nothing but sandcastles before the tide of formidable magical power.

Though my physical strength, weakened by prolonged illness, hadn’t fully recovered, the influence of the stake Hans spoke of surely lingered no longer in my body.

There was no reason to worry, but… something about Hans searching for it bothered me.

‘Did someone steal the tool? Or is it still hidden somewhere in this room?’

Perhaps I should have kept him alive longer.

I set aside my curiosity about the stake for now, preparing to ask about the situation outside when—

“Cough!”

A tickling sensation seized my throat, and I coughed violently.

Liribel let out a scream, her complexion turning a sickly pale.

“Blood, I’m bleeding! Your Highness!”

What spilled from my lips was not saliva, but blood darkened to black.

The sudden hemorrhage caught me off guard as well.

‘What is this… Could it be because of my magical power?’

I hastily checked my condition. Fortunately, my soul remained intact.

Instead, I felt magical power clotting around my stomach and lungs.

‘It seems the backlash came from excessive magical power.’

Much like how muscles ache the day after strenuous exercise, my body had failed to adapt to using magical power for the first time.

‘Strong magical power requires a body capable of withstanding it. If I were to fail even once at controlling my power….’

The image of my body bursting like a balloon flashed through my mind.

‘If I gradually increase my usage, my body will adapt… but I mustn’t overuse it.’

I shook my head at the chilling thought.

“…Could it be because you used dark magic?”

“Well, yes, but it’s nothing serious. I’m just feeling a bit unwell.”

Liribel’s expression suggested she didn’t quite believe me.

She pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and carefully wiped the corners of my mouth.

When I refused, insisting I could do it myself, she continued, saying there was too much blood for me to clean alone.

After Liribel had wiped my mouth and clothes for some time, I thanked her and gestured toward the door of the Bedroom.

“By the way, Liribel, is today the day Emma, the Head Maid is on duty?”

“She’ll probably come in this morning. Dawn is breaking soon, so she should arrive shortly.”

“Then tell her to come see me as soon as she arrives, would you? I have something urgent to discuss.”

Liribel seemed curious about what business the Princess had with the Head Maid so early in the morning. But deciding it wasn’t her place to pry, she acknowledged the request and slipped out of the bedroom.

I straightened my disheveled nightgown and settled into the chair tucked away in the corner of the bedroom.

Sleep eluded me, so I turned my thoughts to what lay ahead.

‘I have no idea where to even begin. First, to uncover who orchestrated the assassination attempt, I need to regain my freedom to leave the Separate Palace, all while concealing my true nature as a member of the Demon Clan…’

Most of the problems I faced couldn’t be solved immediately, but there were a few threads I could begin to pull.

‘First, I’ll need the Emperor’s permission.’

My father, who had abandoned me to this Separate Palace. I needed the Imperial rights he possessed. Without them, a proper human existence was impossible.

As dawn broke while I was formulating my plans, the Head Maid arrived at my bedroom.

“…!”

Her eyes widened the moment she saw me sitting in the chair.

It was no wonder she was startled—just last night I had looked as though death itself was imminent, yet now my complexion had returned to perfect health.

I gestured toward the chair across from me and spoke.

“Sit, Emma, the Head Maid. I have something to tell you.”

Emma, the Head Maid—she was the servant who had cared for me these past ten years.

After a moment of surprise, she bowed respectfully and took her seat.

“Has your health recovered, my lady?”

“More or less. You’ve never seen me looking this well before, have you?”

“I’m relieved to see you well again.”

Seeing her rigid expression, as though she wore a mask, I felt oddly reassured.

A workaholic devoted solely to her duties, uninvolved in politics or factional disputes.

That was the defining trait of Emma, the Head Maid, dispatched from the Main Palace.

‘She’s probably noticed the Assassin in the Separate Palace too. But since it’s not her concern, she simply doesn’t involve herself.’

A mechanical figure devoid of pity or contempt toward me.

Harshly put, she lacked humanity, yet it was precisely this nature that made her trustworthy.

‘Considering when she was dispatched, she’s the safest person after Liribel.’

She was the right person for the task I was about to entrust her with. I steeled my resolve and opened my mouth.

“Head Maid, I was nearly assassinated today, actually.”

“…I see.”

“You don’t care much, do you?”

Only her eyebrows twitched slightly as she spoke with perfect composure.

“Protection is not my duty. Shall I summon the Imperial Guard Knights? Or perhaps it would be best to call the Chamberlain.”

‘That man is a suspect too.’

The Chamberlain, who held total responsibility for managing the Separate Palace, was one of the prime suspects. Entrusting him would only result in evidence being destroyed.

“Never mind. Forget I said anything. I’ll find the evidence myself. Instead, I’d like you to visit the Main Palace.”

“What is the task?”

“It’s simple—a letter delivery. As you know, I’m forbidden from entering the Main Palace. So I need you to go in my stead.”

“What could the contents possibly be…”

I smiled softly and spoke.

A drastic measure that could overturn the Emperor’s judgment that I no longer held any value to him.

And that measure was precisely….

“I’m thinking of putting out an advertisement seeking a fiancé.”

“…I beg your pardon?”

“I have no desire to marry, but I find myself in need of a husband.”

Wielding the authority of the Imperial Family itself.

Even Emma, the Head Maid, could not suppress her shock, her mouth falling open in astonishment.

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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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