Pretending to Be Human Is Exhausting Again Today - Chapter 32

—————

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

—————

Pretending to Be Human: Episode 032

‘They must have thought the Emperor showed favoritism toward Deina without reason. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.’

The Emperor, rumored to have blue blood flowing through his veins, moved for such a trivial emotion? It was absurd.

For Jeina, who was regarded as the one who understood the Emperor best, such a notion was incomprehensible.

The Emperor was a man who moved solely for profit. Religion and faith, commoners and nobility, even family—they were nothing more than pieces on a chessboard to him.

If that were true, there could be only one reason the Emperor took such particular interest in Deina.

‘He knew she was different.’

Just as Jeina herself had recognized it, respecting and cherishing Deina more than her own brothers.

Jeina recalled the Deina of the past.

She had been remarkably sharp compared to her other siblings.

The only older sister who had tried to teach Jeina how to live as something other than Imperial Family—as a person.

‘Now even those memories are a terrible past.’

That Deina and that Jeina no longer existed.

As members of the Imperial Family leading the Empire, they could no longer escape responsibility and duty.

But if Deina were to reclaim her former brilliance and grow into a threat to Jeina and the princes….

“My, what a coincidence meeting you here, Jeina.”

“…Your Majesty the Empress.”

At that moment, a familiar voice pierced through Jeina’s contemplation.

The woman she encountered in the small park connecting the Separate Palace to the Main Palace was none other than Empress Chersil.

The Empress, stopping Jeina before she could offer her respects, approached with a smile.

“I told you to call me Mother in private settings like this, Jeina.”

“I’m afraid I cannot. Now that I’ve come of age, I must set an example.”

“Really, how disappointing…. But what brings you here?”

Jeina paused to consider her response. She could have offered a convenient lie and moved past this, but something felt off about the situation.

‘Running into her by chance? That makes no sense. There’s nothing around here except the Separate Palace. And if she were following me on a day I was heading there…the timing is far too convenient.’

Jeina had rushed to the Separate Palace the moment she received the Emperor’s command. Even if the Empress had followed immediately afterward, the distance and time wouldn’t have allowed it. The Empress’s residence was on the opposite side of the palace complex.

‘Then…was she actually planning to go to the Separate Palace?’

But the reason eluded her. The Empress and Princess Deina had so few connections between them.

In fact, the Empress had never once visited the Separate Palace until now. She had always regarded it as though it were a filthy dumping ground.

Yet now she claimed to be heading there—there had to be a special reason.

“I can practically hear the storm of thoughts swirling in your head from here. You won’t answer my question and instead suspect your mother’s intentions?”

The Empress, familiar with Jeina’s demeanor, shook her head with a look of regret, resting her chin in her hand.

“I have no memory of raising such a cold child.”

“My apologies. I was heading to the Separate Palace to convey the Emperor’s orders.”

“Ah, I see. Though there was no need for you to go personally…was Princess Deina really so curious?”

“It was my duty as a member of the Imperial Family.”

The Empress let out a bitter laugh at Jeina’s stiff response. Judging that further teasing would be futile, she wiped the smile from her face and spoke.

“Since you answered so obediently, I’ll tell you your mother’s plans as well. I was also heading to the Separate Palace. I have something to tell Princess Deina regarding the banquet.”

“What is it?”

“Think about it yourself.”

The Empress laughed, saying she wouldn’t reveal anything more. Yet the answer to this particular problem came easily enough.

After all, I had just discussed this very matter with Deina.

“Is it because of Loreil?”

“Correct. What made you think so?”

“Your Majesty’s interest in Princess Deina extends only to that degree.”

Jeina had already suspected that the Empress was behind Loreil’s sudden withdrawal from assisting Deina. So when the Empress visited the Separate Palace, which she had previously ignored, the reason was obvious.

The Empress praised her perceptiveness and continued.

“The Emperor asked everyone to bring a partner to this banquet, didn’t he? I thought I’d recommend a suitable partner for her as well….”

“You’re trying to warn Loreil not to accept a partnership request from her.”

“Warning? I’d call it advice.”

At the Empress’s gentle tone, Jeina nearly let out a sigh.

‘She really does want to pair me with Loreil.’

A daughter’s marriage was for her mother to decide. Jeina offered no objections to this matchmaking.

“Of course, even without my advice, there’s no way Loreil would accept a partnership request from Princess Deina.”

“Well, we’ll have to see about that.”

Jeina’s lips curved upward in a slight smile.

At this, the Empress tilted her head in confusion.

“Do you think Loreil would accept?”

“I don’t think it’s impossible. She possesses a certain… unique charm.”

Jeina had never once praised Deina in front of the Empress in her entire life. Bewildered by this unexpected response, the Empress’s eyes widened.

“Jeina certainly holds Princess Deina in high regard.”

“I was merely stating the facts.”

Rather, Jeina found the Empress’s complacent judgment incomprehensible.

Had she witnessed Deina in her healthier days, when she embodied the perfection expected of Imperial Family Members, such an assessment would have been impossible.

‘Though I suppose His Majesty the Emperor shares that same blindness.’

While Jeina harbored similar thoughts as the Emperor, there was one thing she could not reconcile.

‘Which is precisely why she attempted to entangle Deina with someone as worthless as Loreil.’

Jeina recalled the words she had just spoken to Deina.

‘She likely intended to match you with Count Loreil. Though it was never going to work—your stations are too disparate.’

Her words had proven accurate.

Deina was far too exceptional for someone like Loreil.

In her assessment, no suitor worthy of Deina’s caliber had yet emerged.

The Empress, oblivious to Jeina’s thoughts, merely wore an expression of curious bewilderment.

* * *

The evening my sister Jeina departed, I summoned Liribel and Ivan. In the dimness of my bedroom, I began to share a secret.

“The Emperor imposed a condition on the banquet. He insisted that I bring a partner.”

“A partner, you say….”

“A betrothed, or someone of equivalent standing.”

“My goodness!”

Liribel’s eyes widened with delight, her hand covering her mouth as her heart raced. She clearly relished such topics.

Meanwhile, Ivan interjected with a sullen expression.

“Does Your Highness actually have a prospective betrothed?”

“No. That’s why he’s telling me to find one myself.”

“Isn’t that strange? You said the reason you wanted to enter high society was to find a betrothed. But you haven’t even made your debut yet—how are you supposed to bring a man back?”

It was a rebuttal befitting Ivan’s station.

“You’re right. Just as you said, the Emperor knew I would fail and set this condition precisely for that reason. And he intends to humiliate me publicly.”

“What are you talking about? Wasn’t he supposed to reward you if you completed the event successfully?”

“That’s the carrot. This is the stick. He knows full well that I have little interest in marriage.”

Only then did Liribel, grasping the Emperor’s intent, clap her hands together and speak.

“Ah, it’s a warning! Stop meddling and focus on finding a betrothed!”

“Precisely.”

Ivan clicked his tongue as if utterly exasperated.

“Why not just tell you directly? Why go through all this tedious trouble to issue a warning?”

“That’s what nobility is. A direct order can be evaded with all manner of excuses, so instead, public humiliation forces you to act of your own accord.”

It was a method befitting the Emperor—offering the carrot, then wielding the whip to compel obedience.

Ivan shook his head, unable to fathom what the Imperial Family members were thinking.

“Fine, so the Emperor is a twisted man—I get that. But what does that have to do with having Grid gather strange materials, and what does it have to do with this? You also said you would ‘call a friend’ earlier, didn’t you?”

“Yes, now we’re getting to the main point.”

I began placing the materials Grid had delivered one by one on the bedroom floor.

‘I had actually planned to do this when Ruslara arrived… but there’s no helping it.’

The pattern drawn by the materials formed a hexagram—a classical summoning circle of the most traditional variety.

“Calling a friend naturally means summoning a partner to participate in this banquet.”

A nobleman with no worthwhile acquaintances was obviously out of the question.

Bringing along servants or similar folk would only make them the next assassination target, so they were naturally excluded as well.

Ivan, who operated as an informant, couldn’t even be considered as a candidate from the start.

That left only one option.

‘I simply need to create my own people from scratch.’

Calling a friend for that purpose. In other words.

“A Demon summoning.”

Bringing subordinates from the Demon Realm.

—————

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

—————