Pretending to Be Human Is Exhausting Again Today - Chapter 35

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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 035

At last, I arrived before the Banquet Hall. Boisterous conversation echoed from within. I turned to the Chamberlain beside me with a question.

“Who has entered so far?”

“Only His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress remain.”

In other words, I was effectively the final guest to arrive.

‘What is the Emperor thinking?’

I had worried he might arrange for me to enter first, inviting ridicule. Yet he seemed to have shown me consideration instead. With this timing, the assembled guests would understand that I was the true centerpiece of this banquet.

For my first step back into High Society, it was an auspicious beginning.

“Your Highness?”

As I fell into contemplation, Gregory called to me with careful concern.

I shook my head reassuringly and spoke.

“I’m fine, Britz Jabok. Let us enter.”

I linked my arm through his, and together we crossed the threshold as the Chamberlain opened the Banquet Hall doors.

“Princess Deina and Britz Jabok make their entrance.”

“….”

The chatter in the Banquet Hall ceased abruptly. Every eye turned toward us.

‘Half wariness, half curiosity… no goodwill.’

This much I had anticipated. I was grateful, in fact, that no one greeted me with the false smile the Empress wore.

The sharp tension reminded me of the Battlefield, and my heart grew lighter.

I followed the Chamberlain’s guidance toward my seat.

The Banquet Hall’s layout formed an angular horseshoe shape, with nobility seated at the tables on either side and the Imperial Family arranged in a line at the center table, with the Emperor at its head.

My seat was at the lowest rank among the Imperial Family, positioned beside Jeina.

As I walked, I caught whispers from several noblemen.

“So Britz Jabok came after all. Well played.”

“I thought they had no prior connection. How did this happen?”

“Who knows… perhaps the Empress arranged it…?”

‘Being a high-ranking nobleman doesn’t guarantee refinement, apparently.’

Everywhere you go, there are always those who can’t keep their mouths shut.

Then again, a confined Princess arriving at the Capital with a renowned young nobleman as her partner was bound to cause a stir.

The Emperor and Empress must have known beforehand, but for the nobility, it was quite an unexpected pairing.

I turned away from their gazes and took my seat.

“How have you been, Jeina?”

I spoke to Jeina beside me with a smile. She responded in her characteristically terse manner.

“Don’t speak to me so casually.”

The absence of complaints meant she was doing well.

I glanced at the seat beside her. For some reason, I could see the Empress’s seat directly beyond it. In other words, I couldn’t see her partner’s seat.

‘Wasn’t she supposed to arrive with Loreil?’

All the other Imperial Family members had their partners seated beside them. It would naturally be proper etiquette to enter together with one’s partner… Could it be that Jeina entered alone?

Just then, a man seated across from me rose from his chair and approached me.

He had platinum blonde hair swept back neatly, revealing a straight forehead, and his distinctive three-colored eyes were unmistakable. Seeing his arrogant face again after so long, I offered a formal smile.

“It’s been a while, Prince Franz.”

“Not calling me ‘older brother’? You’ve grown quite wise, Deina.”

His identity was the First Prince, Franz. Still radiating that unnecessary oppressive presence, he rudely placed his hand on my chair and leaned back at an angle, looking down at me.

“I thought you’d enter alone since this banquet required a partner, yet you managed to seduce a man. Quite capable, aren’t you? Or was the rumor about your confinement to the Separate Palace merely gossip?”

‘Starting with such childish antics.’

I bit back my tongue inwardly. At Franz’s crude remarks, several nobles cast interested glances my way.

Seeing him use such vulgar language—words no member of the Imperial Family would ever employ—it was clear Franz had made no progress whatsoever during this time.

I maintained my smile and responded.

“It was merely a chance encounter. While organizing this Arena event, I happened to meet Britz Jabok, who came as a spectator….”

“Ah, so you neglected event management and went around meeting men instead?”

‘This bastard really is something.’

I take back what I just said. Franz seemed to have regressed in intelligence even further than before.

Hearing such crude language after so long irritated me, but I suppressed it carefully.

‘No, Franz is annoying, but he’s not stupid. He must have some ulterior motive for this.’

I quickly scanned my surroundings.

Jeina stared at her plate without a word, and the other princes remained in observation mode.

Naturally, there was no one to help me.

‘Normally, Jeina would scold me about maintaining dignity, yet she says nothing. The Second Prince, who should be checking Franz, is also silent… This might be a pre-arranged hazing ritual.’

The reason for such a childish ritual was obvious. They intended to reassess what kind of person I was.

Had I been my younger self, I would have matched his provocations. Had I been a teenager, I would have lowered my head, feeling shame and humiliation.

Those gathered in the Banquet Hall seemed eager to determine which version of me Deina they were facing.

I deliberated briefly before reaching a decision.

‘It’s hopeless to maintain good relations with Prince Franz anyway. So I might as well make myself comfortable.’

By comfortable, I naturally meant an offensive approach.

“You’ve been seeing other men, then? Just Prince Franz?”

“What?”

“I see you’ve brought the Countess of Jorju today. But where are your other two fiancées? Or rather, your fiancée candidates?”

“You….”

“Though I suppose it would be difficult to bring them all. You’d need three fiancée seats prepared, and that would crowd His Majesty the Emperor’s space, wouldn’t it?”

His face flushed crimson under the barrage of insults.

‘Does his expression really change that easily?’

Delighted by his reaction, my smile deepened.

For reference, Prince Franz was a notorious philanderer. Beyond his official fiancée, he had connections with at least two other women, whom society mockingly referred to as “fiancée candidates.”

Naturally, their reputations weren’t favorable either.

‘Did you really think bringing your official fiancée to a formal occasion like this would make people forget your scandals?’

I glanced at the pale-faced woman seated beside Prince Franz. Unlike him, who was growing heated, she was surrounded by a palpable gloom.

She was the true victim of this childish scandal.

“Your nerve has grown quite bold. Are you the type who raises her head when a man is beside her?”

“Such a personality exists? Then why can’t Your Highness raise his head before His Majesty even with his fiancée beside him? I’d love to share some of my courage with you, Your Highness.”

Prince Franz ground his teeth.

“It seems you lack self-awareness. Restrain yourself, Deina Ripeon.”

With that, he seized my collar.

“Just because His Majesty the Emperor helped you a little, do you think your position has changed? A penniless wretch with no power, no fortune. Someone like you could be disposed of right this instant…!”

His voice grew louder by the moment. Simultaneously, the nobles observing the scene sensed something amiss and held their breath, straightening their postures.

Feeling the shift in the Banquet Hall, I silenced Prince Franz’s words with my index finger and drew closer. Then I whispered into his ear.

“Why, you’ll kill me? Then go ahead and try.”

“…!”

“Do it. Right now.”

“Ugh…!”

My laughter-tinged provocation became the trigger. Unable to contain his fury any longer, he shoved my shoulder with all his might.

It was a predictable attack I could have evaded with my eyes closed, but I offered no resistance.

At that moment, Jeina, who had been observing from the sidelines, cried out in alarm.

“Deina!”

‘How unusual for my sister to show such concern.’

I gave her a reassuring wink and went limp. Without assuming a proper falling stance, I was about to tumble quite spectacularly, but that was precisely what I desired—to appear utterly pathetic.

And for good reason.

“What is this commotion?”

The moment I crashed disgracefully to the ground, the Emperor entered the Banquet Hall.

“Your Majesty…”

Disheveled hair. A dress crumpled from being grabbed. My body sprawled pathetically across the floor.

Looking up at the Emperor with a pitiful expression, as though I’d just taken a punch from Prince Franz, I studied his reaction.

‘I wish I could feign those pleading eyes, but… it’s harder than I thought.’

Besides, the Emperor wasn’t sympathizing with me. Instead, he surveyed the Banquet Hall’s interior, swiftly grasping the situation.

Prince Franz frozen with his arm extended, and me sprawled across the ground.

The noblemen who had already straightened their posture the moment they sensed the Emperor’s entrance, now watched the scene with keen interest.

Having assessed everything in an instant, the Emperor clicked his tongue and addressed Prince Franz.

“You thundering fool. Is maintaining a shred of dignity truly so difficult for you?”

“Your Majesty, I beg your pardon. This is a misunderstanding—”

“Silence. Laying hands on an invalid, no less. You have only two options: apologize and take your seat, or apologize and remove yourself from this hall.”

“…I sincerely apologize.”

Prince Franz finally bowed. In that moment, our eyes met, and I offered him a brief wink—the same one I’d given Jeina.

‘You’ve earned your suffering, you idiot.’

His teeth ground together once more.

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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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