Pretending to Be Human Is Exhausting Again Today - Chapter 39

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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 039

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While the Emperor and Deina conversed, two men faced each other in silence within the Rest Area.

Gregory surveyed the quiet Rest Area, his thoughts turning inward.

‘There’s a guard concealed somewhere, but I sense no killing intent. He has no intention of ambushing.’

A born soldier, Gregory maintained constant vigilance as second nature. Especially when his counterpart was Loreil—the sole human who suspected Deina of being a Demon. Caution was doubly warranted.

‘A human capable of sensing magical power, or so I’ve heard.’

Loreil was perhaps the greatest obstacle to Deina’s existence as a human.

After a considerable silence, Loreil finally spoke.

“Britz Jabok. You mentioned feeling drawn to the Princess and wishing to be at her side.”

“That is correct.”

“Might I inquire what this attraction entails? I’m curious what you perceive in the Princess.”

Gregory’s eyes narrowed slightly.

‘Still harboring suspicions about the Princess, I see.’

Gregory cleared his throat briefly, recalling Britz Jabok’s mannerisms. Now was the time to conduct himself more humanly.

“I understand my words may seem presumptuous, but I harbor no ill intent. I simply wish to follow the Princess’s noble ideals, and thus I stand beside her.”

“What noble ideals do you speak of?”

“Compassion as radiant as the sun, coupled with unwavering strength. She will become a magnificent sovereign.”

Loreil’s brow furrowed slightly, as though the answer seemed incongruous with Deina.

For what it was worth, Gregory’s words were sincere. To him, Deina was a flawless ruler to whom any praise could justly be applied.

Loreil lowered his voice and spoke.

“I cannot trust your words.”

“Whether you believe me or not, the Princess’s light has not faded. She is….”

“No, this isn’t about the Princess. What I cannot trust is your mouth itself.”

“…?”

Something felt wrong. Before I could even contemplate what that strange discord was, Loreil approached Gregory.

“I’ll ask you once more. What is the real reason you approached the Princess? Spare me these trivial excuses about anomalies.”

“I was merely drawn to the Princess’s charm….”

“Your ears are deaf.”

He growled like a beast, his tone dropping to crude familiarity as he pressed Gregory harder.

“What I want to hear is what vile desires you harbor. Not the honeyed lies you whisper in banquet halls.”

‘His hostility… doesn’t seem directed at the Princess.’

Only when he spoke those final words did Gregory belatedly realize what he had been misunderstanding.

“Did you approach the Princess because of your own desires? Or to use her?”

‘…The positions were reversed.’

Loreil had not summoned Gregory to investigate Deina, the Demon.

He had summoned him to uncover Gregory’s—Britz Jabok’s—true, sordid nature.

‘This is strange. It almost sounds like… Loreil is coercing me to protect the Princess.’

Loreil paid no heed to Gregory’s confused silence, his voice savage enough to draw a sword at any moment.

“Listen here, you murderer of the poor. You commit unspeakable atrocities and then have the audacity to speak of the sovereign with that filthy mouth? Did you really think such transparent lies would deceive me?”

‘So he knew Britz Jabok’s true identity from the start. No wonder his gaze seemed off during the meal. Then waiting until the banquet ended was also to separate me from the Princess…’

“Tell me. What are you scheming? What do you intend to do to her?”

‘What answer could I possibly give in this situation…’

Gregory remained silent, unable to find a rational response, but Loreil seemed to interpret his refusal to answer as defiance and began emanating a murderous aura.

“So you intend to maintain your silence to the end. If that’s the case—”

Only then did Gregory come to his senses, his brow furrowing.

‘Oh no.’

The killing intent radiating from Loreil was extraordinary. For Gregory, trapped in a human body, he seemed far outmatched.

“My lord, I…”

He attempted to fabricate an excuse to escape the situation, but Loreil clearly had no intention of listening.

He smiled coldly and clenched his fist.

“Unfortunate, Britz. Time’s up.”

The moment his fist extended toward Gregory.

“Is anyone inside~”

The door to the Rest Area burst open, and an intruder entered.

“Who are you?”

Loreil instantly suppressed his murderous aura and turned his head to regard the man who had entered through the door.

The man, dressed as a servant with his hat pulled low, tilted his head and spoke with exaggerated courtesy.

“I’ve come looking for Lord Loreil~ but who might you be?”

“I am he. What business do you have?”

“Oh my, I apologize! It’s just such an urgent matter. Her Majesty the Empress is searching desperately for Loreil!”

Loreil’s brow furrowed. Gregory recalled the peculiar tension between the Empress and Loreil that had unfolded at the banquet.

“Tell her I’ll come shortly.”

“She’s insisted repeatedly that I find him no matter what. Since she knows he’s here, she may come looking herself…”

“…Tsk.”

Loreil ultimately abandoned his attempt to pressure Gregory further. He straightened his attire and moved swiftly toward the Corridor.

But not before turning back to issue a warning to Gregory.

“Remember my words well, Britz Jabok. I despise surrender.”

And he offered a formal smile in parting.

The servant offered to accompany him, but Loreil declined and proceeded alone down the Corridor.

Left alone in the Rest Area, Gregory let out an admiring hum.

“Human though he may be, he’s quite formidable. In an age of war, he would have claimed a position of power.”

The killing intent radiating from him was so potent it felt as though I stood upon a Battlefield in the Demon Realm itself.

The servant who witnessed this clicked his tongue and approached.

“I save your life and this is how you repay me—by praising that black-haired young master? You should be thanking your senior here first.”

“Thank you for your help, Ivan.”

“Too late for that.”

Ivan removed his hat and ruffled his carefully arranged hair vigorously. As it returned to its natural disheveled state, he reverted to the original Ivan that Gregory knew.

“Your disguise skills are quite impressive.”

“Not quite on Ruslara’s level, but I’m a professional at my craft. More importantly, junior, what were you thinking picking a fight with that young master? He’s apparently quite famous in the underworld.”

Ivan described Loreil with an air of exasperation.

He never forgot a grudge, and his methods were brutally cruel—he had obliterated organizations that had crossed the Prime Minister’s Family in truly horrific fashion.

“His skills are exceptional too. Even the Imperial Guards can’t touch him. And I made the mistake of taking one of his contracts once, which is how I ended up like this… No, never mind that.”

Ivan tapped his own loose tongue with his fingers, changing the subject.

“So, what happened? I couldn’t hear properly with his guard nearby.”

“For someone who claims that, you arrived at a remarkably convenient moment.”

“The killing intent was pouring out. I figured it was about time. So what was the fight about?”

Gregory smoothed out his wrinkled shirt, which had been torn by Loreil’s shove, as he explained.

“It seems he wanted to separate me from the Princess. Presumably…”

After hearing the full account, Ivan muttered in disbelief.

“Your junior approached the Princess to use her? The way he says it, you’d think she’s someone who’d let herself be used.”

“That’s true.”

“And his tone was strange too. It sounded exactly like he was threatening Britz Jabok to protect the Princess.”

He was right.

It was surprising enough that Loreil knew about Britz Jabok’s past, but the warning tone in his words—as if telling him not to do anything improper to Deina—was incomprehensible in its intent.

‘Don’t do anything to her’—anyone listening would think he was trying to protect Deina.

Was he saying it was fine for him to torment her, but not for others?

‘…Wait, I’ve heard similar logic somewhere before.’

In that moment, Gregory recalled a strange novel that a legion commander from the Demon Realm had enjoyed reading long ago.

It was a novel with absurd logic—one where tormenting your lover was acceptable, but others doing so was not.

“Ivan, I have something to ask you.”

Gregory, believing this was a matter beyond his own judgment, explained his concerns to Ivan, his senior.

Ivan clutched his stomach and burst into raucous laughter.

“Ahahaha! What? Don’t tell me the young master fell for the Princess at first sight? That’s absurd!”

“The Princess is a beautiful woman. Perhaps…”

“That’s impossible! Ah, you junior didn’t hear about how the young master and the Princess first met?”

Gregory shook his head, saying he hadn’t heard. Ivan, wiping away tears from his laughter, recounted the story he’d been told.

“A spider crawled onto the young master’s shoulder, and the startled Princess threw a punch.”

“Her Highness does dislike spiders.”

“But apparently she put quite a bit of force behind it. A tree in the Garden snapped, and a window shattered. Fortunately, her fist stopped just short of his face, or his face would’ve been ruined.”

“…”

Gregory recalled Asmodina’s fist—the one that had obliterated dozens in the past.

If a human had taken that blow… whispering sweet words of love would be impossible.

“Indeed, it seems an environment where love cannot flourish.”

“Right? Only someone like me could fall in love in such circumstances.”

“…?”

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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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