Pretending to Be Human Is Exhausting Again Today - Chapter 40

—————

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 040

* * *

After my conversation with the Emperor concluded, I reunited with Gregory. Whatever had transpired in the Rest Area, he was now with Count Iwan instead of Loreil.

“What? Loreil threatened you?”

Gregory briefly explained the circumstances of his parting with Loreil. After hearing the full account, I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh at the absurdity of it all.

“I appreciate the concern, but that’s hardly something he should be saying.”

“Exactly. We thought it was strange too.”

Count Iwan placed a friendly arm around Gregory’s shoulder as he spoke.

“Your junior even suggested that young master might have feelings for the Princess?”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Right? I think so too….”

“No one with a sound mind could possibly have feelings for a woman with eyes like these.”

At that, Count Iwan suddenly dropped his arm and straightened up, his expression turning serious.

“I have to disagree with that.”

“Huh? What?”

“Princess, you’re overthinking this. You shouldn’t disparage yourself so carelessly.”

I hadn’t expected him to take my jest so seriously. And coming from Count Iwan, of all people, his words carried surprising weight.

I found myself apologizing awkwardly, promising to watch my tongue.

“In any case, you don’t know why Loreil acted that way either, do you?”

“No, at least until now, he hasn’t shown any particular favor toward me.”

Had something shifted in his heart during our time apart? Yet there was scarcely any common ground between us. Even if there had been….

“Ivan. Do you happen to know what happened between the Empress and Loreil? They seemed to have had a falling out.”

The Empress’s unsettling gaze as she regarded Loreil at the banquet surfaced in my mind.

Ivan crossed his arms and spoke. “Ah, that.”

“I did disguise myself as a servant and summon the young master under the pretense of the Empress… I’m not sure if there’s a connection, but it seems something significant happened at the Prime Minister’s Residence.”

And he relayed what he had heard before arriving at the Main Palace.

“It’s not entirely accurate since it was something the nobles who attended the banquet discussed before entering, but it seems a problem arose regarding the young master’s birth.”

“His birth? You mean he’s actually illegitimate?”

“It was more serious than that. Apparently, the young master might actually be the Duke’s half-brother.”

“What are you talking about?”

Unable to comprehend, I furrowed my brow and asked again. Ivan explained methodically. “In other words—”

“The young master’s father is supposedly not the current Duke, but the previous Duke. And his mother isn’t the previous Duchess, but someone else entirely.”

“…Really?”

It was as shocking as news of my return to high society. My eyes widened in disbelief, and Ivan shrugged.

“It’s probably just a rumor, but there seem to be suspicious circumstances. The timing of the young master’s birth doesn’t match when the Duchess was pregnant, or conversely, how the previous Duke showed particular affection for the young master before his death….”

While the rumor itself was trivial, each coinciding detail lent it credibility. That was how rumors spread, after all.

‘Ah, so that’s why the Empress was so furious.’

Unlike me, who now understood the situation, Ivan added with bewilderment.

“Well, I wondered what connection this rumor had to the Empress.”

“Ah, so you don’t know, Ivan?”

“What are you talking about?”

Well, decades had passed since then, so it seemed many people had forgotten about it by now.

“The previous Duke married into the family. So the previous Duchess is the one with the true bloodline of the house. If Loreil and the Duke are half-brothers….”

“Then the young master has no blood connection to the Duke’s family!”

“Exactly.”

If true, it would be an event of staggering proportions. The fact that the child known as the heir was actually the family head’s brother was shocking enough, but an illegitimate half-brother with no legitimate claim to succession?

The bloodline of the Duke’s house, which boasted a long history, might be severed.

‘And the Empress—the Imperial Family are the sort obsessed with the legitimacy of bloodlines.’

The Empress must certainly believe that Loreil had lied to her.

She would think he deceived her to obtain the Princess, despite not being the legitimate heir.

Now I understood why she had glared at him with murderous intent at the banquet.

“Is blood more important to humans than ability?”

At that moment, Gregory, who had been listening quietly, posed a question.

“He is human, yet he seemed quite capable.”

“They do value blood… but the Emperor oversees the nobility registry, and given the current Emperor’s temperament, he won’t strip Loreil of his status. The Emperor seems to favor Loreil quite a bit, and besides, Loreil is the only heir to the Duke’s house right now.”

However, the scandal that follows cannot be prevented. In this conservative Empire’s political circles, rumors of illegitimacy are sometimes more damning than any moral transgression.

‘Wait, now that I think about it, Loreil wasn’t originally the heir.’

I recalled what I had heard when I lifted his curse.

The original heir I knew of had died under certain circumstances, and his younger brother Loreil became the new heir, or so I had been told.

‘So the legitimate heir suddenly died, and the family head’s illegitimate half-brother with no blood connection took that position….’

“Good heavens.”

I exhaled a sigh in a voice that sounded far older than my years.

‘No wonder the Emperor invited him. He must have intended to exploit this blemish on the Prime Minister’s Family.’

The truth itself hardly mattered anymore. The mere existence of such scandal had transformed him into the Prime Minister’s Family’s greatest vulnerability—and they held the leadership of the Nobility Council.

I had harbored no affection for Loreil until now, but for the first time, I felt a twinge of sympathy for him.

Though whether receiving my pity was truly a blessing for him, I couldn’t say.

Ivan seemed delighted that his information had proven useful, his voice brightening as he continued.

“That’s why old rumors about the young master are circulating again, it seems.”

“Old rumors?”

“You know, the rumor that the young master doesn’t actually carry Demon blood after all.”

Gregory and I exchanged glances simultaneously, our eyes blinking as though hearing this for the first time. Noticing our bewilderment, Ivan furrowed his brow and asked.

“What, you didn’t know? The young master’s appearance is practically the very symbol of the Demon Clan—the black hair, the eyes.”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

Not all Demons possessed black hair, and I sensed not the faintest trace of Demon aura from Loreil.

‘When I first met him, I did wonder if he might be a Demon hybrid, but that couldn’t possibly be the case.’

Unless one possessed the otherworldly perception of a sprite like Ruslara, any Demon sharing the Demon King’s bloodline would reveal their presence the moment one drew near.

“It must be baseless gossip.”

“Quite right, sir.”

As Gregory and I harmonized in agreement, Ivan pouted slightly, as though dissatisfied.

In any case, my head ached from the complexity of it all, but my course of action remained clear. I looked toward Gregory and Ivan and spoke.

“First, Loreil’s affairs are none of our concern. I don’t know why you took my side, but let’s leave it alone for now… Gregory.”

“Yes.”

“If Loreil tries to blackmail you again, just deny everything. Since there’s no evidence, he won’t be able to do anything if you insist.”

If he truly had evidence, he wouldn’t resort to violence—he would have exposed it immediately to isolate Gregory. There would have been no need to arrange a private meeting.

“But if he becomes troublesome, tell me. I’ll confront him directly. Gregory is weak without his abilities recovered.”

“…I understand.”

“Next, Ivan. I’ll be away from the Main Palace for a while, so arrange a Guard from among your trusted associates.”

“Should I entrust such a task to an Assassin?”

“Since you’re an Assassin, you should be quite skilled at preventing even amateur assassination attempts, yes?”

My next task was to receive the exiled Princess. Both the Assassins of Jins Kingdom and the Empire would likely converge, so I needed Ivan’s assistance.

“I shall be honored to serve.”

Ivan bowed with a playful smile, his servant’s attire making the gesture all the more ridiculous.

‘I hope things resolve themselves while I’m away from the Main Palace.’

If nothing troublesome occurred until I completed my revenge and achieved a peaceful life, that would be ideal.

I indulged in that hopeless expectation for a moment.

* * *

Late at night, Loreil returned to the Viscount’s Mansion.

As he stepped down from the Carriage, he recalled the servant he had encountered before parting with Britz Jabok.

‘That servant lied, claiming he was ordered by the Empress.’

The man had an oddly indistinct impression, and everything he said was false.

The Empress had neither summoned Loreil nor was she waiting for him. She had retired early to her own palace, claiming fatigue.

‘I couldn’t even sense the servant’s presence until the door opened.’

The same held true for the Guard concealed in hiding.

Either both of us had made a simultaneous error, or the servant possessed extraordinary skill.

Loreil naturally leaned toward the latter possibility. And there was a high probability that the servant and Britz Jabok were connected.

‘If that’s the case, then Britz Jabok could have killed me right there.’

Within Loreil’s mind, Britz Jabok’s threat level rose to just below that of the Princess.

Had Deina heard this assessment, she would have exclaimed, ‘I rank that high?’

—————

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

—————