Pretending to Be Human Is Exhausting Again Today - Chapter 41

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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 041

Contrary to his outward demeanor, Loreil had never once lowered his assessment of Deina’s threat level.

‘The question is whether the Princess knows Britz Jabok’s true nature….’

Without entering the Manor, Loreil leaned his back against the Carriage door and fell into contemplation.

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t fathom how Britz Jabok and Deina had become entangled. Even if they’d crossed paths at the Arena, that cautious Princess wouldn’t have opened her heart so readily.

‘Then did Britz Jabok coerce the Princess to expand his influence….’

Though he wanted to dismiss the notion, the memory of their first meeting surfaced, leaving him unable to be certain.

After she’d thrown her fist, he’d witnessed her coughing blood—proof that her illness remained unhealed.

‘She’s definitely a Demon, or something equivalent to one. And she carries a grave illness severe enough to make her cough blood if she overexerts herself.’

If Britz Jabok had noticed that weakness and approached her, seeking to discover a way to turn that monstrous power to his advantage….

‘It’s not an impossible scenario.’

Even the monsters of legend possessed vulnerabilities. If he were Britz Jabok, he would naturally have exploited those weaknesses to draw close to Deina.

Had she only not been wary of him.

‘A Princess being manipulated by Britz Jabok—the worst-case scenario I can imagine.’

Deina was already someone whose true nature defied prediction.

If she were a malevolent Demon as the legends depicted, she’d be easier to contend with. But if she allied with a schemer like Britz Jabok, whose intentions remained obscure, revealing her identity would become infinitely more difficult.

That was not what Loreil desired.

‘Whether the Princess is virtuous or wicked matters little to me. What I need is only her identity.’

That invisible black mana wielded by the modern mage—whoever possessed it could never be human.

‘I must eliminate Britz Jabok from her side first. A nobleman who could become her betrothed would be an obstacle. Especially one so skilled at concealing crime.’

Or perhaps he should become her fiancé instead, so he could investigate her from the closest vantage point.

Loreil’s obsession had already crossed into something akin to compulsion. At last, he sensed the thread of identity that had tormented him his entire life was finally within reach. For him, this mattered more than any quarrel with the Empress or the Emperor’s suggestions.

Yet he remained oblivious to how this very obsession was gradually eroding the rationality that had always sustained him.

Why had he prioritized warning over interrogation when confronting Britz Jabok? What explained the surge of fury—not mere suspicion—when he witnessed the silent exchange between Britz Jabok and Deina at the banquet?

Because he believed these unfamiliar emotions belonged to someone else, he never paused to contemplate their origin.

While he was mentally rehearsing how to dispose of Britz Jabok, the Manor’s gate swung open and an elderly Servant peered out.

“Good heavens, young master, why are you out here in the cold?”

“…I was just about to come in.”

Loreil offered a bitter smile and pushed himself away from the Carriage. As he approached the Manor entrance, the Servant suddenly startled and waved his hands in protest.

“Wait, please, young master. Before you enter…”

Wondering what the commotion was about, he was about to ask when—

“My son, my son has come!”

A woman’s voice rang out shrilly from within the Manor.

The moment he heard it, his blood seemed to freeze in his veins. Loreil stopped in his tracks without thinking.

But the voice’s owner, as if sensing his hesitation, threw open the Manor gate and rushed toward him.

“Oh my!”

She paid no attention to the Servant who had fallen to the ground because of her. Instead, her vibrant auburn hair streaming behind her, she rushed to Loreil and embraced him.

“Mother, what brings you here?”

She was none other than Vanessa Delchis, the mistress of the Delchis Estate.

With a beautiful, radiant face that belied her years, she gazed at Loreil with a cheerful smile.

“Well, I came because I missed our son!”

“You said you would remain at the Castle until spring arrived….”

“What does a schedule matter compared to my son’s importance!”

At first glance, they appeared as an affectionate mother and son, yet with each exchange, Loreil’s expression grew increasingly frigid.

The Servant, straightening himself as he rose from his seat, was no different. His face darkened as he watched the Duchess carefully, his lips trembling as though he wished to convey something to Loreil.

‘The Duke… Yes, Father must be here as well.’

The Duke, who should have been in his Marquis Territory, appeared to have come to this Manor.

“Let us go inside, Mother. The weather is cold.”

“Aren’t you being too cold? Your mother has come—you should show joy!”

“I am sufficiently delighted.”

“Do you know how long your mother has waited? I was so worried something might have happened to our son….”

At that moment, the inner door of the Manor creaked open. Then heavy footsteps approached toward Loreil.

Just as the footsteps reached the gate.

“Filthy creature.”

Splash—

Holy water flew toward Loreil’s face.

‘Holy water, then.’

The salty taste of the liquid seeped through my closed lips.

I turned my gaze toward the person who had sprinkled holy water upon me.

Hair a deeper crimson than the Duchess’s. A rigidly upright posture and eyes brimming with hostility… It was none other than Donovan Delchis, the Count, head of the Delchis Family.

The Duke glared at Loreil as though he might devour him on the spot.

“How shameless of you to parade through the Imperial Palace so brazenly. Does the Emperor’s flattery sound so sweet to your ears?”

“It has been some time, Father. However, I visited the Imperial Palace only because you instructed me to build a bridge with the Empress….”

“Silence! If you truly obeyed my orders, why has such a rumor spread?”

‘So it’s that problem after all.’

Loreil lowered his gaze, feigning contrition. He had discerned what had provoked the Duke’s fury.

“You must have carelessly flaunted your power again! How dare you, babbling about the Delchis Family’s secrets so recklessly…!”

“I am deeply ashamed, but the rumor did not originate from me. Please believe me.”

The scandal currently roiling through High Society was a scandalous whisper that the Duke and Loreil were in fact half-brothers.

It would have been better had it been mere hearsay, but both the Duke and Loreil knew it was rooted in truth.

Whether Loreil’s words sounded like excuses or not, the Duke’s fury erupted as he swung the cane he held toward Loreil.

Thwack—!

The cane’s tip struck Loreil’s abdomen, yet he did not flinch. This apparent indifference only inflamed the Duke further, his voice rising.

“Ridiculous! Then who spread such detailed truth? It must have been an insider!”

I agreed that the information had come from an insider. Yet the Duke’s suspicion of me was hardly rational.

And for good reason.

“You know I cannot break my contract, Father.”

I could never defy the Duke’s commands.

“…Hmph.”

The anger in the Duke’s eyes diminished slightly. He withdrew his cane and let out a scornful laugh.

“Perhaps you’re scheming to exploit loopholes in our contract and betray me.”

“…I could never do such a thing.”

“Of course you couldn’t.”

The Duke’s lips curled into a smile as he muttered words like an incantation.

“…!”

A sudden chill seized Loreil, and he staggered.

Searing pain lanced through every nerve in his body, accompanied by an indescribable humiliation that engulfed him entirely.

“My son!”

The Duchess, who had been watching the confrontation between the Duke and Loreil with anxious eyes, moved to support him, but the Duke blocked her path.

“This is a lesson. Do not interfere.”

“B-but….”

“Vanessa Delchis!”

Frightened by the Duke calling her by name rather than title, she shrank back.

“Ugh….”

The Duke approached Loreil, who was gasping in pain, and raised his cane again, pushing against his shoulder. Unlike before, Loreil collapsed without resistance.

“Yes, bound by our contract, you cannot defy me. Just as a demon summoned by a sorcerer cannot.”

“F-father….”

“I shall overlook this matter this time. However, should you display such insolence again… I will not end it with merely a warning.”

As the Duke chanted another brief incantation, the agony crushing Loreil vanished. It felt as though his skin had been flayed raw and he’d been cast into a cesspool bristling with thorns.

Loreil swallowed the hatred rising in his throat and opened his mouth.

“I shall keep that in mind.”

The Duke seemed pleased with my response, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his mouth before he turned sharply toward the Manor.

“You reek of the Imperial Palace. Cleanse yourself thoroughly, then proceed to the Prayer Room. I trust you haven’t forgotten your evening prayers simply because you’re away from the main estate.”

“Yes, Father.”

I rose to my feet with a soft sound and offered a respectful bow to the departing Duke.

The Duchess, believing the tension had finally dissipated, approached swiftly.

“Oh my, look at this cold sweat. Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, Mother.”

“He really is strict, even for education’s sake. There’s no need for such severity… but you must understand, he takes your heir training quite seriously.”

Heir training, she called it.

This time, I couldn’t control my expression. Yet the Duchess failed to notice the bleak smile that flickered across my lips, speaking instead in a cheerful tone.

“Our Jorgue is such a good child, you understand, don’t you?”

Jorgue—that was the name of my dead brother. Accustomed to being called by his name, I didn’t protest and simply nodded.

“…Yes, of course. After all, I am the eldest son.”

The Marquis’ family, particularly the Duchess, had yet to escape the shadow of Jorgue.

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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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