Pretending to Be Human Is Exhausting Again Today - Chapter 54

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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 054

Viscount Gorden, flustered, stammered his words.

“What on earth… No, more importantly, why did you enter the city? I’m certain we posted warning signs!”

Deina’s eyebrows twitched, as if she hadn’t expected him to ask that.

“So you were the one who created those signs, Viscount?”

“Yes, I had the soldiers put them up… Of course, they used some strange wording at first, so I had them change it… No, that’s not the point! I’m asking why you entered!”

Viscount Gorden hastily retreated, putting distance between himself and her—fearful that her plague might spread to him.

“As I mentioned, it is because I can cure the disease.”

“You continue spouting such nonsense… This is a plague that even countless physicians and apothecaries have abandoned!”

Even though Viscount Gorden had little connection to Capital politics, he had heard rumors about Deina.

That she had suffered under a curse for a long time before recently recovering her health. For a Princess who seemed ignorant of such common knowledge to claim she could cure a plague sounded like nothing but boasting.

“I had heard that Her Highness the Princess would be passing through this city. I apologize that we could not offer a proper welcome… but right now, the city is extremely dangerous. You must escape at once!”

“And what of you, Viscount?”

“I must remain, as I am the Lord. How could I abandon my people and flee?”

‘Ah, my tone…’

I had answered sharply, as if questioning why he would ask something so obvious. Worried it might have sounded disrespectful, Viscount Gorden covered his mouth and studied Deina’s expression.

“…?”

Yet Deina was smiling, seemingly pleased by Viscount Gorden’s attitude.

Despite the fierce first impression created by her golden eyes, her smile possessed an elegant grace that captivated the gaze.

“Hearing you say that makes me all the more determined to help.”

“So then, such far-fetched stories are….”

“Let me demonstrate first.”

Deina abruptly pulled the Chamberlain, who had been standing awkwardly near the doorway, toward her. He’d been watching for the right moment to excuse himself, so her sudden action made his eyes widen in surprise.

“Your legs aren’t moving well, are they? And it seems numbness has spread to your fingertips as well.”

“Y-yes, that’s correct.”

Deina placed her fingertips on the back of the flustered Chamberlain’s hand. Then, with her eyes closed, she chanted an incantation of unknown origin.

‘This light—!’

In that moment, a faint luminescence flowed from her hand. It was a warm glow that evoked the memory of the sun itself.

‘Could it be… divine power?’

Viscount Gorden, who had never encountered a Priest wielding divine power, mistook her ability for exactly that.

As if intending precisely this, Deina displayed the light with deliberate flourish.

“Ah, ah! My legs are moving!”

Moments later, as the light faded, the Chamberlain leaped up with an astonished expression. Both his limping leg and his numb fingers had returned to normal.

Seeing this, Deina smiled softly and spoke.

“Your arms and legs should be restored. But the jaundice symptoms appearing on your face will require rest for some time before they fade, so be careful.”

“Yes, I understand!”

The Chamberlain shed tears of gratitude toward Deina. Seeing this, Viscount Gorden was so astonished that his mouth merely gaped, prompting Deina to gesture toward the stack of pharmaceutical texts piled in the corner of the room.

“Having studied pharmacy as extensively as that, you understand why jaundice symptoms appear, don’t you?”

“Ah, yes. When the internal organs become diseased, the body cannot detoxify the poison within….”

So flustered was he that his words tumbled out in disarray. Deina nodded understandingly at his bewilderment.

“That’s right. So even if we cure the illness, jaundice won’t return to normal immediately. Keep the body warm and feed them plenty of quality meat. You have sufficient funds, yes?”

“Yes, yes. Fortunately, the Delchis Marquis Heir has generously sponsored a substantial sum.”

“You intend to use it all for the residents’ welfare, I presume?”

“Of course. The people matter far more than mere gold.”

Deina’s smile deepened.

“I’ll have my servants handle the procurement of provisions and materials. First, compile the addresses of all residents. I’ll treat them myself by visiting each one directly.”

“You… you’re truly going to treat them?”

Only then did Viscount Gorden realize that Deina’s words were no mere boast, and he fell to his knees.

He had thought them hopelessly doomed, yet suddenly salvation’s hand descended upon them. It was beyond imagination. And that savior was none other than the rumored Princess.

‘Is this… the Sun God’s blessing?’

It could be nothing less than a divine miracle.

Deina extended her hand to the weeping Viscount Gorden. The moment her palm touched his cheek, light poured forth once more, beginning to heal him.

Her mana swept through every part of Viscount Gorden’s body, perfectly curing his mana sickness.

Though it was Demon mana that had saved him, Viscount Gorden interpreted it quite differently.

‘This is the touch of divinity itself. She… is the Princess His Majesty truly the Sun God’s representative!’

He was not so foolish as to voice trivial questions about how she could possess such power. What mattered was that she possessed the strength to save them now.

Even if she were not the Sun God’s representative, it would have been well. He could have bowed his head even if she were a Demon’s minion.

If only she could save his beloved city, he would surrender his very soul, whether she were Demon or deity.

“Rise now, Viscount.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Viscount Gorden, who had unknowingly fallen to his knees in a posture of prayer, sprang to his feet at Deina’s words.

“Now that you know my words are truth, you understand what must be done, yes?”

“I shall prepare the addresses and the registry at once.”

Viscount Gorden wiped away his tears and nodded with renewed determination.

Then, together with the Chamberlain, he hastened toward his study to prepare the registry.

He did not witness Deina, left alone in the room, exhale a breath of relief with the thought, ‘The act worked after all.’

* * *

Not all the city’s inhabitants welcomed Deina’s arrival as Viscount Gorden had. One Old Man with platinum eyes pointed at her accusingly, questioning whether she was instead the incarnation of a curse itself.

Viscount Gorden stepped forward to manage the situation, unable to ignore the Old Man’s rudeness—born of reason lost to the prospect of imminent death.

“His Majesty has come to save us. Anyone who insults this person insults me!”

No one in this city failed to respect Viscount Gorden. Because he treated Deina as though she were his superior, even the dissatisfied residents had no choice but to relent.

Even amid such misfortune, Deina remained unshaken. Instead, she grasped the hand of the Old Man who had pointed at her and spoke with a compassionate voice.

“Do not fear. I have come to save you.”

What nobility of spirit this revealed!

Viscount Gorden marveled once more, and her words became the catalyst for even the residents who had doubted her to extend their hands in trust.

As Deina administered treatment, she forbade the use of wells and lakes, requesting that water be procured from outside the village. Though she did not explain her precise reasoning, it seemed she believed the water itself was the source of the affliction.

Viscount Gorden, pledging to follow Deina’s instructions, issued orders throughout the city.

Moreover, she visited the homes of those most severely afflicted first. She ignored all requests from those offering payment to be treated before others.

Among them were wealthy individuals whom even Viscount Gorden could not disregard, yet Deina firmly refused their pleas.

“This is relief work, not commerce.”

By this point, Viscount Gorden had already become a devoted follower of Deina.

‘They persecuted her in the Capital? Fools! They don’t even realize there’s no Imperial Family member as exemplary and dignified as she is!’

To him, the nobles of the Capital appeared nothing but foolish.

After half a day of traveling about and treating people directly, Deina had healed thirty percent of the city’s population.

At this rate, it seemed she could save all the residents within two days at the earliest, or four days at the latest.

“Your Highness the Princess, I shall prepare quarters for you in the castle. Though humble, this evening we shall—”

Just as Viscount Gorden was about to escort her to provide her with the utmost hospitality, it happened.

“…Cough!”

Deina suddenly erupted into a violent fit of coughing.

Wondering if she’d caught a cold from the cold weather, Viscount Gorden was about to call for his Chamberlain to fetch a coat from the castle when the sight that followed froze him in place.

“Cough, cough!”

Deina had begun coughing up blood.

So much blood poured from her mouth that it seemed as though her throat itself had been wounded.

“Y-Your Highness the Princess!”

The flustered Viscount Gorden tried to approach, but Liribel, the Maid who attended her, supported her first.

“Is it the aftereffects again?”

“Yes, I’m sorry.”

Liribel withdrew a handful of handkerchiefs from her pocket with a darkened expression. As if she had anticipated such an occurrence, dozens of handkerchiefs were stuffed within.

‘Aftereffects?’

Leaving the speechless Viscount Gorden behind, Liribel continued to wipe Deina’s mouth as she coughed incessantly.

‘Could it be… aftereffects from performing a miracle?’

A mysterious power that saved people through mere touch.

Why had I only now realized that such a miracle could never have been granted without a price?

Watching Deina cough up blood so pitifully, Viscount Gorden found himself utterly speechless.

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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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