Pretending to Be Human Is Exhausting Again Today - Chapter 55

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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 055

After tending to the blood as best she could, Liribel spoke carefully to Viscount Gorden.

“Viscount, I apologize, but I fear we cannot continue relief efforts any further today. The bedroom….”

“Ah, of course! Allow me to show you the way!”

Viscount Gorden hastily guided Liribel and Deina to the prepared bedroom.

He had previously ordered the Chamberlain to gather all the castle’s precious ornaments and furnish an opulent chamber.

Yet all those decorations and paintings could not ease Deina’s aftereffects. She sat upon the sofa with a pallid complexion.

“Is there anything the Princess requires? Medicine, perhaps? Holy water…?”

Though Viscount Gorden desperately wished to be of service, Liribel shook her head firmly.

“No, that won’t be necessary. Rest is what she needs most.”

“But….”

“I must take my leave now. The Princess requires my assistance.”

Liribel bowed respectfully, then turned toward Deina—a clear signal that no further interruptions were welcome.

Viscount Gorden left the bedroom in silence, unable to utter another word.

‘How powerless I am. To burden such a small girl with this weight, even if she is of the Imperial Family….’

I was foolish to rejoice at the miracle’s arrival. To take another’s sacrifice for granted—could I truly call myself a nobleman of the Empire after this?

‘The Maid seemed accustomed to this situation. The Princess must have known the aftereffects would occur. Yet she did not hesitate to offer her aid….’

The most shameful truth was that I could not bring myself to tell her to cease the relief efforts, even knowing the toll it would exact.

“Ah….”

‘Sun God, why must you be so cruel?’

As I shuffled out of Deina’s bedroom, I spotted a familiar face of a chamberlain in the opposite corridor.

It was Ivan, the chamberlain who had been watching over Deina alongside Liribel.

“You there.”

“Hmm?”

“Didn’t you say the Princess had recovered her health? Does she always cough up blood like that?”

“Ah~ You saw her hemoptysis?”

It was an unusually casual tone for a chamberlain, but Viscount Gorden’s mind was too muddled to notice. Ivan tilted his head in thought before responding.

“It’s not frequent. It happens when she overexerts herself.”

“That’s… she might die doing that.”

“What can I do? The Princess insists on it.”

Ivan shrugged his shoulders. Then, catching sight of Viscount Gorden crumbling under guilt, he laughed with a mischievous grin.

“If you feel sorry, why not offer some compensation?”

“B-but the Princess said she wanted nothing.”

“Really? Our Princess isn’t usually that unambitious… Anyway, if she won’t take money, you could help in other ways.”

For example, he whispered to Viscount Gorden.

“Our Princess is going to manage lands from now on.”

“Ah, the Imperial Domain?”

“But she’s short on personnel to manage it, so you could offer support?”

It was common knowledge that one shouldn’t meddle in another’s domain management. Especially the Imperial Family’s direct dominion—offering support would be tantamount to publicly endorsing that member of the Imperial Family.

Like pledging allegiance to a successor vying for the Crown Prince’s position.

“…Very well, I’ll lend my support.”

Viscount Gorden accepted without hesitation. This was no time to weigh the dangers of sponsoring a weakened Imperial Family.

If it meant repaying a debt of gratitude, he would gladly sacrifice his political standing.

The thought that he finally had something to offer in return lifted a weight from his heart. Viscount Gorden turned around with a composed expression.

“Thank you for the counsel. Your name is…?”

But Ivan was no longer there. Viscount Gorden stood alone in the long corridor—no branching paths, no doors, nothing but emptiness.

“Did I… just see an illusion?”

No one answered his question.

‘No, this isn’t the time for that. If I’ve committed to supporting the Imperial Family, I need to sever my old ties first.’

And conveniently, the faction he’d been aligned with was the Delchis Family. He’d sent them a letter requesting aid when the plague broke out, but they’d never replied.

Now the moment had come to cut ties with them.

‘The heir… Loreil was said to be passing through the area. I’ll send a messenger to inform him.’

His pace quickened.

* * *

‘Is this good fortune or bad?’

I opened my eyes, staring at the pillow drenched in blood.

I’d thought I’d coughed up all the blood before falling asleep, but it seemed I’d been spitting it up throughout the night.

I wiped away the blood smeared around my mouth and sat up.

“Wow….”

I marveled as I assessed my physical condition.

‘Completely refreshed.’

I had never experienced such a magnificent morning since this body was born. The air tasted sweet, and vitality surged through every fiber of my being. It felt as though I had emerged from an ocean of recovery potions.

‘I didn’t absorb that much mana… but perhaps it’s different because it passed through a human body?’

Just as whiskey poured into a barrel that once held sherry wine becomes something entirely new, the mana that had passed through a human carried a distinctly different essence. It had a flavor all its own.

The absorbed mana clung to my body like a second skin, bringing with it an unexpected vitality.

‘This is far too inhuman of me.’

It was a perfectly apt comparison, but hardly something I should voice aloud as a human.

Rising from the bed, I stretched my limbs and worked the tension from my muscles. My body felt excellent.

‘It would have been perfect if I hadn’t coughed up blood.’

Absorbing mana was ultimately the same as expending it, so naturally the aftereffects came with it.

Because of that, I felt uneasy about having caused concern to those around me.

‘Even when I tell them I’ll be fine soon, they hardly believe it.’

Perhaps I should give them a proper lecture on the mana physiology of my body sometime.

After stretching thoroughly, I was about to call for Liribel when someone knocked on the door.

“Your Highness, it’s me.”

It was Ivan. I hastily tied back my disheveled hair and opened the door.

“….”

Upon seeing my face, Ivan blinked blankly, his gaze so intense I wondered if something was smudged on my cheek.

“What is it?”

“…No, it’s nothing.”

He hurried into the room and collapsed onto the sofa with a heavy sigh.

Eager to move past what had just transpired, he launched directly into the matter at hand.

“Liribel worked late into the night, so I came to check on her condition. The other maids will arrive shortly.”

“So Liribel is sleeping?”

“Yes. Don’t you remember? Even after the Princess fell asleep yesterday, she kept coming and going from the bedroom.”

‘Ah, so that presence was Liribel.’

It seemed she had been moving in and out of the bedroom all night, worried that something might happen to me.

‘Well, Liribel has been watching over my aftereffects since I first opened my eyes.’

I felt as though I were only burdening that child with worry.

At that moment, Ivan, who had been watching me sigh, spoke.

“Are you going out to treat people again today?”

“Of course. I intend to finish treating everyone by today if possible.”

Now that I had developed a technique, I could treat people faster than yesterday. My goal was to cure all the residents before midnight and eliminate the source of the plague at the lake.

‘That way, I should stay on schedule.’

There wasn’t much time left before the Princess of Jins Kingdom arrived at the port. I couldn’t allow an exile to set foot on unfamiliar ground without anyone to receive her.

“Well, this city will soon be history then. Should we hurry out and finish this?”

Growing restless from being confined to one area, Ivan finally stretched and announced he was leaving.

Then a sudden question occurred to me.

“By the way, Ivan—you didn’t seem very surprised when I coughed up blood.”

“Huh? What, did you want me to worry about you?”

“No. I’m just surprised by how calm you are.”

The Ivan in my mind was far from rational and composed.

Ivan stretched his arm and spoke. “Well, you see—”

“Just coughing up blood doesn’t mean the Princess will die, does it? You know the type—someone you can’t kill no matter what you do.”

‘So he still evaluates me as an assassination target.’

In a way, it was an attitude befitting an assassin’s duty. If that was the case, I could understand it. Ivan was unreliable in many ways, but his professional spirit as an assassin was firmly ingrained.

“And another thing.”

“Hmm?”

As I casually threw on my coat to leave, he rose from the sofa and followed close behind me, whispering.

“The Princess is flawless, which makes her boring. If you had some painful days like this, wouldn’t you lean on me a little?”

“The day I lean on you won’t come.”

“You never know. The moment you realize this subordinate’s competence will surely arrive.”

He wore a confident expression, urging me to believe him.

Finding that appearance rather endearing, I laughed without noticing my bound hair coming loose.

“You’re quite the amusing subordinate.”

“….”

Like when Ivan first entered the room, the light drained from his eyes—a change I failed to notice.

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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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