Pretending to Be Human Is Exhausting Again Today - Chapter 64

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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 064

‘How did things come to this?’

I watched Princess Chloe held captive by a small-time mercenary and traced back the chain of events that had led to this crisis.

After defeating the Black Helmet Mercenary Group, we had advanced toward our second target: the Red Brotherhood.

Unlike the Black Helmets, the Red Brotherhood possessed superior skill and organizational cohesion. They were the ideal form of mercenary group—one that wouldn’t collapse simply because their captain disappeared.

So we employed guerrilla tactics. Swift raids at speeds the enemy couldn’t counter, followed by retreat. We repeated this pattern to gradually whittle down their strength.

With mana-enhanced assassins in our ranks, it was an exceptionally effective strategy.

‘Three wounded on our side. The Red Brotherhood’s casualties exceeded half their numbers.’

By any measure, the results couldn’t have been more successful.

Then came the final moment—when we eliminated the Red Brotherhood’s captain.

‘No, Princess Chloe! What are you doing here!’

Princess Chloe, whom I had explicitly ordered to wait in a secure location, had approached the battlefield.

Chloe’s Knights, who had been blocking the escape route from the opposite side to prevent the Red Brotherhood from fleeing, called out to her desperately. But she moved toward the enemy as if entranced.

The mercenary group, their captain on the verge of surrender, quickly seized the opportunity and captured her.

‘Open the retreat! If you don’t, we’ll kill the Princess!’

‘Leave me behind, Your Highness! I’m fine, I’m fine!’

…And now, back to the present.

The remnants of the Red Brotherhood held Princess Chloe hostage while our soldiers surrounded them in a frustrating stalemate.

‘Why did she walk in there? What was her purpose?’

Part of me wanted to grab her by the collar and demand answers immediately, but the situation was far too urgent for that.

The remnants of the Mercenary Group were demanding an escape route, continuously screaming that if we didn’t retreat, they would kill Princess Chloe.

“Ruslara, what do you think will happen if I retreat and open an escape route as they demand?”

Ruslara answered without hesitation.

“They’ll continue using the Princess as a hostage and flee. Then, once they’re certain they’ve escaped safely, they’ll kill her.”

“Do you have any good ideas?”

“To be honest, I think abandoning the Princess would be the rational choice.”

I agreed with her assessment, but knowing it was impossible, I sighed and rejected her suggestion.

‘This is an exceptionally troublesome situation. If the distance were just a bit closer, I could rescue the Princess myself….’

The positioning was terrible. We were at a Large Sandbar by the Beach, and the distance between them and us was far too great. With no obstacles to obscure our movements, it was impossible to use shadows to deceive their eyes.

I considered attempting negotiations, but the hostage in their grasp continued to interfere.

“Don’t mind me! Everyone, all of you, just run away!”

‘Please, just shut that mouth.’

Her screams were only heightening the Mercenary Group’s tension.

They were in an excited state, worried that we might actually follow Princess Chloe’s words.

“Your Highness, perhaps we should retreat for now? If you get hurt in this situation….”

“There’s no need to retreat, so be quiet.”

“Y-yes!”

After silencing the oblivious Knight of the Jins Kingdom, I fell into contemplation.

If only Ivan were here, I could have devised a diversionary tactic. But he was currently resting to recover from the previous operation.

As I pondered various strategies, Princess Chloe continued to shout toward us.

“Someone like me… someone like me should be dead. I don’t want to be a burden to you! So please, just stop…!”

Ruslara’s brow furrowed sharply as she spoke.

“That’s not an act, is it? I’ve never seen anyone provoke anger quite so effectively.”

“If that were acting, she’d be famous as an actress, not a princess.”

Her face was awash with despair. Every line of her expression screamed of someone who recognized death’s approach.

‘If she’s so terrified of dying like this, why did she walk onto the battlefield of her own accord?’

For now, I set aside her incomprehensible emotions. After considerable deliberation, I arrived at what seemed the optimal solution.

“Release the princess. Then I’ll grant your demands.”

“First, pull your soldiers back! We negotiate after that!”

Their stance was uncompromising—refuse their demands and they’d refuse all dialogue. Clearly, they weren’t as manageable as the Black Helmet Mercenary Group.

“Fine, I understand. I’ll have them withdraw.”

“Your Highness!”

Ruslara looked flustered, but I silently raised my index finger to my lips, signaling her to stay quiet.

“It’s fine. First, let me align our story with you.”

I quickly briefed her on the script she would need to recite.

“Understood.”

Ruslara swiftly grasped my intent and withdrew with the assassins.

After that, I called out to the mercenary again.

“That should do it! Return Princess Chloe!”

“Ha, how naive… but not yet.”

Perhaps I appeared too compliant, for the Mercenary, having regained his composure, now gestured toward the opposite side—the Knights of the Jins Kingdom—and spoke.

“Next, open an escape route. And don’t pursue us while we’re leaving.”

“That’s not what we agreed to!”

“Shut your mouth! If there are no pursuers, I’ll release Princess Chloe when we reach the border.”

As expected. They intended to flee while holding Princess Chloe hostage.

‘Now. This is the moment.’

At that moment, Ruslara, standing at a distance, spoke with a heavily sarcastic tone.

“Ha! How foolish. Even if you escape from here, without that, you’ll be hunted down by the Emperor’s Army….”

“Ruslara! Can’t you keep quiet!”

A scripted scene. Yet because the content was impossible to ignore, the Mercenary furrowed his brow and questioned me.

“That? What do you mean?”

“You… you don’t need to know. It’s none of your concern….”

“Tell me now! What does that mean! And what about the Emperor’s soldiers!”

I put on an expression of regret and continued hesitantly.

“Right now, a localized earthquake has struck the Empire.”

“We already know that.”

“Since a disaster has occurred, the Emperor’s Disaster Relief Force has likely been dispatched throughout the Empire for aid. They should arrive in various locations within a day.”

“The Disaster Relief Force? Is that true?”

Of course it was a lie. The Empire’s systems weren’t that sophisticated. But they were cornered and not from the Empire themselves, so they couldn’t be certain.

“Moreover, even if you escape from here, if you happen to encounter the army….”

“W-we’re going to die.”

One of the mercenaries cut me off mid-sentence, clutching his head in despair.

“Idiot, don’t panic! We can take the Princess as a hostage!”

“But they said the enemy is an army! Will that even work? We should take the Imperial Princess instead….”

“Are you insane! That Imperial Princess is rumored to have been abandoned by the Emperor. She’s worthless as a hostage!”

‘How irritating—mixing in such comments.’

As they continued their quarrel, the mercenary holding Princess Chloe fixed me with a sharp gaze and spoke.

“Wait, what do you mean by ‘that’? You made it sound like without it, we’d be crushed by the army?”

‘At least one of them has some sense.’

With a reluctant expression, I lifted the necklace that had been hidden beneath my chest armor.

“What Ruslara mentioned… was this.”

It was a necklace shaped like a falcon, adorned with gold, though from their distance, they likely couldn’t see it clearly. I deliberately adjusted the angle so the sunlight would reflect off it brilliantly.

“What exactly is that necklace? Speak plainly!”

“This is a necklace that proves I’m carrying out a mission given by the Emperor himself. Anyone who possesses this—no soldier or nobleman in the Empire will block your path. They’ll believe you’re on a secret mission.”

“Something like that exists?”

“I’ve never even heard of it….”

The mercenaries murmured among themselves once more.

Most thought it was a preposterous tale, yet none dared cry out that I was lying.

Of course they didn’t. It was human nature to lend an ear even to bizarre superstitions if it meant any chance of survival.

And so, faced with this lie-laden story, the fugitive’s choice was….

“That necklace. Hand it over.”

Extortion, plain and simple.

Whether they believed me or not, they’d take it first and ask questions later—that was their thinking.

“I can’t! If this is taken from me, I’ll have to answer to the Emperor….”

“So the Princess’s life means nothing to you? Hand it over, now!”

I lowered my head with a pained expression, then fumbled with trembling hands to unfasten the necklace.

“Faster!”

“I’ve never fastened this myself! I don’t know how to undo it!”

“This is why nobles are so useless…. Come here! Raise both arms, turn around, and walk backward!”

Everything was proceeding as planned.

I turned around and slowly backed toward them.

“Stop right there.”

As I drew near, one of the mercenaries approached me and reached for the necklace around my neck with rough hands.

“Damn, this looks expensive. Is this really the symbol of the Imperial Family?”

I turned their earlier mockery back on them with a scornful laugh.

“How naive. You actually believed that?”

“What?”

“Who said anything about handing you over to the Emperor? You’re my prey.”

“…!”

The mercenary sensed my hostile intent and lunged for my throat, but I had already swung my arm.

Just as I had done to Loreil, I poured a generous amount of mana into the blow after so long.

‘Loreil survived it, but what about you?’

I struck the mercenary’s face without mercy.

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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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