Pretending to Be Human Is Exhausting Again Today - Chapter 67

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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 067

Princess Chloe answered.

She begged for help.

She couldn’t articulate what she needed or how to ask for it. She only knew that if she could escape this nightmare, she would do anything—absolutely anything.

The Lake God responded to her voice.

[I understand. Leave the prince and run to where the Duke is.]

She couldn’t fathom why the Lake God would direct her toward the Duke, the leader of the Rebel Army, but panic consumed her reason. Her legs moved of their own accord, following the deity’s command.

‘Don’t go! Please, don’t go! Save us! Save us!’

She covered her ears against the prince’s anguished cries and ran forward without looking back.

Soon she stood before the Duke. He gazed at her tear-streaked face with a voice tinged with sympathy.

‘Princess Chloe, I see. You too are a pitiable creature.’

The Purple-haired Woman standing beside him scoffed.

‘Pitiable? Since when do dolls deserve sympathy?’

A doll.

She couldn’t deny the contemptuous epithet hurled at her.

Following the Lake God’s guidance to seek out the Duke had proven wise. He understood that Chloe bore no responsibility for this tragedy. Indeed, several Anti-Royalist Faction nobles had argued that she, at least, should be released.

The Duke granted their wishes.

‘The King has already requested asylum in the Empire beforehand, hasn’t he? Change the name of the asylum applicant to the princess’s name. I will spare your life.’

Thus, Princess Chloe was sent to the Empire alongside several Knights and Servants who had played no part in the conspiracy.

Of course, opposition was fierce. To the citizens who had lost their families, Chloe—who had lived a life of royal privilege without want—remained an unforgivable figure.

The Wet Nurse, torch held high and crying out for the execution of the Imperial Family, was among them.

‘Settle the score! The debt of sin, the extravagance, the happiness stolen from us—settle it all!’

Yet Princess Chloe never received the chance to apologize to them. A handful of sympathetic nobles had forcibly placed her aboard a ship.

Thus she departed from Jins Kingdom, her spirit hollow and adrift.

‘In truth, am I not the criminal? I have given the people no regard whatsoever, living in peace while they suffered. Perhaps I deserve to die, as they say.’

If my death could quell their rage and resentment…

Then perhaps I should not have fled, but chosen to end my own life instead.

That was the burden a guilty member of the Imperial Family must bear.

Trapped alone in the darkness of the ship’s hold, she arrived at the most terrible of conclusions.

And the Lake God answered her plea once more.

[So you wish to die again? In a way that troubles no one else, yet satisfies the people’s thirst for vengeance? Hmm, yes. How fortunate—I know just the perfect candidate.]

Following the divine oracle, she sent a letter to the Empire.

Requesting that Deina Ripeon be sent as her guide for the exile.

The Lake God had said that if Deina possessed the power of a curse, she would guide Princess Chloe to the most fitting form of death.

In other words, this was not a journey to survive, but Princess Chloe’s final reckoning—a journey to meet a death she deserved.

And so, when she set foot in Gilli Port for the first time and encountered Deina…

‘I have truly, truly longed to meet you, Princess Deina.’

She felt both profound joy and deep dread.

For she had sensed instinctively that this beautiful princess with golden eyes would become her death.

* * *

After hearing the entire story, the Knight added a final explanation.

“I only learned of this after arriving in the Empire. We tried to dissuade her, but the Princess’s resolve was unwavering….”

So the Knight had reluctantly agreed to participate in her plan.

‘That’s a lie. He helped because he harbored his own resentment.’

A truly loyal knight would have refused even with a blade to his throat. It was clear that during his flight to the Empire, he too had accumulated some measure of hatred toward the Royal Family.

After hearing the entire account, Ivan spoke with exasperation.

“I doubt deities even exist… but even if they did, would they really issue such an oracle? What kind of deity does that!”

Surprisingly, he too seemed to harbor the illusion that deities would be benevolent.

Meanwhile, throughout the entire account, I found myself thinking this was precisely the sort of oracle the Lake God would issue.

Granting the wishes of those it cherished, yet always culminating in cruel endings—it was quintessentially the Lake God’s style.

‘But it’s strange that it supposedly issued oracles to all the Royal Family members. There’s no way that creature had so many favored humans.’

It wasn’t only I who felt such doubts. Liribel, who took considerable interest in dark magic, cautiously asked me.

“Princess, does dark magic really require that many sacrifices?”

“No, there exists no magic anywhere that requires thousands of sacrifices.”

If magic could simply work by pouring in arbitrary amounts of mana, it would have been deployed first on the battlefields of the Demon Realm, not in Jins Kingdom. I had never encountered such magic.

At that moment, the Knight suddenly interjected.

“Ah, regarding that—our mage mentioned something similar. He suggested this dark magic might not have been performed for the first time.”

“What do you mean?”

“Ever since the oracle was issued, they may have repeated the same ritual countless times. But with continuous failures, the number of sacrifices simply accumulated….”

That was a plausible explanation. Or perhaps the quantity had grown as failures mounted.

‘Princess Chloe was older than me, wasn’t she? Then this kidnapping and slaughter has been going on for over twenty years?’

After gathering sacrifices for such a long time, discovery was inevitable.

Now I understood why Princess Chloe had chosen to end her own life.

I exhaled deeply and brushed back my bangs.

‘I swore I wouldn’t interfere….’

The more I learned, the more I couldn’t ignore it.

Because it reminded me of my past self.

‘To end the war. There was no choice. There was no other way….’

The desperation of that time resurfaced, and my mood darkened.

“Your Highness? Are you all right?”

Ruslara, who had been watching my expression from my side, approached cautiously. I assured her I was fine and dismissed her, then turned to the Knight.

“Do you have any idea who hired the Mercenary Group?”

“It’s likely the Anti-Royalist Faction Nobles. They’ve been consistently dissatisfied with the lenient punishment of the Rebel Army.”

“Enough to spend such an enormous sum?”

The bounty amount revealed by the captured mercenary was beyond imagination, even for someone of my Imperial Family status. Were they truly willing to spend such wealth just to kill Princess Chloe?

“That’s… many among the Anti-Royalist Faction had their children or spouses offered as sacrifices.”

Those who had lost family members wouldn’t find their rage satisfied even if they spent their entire fortune to kill the perpetrator. Now I could finally understand the truth behind this absurd situation.

It was a troublesome predicament. It would have been easier to resolve if someone were blackmailing her, but when the person acted out of a sense of duty, persuasion became far more difficult.

‘As Liribel said, there’s a way to forcibly take her to the Capital… but if that happens, once we arrive there, she will….’

She would choose death by her own hand.

After hearing the full account, I couldn’t bear to let her face such an ending.

‘There’s no reason her conclusion must mirror mine exactly.’

That left only one option: persuasion.

I spoke one final time to those gathered in the room.

“Everyone, please step outside for a moment. Instead—”

—I gestured toward the opposite door.

“Princess Chloe, come inside.”

“Hic!”

A hiccup escaped from beyond the door. Did she truly believe we wouldn’t notice her hiding there? Both Ivan and Ruslara had surely sensed her presence long ago, just as I had.

After ushering everyone out, including the Knight, I remained alone in the room with Princess Chloe.

“Sit.”

She settled awkwardly into the chair across from me.

“I’ve just heard your entire situation. Do you still believe you must die?”

“Of… of course.”

She straightened herself for a moment, then continued with a resolute expression.

“It’s the only way I can atone to them. If my life can ease even a fraction of their resentment, that will be enough.”

“There’s another way—you could renounce your title as princess.”

“I won’t do that. I was born a princess, and I’ll die as one. I’ve already enjoyed all the privileges that come with royal blood. I won’t become a coward who flees now.”

It was admirable thinking. My assessment of Princess Chloe rose considerably.

Yet it pained me all the more. Because I knew this small sense of responsibility would go unrewarded.

“Very well. I shall grant your wish.”

“What? If you grant it….”

“I will kill you.”

Hiccup—she sobbed once more.

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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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