Pretending to Be Human Is Exhausting Again Today - Chapter 70

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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 070

Grid shrugged and continued his account.

“Loreil and his subordinates appeared out of nowhere and decimated the entire mercenary group. Unlike the fight between Ivan and Ruslara, it was remarkably systematic combat.”

“…Somehow, it sounds like you just hid and observed the whole thing.”

“I’m merely a humble merchant. How could I possibly participate in combat?”

Grid’s true intentions were transparent enough. He’d only been asked to deliver supplies, so combat wasn’t his concern.

Regardless, Loreil’s sudden appearance was far more troubling than Grid’s irritating evasiveness.

“Where did that man come from? We didn’t send any request for reinforcements, did we?”

“I certainly never did. Ivan and Ruslara didn’t seem to have either.”

Moreover, Loreil had apparently handled all the aftermath flawlessly. He’d interrogated the mercenaries and even uncovered the source of their funding.

He hadn’t revealed the employer’s name, of course, but the circumstances pointed unmistakably to Franz.

“Thanks to that, we were able to quickly resolve the situation and come directly here to the Yoner Mine where the Princess is.”

“The Yoner Mine?”

It was the name of a region near Gilli Port. Yet something about this location felt oddly familiar.

‘Someone mentioned this place before, I think…’

As I struggled to recall the vague memory, Grid exhaled deeply and spoke.

“In any case, while everyone else was interrogating the Guard Knight, I had to run around everywhere by myself. Organizing supplies, calling back the personnel left at the port…”

‘He really did go through a lot.’

His tone was light, but exhaustion was evident in his face and bearing.

Since this ordeal’s compensation was the promotion of his spirit, I’d need to examine his spirit once we returned to the Capital.

“…That’s how things have progressed since the Princess lost consciousness. Now, regarding the next matter.”

He pointed toward a small cabin deep within the forest behind him.

“Loreil is waiting there. When he heard that the Princess had awakened, he instructed me to bring you to him.”

“This isn’t a trap, is it?”

“…Are you two actually dating?”

“Why does that keep coming up?”

Do you want a fist in your face?

I raised my clenched fist slightly, and he hurriedly stepped back.

“No, it’s just that Loreil said something similar earlier. When he saw you sleeping, he asked if you were actually deceiving us….”

‘Why is that man so suspicious?’

It’s ironic—I’m the one who’s actually set traps before, yet anyone watching would think I’m the villain here.

“Fine, fine. Since he helped us, the least I can do is meet with him.”

I straightened my clothes and headed toward the cabin, not forgetting to give Grid one final order.

“Since Loreil is here, Ivan must have hidden himself already… Tell Ruslara to rest. She’s to recuperate until her wounds are fully healed.”

“Understood.”

“And you should rest too. I won’t call on you again until we return to the Capital. Thank you for helping me.”

Grid blinked in surprise, as if he’d never expected gratitude, then let out a soft chuckle.

“After all, my mission to stop the Mercenary Group ultimately failed, so there’s no need for praise. Feel free to call on me whenever you need. Being at the Princess’s service isn’t an unpleasant feeling.”

Though I’ll need to be compensated, he added with a smile before vanishing swiftly into the darkness.

Still thinking of him as a peculiar merchant, I made my way toward the cabin.

Knock, knock. As I rapped on the door, a familiar voice called back from within.

“It’s open. Please come in.”

I pushed the door open and stepped inside, immediately feeling the warm radiance of the fireplace. Loreil sat in a chair beside the table positioned before the hearth.

‘He looks somewhat haggard since last we met.’

His complexion appeared even more pallid than before.

“It has been quite some time, Loreil.”

I took a seat across from him. Foregoing the tedious pleasantries that would waste our time, I proceeded directly to the matter at hand.

“I hear you aided my guards. I am deeply grateful. I shall repay this debt without fail, whenever the opportunity arises.”

But then I added a caveat.

“There is one thing I wish to ask you. How did you know we were fighting? I’m told you appeared at a remarkably opportune moment.”

“…For someone who has received aid, your tone is quite aggressive.”

“If it sounds disrespectful, I apologize. Lately, I have come to despise the words ‘coincidence’ and ‘misfortune.'”

When earthquakes could occur by mere chance, no trivial event could be ignored.

Moreover, Loreil and I were rivals by position. He was an adversary from whom conflict could erupt at any moment, anywhere.

At my words, Loreil exhaled a long sigh.

“It seems Your Highness the Princess paid no heed to what I said.”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you know where this place is?”

‘Why is he suddenly asking about the location?’

I answered with a tone of reluctance.

“I heard it was around the Yoner Mine.”

“And this is also where the Princess’s subordinates engaged in battle.”

“Yes.”

“…Still nothing comes to mind?”

Seeing the question mark written across my face, Loreil let out a short, hollow laugh. His expression seemed to have grown colder than before.

“That is my destination. The Yoner Mine.”

“…Ah!”

Then a scene flashed through my mind.

‘But what business do you have at the Yoner Mine? I thought you were staying in the Capital.’

‘Family matters have arisen, so I’ve had to leave the Capital temporarily. I’m heading to the Yoner Mine to meet a friend.’

It was a conversation I’d had with Loreil just before passing through The City of the Baron of Golden!

‘Wait, so Loreil was staying at the Yoner Mine, and when he heard about the sudden battle nearby, he came out to investigate, and then he discovered my subordinates and helped them….’

This was pure coincidence. And not misfortune—but a rare stroke of fortune that had rolled my way.

Before I could stop myself, an exclamation escaped my lips.

“…I forgot.”

Loreil spoke indifferently.

“I suspected as much.”

“It’s not that I was trying to forget….”

“Quite so. For the first time, I sense genuine sincerity from you.”

He continued to mock me, but given that I had misunderstood and even harbored suspicions on my own, I had nothing to say—not even with two mouths.

I averted my gaze, desperate enough to hide in a mouse hole if I could.

Then he continued speaking, his tone still tinged with mockery.

“From what I can see, it was quite an urgent situation. Understandable enough to forget, certainly. Though I must confess, I didn’t expect to be asked why I came to help….”

“I’m sorry about that. I really didn’t know it was a coincidence.”

“Hmm.”

He crossed his arms and muttered, seeming slightly offended.

“If you had remembered that I was here in the first place, you wouldn’t have been cornered like this. Had you requested my assistance, I would have responded swiftly….”

“No, wait. Why would I ask Loreil for help?”

I cut off his words and questioned him back.

“Even if I had known you were here, I wouldn’t have asked for your help. After all, Loreil is from the Prime Minister’s Family, and I’m from the Imperial Family….”

We were political enemies—it would be madness to cooperate.

The very reason I had left Gilli Port in the first place was because the local nobility there belonged to the Anti-Emperor Faction.

At my words, Loreil’s pupils trembled for a moment.

Like someone caught on an unforeseen flaw in their argument, a faint blush seemed to cross his cheeks.

“I see….”

He took a moment to collect himself.

“That was a slip of the tongue. Your Highness and I are both in no position to say such things.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“….”

“….”

Then came an awkward silence.

Loreil was the one who misspoke, yet I found myself caught in the same discomfort. For some reason, it felt wrong to ask why he’d made such a mistake.

After a long moment, he cleared his throat and broke the silence.

“In any case, helping the Princess’s subordinates was purely coincidental. They were fighting so desperately, crying out that they had to return to the Princess’s side, that I wondered if something had gone wrong. So I came all this way to investigate, but….”

Loreil continued speaking, his gaze still averted from me.

“You appear to be in good health.”

“Yes, well. I simply pushed myself a bit too hard.”

“I’m relieved to hear it. And I believe I must inform my friend who manages the Yoner Mine about the full circumstances of this incident. Since casualties occurred in the battle, he—as the Lord—wishes to understand what happened.”

“Of course.”

A bloody battle had erupted in his own courtyard, so as the master of the estate, he had every right to know what transpired.

“Understood. Then I’ll arrange a meeting for tomorrow morning. He’s rather shy about meeting strangers, so he might come alone, but that….”

Loreil, who had been speaking in a businesslike manner, suddenly stopped, his gaze piercing through me.

“What is it?”

I touched my cheek, wondering if something was smudged on my face, when he asked in a voice grown noticeably quieter.

“The wound on your neck—what happened?”

“My neck?”

As I touched my neck, I finally noticed the faint scar marks that remained there.

‘Ah, it’s where the necklace was.’

It was a mark left by the necklace the mercenary had pulled when Princess Chloe was taken hostage. I recalled the necklace snapping as it flew away from my attack, and this wound must have been inflicted at that moment.

“It happened during a scuffle with a mercenary.”

“A struggle? What on earth did you do to get a wound on your neck….”

“That mercenary grabbed my necklace and tore it off. I suppose that’s when the wound appeared.”

Loreil held his breath for a moment. Then, his expression suddenly became composed, his voice rising a pitch as he asked.

“I see. Where is that mercenary now?”

“Ah, my guard should have captured him.”

“So then.”

He asked again.

“Where exactly is he?”

Why was he asking that? Did he actually care about my necklace?

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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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