Pretending to Be Human Is Exhausting Again Today - Chapter 92

—————

This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

—————

Pretending to Be Human: Episode 092

Noticing my complexion had turned pale, Viscount Gorden asked carefully.

“Your Highness the Princess, what is the matter?”

“Well… Viscount, do you know which house this seal belongs to?”

Unable to show him the contents, I held up the letter envelope instead. Viscount Gorden examined the seal for a moment, then widened his eyes in recognition.

“Good heavens, this is the seal of House of Adonia!”

“House of Adonia?”

“You don’t know? The Countess of Adonia—she was called the flower of High Society some ten years ago!”

As I searched my memory, Viscount Gorden asked again.

“But what could the contents possibly say to shock you so?”

“Well…”

I quickly closed the letter. Viscount Gorden then stepped back, apologizing for his mistake.

“My apologies, Your Highness. It is a letter addressed to you, after all…”

“Thank you for understanding. It’s truly a private matter.”

He smiled awkwardly and fell into thought, resting his chin on his hand.

“Still, it’s quite remarkable. A letter from House of Adonia… and it’s been ten years since they withdrew from High Society.”

“What was the reason they left?”

“Hmm, it’s complicated to explain… but do you know what kind of house House of Adonia is?”

I thought hard but couldn’t recall anything, so I shook my head.

Viscount Gorden cleared his throat and offered to give a brief explanation.

“As I mentioned, the Countess of Adonia was once called the flower of High Society. She was also a mother who raised three daughters with distinction.”

Ten years ago—around the time I was confined to the Separate Palace—the Countess of Adonia was the most celebrated figure in the Imperial Social Circle.

Her prominence stemmed neither from wealth nor scandal, but solely from her beauty and virtue.

A beauty as though blessed by the Deity of Beauty itself, a temperament that put all who met her at ease, and three daughters who inherited her grace alongside exceptional intellect.

Her manner of speech and bearing became the standard by which all noblewomen were measured, eventually inspiring a treatise on the cultivation of noble virtue itself.

“…But that glory was not to last. Misfortune descended upon her in relentless waves.”

The calamity began with the deaths of her husband and eldest daughter. Both perished in an unfortunate carriage accident.

Before she could even grieve, her second daughter fell gravely ill. She soon followed her sister into death.

‘Sisters, Father—where have you gone? Please don’t leave me behind….’

The youngest daughter’s mind shattered under the weight of successive losses. She wandered searching for her sisters and father, and one day simply vanished from home, never to return.

All of these tragedies unfolded within a single year.

“The Countess lost her entire family in an instant. She too could not recover from the shock and withdrew from High Society.”

People lamented that the most beautiful flowers wither the fastest.

“…Is that really just misfortune?”

At my skeptical question, Viscount Gorden’s expression grew complicated.

“Of course, there were rumors that someone driven by envy and jealousy had targeted the Countess. However….

“There was no evidence?”

“Precisely.”

For lack of evidence, the nobility dismissed the incidents as mere personal misfortune. Ten years ago, their logic remained unchanged.

‘Someone must have orchestrated this.’

For someone like me, it was far too much misfortune for an ordinary person to bear.

“It’s quite remarkable that the House of Adonia, which had kept such a low profile, suddenly sent a letter to Her Highness the Princess.”

“Indeed.”

What’s more, the letter hadn’t been sent by the Countess of Adonia.

[Demon, please save our mother.]

‘The title “Demon” must be referring to me. And judging by the use of “mother,” this letter was written by the youngest daughter who had gone missing.’

The real problem was the magical power contained within it. It was overwhelmingly dense, as if she hadn’t bothered to conceal it at all.

This had crossed the line from merely suspicious. I couldn’t shake the suspicion that this was a trap laid specifically for me.

‘She might actually know my true identity. If that’s the case, I can’t afford to ignore this. And then there’s… this envelope.’

I frowned as I stared down at the envelope on the table, the Imperial Palace seal clearly imprinted upon it.

The letter’s contents were unsettling enough, but I couldn’t even begin to fathom why the Imperial Palace seal was on it.

The disconnected clues were giving me a headache.

“Viscount, where is the Countess of Adonia staying?”

“Not at the Main Family Estate, but at a villa near the Capital, or so I’ve heard.”

Problems like this wouldn’t be solved by sitting and pondering them.

“Let’s go. I need to meet with the Countess.”

I instructed Emma to prepare a carriage. Our destination was naturally the Villa of the Adonia Counts.

* * *

Before long, we arrived at a village in the Outskirts of the Capital where the Villa of the Adonia Counts was situated.

Standing before the manor, we were left speechless. The condition of the estate was absolutely dreadful.

How long it had been neglected was evident from the vines that had grown thick across the red brick walls, and the dust-caked windows obscured any view of the interior.

An empty stable, a Well covered in cobwebs, grass grown up to one’s knees… It was a Ruins that defied belief anyone could live here.

I turned to Viscount Gorden, whose expression had grown troubled.

“Viscount, the Count’s Domain hasn’t fallen into ruin, has it?”

“Of course not. While the Domain is nothing particularly special, we’re certainly not so impoverished that we can’t maintain a single Manor like this.”

“You’re certain the Countess is here?”

“If the rumors are true. The Main Family Estate still bears traces of the family’s presence, so I heard she resides at the Villa instead.”

I narrowed my eyes and surveyed the Manor once more.

‘At first glance, I don’t sense any magical presence. The complete absence of any sign of life inside is rather suspicious, but….’

Regardless, the fact remained that I needed to enter and verify things myself.

I ordered Viscount Gorden to wait here, then took Ruslara and Ivan with me toward the Manor’s entrance.

Viscount Gorden seemed eager to follow, but upon reading the gravity in my expression, he quietly stepped back.

“I cannot interfere with Her Highness the Princess’s miracle, after all.”

He muttered something absurd, but I chose not to hear it.

‘I wish Gregory were here as well, but he seems busy these days.’

Standing before the Manor’s door, I spoke in a low voice to the two of them.

“There’s a possibility a Demon could be inside. If we encounter one, don’t kill it—subdue it instead.”

“Understood.”

Then Ivan tilted his head in confusion.

“A Demon? Aren’t those incredibly strong? Can we really win?”

“Don’t worry. You’re both stronger than most Demons now.”

Not only Ruslara, who had consumed my blood, but Ivan, who had successfully integrated magical power into his body, had already transcended the limitations of an ordinary human.

Even the Imperial Palace would struggle to find a match for him, so there would be no problem if any ordinary Demon appeared.

“Oh, so I’ve become that strong?”

Ivan’s face brightened at my praise, and he flashed an innocent smile.

“I haven’t had a chance to show off in front of Her Highness the Princess lately, so finally I’ll get to do something.”

“Don’t get overconfident. The lack of experience is still a problem….”

As we conversed and stepped into the Manor, it happened.

“…!”

The wooden floor at the entrance collapsed beneath us.

I instinctively tried to push off the debris and leap upward, but for some reason, my legs wouldn’t move.

Then, a child’s voice called out from below.

“Demon Lord.”

When I looked down, I discovered something clinging firmly to my legs.

It was a small child with an enormous sack pulled over their head.

Because this child was holding on, my legs had become immobilized.

The child spoke again.

“Please… help us.”

“You are….”

The desperation in that small voice made it impossible for me to push the child away.

Instead, Ivan and Ruslara beside me both reached out toward me simultaneously.

“Your Highness!”

Just before their hands could grasp me, an invisible darkness consumed them both. It was a darkness I knew all too well.

‘A spirit of darkness?’

Unable to comprehend what was happening, I plummeted into the darkness where no ground was visible.

“My lord, my lord….”

Together with a child desperately calling out to me.

And much later, I opened my eyes upon seeing a faint light. My mind was still hazy, as though I had briefly lost consciousness.

‘Where am I….’

I slowly raised my body and surveyed my surroundings.

A long corridor without a single window. All around was silent, with only candles placed intermittently along the corridor casting their faint light. The light I had seen must have been from these candles.

‘An underground chamber like this existed beneath that small manor?’

I then lifted my head to examine the ceiling. The ceiling I had expected to have a hole was pristine, as though my fall had been nothing but a dream.

The situation was bewildering enough to make me wonder if I had been deceived by a ghost, but I calmly ran my fingers along the wall and gathered my thoughts.

‘I don’t sense any magical power. Since I saw that spirit of darkness earlier, something similar must have played a trick on me. Is that child in the hooded cloak the culprit? I didn’t sense any malice. Perhaps this place is….’

As I was organizing my thoughts, a familiar voice reached me from behind.

“…Your Highness the Princess?”

I reflexively turned my head.

And the moment I saw the man standing at the end of the corridor, wearing an expression of confusion identical to my own, I was left speechless.

The identity of the man wearing an expression similar to mine was.

‘Why are you here again?’

It was Loreil.

At his sudden appearance, words tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop them.

“Don’t tell me you’re going to claim this is a coincidence too?”

Why did he keep following me everywhere I went?

“….”

Loreil’s expression darkened considerably.

—————

This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

—————