Pretending to Be Human Is Exhausting Again Today - Chapter 99

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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 099

The Platinum-haired Man appeared human, yet was fundamentally inhuman.

His sharply defined nose, crimson lips, and excessively balanced features were sculpted with knife-like precision and perfection. His undulating platinum hair seemed to cradle the very sun itself, while his eyes held an intellectual gleam as though gazing down upon all creation.

Had the greatest painter ever rendered beauty, it would have looked like this.

Yet despite possessing an appearance that should captivate rather than repel, Loreil felt an instinctive revulsion upon seeing him.

To be precise, he found him utterly repugnant.

[So, Asmodina. Come into my embrace now. I shall give you all things beneath the sun.]

The sort who stirred irritation and fury merely by existing.

“Loreil?”

As the man reached toward Deina, Loreil reflexively pulled her into his arms. Whatever other illusions might exist, he could not bear for Deina to touch this man.

More precisely, he could not bear to see Deina swayed by this man.

“Ah, it’s like this. Just wait a moment.”

“…But in this position, my ears remain uncovered.”

In this posture, Loreil could not shield Deina’s ears. His arms currently wrapped around her back, past her shoulders.

“It’s fine. Could you hold me a bit tighter? Yes, like that. Roll your shoulders inward.”

Following Deina’s instructions, Loreil bent slightly at the waist and drew his shoulders inward. Her head fit perfectly against his chest.

His arms, which had been wrapped around her back, rose higher, now cradling her head.

Deina’s ears pressed snugly against Loreil’s shoulders, naturally blocking out all sound.

“How’s this? Ears covered, eyes blocked, perfect, right?”

“….”

Does this woman not experience excitement?

At her composed demeanor, Loreil’s racing heart finally found its peace.

‘What happened to that man?’

I found the Platinum-haired Man, who had been about to embrace Deina. He had taken a step back, gazing intently at Deina.

Though his gaze did not seem to register Loreil, somehow in his eyes, both Loreil and Deina appeared to be reflected together.

‘Did he smile?’

The corners of the man’s mouth had lifted ever so slightly.

It was a faint smile, so subtle that one would miss it without careful observation, yet tinged with quiet satisfaction.

Just as I was about to contemplate the reason, Deina cried out from within Loreil’s embrace.

“Biki! I’m entrusting her to you now!”

Loreil merely turned his head to observe Biki. She nodded, then followed the trail of Deina’s mana toward the Bedroom.

Witnessing this, Loreil murmured with concern in his voice.

“Will Biki be alright on her own?”

“She’ll be fine.”

Deina answered with a light laugh.

“A mother and daughter who love each other cannot fail.”

At those words, spoken with unwavering conviction, Loreil felt an inexplicable trust bloom within him.

Her certainty always possessed the power to convince others.

…And so, as the two of them took Biki’s success for granted,

Yet Biki stood before the Countess, breathing heavily, her chest heaving with each desperate gasp.

‘What do I do? Mother… she won’t listen to my voice.’

I called out to the Countess countless times, but she wouldn’t even glance my way. Instead, she only smiled at the Illusion, whose voice grew louder and more insistent.

[Don’t be so demanding, Biki. Your Sisters are waiting for you, aren’t they?]

‘No, Mother.’

I repeated the words silently in my heart.

‘Biki is here.’

This was a scene I had witnessed dozens of times, hundreds of times. Yet the pain never became easier to bear.

A mother who called my name, yet refused to see me.

Each time I looked upon that face, I felt myself slipping away, piece by piece.

It was as though the one truly alive was the Illusion, and the Illusion alone was the chosen one.

‘No, the Demon Lord said so himself. Mother couldn’t possibly have truly forgotten me.’

Gathering my courage, I took another step closer to the Countess.

But the Illusion, treating me as nothing more than an obstacle, used my two Sisters to block me from view.

“Please… move aside, Sisters.”

[Biki, can’t you see Mother is exhausted!]

[Mother, please don’t indulge Biki’s whims so much.]

“Please… just move.”

But they would never answer to my pleas.

Instead, the Biki within the Illusion laughed playfully and embraced the Countess.

“No, today Mother is all mine!”

As if those words were directed at me, a terrible feeling washed over me.

‘No, don’t dwell on it.’

Biki shook her head and forcefully squeezed through the Illusion. Soon she stood just outside the Bedroom, facing the Countess directly.

“Mother, can you see me now?”

As expected, the Countess’s gaze did not turn toward me. Her eyes remained unfocused, fixed only upon the Illusion.

Then, Deina’s voice rang out from the Bedroom entrance.

“She must see you. She’s simply pretending not to hear! So believe in yourself!”

Believe in myself? But how could I possibly do that?

Biki fell silent for a long moment.

The Mother before me still did not see me. She only clung to the Illusion, her face radiant with happiness and contentment.

‘Myself… what even is my self?’

The true form of Biki that the Countess desired was embodied in that Illusion.

A face resembling the Sisters, an elegant dress, the youthful appearance the Countess longed for.

In contrast, I was wrapped in cloth, my scars hidden beneath an unsightly visage.

How could this be the daughter a proud mother would cherish?

In that moment, Loreil spoke to me with quiet composure.

“Biki, you are different from the Illusion. You stand here not by your parents’ wishes, but by your own will.”

As if speaking to himself, his voice carried an unwavering resolve.

“You need not seek the Countess’s acknowledgment of your existence. It is enough to simply show her that you are real.”

“Ah….”

Only then could I understand what Loreil and Deina were saying.

‘They weren’t asking me to persuade Mother. They were telling me to show Mother that this form is the real me.’

I didn’t need to be Mother’s beautiful daughter. The fact that I was Biki wouldn’t change, even if Mother refused to acknowledge it.

Once I accepted that truth, my heart felt lighter.

At the same time, I began to understand the Countess’s true feelings.

‘Just as the Demon Lord said, Mother isn’t unable to see me. She’s been pretending not to know because she doesn’t want to see.’

Mother’s heart was somewhat cowardly, yet so pitiful.

But now was the time to betray that.

Biki slowly raised her hand and grasped the edge of the envelope.

“Mother, look carefully. This may not be the form you desire, and that Illusion of Biki might be far more beautiful… but this is me.”

Then, without hesitation, she tore the envelope away.

The sound of the envelope falling to the ground echoed unusually loud.

“….”

But after that, no sound came at all.

The Illusion holding Biki, the voices of the Sisters—as if by agreement, everything stopped.

Instead, the Countess’s gaze, fixed upon the Illusion, trembled faintly. Biki, standing right before her, caught that change immediately.

And the Countess opened her mouth very slowly.

“…Biki?”

It was Biki’s Illusion, which I thought had stopped, that answered. She rushed onto the bed in one breath and thrust her face toward the Countess.

“Yes, Mother!”

Yet the Countess spoke again as though she hadn’t heard that answer.

“Biki, are you there?”

“Mother, I’m right here.”

“I could have sworn I saw Biki’s form just now.”

“I really am Biki, Mother!”

Only then did the Countess turn her gaze, slowly and deliberately, toward the child standing free of the envelope.

The moment she beheld Biki’s face—marred with countless scars—the Countess’s complexion drained to a ghastly pallor.

It was as though she had come face to face with a reality she refused to acknowledge.

“…Here.”

She murmured low, as if confirming something.

“Here too. Biki is here as well.”

“No!”

In that instant, the Sisters’ illusions shifted into Biki’s form and lunged toward the bed. The three fractured illusions of Biki shrieked toward the Countess.

“I’m Biki!” “Mother!” “Look at me!”

As if to obscure her true face from view, they thrust their heads forward, blocking the Countess’s line of sight.

Biki recoiled in horror at the grotesque scene, but in that moment, Deina’s wings swept through them.

“Don’t interfere!”

“Mother!” “Ah—” “Ahhh!”

As the illusions scattered, Biki perceived the Countess’s eyes growing sharp and clear once more.

“Mother, can you see me now? I’m Biki.”

“Ah….”

But her mind, clouded for so long, did not return easily. She still seemed to be confusing Biki with the Illusion.

‘Not yet, still not enough. What words can I say to make Mother recognize me?’

Biki’s mind raced desperately.

‘Is there something that proves I’m me? A secret only I know? No, that’s not it. The words Mother wants to hear, the words I should have said….’

In that moment, a phrase flashed through her mind.

The Countess’s final regret. The beloved youngest who never returned.

The words of longing she wished that youngest would say.

“I’m home.”

“…!”

“Mother, I’m home.”

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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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