The Villainess Duke Lady Hides Her Identity - Chapter 2

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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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Episode 2

Leponya climbed onto a box she’d hastily positioned as a step and stared at the face reflected in the mirror.
Five years old.
It was identical to how she’d looked at the Orphanage.
Silver hair, half-curled and perpetually frizzed from wind that scattered in all directions whenever it rained—hair she’d pressed flat against her palms countless times.
Red eyes, the color of fresh blood, which she’d never liked.
Thin limbs like skeletal branches, wasted from never having had even a single proper meal a day—all of it exactly the same.
“What’s happining.”
Ah. This damnable five-year-old tongue.
Without putting strength into her words, the tongue went slack and wouldn’t obey her commands, mangling her pronunciation.
Leponya buried her face in her small palms, searching for the cause.
Through the gap between her fingers, she spotted a small potion bottle lying on the floor with traces of pale pink liquid still faintly visible inside.
“……An Aging Potion.”
Leponya furrowed her brow and picked up the empty bottle.
“This isn’t an Aging Potion at all.”
Leponya muttered through clenched teeth, forcing clarity into her pronunciation.
“I definitely bought two blue bottles back then.”
The bottles she’d purchased were clearly blue. Leponya shook the empty vial with its faint pink residue.
“Someone switched the potion.”
Startled by her own whisper, Leponya spun around frantically, scanning the room. A trickle of cold sweat ran down her spine.
Every hair on her body stood on end.
“No one should know about this place.”
She’d bought the house in secret under the false identity of a commoner man. There was no way anyone could know.
‘If that had been poison…’
She would have drunk it without a second thought and died on the spot.
The thought drove Leponya to her feet, and she tore through the house searching every corner. She checked every possible hiding place, and mercifully found no one lurking inside.
“Calm down.”
First, I need to steady my own tongue.
‘It’s not the Pope.’
If the Pope had done this, he wouldn’t have left a potion that merely ages—he’d have brought actual poison.
‘Then it’s the Siblings, isn’t it?’
Leponya crossed her short legs and perched on a chair.
The Pope favored Leponya for being a model subordinate. That’s why, even when missions failed, he’d made an exception and kept her alive rather than executing her.
His affection was rooted in power itself.
It was only natural that the Siblings, jealous of Leponya and viewing her as a thorn in their side, would scheme to kill or abduct her.
“Sigh.”
If the Siblings learned that Leponya had been turned into a five-year-old child, they’d be thrilled enough to dance with their blades drawn.
So somehow, she had to hide her current condition.
“Maybe I’ll return to normal after a day passes.”
Leponya bit her plump, soft red lips in a way that was almost endearing.
“For now.”
She clenched both fists with grim determination.
“I should change clothes first.”
Five-year-old Leponya hopped down from the chair and trotted away.

* * *

“It’s all ruined.”
It hasn’t returned.
This broken tongue won’t work properly either.
“Completely ruined.”
My body hasn’t returned.
“How long am I supposed to stay five years old?”
She’d spent days at the Cottage with little hope, observing her situation, but her body showed no sign of reversing.
Even though the wound on the back of her hand had fully healed, her body remained unchanged.
And as if the frail constitution of her sickly childhood was now reflected back on her, this body grew winded from even light running, and her limbs had no strength.
She’d picked up random castoff clothes from around town and thrown them on, yet they still hung loose on her frame.
Her hands had so little strength that she could barely manage the knife, so she couldn’t even peel the apple skin—she just bit through it whole.
Sleep a little and wake up refreshed; eat a little and feel full. There was an advantage to needing less food and money, but this state of affairs simply wouldn’t do.
“I can’t carry out missions like this.”
The original plan was to drink the Aging Potion, confirm the Family Heirloom’s location, and then find work as a maid at the Kraitan Duke’s Mansion.
The scheme was to pose as a servant, steal the heirloom, and slip away—but….
‘I won’t even be able to step over the threshold of the Kraitan Duke’s Mansion in this five-year-old body.’
Who would hire a five-year-old as a maid?
Leponya pressed her small forehead into her palm.
‘I’d need to drink the Nullification Potion.’
The problem was that the Nullification Potion cost far too much.
She’d only managed to scrape together enough for the Aging Potion by spending her entire savings.
The Nullification Potion was three times the price of the Aging Potion. In this body, she couldn’t work, which meant there was no way to earn the money.
‘Since I don’t know exactly what potion I drank, I’d better not swallow anything else carelessly.’
Leponya gnawed at her lip.
“Whoever did this—I’ll find them.”
Knock, knock.
Someone rapped at the door.
Who would come to this cottage?
‘Could it be the person who switched my potion?’
Maybe they’d come to check on the situation, to see what had happened after tampering with it.
‘The person outside doesn’t seem to be the Siblings, though.’
If it had been them, they wouldn’t bother knocking—they’d throw their swords first.
Leponya walked slowly toward the entrance.
“Who’s there?”
Ugh. That tongue of hers.
Leponya rolled her tongue deliberately and tried again, putting deliberate effort behind each word.
“Who’s there?”
“Ah. I came because I had some questions, but is there no adult at home?”
A polite question came from behind the door.
‘An adult?’
She’d have to open it.
Leponya tilted her head uncertainly and carefully cracked the door open.
Beyond it stood the Neighbor Woman and the Knight—people she’d seen before while picking up scattered clothes.
Looking up at them with a child’s eyes made her shoulders instinctively hunch down.
“…Who are you?”
Leponya asked, rolling her eyes.
“Hello.”
The Knight greeted her in a gentle voice and waved, while his sharp gaze swept swiftly across the interior of the cottage.
Leponya pulled the door slightly closed, her expression guarded. The Knight quickly averted his eyes and knelt to meet her at eye level, smiling warmly.
“Is there no other adult inside?”
“Why?”
“Have they perhaps stepped out?”
Leponya shook her head.
‘He’s trying to check if I’m harboring someone wanted or a criminal.’
Leponya, who’d been chased by the Security Force in the Capital before, grasped the Knight’s intent immediately.
When criminals fled, the Security Force would go door to door verifying that houses didn’t have anyone hidden inside.
‘Fat chance.’
Leponya shook her head with a bright, childlike smile.
“I live here alone.”
At Leponya’s confident reply, the Knight and the Neighbor Woman exchanged uncertain looks.
“You can come inside and check, if you want. There’s really no one but me.”
Leponya held her chin high and smiled, then swung the door wide open with assurance.
“What about your parents?”
“They’re not here.”
“Where did they go?”
“They were never here. I’ve never had them. They abandoned me.”
“Do you have a guardian who visits? Any relatives or other adults around?”
“No, nothing like that. It’s always just me in this place.”
With each answer she gave, both of their eyes grew clouded with pity.
“See? I told you it looked like a young child was living here alone. I was right, wasn’t I?”
…Huh?
“Yes, I suppose so.”
Eh?
Someone had reported seeing a child living alone here?
‘Could they be talking about… me?’
Leponya’s pupils trembled.
“This house appears to have been empty for quite some time. …I suspect the child simply found an abandoned place and took shelter here alone.”
No. The owner who leaves this house vacant for months on end—that’s me.
“Thank you for reporting this. We’ll take the child into protective custody. …Little one, living here by yourself is dangerous. Bad people might come, and if you became ill, there’d be no one to help you.”
Something felt terribly wrong about how this was unfolding.
“…I’m fine, really.”
“It may seem fine now, but it absolutely isn’t. You’re still a child and you need a guardian.”
Leponya’s brow furrowed. When protection truly mattered, no one had extended their hand—so why now?
“Mind your own business.”
Leponya refused flatly. Of course, it made no difference.
“Come now. I’ll take you somewhere safe.”
“Where will the child be taken?”
The Neighbor Woman and the Knight spoke to each other, as if Leponya didn’t exist.
“First, I’ll bring her to the Orphanage to verify her identity and locate her parents. I’ll continue to look after the matter, so please don’t worry.”
Leponya’s head snapped up.
Wait—where did they say?
The Orphanage?
“There’s a well-appointed orphanage nearby. The director is said to be a good person.”
They were taking her to the Orphanage right now?
That hell—she’d have to enter it again?
“I—”
At the trembling, pathetic sound of the child’s voice, both adults turned their heads down toward her.
“I won’t go.”
“Oh, you’re quite frightened, aren’t you? Don’t worry, little one. This Knight here just wants to take you somewhere warm, full of friends.”
No. That was never a warm place.
“I’m not going. Don’t you touch me.”
“Scared, are you? It’s all right. It’s all right.”
The Knight smiled and reached his arm toward the startled Leponya. She tried to dodge quickly, but with a five-year-old’s body, evading a Knight’s grasp was nearly impossible.
“Let go! Drop me! I don’t need this!”
Leponya pounded the Knight with her fists and thrashed with all her might, but it was useless. The Knight thanked the Neighbor Woman politely, then set off, carrying the struggling Leponya in his arms.
“You were lonely living by yourself, weren’t you? When you get there, you’ll have lots of friends and plenty to eat, and you’ll be warm and cared for.”
“Put me down! I said I’m not going! This is kidnapping!”
“It’s fine. I really am trying to help you.”
“I hate that place!”
That place—that hell.
Remembering what she had endured at five years old, she thrashed with desperate force.
Leponya struggled with every ounce of strength to break free from the Knight’s hold. But his arms were so firm, so unyielding, that escape seemed impossible.
‘I’m trapped in a five-year-old’s body.’
There was no way a five-year-old could slip from the grip of a trained Knight.
‘If I scream here, will anyone help me?’
Leponya pressed her small lips together tightly.
No.
No one would come.
People were indifferent to others’ troubles.
If anyone had been willing to help—
When she was truly five years old and fleeing the Orphanage, screaming for aid—
When she had been beaten in the Poorhouse, crying out for salvation—
Someone might have answered.
Perhaps it would be better to go to the Orphanage again, escape once more, and devise a plan as she went…
“What’s all this commotion?”
As Leponya was working out an escape strategy in her mind, a shadow fell across her, and an indifferent voice settled over her.

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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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