The Villainess Duke Lady Hides Her Identity - Chapter 50

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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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50

Leponya’s head snapped around, searching desperately for Havelian. She reached toward him, a silent plea for help, but he kept his gaze lowered—merely watching, offering nothing.
Ah.
You ordered this.
Leponya’s eyes darted, lost and wavering. Her small outstretched arm fell limp at her side.
At her reaction, Havelian spoke urgently.
“Don’t worry. It’s a good orphanage. I visited several myself to check. The conditions were clean, and the director seemed kind. I’ve donated all my money to support it, so you won’t go hungry or cold.”
An orphan… what?
“It’s simply where you’re meant to be.”
“Nngh! Mmph!”
How is that where I’m meant to be? My real home—my real place burned to the ground!
Leponya tried desperately to speak, but with her nose and mouth covered, all that escaped were muffled sounds.
“When I look at you, I just… I keep wanting to laugh.”
Havelian’s brow furrowed. He continued to avoid her eyes.
“But I can’t let myself do that.”
“Mmph! Nngh!!”
That’s your problem. If you’re going to abandon me, just say so—don’t dump me in an orphanage like this.
Leponya thrashed violently against this one thing she absolutely refused. But a five-year-old child had no strength to resist the servants.
“I’ll visit you.”
“Mmph!!”
“If you need anything, I’ll provide it. I’ll make sure you have a good place to—”
“Ow!”
In that instant, Leponya bit down hard on the servant’s hand covering her mouth. Wrenching free from his grip, she seized Havelian’s leg with all her strength.
Running away was pointless—Havelian was an Aura Master, far superior to Pelens. There was no escaping him.
So instead.
“Don’t want the orphanage! Don’t want it!”
Leponya cried out in panic. When Havelian finally met her desperate gaze, his face twisted with guilt.
“You can abandon me, I don’t care. Just… just leave me. Not the orphanage, please not the orphanage!”
Being abandoned meant nothing. But the orphanage—she truly hated the thought of the orphanage.
“Anywhere else, anywhere far away—nngh!”
“My lady. We should go.”
Behind the pleading child, servants approached and hoisted her up.
‘Servants without children of their own.’
Only those servants who had stationed their own children as Leponya’s attendants were noticeably absent. Only a portion were acting.
Leponya clung to Havelian’s sleeve with every ounce of strength she possessed.
Havelian’s eyes trembled.
From that first day until yesterday, his face had worn an impassive mask whenever they crossed paths. Now confusion and guilt bled across his features like watercolor.
“Teacher! Big brother!”
Her words tumbled together as desperation overtook proper speech, but that hardly mattered now.
The servants pried her small hands away from his sleeve and separated them cleanly.
Havelian’s arm rose without thought. But instead of reaching for Leponya, he clenched his fist and turned his head away.
“Just not the orphanage, or I’ll obey!”
Who even asked you not to abandon her? He could throw her out of the Mansion if he wanted—just please, not the orphanage.
Leponya stretched her small arms toward Havelian.
“Big brother!”
The sound of the carriage door opening came from behind. Her resistance was growing fierce; it seemed they meant to force her inside.
“…Brother!!”
Leponya called out with everything she had. Havelian’s head jerked around in shock.
His composed face crumbled under the weight of remorse—that was the last thing Leponya saw before the servants lifted her into the carriage. The door shut swiftly, and from outside came the sound of it locking.
Before she could even find her footing, the carriage lurched forward and rattled away from the Mansion.
It was moving so quickly she could barely catch her balance before it accelerated further.
Leponya struggled desperately to right herself. She kicked at the doors and windows with all her might, pounded them with her fists, but nothing gave way.
She cried out to the driver to stop, begged him not to take her to the orphanage, promised she would leave the Mansion peacefully, but no answer came.
There was nothing a five-year-old child could do.

More than half a day passed in the carriage before Leponya finally grew quiet.
She tried to peer through the carriage window, but heavy curtains blocked every pane—the world outside remained invisible.
She’d thought herself safe once she left the Mansion, yet here she was, cast out. And by Havelian of all people.
By Havelian, no less.
“…What’s the shock? It’s not as if I showed him much.”
Leponya lowered her gaze and muttered under her breath. A few days of study together—that was all they’d shared. Havelian had treated her like a stranger the entire time, so there was nothing surprising about this, really.
Leponya slumped into a corner. Her lip was split—the Duke must have caught her face when he’d pressed his ring-adorned hand over her nose and mouth.
‘I remember his face clearly. I’ll settle this later.’
She clenched her fists tight.
‘I should have brought the Return Stone.’
She’d been too afraid to carry such an expensive jewel around, so she’d left it behind at the Mansion, polishing and storing it carefully morning and night.
If she’d had the Return Stone, she wouldn’t be defenseless like this—she could have returned in an instant.
‘From now on, I’ll never leave it behind. Never.’
Leponya’s thoughts faltered midway.
“Ha.”
A bitter laugh escaped her lips. From now on? When would that be? Why was she already assuming she’d return to that Mansion?
“Habit is terrifying in a person.”
She whispered the words to herself.
“We’re told never to trust people, yet we keep letting ourselves be hurt again and again.”
She should have doubted Havelian, should have remained vigilant. Leponya bit down on her lip, berating herself for her naïveté.
‘When the carriage stops, they’ll open the door. Then I run.’
Without an Aura Master watching her, she could escape easily enough. Leponya gripped both fists and steeled her resolve.
After a long ride, the carriage lurched to a sudden halt.
Leponya tilted her head in confusion.
‘We’ve barely been moving—we can’t have arrived already, can we?’
Something felt wrong. She crept toward the carriage door and pressed her ear against it, listening carefully.
Faint voices from outside drifted through.
“The First Young Master’s heart may soften and he might come looking again, so switch carriages and go to the location written on this paper instead of the Orphanage we originally planned.”
“Where is this place, sir?”
“I don’t know.”
“Pardon?”
“If I knew the location, I might not hold up under interrogation later when the Duke asks. So I wrote down several Orphanages and chose one blindly. I don’t know myself, so don’t tell me.”
“I see.”
“Once you reach the Orphanage, leave the child and hand this money to the director. It’s 350 gold. Tell them not to give the child to anyone who comes asking for her.”
“Yes. …And if the child should die, or be seriously injured?”
“Why should I concern myself with that? If she dies, let her. That’s as far as this child’s fate was meant to go.”
“Yes.”
“This is your payment. I’ve set aside 300 gold, so you won’t want for anything. Once you’ve left the child, take this money and lie low for a while.”
“Yes.”
“Get the child out.”
So they were sending her to a different Orphanage entirely—just in case Havelian’s conscience stirred and he came looking for Leponya.
Leponya’s brow furrowed.
‘There might be knights posted nearby. Fleeing now would be reckless.’
Better to wait until they reached the Orphanage, then escape.
Outside, someone unlocked the door—it creaked open. Leponya curled into the corner like a worn-out five-year-old, eyes shut tight.
Controlling her breathing was something she’d practiced dozens of times before. She let her body go limp, releasing all tension, and exhaled in even, measured breaths as if truly asleep.
The carriage door opened fully.
“She’s sleeping.”
“…In this situation? Not just pretending to be asleep?”
“Looks like genuine sleep to me.”
“Go check. The child’s sharp.”
She’d frozen to death once, starved once. A person learned to be ruthless or they didn’t survive at all.
The carriage driver approached and examined Leponya’s state.
“She’s really asleep. Seems like she cried herself to exhaustion, being a child and all. What should we do? Carry her as she is?”
“Strange girl. …Fine. Carry her over as is.”
Leponya felt herself lifted. The sounds of being carried out of the carriage and transferred to another vehicle reached her ears.
After another brief exchange, the door of the new carriage closed and it lurched forward.
When the sounds of people had faded, Leponya opened her eyes again.
The carriage rattled fiercely as it wound through mountain roads. She tested the door by pushing with the jolts, but it remained locked from outside.
‘I’ve escaped from an Orphanage before. It’s not difficult.’
Rather than panic, Leponya fixed her gaze on the carriage window. Fortunately, this time it wasn’t curtained—she could see out clearly.
She needed to memorize the route so that if she escaped later, she wouldn’t get lost. Besides, struggling now would only drain her strength. She had to conserve her energy if she had any hope of fleeing.
The carriage never stopped. At intervals, small amounts of water and food were handed to her—just enough to keep her alive, as if they feared giving her more might restore her strength.
She had no idea how much more time passed. At least four days seemed to have gone by. Leponya gritted her teeth through the thirst and dizziness.
But something felt wrong. At some point, the landscape visible through the carriage window began to look familiar.
‘Why?’
She understood when they arrived at the Orphanage.
‘…No. It can’t be.’
Even as she felt the carriage door open, Leponya couldn’t bring herself to keep pretending to sleep.
“When did you wake up? Good. Get out.”
The man checked the paper bearing the Orphanage’s name, tucked it into his pocket, and spoke.
Leponya descended from the carriage.
The moment the familiar place came into view, her breath caught in her throat.
Her pupils trembled with unease.
“Why….”
The untended willow branches hanging down like a ghost’s hair, the faded fence, the rusted nail protruding from beyond the gate—
Everything was exactly as it had been.
“How could it… of all places, here….”
Her breath came ragged.
“Oh? How did you come to be here?”
A voice sounded from behind. Leponya’s body went rigid—a reflexive response to the terror that had taken root in the corner of her memory.
She turned her head with the stiff motion of a creaking wooden doll.
“Are you the director of this place?”
“Ah. Yes. I took over running this Orphanage from my father.
Leponya stopped breathing.
This hellish Orphanage held her first memories—where children were sold, where curses and violence were the daily rhythm of that hell.
She had returned to that very place.

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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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