The Villainess Duke Lady Hides Her Identity - Chapter 64

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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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Chapter 64

Reponya gazed at the Bouquet with wonder, struggling to hold something so heavy in both her hands.
‘How did he carry something this heavy?’
She found Rudeuum far more remarkable than the Bouquet itself—the fact that he’d carried something this unwieldy in one hand without the slightest effort.
Of course, most of the flowers in the arrangement were ones she’d never seen in her life.
They were lovely enough for being unfamiliar, but to her eye they weren’t much different from the countless flowers that bloomed along the street.
There’s no such thing as a beautiful flower or an ugly flower—only flowers seen often and flowers seen rarely.
‘I used to wonder who’d spend money on something like this when the street flowers alone were so pretty.’
Well, now she knew.
Reponya, struggling under the weight of the Bouquet, passed it over to Fellens beside her.
“Could you hold this for me?”
Before the words were even out, Fellens seized it as though he’d been waiting for exactly this moment.
He even cradled it against his chest as if he had no intention of giving it back.
‘Does Fellens like flowers?’
It was amusing to see Fellens, notorious as House of Craitan’s second troublemaker, standing there cradling an enormous Bouquet.
Reponya smiled at the sight, committing it to memory, then turned toward Rudeuum.
With everyone watching, she thought it best to address him formally as befitted a duke, rather than by his name as she usually did.
“Duke Billemen—”
“I’m delighted to have a fellow student and companion in learning from today onward. The wise do not put age before scholarship, it’s said. As we study together, I’m certain I too will have much to learn, so let’s speak freely and comfortably with each other from now on.”
So—he’d come fully prepared.
Did he truly dislike being called Duke Billemen so much?
“Then call me Ponya. And I’ll call you Rudeuum.”
Reponya nodded readily—after all, calling him Rudeuum felt far more natural than calling him Duke.
“Ponya is a name only those of House of Craitan are allowed to use.”
Fellens, standing nearby with the Bouquet, spoke in a sullen tone. Reponya turned to him with an incredulous look.
“Since when?”
“Ponya. Just ignore what Fellens says.”
Havelian, speaking curtly, stepped forward and offered Rudeuum a formal greeting.
“I am Havelian Craitan. I shall be assisting Ponya in instructing you, Duke Billemen, from this day forward. Since learning transcends station and age, I welcome this arrangement. Therefore, as your instructor, I too shall speak more freely with you.”
Rudeuum’s gaze shifted to Havelian.
The warmth that had softened his eyes when he looked at Reponya—like earth after rain, gentle and moist—turned cold in an instant.
His bearing made clear that Reponya alone was welcome in his world; everyone else was an adversary.
It was far too severe a reaction for a nine-year-old to display.
Yet understanding what the “Duke Billemen” had recently become—the center of intense turmoil—it made a certain kind of sense.
Havelian was about to say something.
“Rudeuum. He’s my eldest brother.”
Reponya wedged herself between the two of them.
“He’ll be our teacher going forward. They say he was a prodigy since childhood, so we’ll have much to learn from him.”
The moment Reponya finished introducing Havelian, Rudeuum’s expression and eyes softened noticeably.
“Alright, Ponya. And you—speak however you like. It doesn’t matter what you call me anyway.”
Havelian laughed at the abruptness of the shift, finding it absurd.
Rudeuum paid him no mind and stepped closer to Reponya.
“Where will our lessons be? Show me, Ponya.”
“Yes. We’ll study in our Education Room. Come on—I’ll show you the way.”
Reponya led Rudeuum toward the Education Room.
Three men stood alone in the Reception Room, exchanging glances.
“It seems a nine-year-old’s development of a new Trade Route was hardly coincidence.”
Duke Craitan laughed incredulously, hand to his chin, then his expression hardened.
“Well, Havelian. Don’t just stand there—go teach the lesson.”

* * *

“Since we’ll be seeing each other so often now and having lessons together, how has the Countess Billemen reacted?” Reponya whispered as they walked through the Corridor toward the Education Room.
“Hard to say. I haven’t seen her in ages.”
“Is she still sending assassins?”

“I’m still in the same situation, so I came to ask for your help, Ponya.”
At Rudeuum’s request that the two of them walk while talking—away from the others—Buddy and Becky trailed behind at a distance, their eyes wide and watchful.
Reponya glanced back before leaning close to whisper to Rudeuum.
“I kept my promise, didn’t I?”
“You did. Though I have to admit, I never thought the method would be to study together.”
“No matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t come up with any other way to keep you close.”
“Why couldn’t you think of another way?”
Rudeuum tilted his head in confusion.
“Hmm?”
Did that mean she actually had some other method in mind?
“What other way could there possibly be?”
“We could just get betrothed.”
What?
At Rudeuum’s casual remark, Reponya stopped dead in her tracks, startled.
When she stopped, Rudeuum laughed softly and came to a halt as well.
“We already have things that only betrothed couples share. I thought I was dropping hints with that.”
Things that only betrothed couples shared…
“Oh!”
As if she’d suddenly remembered that night—that low voice that had brushed past her ear—Reponya frantically clapped both hands over her ears.
She’d barely managed to forget, and now it was back again.
Seeing her reaction, Rudeuum let out a stifled laugh.
“You really hadn’t thought of it, had you?”
“Of course not. I’m only five years old, remember?”
Reponya spread all five fingers wide and thrust her hand in front of Rudeuum’s face.
At the sight of her short, plump fingers, Rudeuum reached out and gently took her hand.
“In noble society, betrothal isn’t anything extraordinary. Prenatal betrothals are common enough. Later on, when we’re grown, we can simply dissolve it.”
Rudeuum spoke with a smile, gently tugging Reponya’s hand as he urged them forward again.
‘Wow. That’s exactly how nobles think.’
Reponya marveled to herself as she walked, holding Rudeuum’s hand. Seeing him casually contemplate betrothal as nothing more than a tool—even at his young age—drove home just how deeply noble blood ran in his veins.
“Wouldn’t that be better than studying? Ponya, do you even like studying?”
“Not particularly… but still, I don’t want a betrothal.”
Reponya declined firmly. The reason she’d never once considered betrothal as an option was simple.
Eventually, Reponya would return to where she truly belonged—whether by stealing the family heirloom or suffering disownment.
When that day came, there would be no need to remain in this five-year-old body. She would return to her true form.
And when that happened, the five-year-old Reponya would cease to exist. All the bonds she’d formed would be severed entirely.
So a betrothal was out of the question.
Reponya shook her head.
“You’re young and I’m young. What kind of betrothal is that? Besides, we’re friends.”
“Exactly why I’m saying it. Friends help each other, don’t they?”
“That doesn’t mean you betroth every friend you meet for help. You wouldn’t propose a betrothal every time you needed a new friend’s assistance, would you?”
At Reponya’s casual remark, Rudeuum’s feet stopped abruptly.
“What? Rudeuum? Why?”
Reponya stopped as well, turning her head to look back. Rudeuum’s eyes were wavering.
“New friends you’ll make?”
“Yes. In the future.”
“Ponya. You’re going to make other friends besides me?”
“Huh?”
“You’re going to share sandwiches with someone else? Check if they’re hurt?”
That was too much.
Without realizing it, Rudeuum’s brows furrowed.
Watching him, Reponya blinked.
‘Is he upset because I’m the first friend he’s made, and he doesn’t want to lose me?’
She almost laughed.
‘He misunderstood. I meant that Rudeuum himself would make other friends as he grows.’
Rudeuum, Duke Billemen, would find himself increasingly admired and respected as he matured.
Many would wish to befriend him.
By then, Rudeuum would surely forget about Reponya and gain many friends.
But Reponya was different.
Whether she was disowned or stole the heirloom and returned to where she belonged, she would be too busy surviving day to day to afford the luxury of choosing friends.
Throughout her life, Rudeuum would be her only friend.
“Reponya. Be friends with just me.”
Watching Rudeuum try to monopolize her, I couldn’t help but smile.
Reponya, not wanting to simply agree, decided to be difficult.
“I’ll have to see about that when I’m older. Rudeuum. We might fight and end our friendship.”
“Ah.”
Reponya reached out to open the door when they arrived at the Education Room.
“Then, Reponya.”
Rudeuum, who had been quietly following behind, reached for the door first.
“I’ll do my best to make sure you stay my one and only friend.”
He opened the Education Room door with a soft click and spoke with genuine sincerity. At the thought of him striving to remain her only friend, laughter bubbled up.
Reponya nodded her head.

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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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