The Villainess Duke Lady Hides Her Identity - Chapter 91

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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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91

Reponya, breathing in ragged gasps, forced her eyes open at the touch of a hand smoothing across her forehead.
The room was dark—it was the middle of the night.
‘Who is it.’
The hand was large, so it certainly wasn’t Rudeuum. A calloused palm. It had to be either the Duke or one of her two older brothers.
‘It’s nice and cool. That feels good.’
Whether it was from waking in the middle of sleep or from fever mounting all night, muddling her mind, Reponya unknowingly pressed her face closer against the cool palm without thinking.
The large hand gently caressed Reponya’s face.
It clasped her small hand, limp on the bed, as if to say it was all right to hurt.
Her aching body seemed to ease, as if someone had poured a potion to dull the pain into her.
‘This feels good.’
Keep going.
“Keep… stay with me.”
At Reponya’s murmur with her eyes closed, the large hand paused.
“Reponya. Does your head hurt?”
The worried voice muttered something about whether to call a physician.
‘Ah. It’s Duke Craitan.’
Hearing his voice, she could tell who owned the large hand.
“Is your throat dry? Fever can rise when night comes, so I plan to stay beside you.”
He certainly sounded like someone with hands-on child-rearing experience from raising two sons himself.
“So you’re going to stay here and not sleep?”
Mm-hmm. Yes.
Reponya nodded, perhaps not noticing that her true thoughts had shifted from what she meant to say.
The Duke draped a handkerchief dampened in warm water across Reponya’s forehead and nodded.
“Yes. I’ll stay and not sleep. Should we have you take medicine and rest once you’ve woken up a bit, Reponya. I brought some medicine, but.”
“It’s all right if I don’t take it….”
Reponya whimpered and shook her head. It felt like a bother, and she didn’t want to open her hot eyes.
“Does it hurt?”
The Duke asked.
“Is your head dizzy? Or does it feel like something’s poking? Is your arm sore? How about your legs?”
Duke Craitan asked in meticulous detail, checking each part of her body.
‘I feel like this happened before.’
Reponya searched her memory.
‘…When Buddy and I fell into the lake together.’
Back then too, Duke Craitan had asked in such careful detail one by one.
And Reponya had, back then too.
“…It hurts.”
Answered that it hurt.
Of course, these Growth Pains were nothing compared to the scolding she’d received from the Pope in her childhood.
But pain is pain—there is no greater or lesser suffering.
The truth was, pain just hurt.
Less pain hurt, and more pain hurt, and it all hurt.
“…It really, really hurts.”
Reponya curled her body into a ball and whispered.
“It hurt so much.”
As if tracing over a burn mark, Reponya pressed her palm against her own chest.
She didn’t know where it hurt, but her hand was already pressing firmly against her heart.
The Duke, watching her, reached out and lifted the child’s small body into his arms.
Reponya, fevered, sank limply into the Duke’s embrace.
Though it seemed her aching body would grow even hotter where their warmth touched, being held seemed to ease the pain a little.
“I’ll hold you until dawn breaks, Reponya.”
Reponya opened her eyes with difficulty, leaning her head against Duke Craitan’s shoulder.
Though the curtains blocked the view beyond the window, the absence of even the faintest light in the gaps made it clear it was still deep night.
“…If you hold me until dawn breaks, your arms will get sore.”
Unaware that her inner thoughts were spilling out on their own, Reponya murmured.
The Duke laughed softly.
“It’s fine. I’ve said it before—compared to Havelian and Fellens, you’re far too slight, Reponya. I had the kitchen master adjust your diet, but even so, you’re not putting on proper weight. It worries me.”
Duke Craitan cradled Reponya in one arm while his other hand traced gentle circles across her back as he paced slowly through the bedroom.
With each step, her body swayed gently. The pleasant rocking kept drawing her eyes closed.
Against her chest, his heart beat steadily, thump-thump—the sound soothed her.
Reponya’s hand, resting on the Duke’s shoulder, went limp and fell away.
The Duke felt her full weight settle into his arms.
“If only you’d taken me in when I was younger, Duke…”
Reponya murmured as if slipping into a dream.
“If you were really my father…”
Father.
The word—one Reponya had never spoken aloud before—made Duke Craitan’s stride falter to a halt.
In the quiet bedroom, only their breathing could be heard. The Duke patted Reponya’s back in a steady rhythm as he spoke.
“I am your father. Even now, Reponya.”
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have spent this night sleepless with worry.

* * *

Reponya’s Growth Pains lasted a full two days before they finally subsided. And for those two days, Duke Craitan came each night to find her in distress, gathered her into his arms, and let her sleep.
When she lay alone in bed, the pain would wake her several times over, but remarkably, the moment she fell asleep cradled in the Duke’s embrace, she would sleep soundly without stirring once.
Though the Duke was not her only visitor.
When dawn broke, Fellens would arrive to help her eat and hold her aching body while regaling her with entertaining stories from his own life.
By afternoon, Havelian would appear with a Fairy Tale Book in hand. He would settle Reponya in his arms and read to her with earnest dedication.
The stories were mundane, yet somehow Havelian’s spirited reading made them captivating.
When cradled in the arms of any one of them, the pain seemed to dissolve entirely.
‘Is it the power of an Aura Master?’
Perhaps it was.
“I’m back!”
Reponya stretched both arms high and swung down from the bed. Yesterday morning she had felt as though she’d been beaten, but today her body felt perfectly sound.
A fresh start to the day.
‘Since the Pope didn’t recognize me, it’s actually all worked out.’
The dark ash had digested safely.
Whether she’d swallowed it in one great gulp or the Duke’s constant back-rubbing through the night had aided the process, she didn’t know—but either way, there’d been no ill effects.
‘As long as I manage my expressions, I won’t need to go out of my way to avoid the Pope.’
House Craitan was a guardian family, so she’d cross paths with the Pope often enough.
She’d been anxious about how to avoid him each time, but fortunately that worry was needless now.
‘Good. Perfect.’
Reponya placed her hands on her hips and studied herself in the mirror. After the Growth Pains, she seemed taller.
‘It’s not just pain—it’s Growth Pains. Actual growth pains. The ache of growing.’
Reponya nodded with satisfaction.
“Excellent.”
She’d just keep growing, taller and taller.
Reponya gazed at her reflection, entertaining grand ambitions.
Today was when Rudeuum would come for his lesson.
Ever since she’d met the Pope at the New Year Ceremony, she’d been out of sorts, and she and Rudeuum had parted without a proper greeting.
She remembered they’d exchanged a few words, but couldn’t recall what they’d actually said.
Troubled by the thought, she’d taken out the Green Jewel from her jewelry box meaning to apologize, but couldn’t bring herself to speak the activation word, so she’d put it back.
‘Rudeuum seemed to have grown so much, though…’
Reponya examined her face in the mirror. How was it possible for someone to grow so tall and change their appearance so much in just a couple of months?
‘I went through Growth Pains too.’
Reponya touched her tousled hair. If she changed her hairstyle, would she look a year more mature?
‘There was that portrait I saw in the Annex—the Duchess had bangs that came down just over her forehead.’
Reponya recalled the portrait she’d glimpsed in the Annex.
Meeting Rudeuum today made her want to show him a more mature version of herself.
“Well then…”
Reponya dashed over to the desk. She rummaged until she found the Scissors that Fellens had bought from a general store for craft projects.
Back at the mirror, she climbed onto a chair and began combing her hair.
‘This length should work.’
Reponya gathered a thick lock of her front hair and brought the scissors to it.
Snick-crunch.
A sharp sound rang out. With a soft whisper-whisper, the severed strands fell in a cascade.
Decisive scissor strokes continued in rapid succession.
Reponya moved carefully, using the mirror to gauge the position as she began cutting straight across the long strands that fell past her forehead.
Snip, snip.
No one stopped her. The butchery of scissors continued uninterrupted.
Reponya, still gripping her hair, finally snipped away the last strands with a decisive cut.
“Done.”
Reponya brushed the loose hair from her hands and looked up at the mirror. She’d always been skilled at everything she attempted with her hands, so she’d been confident about this.
Not that she couldn’t cut hair—
“Hmm?”
The goal had been to add a change to her image by bringing down bangs.
But something was wrong.
“I was definitely going for about this length…?”
Reponya stared at the pitiful bangs that now reached barely a finger’s width.
It was strange. She’d meant to cut only to where the hair would brush above her eyebrows.
Reponya pressed her palm flat against the short bangs, staring at the mirror with a hollow expression.
But the cut hair would not grow back.
Clang!
The scissors fell from Reponya’s hand and clattered to the floor.
“My… my hair.”
Bangs that barely reached a finger’s width were no longer merely comical—they were tragic.
On top of that, her hair had a slight wave to it, and one side was kinked and split, making everything worse.
‘Me? Failed?’
Reponya, known as the Pope’s eldest daughter among his countless agents and undeniably the finest, stared at the mirror in disbelief at the mistake she’d made.
Knock, knock.
“Young Lady. How is your body feeling today… oh my. Young Lady, you’re already awake?”
Buddy and Becky entered, and seeing Reponya’s back before the mirror, they smiled brightly.
“It’s wonderful to see you up and about—your condition seems to have improved. Let’s change your clothes and check in with the doctor to see how you’re… gasp. Young Lady?”
Buddy, about to suggest a visit to the doctor, drew in a sharp breath the moment she caught sight of Reponya’s face.
Becky, who had been tidying the bedding, tilted her head and stepped closer to Buddy.
“…huh? Young Lady? Young Lady?”
And she looked flustered upon seeing Reponya’s face.
Looking at Reponya, whose delicate new bangs barely a finger’s width in length now only just covered the end of her forehead.
“What on earth happened during the night? How dare someone do such a thing!”
“Did a mouse get into the Bedroom? It must have eaten your hair and fled! I’ll tell the knights right away and have all the mice in the Craitan Estate exterminated, Young Lady!”
…….
Reponya quietly kicked the scissors she’d dropped on the floor into the corner.
“Is it… really that strange?”
Reponya asked, pressing down on her now-short bangs, an embarrassed look crossing her face.
“Oh my.”
Looking at the six-year-old appearance before her, Buddy felt her heart squeeze.
“Young Lady. Please never grow up….”
Seeing the cute bangs and the hair scattered on the floor, Becky bounced on her toes, clearly wanting to sweep Reponya up in a tight embrace.
‘…but what I wanted was maturity.’
The distance had only grown wider.

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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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