The Villainess Duke Lady Hides Her Identity - Chapter 93

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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 93

Has she been struggling lately? For someone to call this hair cute of all things.
Even Fellens, who’d always taken Reponya’s side no matter what, just laughed it off.
Or was he teasing her?
‘…Looking at his face, he doesn’t seem to be teasing.’
Rudeuum’s vacant expression didn’t look like mockery. If that were an act….
‘Well, if he’s that bad of an actor, I suppose I should let him win.’
At the word cute, Reponya’s fingers fidgeted. She’d cut her hair short to look as mature as the much taller Rudeuum, yet being called cute felt rather nice.
“Reponya. Should we skip lessons today?”
“Hm?”
“Your hair is cute, after all.”
…He really wasn’t teasing, was he?
“I’m not teasing.”
Rudeuum defended himself, reading the suspicion in Reponya’s gaze.
“Skip and do what?”
“Skip and play just the two of us in secret.”
“Just the two of us, in secret?”
“Yeah.”
At Rudeuum’s suggestion, Reponya considered it, then shook her head.
“I don’t think playing in secret would be fun.”
“What?”
“It’s not like there’s any particular place I’m dying to go. Why sneak out to play when we can just ask and go openly? Havelian isn’t that strict anyway.”
Reponya said this with complete innocence, unaware that several military academy cadets had fled in tears because of that very Havelian.
“If I sneak away, it’ll give both brothers and Duke Craitan quite a fright.”
Reponya didn’t want that to happen. Especially not now, when the Duke was already reluctant to introduce her to the royal family.
Beyond that, Reponya was well aware of how dangerous it was for children to slip away without an escort.
If they stumbled into trouble, there’d be no one to help them—just the two of them to manage it alone.
‘If I were really six years old, I probably would’ve just gone along with it….’
Reponya shook her head. But Rudeuum didn’t back down easily.
“Then we can leave a note.”
She hadn’t thought of that.
“We’re just playing together, not disappearing without anyone knowing. Right, Reponya?”
“…Is that so?”
“And we’re not going far either. Because if something dangerous happens while we’re far away, that’d be bad, wouldn’t it?”
Right, right.
“I just thought—the weather is nice today, after all—”
Rudeuum leaned toward Reponya, and as he drew near, he whispered softly so his words wouldn’t carry outside the room.
“I want you to feel what it’s like to ride a Spirit and fly through the air.”
Reponya’s eyes gleamed. When he’d suggested playing outside, she’d imagined nothing more than the fountains beyond the Estate or perhaps a pretty lake.
Flying through the sky on the back of a Spirit?
“Can I ride it too?”
Reponya asked, her voice brimming with anticipation.
“Of course you can.”
Rudeuum was keeping the Spirit’s existence hidden from everyone but Reponya, so if she wanted to ride the Spirit and soar through the sky, she’d have to go without Havelian, Fellens, or Craitan knowing.
“But Reponya, if you don’t want to, then there’s nothing to be done.”
“Rudeuum.”
“Yes?”
“If you want to play in secret that badly, then there’s nothing to be done.”
Six-year-old Reponya reproached the ten-year-old Rudeuum for his lack of maturity, then prepared some paper.
“Reponya. What are you doing?”
“You said to play in secret. I’m leaving a note first.”
Rudeuum let out a soft laugh.
“Yeah. Thanks for going along with my stubbornness, Reponya.”
Rudeuum stood with his chin in his hand, watching the small crown of Reponya’s head as she wrote her note to Havelian.
Crooked letters crawled across the white paper like earthworms.

“…It’s rather dull, isn’t it?”
For a letter from a younger sister to her older brother, it read far too plainly.
Reponya, who had been tapping her pen against the paper, began sketching crooked circles around the words.
Rudeuum, watching over the letter, pointed at one of the lopsided circles with his finger.
“What is this? A mistake you made by accident?”
“A Cotton Bundle. Fellens calls me that, so I added it. Someone might think the letter has been tampered with, you know? This way, with our secret code, they’ll know I really wrote it.”
“…I see.”
Reponya, who had spent her entire life as a papal spy, wore her cleverness with pride.
Reponya sketched a few more Cotton Bundles across the sparse letter and rose from her chair.
“There. That’s better.”
Reponya set the letter down on Havelian’s desk with satisfaction.
“All done?”
“Yes. Let’s go before he arrives! Rudeuum!”
Reponya reached out her hand. Rudeuum, who had been about to leave, froze and looked down at the small palm offered to him.
“What are you doing? Come on, Rudeuum. Hurry!”
There was a time when he would have shaken his head in refusal, but now Reponya grew impatient, shifting her weight from foot to foot as she glanced anxiously toward where Havelian might enter.
Rudeuum took her outstretched hand.
“Let’s go!”
Reponya grasped Rudeuum’s hand and bolted from the Education Room, their footsteps quick and light.
“My lady. Where are you hurrying to? You’re still not fully recovered. Do be careful not to fall.”
“Okay. But don’t tell my brother!”
“Ha, of course. My loyalty to you runs far deeper, my lady.”
To summon a Spirit, she’d need somewhere without people around.
‘The Garden near the Annex would be perfect.’
Reponya dashed forward, thrilled at the prospect of flying through the sky.
“My lady, are you taking a stroll? The wind is brisk today. Wouldn’t you like to wear a scarf before you go out?”
“It’s fine. But keep it secret from my brother.”
“Of course, my lady. Your word is my command. Don’t worry.”
After running hard, Reponya slowed her pace near the Annex. As she’d hoped, no one was around.
“This should do. Summon it quickly. I want to ride it.”
At Reponya’s urging, Rudeuum tilted his head instead of summoning the Spirit.
“…That’s strange.”
“What is?”
“Everyone here smiles and greets you warmly. There’s no one at the Billemen Estate who smiles, greets, or even asks how you’re doing.”
Ah, yes—Rudeuum had mentioned that everyone at the Billemen Estate, even the servants, were in league with the Dowager, so no one there helped him.
“You’re loved here, Reponya.”
Rudeuum murmured softly, a light laugh on his lips.
Loved? She’d never really thought about it.
Now that she considered it, the servants had always been kind to her. They had been from the very first day she arrived at the Estate.
Not a single servant had dismissed her or treated her poorly.
‘That’s probably why living here at Craitan’s Estate has been so much easier.’
If they had rejected her as an outsider, the way orphanages and poor houses might have done, life here would have been far more difficult.
“…I suppose so.”
Reponya smiled awkwardly, a little uncertainly. Rudeuum laughed along and then summoned the Spirit.
“Wow.”
It was the silver wolf Spirit she’d been riding that time he had snuck into her Bedroom.
The massive wolf’s body appeared with sleek grace. Its silver fur was so similar to Reponya’s hair color that it drew the eye even more.
Rudeuum nimbly climbed onto the wolf’s back first. He moved so carefully that Reponya briefly wondered if he was planning to leave her behind.
“Reponya.”
Standing beside the silver wolf and gently scratching the nape of its neck, Rudeuum extended his hand to her.
The wolf was nearly as tall as Reponya, so it seemed she would struggle to climb onto its back without his help.
Reponya took his hand.
In the same motion, Rudeuum pulled her body upward with all his strength.
Her small frame was lifted off the ground in a flash.
“Oof!”
In the blink of an eye, Reponya found herself mounted on the wolf’s back.
Rudeuum settled her in front of him and wrapped one arm around her waist to keep her from falling.
“Hold on.”
The moment Rudeuum spoke, the silver wolf leaped into the sky.
As they suddenly shot upward, fierce winds rushed in from all sides. The gust was so savage she couldn’t open her eyes. Reponya squeezed them shut, pressing against Rudeuum.
How long it lasted, she couldn’t say.
“Ponya.”
Rudeuum’s quiet voice reached her ear.
“Open your eyes. We’re here.”
Reponya opened her eyes slowly.
“Oh.”
She couldn’t manage even a proper exclamation—all she could do was gape at the world spread before her.
In all her life, she’d never seen anything like it. The people below, always rushing about, looked no bigger than seeds planted in soil, and the buildings that had always seemed so tall and magnificent now appeared like children’s toys.
Everything that had seemed so urgent and desperate looked hollow from this height.
“Ponya. Do you like it?”
Rudeuum held her waist firmly so she wouldn’t slip, and asked.
This time, there was no expression she could hide behind.
She didn’t even know what face to wear right now.
Reponya turned to look at Rudeuum without thinking about her expression at all, and smiled.
“It’s so beautiful. So lovely.”
Rudeuum watched her for a moment, then turned his gaze away. He’d seen this landscape countless times before, riding the Spirit through the sky, but today the buildings gleaming in the sunlight seemed to shine with particular brilliance.
“…Yes. It’s lovely.”

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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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