The Villainess Hid Her Identity, and Now Everyone is Misunderstanding - Chapter 106

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

The Villainess Hides Her Identity, and Everyone Misunderstands
Chapter 106

Rakiel pressed his lips against the back of my hand, chuckling softly. I felt the warmth of his mouth and the gentle vibration of his laughter against my skin.
A peculiar heat radiated outward from where his lips lingered.
While I stammered in momentary confusion, he held my hand for what felt like an eternity before slowly withdrawing his lips.
“W-what are you suddenly—”
“A parting gesture.”
He lifted his gaze to meet mine, his lips curving upward with amusement.
“I noticed today that my fiancée is quite popular. I thought I should leave my mark, so to speak. A substitute for a kiss on the lips, if you will.”
“That makes absolutely no sense—!”
Of course, a kiss on the hand fell within the bounds of propriety. It was a gesture of respect toward a woman, customary among noble families.
‘But that’s supposed to be a fleeting brush of the lips!’
This lingering pressure was something entirely different!
I stood frozen, hand still raised, unable to form words as I stared at him. Rakiel stepped back with a satisfied smile playing at his lips.
“I’ll come to escort you in a week, so try not to cause any trouble while I’m gone.”
“I would never—”
What kind of troublemaker did he take me for?
He waved his hand and departed into the darkness, leaving me alone and exasperated.

* * *

The next morning.
The door burst open.
“Evelyn!”
“Ah!”
Good heavens, you startled me awake.
Jolted from sleep, I barely managed to pry open my puffy eyelids. After seeing Rakiel off last night, I’d tossed and turned for quite some time before finally falling asleep, leaving my mind heavy and sluggish.
This was the aftermath of pouring out everything I’d been holding back to Ludwig.
I wiped the corner of my mouth with the back of my hand and lifted my head.
“Sigh, what’s the matter?”
Since dawn… ah, it’s already morning.
Once Genie confirmed I was fully awake, she rushed into the room with urgency.
“This is terrible, Evelyn! An investigator from the Imperial Palace has arrived!”
“What? An investigator?”
What could they possibly be investigating?
“I’ve never embezzled anything.”
“That’s not what this is about!”
Genie’s face was scrunched up as if I didn’t understand how serious this situation was.
But I truly hadn’t done anything wrong. What on earth could the Imperial Palace possibly investigate the Rosenthal Estate for?
Of course, they could conduct an investigation. If there were wrongdoings, shouldn’t one be investigated?
However, for a family of the Rosenthal’s standing, such a thing would be impossible without clear evidence.
“What are they investigating? Did Father… or rather, did my brother cause some trouble?”
“No, Evelyn! They’ve come because of you!”
“Because of me?”
This was completely unheard of. I couldn’t think of anyone who’d conducted themselves more quietly than I had.
Yet Genie cried out as if I still didn’t understand.
“It’s impersonating a Saint! Impersonation!”
“…!”
I froze with a dumbfounded expression.
It was an utterly absurd charge. And there was only one person who would send an investigator after me for such a ridiculous reason.
Ludwig’s doing.
‘Wow… he really is something else….’
I nearly laughed despite myself.
“He’s definitely retaliating for what happened yesterday. Impersonating a Saint? Where does such absurdity come from!”
Genie’s face crumpled as she tugged at her hair.
“If Evelyn isn’t the Saint, then who is! Prince Rakiel must have heard the news by now. Let me immediately-”
“No, wait. Hold on.”
I thought calmly through the situation.
He couldn’t have believed such a foolish charge would actually stop me.
Yes, even being generous, he could interrogate people related to me and members of the Rosenthal Estate.
But unless I had personally profited by going around using my own name fraudulently, there was no way to arrest the young lady of the Rosenthal Estate with such a flimsy method. This wasn’t a society without a class system for nothing.
‘What’s his goal? To make me hesitate? To bind the House of Rosenthal?’
Or is he trying to use me to tarnish Rakiel? After all, I’m his fiancée.
If it’s neither of those…
“…he’s trying to buy time.”
As I steadily tightened the noose around Ludwig, all that remained for him was the Imperial authority he could wield as Crown Prince—nothing more.
And what he was waiting for at this juncture was painfully obvious.
The Emperor’s death.
I rose from the bed and, with Genie’s assistance, dressed myself. Not long after, a knock sounded at the door.
Knock, knock.
Genie, whose eyes met mine, slowly opened the door.
Outside stood several people, led by a man in Imperial uniform.
“It is an honor to make your acquaintance, Lady Evelyn Rosenthal.”
The man at the front bowed respectfully. His movements were precise, almost excessively so.
“I am Edmund Klein, of the Imperial Investigation Bureau.”
I studied him quietly.
This wasn’t my first encounter with someone from the Investigation Bureau. If I were to list all the incidents I’d caused that warranted their investigation, I could fill an entire page.
But this man was a stranger to me.
‘…Who is he?’
Given that he’d come regarding this matter, he was certainly Ludwig’s man, but the problem was that I’d never seen his face before.
He also looked far too young to be put at the forefront of something like this.
…This was troublesome.
Had I encountered him even once before, I might have had some inkling of how he would proceed.
I clicked my tongue softly to myself while maintaining an unbothered smile on my face.
“You must have had quite an early morning.”
I stepped back slightly, as if yielding space.
“Shall we step inside? This doesn’t seem like a conversation to have in the doorway.”
At my words, he studied me for a moment before nodding.
“I appreciate your consideration.”
As the investigators filed into the room, the atmosphere grew noticeably heavier.
Judging by the timing, they’d deliberately arrived right after the Duke entered the Palace. No doubt other investigators had visited Killian as well.
They intended to conduct separate interviews.
‘Of course…’
They wouldn’t give us time to align our stories.
Shortly after, the Maids bustled about preparing tea. Once the atmosphere settled into conversation, I grasped my teacup with an air of ease.
“So.”
I opened with a brief prelude.
“If the Imperial Investigation Bureau itself has come calling, it must be quite a serious matter?”
His gaze lingered on my teacup before withdrawing. Without touching his own cup, as if he had no intention of drinking comfortably, he spoke.
“I’ve come to verify certain matters. I would appreciate your cooperation.”
His voice was frighteningly cold.
“Verify?”
I narrowed my eyes.
“What could be so significant that you would trouble yourself to visit the Rosenthal Estate?”
I had spoken with deliberate force, implying that they dared not investigate House of Rosenthal, but he showed no particular reaction to my words.
Instead, he opened his mouth formally.
“We have recently received reports concerning you, Miss Evelyn.”
“Reports?”
“The reports claim that you are being called a ‘Saint’ and are wielding influence over the people.”
I said nothing for a moment, then let out a short laugh.
“And?”
“The title of Saint is not merely a simple epithet.”
He continued with measured precision.
“It directly influences public sentiment and can, in certain circumstances, become the focal point of factional formation.”
It was an utterly textbook explanation.
I rested my chin in my hand and asked leisurely.
“So then, is that a crime?”
“Falsely claiming the title of Saint, or wielding influence under that name, is….”
His gaze fixed directly upon me.
“A grave matter with potential to disturb the order of the Empire.”
“Hmm.”
I tapped my cheek with my finger.
His words were technically sound, yet something about them felt distinctly unpleasant.
Especially that look in his eyes.
It was a gaze I had seen before—one that refused to place the other on equal footing, a condescending stare that suggested they weren’t even worth conversing with.
It resembled the look held in those tediously familiar green eyes.
Though his tone was measured, the attitude beneath it was brazenly arrogant, and his intention to treat whatever answer I gave as merely a formality was painfully transparent.
‘How utterly lacking in courtesy.’
Regardless of his position as an investigator, I was Evelyn Rosenthal. I was not to be treated carelessly.
I spoke with a cold gaze.
“Then let us clarify this matter thoroughly.”
I slowly lowered the hand that had been supporting my chin and met his gaze directly.
“Have I ever once used the title of ‘Saint’ to extort money from anyone, build temples, or engage in anything of the sort?”
A brief silence fell. I continued before he could open his mouth.
“You said you received reports. Did those reports claim that I profited in some way by posing as a Saint?”
Steam rose faintly above the teacup.
“…That is not what the reports contain.”
“Exactly.”
I smiled thinly.
Though it was hardly a smile—merely the corners of my mouth drawn up at an angle.
“So what you investigators have brought is merely a handful of rumors from sources unknown.”
I set down my teacup slowly.
Clink.
The delicate sound echoed through the room.
“You came all this way with just that one thing… You seem quite confident.”
I laughed as though it were nothing.
“Surely you know where you are.”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————