The Villainess Hid Her Identity, and Now Everyone is Misunderstanding - Chapter 113

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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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The Villainess Hides Her Identity, and Everyone Misunderstands
Chapter 113

I was momentarily at a loss for words, utterly bewildered.
Despite knowing what Ludwig and I were to each other, the fact that he would play such pranks suggested he had grown quite close to Rakiel in this iteration.
Moreover, whenever I met those crimson eyes gazing upon me, I was always seized by a peculiar sensation.
Just like now.
“….”
“….”
A grave intensity settled over his shadowed features. A silence stretched between us—one minute feeling like a thousand years.
The clamor of the surrounding crowd faded away, leaving only a strange quietude as if we two stood alone beneath the sky.
‘Still, though….’
Growing closer to Rakiel was not an unfavorable development. The more intimate we became, the more thoroughly I came to understand the inner workings of the Imperial Palace—knowledge that would prove invaluable not only now but in the future as well.
Especially if I were to proceed through a 101st iteration. Though of course, such a thing must never come to pass.
“Again.”
At his sudden murmur, I blinked.
“I beg your pardon?”
“…You’re thinking of something else again.”
His lips were pressed into a firm line. Sensing something amiss in his expression, I narrowed my brows slightly.
“I’m preoccupied. As you know, today is when that ‘rendezvous’ takes place.”
It was the perfect opportunity to expose Ludwig’s betrayal of our Empire and his conspiracy with the Valter Empire.
On the day I learned this truth from the prisoner, how fervently we had labored through the night to devise our strategy.
If the plan succeeded, the advantage would shift entirely to Rakiel from this day forward. If we could depose Ludwig, nothing could be more perfect.
“Yes, I know. That is important too….”
His words trailed off, and then he released a deep sigh.
“When you stand before me, I cannot think of anything at all. I feel like a fool.”
“Isn’t that somewhat problematic?”
It wasn’t as though my presence should make him nervous, yet his expression had grown forlorn.
‘Well, I must make him Emperor first, after all….’
Prince Rakiel, whom I had initially thought merely weak-natured, proved to be far more resolute than I expected, with convictions of his own.
He occasionally spoke of his vulnerabilities before me like this, but that was only because our bond had grown so much closer.
“Shall I introduce you to a good Physician?”
“…I think I might need one.”
What? Is he actually ill?
As he grumbled, he gently lifted my hand. Already pressed close beside me as if to obscure my vision, he drew even nearer.
Without hesitation, he placed my hand against his chest. Through the thin summer banquet attire, a faint warmth transmitted to my palm.
In that moment, flustered, I couldn’t even think to pull my hand away as I looked up at him.
“My heart is racing like mad.”
“…Pardon?”
“Look, whenever I see you, my heart pounds. What do you make of this? Is this also a problem?”
His heated gaze softened into a gentle curve. His eyes urged me forward, as if insisting I feel it for myself.
“Can you feel it?”
Strangely, I couldn’t move an inch. Through my palm, I could delicately sense what should have been impossible to feel through fabric—the rhythm of his racing heartbeat.
‘…Is this an illusion?’
Or perhaps his heart truly was pounding so violently that it transmitted through.
The moment that thought crossed my mind, my face grew inexplicably warm. I might have already flushed crimson.
Beneath his lowered lashes, his crimson eyes gleamed with unmistakable emotion.
I stammered as I opened my mouth.
“A, a heart beats for anyone who is human… wouldn’t it…?”
He let out a soft laugh.
“True, a heart cannot help but beat.”
“So the Physician is…”
“Whenever you are by my side, it will always fulfill its duty with fervor.”
Me? You mean me?
I nearly answered carelessly that I would stay by his side. His crimson eyes held some sort of enchantment, gleaming with a hazy light, and they passionately conveyed the notion that without me, his heart might stop at any moment.
As if that could possibly be true!
“What on earth does Your Highness’s heart have to do with me…?”
Rakiel had been clinging somewhat persistently since earlier, and I felt a distant gaze observing us from afar.
It was Ludwig.
He seemed to be monitoring our situation whenever I wasn’t looking his way.
‘Well, of course.’
If he had been an idol in modern times, he would have achieved stardom. With that face and expression, who wouldn’t fall for a line like “my heart races when you’re near”?
As proof, there were young noblewomen around us who gazed at him subtly—or rather, quite openly.
Perhaps noticing that my thoughts had wandered, Rakiel, with a displeased expression, continued to fidget with my fingers that he still held.
Thanks to that, my senses concentrated in my palm, and my mind went blank for a moment. Beneath those crimson eyes that seemed to confine me with their gaze, I clamped my lips shut.
‘What…’
Though it was surely just an act, those eyes beneath the black hair—brimming with desire—left me powerless.
A brief silence fell. I stood entranced, staring at him, even forgetting the fact that my hand still rested upon his chest.
It was just as a satisfied smile began to curve his lips.
“The Diplomatic Delegation of the Valter Empire and Saint Liliana have arrived!”
The moment the servant’s voice cut across the Banquet Hall, I snapped back to my senses with a start.
I pushed him slightly to the side and withdrew my hand, but Rakiel lingered a beat longer, caressing the tips of my fingers before slowly releasing them.
As if determined to leave his mark until the very end.
“Eve.”
A call tinged with regret followed.
“It seems the Saint has arrived!”
I let out a small exclamation and focused my gaze toward the platform.
Among the people dressed in the Valter Empire’s formal attire, a beautiful woman entered like a pristine flower blooming—graceful and serene.
Unlike the diplomatic delegation, who held their heads stiffly as if they had arrived somewhere they shouldn’t be, she wore a subtle smile on her face.
I watched the delegation walk in slowly, then shifted my gaze. At the end of that line stood Ludwig.
His eyes held nothing but simple curiosity directed toward her. So far, everything unfolded as I had anticipated.
“You have traveled far and endured much hardship. The Bernhardt Empire welcomes the Valter Empire’s delegation.”
As Ludwig spoke, the man standing at the head of the delegation bowed a beat late. It was Daylen Haibel, the one who had stayed at the Ducal Mansion.
“We are grateful for Your Highness’s warm reception. I am Daylen Haibel, a diplomat. I offer greetings on behalf of the Valter Empire.”
The delegation exchanged simple, perfunctory greetings, and they presented gifts to one another.
I searched for someone exchanging glances with Ludwig, narrowing my eyes, but nothing stood out particularly.
‘Well, the real beginning is bound to come after this anyway….’
With Ludwig’s closing words wishing them to enjoy themselves and depart well, the initial greeting came to an end.
I turned my eyes and swept my gaze across the surroundings. It was to focus on Liliana’s movements afterward.
I was concerned she might approach Ludwig.
And Duke Cashen as well….
“…Huh?”
Where did Duke Cashen go?
My eyes urgently scanned the surroundings. I searched for his honey-colored hair tinged with deep ash, but I could not find even his shadow, let alone his hair.
‘What? He said he was going to his estate and coming back, so hasn’t he arrived yet?’
I quickly tugged at Rakiel’s sleeve. He paused for a moment, then bent his waist slightly to make it easier for me to speak.
“Have you seen the Duke?”
“…Are you referring to Duke Lufenbayne?”
“Yes. He said he would attend today’s banquet, but I haven’t seen him yet.”
He fell silent for a moment.
As the silence continued and I turned to him with a puzzled expression, he spoke again.
“Why are you looking for him?”
Why…?
As I rolled my eyes while thinking for a moment, I happened to glance in another direction and locked eyes directly with Ludwig.
He also seemed slightly flustered, as if he hadn’t been deliberately looking this way.
I opened my eyes wide and glared at him. I had done nothing wrong, so there was no reason for me to avert my gaze first.
‘Hey, aren’t you going to look away?’
As I furrowed my brow and glared at him with that very thought, his green eyes filled with slight bewilderment.
A brief staring contest seemed to ensue, but Ludwig looked away first.
It was my victory.
Of course, it was closer to him looking away first because someone beside him spoke to him, but either way, I had won.
Rakiel glanced at me, seemingly finding it odd that I hadn’t answered. I quickly offered a response.
“Ah, I had made plans to meet the Duke here today.”
I didn’t think things would unfold like the original story at this point, but regardless, anything that deviated too far from my expectations was problematic.
“The Duke conveyed that his attendance today would be difficult.”
“What?”
I asked in bewilderment.
Duke Cashen… didn’t attend this welcome reception?
Rakiel continued speaking, his face scrunched up in clear displeasure.
“The Duke has always been willful by nature, so there was no real grounds to stop him. Is there something important you needed to tell him?”
I found myself nodding unconsciously.
‘Hmm, there’s so much I need to ask him…’
Starting with matters concerning the Followers, why he suddenly went down to his Estate, and what he meant by those words the last time we met—there was no end to my questions.
As I was turning these thoughts over in my mind, a voice announcing something reached my ears.
“A welcome performance will commence at the Fountain shortly.”

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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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