The Villainess Hid Her Identity, and Now Everyone is Misunderstanding - Chapter 116

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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 116

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“Ahhhhh!”
“It’s collapsing! Someone’s been crushed!”
One section of the Aerial Garden erupted into screams.
The corner where the Fountain had stood crumbled entirely, sending cascades of stone debris and water tumbling down to form an enormous heap of wreckage below.
Droplets of water scattered across the area, catching the sunlight as they fell, while the shattered sculptures of the Fountain lay in pieces beyond recognition.
“We have to escape…!”
“Move! Get out of the way!”
The nobles screamed and rushed toward the entrance, desperate to flee the Garden.
Dress hems were trampled, fans scattered across the ground. Somewhere, a young noblewoman collapsed, losing consciousness.
“S-Saint Liliana! Saint Liliana!”
“Good heavens, are you all right?”
Saint Liliana had nearly been swept away by the debris, but Evelyn had pushed her inward, causing her to tumble to safety.
Her shoulder was slightly scraped and her dress torn, but fortunately, she appeared to have no serious injuries.
“Saint Liliana, come to your senses! Can you stand?!”
“…Yes.”
Saint Liliana stared blankly at the collapsed floor directly before her feet.
“Eve was….”
“Saint Liliana, let’s get to safety first!”
Daylen urged the others forward while supporting her arm. Yet his own face had turned ashen, drained of all color.
…The calculations had gone wrong.
The Saint should have been in that very spot, yet here she stood, alive and unharmed. The time and expense Valter had invested in this plan were far from trivial.
Cold sweat trickled down his back.
At that moment, someone staggered past them. Their footsteps led directly to the edge of the collapsed Aerial Garden.
One member of the Diplomatic Delegation supporting Saint Liliana flinched in alarm and reached out toward him.
“W-Wait! That’s dangerous! It’s still-”
“E-Evelyn…?”
As he leaned his body beyond the Railing, crimson hair fluttered in the wind. Below his feet, an entire section of the Aerial Garden had vanished. Water spray scattered between the shattered stone debris.
“This can’t… this can’t be….”
The color drained from Killian’s face as he stared down at the scene in shock.
If his eyes weren’t deceiving him, it was certainly Evelyn who had been sitting near that Railing. That unmistakable silver hair—impossible to mistake for anything else.
His sister’s hair.
But now it was impossible to find, for the area below had long been buried beneath rubble.
“Evelyn!”
He shouted harshly toward the debris below.
Ludwig Bernhardt’s eyes trembled violently as he watched with an expression of alarm.
“Surely not….”
There was no time to hear a response. Killian shoved people aside like a madman and rushed down the stairs, sprinting toward the rubble.
“Move! Get out of the way!”
“Killian!”
The Duke followed with a ghastly, pallid expression.
One side of the collapsed Banquet Hall had become a scene of chaos. Water and stone dust mingled into a sludgy mess, and building debris piled into mountains.
“Damn it, Evelyn! Answer me, Evelyn!”
As Killian cried out, gripping the pile of stones, the Duke who arrived behind him moved his lips soundlessly, his expression vacant.
Though he had endured battlefields and court intrigues for decades, standing before this heap of rubble in this moment, he was merely a helpless father.
“…My daughter is in there….”
A low, trembling voice escaped him. The Duke’s hand, which had never wavered until now, slowly rose above the debris.
He fell silent for a moment, then turned his head. His gaze fell upon none other than Crown Prince Ludwig.
“What are the knights doing!”
Ludwig issued his command with unwavering resolve.
“Clear the debris at once and rescue those trapped beneath! Summon the physicians as well!”
“Yes!”
The Imperial Palace knights began moving in perfect unison. Their response to the sudden crisis was flawless.
Ludwig appeared considerably flustered, his expression darkening as though he were concerned for his sister buried within.
Yet the Duke’s face was painted with despair as he detected a glimmer of exultation behind those green eyes.
‘Foolish.’
Perhaps he had known all along.
From the moment he resolved to stand against the Crown Prince, he should have known that a day like this would come. Such was the nature of court intrigue—a battle that inevitably brought down not only the principals but their families as well.
Yet knowing this, he had not taken the Crown Prince’s hand.
He had said it was to protect the path of those who remained, but in the end, he had merely placed them in the midst of that very path.
And the price for that was now this heap of rubble.
Veins bulged across the Duke’s knuckles. His hand, which had rested upon the debris, slowly curled into a fist.
His gaze turned once more toward Ludwig. A face crafted with perfect precision—gentle brows and measured bewilderment, all flawlessly composed.
He took a step forward. He had not yet decided what he would do. Whether to seize him by the collar or draw his blade.
But that was the moment.
“Step aside, Your Grace.”
A low voice halted his footsteps.
The Duke’s gaze slowly shifted to the side.
Cashen Lufenbayne.
A man with honey-colored hair stepped forward ahead of him toward the Crown Prince. A contingent of knights followed in his wake.
“…!”
The knights of House of Ruffenbein—who absolutely should not be here.
In that moment, as the Duke locked eyes with Cashen Lufenbayne, he read something within them. And the instant that answer flashed through his mind, he took a step backward.
Ludwig, noticing this movement, felt his eyebrows twitch ever so slightly.
“…Duke Lufenbayne, what are you doing?”
To his question, Cashen Lufenbayne merely raised his hand lightly. At that signal, the knights of House Ruffenbein surged toward the rubble in unison. The Imperial Palace knights flinched and retreated.
Ludwig’s face darkened. Yet rather than issuing orders to his men, he turned his gaze back toward Cashen Lufenbayne.
“…I ask again. What is the meaning of this, Duke Lufenbayne? Bringing private soldiers into the Imperial Palace—this could easily be construed as ‘treason.'”
“I am rescuing the one I must serve.”
“Rakiel… Or could you possibly mean Evelyn?”
“Yes.”
Cashen Lufenbayne answered curtly.
“House Ruffenbein shall henceforth move for our new ‘Saint.’ So please stand aside, Prince.”
“…!”
Someone’s sharp intake of breath echoed through the hall. The heads of every noble who had been observing the rubble nearby snapped toward him in unison.
“What nonsense.”
Among the nobility, it was a rumor no one believed. Yet for the Duke of Lufenbayne to speak such words….
“House Ruffenbein has served Saints for generations. Though it was not recorded in official documents, I believe the Imperial Court is aware of this.”
Ludwig’s face hardened.
Of course he knew. He could not possibly be ignorant of those records sealed deep within the most secret archives of the Imperial Palace.
It was knowledge only one who had become ‘Crown Prince’ could possess.
As he sensed the stirring unease spreading around him, he ceased his thoughts and finally parted his lips.
“…Well, that may be true, but.”
His voice carried a mocking edge.
“That title attached to the young lady is merely a rumor. Besides, an investigation into charges of impersonation is already underway—”
“It is not a rumor. She has already acknowledged it herself.”
“…What?”
Cashen Lufenbayne’s gaze slowly shifted to the side.
“You can surely discern why Saint Liliana of House Valter has personally journeyed to Bernhardt, Prince.”
All eyes turned toward Liliana at once. She, who had been supported down by members of the delegation moments before, slowly lifted her head.
Beneath her auburn lashes, hazel eyes shimmered softly, and she gave a quiet, deliberate nod.
“…!”
Only then did Ludwig grasp why Cashen Lufenbayne had absented himself from the Capital City just before the banquet.
‘Damn it, could the Saint’s reason for separating from her delegation have been the Duke?’
But that was not all.
Already, those under Cashen Lufenbayne’s command had begun carefully clearing away the piles of rubble. He, who had intended to drag out the situation as long as possible, soon bit down hard on his lip.
‘…Curse it.’
As Ludwig, standing face to face with Cashen Lufenbayne, cursed inwardly, within the collapsed and layered debris.
Someone was crying out with a face steeped in despair.

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“Your Highness! Can you hear me?”
A thin shaft of light barely seeped through the crevices of the rubble piled above, illuminating the narrow space where two people could scarcely squeeze through.
Trapped helplessly within Rakiel’s embrace, I reached up and grasped his pallid cheek. It was damp—whether from blood or sweat, I could not tell.
His eyes remained shut as if in death, showing no sign of opening.
“Your Highness, please… Please open your eyes. Your Highness…!”
I shook his shoulders while my cracked lips trembled, but silence was all that answered me. An ominous dread crept up my spine like a living thing.
“Your Highness… Your Highness, please….”
My voice fractured with each word.
In all ninety-nine cycles, I had never known this kind of fear—not for myself, but the terror of losing someone else.
…What if he dies?
It was a possibility I had never dared voice aloud. My fingers trembled, and my breathing grew ragged.
After calling out countless times without answer, I slowly lowered my head toward his chest.
But it was in that moment.
“By name… I told you to call me by name.”
“…!”

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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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