The Villainess Hid Her Identity, and Now Everyone is Misunderstanding - Chapter 123

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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 123

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“Are we truly to be treated in such a manner?”
A man shot to his feet as though ready to bolt from the room at any moment, his voice sharp with indignation. Yet a hand reached out to restrain him, pulling him back down.
“Hush, keep your voice down! Everyone outside will hear you.”
It was Yustel, a marquis and one of the envoys from the Valter Empire. He was among the younger members of the diplomatic delegation.
They were currently staying in the Guest Palace of the Bernhardt Imperial Palace.
What should have been merely a temporary residence for the delegation had become something far different following the Royal Chamberlain’s murder and the fountain incident that had occurred days prior.
Despite five days having passed, the entire delegation remained restricted from leaving the grounds under the pretext of assisting with the investigation.
As a result, they were effectively confined within the Guest Palace.
“How dare they lock away envoys of the great Valter Empire in such a cramped corner and treat us like this! His Majesty will be outraged when he learns of it!”
“And after we nearly died in that accident, no less. We’ll have to report every detail of this to our homeland!”
“Precisely. They can’t even properly maintain a fountain, yet they boast of being an empire. Bernhardt is truly in its twilight years.”
As the remaining envoys continued their scathing criticism, Yustel wiped the cold sweat from his brow with the back of his hand.
“W-well, that may be true, but…”
“Speaking of which, where has Daylen Habel gone?”
“I haven’t the faintest idea. All we know is that the Imperial Palace’s Royal Chamberlain is dead and that Prince Rakiel still hasn’t regained consciousness.”
He continued speaking, unable to hide his unease.
“If Daylen Habel truly did kill the Royal Chamberlain… this won’t simply end.”
Daylen Habel was particularly favored by the Emperor of the Valter Empire. If he had killed a foreign imperial chamberlain and fled, it was not a matter to be taken lightly.
However, one of the envoys seated across from him suddenly burst out in protest.
“What nonsense are you spouting? Do you truly believe such a thing?”
“Pardon? No, I was merely…”
“What possible motive would Daylen Habel have to suddenly kill that man? And in a foreign land where he knows no one!”
Another envoy beside him chimed in agreement.
“Quite right. I hear that someone witnessed Daylen Habel and the Royal Chamberlain meeting briefly, but that hardly confirms him as the culprit.”
“There’s no connection between them whatsoever. It’s nothing but baseless rumor.”
In the end, the marquis fell silent, his expression growing awkward.
Though they all denied it, the suspicion refused to fade.
As envoys of a foreign power, they possessed at least a general understanding of Bernhardt’s political landscape. For this reason, news of the Royal Chamberlain’s death—a man aligned with the Crown Prince’s faction—had been quite shocking.
All the more so if the incident involved Daylen Habel, who led their own delegation.
“I cannot fathom what is transpiring within this Imperial Palace.”
As he muttered quietly, a dismissive snort echoed through the room.
“Isn’t that obvious? It’s a power struggle. That fountain collapse was undoubtedly caused by it.”
“Regardless, we need to find Lord Daylen quickly….”
Anxiety seeped into his voice.
From the start, they had come to this empire merely to advance “friendly relations,” not to get entangled in such a delicate power struggle.
Yet all they could do was lodge an official protest with the Bernhardt Imperial Court and pressure them to immediately disclose the circumstances of the incident.
An emergency dispatch had been sent to their homeland to conduct an independent search, but there was no telling how long it would take for a response to arrive.
Thus, the Baron’s gaze naturally turned toward one direction.
“Saint Liliana, is there anything that stands out to you?”
Where his eyes fell, Liliana sat with her gaze lowered, sipping her tea.
The sound of the teacup being set down rang out softly.
Perhaps curious as well, the others’ attention also turned toward Liliana.
“The Deity has nothing particular to say?”
“Didn’t I tell you not to ask like that? The Deity doesn’t come searching indiscriminately like that.”
A reproachful voice came from one side, but Liliana seemed unbothered.
“Well….”
She trailed off.
Reactions suggesting they were gauging her intentions came from various directions.
“Come to think of it, wasn’t Saint Liliana the last person to speak with Lord Daylen?”
The Baron muttered as if suddenly remembering.
It was around the time the Lupenbain Knights appeared. Just as all eyes turned that way, a faint image surfaced of Liliana and Daylen conversing in the back.
“It seemed like the two of you were talking, and then Lord Daylen left his seat….”
“…Lord Daylen left his seat immediately after that. However, I’m afraid I don’t know where he went.”
Her eyes curved gracefully as she looked at him.
His eyebrows twitched slightly, and he fell silent in an instant. For some reason, he felt a pressure that he shouldn’t speak further.
“….”
Soon she turned her head away, fixing her gaze out the window.
The Baron, watching her, could only swallow the words he couldn’t bring himself to say.
Meanwhile, the voices of other delegates who had lost interest in the conversation between the two could be heard.
“I hope Lord Daylen is safe….”
“The Bernhardt side keeps repeating that they’re continuing the search—it’s maddening.”
“He’s not the type to disappear without a word.”
From Liliana’s reaction, which suggested she knew something, to the missing Daylen, to the Crown Prince’s attitude of not even coming to apologize after this incident erupted.
Nothing about this was normal.
It was enough to question whether they were even here as a diplomatic delegation.
Then Liliana, who had been gazing out the window, slowly rose from her seat.
“Saint Liliana? Where are you going?”
She smiled faintly, then silently grasped the door handle.
“The atmosphere isn’t good right now, so at least you should tell us where you’re going….”
“Even the Deity doesn’t prevent the natural functions of the human body.”
The Baron, suddenly understanding her meaning, flushed and lowered his head. He could feel the sharp gazes around him, as if they had expected this all along.
“I-I’m terribly sorry. Please, go ahead.”
Click.
The moment the door closed, Liliana began walking straight ahead with purpose.
Her destination was directly in front of the window she’d been gazing out of moments before.
Knowing the other delegates wouldn’t pay particular attention to what lay beyond the glass, she strode forward without hesitation.
And there, she encountered someone….
“Saint Liliana!”
“Ah, so I was right to come looking for you.”
She smiled warmly.
A hooded figure approached in quick, cautious steps, glancing nervously at their surroundings.
It was Genie, Evelyn’s maid.

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“Still nothing?”
As I furrowed my brow, Yan exhaled heavily.
“Yeah, we confirmed he left the Capital City, but after that—nothing. The trail goes cold.”
“The trail goes cold? You mean he just vanished into thin air?”
“I wish I could believe that.”
He rose from his seat and paced anxiously across the room. Watching him, I pressed my temples firmly, trying to ease the tension.
The headache that had started yesterday refused to fade.
‘I’ve been overthinking this.’
It had been five days since the incident, but the real problem was that we couldn’t locate Daylen anywhere.
Even with the full resources of Twilight, the Information Organization, we’d searched the entire Capital City.
According to Yan, Daylen was last spotted near the Merchant District and the Stables on the Outskirts after leaving the Imperial Palace that day.
It seemed as though he’d been preparing to leave somewhere.
“Daylen intended to flee the Capital City the moment he left the Imperial Palace. Especially since he made contact with a horse merchant—he was definitely planning to escape somewhere.”
“But you said he didn’t actually purchase a horse.”
“Right. If he had completed the transaction, there would be records. He couldn’t have been ignorant of that.”
“Then….”
Did that mean he simply walked out of the Capital City?
Rakiel answered the question I couldn’t quite voice.
“…It seems clear that someone must have helped him.”
He lay reclined against the headboard, still wearing his gown, though bandages were visible beneath it.
Rakiel was recovering at a remarkable pace.
Despite having opened his eyes only two days ago, he was already capable of walking about.
‘He’s a monster… definitely a monster.’
The image of him suffering that fatal wound still haunted my vision, yet the man before me now displayed an extraordinary recovery rate.
“That’s exactly what I’m saying!”
Yan stopped abruptly and shouted.
“You’re saying he received help from someone else?”
“Yes.”
“But who could possibly help him? In a distant foreign land where he knows no one, who would aid a man who’s committed murder?”
I wondered if Ludwig had been the one to help him escape far away, but….
‘…If it were simply a matter of killing him and being done with it, there’s no reason to drag things out like this.’
Given that we’d found traces of him leaving the Capital City, it didn’t seem like he’d been killed. Though if the plan had been to kill him outside the Capital City, that would be a different story.
Ludwig’s silence since that incident had been somewhat suspicious, but it was clear he was scheming something to keep himself quiet.
“Perhaps he had another connection we’re unaware of.”
“That could be. From what I know, Daylen’s visit to our Empire wasn’t his first. It seems he came as a diplomat before the war as well….”
“A connection forged back then, perhaps.”
As their conversation continued, I pressed my head between my hands, lost in thought.
‘Now that I think about it, when he came as a diplomat in the previous cycle….’
Just as my thoughts were beginning to connect, I heard someone carefully knocking on the door from outside. It was the pre-arranged signal.
And soon they opened the door and entered.
“We’ve brought Saint Liliana, Miss.”
Behind Duke Cashen’s towering frame, Liliana stepped into the room, her slender figure concealed beneath a hood.

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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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