The Villainess Hid Her Identity, and Now Everyone is Misunderstanding - Chapter 16

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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 16

The Rosenthal Estate was thrown into chaos.
When Jonas, the ringleader, opened his mouth, all those who had infiltrated the estate were exposed. Given that this operation had spanned ten years, there were far more arrests than just the initial conspirators.
Screams echoed throughout the manor all day long, and the remaining servants were consumed with gossip.
Ludwig Bernhardt made efforts to contain the leak, but the extensive upheaval of the estate caused rumors to spread rapidly.
He could only focus on concealing the reason for the chaos and the identity of those behind it.
“…So that’s the situation, it seems.”
The man spoke as he burned the report slip in candlelight.
He, scratching his short hair vigorously, looked at the person sitting before him.
The person in front of him was fortunately yawning with both legs propped up on the table.
“Quite the troublesome affair, isn’t it.”
He muttered.
Brushing back his black hair, he was none other than Prince Rakiel, the Second Prince.
The man—that is, Yan, the master of the intelligence organization Twilight—looked down at him with a weary expression.
“You’re the one who asked me to gather that information.”
It was a somewhat disrespectful tone to use toward a prince, but Rakiel paid it no mind.
“Well… that’s true, but hearing it now, I suppose it makes sense.”
“Do you really think so?”
Only then did Rakiel lift his head, which had been tilted back with interest. Yan’s expression was more serious than expected, his eyes narrowed in thought.
“This situation is quite unexpected to me. Think about it—those spies that ‘he’ carefully planted over a long time.”
“And?”
“Isn’t it strange that they were all uprooted so completely in one fell swoop? It’s far too anticlimactic.”
Yan pulled the chair across from Rakiel and sat down.
“If I were the Crown Prince, I wouldn’t have done it this way… In the first place, it’s suspicious that so many spies were placed in the Rosenthal Estate.”
Rakiel slowly touched the bridge of his nose. It was a habit that appeared whenever he fell into contemplation.
“…It’s a reasonable suspicion. You don’t think the Duke of Rosenthal was more capable than expected?”
Yan shook his head.
“The Duke only learned of this recently, it seems. Besides, isn’t there someone in that household who is an obsessive fan of the Crown Prince? That must have influenced the Duke.”
“But the Duke of Rosenthal didn’t care how infatuated his daughter was with the Crown Prince anyway, did he?”
“Wrong. He’s known as one of the most aloof men in the Empire.”
“…The Duke?”
Rakiel’s eyebrows shot up in bewilderment.
Though he had only seen him at official functions, he had never once witnessed the Duke treat his daughter with affection—not even when she was young.
Whether Rakiel doubted it or not, Yan continued.
“If my daughter follows the Crown Prince so blindly, blinding her eyes is as easy as eating cold rice. For the Crown Prince, it was the perfect environment to stab the House of Rosenthal in the back.”
Rakiel let out a hollow laugh.
“So the Crown Prince betrothed the Rosenthal heiress with the intention of using her from the start.”
Yan nodded at his words.
“Once you plant a spy, everything becomes easy after that. No risk of being discovered. But…”
“You’re saying it’s suspicious that everything was exposed at once? Who exactly are you suspecting? Surely you don’t think the Crown Prince deliberately left a trail?”
“That’s not it, but…”
“I understand for now, so let’s drop it. I’ll probably be visiting the Rosenthal Estate soon anyway. If the Duke truly intends to join hands with me… he’ll reveal something.”
Rakiel lowered his feet from the table and straightened his posture.
Black hair that he’d been too lazy to cut fell near his eyelashes, and between the strands, jewel-like crimson eyes gleamed with a drowsy quality.
Watching this, Yan clicked his tongue inwardly. No matter how he looked at it, Rakiel seemed more suited to wild fields than to being an imperial prince.
‘And yet this man suddenly decided he should become emperor…”
The two were old friends. They’d known each other since childhood and still met fairly often. Actually, quite frequently.
But when that friend returned from the battlefield one day and suddenly declared he should become emperor, how shocked had Yan been?
It was more shocking when he said he should become emperor than when he revealed he was actually a prince—someone Yan had thought was a commoner like himself. He simply didn’t suit power struggles at all.
‘Still…”
Rakiel stretched languidly, stood up, and adjusted his clothes.
‘…it might not be so bad.’
At least if the Rakiel he knew became emperor, he could see a future that was better than now, at the very least.
Yan called out to Rakiel, who was still yawning as if tired.
“Oh, that reminds me.”
“…?”
“There was a woman who came asking about you.”
“…a woman?”
He tilted his head curiously.
“Was she pretty?”
“…she was wearing a hood, so I couldn’t see her face.”
Pretending to react to the word “woman” when he had no interest in women at all.
Yan wrinkled the bridge of his nose.
“She was wearing a hood?”
“Probably…”
Rakiel cut him off.
“Is she from the House of Rosenthal?”
“How did you know?!”
The woman hadn’t revealed her identity to him, but from the quality and style of her robe, he could roughly guess her affiliation. At least that much was necessary to claim he ran an information organization anywhere.
Rakiel’s lips curved up with interest. Noticing this, Yan spoke with surprise.
“Do you know her?”
“Know her… I suppose. Well.”
“What’s with that lukewarm response?”
Rakiel waved his hand, signaling not to worry about it.
But how could I ignore it? He was acquainted with a woman, after all.
“Hmm, could she have figured out who I am?”
Despite that, she maintained such an attitude—quite intriguing, I mused.
‘…But why did she bother to investigate me?’
If the Duke had ordered it, the Rosenthal Estate would have had sufficient information to gather.
‘Well, it doesn’t matter.’
Dismissing it lightly, I chuckled softly and looked at Yan.
“You’re telling me someone requested information about me? And you actually handed it over?”
“They paid quite a sum. A friend’s information is… something you can sell for a few coins, isn’t it?”
“I wouldn’t want to befriend someone I’m afraid of.”
Despite my words, my expression appeared quite delighted.
I held a deep trust that he would never sell truly important information.
Moreover, I trusted Yan’s instincts. If the other party had requested information with malicious intent, his sharp perception would have caught it immediately.
Yan watched me chuckling alone to myself, his face showing visible discomfort.
“This feels really strange. What on earth happened?”
“Don’t worry about it. In any case, it seems the Duke truly intends to join hands with me. Otherwise, there’s no reason someone under his command would come asking for my information.”
“That’s not necessarily true. What would a mere maid have to do with the Duke?”
“Who knows? That mere maid could very well be the Duke’s agent.”
Though that didn’t seem to be the case at all…
Yan murmured, recalling her clumsy movements and gait. Though he’d stopped paying attention after being distracted by money, had he observed a bit longer, identifying her would have been instantaneous.
“When she visits, take good care of her. And be generous with information.”
“…I’m not sure why, but I feel unsettled.”
It was like watching a friend fall in love.
‘Still, it’s not entirely bad.’
All this time, Yan had been harboring a quiet anxiety.
Setting aside war trauma, Rakiel rarely sought out human connection. It felt as though he’d built a wall in his heart from childhood.
Even when I first befriended him thinking he was a commoner, he was so prickly. Though I understood after learning of his past.
‘His childhood wasn’t particularly happy, after all…’
But now someone had appeared who captured his interest—there could be no greater joy than this. Though an insurmountable gap in status existed between them, relationships between people weren’t solely about romantic love.
As evidence, the interest Rakiel showed toward her seemed closer to curiosity about the person herself rather than romantic attraction between a man and woman.
Yan rose from his seat, thinking he’d need to make one more VVIP business card. It was to see Rakiel off.
Rakiel, who had grasped the door handle to leave, suddenly stopped.
“By the way, are you still using those business cards?”
“Business cards?”
The timing was truly exquisite.
“I was just about to make more VVIP cards—”
“Throw all of those away. Every time I see them, my eyes feel like they’re rotting.”
“….”
Yan, who had been answering confidently, froze like a statue.

* * *

I was staring at the system window so intently my eyes felt like they might fall out.
It was a window that had appeared yesterday.

[Quest “The Hand That Devoured Assets” completed successfully.]
[Freedom +20 / Reputation +5]

I already knew about that… but the problem came after.

[Quest “The Secret of the Continental War” – Clue Acquisition Complete!]

“What in the world is this?”
I had never received a quest called “The Secret of the Continental War.” Never even seen one.
Yet somehow I had acquired a clue…
Any stray dog passing by would recognize that the conversation between the Duke and Jonas was that clue, but all I knew was that it was somehow connected to the Crown Prince.
And it’s clearly no ordinary matter, is it? “Continental War” and “Secret”—completing this sounds like it would yield an absolutely massive reward!
“Aaaah, I’m going crazy with curiosity!”
As I screamed while pulling at my hair frantically, I felt a startled reaction from outside.

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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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