The Villainess Hid Her Identity, and Now Everyone is Misunderstanding - Chapter 28

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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 28

I flinched for a moment but refused to turn my head. I deliberately avoided looking at the Duke, as though even facing him made my skin crawl.
Evelyn had often attempted defiance in the past, but the Duke’s unexpectedly firm resolve had always blocked her efforts. Yet this engagement had finally presented an opportunity for a “proper rebellion.”
The Duke, as if attempting conversation, spoke first.
“Is your engagement to Prince Rakiel truly so displeasing?”
Yet I answered with a mocking tone.
“I believe I’ve mentioned this several times already. When there’s a far more appealing option in the Crown Prince, I simply cannot fathom why Prince Rakiel must be chosen.”
“Evelyn, mind your tongue.”
The Duke’s voice dropped lower still.
“They are Imperial Princes. You are not someone who should speak of them so carelessly.”
At those words, I gripped the sofa cushion beside me and whirled around to face him. The Duke regarded me with a serious expression.
“So what? Should I be grateful simply because they’re princes?”
“That’s not what I meant—”
“It has nothing to do with me! The Crown Prince is the only prince that matters to me!”
I hurled the sofa cushion at him, aiming deliberately to miss by a margin.
His red hair rustled slightly, yet he didn’t blink once, still fixing his gaze upon me.
‘Tch, so he truly was a swordmaster in his youth.’
Ludwig Bernhardt had been quite the renowned swordmaster in his day.
Though he had since retired and become a politician entering the Imperial Palace, many still revered him.
‘Still not enough….’
I needed one decisive blow to truly anger him.
I deliberately curled my lips into a sneer and continued.
“Have you ever once asked for my opinion? Of course not. Because my opinion doesn’t matter, does it? You decide my marriage entirely on your own!”
“This is a decision for the family’s sake.”
“The family, the family! It’s always about the family!”
I stood abruptly and faced the Duke directly.
“What about me? What of me? Am I merely a tool for the family’s benefit?!”
「…!」
The Duke’s wide eyes gradually hardened. No—they paled.
This must be what they meant by blood rushing backward.

—Mother married Father for the family, bore me for the family, and died for the family!

It was a reckless outburst from Evelyn before I even possessed her body, spoken in a fit of emotion.
Evelyn had lost her mother early and grew up under a taciturn father and older brother, leaving her severely starved for affection.
And… Evelyn’s words didn’t seem particularly wrong either.
In fact, the Duchess had apparently been lonely all along. The Duke loved his work while neglecting his family, and in the meantime, the Duchess grew weak bearing Evelyn and eventually died from illness.
It was the tragic side of a political marriage.
However, even as I spoke of my own volition, I examined the Duke with a slightly uncomfortable expression. His fingertips were trembling.
‘…Did I say something I shouldn’t have?’
It was a statement akin to touching his reverse scale. I wanted to refrain from touching others’ trauma as much as possible, but…
‘I’m sorry, but I’m in a hurry too.’
I bit my lip and steeled my resolve.
“…Evelyn.”
The Duke called me in a low voice.
I simply laughed hysterically.
“If Father had truly cared for me, you wouldn’t have done something like this.”
I raised my voice.
“How dare you… how dare you!”
“The Crown Prince betrayed our house. Do you still not understand?”
The Duke spoke with deliberate firmness.
Though his tone grew increasingly heated, he seemed to be making an effort to suppress his emotions.
“The Crown Prince doesn’t know your worth. But Prince Rakiel is different! This is the path for your sake!”
“Worth? Again with worth?”
A sneer played at the corners of my mouth.
“To Father, I’m merely the worth of the family. Not a daughter.”
“Evelyn! That’s enough!”
An enraged voice poured out.
I stared at him with wide eyes, as if startled.
The Duke’s face was flushed with anger, his eyes blazing.
“I am…!”
The moment I opened my mouth to protest, the Duke cut me off.
“I said that’s enough!”
“…!”
The Duke, who had shouted loud enough to shake the room, breathed heavily. He looked down at me with cold eyes.
‘…Surely he won’t hit me?’
Upon noticing his fist clench and unclench several times, my body went rigid.
But fortunately, the Duke gradually calmed down. And when his breathing had grown quieter, a pale, bitter smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.
He closed his eyes once, then opened them and spoke in a voice that suppressed emotion.
“…Go down to the Estate.”
“…Pardon?”
“Stay at the Estate for a while. Until you come to your senses.”
I widened my eyes in disbelief.
“To the Estate?! What do you—!”
“That’s an order, Evelyn!”
The Duke’s voice thundered through the room.
He regarded me with a gaze tinged with exhaustion.
“Prepare yourself and depart for the Estate. There, you will reflect upon your conduct.”
“Father!”
“Not another word of protest.”
The Duke turned and walked toward the door.
Without uttering a single syllable, he opened it and departed.
Slam!
I stood motionless for a long moment, my gaze fixed blankly on the closed door before my legs finally gave way and I collapsed onto the sofa.
“…Hah.”
A shallow breath escaped me. The words I had just spoken replayed through my mind.
“….”
Yet the moment I closed and reopened my eyes, the corners of my mouth curved upward in a subtle smile.
I had perhaps overplayed my hand, but the outcome was far from unfavorable. Once I had scratched things up to this degree, there would be only one choice left.
To dispose of me.
Leaving the Capital City was one of the things Evelyn despised most. And truthfully, it was also one of the things I desired.
Before the lingering warmth of my performance could even fade, I sprang to my feet and began pacing the room with restless urgency.
I needed to contemplate what I would accomplish once I reached the Estate.
At this juncture, the means to imprint Rakiel’s name upon people’s minds proved simpler than anticipated.
‘To make known his exemplary character!’
Moreover, the Bernhardt Empire had seen only two years pass since the war’s conclusion. The Outskirts still bore unhealed wounds from the conflict.
‘The Rosenthal Estate lies near the border and was among the regions that suffered grievously.’
It was a golden opportunity for me to move freely while aiding the people and spreading word of Rakiel.
I began gathering the robe I habitually carried in my bag, the documents about Rakiel that I had received from Twilight, and various other items that would aid in concealing my identity.
‘Perhaps… I’ll return within a month?’
Regardless of how furious the Duke was, the Emperor’s birthday celebration would soon arrive. He would have no choice but to summon me before then. Besides, with the engagement to Prince Rakiel pending, he could hardly leave me at the Estate for an extended period.
‘A month should be more than sufficient to secure the people’s favor.’
I closed my bag with a resolute expression.

* * *

I rubbed my eyes vigorously to create a puffy, swollen face, then deliberately wore a wide-brimmed hat to obscure my eyes. I made sure to catch a glimpse of my face as I climbed into the carriage.
Behind me, I heard the maids whispering to each other.
“Oh my, what a sight… her face is in terrible condition. She was already thin, but she looks like she’s lost even more weight!”
“Well, she fasted for three days straight. And then cried all day long—of course she’d lose weight!”
“By the way, did you see the bedding in the maids’ quarters? All those worn-out, frayed ones have been replaced with new ones… there’s a rumor going around that the Young Lady ordered it!”
“Oh my, even in such a difficult state, how could she know about our situation…”
I felt a peculiarly gleaming gaze boring into the back of my head.
I deliberately ignored it and pulled my hat down further to hide my face.
‘Tch, I went through all that trouble to do it secretly, and yet everyone found out…’
Even with the perception-lowering effect, they all figure it out later. It seemed my image had already changed too much.
Because of that, I was mentally prepared to only get half the stats.
I was sitting in the carriage with a sullen expression when someone knocked on the door.
I looked in that direction with an expression that said I didn’t even want to answer.
“Young Lady, I greet you.”
He spoke while bowing respectfully.
“I am Maren of the 4th Knight Order, and I shall safely escort you to your Estate.”
…Maren? The one I paid the tuition for my younger brother?
The moment I casually examined his face at the familiar name.
That brown hair, something about it seemed so familiar…
“…Ah!”
I widened my eyes and pointed at him with my finger.
Ah, you! You’re the one!
‘That Knight who was used by me when I went down to the Dungeon!’
He was that brown-haired Knight who had been unjustly given a week of suspension because he fell for my deception.
So this Maren was that Knight? What a small world…
When he came to find me before saying thank you, I had just thought of him as an extra and didn’t even look at him properly. I never thought I’d meet him again like this.
“…?”
Maren continued to stare at me with a bewildered expression. I awkwardly grabbed the hand I had been pointing with and lowered it.
Then I turned my head away with a snort.
At my reaction, he scratched the back of his head, and eventually withdrew without even getting an answer.
‘So he was from the 4th Knight Order after all.’
I had thought to give him a bonus back then but had completely forgotten about it.
Well, I do feel a bit sorry…
Still, since we’d be traveling to the Estate together, I could somehow find his merits and guide him toward earning that bonus…
…toward earning…
…
…that was what I was thinking.
I let out a deep sigh and poked the inside of my cheek with my tongue. It was absurd.
‘Really, I’ve reached the point where I’m giving up on finding his merits.’

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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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