The Villainess Hid Her Identity, and Now Everyone is Misunderstanding - Chapter 31

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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 31

This was a first for me.
Never before had anyone been so eager to listen to what I had to say.
A strange emotion welled up within me—an unbearable, prickling sensation I couldn’t ignore.
Finally given the chance to speak, I slowly parted my lips.
“…I told you. Please check my teacup. That woman…she put something in my tea!”
Killian approached the table with a rigid expression and picked up the teacup.
He examined the color of the liquid, sniffed it, then cautiously brought it to his lips and tasted the tea.
“…Ugh!”
Killian’s face contorted, and he spat out the tea that touched his tongue with a sharp sound.
At that same moment, the maid who had been prostrate on the ground turned deathly pale.
‘As I thought….’
Something had definitely been added to it. There was no way the tea would taste that bitter otherwise.
Killian wiped his lips with the back of his hand, his expression growing increasingly stern.
“This is….”
“I told you! How could that be tea! Something was definitely added to it!”
As I cried out desperately, the maid crawled forward on her hands and knees, her face now a sickly shade of green.
“No, Young Duchess! No! I merely brewed the tea incorrectly…I never added anything! Nothing at all…!”
“You never added anything?”
“Yes, yes! I swear it!”
“Then why don’t you taste it yourself?”
“What?”
Killian knelt down himself and thrust the teacup toward her. His expression was colder than I had ever seen.
The maid stared at the cup held before her face and clamped her mouth shut. Her eyes trembled uncontrollably.
Killian caught that moment of hesitation and twisted his lips into a cruel smile.
“Why? Can’t you do it? What’s the matter? If it’s just poorly brewed tea, there should be no problem.”
“That is….”
…What on earth did she put in it to provoke such a reaction? Was it something more than just a bitter taste?
The memory of barely swallowing that single sip suddenly flooded back, sending a chill down my spine.
Crash!
The teacup slipped from Killian’s hand and shattered into pieces.
With a chilling expression, he deliberately crushed the fragments beneath his heel. The pieces crackled and crunched.
“…Lock this maid away at once! The crime of poisoning the Young Duchess’s tea!”
“…!”
Poison? Poison?!
I stared wide-eyed at the maid being restrained by the knights.
‘I drank some of it!’
The maid, just as panicked as I was, began screaming.
“Y-Young Lady! No! It’s not poison, it’s a laxative! A laxative, I tell you! I wasn’t trying to kill you, I just wanted to play a prank!”
“She confessed.”
“…!”
The maid’s face froze mid-scream.
“I revise the charges. The crime is insulting nobility! Take her into custody at once!”
…The outcome was the same regardless.
Watching the room settle so quickly, I let out a hollow laugh.
After the maid was dragged away, other maids entered to wipe up the broken teacup and wet floor, and the crowd that had gathered dispersed entirely.
It resolved so quickly.
Only as everything was tidied away in an instant did exhaustion finally wash over me.
‘Ah, I’m so tired.’
It feels like I’ve just handled something monumental.
I stood quietly watching, then sighed and turned to leave. I was planning to collapse into bed for some rest.
But at that moment, I noticed Killian still lingering hesitantly by the door, not yet gone.
“…Brother?”
“That… Evelyn.”
He scratched the back of his neck.
‘What’s wrong with him?’
The situation resolved well, the misunderstanding cleared up, and now I just wanted to rest.
I was on the verge of my limit from all the mental anguish I’d endured.
Killian’s lips twitched.
“…Why are you like this, Brother? I’m really tired.”
“R-Right. You must be exhausted. Don’t worry about that maid. I’ll handle it myself.”
…Handle it?
The word caught oddly.
Surely he wouldn’t kill her.
I brushed it off carelessly as I looked at him.
“I… I’m sorry!”
Whoosh.
He blurted out the words urgently and dashed from the room in an instant.
…What was that about?

* * *

“My lady, are you quite alright?”
Genie asked briskly.
“What could possibly be wrong? That lowborn wretch simply destroyed herself in her attempt to harm me.”
I answered in a refreshed voice after waking from a brief nap.
“I knew it! You would never strike someone without reason, my lady!”
…So that was supposed to be a compliment, then.
Shaking my head with amusement, I settled at my desk and began writing something while even whistling. Genie caught a glimpse of the characters and gasped in surprise.
“W-what is this? How many gold coins….”
“A bonus for Maren, naturally.”
“This much?”
Well, after all, it was thanks to these two that I hadn’t activated the choice function.
‘Whenever I see those choices, something about it feels utterly repugnant.’
Following the choices always left me with the sensation that I was merely dancing to the system’s tune.
No matter how many options multiplied, I had to select one of them—meaning nothing I did was truly my own will.
So my greatest enemy wasn’t the Crown Prince or Duke Cashen, but the system itself!
I would make certain not to activate that function again if I could help it.
I composed my expression into something cold and indifferent as I replied to Genie.
“Hmph, a commoner who dared assist me deserves at least this much compensation, wouldn’t you say? She made a reasonable effort, after all.”
Even if I had been the real Evelyn, I likely would have done the same. She was temperamental by nature, but quite generous when in good spirits.
I continued speaking as I jotted down figures.
“Don’t be so startled by something so trivial.”
“Trivial? But this is….”
“You’re getting some too.”
Genie’s eyes widened in astonishment.

Shortly after, Maren burst into my room.
“My lady! Sob, sob…!”
“Stop crying! No more whining!”
A grown man crying like this—and all because he received a bonus!
I recoiled in disgust as Maren continued wailing, tears and snot streaming down his face.
His sleeves were already covered in mucus.
‘Ugh, disgusting.’
He’d cried just the same when I paid for his brother’s school enrollment!
“You send my brother sponsorship funds every month… I could never accept such a large sum, sniff sniff.”
Well, that was a Quest too, after all!
I’d been steadily extracting stats from the linked sponsorship Quest that appeared each month.
Witnessing his tears and snot dripping onto the floor, I furrowed my brow and pulled out a handkerchief, pushing it toward him with the tip of my finger.
Apparently misunderstanding my gesture, Maren accepted the handkerchief with a moved expression and blew his nose with a loud honk.
“Th-thank you… I’ll wash it and return it to you…!”
“…No, just throw it away….”
Please.
“What? This expensive handkerchief….”
“Throw it away.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Apparently ignoring my words, Maren carefully folded the snot-covered handkerchief and tucked it into his breast pocket.
“Thanks to you, my lady, my brother studies without worry. He even took a test recently and came in first place!”
“…So what.”
“He says he’ll work hard to repay your kindness, my lady.”
There’s no need for that.
Still, it’s a good thing the nation gains talented people.
“My brother’s name is Max!”
“I didn’t ask for some commoner’s name.”
Not curious at all.
Yet for some reason, Maren grinned widely and readily accepted my sharp words.
“I’ll tell you anyway!”
“Pointless.”
“Pointless or not!”
“Not necessary… Ah, forget it.”
After what happened yesterday, Genie had driven away all the maids at the Ducal Palace who were causing trouble, and she was now handling everything related to me herself.
Making absolutely certain no other maid ever entered my room.
‘There’s really no need for her to go that far.’
What could they possibly do to torment me anyway?
At most, they might slip laxatives into my food, bring me cold meals, or pretend to forget meal preparations entirely. That’s all.
It’s rather cute, really.
“Lord Maren was originally scheduled to be dispatched to the Northern Front, but he’s been reassigned to serve as your attendant instead!”
Genie, who had been steeping the tea, interjected into the conversation.
“Isn’t that right?”
At Genie’s words, Maren nodded in agreement.
“Correct. I was supposed to join the forces under Prince Rakiel’s command, but it was suddenly canceled. According to the rumors I’ve heard, the military will be completely withdrawing from the Northern Front soon.”
Pretending to show no interest in their conversation, I perked up my ears.
‘Hmm, it seems the conflict with the foreign tribes has been resolved as expected.’
That had always been Rakiel’s specialty—diplomacy and negotiations.
Where the Crown Prince overwhelmed and dominated his surroundings with his characteristic commanding presence, the Second Prince took a more flexible approach, smoothing things over with finesse.
The two brothers possessed completely opposite temperaments.
Genie brought out a warm teacup with steam rising gently from it. Unlike yesterday, a pleasant, toasted aroma reached my nose.
‘The real problem is how to gather relief funds….’
I took a sip of the warm tea and fell into thought.
The Rosenthal Duchy was formed as a city centered around the Ducal Palace. Though some territories bordered the Valter Empire, the Duke of Rosenthal didn’t exclusively manage the border.
‘Still, it’s quite a sensitive area.’
Most of it consisted of peaceful commercial districts and farmland, but military camps and small fortresses were scattered throughout the southwest. Of course, I had never been there myself.
After all, we had been at war until just recently.
What was fortunate, though, was that the Rosenthal family was extraordinarily wealthy. Even with how freely Evelyn spent money, I had never seen the bottom of her allocated funds.
If I used just a fraction of that, I could save countless lives.
“Hmm….”
The sound of my fingers tapping against the table echoed out.
Because of yesterday’s incident, Genie had been closely monitoring me, making it difficult to slip away unnoticed.
So then….
‘What if I took everyone with me?’
I dragged my chair back with a scrape and stood up.
“Would you like to take a walk with me?”
The two who had been talking blinked and looked at me.

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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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