The Villainess Hid Her Identity, and Now Everyone is Misunderstanding - Chapter 42

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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 42

“Mm.”
I nodded with satisfaction.
Genie and Maren stood before me, their expressions tense as they watched me carefully.
Having read through the letter from beginning to end without missing a single character, I folded it back up with a sly smile.
Then I delivered the words they’d been waiting to hear.
“Father says I’m to return to the Capital City.”
“Wow!”
“Congratulations, Evelyn!”
Clap, clap, clap!
Both their faces lit up simultaneously as they applauded in celebration.
Of course, I was grateful for their joy, but was this really something worthy of such celebration?
‘This is ridiculous—they’re not even children.’
I couldn’t understand why they were making such a fuss. Whether it was Genie or Maren, they both wore expressions of such innocent delight that I couldn’t bring myself to say anything.
“When will you be leaving?”
Genie asked with sparkling eyes, and I fell into contemplation.
‘It would certainly be best to leave as soon as possible…’
The problem was that I still hadn’t completed the poverty relief Quest.
I swallowed a sigh and checked the progress bar that still flickered in the corner of my vision.

[Progress – 94%]

Strangely, the numbers that had been climbing steadily until then suddenly came to a complete standstill.
‘I understand that I need some kind of major breakthrough… but I have no idea what that could be.’
Lost in thought, I tapped the table rhythmically.
“Just give us your word, Evelyn, and we’ll prepare immediately. We could even depart tomorrow morning!”
Maren said this with his fist clenched tightly.
But did he even ask the other knights what they thought?
I’d bet my fingernails that I trimmed yesterday that the other knights might collapse clutching their heads when they hear this news!
However, the two of them, oblivious to my concerns, were cheerfully chattering away about tomorrow’s departure.
“Oh my, I should contact Uncle Hans about this too. We’ll need to prepare the carriage. Ah, does the Duke know about this?”
“I was on my way back after delivering another letter to the Duke before coming here. I suspect it was mentioned in that letter.”
“Then the Duke must know about it too!”
“A letter was sent to my brother?”
I interjected into the conversation with a frown.
Maren turned his head slightly and answered nonchalantly.
“Yes, he sent two letters. One to the Duke and one to you, Evelyn.”
I unfolded the letter I had set aside earlier and began examining its contents carefully.
‘It could be a letter sent to inform my brother about my situation and to ask how I’ve been… but why send it specifically to me?’
What troubled me was the birthday celebration approaching next week.
After reading through the letter once more, my eyes stopped at one particular section.
‘As I thought….’
The duration of the ball had been shortened to three days.
Typically, the Emperor’s birthday celebration would last a week with feasting and festivities. The Royal Court ball would run for an entire week, and the Capital City would be abuzz with celebration for about two weeks.
‘Of course, the duration of the Royal Court ball often varies.’
In my previous iterations, the ball hadn’t always lasted exactly a week either. Depending on numerous circumstances, it would last anywhere from three days to a full week….
So I almost overlooked it without a second thought.
There were few matters important enough for Killian to send a letter specifically about. And considering the changed circumstances of the Crown Prince in this iteration….
‘…Something has happened to the Emperor.’
It was a natural conclusion given Ludwig’s extreme personality.
‘He probably didn’t kill him… but it’s highly likely that his chronic illness has worsened.’
I sighed, folded the letter, and looked up. Sensing something strange in the atmosphere, Genie and Maren had closed their mouths and were watching each other nervously.
“…Prepare everything. We’re departing tomorrow.”
“Yes, Evelyn!”
In that instant, the two of them answered simultaneously, their eyes wide open.

* * *

After instructing the two of them to prepare for their return, I immediately left the Ducal Palace.
The Quest progress stuck at 94% weighed heavily on my mind.
Of course, if the Guilds continued moving as I’d requested, the numbers would rise on their own, but an uneasy feeling refused to dissipate.
‘What on earth is the problem?’
The system hadn’t mentioned ‘relief for the poor’ itself, but rather ‘securing distribution networks.’ In other words, it meant I needed to establish the foundation for poor relief….
Lost in thought, I was walking toward the Tent Village when it happened.
Thud!
“Ow!”
Someone backed into me and shoved me hard as they passed.
Thanks to that, I stumbled backward a few steps, lost my footing, and fell to the ground, my vision spinning wildly.
‘Oh no, my hood! …It’s fine though.’
I awkwardly withdrew the hand I’d reached out to grab my hood.
Despite the fall, my hood remained perfectly intact, shielding my face like an impenetrable fortress without the slightest disturbance.
But isn’t this level of perfection actually suspicious? Anyone would recognize it as magic.
Whether I did a forward roll or a backward roll, this hood would never come loose, and anyone who saw it would have no choice but to suspect something.
‘Damn it, solve one problem and another appears.’
As I held my throbbing head, I suddenly felt people’s gazes. More precisely, they were directed at the man who’d just shoved past me.
“Why did that woman get it twice when we only got it once!”
He pointed his finger at someone, his voice raised to its fullest.
The woman he’d suddenly singled out was holding a child who looked to be around two years old. She flinched in surprise and quickly moved away.
‘…What’s going on?’
I brushed off my backside and stood up, quietly stepping back to observe the situation.
The man seemed oblivious to the fact that he’d shoved me, arguing heatedly with another man. The elderly man, who appeared to be the village elder, spoke with a deeply furrowed brow.
“Listen here, the household you’re talking about has children.”
“What? Are you saying households without children deserve to starve?”
“That’s not what I meant….”
“Look, I don’t care about that—bring out whoever’s in charge here! There has to be someone in overall command!”
Ah, a troublemaker.
I frowned and looked around the area.
‘I don’t think I can just leave this alone… Hmm?’
As I casually observed the people, I detected a strange current. They watched the commotion with stern faces, yet their eyes held an unusual sharpness.
A peculiar hostility.
And that faint anger was directed not at the man causing the disturbance, but at the elderly man himself.
I raised my eyebrows slightly. The atmosphere was far from ordinary.
‘Hmm, what’s this about?’
Judging from the murmurs of the people… this was no simple matter.
Meanwhile, the man continued shouting even louder.
“Look, I can’t live like this anymore, so to hell with it! Children? Don’t think I don’t know you’re secretly giving handouts to people you’re friendly with!”
“…!”
The elderly man startled in shock and glanced around nervously at everyone’s expressions.
But the water had already spilled. The hostility of the crowd only grew, and even passersby began to stop and take notice of the commotion.
The Elderly Man hastily opened his mouth to try and placate the Man.
“L-look, I have no idea what you’re talking about. There’s nothing I can do about this!”
“I don’t know, I don’t know! I’m not getting up from here until you bring the person in charge, so there!”
The Man simply sprawled out on the ground, pretended to sleep, and deliberately began snoring loudly.
The atmosphere he created spread in an instant.
As if he’d deliberately timed it for when people gathered at the distribution center, those assembled began wearing expressions of discontent.
‘Ah, damn it.’
This was rather troublesome.
Whether the Man’s words were true or false, once suspicion took root, a riot could erupt in mere moments.
The Refugee Camp was only just beginning to stabilize. If another problem arose here, the Royal Court might respond with force…!
At that moment, the Elderly Man, his expression filled with anger, rushed forward to forcibly lift the Man to his feet.
“Listen, if you keep this up here, I’ll report you to the security force. Aren’t you afraid of the law?”
But the moment the Elderly Man spoke those words, the Man lying on the ground suddenly sprang up and grabbed him by the collar.
“What? What did you just say? The law? Did you say the law?”
“L-let go and we can talk about this!”
“Spouting nonsense about the law! Ha, what’s a few days in custody anyway? I don’t even have food to eat or a place to die—why would I fear some security force?”
“L-l-let go of me… Someone! Can we get the security force…!”
The flustered Elderly Man tried to pry the Man’s hands away while hastily glancing around. There were plenty of people—he was trying to call for help.
But…
…no one moved. Rather, they didn’t even think of moving. They simply watched him with cold eyes.
‘Could it be that the reason the Quest didn’t advance past 94% was…’
Tsk, there’s no helping it.
I’d tried to avoid stepping forward as much as possible, but if things came to this, I had no choice. I urgently stepped forward to stop the Man.
“Excuse me, I don’t think this is something that can be resolved this way. Could we talk for a moment—”
It was precisely the moment I approached from behind the Man to stop him.
“Ah, I said let go and we’ll talk about it!”
The Elderly Man erupted in anger and shoved him. Whether he’d summoned strength from his very core, the sudden force caused the Man to lose his balance and stumble.
Then the Man’s massive frame—easily twice my size—began to topple toward me.
“…!”
Damn it! I was right—doing good deeds was a mistake!
I felt the blood drain from my face as I squeezed my eyes shut.
Whoosh!
Someone grabbed my arm and pulled me away.

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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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