The Villainess Hid Her Identity, and Now Everyone is Misunderstanding - Chapter 43

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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 43

Before Rakiel departed for the Capital City, his visit to the Tent Village at Rosenthal Estate was purely by chance.
He had simply been concerned about the child who had nearly collided with the carriage before.
Yet the moment he finished checking on the child and her mother, he abandoned Hagen who followed behind and rushed away urgently.
Ordinary people would not have even noticed his movement. Only Hagen, standing right beside him, called out with a startled expression.
“Your Highness?!”
Before he could even grasp the situation, he hastily reached out and seized the arm of the woman rushing away.
Thud!
A man of considerable bulk tumbled precariously just in front of her. Simultaneously, Eve’s surprisingly light, small frame fell squarely into his embrace.
A subtle fragrance drifted forth, arriving just a moment too late.
Not the perfume favored by nobility, but rather an enigmatic scent of grass and earth—like the fresh aroma that lingers after rainfall.
“…?”
Despite the rather violent motion, her hood remained perfectly undisturbed. As I tilted my head in bewilderment, my expression hardened.
Eve, cradled in my arms, showed no reaction whatsoever.
Upon discovering her—who should have been startled—uttering not even the smallest gasp, my face turned pale.
‘Damn it, was the impact too severe?’
Perhaps I had failed to control my strength.
When I first met Eve, hadn’t she tremble at the slightest collision?
Just as I moved urgently to examine her, Eve suddenly startled and pushed me away.
“Prince Rakiel—?! Ah, no, Your Highness! Why are you here….”
I deliberately stepped back a pace or two against her weak force, exhaling a sigh of relief inwardly.
‘She seems unharmed.’
Yet I still frowned slightly.
Her careless movements and light frame—she seemed entirely unaware of her own precarious position. Should she become entangled in a fight between men, it would be she herself who would suffer injury.
Perhaps because of this, I found myself speaking with a stiff, rigid expression.
“I’ve felt this for some time now… but you truly have no fear. Did you think you could stop a fight if one broke out?”
No matter that one side was an elderly man, a fight was still a fight.
“Just like with the carriage accident last time—it seems you’re determined to get yourself injured.”
My tone carried a subtle mockery, though I did not realize it.
‘What on earth are you thinking… Don’t you understand that you must care for yourself first before you can look after others?’
I felt an unusually intense anger rising within me. I wanted to take her away from this place immediately.
‘At this rate, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear news that she died somewhere far from home.’
Yet seeing her standing there without a care in the world only made it worse. Finally, just as I was about to speak again.
“Thank you anyway. I’m alive because of you.”
Though gratitude was evident in his calm voice, that was all there was.
“…Are you even listening to me?”
“Ah, yes.”
Eve answered dismissively, her gaze fixed elsewhere—as if to say that any further interference was unwelcome.
Her strangely apathetic demeanor caused him to widen his eyes slightly.
‘…Could it be.’
Those who have endured the tragedy of war share one common trait.
They do not trust the world. They refuse to rely on another’s hand.
In that moment, Rakiel’s eyes grew distant as understanding dawned upon him. His gaze upon her became heavy with weight.
‘…Was that it.’
That relentless distrust, that stubborn insistence on accomplishing everything herself—it all stemmed from war.
Every action from the moment he first met her until now undoubtedly arose from her inability to trust the world, from her profound anxiety.
Self-sacrifice.
It might be considered a noble word in some respects, yet its true nature was nothing but the pain of self-destruction.
Yet without such suffering, she could not endure. Without the agony of diminishing herself, her very will to live would crumble away.
A bitter smile spread across Rakiel’s lips.
‘Why…’
How could such things have befallen someone like her? Had it not been for war, she could have lived so much more happily.
This was not something mere consolation could resolve. And yet, even so—if there was anything I could do for her…
Just as he was carefully choosing his words, Eve’s sharp cry pierced his ears.
“Please listen to what I’m saying!”
“…!”
…Again.
In the brief moment his eyes had turned away, Eve had already approached those men once more.
The moment Rakiel stepped forward to protect her, she seized the man’s forearm and shouted without hesitation.
“Ah, Mister! I’m telling you, I’ll resolve this!”
“What, what? What is this girl?”
The man’s expression turned bewildered.
The other men from the Tent Village who had come to his aid, as well as the elderly man and several others opposing him, all bore the same question mark on their faces.
And for good reason—the situation was far too volatile for a young woman to intervene.
The man, frowning as he looked at Eve, turned a menacing expression toward her as if to warn her away.
“This is no place for a girl to—!”
A shudder.
The man, whose gaze had unconsciously drifted to the space behind Eve, trembled.
Crimson eyes regarded him from behind her. Though no pressure was explicitly applied, he felt like prey before a predator, and hastily averted his gaze.
‘…Ha.’
Rakiel felt an even greater surge of anger rising within him.
It was strange. Since the war ended, he had never felt emotions this intense.
Or rather, he had thought he had lost the capacity for emotion altogether…
Unaware that he was ‘worried,’ he poured the anxiety and rage born from that realization toward a single outlet.
That very existence threatening her. The one trying to harm her as she struggles to survive.
Before him, no one would dare bare their fangs at her. It was the only thing Rakiel could do for her.

* * *

Oh, why did he suddenly become so docile?
I’d been nervous, thinking I’d been too aggressive, but the man grew frightened and trembled. Seizing the opportunity, I grabbed his forearm again.
First, I need to resolve the Quest.
“Mister, it seems your ancestors didn’t bless you with….”
Ah, that’s not it. I got confused.
I quickly shook my head to clear my thoughts and spoke again.
“Anyway, the real issue right now is that the rations aren’t being distributed fairly. Isn’t that right?”
The man who had been staring at me clicked his tongue and brushed off his arm. Then he spat on the ground.
‘Ugh, how disgusting.’
I stepped back slightly.
“What’s a Miss like you doing getting involved? Are you some kind of official?”
“You could say something similar. At least I’m in a position to face whoever’s in charge.”
I don’t know who the person in charge here is, but it’s true. Either way, it works.
I’m the official in charge of this district!
“Ha, well. You certainly talk well.”
The man looked me up and down. He seemed to find it hard to believe that such a young woman held such a position.
Then he flinched again.
Following his gaze, I turned and met eyes with Rakiel behind me. His lazy crimson eyes were narrowed gently.
‘…What’s that about?’
Regardless, I didn’t know why Rakiel was here, but it didn’t particularly matter. There was no need for me to act in my official capacity anyway.
The man hesitated for a moment, then opened his mouth with a determined expression.
“Then you should answer, Miss. Why does that household get two portions while ours gets only one? And don’t say it’s because of children. There are plenty of days when households with children don’t receive any.”
“Well, you see—”
I answered cheerfully and spun around.
My gaze landed on none other than that elderly man from before.
“What are the distribution criteria? There must be guidelines from above.”
“That, well….”
The elderly man wore an uncomfortable expression.
“Households with children seemed to need more….”
“But then why are people saying some received it and others didn’t? There’s no complaint without reason! Who set that standard? Or rather, is there actually a standard in place?”
“…Yes, there isn’t.”
I’m not sure why he suddenly switched to formal speech, but I sighed and rubbed my head. A headache was coming on.
“So you’re saying you just distributed it however you wanted?”
“Well, I did try to be somewhat fair….”
“Fair, that’s good.”
A satisfying sound indeed.
I shrugged my shoulders.
“Distribute fairly to everyone, occasionally slip a little extra to close friends, provide more when they ask for favors… Well, in a world where everyone gets along nicely, it’s only natural for people to do such things, isn’t it?”
“That is…”
Having struck a nerve, the Elderly Man’s eyes darted about anxiously. He seemed to be searching for an excuse.
I regarded him with a cold gaze.
‘So that’s it.’
The reason the Quest hadn’t progressed at all.

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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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