The Villainess Hid Her Identity, and Now Everyone is Misunderstanding - Chapter 52

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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 52

“Evelyn is driving me absolutely mad.”
Despite his words, Rakiel was laughing with unmistakable delight.
I feigned ignorance and asked in return.
“Pardon? What do you mean?”
“Did you pretend not to notice on purpose? I was genuinely shocked, thinking you’d fallen for my brother again.”
As I adjusted my posture to begin dancing, he seemed to have lowered his guard, believing we were now hidden from the surrounding gazes.
His eyes were brimming with unexpected affection directed toward me.
“…Is it really so amusing? Even though you’ve made your brother, the Crown Prince, a laughingstock?”
“…!”
His eyes widened slightly.
As if startled by something, his lips trembled before he spoke with evident surprise.
“This is the first time Evelyn has spoken to me with such… sincerity.”
“What?”
“That ‘act’ of yours. I’ve only heard about it from others, but this is the first time I’m actually seeing your true self.”
Ah, I see what he means.
I shrugged while concentrating on my steps to avoid treading on his feet.
“I must be mindful of people’s eyes. You’re aware that what His Highness and I are planning borders on treason, aren’t you?”
“…Of course. Still, it’s quite strange. It’s almost a shame that others never see this side of Evelyn.”
“Consider it a side I show only to His Highness. How is that? A fiancée’s privilege, wouldn’t you say?”
“A privilege?”
He chuckled softly.
His crimson eyes curved gracefully, creating a languid atmosphere.
“How truly fortunate.”
But Rakiel soon hardened his expression and spoke again.
“What I want to ask is—what does Evelyn gain from acting this way?”
“There’s much to gain. The Crown Prince trusts me far more deeply than you might think. Besides, there’s my past obsession with him, and truthfully, I already had him caught like a fish in a net.”
At my casual words, Rakiel’s gaze fixed on me. A bitter smile lingered at the corners of his mouth.
“Speaking that way… doesn’t seem right.”
“What do you mean?”
“Saying you were obsessed, that he was a fish already caught… Love between people happens without one’s knowledge. Just because my brother rejected you doesn’t mean you need to diminish your past feelings.”
“That’s…”
Just as I was about to retort, the conversation broke off as I spun away from him for a moment.
In that brief interval, I caught sight of Ludwig standing alone in a distant corner. He had no intention of dancing, ignoring even the gazes of the young ladies stealing glances at him.
He was someone who ordinarily savored such gazes and calculated how to exploit them politically.
After a brief distance between us, I returned to Rakiel’s embrace. He grasped my waist and moved through the steps with deliberate slowness.
Rather than continuing our previous conversation, I broached a different topic.
“I’ll feed false information to the Crown Prince. He won’t be able to discern the situation here ever again.”
“…I see.”
He, who had been answering slowly, suddenly parted his lips as if remembering something. The music was nearly concluding.
“But that manner of speech… it’s quite familiar.”
“My… way of speaking?”
“As if I’ve heard it somewhere before….”
He furrowed his brow, as though trying to recall a memory.
‘Wait, could it be….’
Even as I examined him with an anxious expression, I quickly steadied myself. It was the recognition-dampening effect of the System. It couldn’t possibly be this flawed.
Fortunately, before he could sink deeper into thought, the sound of the music ending reached my ears. I promptly excused myself from him, cutting off his contemplation with a cunning remark.
“I must attend to the Crown Prince now.”
“…My brother?”
“I have my duties to fulfill. And surely Your Highness has much to attend to as well?”
A gathering like this, where most of the Empire’s high nobility assembled, was uncommon. So he too would need to diligently make contact with them.
After exchanging farewells with him, I slipped quietly out of the Banquet Hall. It was to head toward the promised location I had given Ludwig earlier.

* * *

Watching Evelyn’s retreating figure disappear in haste, Rakiel could not hide his unease.
This was the first time he had conversed with the Lady in her true form, yet something oddly familiar permeated their exchange.
‘It feels as though I’ve encountered an old friend I’ve known for years.’
Yet he could not pinpoint the exact source of that strange sense of déjà vu. It was as though something obstructed his thoughts, veiled behind a hazy fog.
The sensation of an almost-remembered feeling persisted.
While Rakiel sat in deep contemplation, he caught sight of Ludwig’s figure likewise disappearing in haste at the edge of his vision.
Though separated by a time interval, they had departed in the same direction.
‘I cannot fathom what the Lady is truly thinking.’
One thing was certain: Evelyn appeared far more brilliant than he had initially believed.
It was entirely at odds with the rumors that circulated about her.
‘Tsk, this is why rumors are….’
He shook his head slowly.
Completely forgetting that until recently, he had harbored the same thoughts about Evelyn as everyone else.
Within his mind, Evelyn’s image was being entirely reconstructed anew.
But that too was fleeting, as someone approached Rakiel.
“Your Highness, I trust you have been well?”
It was Ludwig Bernhardt.
Upon discovering eyes of blue identical to Evelyn’s, Rakiel momentarily stiffened before greeting him warmly.
“Ah, Duke.”
The Duke wore a neat banquet coat, yet the muscular frame honed in his youth could not be concealed. That firm physique stood out prominently between the delicate lapels.
As the Duke approached Rakiel, he lowered his voice slightly and spoke with a dismissive smile.
“I’ve heard the news.”
“About what?”
“The supply business project. Were you already acquainted with the Guild Master of the Jansen Guild?”
The Duke’s eyes darkened.
It was as if he were probing whether this was connected to the rumors about the “Prince Rakiel’s good deeds” that had spread earlier. However, Prince Rakiel merely shrugged and shook his head.
“If we’re talking about a formal introduction, that gathering was our first. If I had to say, I’ve known him for about a week.”
“…!”
The Duke, startled, spoke with a bewildered expression.
“So you discussed such matters with someone you’d just met for the first time?”
“There was ample opportunity to assess his character. I had been observing him for some time beforehand. From beginning to end, it seemed we would align quite well.”
“…When you first brought up this project at the council meeting, I naturally assumed you two were well acquainted. If it’s truly only been a week of knowing each other….”
He continued in admiration.
“…Everyone was completely deceived by Your Highness.”
The “Empire-wide supply business project” that Rakiel had proposed at the previous Royal Court meeting had passed smoothly.
It was only natural.
From his account alone, it sounded like a plan prepared with years of effort by a director general he’d known for ten years. The content was meticulous and flawless to that degree.
That was precisely why the Duke could support him without the slightest concern.
“Well… it’s thanks to the Guild Master’s exceptional talent.”
“You’re being modest. It couldn’t have been accomplished by him alone, and it shows Your Highness has a keen eye for people.”
After adding a few more words of praise, the Duke cautiously broached the subject he’d been wanting to mention, stealing a glance at Rakiel.
“By the way… how did you find my daughter, Evelyn?”
His tone carried anxiety and unease. However, Rakiel tilted his head as if asked something odd.
“You mean the Lady? What happened?”
“No, that’s not it….”
“She seemed rather tired, and I was worried she might collapse. Besides… hmm.”
“Yes?”
Rakiel closed his mouth awkwardly, but the Duke had no time to pay attention to that fact.
‘…Collapse?’
Those four words were all that reached the Duke’s ears. The color drained from his face in an instant.
‘Could it be again….’
From that moment on, Rakiel’s voice sounded distant, as if he were shouting from below that mountain.
The Duke suddenly lifted his head and looked around.
Evelyn was nowhere to be seen. Instead, his eyes fell upon Killian, who was conversing with someone in a corner.
“…Duke?”
Rakiel asked, but the Duke excused himself hurriedly, as if his mind were elsewhere.
“I understand, Your Highness. Let’s continue our conversation next time.”
“Very well. Ah, and I’ll be visiting the Ducal Mansion soon….”
Whoosh!
Rakiel’s words trailed off abruptly, and he closed his mouth with a bewildered expression.
‘It seems he has something urgent to attend to.’
Rakiel wasn’t the type of person so rigid that he couldn’t understand personal circumstances.
Though his state seemed slightly odd… the Duke would handle it well enough on his own.

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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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