The Villainess Hid Her Identity, and Now Everyone is Misunderstanding - Chapter 57

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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 57

Hm? When did this happen?
While wiping Rakiel’s face and tending to him, I’d knelt slightly on the floor, and it seemed my dress had become covered in dust.
As I casually brushed off that section, Rakiel’s eyes widened in surprise. I shrugged and responded.
“It’s fine. Something like this will come clean once it’s washed.”
“What?”
Ah, was that an odd thing for Evelyn to say?
I quickly corrected myself.
“Of course, the maid will handle it.”
“…Is that really what you found problematic about what you just said?”
At his incredulous question, I tilted my head in confusion.
“Did something special happen today? I’ve seen so many new sides of Evelyn that I can barely keep my wits about me.”
“Hm… Is that so? But what’s the problem with that?”
“…There isn’t one.”
He answered with a sense of resignation, yet a subtle smile played at his lips.
Only then did the atmosphere begin to ease slightly.
Before he could say something cloying again, I hastily changed the subject.
“More importantly, it would have been disastrous if the Crown Prince had seen me like this.”
He wouldn’t overlook such a clear weakness.
However, Rakiel shook his head instead.
“No, my brother orchestrated this.”
“…The Crown Prince did?”
That couldn’t be right—he hadn’t shown his face once until I brought Rakiel here. If he’d orchestrated it, he would have rushed over the moment the fireworks began and publicly exposed Rakiel’s disgrace.
“This is a Royal Court banquet. I’m informed of its details in advance. Yet I knew nothing of these fireworks… which means he deliberately kept me in the dark.”
“…!”
My eyes widened.
“But then, why didn’t he exploit the situation just now?”
Could it have been a simple mistake in communication from subordinates?
Besides, Ludwig is thorough. If he’d planned something like this, he wouldn’t have forgotten.
Yet Rakiel let out a sigh.
“And there’s never been fireworks at any past Emperor’s birthday celebration. If it had always been there, I would have certainly prepared for it.”
“…I see.”
Now that I thought about it, there had never been fireworks at a birthday celebration before. I’d simply assumed it was one of those variables that changed depending on circumstances, but perhaps the intention was quite deliberate.
To put Rakiel on the defensive.
Rakiel’s fingertips trembled faintly as he rested his elbows on his knees. Though he claimed to have calmed himself, it was clear the composure remained incomplete.
“Only a handful of people know about this condition of mine. Yet the fact that my brother prepared for it means….”
…Information had leaked.
There was no other way to explain it.
“Perhaps he orchestrated this entire affair to verify whether that information was true.”
He nodded in agreement with my words.
“Exactly.”
“Then he must have been watching from somewhere while I was supporting the Crown Prince here.”
“…Yes.”
Now I understood why Ludwig had rushed inside so abruptly. He couldn’t afford to be away for long if his plan might unravel.
‘Is he insane? How much is he willing to burn just to confirm that?’
Rakiel clasped his hands together as if trying to stop the trembling, then continued speaking.
“Will you be alright? Evelyn went to such lengths…. He might suspect something.”
He was referring to the image of Evelyn I had fabricated—still infatuated with the Crown Prince. The real Evelyn would never have helped another man.
‘Though that’s true as well….’
I waved my hand dismissively.
“Don’t worry about that. I already made excuses when I saw him earlier.”
After all, I could simply claim I was pretending to be nice to Rakiel in order to extract information for Ludwig.
‘So this is what being a double agent feels like…!’
He nodded in understanding.
“Impressive.”
“I’ll accept the compliment graciously.”
Unlike when I met him as ‘Eve’, his tone had become distinctly businesslike, and I found myself smiling faintly.
As I was deep in thought about how to continue deceiving Ludwig, I noticed Rakiel’s hands still trembling slightly.
He was gripping them with such force that his knuckles had turned pale white, yet he seemed unaware of the fact.
I blinked slowly, then gently placed my hand over his.
“…!”
He looked up in slight surprise.
Rakiel’s hands were ice-cold. I brushed his hands gently, hoping to transfer the warmth from mine.
“…Relax your grip. You’ll break your bones at this rate.”
“….”
He slowly released the tension. Remarkably, the trembling began to subside as well.
Only after confirming that the trembling in Rakiel’s body had gradually ceased did I withdraw my hand.
‘What kind of trauma could cause this….’
A sense of pity stirred within me.
He had led the war to victory, yet all that remained were the complete annihilation of his comrades and wounds that would never fade.
As my hand withdrew, Rakiel’s crimson eyes slowly followed it, and just as his lips parted as if to say something, my gaze caught the timer at the edge of my vision.
“…!”
Damn it….
Damn it…
I jumped to my feet!
The timer was counting down toward zero. Thirty seconds remaining!
“…Evelyn?”
Rakiel rose in confusion, but I quickly bowed to him.
“Regardless, I understand the situation now. We can discuss the rest later!”
“Evelyn, wait…!”
“My apologies, Your Highness! I must take my leave!”
“Evelyn!”
The moment I grabbed the door handle and pulled it open, the timer blared loudly, signaling zero.

[Your daily autonomous time has been completely consumed.]

I wasn’t Cinderella disappearing at the stroke of midnight—what was this nonsense?
I knew Rakiel was left behind with an expression of bewilderment, but if my demeanor suddenly changed, he might grow suspicious. There was no helping it.
I truly despised becoming a Crown Prince’s parrot!
Upon leaving the rest area, I immediately sought out the Duke and Killian. They had been asking if I was still unwell, and when I suggested we return home, they summoned the carriage without hesitation.
As the carriage pulled away and the Imperial Palace receded into the distance, I felt all the strength drain from my body.

* * *

“The information was accurate, then.”
Ludwig, standing in a corner of the banquet hall, curved his lips into a crooked smile.
“Did I not tell you it came from a trustworthy source?”
“Yes, well done.”
The Chamberlain standing beside him bowed obsequiously.
He had witnessed the entire sequence—Rakiel stumbling in confusion and Evelyn supporting him as they disappeared.
“It seems Evelyn is faithfully carrying out my instructions.”
“…Are you certain about this?”
“What do you mean?”
His face crumpled as he asked, and the Chamberlain flinched before hastily lowering his head.
“That is to say… whether it is truly safe to doubt the Lady of House Rosenthal. From what I observed, her expression did not appear to be mere acting….”
“Then you’re suggesting she’s acting for me instead of Rakiel? That she no longer loves me?”
“That is not necessarily the case, but… still, some degree of suspicion would be prudent….”
“Ha.”
Ludwig let out a hollow laugh.
“You still don’t understand? Evelyn Rosenthal—the woman who chased after me disgustingly for over ten years. And now her feelings have changed? That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”
“Y-you speak the truth, Your Highness….”
Though he said this, the Chamberlain’s eyes darted about.
His instinct, honed through years of survival in the Royal Court, was sounding an alarm. The strongest one he had ever felt.
‘…His Highness says it is fine, but I should investigate this separately.’
While the Chamberlain made a quiet decision, Ludwig, unaware of his resolve, clicked his tongue softly. The conversation from the garden had crossed his mind.

—I still think only of Your Highness.

The faint blush rising on her cheeks, the trembling corners of her lips, the pupils of her eyes fixed upon me—all of it was directed toward me. It was an expression that left no room for doubt.
Indeed, who could think otherwise upon witnessing such a sight?
If that were truly an act, it would require living through Evelyn’s entire life a hundred times over to achieve such authenticity.
What troubled me more was something she had mentioned earlier.
‘A war with the northern ethnic minorities…’
Rakiel—how dare he conceal the truth from me, pretending everything was proceeding smoothly.
When I first heard that Rakiel had succeeded in negotiations with them, I gave it little thought. But afterward, as the House of Rosenthal’s funding dried up, the situation became regrettable.
For if the conflict with the ethnic minorities deepened, there would be profits to be gained from it.
Strange rumors praising Rakiel had already begun to spread, and the situation had grown complicated with the Northern Guilds forming ties with him.
To obstruct this, I had even planted agitators in the Refugee Camp, yet even that became useless thanks to the policy Rakiel unveiled recently.
‘Tsk.’
That was why, until just recently, I had grown anxious as things refused to unfold as intended. Strangely, all the plans I had carefully laid fell apart one after another, and Rakiel seized the opportunity to slip through the cracks.
Thus, the news Evelyn brought was like rain in a drought.
I had even risked touching the ‘Emperor’ himself, yet now it seemed I had overestimated Rakiel.
‘My brother, you’ve worked hard, it seems… but it appears the heavens favor me after all.’
Ludwig murmured inwardly, his gaze fixed on the door of the Rest Area where Rakiel and Evelyn had disappeared moments before.
With so many cards still left to play, there was no way Rakiel could ever surpass me, no matter what he attempted.

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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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