The Villainess Hid Her Identity, and Now Everyone is Misunderstanding - Chapter 62

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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 62

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…or so he must be thinking.

[Warning!]
[Gaze detected. ‘Perception Reduction Effect’ is being deactivated.]
[Forcing consumption of 【Autonomous Action】.]

Silence fell.
The moment my face was exposed, Duke Cashen’s eyes widened in shock. His entire body went rigid, as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
Of course, the hood the system had secured wouldn’t come off so easily. I had simply removed it skillfully to create that appearance.
“Y-Your Grace the Grand Duke?!”
I called out to him with a panicked expression, then acted startled and hastily pulled my arm from his grasp.
“Eek!”
Then I stumbled backward and fell on my rear. With a tearful face, I rubbed my backside, and only then did I pretend to realize the situation, frantically pulling the hood back over my head.
Of course, the ‘Perception Reduction Effect’ didn’t activate again. My identity was already exposed to Duke Cashen.
“Y-Your Grace, this is…!”
I hurriedly got to my feet and stood there flustered, bouncing nervously on my toes.
Sweat beaded on my palms from the tension, causing the hood to slip repeatedly. Though I hadn’t intentionally planned this, it was more of an instinctive reaction in his presence.
Thanks to that, he clearly believed I was genuinely flustered. He still stood there with furrowed brows and his lips pressed firmly shut.
I gripped the fabric of my clothes tighter, trying to steady my trembling voice.
“S-So… I… gasp, from where exactly…? You didn’t see… everything, did you?”
This is the acting of a soul who has lived one hundred lifetimes!
Every appearance before Duke Cashen up until now had been orchestrated according to my plan.
Using the information Genie had gathered about his movements, I had deliberately loitered nearby. Thanks to the hood, even the fear I unconsciously displayed toward him seemed to be concealed.
Meanwhile, I made sure not to miss any of the minor daily quests, thoroughly combing through the entire area. After all, quest stats only needed to remain hidden from the quest giver themselves.
‘Who knew using an alias would prove this helpful?’
Though it was all a lie, ‘Eve’ had earned quite a good reputation among people, which proved invaluable.
I felt him following me several times, but I deliberately didn’t speak to him.
‘He must have been dying of curiosity.’
And today, finally, the stage was set.
I had entered that narrow alley several times to orchestrate an event like this, and you have no idea how anxious I was when he didn’t follow me. But finally, Duke Cashen took my bait perfectly, and now he stood before me with a deflated expression, his eyes narrowed.
But in the end, Kashen got caught precisely on my fishing line, and because of that, he was now making a deflated expression in front of me, his eyes narrowed to slits.
“…Were you Evelyn?”
It was something he finally uttered after a long pause.
I took a small step backward as if bewildered, stammering my words.
“What? I, I don’t… I’m not sure what you’re talking about at all….”
“Don’t bother hiding it. You were already famous in the Capital City.”
“Wh, what….”
The sound of me swallowing echoed through the quiet alley.
As I continued to feign ignorance, Duke Cashen let out a sigh.
“…So ‘Eve’ was ‘Evelyn’ all along. You chose quite a sloppy alias.”
You bastard, you didn’t know who I was either! Of course, I’ll admit the alias was hastily made and poorly constructed.
Caught off guard by his words, I flushed and turned my head away.
“S, so what you’re saying….”
Duke Cashen stared at me for a long while as I averted my gaze, cold sweat trickling down.
‘Tsk, I can’t figure out what he’s thinking at all.’
His emotionless eyes were difficult to read, and hard to meet. Those deep green eyes simply gazed at me quietly.
After some time had passed, his eyes grew even more subdued as he slowly parted his lips.
“…It seems rumors truly cannot be trusted.”
“Yes?”
“I never knew Evelyn possessed such a noble heart.”
“…!”
For a moment, I doubted my own ears.
‘What did he just say…? What did Duke Cashen just say to me?’
My mouth fell open involuntarily.
Not once in ninety-nine playthroughs had I heard those words. Not even once….
‘All I wanted was to lower his guard a little bit?’
My goodness, it felt as though I’d achieved not just a clear, but a perfect clear.
Of course, I had intended this, but I never expected it to be resolved so easily and quickly.
‘Ah, no, wait, it’s not resolved yet. What I really want isn’t to change my image, but to separate Duke Cashen from Ludwig.’
I glanced at the system window.

[Suspicion Level: 83… 65… 48%]

The numbers plummeted in an instant. It had entered a sufficiently stable range.
In the past, I would have been satisfied and left.
But.
My eyes suddenly gleamed.
‘…I think I can do more?’
My resolve hardened.
I could tell just from the slight relaxation in Duke Cashen’s gaze as he looked at me.

* * *

Duke Cashen narrowed his eyes, studying Evelyn before him intently.
Strangely, she offered no response.
She seemed startled by his words, yet her gaze kept darting about as if she were watching for someone.
‘…Ah.’
Noticing the anxiety flickering in Evelyn’s eyes, Duke Cashen deliberately turned his head slightly, scanning their surroundings. The alley where they stood was completely empty.
Of course, with his keen senses, he could have detected any presence without even looking, but this was merely a gesture to reassure Evelyn.
Only after he confirmed she was watching him did Duke Cashen speak bluntly.
“There’s no one here, so you needn’t worry.”
“That’s not… it’s not that….”
Hearing the tremor of lingering anxiety in her voice, he paused briefly before responding again.
“Are you afraid I might spread word of this to others?”
“….”
No answer came. It seemed he had guessed correctly.
“Rest assured. I’m not one to gossip carelessly.”
“…I’m not doubting Your Grace. I don’t wish for it to be hidden either. I simply….”
“Simply?”
After a moment’s hesitation, Evelyn parted her lips, which trembled with uncertainty.
“My status as Evelyn… I fear it might create a barrier between me and others….”
At her faltering words, Duke Cashen’s eyebrows rose sharply.
“…So that’s why you hide it? Because people would approach with prejudice, and you couldn’t help them freely as you do now? That’s why you deliberately masquerade as a commoner?”
He had asked without much thought, but she grew flustered, grasping at her hood and fidgeting with it. As if the secret she kept were some grave sin.
“I… I didn’t intend to hide it from the start…! It just… happened somehow…. My reputation is so notorious that I feared people would be shocked to learn my identity, and before I knew it….”
Duke Cashen furrowed his brow.
He hadn’t meant to press her. It wasn’t even a particularly grave matter. Yet Evelyn trembled as though tears might spill at any moment.
‘…This is unexpected.’
Remarkable.
She was completely different from when they had met in the Royal Court’s garden days ago.
‘Is this her true self?’
If Evelyn Rosenthal had been sharp and prickly as a thorn, then this version seemed more relaxed, more ordinary.
Not that he couldn’t understand. Such formal settings could make even the gentlest person tense. So perhaps it was easier to think of this Evelyn as an entirely different person.
A woman with no falsehood or artifice in her face, laying bare her emotions without reservation.
As his prejudice fell away, Duke Cashen finally began to truly perceive Evelyn. His gaze took in her appearance.
Silver hair glimpsed between the folds of her hood gleamed as the setting sun descended upon it, and her pale skin flushed crimson, revealing her embarrassment without restraint.
Though her eyes were sharp in shape, her large, clear blue irises unmistakably displayed her virtuous beauty.
‘More than I expected….’
He thought this to himself, then was startled by his own reaction.
What was he doing, making such judgments about someone he’d known for only a few days? This had never happened to him before.
He would need to learn more about Evelyn Rosenthal and continue this conversation….
That was when it happened.
As she lowered her head slightly, as if bowing, something fell with a soft patter.
“…?”
Duke Cashen’s eyes caught something as he glanced at the ground.
‘…Water marks?’
A few drops of tears darkened the earthen floor. It was the moment he looked back at Evelyn in alarm.
“Ah, Evelyn….”
“I’m s-sorry! After all… deceiving people is wrong, isn’t it? That’s right, isn’t it?”
“…!”
The instant his gaze met her glistening blue eyes brimming with tears, Duke Cashen slowly held his breath.
As if he had forgotten how to breathe, his heart began to pound in his ears. Unaware of even his own vacant stare, Duke Cashen suddenly found himself thinking.
Had he ever met anyone so pure and beautiful?
The serious concerns that had occupied his mind moments before vanished without a trace, and a new thought emerged in his now-blank consciousness.
Perhaps the person he was meant to be beside was not the Crown Prince, but this woman. And perhaps, by being at her side, he might truly obtain what he had always desired.

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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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