The Villainess Hid Her Identity, and Now Everyone is Misunderstanding - Chapter 67

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

The Villainess Hides Her Identity, and Everyone Misunderstands
Chapter 67

Now it was certain.
Rakiel had never sought to become Emperor merely out of ‘rage’ or for ‘revenge.’ I had thought he made that decision for vengeance when I witnessed his anger just moments ago, but….
‘…He simply didn’t want to lose anyone else.’
Perhaps his journey to the battlefield was also because he didn’t wish to keep people close to him. Yet in the end, he lost those precious to him once more.
Rakiel gazed at me with a somewhat vacant expression.
“Did Your Highness’s mother suffer?”
“She suffered….”
I cut off his thoughtless response.
“No, I’m asking if she suffered when she was with Your Highness. What of Your Highness’s subordinates who fought alongside you on the battlefield?”
“….”
“…She must have been happy. She must have cherished being with you, and cared for you deeply. That’s why, even in such circumstances, she remained by your side to protect you.”
“I….”
“Even if Your Highness didn’t wish it. If you put yourself in their position, it becomes simple. Would Your Highness truly have abandoned them in such a situation?”
His hardened face answered for him.
Love, in its essence, was always this way. No matter how painful or difficult, remaining by each other’s side and holding one another close, finding that suffering diminishes when shared together.
I was certain that no matter how much his mother endured, she found happiness at his side. His knights too—that’s why they remained with him until the very end to protect him.
I playfully tapped his shoulder and continued speaking.
“So, stop tormenting yourself by remembering your people. Don’t be melancholy! They would never wish for that.”
I had spoken brightly on purpose, sensing the mood had grown too heavy, but instead Rakiel’s expression became subtly tense.
‘Oh no, did I go too far?’
I carefully observed his reaction, wondering if I had overstepped my bounds.
‘I shouldn’t have tapped his shoulder! After all, he’s a prince and I’m a maid….’
Bracing myself to flee at a moment’s notice if he said anything, Rakiel slowly turned his head to look at me. His crimson eyes were filled with confusion.
“…Was that it?”
“W-what do you mean?”
“Melancholy, sorrow, rage… perhaps that’s why you were able to endure. I, merely….”
He trailed off and fixed his gaze on my hood, as though he wished to see the face beyond it.
“…You’re the only one who would say such things to me. So simply, so sincerely….”
Sensing the sudden awkwardness, I blurted out loudly.
“That’s right, let’s not be melancholy! Don’t be sad!”
Rakiel’s eyes widened in surprise. He stared at me blankly for a moment, then….
“Ha….”
He lowered his head slightly and broke into genuine laughter—a laugh of true joy, unconcerned with others’ gazes, the first time I had witnessed such sincere delight.
His shoulders trembled slightly.
“Really….”
As Rakiel suppressed his laughter and lifted his head, his face gleamed brilliantly beneath the moonlight. The melancholy from moments before had vanished without a trace, replaced by an oddly gentle radiance.
Moonlight slid across his crimson eyes, sparkling with ethereal beauty.
“Who exactly are you….”
He stepped closer. Now, if I merely raised my arm slightly, we would touch.
“…that you make me smile so easily.”
His voice dropped to a whisper, laced with laughter.
“What kind of person are you.”
…What?
My face went pale.
‘He’s become curious about my true identity?’
Damn it all, I can’t even trust the system!
At this rate, Rakiel is off-limits for a while!

…or so I had clearly decided.

* * *

The next day.
Having slipped out of the manor as usual, I was a beat too slow in comprehending the situation before me.
“…Your Highness?”
Huh, wait… why is he here?
I glanced around hastily, but this was indeed the back entrance of Rosenthal Manor.
“Your Highness, what are you doing here?”
I asked in bewilderment at his sudden appearance, but Rakiel only scowled at me accusingly instead.
“I have no idea.”
“…Pardon?”
If you don’t know, then who does?
He irritably ran his hand through his hair and exhaled deeply.
“I woke up this morning and somehow… no, that’s not it.”
“What on earth are you talking about?”
“Where are you going today?”
“Ah, first I’m going to the flower shop to buy flowers for the hospital, then I need to stop by the orphanage, and then the shantytown… wait, why am I briefing you on this?”
I rattled off the routines I’d fallen into, and the absurdity of it all caused a modern word to slip out.
Shaking my head in exasperation, I tried to hurry away, but Rakiel followed me again.
“Surely you’re not planning to follow me, are you?”
“Surely not.”
He answered with a soft chuckle.
But moments later.
“You can’t just keep showing up like this! Your Highness, how much longer do you intend to follow me around?”
After finishing all my morning tasks, I let out an exasperated cry.
He had purchased a single flower at the Flower Shop while I was buying mine, then followed me around as I bought bread at the Bakery, played with the children at the Orphanage, and now he was assisting me with basic medical volunteer work in the Shantytown.
Throughout all of this, he remained glued to my side, helping with treatments.
…Something feels off.
Something is definitely off!
Why was the Crown Prince sticking to a maid’s side and mimicking everything I did?
At this rate, he’d probably follow me all the way back to the Ducal Mansion, and I found myself tearing at my hair in frustration.
Yet despite my desperate pleas, Rakiel, who had been lost in thought, suddenly furrowed his brow and opened his mouth. What he said left me utterly speechless.
“What exactly did you do to me?”
“…I’m sorry? What did I do?”
“Damn it, I’m losing my mind. I’m not a stalker… So what now? Are you planning to go back to the Manor?”
“W-well, that’s true… How did you know?”
“Hurry up then. I’ll take you home.”
“Y-yes?”
The Crown Prince was following the maid around, and now he was offering to escort her home… Of course, he had done this before.
The world had finally gone completely mad.
And it was my world!
Yet I had been certain that Rakiel would stop following me after a time or two……
“Ah! You startled me! Your Highness, you’re following me again!”
As I hurried along, I suddenly noticed a shadow keeping pace beside me and jumped in alarm.
“I simply cannot tear my eyes away. Where exactly are you going all the time?”
Where am I going? I’m out completing Quests!
…Of course, Rakiel had no way of knowing that, so to him I must have appeared as nothing more than a busy maid.
He seemed to have taken a liking to following me around, and soon he began shadowing my daily routine with uncanny precision.
‘Please, someone take this man away from me!’
I had begun praying to the heavens in earnest.
Please, I’m dying of annoyance!
Imagine having someone constantly meddle in and follow you through every task you do. At the very least, a junior colleague assigned for the sake of handover wouldn’t be this bothersome.
The problem was that he was an idle Crown Prince of the Empire.
‘…Can we really entrust the Empire to someone like this?’
I began to seriously contemplate the matter.
Fortunately, before my concerns could spiral into darker territory, the heavens answered my prayers.
“Your Highness!”
A man approached from the distance, and light seemed to radiate behind him.
Though Rakiel appeared ready to flee in disgust, there was no escape!
I quickly grabbed his arm.
“Your Highness, where are you going?”
“Wait… Let go of this and let me explain…”
“Wow, your Highness’s aide is coming! He seems to be looking for you!”
He hastily averted his gaze and began searching for an escape route.
Yet he couldn’t bring himself to shake off my hand, breaking into a cold sweat as he fidgeted nervously.
“Eve, let go of this for a moment…”
His tone had grown noticeably more casual lately.
“Where are you trying to go? You were so eager to follow me around before.”
While I held him in place, Hagen finally reached us.
“Your Highness! What on earth are you doing?!”
Hagen’s angry voice struck directly into Rakiel’s ears.
Despite having run such a distance, he showed not a trace of fatigue.
‘Knights are truly all monsters when it comes to stamina.’
I literally held out Rakiel’s forearm to Hagen as if conducting a formal handover.
“Here, take him away.”
“W-Wait, Eve! Are you really sending me off like this?”
At Rakiel’s plaintive cry, I turned my head without the slightest hesitation.
“Don’t talk like some heartbroken lover—hurry back. Sir Hagen is suffering!”
“But…”
“Don’t you feel sorry for your aide who has to clean up the mountain of work piling up?”
“T-That is…”
If you asked why I was so skilled at this situation, it was because this wasn’t the first or second time it had happened!
Rakiel somehow managed to escape Hagen’s grasp every time and came to me, and Hagen always found him with uncanny precision.
‘This is like an endless Möbius Strip…’

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————