The Villainess Hid Her Identity, and Now Everyone is Misunderstanding - Chapter 70

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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 70

When I arrived unexpectedly, Killian hurried out to greet me.
“To Mother’s grave?”
“Yes. Is there a problem with that?”
At my straightforward question, he shook his head in confusion.
“Oh, no, it’s not that….”
Of course, Evelyn had never deliberately visited the Duchess’s mausoleum. It seemed she harbored some resentment toward her.
Not just toward the Duchess, but toward the Duke, the young Duke, and the entire House of Rosenthal—she had resented and pushed them all away.
‘Though of course, I’ve never even seen their faces.’
The Duchess had died when Evelyn was young. I had only ever seen her through portraits; I had never once met her or spoken with her.
So I could only rely on Evelyn’s memories, but in those memories, the Duke remained indifferent to his wife until the very end.
It was surprising that he had tried to follow along when he heard I was visiting.
‘Hmm, I naturally assumed he wouldn’t follow.’
Killian continued to follow behind me with an odd expression on his face.
Circling around the Ducal Palace and exiting toward the back, there was a mausoleum exclusively for the House of Rosenthal near the palace.
Since it was off-limits to outsiders, the gatekeeper only opened the gate after recognizing Killian’s and my faces.
As I examined the elegantly decorated tombstones one by one, I stopped before one in particular.
A tombstone I had seen only once in Evelyn’s memories—the resting place of the Duchess, Agnes Rosenthal.
“This is….”
Upon discovering something while examining the tombstone, I wore a slightly surprised expression.
“Did Brother bring this? These flowers….”
Before it lay several books and a vase with a few blue flowers arranged in it. The blue flowers appeared to have been brought recently, so fresh and vibrant.
The problem was that the flowers looked familiar.
‘These are the same flowers decorated on that glass cup.’
The decoration was so finely crafted that I recognized them immediately.
Well, since Killian spent time at the Estate, he might have visited every few days. Unlike the Duke, he loved his mother dearly.
When no answer came and I turned to look at Killian, he narrowed his brows and opened his mouth.
“No, that was… Father who left it.”
My eyes widened.
These flowers—I had seen them before.
‘They seemed to bloom only in winter.’
As I searched my memory, I recalled seeing them in the garden of the Ducal Mansion in the Capital City.
Every winter, the garden of the Ducal Mansion in the Capital City would ripple with blue waves. It was because those expensive flowers that bloomed in winter had been planted throughout the entire garden.
“…Father left these? They don’t look like they’ve been here for more than a few days.”
“You mean to say you didn’t know?”
“Pardon?”
As I asked in bewilderment, Killian spoke again.
“Father visits this place once a month. He comes to pay his respects at Mother’s tomb and then returns.”
“What… did you just say?”
I gaped at him in shock.
‘…The Duke comes here once a month? Not even once a year?’
I narrowed my eyes suspiciously as I studied Killian’s face.
“That makes no sense whatsoever. When I stayed at the Estate not long ago, I never once saw Father.”
“Of course you didn’t.”
Killian glanced at my bewildered expression and sighed.
“He only stops by here before heading straight back to the Capital City. He’s far too busy to even visit the Ducal Palace.”
To me, it felt as though he were speaking of events from another world entirely.
I had never once witnessed it. Never seen the Duke visit the Duchess’s tomb.
“…!”
Something stirred in my memory, and my eyes widened.
‘Wait, now that I think about it…’
There were times when the Duke would disappear from the Capital Manor for several days each month. I had assumed he was away on business, but…
When he was absent, I could move about more freely, so I had actually welcomed his departures. I had never given it much thought, nor did I need to.
‘Could those have been the days he visited the Estate?’
Evelyn would shut herself away in her room on Mother’s death anniversary, spending the day in melancholy, and she never came to the Estate. So I had remained completely unaware.
‘…Why?’
The question lingered.
‘Why would the Duke visit the tomb of the Duchess, someone he never seemed to care about whether she lived or died?’
“Father loved Mother, Evelyn.”
“…!”
The answer came from an unexpected direction.
“I don’t know what you think, but there were circumstances that left him no choice.”
“What circumstances?”
I exhaled sharply, incredulous.
“What circumstances could possibly exist in this?”
I am not Evelyn.
Yet somehow, passionate words spilled from my lips. Perhaps after living nearly a hundred lives, I had become absorbed into her very being.
“Mother’s death was Father’s fault. She was trapped in the Manor her entire life for nothing more than a political marriage, for the sake of the family, and that’s how she died.”
“Evelyn.”
“Father never spared her a glance, never even called for a Physician, and so Mother…”
After the words poured out, I bit my lip.
‘Damn it.’
Only after being swept up in emotion did I realize the truth. My Mental Fortitude stat was 3,259, but that was separate from emotion itself. Living the same life dozens of times over, I was gradually becoming Evelyn.
My mental fortitude stat was 3,259, but that was separate from my emotions. As I repeated the same life dozens of times over, I was gradually becoming Evelyn.
But to get angry like this for someone I’ve never even met…
‘This isn’t like me at all.’
A woman with pure silver hair identical to Evelyn’s, gaunt though she was, with deep gray eyes that shone beautifully. That portrait was all I had ever seen of her.
‘…Get a grip. I’m not Evelyn.’
No matter how much my family tormented me, they were dealing with ‘Evelyn Rosenthal’—not me. Getting angry here now wouldn’t change anything…
As I steadied my confused thoughts, Killian slowly opened his mouth.
“…It’s not that we didn’t call for a Physician.”
“…”
“We couldn’t call one. Mother was…”
He turned his gaze toward the gravestone.
“Terminally ill.”
“…!”
I fell silent, unable to respond to words I hadn’t anticipated. Killian closed and opened his eyes.
“At first, we summoned the Empire’s greatest Physicians. We searched across the entire Empire to find them, and even asked the Emperor to bring the Royal Court’s personal Physician to our Estate.”
“…”
“But no one could cure Mother.”
“Then…”
“You never knew how mad Father became.”
He paused.
Wind passed through the silence. Blue petals before the gravestone fluttered gently.
“He buried himself in ancient texts day and night. He sought out every herb imaginable, even looked into forbidden magic. All to find a way to save Mother.”
“…”
“Your memories are probably from that time. When Father was frequently absent.”
My memories began to blur.
In Evelyn’s hazy recollections, the Duke was never at the Manor. Mother was always lying in bed, suffering and struggling.
But…that wasn’t the truth?
“But even when Mother passed away…!”
The moment I parted my lips to object, Killian shook his head.
“It was the day he had gone to see a Physician from Arden Kingdom who had briefly visited the Empire. It was quite far from the Estate.”
“…!”
I bit my lip.
‘In my memories, it was definitely…’
A hollow feeling washed over me.
If I had known this truth sooner, would the outcomes of my previous cycles have been different? If I had trusted and relied on them, perhaps I could have reached this point much faster than now…
My throat tightened.
“Why didn’t you tell me…”
Why hadn’t they told Evelyn? I barely swallowed the rest and let my words trail off, and Killian turned to look at me. His eyes were deeply sunken.
“Father still believes it was his fault.”
“…!”
“He thinks it’s all an excuse. Even telling you the truth.”
Silence fell.
If I had been the old Evelyn, I would never have heard such words in my entire life. Her specialty had always been closing her eyes and ears to the world.
‘How much have I….’
I clenched my teeth and gazed at the blue flowers before the tombstone.
The Duke’s face, which had shown me anger countless times across different timelines, flickered before my eyes, but this time was different.
This useless memory stat was now recalling the Duke’s eyes with perfect clarity.
‘…He was grieving.’
Perhaps I had wanted to turn away from these two people’s emotions until now, but this time they were reaching me with unmistakable precision.
‘…But I am not Evelyn.’
Knowing that their emotions were being directed toward the wrong person, I could no longer say anything to Killian.
These feelings were meant to reach the ‘real Evelyn.’

* * *

A few days later.
“Watch out!”
Lost in thought as I walked, I was suddenly pulled along by someone’s hand like a paper doll.
Where I had been about to step, there was a small puddle.
“Ah, thank you….”
I reflexively began to express my gratitude before realizing who it was, and I paused.
“It’s you again, Your Highness.”
By now, this had become a familiar occurrence.

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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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