The Villainess Hid Her Identity, and Now Everyone is Misunderstanding - Chapter 91

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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 91

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About an hour earlier.

…Huh?
I stared at the system window so hard I thought it might crack.
‘Wait, wait. Let me read this again. What? The Hidden Route trait unlocks what exactly?’
I forced my eyes to focus and read each character carefully. But nothing changed.

[Due to the Hidden Route 【Guide of Light】 trait, the special title 【Silent Wanderer】’s ‘Reduced Presence Effect’ and ‘Unbreakable Hood’ are now deactivated.]

I slowly grasped what this meant. So my ‘Reduced Presence Effect’ had been lifted, which meant it would become difficult to hide my identity?
My face gradually drained of color.
Because right now I was…
“…Eve?”
Rakiel tilted his head, concerned about my condition.
The moment I flinched and trembled, his eyes slowly widened.
“Wait, could it be…?”
It didn’t take long for his eyes to fill with shock.
And then came the title I absolutely never wanted to hear.
“…Ev… elyn?”
Rakiel froze, his eyes wide open as if he couldn’t believe what he’d just said.
I clung to a sliver of hope that the hood covering my face would help, but it was useless. Of course he recognized me—from my voice, my gestures, and the silhouette visible beyond the robe alone.
I’d never truly believed I could hide from him forever. Or rather, while I’d aimed for that, I’d always known it might be revealed someday.
‘But not like this… not like this!’
Without any preparation, without even having thought of an excuse, to be exposed like this was essentially burying me alive!
Ding!

[Congratulations on unlocking the Hidden Route 【Guide of Light】!]

What on earth was this cursed hidden route that was causing my title traits to deactivate?
If my identity was exposed like this….
I glanced at Rakiel’s expression. His face, which had been colored with shock, was gradually becoming composed.
Though he couldn’t quite believe it, he seemed to be slowly accepting the situation.
I bit my lip firmly before hurriedly speaking.
“Your Highness, so this is….”
“…You’ve been deceiving me all this time?”
I screamed internally.
Of course it would look that way! And honestly, I did deceive him intentionally.
“N-no, that’s not it! I can explain everything! First, I’m sorry! I, I absolutely didn’t do it on purpose… well, I did do it on purpose, but I didn’t mean to deceive you maliciously….”
“So you did deceive me intentionally.”
“Ah, n-no, that’s not what I meant….”
“Damn it, I’ve been thinking all this time that you were in the war….”
He trailed off, roughly wiping his face as if he couldn’t believe it. Strangely, the tips of his ears had flushed red.
‘The war?’
Regardless of what he was trying to say, I was too preoccupied thinking of excuses.
If someone else had questioned why I deceived them, I would have been willing to say something like “so what, it’s my choice,” but strangely, those words wouldn’t come out toward Rakiel.
Perhaps it was because I knew how much he cared for his people and how much he cared for me. He was someone who had even gone to the Northern Region personally during an important moment for my sake, and this was how it ended.
‘I have nothing to say even if he calls me trash….’
He must feel betrayed.
And that thought was not far from reality.
Rakiel laughed hollowly, a bitter smile playing at his lips.
“Was it entertaining? Watching me get swayed around, thinking Evelyn was a maid—I wonder how you managed not to laugh.”
“No, I absolutely didn’t have such intentions….”
“I thought Evelyn had changed.”
“…!”
In that moment, I glimpsed a profound emptiness in his eyes. The deep sense of betrayal that came from wanting to believe something had changed, only to discover it hadn’t.
“Or perhaps I just wanted to believe she had changed. I wonder how I didn’t notice all this time—was it magic? Using magic to this extent to deceive me—what were you planning to accomplish? Helping the Crown Prince? Just like you’ve been doing all along?”
“No, Your Highness! Yes, I did deceive you, but all this time I was genuinely trying to help you! Things just became complicated in the process….”
“How reassuring, the words of someone who went to such lengths to deceive me for months.”
Ah, I was ruined.
No matter how much I tried to make excuses, Rakiel wouldn’t listen. His eyes had turned cold, as if he had completely turned away from me.
It was completely different from the warm, glowing eyes he had held after rescuing me from the assassins earlier. Betrayal, emptiness, and despair were all tangled together, filling his face completely.
“I don’t know what Evelyn was trying to do, or why she’s revealing her identity now, but unfortunately it’s become pointless. It’s all useless now.”
“…Your Highness.”
“…I’ll take you to the manor. This area is still dangerous.”
He muttered in a tone as if frost were falling, grasping the tent flap before roughly tearing it open. It was a gesture without the slightest hesitation.
“Ah, Your Highness…!”
Flutter.
I froze with my hand outstretched toward his back. And only much later did I slowly lower my hand.
A deafening silence filled the tent left to myself, so eerie it sent shivers down my spine.
And I thought to myself.
‘I’m screwed.’
How on earth was I supposed to clean up this mess?
What if he misinterpreted the situation and broke off our engagement? What if he decided the Rosenthal Estate was a traitor and cast us aside?
If such a thing happened before his power base was even solidly established, his chances of becoming Emperor would be virtually nonexistent. After all, it was incredibly difficult to become Emperor without the support of a ducal house.
And that meant Ludwig would become Emperor once more. For the hundredth time, no less!
A short while later, a few people entered the tent—apparently on Rakiel’s orders—and after receiving permission, they transferred Genie to a carriage. It seemed they intended to move her all the way to the Ducal Mansion.
In a daze, I followed them out of the tent and fixed my gaze on Rakiel, who was conversing with Hagen in the distance.
He issued orders with such composure, as if our conversation from moments before had been nothing but a lie. His crimson eyes swept across the shadowed surroundings, and his lips continued to move as he pointed here and there with his fingers.
‘What is this… Am I the only one taking this seriously?’
Seeing him appear far more composed than expected, a sense of deflation washed over me. The moment our eyes met, I instinctively averted my gaze.
I simply couldn’t bring myself to meet his eyes directly.
He seemed to look at me for a moment, then said something to Hagen before beginning to walk. Toward me.
‘Oh no…’
What do I do? What is he planning to do with me? Surely he’s not going to call me ‘Evelyn’ in front of all these people…?
“Saint!”
“…!”
I jumped at someone’s cry and stumbled backward.
‘Oh, that scared me. I thought my heart was going to stop.’
It was actually a relief. Being called Saint was better than being called Evelyn.
“Yes, that’s right! I’m the Saint you’re looking for!”
I called out cheerfully and turned my head. A familiar face stood there.
…My Fan Club President?
She was a woman whose name I’d never even bothered to ask, so I didn’t know much about her. But she was always the first to step forward whenever anything involved me.
She tilted her head as she looked at me.
“Hmm? That’s strange. The Saint seems somehow different today…”
It appeared that the fading of my recognition-dampening effect was influencing even those who had never seen my face before.
“But more importantly, are you hurt anywhere?”
She asked cheerfully.
I fell silent for a moment.
“…Are you the one who’s alright?”
“Me? Why?”
“Because earlier… you got caught up in danger because of me. Multiple times, at that.”
Was this how Rakiel felt?
People getting caught up in dangerous situations because of my circumstances, even though I never intended it. The feeling was terribly parching, like my throat had gone completely dry.
‘…Is this all because of the System? That follower thing or whatever it is?’
Those who followed me couldn’t possibly be sincere. The System must have cast some kind of spell on them.
The woman blinked, as if she didn’t understand my words.
“Because of you, Saint? But I chose to do this. I wanted to save you.”
“…What have I done to deserve this….”
“My goodness, you don’t understand? Those people—every single one of them was saved by the Saint.”
“…What?”
When did I ever do that?
She beamed with a bright smile as she pointed to a middle-aged man receiving treatment for his injured shoulder.
“That gentleman wouldn’t have survived three days of fever if the Saint hadn’t distributed medicine to him.”
Really? I did that?
The man paused his treatment and gave me a thumbs up.
Next, she gestured toward a woman on the opposite side.
“That shopkeeper’s child was collapsed on the roadside, and the Saint personally brought them to the Physician, saving their life.”
It didn’t end there.
She began enthusiastically recounting the stories of several people, as if she had been wanting to tell me all along.
“…So you see, they all remember. They know what would have happened if the Saint hadn’t helped them that day.”
“….”
No matter what, being called a Saint made my conscience sting a little. Truly, hand on heart, those were just Quests, nothing more.
It felt as though the system was forcibly trying to fit me into the role of a Saint.
I closed my mouth for a moment, then barely managed to part my lips, my nose twitching slightly.
“I understand what you’re saying, but unfortunately, I am not a Saint—”
“Evelyn! You’re safe!”
A familiar voice struck my ears. In that instant, a massive figure came bounding toward me.
‘M-Maren?!’
Covered in tears and snot, he charged at me headlong.
‘Ugh, get away!’
In my haste to dodge him, I twisted my body sharply—and suddenly, my vision brightened. It was as if something that had been obscuring my surroundings had been stripped away, and a cool breeze pierced through my hair.
I stood dazed, staring up at the sky. It was a clear blue expanse I hadn’t seen in a long time, with an unobstructed view.
….
‘Oh, damn it.’
The Indomitable Hood—it had been deactivated.

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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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