The Villainess Hid Her Identity, and Now Everyone is Misunderstanding - Chapter 92

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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 92

What followed was nothing but chaos and pandemonium.
Leading the charge was Hagen, his eyes wide as saucers.
“W-w-wait, E-Evelyn?!”
Several knights recognized the Empire’s most notorious madwoman.
“Silver hair and blue eyes? Wait, that face is….”
“She’s the Rosenthal Duchess!”
People whispered excitedly among themselves.
“Heavens, to behold the Saint’s countenance… I can die without regret now!”
“But where have I heard this before? Silver hair, silver hair, silver hair….”
And finally, there was Maren, weeping uncontrollably without even realizing what he’d done.
“Waaah, Evelyn… I’m so sorry! My incompetence nearly cost you… nearly cost you…!”
“Wait… just step back for a moment.”
I tried to help him up in bewilderment as he knelt before me, clutching at my skirts and sobbing, but he wouldn’t budge. Meanwhile, his tears and snot were soaking through my clothes.
‘This is insane….’
I was more bothered by his snot staining my dress than by the fact that my identity had been revealed.
“The Crown Prince asked me to… sob, so I stepped aside, but I thought something terrible would happen… If His Highness hadn’t arrived, what would have become of you…! I just heard that he even prepared medicine for Genie, sob.”
“Yes, yes, I understand. I’m fine! See? I’m perfectly well?”
“Are there no other injuries? If anything had happened to you, how could I have faced the Duke… wail, that’s actually why I told the Duke everything, sob.”
I’m going to lose my mind.
“I understand, so just let go of—”
Hm?
I thought I just heard something strange.
“Maren? What did you just say—”
“Evelyn!”
A booming voice echoed from afar. It was a familiar tone I hadn’t heard in a long time.
As I slowly turned my head, I saw someone who absolutely should not be here.
“Eek, the Duke!”
I stumbled backward in shock. Maren had already gotten to his feet and was sniffling alone.
“The Duke, you say, Evelyn… you mean Father… sob.”
The Duke was leaping down from his horse with a face as pale as paper—he clearly hadn’t even had time to take a carriage, having ridden here at breakneck speed. His hair was completely disheveled.
Along with his distinctive crimson hair, his eyes blazed with fury.
‘Oh no, I’ve really done it now….’
He was clearly more than just angry.
People came rushing through the tangled crowd with such thunderous force that the bystanders scattered in alarm, hastily clearing a path.
Among them, I could see Rakiel’s bewildered expression as he tried to grasp the situation, but I had no time for that. I was slowly backing away.
‘If I get caught now, I’m finished!’
My daughter, whom I thought was resting quietly in the Southern Region for recuperation, turned out to be right in the center of this uprising! And worse, one of the knights she favored had gone pale and reported every detail of what had transpired.
The thought of bearing the full brunt of that fury drained the color from my face.
I began searching for an escape route, hesitating with each step.
“Evelyn! Stop right there this instant!”
Look at your face right now. Who would stop?
The Duke was charging toward me with such fury that the veins in his neck bulged, all dignity abandoned.
“F-Father, let’s discuss this later, shall we?”
“Where do you think you’re going! Get over here at once!”
“I’m sorry! I’ll come to the Manor later!”
Once your anger has cooled down a bit!
I spun around and bolted forward without hesitation.
But that was the moment.
Thud!
My body caught on something and wouldn’t move forward. Someone had grabbed my arm.
“M-Maren! Let go!”
“Pardon? That’s not me.”
“What?”
Surely the Duke hadn’t already—
I turned my head cautiously and found myself staring into a pair of crimson eyes. He was looking down at me with an indifferent expression.
Rakiel.
“Y-Your Highness?”
“…I believe I mentioned this area is still dangerous.”
“Pardon?”
Is that really what matters right now?
Surely he wasn’t repaying me for all my deceptions in this manner?
Panicked, I twisted my wrist this way and that, but Rakiel’s grip remained as immovable as stone.
“Go quietly back to the Ducal Mansion. I can’t afford to worry about you any further.”
“…You don’t have to worry about me.”
As I grumbled with discontent, he let out a sigh.
“I’m not worrying because I want to.”
“Is that so?”
“…Eve… No, I see now that the young lady truly lacks perception.”
“Pardon? I’m quite perceptive, actually.”
“Then answer me this. Do you think the Duke is angry right now?”
“…?”
When I glanced back, the Duke had drawn much closer. His pace had slowed somewhat, as if he felt reassured now that Rakiel had seized me.
And finally, when the Duke reached me, Rakiel released his grip.
The Duke approached with a stern expression and bowed his head slightly to Rakiel.
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
“Think nothing of it. I’ll take my leave now.”
His gaze, having turned away from me, brushed past my face. He lingered for a moment, then glanced at my exposed hood before his eyes returned to my face. Our gazes met once more.
“….”
“….”
He still wore an expression of bewilderment.
But soon he averted his gaze and departed without hesitation, as though unburdened.
Caught off guard by that intense eye contact, I found myself adrift in peculiar emotions. Though his eyes had been filled with confusion, I couldn’t shake the inexplicable sensation that he felt relieved.
‘…Relieved about what, exactly?’
Just as my restless feelings threatened to spiral into dizziness—
“Where on earth were you trying to go?!”
A thunderous command erupted.
“Y-yes?”
The Duke seized both my shoulders and bellowed at me.
“To be in such a perilous place—have you lost your mind? Why aren’t you in the Southern Region? When did you come back up here? No, did you even go down in the first place?!”
“Ah, well, one question at a time, please….”
“Good heavens, you can’t imagine how frightened I was. The entire Capital City was already in turmoil….”
“No, I didn’t intend to cause trouble on purpose… it just happened….”
I offered a feeble excuse. Everything had unfolded so abruptly that my mind was already bursting from formulating countermeasures.
Not only had Rakiel discovered my identity, but it had been exposed to the world, and now the Duke had caught me secretly remaining in the Capital City! It felt as though all the karma I’d accumulated was erupting at once.
If my Freedom stat hadn’t been maxed out, I would have been in twice as much trouble.
‘This damned system.’
I continued my excuses while cold sweat poured down my face.
“I’m truly, deeply sorry for causing trouble, but there’s a legitimate reason for all of this. Please, just hear me out….”
It was just as I was bowing and scraping my way through my explanation.
“Who told you to apologize?!”
Pardon? W-what do you mean?
Bewildered, I looked at the Duke’s face, and he spoke with a trembling voice.
“I was worried.”
His grip on my shoulders tightened. Or rather, it seemed to tremble slightly.
“I was worried. Do you have any idea how much my heart ached, fearing something terrible might have happened to you?!”
My eyes widened.
Only then did I notice the Duke’s eyelids quivering.
He bit his lip hard, his eyes wide open as he stared at me. He struggled to continue speaking.
“Please….”
His voice came out hoarse.
“Please, Evelyn. Don’t worry me any further. If anything were to happen to you, how could I ever face the Duchess who came before me?”
“….”
“Is it because of the unwanted engagement? Or is it because of how angry I was not long ago?”
His face contorted as though confronting an unbearable sorrow, each word spilling forth with deliberate slowness.
“You need not do anything you wish to avoid. I shall let you live as you desire, doing only what brings you joy…, but please, I beg you, simply live. Just live….”
The strength gradually drained from his hands gripping my shoulders. Like sand slipping through clenched fingers, as though he could no longer hold onto his daughter slipping ever further away.
I could only stare at the Duke before me—a version of him I had never witnessed—unable to form a response.
‘Was this what Rakiel meant earlier?’
I had naturally expected anger.
Given that Evelyn, already a troublemaker, had caused yet another incident, I believed there was no escaping the Duke’s wrath this time.
Especially since it was a catastrophe of considerable magnitude.
And yet….
“…Father.”
He could not even lift his head, his shoulders trembling faintly. Before so many witnesses, he could not weep, and so he merely endured, barely restraining himself—yet his overwhelming emotion was unmistakable.
I slowly embraced him, placing my hand upon his back. I felt a delicate tremor beneath my fingertips.
I had completely forgotten.
That Evelyn was his only daughter. After the Duchess’s death, the Duke had surely suffered endless guilt, and Evelyn had become his reason to live.
‘What does it matter now if I am not truly Evelyn? What use is that truth anymore?’
He already saw me as his daughter.
I slowly parted my lips.
“…I’m alright.”
“….”
“I’m not injured.”
These words should have come before my flight.
And above all, there was one thing—a sincere sentiment never once conveyed until now, words the harsh-tongued Evelyn had harbored only in her heart, yet never spoken across ninety-nine cycles of repetition.
“And….”
It was ironic that I could only speak these words after achieving maximum mastery over my freedom and gaining complete control of this body.
I ceased my flight entirely and continued.
“I apologize for causing you worry, Father.”
The Duke’s trembling gradually subsided.

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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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