The Villainess Hid Her Identity, and Now Everyone is Misunderstanding - Chapter 93

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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 93

The following morning.
Tick, tick, tick.
The sound of the second hand ticking echoed through the room. The silence was so complete that even this faint noise seemed deafening.
“….”
“….”
I sat in the chair with my fists clenched, my hands stretched out and resting on my knees. My gaze remained fixed on the floor, and I found myself resenting the endless passage of time.
Tap, tap, tap.
The Duke’s fingers drummed rhythmically against the table.
I couldn’t lift my head before him, cold sweat streaming down my face like a criminal awaiting judgment.
Until we entered the Ducal Mansion following the Duke, I thought the matter would simply be overlooked. After all, the atmosphere had been quite warm until yesterday, and his tone suggested that my safety alone was sufficient.
But then….
‘This… this liar!’
He clearly deceived me by pretending to be worried just to lure me into the Mansion! Otherwise, why would he summon me to his Study the moment I opened my eyes this morning, sit me down, and stare at me in silence for thirty minutes?
From what I overheard from the Maids, Maren, who had also kept this secret until now, was assigned night shifts for three days. Though he deceived the Duke, he faithfully carried out his escort duties by my side, so it seemed he received a lighter punishment.
Of course, Genie was exempt due to illness.
In any case, feeling guilty, I embellished the events that had occurred and spilled everything out smoothly. The Duke maintained his silence with an inscrutable expression.
My lips trembled as I stared at the floor, and finally the Duke stopped drumming his fingers against the desk, as if about to say something.
“…So.”
His low voice flowed out.
“You wore that shabby, unconvincing robe and wandered around the entire time, is that what you’re telling me?”
“…Yes.”
“And no one recognized you? Not even Prince Rakiel?”
“…Yes.”
At my answer, the Duke’s expression darkened.
“Don’t talk nonsense. Do you think simply covering your face would prevent me from recognizing you? Perhaps for ordinary people, but Prince Rakiel didn’t recognize you? It’s far more realistic to assume he simply pretended not to know!”
Ugh, so it was impossible after all.
But since it was magic granted by the system, its source was ambiguous. It felt awkward to simply call it magic….
“I know you used magic. Where did you meet the mage?”
“Pardon? Magic… I mean….”
“Don’t tell me you went to the black market?”
…What? The black market? Such a place existed?
The Duke pressed his forehead and released a heavy sigh.
“No matter how much you wanted to move quietly, how could you fearlessly go to such a dangerous place? The mages there are all unlicensed amateurs, nothing more.”
It was truly the first time I’d ever heard such a story.
‘Unlicensed mages in the black market?’
Magic wasn’t particularly developed in this world. The few mages that existed were as rare as precious resources—one would need to be a nation’s leader to meet them.
‘…Though I suppose if one threw enough money at it, anything might be possible.’
The letter asking me to send money not long ago, and all my recent expenditures—he seemed to believe I’d spent everything trying to meet a mage.
‘Then the way Rakiel was talking about magic yesterday probably means he thought I’d visited the black market.’
…At least my excuse had been resolved somehow.
Deciding to let them misunderstand among themselves, I offered one final statement to close the matter.
“It was absolutely necessary, so I had no choice. I’m sorry, Father….”
As I readily admitted my wrongdoing, the Duke clicked his tongue softly. Faced with my unusually obedient demeanor, he seemed to have nothing more to say.
Perhaps he even believed I was genuinely reflecting, given my uncharacteristic quietness.
“…Well, fine. The problem isn’t what happened in the past, then.”
“Pardon? What do you mean?”
He was discussing my past mistakes, yet he said the problem wasn’t that.
As I tilted my head in confusion, he gestured toward the window, signaling me to go look.
Rising from my seat for the first time in nearly an hour, I moved my creaking body with difficulty toward the window. Beyond the transparent glass with its curtains fully drawn, a blue sky stretched out.
“What am I supposed to see? There’s nothing….”
As I scanned the sky and then casually glanced downward, that’s when I saw it.
“…!”
What… what is that….
Before the manor, a crowd of people had gathered like clouds. If I’d just glanced at it, I might have wondered what was happening, but that wasn’t the case.
“Pr, praying?”
They were praying. And they were doing it facing the Ducal Mansion!
“What… what is this? Why are people praying toward our mansion?”
A chill ran down my spine!
Like some sort of cult gathering, people continued to slowly assemble. Even though only a few hours had passed since sunrise, there appeared to be at least dozens of them.
Some bowed their heads as if offering morning prayers before quickly withdrawing, but several others were on their knees, praying with desperate fervor.
As I stared down at the scene below in shock, the Duke opened his mouth with an indifferent tone.
“A Saint has apparently appeared in the Bernhardt Empire.”
I flinched.
“And they say she’s a member of our family.”
I flinched again.
“Do you know anything about this?”
“….”
Though he clearly knew everything that had happened, the Duke asked as if he knew nothing.
I kept my gaze fixed on the window and squeezed my eyes shut.
‘Right, this was something too….’

[Following the hidden route 【Guide of Light】, the title 【Masked Saint】 has evolved into 【Enlightened Saint】.]
[Reputation +1,000]

A single title advancement grants 1,000 reputation points?
Perhaps the system’s way of offering a special gift, but for me, reputation was merely a troublesome stat. After all, it simply meant more people would recognize me.
‘Nothing is more inconvenient than this.’
And that wasn’t all.

[Congratulations! Your followers have surpassed 500.]
[Would you like to designate a religion name?]

I woke up feeling as though I’d been struck by lightning.
“Prince Rakiel mentioned it to me. That you were the one who found the breakthrough in this plague crisis.”
I turned to the Duke with a troubled expression.
Yes, that’s the problem. Exactly that!
“All I did was ask Prince Rakiel for help. It was His Highness who actually went out, found the medicinal herbs, and successfully negotiated with the Northern tribes.”
“That alone is remarkable, Evelyn. Thanks to you, we were able to secure supplies early. Had we been even slightly delayed, we would have lost them to ‘someone,’ or so I’m told.”
“…The Crown Prince, then.”
“You know well.”
He paused for a moment before continuing.
“…I had no idea you were doing such things.”
“Well, I never told you.”
He let out a sigh, a self-deprecating smile crossing his face.
“I’m a failure as a father. I suppose I always have been.”
I studied the Duke for a moment. Beneath his faded red hair, I could see blue eyes identical to Evelyn’s—eyes that held a warmth like the gentle undulation of a deep ocean.
I hesitated briefly before speaking.
“That’s not true at all. All this time, Father has—”
Bang!
“Evelyn!”
“Ow!”
Startled by the loud noise, I bit my tongue mid-sentence and quickly covered my mouth.
‘Ow, that hurts.’
The Duke, noticing my distress, reached out anxiously.
“Are you alright? Did you bite your tongue?”
“Mm, I’m fine.”
My tongue throbbing, I mumbled a response and glared at the figure who had just burst into the room.
“Could you please be more dignified, Brother! What will the servants think?!”
“E-Evelyn, I heard the news. Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?”
“I’m fine. Except I nearly bit my tongue off thanks to Brother’s sudden entrance.”
I sighed, still feeling the numbness in my tongue. I had arrived late last night and quietly entered my room, so it seemed Killian had only just learned the news.
“By the way, Brother, when did you arrive in the Capital City?”
“Is that really what matters right now?!”
He bustled about anxiously, pacing back and forth around me for a long while. Then he soon began gazing out the window as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
“My sister is a Saint. This is truly absurd.”
“That’s right—it’s absurd because I’m not a Saint!”
I reject the very notion of being a Saint!
However, the Duke who had been observing us from the side shook his head.
“That cannot be. The title of Saint is not bestowed so carelessly.”
“…You’re saying the same thing as Prince Rakiel, sir.”
What had he said again?
That ‘becoming a Saint’ was determined by divine will? But regardless of gods or anything else, it was ultimately the system that granted me such a title.
…Wait?
The moment something felt off, before I could even form a complete thought, the Duke spoke up.
“I hear that the Saint of the Valter Empire will soon visit as part of a goodwill delegation. It’s been three years since the continental war ended, so it seems they’re coming to discuss related matters.”
The instant I heard those words, my expression froze.
The arrival of the Saint meant the original heroine was coming. And that meant an event that would determine my fate was about to unfold.
And that Saint was precisely the primary reason Ludwig would become a tyrant.

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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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