The Villainess Hid Her Identity, and Now Everyone is Misunderstanding - Chapter 94

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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 94

“…So, how is she?”
Unable to conceal my anxiety, I paced back and forth across the room as I asked.
The Physician kept his eyes closed while checking Genie’s pulse for quite some time before finally, slowly lifting his eyelids.
“Ahem!”
“Well? How is her condition? Is she alright?”
“Um, that is….”
As he continued to drag out his response, I finally snapped my eyes wide open.
“If you don’t speak this instant, I’ll throw you in the dungeon—”
“She’s perfectly fine! Perfectly fine, Miss! She’s completely recovered! Haven’t I told you this several times already!”
“Truly?”
“Yes, yes! Truly! She’s been fully recovered for days now!”
“Genie!”
I turned to look at Genie with delight. She was lying in bed….
Crunch, crunch.
Lying there….
Crackle, munch munch.
…happily munching on pastries all by herself.
I stared at her blankly before asking in exasperation.
“Where did those pastries come from?”
“Maren brought them for me. He said I shouldn’t be bored.”
As I was distracted by Genie, I felt the Physician quietly slip out of the room, but I paid it no mind.
“What kind of sick person eats pastries?”
Snatch!
My mood inexplicably soured, and I snatched them away from her.
“Hey! Why are you taking them!”
“You were sick! Eat soup instead!”
“What soup? I’ve been well for ages now…. It’s because you kept insisting I wasn’t better that I couldn’t get out of bed even though I was perfectly fine.”
“What?”
“Good heavens, why else would Maren bring all these things?”
Only then did I notice the bed was cluttered.
Playing cards, books perfect for a bedridden patient to enjoy, massage balls and dolls to help with finger mobility were scattered haphazardly across the mattress.
Needless to say, there were also envelopes that had contained refreshments and pastry crumbs scattered throughout.
In short, she was thoroughly enjoying an absolutely magnificent vacation.
“This is all just overprotectiveness. I’ve been fine for ages now, but because of Evelyn, I can’t work and just have to lie here.”
“You… don’t you look a bit plumper?”
Genie had suffered terribly when she fell ill, her frame reduced to skin and bones, yet now her cheeks were oddly rounded and full.
“Hehe, Maren has been bringing me quite a lot of bread—.”
“What’s he doing, coming and going without doing any work? I should tell Father about this right away!”
“Oh no! He said he was coming in secret!”
“What?”
I pressed my lips together with a displeased expression.
‘These people are carrying on a romance without my knowledge…’
Did they think I didn’t want to fall in love? I’ve been working hard alone to create a better world!
Ever since my identity was completely exposed, I couldn’t freely undertake Quests like before, which was proving inconvenient.
I could occasionally complete minor Quests within the Manor, but being unable to leave imposed limitations.
‘Of course, since my Freedom stat is already maxed, I wonder what good collecting more stats would do…’
Still, sitting idle made me uneasy. The Saint would be arriving soon, and I still had the “Master of the Throne” Quest remaining, so I couldn’t afford to neglect gathering abilities.
There’s no telling where or how something might prove useful.
In any case, what was certain was that for the past week, I’d been enjoying perfect freedom. Just as the system had said that day.
While I was lost in thought, Genie rustled around and pulled out another envelope. This time it contained sweet-smelling pastries and baked confections.
She began munching on them, and then spoke again in a tone as if offering unsolicited advice.
“But what about Prince Rakiel? Have you seen him at all since then?”
“Why are you asking me that?”
“Because I’m worried, of course. Even if you meant no harm, you did deceive the Prince. You’re practically engaged!”
I had nothing to say, so I kept my mouth firmly shut. Then Genie clicked her tongue and wagged her index finger back and forth before continuing.
“The Prince is surely waiting for you.”
“…Why would he wait for me.”
Even as I spoke, I felt an odd sensation.
Perhaps Genie was right, and I should be the one to seek him out first, but somehow that issue was difficult to face. The memory of his cold eyes the last time I saw him kept haunting me.
“Because he’s waiting for you to apologize first. So you could say the Prince is sulking.”
I reached out and took one of the pastries Genie had been eating. As I bit into it, a sweet aroma filled my nostrils.
“In relationships, the one at fault should give in first. Even if it was unavoidable, a mistake is still a mistake.”
“I’ve already apologized enough… wait.”
Hadn’t there been something strange in what she just said?
“What did you just say?”
“A mistake is still a mistake?”
“Before that.”
“The one at fault should give in?”
“Even before that!”
“…In relationships?”
“Yes, that’s it!”
What kind of nonsense was that supposed to mean?
“What? Weren’t you two in a relationship?”
“That’s nonsense. Rakiel—I mean, the Prince and I aren’t anything special. Just… fairly close friends?”
“Huh? If you say it like that, His Highness will be heartbroken!”
“Why would he be sad about that? I just said we’re close friends.”
That’s already treating him exceptionally well.
“Hmm….”
Genie tilted her head, then continued speaking.
“But the two of you are engaged, aren’t you? You’re going to marry anyway, right? So couldn’t you just call yourselves lovers….”
“No. We won’t be getting married.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I have a goal. Once that’s accomplished, we’ve agreed to part ways cleanly.”
Of course, I’d never said it so directly, but he’d certainly understood well enough from the context at the time.
I’d even used the term ‘contract engagement.’
“Can a noble engagement really be broken so easily like that…?”
“If I say it can, then it can.”
Yes, of course it can.
Who am I, after all? I’m Evelyn Rosenthal, the duchess.
“When have I ever lied?”
“You do it all the time….”
Genie gave me a look full of distrust. She seemed thoroughly unimpressed with what I was saying.
“This is really… Hey, aren’t you going to back down?!”
“Hmph, even if you say that, I’m not scared at all? You can’t even hit me, so why are you trying to intimidate me?”
“What? You, you audacious little…!”
Flustered, I stammered and fumbled for words. I knew she had guts, but this was the first time she’d been so blatantly disrespectful to me.
“I’ve known you since before you became the Saint! In this world, there’s only one person worthy of being called a Saint—and that’s you, Miss!”
It was the first time praise had ever sounded so unpleasant to my ears.
“You saved my mother’s life, you feed five siblings of mine who are as helpless as rabbits, and now you’ve even saved my life! So!”
“So?”
“Take responsibility! You have to take responsibility!”
Genie shouted abruptly.
Ding!

[【Genie’s Infinite Trust】 has been promoted to 【Absolute Faith】!]
[Loyalty +500]

* * *

At the same time.
Rakiel lifted the book that had been covering his face and murmured softly.
“It’s unexpected that the Duke would seek me out first.”
He slowly rose from where he lay and straightened his posture. He had been taking a brief rest in the garden within the Second Imperial Prince’s Palace.
Duke Cashen stood quietly before him, his gaze unreadable. His honey-blonde hair gleamed as it caught the sunlight.
“Is there a reason I shouldn’t have come to see you?”
“Well….”
Rakiel rose lightly and brushed off his clothes.
He moved sluggishly, as though utterly exhausted. Dark circles hung heavily beneath his eyes, and his unkempt black hair fell in disarray around his face.
After observing him for a moment, Duke Cashen asked casually.
“Are you busy?”
“Extremely busy.”
….
“Is this a matter of importance?”
Still, he couldn’t bring himself to turn away the Duke, so he reluctantly added the question.
It seemed he had been catching brief snatches of sleep between his hectic schedule, and his bloodshot eyes, half-closed from fatigue, fixed on Duke Cashen.
“It concerns the Rosenthal lady.”
For a moment, Rakiel’s eyes gleamed, but they quickly returned to their former state. However, Duke Cashen, who had caught that fleeting instant, twitched his brow.
“…Do you know the lady well?”
“Quite well, actually.”
“…?”
As far as Rakiel knew, there was almost no connection between Evelyn and Duke Cashen.
“Well enough to have known beforehand that Evelyn is Eve.”
Rakiel’s eyes sharpened at this, but then he waved his hand dismissively as if it didn’t matter, signaling for the Duke to continue.
After all, he no longer had any idea what kind of person the lady truly was.
“Do you intend to become Emperor, Your Highness?”
“…Does it appear that way?”
His tone was probing.
Rakiel’s face remained expressionless, unwilling to reveal his true thoughts. Instead, his demeanor strongly conveyed that he didn’t understand the question.
He continued with a light laugh.
“With my older brother in such good health, I’m not sure how to answer an accusation of treason.”
But before Rakiel could finish, Duke Cashen spoke abruptly.
“I will help you become Emperor, Your Highness.”
It was a simple and direct statement. If only the implications behind it weren’t so grave.
“What do you….”
Nonsense.
Rakiel swallowed the rest of his words. His sleep-deprived mind throbbed at this sudden, baseless proposition.
“I have already told the Crown Prince that I will take a different path.”
Though what he had actually told Ludwig was somewhat different, it didn’t matter—he had decided to help the lady anyway.
“…I am curious about your intentions.”
Rakiel narrowed his eyes, asking the question. It was so absurd that it defied belief, yet the way Duke Cashen stated it so openly made suspicion difficult to entertain.
Duke Cashen’s neat green eyes fixed upon him steadily. Several minutes elapsed in silence before he finally blinked slowly and opened his mouth.
“To make Evelyn Rosenthal into a Saint.”

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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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