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Human Impersonation is Hard Work, Even Today – Episode 4
The head maid of the villa, Emma, sensed that the atmosphere in the villa had changed.
The faces of the normally lax servants were all uniformly stiff and rigid.
Most were people dispatched from the main palace. Knowing their true purpose, Emma quickly guessed the cause of this atmosphere.
‘An assassination attempt. So someone finally made their decision.’
There were many who wished for Dana’s death.
The emperor who called her a disgraceful stain, other siblings who valued imperial honor, or high-ranking nobles who wanted to use her demise—any of them.
It seemed one of them had finally given the order, and some among the servants had acted on it.
‘So this life is ending too, it seems.’
Emma was overcome by a peculiar feeling.
She once held special expectations for Dana, but that expectation had long since turned to disappointment.
Because Dana, contrary to Emma’s prediction that she would endure, was a foolish royal merely waiting for death.
A loser who had given up even struggling, silently accepting the poison.
To Emma, Dana was nothing more than a residence for comfortable activity within the palace, nothing more, nothing less.
So even if the spies carried out an assassination, she had no intention of stopping it.
But upon actually sensing Dana’s impending death, a strange emotion arose.
She didn’t know if it was sympathy or self-reproach for not preventing it.
At the very least, she thought she’d place a single flower on her grave after she died. While preparing for her final duties with that thought…
“Head Maid! The Princess is calling for you!”
The new maid, Lilibel, came looking for her.
‘Could it be… the assassination failed?’
How could there be such an incompetent assassin who failed to kill Dana, who couldn’t even get out of bed alone?
Her bewilderment was brief. Emma headed toward the bedchamber as Lilibel had said.
She could guess the reason for the summons to some extent.
‘She probably wants help.’
It was clear Dana, having discovered the assassin, wanted to request protection. After all, Emma was the only reliable person among the villa’s servants.
Pondering how to refuse, Emma opened the bedroom door.
“Sit, Head Maid Emma. I have something to say.”
And she froze the moment she saw Dana.
Dana, dressed neatly, was sitting in a chair by the window looking at her.
Bathed in the light of the rising sun behind her, her aura was quite different from yesterday.
Her limbs were still gaunt, but her strangely shining golden eyes and relaxed posture exuded a peculiar vitality.
“…Has your health recovered?”
“Something like that. You’re seeing me in such a decent state for the first time too, right?”
When Emma first saw Dana, she was already in a state where movement was difficult, so this was the first time she’d seen her with such a healthy glow.
Emma hid her astonishment and congratulated her on her recovery.
‘How on earth did she regain her health? She couldn’t have detoxified overnight. Could she have been feigning it all this time? Or did she truly use dark sorcery?’
Suddenly, the rumors about Dana being a demon circulated in the palace came to mind.
Surely that couldn’t be. Emma erased the foolish assumption from her mind.
‘Then, the purpose of calling me…’
Just as she tried to read Dana’s intentions, as if waiting for it, Dana got to the point.
“Head Maid, I was almost assassinated today.”
And the expected conversation followed.
Emma feigned disinterest. As she gave off the nuance that she could call others but couldn’t help herself, Dana nodded nonchalantly.
“Fine. Pretend you didn’t hear me. I’ll find the evidence myself. Instead, I’d like you to make a trip to the main palace.”
“What business would that be?”
Dana said it was simply to deliver a letter, but she clearly had some scheme. When Emma shot her a suspicious glance, she grinned and said.
“I want to advertise that I’m looking for a fiance. I don’t really want to get married, but I need a husband now.”
“…?”
Her mind went blank at the utterly abrupt statement.
But Emma was also someone worn down by palace politics. She immediately grasped Dana’s goal.
“You intend to enter society?”
“Exactly. That’s my Emma.”
Dana tilted her head as if impressed.
Her composed demeanor gave Emma the illusion she was dealing with someone other than Princess Dana.
Clearly the voice and speech were Dana’s, yet something was different. It was like facing someone who transcended power…
‘No point in useless suspicion. Instead, let’s think about her goal for entering society.’
First, the topic of engagement likely related to her social debut.
The empire considered it a duty, regardless of family circumstances, to debut one’s children into society and have them engage in marriage activities. This was due to an antiquated tradition that viewed marriage as a noble’s duty.
And this tradition was naturally stronger for royalty.
‘The emperor also forcibly tried to debut Princess Dana into society in the past. But her health was too poor, and misfortune followed, so it ultimately fell through.’
She’d even heard a major incident occurred, like a chandelier falling during her debutante. That was said to be the biggest reason the emperor gave up on Dana.
Yet now, Dana, having suddenly regained her health, wanted to enter society using engagement as a pretext. The reason was clear.
‘For freedom.’
It was the emperor who exiled her to the villa, accusing her of abandoning royal duty. Therefore, if she now claimed to fulfill her duty since she was healthy again, he would have no grounds to stop her.
“…But isn’t that something that requires a partner…?”
At the inadvertent question, Dana shook her head.
“Don’t worry. Even if there’s no one suitable to engage with, they will match me with candidates on their own.”
“Them, meaning…?”
“The Aristocratic Council. There are plenty who’d want to use my hair and eye color, aren’t there?”
‘…Indeed.’
It was a short but sufficient answer.
Dana was a drool-worthy ally for the Aristocratic Council, which opposed the emperor. Her features opposite to the royals, ambiguous origins, and stance opposing the emperor… there were many elements to exploit.
In other words, it also meant she intended to request re-entry into society but had no intention of siding with the emperor.
‘Brilliant.’
Excessively so.
It was a level of judgment unimaginable for the Dana who had been meekly accepting poison just yesterday.
As she pondered the cause of this change, a thought flashed through Emma’s mind.
‘Wait, putting aside her health returning, what happened with the assassination? The assassin must have come…’
She hastily looked around. No trace of an assassin was visible. Instead, she saw a crumpled carpet.
The assassination had clearly failed. Then the assassin’s fate was…
A cold sweat ran down her spine. At that moment, the Dana before her began to feel not like a sickly princess, but a power holder of unknown strength.
‘It’s certain she has an extraordinary secret.’
Unconsciously, Emma clenched her fist tightly.
A thought occurred that perhaps Dana might bring the opportunity Emma had long awaited.
And the first step might depend on this letter.
Gulp. Swallowing silently, Emma cautiously spoke.
“…I understand Your Highness’s wish. I shall deliver the letter. In return, may I ask one more thing?”
“I’ll hear it.”
“What is Your Highness’s goal? What do you wish to achieve by gaining freedom and diving into political strife?”
As if the question was unexpected, Dana hesitated for a moment.
“…Why are you curious about that?”
“Just a small curiosity.”
“Will your attitude change based on my answer?”
“Perhaps so.”
After a long while, Dana spoke again.
“Emma, do you know the joy of limbs moving?”
“What do you mean?”
“You see, Emma… I lost sensation in my lower body as a child. By adulthood, I couldn’t even lift a heavy cup.”
She knew. No one in this palace was unaware of Dana’s misfortune and disability.
Dana reached out and clasped Emma’s hand.
“That’s why this sensation makes me happy.”
“…?”
“Feeling a person’s body warmth, being able to walk on my own feet, speaking without my throat hurting… it makes me happy. So happy, I could cry right now.”
Dana’s hand, always cold, was warm today. Moved by the heartbreaking sincerity that could shake even firm resolve, just as Emma was about to voice her sympathy…
“So I don’t want this happiness taken away. I’ll do anything to protect this happiness.”
Dana’s aura shifted.
“Merely surviving isn’t enough. I want a guaranteed future, safety, peace. For that… a certain amount of revenge will be necessary, I suppose.”
At that moment, an unusual energy rose around Dana. Trembling under the intimidating vigor that felt like killing intent, Emma felt as if she were before a massive beast. She felt threatened, as if her neck would be bitten off any second.
‘She is not Princess Dana.’
And she intuited.
That the woman before her was a different being from the Dana of yesterday.
A change of heart, growth, or her true intentions hidden until now… it didn’t matter. For Emma now, the fact that Dana had changed was important.
She had become not a loser awaiting death, but a successor seeking to change everything.
That was precisely the optimal superior Emma had wished for.
Forcing down the corners of her mouth that wanted to rise, Emma made a resolution.
‘Let’s fulfill her request.’
She decided to observe the changed Dana from close by.
To place her expectations once more on the being who might fulfill her own wish.
