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Episode 6: It’s a Struggle Pretending to Be Human Every Day
Oops. I withdrew my fist, but the incident had already occurred.
Fortunately, the curse was gone, but the problem was Loreil, who was more shocked than anything.
“D-did something just explode?”
“Your Highness! Are you alright?!”
Moreover, maids who heard the commotion began rushing to find me.
‘How do I handle this?’
I didn’t know what excuse to give.
Should I say there was a fly in front of my nose and I swatted it? That the explosion sound was a sudden thunderbolt?
As my mind grew tangled, Loreil spoke.
“Just now… was that magic?”
“Huh? Y-yes?”
“Did you use magic? Your Highness, don’t tell me you…”
An ordinary human cannot sense divine power or magic.
Just as humans cannot see air, magic and divine power were elements of nature.
Of course, a priest might sense my magic power, but it would be more accurate to say they detected a demonic nature.
But Loreil, who was not a priest, sensed my magic. That meant…
‘Don’t tell me… he truly has demon blood flowing in him?’
Yet, aside from his appearance, I felt no demonic aura from him. As Loreil pressed me, flustered, I grew impatient.
“Why aren’t you answering? I asked if that was real magic!”
“Well…”
“And that sinister magic power… it’s not from an ordinary human…!”
Just as Loreil grabbed my shoulders to interrogate me further…
“Cough!”
I coughed violently. Once again, as expected, black blood surged up.
‘Just from using that little bit of magic, this happens…?!’
I hurriedly tried to cover my mouth, but this bout of Hempotysis was worse than the last. Feeling like my breath was being cut off, I unconsciously sank to the floor.
“Cough! Cough!”
“What— Your Highness! Your Highness! Hey! Anyone!”
Lacking breath, my consciousness grew distant. Just as I was about to collapse onto the floor, Loreil caught me.
He held me in his arms and asked urgently.
“Answer me and then faint!”
‘You brat, is that what you say?’
After I went to the trouble of saving him from a curse, not even a thank you!
Thinking I’d never save him again, I closed my eyes.
From far away, I could hear the voices of Lilibel and Emma…
Inside the quiet carriage, Loreil, gazing out the window at the sunset with his arms crossed, let out a short sigh.
‘Just what was that?’
The events happened so briefly he couldn’t sort them out in his head.
Dana, ignorant of the ways of the world due to her confinement in the villa… Just when he was about to explain the Marquis family’s circumstances to her…
‘I thought I was going to die.’
Her fist was aimed at him.
He couldn’t understand why she swung her fist.
Was it an expression of not wanting to hear about the Marquis family’s affairs, or, as rumors suggested, was she the devil’s reincarnation experiencing destructive impulses?
The most puzzling thing was the powerful, sinister magic power he felt from that slender arm.
‘It wasn’t a mistake. There’s no way that force came from a human arm.’
Loreil wiped his still-tingling nose once. She fainted immediately after, so she wouldn’t know how the surrounding garden had changed.
The shock wave from the fist had snapped the tree behind Loreil in half, and the surrounding flowers were shattered into pieces, soaring into the sky.
It was sheer luck that Loreil only got a nosebleed.
‘Is she really a demon?’
Demons, devils.
Humanity’s ancient nemesis, monsters that disrupt peace.
While many these days considered them mere fairy tales, high nobles like Loreil knew demons truly existed. And that they were beings as powerful as the myths suggested.
Now that he suspected she might be a demon, he even wondered if her collapsing with Hempotysis at the end was also an act.
Moreover, wasn’t it said that demons prey on human weaknesses?
‘Come to think of it…’
Loreil looked down at the arm that had held Dana.
Compared to the immense magic power, her body was light and frail. But the moment he held her, he felt strangely reluctant to let go…
‘Enough.’
Loreil shook off his thoughts. The fact that he was having such strange thoughts seemed clear proof she possessed some mysterious power.
Although it was an unwanted task, now that he had been assigned as her secretary, it seemed he needed to investigate her thoroughly.
After all, she might be a monster threatening the Marquis family, or even the Empire.
Inside the moving carriage, as Loreil inflated his solitary delusion, he suddenly seemed to realize something and patted his shoulder.
‘Strangely, my shoulder feels light.’
He still didn’t know that Dana’s magic had expelled the curse that had tormented him for years.
The moment I opened my eyes, I was met with Lilibel’s tearful face.
“Your Highness! Are you okay?”
Pushing away the imposing girl leaning in, I sat up in bed.
“What time is it?”
“A full day has passed since you fainted! You have no idea how scared I was. They said sudden lightning struck the garden…”
“Lightning?”
“Yes! That’s what the young master said?”
I heard from Lilibel how Loreil had explained the situation.
That sudden lightning struck, startling me and causing me to faint.
It seemed he recited the very flimsy excuse I had been thinking of.
“Was I… coughing up blood?”
“Yes! Head Maid Emma said it might be due to your chronic illness and called a physician last night. But the truth is…”
Lilibel, who knew the truth about the Hempotysis, pursed her lips. I shook my head, telling her not to worry.
“It’s true it was because of magic, not illness. I’m fine now.”
“I knew it! The physician said he couldn’t figure out the cause… I was worried he might have noticed something…”
‘No, Lilibel. That quack wouldn’t tell me even if I had a real illness.’
I smiled bitterly to myself.
He had prescribed useless medicine even when I was suffering from poison and curses. He was probably a parachuted-in physician placed by someone who wanted me dead.
He likely didn’t conduct a proper examination this time either.
“Then why did you use magic? Was the lightning actually something you caused, Your Highness?”
“No, nothing like that. Something just happened briefly.”
It was a dangerous curse activated by mere words. I couldn’t tell Lilibel, so I awkwardly changed the subject.
“Lilibel, how was Sir Loreil’s demeanor?”
“Hmm, he was the same as when he arrived. Except his nose was a bit red…”
To have grilled me like that, yet show no particular reaction in front of Lilibel… It was very strange.
‘Does he have some other scheme? Or…’
As I continued pondering, Lilibel asked cautiously.
“Your Highness, what about your afternoon schedule? Should we cancel it?”
“Schedule?”
“The young master said he would visit again…”
‘That’s right, we said we’d tour the venue together.’
I recalled the promise to go on an inspection together.
‘I’d like to refuse, but that would only raise more suspicion.’
Besides, to gauge his true intentions, meeting him sooner was better.
“No, I’ll go. How much time until the appointment?”
“About three hours.”
“That’s plenty. Prepare a simple meal and clothes for me.”
Thanks to Lilibel’s immediate preparations, I was able to get ready before the appointed time with Loreil.
Lilibel seemed worried about my condition, but I felt healthier after a good sleep. My magic had also stabilized.
‘As long as I don’t use magic, I won’t be found out again.’
Thinking calmly, no matter how much Loreil suspected, he had no evidence. Of course, if he reported it to the temple, problems would arise, but would he really go that far against an Imperial Princess?
Just as I was calming my mind, Loreil’s carriage arrived in front of the villa.
Opening the carriage door, Loreil greeted me with a much kinder expression than when we met yesterday.
“Good afternoon, Your Highness. I hope I’m not too late?”
“No, you’re right on time.”
He smiled brightly and extended his hand to escort me.
“Then, shall we? I’ll guide you to the venue.”
“Yes, if you’ll excuse me…”
…Just as we were smiling at each other and I was about to take his hand, I sensed something strange.
‘This glove… it’s saturated with divine power?’
He was wearing pure white cotton gloves that reeked of divine power.
They seemed to be dyed with holy water.
The inside of the carriage visible over his shoulder was even worse.
‘A Sun God statuette, divine symbols, cushions soaked in holy water…’
Even a fool could tell.
This was a trap.
Inside the carriage, a powerful surge of divine power swirled, strong enough to make a weak demon combust upon entry. At the blatantly obvious trap, I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.
I understood his suspicion, but to try and kill me right upon meeting…
Unexpectedly, Loreil seemed to be a very aggressive man.
Or perhaps an idiot.
‘I misjudged him.’
Judging by the sight, he clearly suspected me of being a demon. If so, I couldn’t back down here.
Staring straight at Loreil, I firmly grasped his hand.
“…!”
Seeing his startled expression, I lifted the corner of my mouth.
‘I’m not at a level to fall for such a pathetic trap.’
I stepped powerfully into the carriage and approached him. I could feel the intense divine power enveloping me, but I didn’t bat an eye.
After closing the distance until I could feel his breath, I spoke to the ungrateful man.
“Thank you for the kind escort, Sir Loreil. By the way, today your nose seems a bit… crooked, doesn’t it? Was it cold outside?”
“……”
The corner of his mouth twitched faintly.
