Chapter 38

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I hope that woman never comes back.

I pray to God every day. I was told that things and land are very expensive in the city, but the Ajette family owns a grand mansion with a large garden in one of the prime locations in the capital. It’s not just any garden; there’s even a luxurious chapel. The spacious garden has a magic training court with a barrier made of expensive magic tools, a promenade, and even a beautiful gazebo like those in storybooks. How extravagant. I’ve been born into this house and taken all of this for granted, but Liliane is still so unfair.

When I heard footsteps and opened my eyes, my "personal maid" had come into my field of vision and bowed her head. I was about to ask what she was doing, but then I remembered. Servants aren’t supposed to speak to nobles on their own. They have to wait to be addressed when they need something. Being pampered like a princess feels good, but nobles are really troublesome in these aspects.

"What is it?"

"Miss Nina, it’s time for breakfast."

"I understand. I’ll be there shortly."

I stood up, having been kneeling and praying, and headed to the breakfast salon while listening to the maid instruct another servant to clean up the prayer cloth to keep my uniform skirt from getting dirty.

"Good morning, Nina."

"Good morning, stepmother."

"Praying again?"

"Yes, I was praying that we find my step-sister Liliane as soon as possible..."

As soon as I entered the salon, my stepmother, who looked tired and sleep-deprived, greeted me. Of course, it’s a lie. In truth, I’m praying that she never be found. I wish she were dead. Even though I don’t really believe in praying, I use it as an excuse to skip studying. Pretending to pray is better than being forced to study, even though it’s incredibly boring.

"...Nina, you’re so kind. To think of such things..."

"No, not at all... I just feel regretful that I couldn’t get along well with Liliane. I can’t do much more than this..."

"Thank you so much."

I deliberately mix in small lies to make Liliane seem unkind. It’s subtle, but it’s important to build up a good image of myself. I give a sad smile, and my stepmother, with tears in her eyes, takes a handkerchief from the maid to dab them away. She’s beautiful, but today her makeup is heavy, probably to cover up dark circles and a poor complexion.

"I’ve said this many times... You and the rest of the family loved Liliane so much. Even if you didn’t say it, I was very envious of how much you all cared for her, so..."

"Nina, hearing you say that makes me feel a bit better."

"No, I don’t think I’m particularly perceptive. I noticed it right away when I was adopted, how much everyone loved Liliane."

"Yes... Our family cared for Liliane, and that’s something most people would understand."

At first, I just sympathized with their constant complaints about being misunderstood despite loving her so much. But without my guidance, they started to shift the blame in their favor. My real mother worked in a bar, was very popular with men, and always dressed beautifully. I didn’t grow up with her, but I learned a lot about how to make men like me and live a good life.

People start to believe what they say, even if they didn’t mean to at first. In a bar with women, a man might say, "I just needed a break from home," and the women would sympathize, saying, "Oh, so you must be very considerate at home," "I envy a wife who is treated so well," "It’s nice to be cared for by such a wonderful person," and "You deserve a break for working so hard." Eventually, the man starts to feel like he’s always been thinking that way.

I don’t know if the men who come to the bar for women while having wives at home are telling the truth, but it doesn’t matter. I feel the same way. I don’t know how much to trust the family’s claims of love after 15 years of never praising Liliane, but it doesn’t matter to me. It’s only natural that I, a commoner adopted into the family, wouldn’t understand such deep matters.

"Why did she misunderstand? Not to the extent of Nina, but if she had been more perceptive... This wouldn’t have turned into such a big fuss."

"Liliane is... very sensitive."

"Yes. I wish she had told us. Oh... Liliane, why..."

At first, it was about being misunderstood and feeling sorry for themselves. As days passed without any sightings of Liliane, and even her survival became uncertain, the blame game began. The hunting incident was blamed on Liliane’s reckless behavior, and the Duke, who was accused of pushing her, was blamed by the family and stopped coming home. Recently, the blame has shifted to Liliane herself. The underlying message is clear: "She received so much love, and everyone knew it, yet she didn’t realize it. Liliane is at fault."

It won’t be long now. I can sense that it’s about to shift to, "Liliane is at fault for not realizing how much she was loved."

"Well, I have school. I’m off, stepmother."

I obediently listened to the maid’s silent plea to bow and said goodbye to the weeping stepmother before getting into the family’s magic car. It’s tiring to keep up the good girl act, but I can’t afford to mess up now and must remain composed.

What worries me more is Prince Reinold. He said, "Liliane is so talented that if we gather information on people who suddenly excel in various fields like art and magic, we’ll find her soon." I hope he doesn’t do anything unnecessary. If he does, she might really be found if she’s still alive. She ran away because she didn’t want to, so it’s best to leave her alone.

But he’s convinced it’s his fault and won’t give up easily. It’s annoying. The Ajette family lied about the reason for her running away, saying, "We didn’t hear it directly, but it might have been about the engagement that was being arranged," and "There were no problems at home, so that’s the only thing we can think of." It’s amazing. Can you lie to the royal family? I was really surprised. They didn’t explicitly lie, but they probably think they can cover it up later. But what if it’s considered disrespectful? I don’t know, but if it is, it’s dangerous, so I pretended not to know.

But Prince Reinold believed it and is very depressed. Even people at the academy who don’t know the details are worried about how down he is. The girls in my class are saying, "The prince’s face has a shadow, but even that expression is very charming."

Oh, poor him, all because he fell for Liliane. But if we can make it seem like she ran away because she didn’t want the engagement, Prince Reinold will lose the motivation to search... I won’t tell him the truth.

I wish everyone would just forget about Liliane.

(｀・ω・´)つ

Here it is!! Announcement time!!

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"Unaware Genius Girl Doesn’t Notice ~She Became an Adventurer After Leaving Home Because Her Family Never Praises Her Despite Her Efforts in All Fields~"

will begin on MangaPark!!

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The same story is depicted, but it’s packed with new and exciting elements!!