The Villainess Lives Twice - Chapter 104

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 104

“This is my daughter. I heard you’ve met before.”

Countess Camellia introduced the young woman standing beside her like a maid. It was Skyla, the eldest daughter of the Camellia Marquess family.

Skyla bowed politely.

“It’s been a while, Your Grace the Duchess of Evron. I am Skyla.”

“Nice to meet you, Young Marchioness Camellia.”

Artizea replied as if it were nothing significant.

She had some acquaintance with her before marriage, but they had never had an intimate conversation. That level of greeting was sufficient.

Being caught off guard like this didn’t put her in a good mood.

‘If Countess Camellia is here, there’s a possibility that Duke Loigar is at the salon. It would be fine if only the Duchess was there, but…’

She wasn’t sure if Hailey could handle it well.

Though she was worried, Artizea spoke without showing it on her face.

“…Shall we walk for a moment?”

Artizea took the lead.

Countess Camellia told Skyla to remain there and followed behind Artizea.

When they first met, Countess Camellia was a person of power, and she was nothing more than a pitiful girl in shabby clothes without any real authority.

But now their positions were reversed, with Countess Camellia following half a step behind her.

Even temples in the capital usually maintained greenery nearby to preserve tranquility.

The two soon entered a path in a garden designed like a forest. The guards followed at a distance where their voices couldn’t be heard.

“Do you come to this temple often?”

At Artizea’s words, Countess Camellia smiled softly.

“How could that be? Why are you pretending not to know?”

“Well. Coming to this temple was a whimsical decision. For Countess Camellia to have the same whim, what a surprising coincidence.”

“It wasn’t a whim, but a bet on the small possibility that Your Grace might visit. Father Colton here is from the Western Regions, after all.”

Father Colton referred to the retired old bishop that Artizea intended to meet.

“Considering his reputation and background, he’s someone you must seek advice from before starting charitable work for the farmers in the west.”

Countess Camellia didn’t hide the fact that she knew Artizea had purchased land in the west.

Artizea wasn’t surprised. She had already sent word to Marcus through a messenger before entering the mainland.

She had some of the grain merchants purchased under false names transferred to the Rosan Marquess Estate, and separately invested in mills and land in the western region.

It was intentionally made public. So naturally Duke Loigar would know about it too. Wasn’t he someone particularly sensitive to the flow of money?

“Yes. The west is land that will be worth investing in from now on.”

“Only Your Grace can say that with such certainty.”

Countess Camellia smiled.

“I should invest a little too. Following Your Grace seems like it won’t lead to failure. I was truly impressed by Your Grace’s skill in managing Prince Evron’s assets over the past six months.”

“It was a small amount of money, yet you know about it well.”

Artizea spoke slowly.

Until now, Cedric’s personal assets on the mainland had been managed by Ansgard.

Some of it was real estate of the Evron Duchy. But there were also Cedric’s personal assets.

What his mother had brought as dowry and what the previous Emperor’s stepmother had bequeathed to her grandson when she died.

Most of it consisted of conservative assets like mills, farms, and wineries. It was about the income level of a small noble family.

Cedric wasn’t particularly interested in it. Considering the scale of the Evron Duchy, even more so.

Adding that income to the Evron Duchy’s budget was like pouring well water into a river.

He wasn’t the type to actively try to increase assets, and there was also the fact that it was property inherited from his mother who had died accused of treason, so he had just left it as it was since inheriting it.

And he had Ansgard use it for expenses at the capital mansion and villa.

So Artizea got involved. There was no reason not to when there was an opportunity to rake in money.

She sold off most of the stable assets in the east.

She invested all that money to buy silkworm farms and hoarded silk thread.

They say don’t put all your eggs in one basket, but that didn’t apply to Artizea.

She knew that silk would be unbeatable for decades to come. Especially for the next few years. Because the new fabric that Iantz would popularize following embroidered velvet was also silk.

Though Iantz fabrics were famous, the place where the most raw materials were produced was the Cratese Empire.

Excluding the Iantz fabrics considered the highest grade, the place where the next tier of fabrics was most produced was also the Empire.

Artizea had secured large quantities of those raw materials.

There was no need to hide that work.

Silk was a luxury item. The silkworm farms were in the east, the buyer of silk thread was the Kingdom of Iantz. And consumption took place on the mainland.

So it had no direct relationship with the growth of the Evron Duchy itself.

What the Emperor was wary of was losing the means to control Evron. Increasing dependence on the east and south was rather welcome.

Even if Cedric’s wealth increased, from the Emperor’s perspective, it wasn’t a large enough amount to worry about.

Of course, he was ignoring it because he didn’t yet know the speed at which the assets were growing.

“The Camellia Marquess family had also invested quite a bit in sericulture. When they tried to obtain silkworms with secret information from the Kingdom of Iantz, Your Grace had already swept them all up.”

“The silk business never fails.”

“Even when Iantz leaked information that the next trend after embroidered velvet would be muslin, you didn’t believe it?”

“That was probably to temporarily lower silk thread prices and secure large quantities of raw materials before launching new silk fabrics. Iantz, who knows well that the most expensive things bring the most money, wouldn’t choose muslin.”

“Oh my. I thought Your Grace had planted informants in the Kingdom of Iantz.”

Artizea glanced at her. But Countess Camellia didn’t seem to have said it knowing something.

“Did Countess Camellia come here to discuss trivial business matters? If it were such talk, it would have been nice to have it calmly over tea at home.”

“Oh dear. I went off on a tangent for too long. I was personally very surprised, so I had been curious. Thanks to this, I’ve confirmed that Your Grace’s wisdom doesn’t only work in court.”

Countess Camellia chuckled.

“I wanted to ask about what you plan to do in the west. No matter how much it’s focused on charitable work, His Majesty the Emperor won’t be pleased, so I was curious how you plan to overcome that problem.”

“Well. I don’t have a specific plan. Still, it’s necessary work, so I’ll have to do my best to persuade His Majesty the Emperor.”

“If there’s a possibility of creating a rear base that can stably supply grain to the Evron Duchy, His Majesty the Emperor will never tolerate it.”

“Since it’s using the Rosan Marquess Estate’s wealth rather than the Evron Duchy’s, even if he shows displeasure, he can’t openly stop it.”

“The means His Majesty the Emperor can use aren’t only political ones. Your Grace would know better than anyone.”

Countess Camellia said.

“Duke Loigar said that Prince Evron couldn’t even take care of that much for you.”

“…”

“The shield of the north, the hero of the west. If Evron falls, the mainland will fall too. His Majesty the Emperor sometimes becomes harsh in his excessive regard for imperial authority.”

Artizea stopped walking for a moment. Then she turned to look at Countess Camellia.

“When Countess Camellia says that if Evron falls the mainland will fall too, do you really understand the meaning of those words?”

Artizea spoke in a hostile tone. Countess Camellia’s eyes widened.

Artizea had known how to completely control her expressions since their first meeting.

Even when she drove out Milaire at her wedding, her face always maintained an appropriately gentle and bright expression.

But now she was showing raw emotion. At least it seemed that way.

“I was attacked by Karam. It was truly terrible.”

“My goodness.”

Countess Camellia was genuinely shocked.

“It seems you didn’t know about that.”

That meant Cadriole’s matter was also completely hidden.

Artizea was satisfied. But instead of smiling, she hardened her face and spoke in a stiff tone.

“Do you know why Evron is loyal?”

“Your Grace.”

“Because northerners are born with particularly straightforward and warrior-like temperaments? You would know that humans aren’t made so simply, Countess.”

Because it was a consciously cold voice, emotion seeped through instead. It seemed like anger, and also like fear.

“I learned this time. Northerners don’t fail to harbor resentment, but they know too well that they shouldn’t. Escape is impossible, and if the community collapses, the north’s defense will collapse too.”

“…”

“They don’t even have the option of becoming refugees like the west if things collapse. The Allia Wall blocks them. Northerners are loyal because it was an environment where they couldn’t survive otherwise. Because they know this, the Evron Duchy willingly bears heavy responsibility.”

Everything up to that point was truth.

Because of that, Countess Camellia couldn’t distinguish whether what Artizea was revealing was sincere, or if she was deliberately showing exaggerated emotion.

‘If she experienced having her life threatened by Karam’s attack, it could be sincere.’

Countess Camellia never looked down on Artizea. However, she couldn’t completely erase from her mind that she was 18 years old.

If she had been as old as Duchess Loigar, Countess Camellia would have completely doubted it.

But not now.

“Evron’s foundation will always be in the Evron Duchy, no matter when or what happens. My husband loves Evron and its land, and he’s a person with a strong sense of responsibility. But my thoughts are a bit different.”

“Your Grace the Duchess.”

“There’s no reason why only Evron should have to sacrifice.”

Artizea said in a low voice.

“Of course, establishing a position in the Western Regions is because I want to support my husband, Countess Camellia.”

“….”

“But it’s also because we need a place to retreat to if something happens. To protect as many people as my husband cherishes as possible.”

Countess Camellia drew in a breath.

Artizea’s words meant that in case of emergency, Evron might abandon the estate.

Cedric wasn’t that kind of person.

But he was always on the front lines. There was always the possibility that Told Gate could collapse and communication could be suddenly cut off, or something even worse could happen.

If that happened, Artizea would be the master of Evron. And she was more than capable of opening a path all the way to the homeland.

Once Artizea was recognized as Duchess of Evron, the loyal people of Evron would follow her orders.

That was a real threat.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————