The Villainess Lives Twice - Chapter 12

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 12

2.

Sedric couldn’t sleep that night.

“Then I shall make Your Highness Emperor.”

The face of the elegant young lady who had spoken those words flickered beneath his eyelids.

It wasn’t that he was pondering whether she could truly make him Emperor or not.

Did he want to become Emperor? That question circled endlessly in his mind.

It would be a lie to say he had never thought about it.

Artizea wasn’t the only one who had told him he should become Emperor.

People in more plausible positions than her had secretly approached him several times.

Sedric had never once listened to their stories.

You must become Emperor to survive. Become Emperor and avenge your parents.

Those who mentioned the throne to him always said those two things.

It had been nearly twenty years since his mother and father were falsely accused of treason and executed.

Most people in the world had forgotten that incident. He had survived and inherited the House of Evron, and his parents had been posthumously pardoned.

But he had never forgotten that he stood on the edge of death.

Perhaps Emperor Gregor might not kill him out of guilt for killing his young sister, or because Sedric posed no threat to him.

But the next Emperor would be different. Sedric’s bloodline was too strong to simply ignore and overlook.

The vassals of the Evron Duchy would often vow that if Sedric faced the same danger as the previous Duke and Duchess, they would truly raise an army and show the power of Evron.

Sedric was always in the position of dissuading them.

Just as they did this to protect Sedric, Sedric also hid himself to protect them.

He stayed away from central politics and acted as if he despised power. The Evron Duchy became an even more thorough shield for the Empire.

But ultimately, the only sure way to survive was for him to become Emperor himself. Unless he was willing to abandon the duchy and become a powerless nobody.

And he couldn’t abandon the duchy and the ducal house. They were Sedric’s family.

Nevertheless, the reason he had never even mentioned succession rights or the throne until now was because he didn’t want to dirty his hands with foul deeds just to survive.

Rather than that, Sedric would prefer to die cleanly.

Revenge was the same. If he ascended to the throne that way and stained his hands with the blood of vengeance, would his parents be pleased? He didn’t think so.

He couldn’t even remember his parents’ faces.

But if his parents had been as good and pure as the people of the Evron Duchy praised them to be, it didn’t seem like they would want Sedric to seek revenge.

However, what Artizea had mentioned first was neither survival nor revenge, but the people of the Cratese Empire.

Sedric was shocked.

Until now, he had considered only the Evron Duchy as his responsibility. It was already overwhelming just to protect his territory and his precious people.

But could he turn away from the Cratese Empire itself?

He could not. He was the Empire’s shield.

Though he had not a speck of loyalty to the Imperial Family, protecting the Empire’s people had always been at the center of his heart.

Sedric couldn’t share this dilemma with anyone.

His close associates would throw away their lives for his sake.

If Sedric said he would participate in the succession struggle, they would all gladly spring into action.

He wanted to speak with Artizea once more.

He felt that she would be able to raise her hand and point in a clear direction, even in a foggy maze.

Though he agonized all night without a wink of sleep, by the time the morning sun rose, he realized his heart was ultimately pointing in one direction.

“Did you not sleep during the night?”

Butler Ansgard, who entered the barracks in the morning, asked.

Sedric was already up and shaving by himself. His face was haggard, and the area under his eyes was darkly shadowed.

Ansgard had followed him even to the battlefield to attend to Sedric.

Sedric wasn’t one who needed much attending to. It was more tiresome to worry about whether something might happen to the old butler.

But he didn’t tell him to stay and rest comfortably at the mansion.

He knew that Ansgard did this because he was anxious and worried about losing Sedric too, after losing his master and mistress so miserably.

“I tossed and turned a bit.”

Ansgard didn’t ask why.

The areas he could be involved in were limited to household matters. All he could do for a master troubled by official duties was to take care of his daily life so there would be no inconveniences.

Ansgard poured the hot water he had brought into a basin. Then he soaked and wrung out a towel.

“Please sit for a moment, Master Sed.”

“Mm.”

Sedric obediently sat in the chair as instructed.

Ansgard brought a cushion to make him comfortable, had him lean back and tilt his neck, then placed the warm towel over his face.

“I feel like I might fall asleep.”

“Would you like to sleep for a while?”

“No. I’m not leisurely enough to sleep in. I’ll be entering the palace today.”

Sedric said so. Ansgard took out formal attire instead of military uniform.

Sedric changed clothes and headed to the capital with two guards.

* * *

Sedric arrived at the Imperial Palace around 10 AM.

The Emperor held light audiences or received personal guests during the morning. From lunch onward was official time.

Sedric chose this time because he didn’t want to eat lunch with him.

When he arrived, Countess Charlotte Unies was there with her two daughters.

Countess Unies had accepted Artizea’s advice.

She was now 36 years old, and her eldest daughter had turned 16 this year.

Countess Unies was no longer at the age where she could act willfully or do unpleasant things and still be considered cute.

To gain even a little more, she had to please her father and win his favor.

If only for the sake of her children.

The Emperor wasn’t the type to coddle his children when he wasn’t particularly inclined to, nor was he someone who needed to.

That’s why after Countess Unies entered her rebellious phase, and around the same time Lawrence was born, father and daughter rarely spent personal time together.

But that didn’t mean he suddenly came to hate the daughter he had once doted on.

He simply got annoyed every time they met, so he pushed her to a lower priority.

The Emperor wasn’t unaware of Countess Unies’s intentions in suddenly visiting like this to accommodate him.

Perhaps she felt guilty about disturbing his safety yesterday and was trying to earn forgiveness in her own way.

Whatever the reason, after a long time, his daughter seemed to have decided to turn her heart toward filial piety. He enjoyed the pleasant weather and delightful time.

The amber brooch that Artizea had given him also pleased him.

He had long accepted Artizea as an appendage to Milaire.

Of course, it wasn’t true that he thought of her as a daughter or had grown fond of her, as he sometimes claimed.

But Artizea hadn’t done anything particularly wicked enough to hate her.

Even if she wasn’t an object of sexual desire, having a young, pretty girl trying to please him out of a desire to be loved made him feel quite good.

If Artizea had cried over yesterday’s incident and Milaire had complained, the Emperor would have been in a very bad mood.

But the girl, who was at an age prone to sulking, didn’t resent him even after being slapped and wisely tried to soothe the Emperor’s heart, which was admirable.

Moreover, seeing his daughter, who had been acting rebelliously, now acting lovingly and being considerate, the Emperor felt like he had gained profit without lifting a finger.

The Emperor was now old. Unlike his younger days, the antics of his children and grandchildren were now as enjoyable as the seductions of beautiful mistresses.

In the midst of this, news of Sedric’s visit was delivered. He gladly summoned Sedric.

“Come in, come in. I was just resting.”

Sedric was being guided by the chamberlain to the Emperor’s drawing room when he hesitated.

He had been surprised when he was guided to the drawing room instead of the study or audience chamber.

Moreover, with Countess Unies and the children present, it could be considered a completely private setting.

“I am honored. If I had known Countess Unies was here, I wouldn’t have intruded.”

After completing the formal greetings, Sedric said this as his first words. The Emperor laughed heartily.

“Why do you speak so coldly and formally? Charlotte is my daughter, you are my nephew, and you two are cousins. We’re all one family.”

The Emperor laughed heartily. His attitude was as if he had no idea that Sedric had been staying away from the capital due to the Western Army issues until now.

Sedric sometimes felt that the Emperor might have forgotten the fact that he had killed his parents.

Of course, that couldn’t be true. If it were, there would be no reason for the Emperor to constantly try to make him submit.

Sedric bowed his head respectfully. The Emperor spoke cheerfully.

“You two haven’t seen each other in a long time, have you? Though you’re cousins, Sedric has no other brothers, so get along as close as real siblings. Come visit me often too. You’ve been camping outside the capital and never coming in, so I was about to feel hurt.”

The Emperor said this.

It was ridiculous.

If he truly felt hurt, he could have told Sedric to set aside complicated matters and have a private audience first.

Or he could have at least listened to his story.

The Emperor did not do that. He only issued an imperial command for the Western Army to return and for Sedric to enter with just the Evron Knight Order for a triumph.

“Get along well with Tia too.”

“Father, you speak of that again. How often would Sedric, who is always busy with military duties, have occasion to meet the daughter of Marquess Rosan?”

“What nonsense. When people are destined to meet, where can’t they encounter each other? Besides, isn’t Tia Lawrence’s sister? Though they don’t share blood, she’s different from a complete stranger.”

“The daughter of Marquess Rosan…, you mean?”

Sedric asked in surprise.

He hadn’t expected that name to come from the Emperor’s mouth first.

“I heard you sent a knight to escort Tia yesterday?”

That story had been told to the Emperor by Henry Kishower.

“It wasn’t anything significant, yet you already know about it. I happened to meet her at the temple, and since she didn’t have even one guard with her, I did that.”

“Then, are you saying that circling around the capital all this time and coming to see me today has nothing to do with the daughter of Marquess Rosan?”

Since Sedric was not good at lying, he couldn’t immediately deny it. The Emperor laughed pleasantly.

“Even someone as upright as you has such moments. She must have felt lonely yesterday, so she’d be happy if you visited her once today.”

“I didn’t enter the palace because of the daughter of Marquess Rosan. Your Majesty, regarding the Western Army…”

“Now, now. Don’t you understand why I specifically called you to the Inner Chamber?”

The Emperor spoke as if scolding him. Then he smiled slyly.

“In a place where family gathers, we don’t discuss such matters. Just go back today. Let’s talk about that again in three days. Surely I wouldn’t forget the achievements the Western Army accomplished this time?”

The Emperor said this while personally pouring tea for him.

Sedric moistened his bitter mouth with the tea.

Just the news that he had encountered Artizea had reached the Emperor, and his attitude had already changed.

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