The Villainess Lives Twice - Chapter 139

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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 139

 

“Gasp!”

 

The Chamberlain drew in a sharp breath.

 

Despite actually being uncle and nephew, Cedric had never once called the Emperor uncle since childhood. This was true even when he grew up in the capital before the age of ten.

 

This meant that Cedric never stepped out of his position as a subject, and at the same time, it also meant he didn’t regard the Emperor as blood family.

 

The Emperor looked at Cedric with thoughtful eyes.

 

“This is the first time you’ve called me that.”

 

“I am honored.”

 

“Has there been some change of heart?”

 

Cedric lowered his eyes and bowed his head deeper. It was to hide his expression.

 

“Until now, I tried to forget that half the blood flowing through my body is Kraetes. As you must have known…”

 

“…”

 

“It’s true that I resented you, Uncle, and it’s also true that I feared you. More than that, I wanted to protect my family and my territory’s safety.”

 

“That’s right.”

 

“I won’t do that anymore.”

 

Cedric, having completely composed his expression, raised his gaze.

 

The Emperor couldn’t read his inner thoughts. Before the thought of ‘surely not’ could even cross his mind, Cedric spoke.

 

“Today my wife collapsed from the temple’s persecution.”

 

“I heard she voluntarily went to cooperate with the investigation at Rosan Estate. Though it sounds like an excuse, I did tell them there was no need to go that far.”

 

“Yes, I understand that much.”

 

“But?”

 

“According to my maid, they made her stay in the harsh quarters used by monks and forced her to repent in a cold prayer room.”

 

“If Tia endured that, she must have had good reason.”

 

The Emperor spoke calmly. He wasn’t testing—he genuinely believed this.

 

Cedric remained unwavering.

 

“Even if she had reason to endure it, doesn’t it remain a fact that my wife was unjustly treated like a criminal?”

 

“Do you believe Tia couldn’t have gotten out on her own?”

 

“Because I saw it with my own eyes. My wife collapsed unconscious on the cold stone floor of the prayer room and was left there for nearly an hour. That’s why the maid fired a signal flare to call the knight order for rescue.”

 

Cedric spoke firmly.

 

“The temple even refused to let the escort knights visit and tried to block them with numbers.”

 

“…”

 

“Only one maid accompanied her. Moreover, someone with a weak constitution. If they were forcefully blocked by strength, there’s no way she could have broken through, is there?”

 

“Cedric.”

 

“If I hadn’t happened to arrive in the capital early, anything could have happened. While the temple was blocking my knights, they were secretly trying to move my unconscious wife to another location.”

 

Cedric spoke his next words slowly. Because it was so difficult to say this calmly, he had to roll the words around in his mouth several times.

 

“Moreover, my wife is pregnant.”

 

The Emperor faltered. He couldn’t help but show surprise and bewilderment.

 

If Artizea was pregnant, the child in her womb was the heir to the ducal house.

 

If the temple had persecuted the Prince’s Consort who was carrying such a child, this was no ordinary matter.

 

“I should congratulate you first, but this isn’t the situation for that. Is everything alright? If she collapsed…”

 

“Fortunately, the child is safe.”

 

Cedric chose his words carefully.

 

And hearing this, the Emperor fully understood his intention. The reason he called him uncle instead of Your Majesty.

 

“Do you want Archbishop Akim punished for treason?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Cedric answered without hesitation.

 

The Emperor didn’t miss him clenching his fists tightly.

 

“I am your nephew, Uncle. Though I may be from a branch family, half the blood flowing through my body belongs to the imperial family, and I am royalty.”

 

Cedric bowed his head again.

 

“If that’s the case, then my wife and child are also royalty.”

 

The Emperor felt a thrill run from the top of his head to his toes. His body trembled with exhilaration.

 

Because he realized that Cedric had decided to fall into the same world as himself.

 

The Emperor wanted to laugh loudly. He wanted to tell Cedric’s dead father.

 

To the princess’s knight who had been noble until death. That your child, who looked exactly like you, was ultimately born with half the same blood as me and lives in the same world as me.

 

Through persecution after persecution, even until the moment of beheading, he had ultimately failed to make Leofriq Evron submit.

 

No matter how he tempted him with wealth and power, provided pleasures, or threatened him by controlling the lifeline of food supplies to his territory, that man never changed his upright gaze.

 

Though he would kneel respectfully to the crown prince and then the new emperor, that was all.

 

He acted according to what he believed was right, and in his heart he held only the deposed princess as his lord and his wife as the lady he served.

 

But what about Cedric now? He had chosen to kneel before him for revenge.

 

For the safety and future of his wife and child, he said he would forget even his parents’ grudge and the unjust treatment Evron suffered and submit.

 

That was undoubtedly selfish desire. He had ultimately succumbed to the world.

 

The Emperor leaned forward and said,

 

“I understand your intention.”

 

“…”

 

“Of course. You are my nephew, and your child is my great-nephew. What if there had been a miscarriage?”

 

Cedric didn’t answer the Emperor’s words.

 

That was exactly what he had intended. However, hearing the Emperor say it was unbearable.

 

Still, Cedric endured it.

 

It would be foolish to fail to protect those he should protect for the sake of his own integrity. Artizea had taught him that.

 

And she, along with the child in her womb, were the beings Cedric had to protect most.

 

The Emperor asked,

 

“What shall I do for you?”

 

“There are those who tried to kidnap my wife to destroy evidence and prevent me from intervening in this situation. I suspect they were acting under Archbishop Akim’s orders.”

 

“Hmm.”

 

“Please have two trustworthy imperial guards attend the interrogation as witnesses. I want to prevent the temple from questioning the fairness of the interrogation.”

 

“Understood.”

 

The Emperor nodded.

 

“However, there will be backlash from the protesters. Do you have any thoughts about that? If you plan to suppress them forcefully, I’ll lend you troops.”

 

“I intend to have the heresy trial led by another trustworthy clergyman. That should calm things down to some extent.”

 

“Come to think of it, Father Colton was helping your wife. But will he listen to you? He’s someone who won’t even listen to me. Besides, the temple isn’t an opponent to take lightly.”

 

“I’ll have to try persuading him. At least the Archbishop will have no choice but to cooperate with me.”

 

“True, since the temple committed treason in their greed for secular power, no priest can pretend not to know. Besides, the Archbishop has been on fairly good terms with you until now, so he’d be shameless to turn away from such matters.”

 

Cedric said with his head still bowed,

 

“Please also entrust me with the matter of Marquess Rosan’s wife.”

 

“…”

 

The Emperor couldn’t answer this request.

 

“I understand your uneasiness, Your Majesty. It’s also true that I don’t like her.”

 

“…”

 

“However, she is my wife’s mother and the grandmother of the child to be born. I’ll ensure that your concerns don’t come to pass. Please entrust me with her punishment completely.”

 

The Emperor thought for a long time.

 

He couldn’t coldly say that he wouldn’t get involved, that it was none of his business.

 

Perhaps this might work out well. It would be a father who nearly lost his child to treason handling the treason case. The citizens might find that easier to accept.

 

And most importantly, the Emperor himself wouldn’t be criticized.

 

The Emperor nodded.

 

“Alright. You have people’s trust, so you’ll handle it well. I’ll entrust it to you completely.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

Cedric bowed his head deeply in a gesture of gratitude.

 

“I have much to do, so I’ll take my leave now.”

 

“Go ahead. Since the officers of the Imperial Guard and Central Army are gathered anyway, it would be good to tell them as you leave that you’ve received full authority from me.”

 

The Emperor said this and called the Chamberlain who had been standing respectfully beside him until then.

 

“First convey my command to the waiting room, and have the secretary draft an imperial decree to give to Cedric.”

 

“I am honored.”

 

The Chamberlain bowed.

 

He withdrew first and opened the door for Cedric. Cedric bowed to the Emperor again and went outside.

 

Only then did the Emperor open his mouth wide and laugh the laughter he had been holding back. Then he called a servant and gave instructions.

 

“Though Akim is a greedy man, he wouldn’t have the guts to commit such acts alone. Investigate who’s behind this.”

 

The servant bowed silently and left. Of course Cedric would also investigate the mastermind, but he needed to find out first.

 

This was an opportunity to get a firm grip on Duke Loigar.

 

Cedric was guided by the Chamberlain to the audience waiting room first, where he met Gayan, Amelie, and other military personnel.

 

“You nearly faced a terrible ordeal.”

 

Gayan offered words of comfort.

 

“The House of Evron has had only one blood heir, Your Grace, until now. This should be a matter for congratulation, but I regret that the circumstances don’t easily allow such words.”

 

“I was quite shocked that the Evron Knight Order took military action. There were even some who suspected treason.”

 

Amelie said.

 

Few could imagine how many thoughts she had during the several hours from when she first heard the news until now.

 

She had decided to side with Cedric. However, that meant supporting Cedric as the next power, not betraying the Emperor right now.

 

“It’s not rebellion, Count Harper. Rather, didn’t the Evron Knight Order stay outside the capital? If it were a coup, they would have targeted the Imperial Palace.”

 

“Lord Gayan, no matter how much you’re joking, you shouldn’t say dangerous things. I’m speaking from the perspective that we shouldn’t create even such trivial pretexts.”

 

Amelie frowned slightly and retorted.

 

“Anyway, now that His Majesty’s permission has been granted, the Imperial Guard and Central Army will cooperate whenever you give the word.”

 

Gayan said.

 

Henry Kishower interjected.

 

“More importantly, is Her Highness’s health alright? She’s naturally frail, so I wonder if she can endure this well…”

 

“The doctor says she needs absolute rest for the time being, but it’s not dangerous. We can only hope she’ll be safe…”

 

Cedric was answering when it happened.

 

Someone approached from the other end of the corridor. The sound of footsteps echoed through the long palace corridor.

 

Cedric stopped walking.

 

The person from the other direction also stopped. Though the lamplight was dim, that neat and beautiful face could be recognized even in shadows.

 

It was Lawrence.

 

Lawrence seemed to have recognized Cedric as well. He showed signs of surprise. He hadn’t yet heard the news that Cedric had returned.

 

Lawrence’s face contorted. His fine lips pressed together tightly.

 

Then, as if deciding to ignore Cedric, he tried to pass by.

 

“Lawrence.”

 

Cedric called out to stop him.

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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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