The Villainess Lives Twice - Chapter 14

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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 14

The young ladies standing around Artizea were startled and began whispering.

Even Countess Atiya, who had been angry just moments before, blushed and became shy.

[Who could he be here to meet?]

[I heard His Highness the Duke of Evron dislikes women.]

[Does anyone here have connections with His Highness the Duke?]

The young ladies looked around, but none of them thought that Cedric had come for Artizea.

Artizea held her breath.

From the moment she learned that Cedric had come, she naturally thought he must be looking for her.

Yet when she actually saw him walking straight toward her, it felt surreal.

She looked at Cedric. She looked only at Cedric.

She had never thought her vision was narrow, but she looked only at him, not even noticing the surprise of those around her, including Countess Atiya.

So when Cedric extended his hand to her, she didn’t even notice the small screams from around them.

The young ladies were so shocked they forgot to manage their expressions and stared at her and Cedric with their mouths agape.

Even the young men and adults pretended not to care while paying maximum attention to this scene.

“Good evening, Young Lady of Marquess Rosan.”

“What… brings you here, Your Highness?”

Artizea couldn’t completely hide her bewilderment and hesitantly placed her hand on his.

At that moment, gasps erupted from around them.

Paying no attention to such atmosphere, Cedric frowned.

He kept his right hand where Artizea had placed hers, and reached out with his left hand to grasp her chin.

“What happened to your face?”

“Pardon?”

“Your cheek is swollen. There are also scratch marks from fingernails here, and the corner of your lip is torn.”

Cedric examined her face with almost rude meticulousness.

Though it might not be noticeable at a glance due to makeup, these were unmistakably signs of being struck.

It would surely bruise blue with time.

What on earth had happened to her?

Moreover, with her face in this condition, had Milaire still sent her out?

The same went for the employees of House of Rosan. This was an extremely private gathering, a ball that one didn’t have to attend.

Artizea hadn’t particularly wanted to come either. No useful information was exchanged at such gatherings.

She had only come out of necessity because she needed to periodically show her face at appropriate gatherings to avoid damaging Milaire’s reputation.

“Your Highness.”

Artizea grasped his wrist with a troubled expression.

Cedric glared at her and spoke in a low voice like a whisper.

“Was this Countess Unise’s doing?”

Just before leaving the Imperial Palace, Countess Unise had briefly detained him.

Cedric had looked at her with puzzlement. Though she was his cousin, Cedric had never been close to her.

Countess Unise had said this:

“Are you going to meet the Young Lady of Marquess Rosan?”

“Is that any concern of yours?”

“No. There’s just one thing I’d like to ask of you.”

“I can’t guarantee I’ll comply, but please speak.”

“Please tell the Young Lady of Marquess Rosan… that I was sorry about yesterday.”

Countess Unise had clutched her dress hem as she said this.

“If you have something to apologize for, wouldn’t it be better to do so directly?”

“Of course I’ll visit and apologize directly when the situation allows. But I think a mediator will be necessary. Just conveying a word would be enough. That I’m sorry, and grateful for her advice.”

Cedric didn’t know what had happened, but he nodded and left the scene.

He never could have imagined something like this had occurred.

“Countess Unise…”

“Please don’t say any more. It would put me in a difficult position.”

Artizea tightened her grip on his wrist.

Cedric had no choice but to release her chin. He spoke curtly, suppressing his anger.

“Let’s go back.”

Artizea felt strange.

In her past life, only Alice had ever gotten angry on her behalf like this.

After Alice died, there wasn’t even anyone who noticed when she was hurt.

It had been worse in her girlhood.

Whenever Milaire was in a bad mood, she would easily resort to violence against her.

Something like a swollen cheek from being slapped once was nothing anyone at House of Rosan cared about.

Today too, only Alice had worried and applied compresses for her.

But Cedric was getting angry for her. Cedric, of all people.

Feeling like tears might well up, Artizea lowered her head slightly and spoke stiffly.

“I understand.”

Leaving the ballroom in this state wasn’t exactly ideal.

But Artizea wasn’t here to find a good marriage prospect anyway.

There wasn’t anyone here she particularly needed to build connections with. Her reputation was already rock bottom and would never improve for the rest of her life.

Cedric stepped back and extended his arm to escort her.

At that moment, Countess Atiya happened to make eye contact with him.

Countess Atiya, who had been staring blankly at the two of them, realized this was her chance.

She quickly spread her skirt hem and knelt on her right knee, showing the most beautiful smile she could manage.

“I apologize for greeting you so suddenly, Your Highness Duke of Evron. I am Laila of House of Atiya. I didn’t realize you had connections with the Young Lady of Marquess Rosan.”

“Pleased to meet you. Are you a friend of the Young Lady of Marquess Rosan?”

“Pardon? Oh, yes!”

Countess Atiya affirmed, thinking that saying yes would help her make an impression on Cedric.

And she spoke with a bright eye-smile.

“Coming to a ball and leaving without dancing even one song isn’t gentlemanly conduct. Especially when there are ladies who haven’t been able to dance at all.”

All warmth drained from Cedric’s gaze.

“The gentlemanly conduct I know prioritizes caring for women who are in uncomfortable situations. Are you truly a friend of the Young Lady of Marquess Rosan?”

“Pardon?”

“If you were a friend, showing concern would normally be the priority, yet you’re only looking at me.”

Cedric spoke coldly.

Countess Atiya’s face turned bright red with shame.

Artizea lightly tugged at his sleeve.

In her mind, Cedric had no reason to be angry on her behalf. So she took his anger toward Countess Atiya at face value.

She thought he was displeased that she had lied about being a friend when she wasn’t.

But Cedric was genuinely angry.

From the beginning, he had been concerned about Artizea.

His decision to accept Artizea’s proposal was indeed because she spoke of a great cause.

But more than that, it was because he wanted to protect this clear-faced, gentle girl.

‘She’s too thin.’

He had known before that Milaire had a daughter, but he never imagined she would be such a gaunt and pale girl.

Contrary to her own thoughts, Artizea was a beautiful girl with elegant bone structure and snow-white skin.

But her face, which had never been properly cared for, was haggard, her body was excessively thin, and her cheeks were sunken.

Even her wrists extending from her long sleeves were nothing but bone.

The dress she wore was the same green striped one as yesterday.

While it was ordinary clothing suitable for a stroll, it could hardly be called a party dress.

Even Cedric, who wasn’t well-versed in ballroom atmosphere, could tell that Artizea was being ostracized.

No matter if she was the heir of House of Rosan, the sister of a prominent imperial successor candidate, or the daughter born to the Emperor’s favorite concubine, a family’s unwanted child was never welcomed anywhere.

Artizea herself seemed to accept it as natural.

Even that appeared to stem from resigning herself to the rights she should have originally enjoyed as someone’s child and as a human being, which made Cedric uncomfortable.

“Then, Lady Marquess Rosan.”

Cedric therefore extended his hand to Artizea.

“Yes?”

“May I request a dance?”

Countess Atiya’s face contorted as if she felt humiliated.

Doing something that would draw attention in a place like this ballroom was far from Cedric’s usual nature.

However, right now he wanted to do just that.

“I don’t really want to stand out.”

Artizea whispered in a low voice. Cedric replied.

“You’re already standing out. It’s fine, Lady Marquess Rosan. The Duke of Evron would make quite a decent ornament.”

“…”

Artizea couldn’t respond to that.

Because she realized that Cedric had already noticed that her attire was quite inadequate for this ball, and that she was being looked down upon.

She had thought he was someone indifferent to such matters.

She felt a renewed sense of shame about her position as a woman.

“Come now.”

Cedric urged her.

Being asked to dance by a man was extremely unfamiliar to Artizea. It was even more so because her partner was Cedric.

Taking his hand for reasons other than greeting required some courage.

Artizea couldn’t understand why she was so nervous.

“You might get your feet stepped on. I’m not very good at dancing.”

“Then let’s agree to forgive each other generously and pretend not to notice even if we step on each other’s feet. I’m also bad at dancing.”

Cedric said this as he pulled her hand toward him.

His arm wrapped around her waist. Artizea tensed up completely.

Despite saying he couldn’t dance, Cedric led her to the music as if gliding on water and stepped into the center of the ballroom.

Exclamations burst out from around them.

Several couples made way for them, and some stopped dancing altogether to watch them.

Artizea thought the hall felt as if it were completely empty.

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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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