The Villainess Lives Twice - Chapter 145

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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 145

 

Cedric rushed all the way to the duke’s residence.

 

It wasn’t even that far from the Prime Minister’s residence, but he had never felt so frustrated. Even the presence of people on the street was enough to anger him.

 

When he burst into the duke’s residence, the employees were startled.

 

Cedric paused in the lobby. Then he took a deep breath. Hurrying wouldn’t change anything.

 

A servant was waiting with water for washing hands and a towel. Cedric washed his hands and wiped his face.

 

He hoped his face was maintaining its composure.

 

Ansgard looked at him with an anxious expression.

 

“What’s wrong? Did something bad happen to Tia? Has her condition worsened?”

 

“No. According to the doctor, she improved remarkably overnight. Her complexion has recovered so much that not eating anything while sleeping isn’t even a problem…”

 

“But?”

 

“Well, right now, she seems to be crying.”

 

Ansgard said with great bewilderment.

 

They couldn’t tell what conversation was happening beyond the closed door, but the sound of crying could definitely be heard.

 

All the employees had only ever seen Artizea’s smiling face and dignified mistress demeanor. So they didn’t know what to do.

 

Ansgard had seen her shed tears on the first day she came to this house.

 

But even then, despite her bruised and battered wretched face, Artizea had not abandoned her noble bearing.

 

The doctor said, not knowing what to do.

 

“She seems not to have known she was pregnant.”

 

“…I see.”

 

“She seems to have thought herself barren…, so she appears to be in shock.”

 

The doctor said this carefully.

 

Cedric nodded that he understood and took off his dust-covered outer garment. Ansgard took the clothes.

 

When he entered Artizea’s drawing room, Marcus, who had been standing in front of the door, jumped toward Cedric. Sophie was also half-crying.

 

Lisia and Alphonse were also there with worried faces, then bowed with relieved expressions upon seeing Cedric.

 

Knock knock.

 

Cedric knocked on the door.

 

And without waiting for an answer, he opened the door. He didn’t want Artizea to prepare herself fully to greet him.

 

Even if Artizea armored herself against everyone else in this world, she shouldn’t do so with him.

 

“Hic!”

 

At the sound of the door opening, Artizea was startled and hiccupped.

 

Alice was embracing Artizea protectively and looking toward the door.

 

Cedric stepped into the room. Then he reached behind him to close the door.

 

“Lord Cedric, h-how…?”

 

Artizea looked at him with disbelieving eyes. The color drained from her tear-stained face.

 

“I returned the day you collapsed. It wasn’t intentionally timed, though.”

 

Artizea looked at Alice in confusion. Alice answered in a small voice.

 

“That’s right.”

 

“H-how come?”

 

“The work at Told Gate is certainly a lifelong endeavor, but it’s not more important than you.”

 

Cedric answered in a quiet voice.

 

Artizea’s body, which had been rigid with surprise, began to tremble.

 

Alice held her hand. Cedric said.

 

“Alice, I can’t say your concern is less than mine, but I’d like you to step aside for a moment.”

 

If Cedric had been even slightly forceful, Alice would not have left Artizea’s side.

 

But he moved politely and very quietly.

 

Artizea tightened her grip on Alice’s arm.

 

Alice gently pushed that hand away, bowed respectfully to Cedric, and withdrew.

 

Cedric approached the bedside.

 

Artizea flinched in surprise and scooted backward as if to flee. But she quickly reached the edge of the bed.

 

Before she could fall off the bed, Cedric pulled her waist and held her in his arms.

 

Artizea pushed him away, completely terrified. Cedric forcibly held the struggling her and gently patted her back.

 

Artizea’s hiccupping finally stopped.

 

There was so much to talk about. So much to tell her, so much to ask, and he had to scold her too.

 

The first thing he had made her promise was not to hurt herself, but Artizea still wasn’t keeping even that.

 

“Have you had water since waking up?”

 

Artizea couldn’t answer and only nodded.

 

Cedric let her rest her head against his chest and gently stroked the back of her head.

 

“They say you need to eat well and rest.”

 

“Th-that… I’ll try… to do.”

 

Artizea stammered.

 

She didn’t know what to say. She didn’t want to talk about the child.

 

But Cedric would already know. Since the doctor knew, everyone in the House of Evron would know.

 

She was too afraid of what he might say. She was scared of both rejoicing and saying she didn’t want it.

 

But before saying his own words, Cedric first asked Artizea.

 

“Are you afraid of the child?”

 

Artizea’s body stiffened.

 

Knowing she wouldn’t even try to run away anymore, Cedric gently laid her down on the bed.

 

Then he wiped her tear-wet eyes with his thumb and pressed his lips to her forehead.

 

“You don’t have to give birth. If you don’t want to.”

 

“Ugh…!”

 

Artizea’s body trembled convulsively. Cedric stroked her forehead.

 

For the past two nights, he hadn’t slept a wink, thinking countless times about the possibility that Artizea might have taken medicine even knowing she was pregnant.

 

He had even thought that perhaps she had done it intending to get rid of the child.

 

If she was going to miscarry anyway, she might have made it part of her scheme, finding the moment that would achieve optimal efficiency.

 

Cedric suspected that Artizea had set a goal.

 

That goal was neither the purpose attached to the two-year deadline she had proposed when they first married, nor the day he would be crowned.

 

When she thought the situation could no longer be reversed, or when she thought she could no longer contribute to Cedric’s power, she would leave.

 

So he thought she might view the child as an obstacle to her plans.

 

Perhaps even their relationship as man and woman was just something that happened temporarily in the heat of the moment, and she might not want to create bonds like starting a family or having children.

 

But he was relieved it wasn’t that.

 

Artizea was just afraid.

 

“You have a weak body, you’re still young, and I know well that giving birth itself could be dangerous. If a child is born, it would certainly make it difficult for you to move freely.”

 

Something seemed to wash away inside Cedric’s chest.

 

Even when he thought she might have deliberately taken medicine, he had already decided.

 

Whether she gave birth or not, he would leave it to Artizea’s choice.

 

Yet he had been deeply troubled.

 

But now it was okay. If this was a decision she made while crying like this, he could accept it.

 

“Even if you tried to get rid of the child, I think that would be understandable. If you don’t want it, you don’t have to give birth.”

 

When Cedric said that, this time Artizea hesitated.

 

She hadn’t expected to hear such words.

 

But what spread through her heart wasn’t relief. Anxiety and fear spread through her blood vessels, making her hands and feet tremble.

 

Perhaps Cedric too hadn’t thought as far as having a child.

 

He might have thought it impossible. Wasn’t she Milaire’s granddaughter and Lawrence’s niece?

 

Her thoughts couldn’t even reach the fact that Cedric wasn’t that kind of person.

 

Artizea thought frantically. But nothing led to proper thoughts.

 

As if knowing that all kinds of thoughts were churning in her head, Cedric placed his hand over Artizea’s eyes. It was the same gesture as that first night they became one.

 

“But if it’s not that you dislike my child itself.”

 

Then, as now, having her eyes covered made Artizea feel strange.

 

Just having her eyes covered made her feel as if she was being cut off from the world.

 

Cedric’s hands were large and warm, damp with her tears. That touch melted away everything that filled Artizea’s mind.

 

“Then let’s have the child.”

 

“But, but, what if something goes wrong? I, I, don’t have confidence I can raise it properly. *sob*…”

 

“I will raise the child well.”

 

“Or what if it resembles me, or Mother, or my brother, or even my biological father, what if I pass on such blood.”

 

Artizea continued speaking in gasps, her words broken.

 

She couldn’t even tell if what she was saying formed proper sentences. It felt like the words surging from her chest were flowing out directly without passing through her head.

 

“You seem to be forgetting that imperial blood runs through my veins.”

 

“That’s…”

 

“If you’re going to talk about bad blood, that would be the worst. Don’t you know well how the Imperial Palace has washed blood with blood?”

 

“Cedric, sir.”

 

“Tia, you weren’t born with bad blood. It’s just that no one ever taught you the right path.”

 

Cedric spoke gently. Then he leaned toward Artizea and said tenderly.

 

“I’m scared too.”

 

Artizea drew in a breath.

 

“I can’t even remember my parents’ faces. Instead of leaving that child a good world, I might just leave behind a pile of burdens.”

 

“…That can’t be.”

 

“If we’re unlucky, both you and I could be purged, leaving the child alone. Just like what happened to me. His Majesty the Emperor knows very well how to find the limits of what a person can endure.”

 

Artizea couldn’t deny those words.

 

“But I still want it. Just as you became my wife, this child is on the path that you and I must walk together.”

 

Artizea moaned.

 

“…But still, it can’t be. How could I, how could I?”

 

No matter what, how could she possibly bear Cedric’s child?

 

If it were just a child born between Cedric and herself, that would be fine.

 

But if born, this child would become the eldest son of the House of Evron, born of a legitimate marriage. The child would unconditionally be the heir.

 

Cedric wiped around her eyes again with his palm.

 

“If you cry like this, you’ll become dehydrated.”

 

“No, I can’t.”

 

Artizea mumbled a few meaningless words.

 

Cedric pulled her into his arms again, burying her face in his shoulder.

 

“You don’t have to decide right now.”

 

“But, but…”

 

“Don’t think about anything. We’ll think about it together later. Understand?”

 

He said while comforting her.

 

What meaning could those words have, Artizea thought. Cedric being by her side was what frightened her most right now.

 

But as he patted her soothingly, the remaining thoughts in her mind melted away. Now she couldn’t even remember why she had started crying.

 

Artizea wailed freely in his embrace. And at some point, she fell fast asleep.

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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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