The Villainess Lives Twice - Chapter 156

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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 156

 

Amelie had already made up her mind that there was no one better than Cedric as the next emperor.

 

However, she was anxious.

 

Although the Emperor had been playing Lawrence and Duke Loigar against each other, deep down he had been considering Lawrence as his successor. The Emperor’s subjects knew this well.

 

But given his nature, she thought he would never share power even with his own son.

 

Milaire and Lawrence had long wanted to be involved in state affairs and gain their proper positions.

 

Nevertheless, the Emperor did not allow it. He wanted to receive loyalty and love from his children by using power and inheritance as leverage.

 

He was the type of person who would only let go of the imperial seal when he was lying on his deathbed.

 

Amelie calculated that when that time came, Duke Loigar, who had built his own power base, or Cedric, who had high prestige and could gain support from officials and people from now on, would have an overwhelming advantage.

 

The older and weaker the Emperor became, the weaker imperial authority would become. And that also meant Lawrence’s power, which was backed by the Emperor’s favor, would weaken.

 

But if the Emperor was going to start the process of transferring power with abdication in mind from now on, that was a different problem.

 

The Emperor was still healthy and his authority was supreme. Even after going through this incident, he was not shaken in the slightest.

 

Amelie did not dare to oppose that. It wasn’t just Amelie—most of the Emperor’s subjects felt the same way.

 

Artizea asked with curiosity.

 

“Didn’t you think it would be like this?”

 

“I didn’t. Isn’t the timing too early?”

 

Even if it was just preliminary groundwork, it was too early.

 

It was something that should be started at least a year later, after the aftermath of this incident had subsided.

 

Even when he was the beloved son of the Emperor’s mistress, Lawrence was still an illegitimate child. His reputation wasn’t that high either.

 

But now he was the son of an excommunicated person sentenced to lifelong exile. This was beyond a disqualification—it was a fatal blow.

 

Was there a reason to start preparing for succession at this point?

 

Artizea smiled faintly. Honestly, she was much more comfortable with this kind of conversation than receiving congratulations on her pregnancy.

 

“Thinking differently, if not now, it would be impossible to do.”

 

“Why is that?”

 

“Because the Church can’t speak loudly due to being involved in treason.”

 

That was true.

 

Amelie nodded in agreement.

 

Artizea continued, pointing out each point.

 

“It’s the same for Duke Loigar’s side. The Imperial Guard thoroughly searched Archbishop Akim’s quarters.”

 

Artizea didn’t know whether the Imperial Guard had found evidence that Archbishop Akim and Duke Loigar had conspired together.

 

Duke Loigar was in the same situation. He didn’t know what the Emperor knew, whether there was evidence, or whether evidence could be fabricated.

 

So he wouldn’t be able to move for a while.

 

Having one’s weakness exposed was frightening, but not knowing what the other party knew about oneself was equally threatening.

 

“Public opinion has also become quite calm. Mother was punished coldly.”

 

Of course, there were those who argued that the punishment alone was not sufficient.

 

However, many secretly thought that even that much was tremendous. Wasn’t she the Emperor’s beloved mistress and the Grand Duchess of Marquess Rosan?

 

Rather, there were quite a few who evaluated that the Emperor had judged fairly and coldly.

 

The Emperor’s authority was not shaken in the slightest.

 

“You must have judged that there were no problems with Her Majesty the Empress either.”

 

Originally, the Empress would have been able to exercise half the rights regarding this matter.

 

But now there were descendants of the Viscount Pesher family. The Empress’s old friends had also emerged from hiding and shown themselves.

 

Thinking long-term, there were sufficient factors for the Empress to accept the deal.

 

“While there’s no reason not to do it, there are more than enough reasons why it must be done. Even if public opinion is somewhat unfavorable, you must have judged that pushing forward now would be best. Anyway, even if we start now, Lawrence’s triumph ceremony won’t be for another year or two.”

 

By then, the public opinion criticizing Milaire would have cooled down.

 

“Even while saying all that, Your Highness seems to regard it as not very significant.”

 

“All of this is logic developed on the premise that His Majesty loves Lawrence and has decided to make him his successor. Count Harper must have thought this way too.”

 

“Does Your Highness think otherwise?”

 

Amelie looked at Artizea with an interested expression.

 

Artizea said calmly.

 

“If His Majesty’s determination was that firm, he would have eliminated Her Majesty the Empress long ago and married Mother to solve the legitimacy problem.”

 

“That’s not something that can be said so simply. I’m sorry to say this since she’s Your Highness’s mother, but she wasn’t someone suited for the position of Empress.”

 

“Then there was also the option of placing another woman on the throne and adopting Lawrence as her son. Why didn’t he do that?”

 

Amelie couldn’t answer readily and fell into thought for a moment.

 

Certainly, if he had wanted to make Lawrence his successor, that would have been much less politically burdensome.

 

Artizea said.

 

“People act according to their hearts. Rational judgment is much less important than that.”

 

“Are you saying that His Majesty didn’t give legitimacy until now because he didn’t have the heart to do so?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“I cannot agree. His Majesty’s heart was certainly with Lord Lawrence. Even more so after Duke Loigar married into the Marquess Luden family.”

 

“Everyone is panicking like this because they didn’t think he would take concrete action.”

 

“I cannot help but agree with that statement.”

 

“His Majesty seemed to think he was forming a family with Mother and my brother. That wasn’t choosing my brother as a son, but choosing Mother as a wife.”

 

“That’s true, but…”

 

“Yet instead of marrying Mother, he used her for other purposes.”

 

Milaire, who was approachable and emotional, was an easy person to use.

 

Nobles and wealthy people who wanted something from the Emperor gathered around Milaire like hyenas.

 

The Emperor would whimsically distribute power and wealth on the grounds that Milaire wanted it.

 

Conversely, there were often cases where he would confiscate property or take heads overnight for making Milaire sad.

 

Milaire was one of the strategies the Emperor used to divide or unite the nobles and control them as he wished.

 

Of course, Amelie knew this well too.

 

Artizea spoke in a voice so cold it was hard to believe she was talking about her own blood relatives.

 

“Now, here’s an interesting question. Between Mother and Lawrence, which one did His Majesty love more?”

 

Amelie couldn’t answer easily this time either.

 

Regarding the Emperor’s family relationships, she had considered political issues. But she had rarely thought about the Emperor’s emotional issues.

 

However, by this point, Amelie could understand.

 

The Emperor loved Lawrence, but he loved him a little more than his other children because he was Milaire’s son.

 

Would the Emperor, who had harshly used even that Milaire, really think differently about Lawrence alone?

 

Even though marriage would have been much easier, he kept Milaire as his mistress for life. Because that was more suitable for his purposes.

 

But would he really try to transfer power to Lawrence? When it wasn’t even an unavoidable situation?

 

“But His Majesty has actually decided to make Lord Lawrence the Crown Prince.”

 

“Yes, for now.”

 

“For now…”

 

Amelie pondered Artizea’s response.

 

“If you look at it as a matter of the heart rather than politics, the situation becomes quite simple. His Majesty wants to ease his guilt right now.”

 

“Guilt about… the Grand Duchess?”

 

“Has there been anything else recently that could greatly change His Majesty’s heart?”

 

“Certainly… there hasn’t.”

 

“Then that must be the only reason.”

 

This was something Amelie had never even considered.

 

Artizea said matter-of-factly.

 

“Deciding to abandon Mother was the result of a cold judgment. But whatever the reason, His Majesty abandoned a woman he had lived with for 25 years without even attempting to protect her.”

 

“That’s right.”

 

“His Majesty would want to make excuses for that.”

 

“Since His Highness the Prince took responsibility, His Majesty was able to escape from that.”

 

“That’s external. Separately from that, His Majesty needs to make excuses to his own heart. He knows exactly what he did.”

 

“Hmm.”

 

Amelie swallowed a thoughtful sound.

 

Artizea smiled.

 

“Count Harper seems to be someone with few regrets. But didn’t His Majesty the Emperor say that to Lawrence? That Mother could only live if my brother did well.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“There are few excuses in this world as good as saying you did it for your child.”

 

The Emperor regrets that he couldn’t do anything for Milaire, and he must pay the debt of his heart with that guilt.

 

Though Lawrence wronged Milaire, the Emperor will support Lawrence as much as he feels sorry toward Milaire.

 

“His Majesty is contradictory. He likes obedient people, but at the same time, he despises incompetent fools who can only follow his orders.”

 

“That’s true.”

 

Amelie smiled bitterly. No one knew this better than the Emperor’s subjects.

 

Artizea lowered her eyes and recalled things that were now gone.

 

The Emperor never loved those who were merely obedient. Just as he had loved Milaire, who came at him with claws bared.

 

He wanted obedience and loyalty from his son, but at the same time, he wanted his son to step beyond his control and gain power with his own hands.

 

Perhaps it was because this made him feel his son resembled him.

 

Artizea vividly remembered how pleased the Emperor had been when she manipulated the oracle to create legitimacy for Lawrence.

 

He didn’t want to pass power to his son. He said he would give it when the time came, so wait.

 

But at the same time, he wanted his son not to wait but to step forward and take it himself.

 

Only after Lawrence created legitimacy for himself without waiting for the Emperor’s will did he finally acknowledge him as his true son.

 

But would he really try to pass everything to Lawrence early and personally now?

 

That could never be his true intention. So his current will wouldn’t last long.

 

Those who lack for nothing tend to forget easily.

 

Once the Emperor finished justifying himself, the sense of debt would be forgotten and only emotions would remain.

 

With just one or two incidents to provoke him, the Emperor’s heart would change completely.

 

This was the last opportunity Lawrence could have, and also his greatest opportunity.

 

Conversely, if he failed even with such an opportunity, Lawrence would no longer be able to put his name in the succession struggle.

 

Artizea thought.

 

‘Rather, this is better for Lord Sedric. Because there will be a comparison.’

 

That comparison would be made as Prime Minister. It would also be made as cousins.

 

To compare person to person ultimately means viewing both sides as equal beings.

 

Lawrence was rising and falling in speculation as the Emperor’s successor.

 

So people would naturally compare Sedric to Lawrence as the next Emperor as well.

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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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