The Villainess Lives Twice - Chapter 208

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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 208

A welcome ball was held at the royal palace of Eimel.

Thousands of candles brightly illuminated the ballroom. Rather than crystals or jewels, fresh flowers as large as fists decorated the hall magnificently.

The attendees were all dressed as splendidly as southern flowers. The men were no exception.

Gannett was somewhat surprised.

Not much time had passed since the national mourning ended. The fact that a welcome ball was being held at all was rather unexpected.

But she hadn’t expected the decorations to be this elaborate.

The entire diplomatic mission was dressed in modest clothing of achromatic colors.

After all, they were in the position of mourning guests.

Duke Loigar’s formal wear had no decorations or embroidery. Even the buttons were made of unpolished silver.

Gannett herself wore a low-saturation purple dress. It had no ruffles, no jewels, and no revealing cuts. Though it was high-quality, she had deliberately chosen non-flashy fabric and had it specially tailored.

She wore not even a single necklace around her neck.

‘If I had known it would be like this, I should have made Skyla wear that red dress after all. That one was the prettiest.’

Gannett felt regretful.

She had recommended that Skyla alone wear a bright dress.

“I couldn’t do that, Aunt. This is a diplomatic occasion. We’re supposed to look like mourning guests, so I can’t be the only one standing out.”

“A young lady without a fiancé doesn’t need to worry about such things. The national mourning is already over, which is why they’re holding a ball.”

“Aunt, you’re not seriously thinking of pairing me with the prince, are you?”

Skyla spoke with such a serious expression that Gannett laughed.

“That’s ridiculous. I have no intention of leaving the capital.”

“You don’t need to think about it so seriously, do you? I’m not necessarily talking about Prince Cardriole. Who knows? In the capital, you always see the same faces, and you have many things to worry about, but what if you meet a truly wonderful man here?”

“Aunt.”

“What if you regret not dressing up when that time comes?”

Gannett spoke sincerely.

“Since you can’t do these things after getting engaged and married, you should experience plenty of romance beforehand.”

“I’m not interested in men.”

Though Skyla said this, Gannett stubbornly placed a pink sapphire around her neck.

Even so, she seemed too modest and likely to fade into the background among all this.

“What are you thinking about?”

Duke Loigar asked in a low voice.

Gannett smiled and said.

“I was thinking how splendid everyone looks. I dressed up Skyla, but if I had known the guests would be this elaborate, I should have done it properly.”

Just then, the King of Eimel, the host of the banquet, made his appearance.

The King also wore white formal attire decorated with gold and jewels. Compared to him, Cadriole following behind in dark navy clothing looked like nothing more than a servant.

Duke Loigar bowed his head respectfully. Gannett also curtsied gracefully, bending her knees halfway.

The diplomatic mission followed, bowing their heads in unison.

“I intended to welcome guests who came from afar, but I wonder if I’ve made you uncomfortable instead.”

“Not at all. Thank you for your hospitality.”

The King extended his hand. Gannett placed her hand upon his.

The King smiled at Duke Loigar.

“You must feel reluctant to lend me the hand of such a beautiful wife.”

“Actually, I do. I’m making a special exception for you.”

Duke Loigar answered with a hearty laugh. Gannett covered her mouth with her hand and laughed.

“If only I had a daughter, but it’s regrettable that I only have this dark-skinned son.”

Even receiving the King’s gaze, Cadriole’s smiling face didn’t move a muscle.

The King led Gannett’s hand toward the stairs below. A servant shouted.

“His Majesty the King and Her Highness Princess Consort Loigar are entering!”

All the attendees in the hall knelt and bowed in unison.

Cadriole and Duke Loigar courteously gestured for each other to go first. Duke Loigar, being the guest, stepped down the stairs first.

Cadriole fidgeted with his sleeves. Several servants gave him meaningful looks.

It wasn’t time yet. Cadriole shook his head.

Skyla, who had no interest in dancing, was conversing by the tea cozy next to the table.

“His Majesty the King and Her Highness Princess Consort Loigar are entering!”

She turned her gaze at the sound of the announcement.

Gannett was descending with dignified bearing, holding the hand of the King of Eimel.

Despite her long dress train, there was no unsteadiness in her steps down the stairs. Her steps were light as if she were waltzing, yet nothing violated proper etiquette.

It seemed as if she had practiced nothing but that her entire life. And that was, to some extent, true.

Quite a few ladies practice walking briskly without stepping on their dress trains from childhood.

Skyla had practiced too. This was also due to the contradictory psychology that Countess Camellia possessed.

She hoped Skyla would become someone who didn’t need to do such things.

But at the same time, she wanted her to learn everything she herself had never been able to learn.

This included acquiring the dignified bearing of a lady from an eastern noble family.

‘Sigh…’

Gannett had the same contradictions.

Gannett sometimes said she envied Skyla. Sometimes it meant she envied her for being Countess Camellia’s daughter, and sometimes it meant she envied her for seeming free.

Both were difficult for Skyla to understand.

If she envied her for seeming free, then why did she stubbornly insist on dressing her in beautiful clothes and wanting her to dance with men?

‘Even Baroness Weave was encouraging it.’

Of course, Baroness Weave wasn’t doing this to make Skyla beautiful.

A maid couldn’t dress more elaborately than her mistress and serve her. So Baroness Weave was keeping Skyla in check.

Having lost the opportunity, she didn’t feel entirely comfortable.

Inducing Gannett to make mistakes was a heavy matter for her heart.

But she was frustrated in her own way when Gannett didn’t move even with subtle encouragement.

It was the same when she arranged the meeting with Pellona, Merchant Guild Master.

“I understand the guild master’s words that Countess Lexen didn’t act on behalf of the Kingdom of Ients.”

After hearing everything Pellona, Merchant Guild Master had to say, Gannett answered calmly.

“However, determining the truth is not something I can do. I’ll arrange for you to meet my husband.”

Thus, Pellona, Merchant Guild Master, gained the opportunity to secretly meet with Duke Loigar at Gannett’s quarters.

Skyla had thought Gannett would be more shaken.

The suspicion about whether Duke Loigar was the one who sent Deary Ford to the Kingdom of Ients couldn’t have been completely washed away.

Hadn’t she followed him all the way here?

But in the end, she decided to suppress that and trust her husband. At least outwardly.

After that, Gannett had spoken just once. She was lying flat on the bed, eyes closed as if tired.

“I seem foolish, don’t I?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re a clever and sharp child. I must seem frustrating and foolish to you. Thinking that if my husband cheated, I should just divorce him.”

Skyla couldn’t answer hastily.

“…I know well that you can’t do that.”

Too much was entangled through their political marriage.

Property, heirs, things so significant that such matters seemed trivial were intertwined. The union of Duke and Duchess Loigar was different even from ordinary political marriages between great nobles.

If the relationship between the Marquess Ruden family and Duke Loigar split, Duke Loigar’s control over the entire faction would weaken.

Then he would easily become prey for the Emperor.

Even if he achieved victory, Duke Loigar would become a puppet, and after that, it would become a war among the meritorious subjects.

The Marquess Ruden family would certainly be the first to be attacked and torn to pieces.

But what Gannett said with her eyes closed wasn’t about such things.

“Father aside, it can’t be helped. He’s my husband, and we have children. There’s also mother…”

“Aunt…”

“I have no choice but to pretend it never happened. To trust him. Since he didn’t really cheat, I should forgive him once and move on. He’s been treating me better than before.”

Because she can’t continue living unhappily.

Gannett added in a very small voice.

But in Skyla’s eyes, Gannett already looked unhappy. Though it was the first time she had felt that way.

“Still, I feel sorry for that person.”

Skyla couldn’t fully understand the remorse Gannett spoke of.

But she thought she could understand about half of why Countess Camellia had killed Deary Ford’s sister.

Skyla thought Artizea had made a mistake in her planning.

If the name Ford hadn’t been entangled in this matter, it might have succeeded. Gannett might have wanted to possess something greater while forgetting the past.

But now Gannett had become aware of her unhappiness. So she wouldn’t do anything.

Because she was afraid that even what she was holding now might melt away like snow.

Following them here was simply due to anxiety. Even if she could become empress, that wasn’t particularly something Gannett desired.

When Duke Loigar relented and said she could come along, all of Gannett’s purposes had been achieved.

Confirming that Duke Loigar would listen to her wishes, proving to those around them that they were husband and wife by accompanying him to an important occasion, and receiving a feeling of being respected.

The mission was a failure. What meaning would there be in further incitement?

While thinking such thoughts, Skyla raised her eyes.

Several noblewomen had opened their fans and approached closely.

“Why are you standing here so lonely by yourself? You’re not even dancing.”

“This is our gentlemen’s fault. We should scold them. Leaving such a young and pretty lady standing by the table.”

“I don’t really like dancing much.”

Skyla said calmly.

Whether they were speaking out of goodwill or trying to engage in a battle of wits, she didn’t feel they were worth dealing with. She had no intention of managing her reputation either.

This was a foreign country anyway. Besides, she wasn’t on the marriage market.

The noblewomen’s faces reddened as if they had been snubbed.

Skyla wasn’t paying much attention to them and was looking around when she realized something.

Several men were moving outside the ballroom. They were men in ambiguous attire where it was unclear whether they were attendees or not.

‘What is this?’

Skyla was startled.

She hurriedly headed toward Gannett. Someone blocked her path.

“Excuse me.”

“Prince Cardriole.”

Skyla hastily bent her knee and bowed.

Cardriole scratched the tip of his nose. His attitude showed he didn’t think he had committed any rudeness at all. It was clear that blocking her path had been intentional from the start.

“Hmm. So you’re Camellia, Countess.”

It didn’t seem like he had known who she was from the beginning when he blocked her path.

Cardriole didn’t hide his troubled expression as he glanced around the ballroom.

Skyla became anxious. But Cardriole suddenly extended his hand.

“Shall we dance at least one song?”

“I’m sorry. I need to go see Her Highness.”

“I heard rumors that you’re talented, so I don’t think you could have failed to understand this meaning.”

Cardriole waved his extended hand.

Skyla looked up at him with a pale face.

She could guess what was about to happen. Cardriole was undoubtedly trying to detain her in a moderate way until then.

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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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