The Villainess Lives Twice - Chapter 221

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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 221

The carriage came to a stop.

On the way from the port to the capital, the King of Eimel had kept his eyes closed the entire time. He didn’t want to reveal that he was agitated.

So it was only when the servant opened the door that he realized where he had arrived.

“Weren’t we going to the Imperial Palace?”

The King of Eimel asked in a sunken voice.

The servant who was extending his hand to escort him replied respectfully.

“Since you won’t be staying for just a short period, this will be more comfortable for you.”

The King of Eimel frowned at those words.

From summoning a foreign king and then matter-of-factly saying he would stay long-term, to not preparing quarters in the Imperial Palace’s guest hall, it was all treatment that disrespected him.

Even though Emperor Gregor had sent servants and royal guards to maintain courtesy, it was only for appearances.

However, the king had no way to resist. This was the heart of the Empire.

“Please go inside. After you recover from your travel fatigue, you will have an audience with His Majesty the Emperor.”

“Hmm.”

The king groaned briefly and got out of the carriage.

The manor’s splendor provided some comfort to his heart. As if noticing his feelings, the servant said,

“This is the manor where His Majesty stayed before being crowned as Crown Prince. It was once called the Spring Palace.”

“I see.”

Thinking about it again, being here might be better than being in the Imperial Palace with many prying eyes.

Moreover, in the Imperial Palace, he would have to bow and deal with people he should greet.

While he might respect the Empress as she was a lady, he would have to bow his head to the Emperor daily.

That was already distasteful, and realistically, people like Duke Loigar and Duke of Evron couldn’t be considered lower than himself either.

Even if they showed respect outwardly, they would never truly feel that way inside.

The reason he was here was because Emperor Gregor and Cadriole’s interests had aligned.

The Emperor wanted to restore his damaged dignity by keeping the King of Eimel in the Empire’s capital.

Cadriole wanted to obtain royal power without staining his hands with his father’s blood.

For now, he had completely seized control of the kingdom’s military forces and made the nobles compliant. The king was under house arrest.

However, the very fact that the king was alive and healthy within the Kingdom of Eimel was itself a risk factor.

If the former king remained alive and well, the royal authority would eventually split in two. Someday, those who would follow him and oppose Cadriole would emerge.

“You bastard, no matter how much Cratese is an empire, they cannot demand that a foreign king be sent! You intend to sell out the country!”

“Well, what can we do? The Empire is a great power, and we are a small nation. Even if we’re somewhat strong in the Southern Sea, if the Empire decides to pressure us, no country in any direction will trade with our nation.”

There was no country that could grow without the Empire’s goods. For the small nations of the Southern Sea that couldn’t survive without interaction with neighboring countries, severing relations would be fatal.

If that happened, within less than two years, there would be countless deaths from starvation.

“The military force and financial power that Your Majesty has wielded over the past few years all came from stealing a portion of the Empire’s salt business. You seem to have forgotten. Otherwise, you wouldn’t think you could stand against the owner of that salt.”

The King of Eimel trembled with rage. However, his rebuttal was only something like this:

“Even if the Imperial Emperor says so, the fact that you are disloyal remains the same.”

“I am still trying to preserve Your Majesty’s honor.”

“Honor?”

“Your Majesty’s going to the Empire is entirely for the purpose of explanation, not as a criminal. The Empire has also promised to treat Your Majesty with courtesy.”

“Cadriole…!”

“Didn’t you like luxurious things? And you didn’t particularly enjoy governing the state either.”

“How dare you, how dare you…!”

“The Empire’s capital is incomparably more splendid than Eimel, so go without any worries and live as extravagantly as you wish. I will send you plenty of personal funds so you won’t feel any lack in your lifestyle.”

Cadriole smiled as he bowed his head and brought his face close to the king while speaking. It was no longer the face of a son.

“Wouldn’t it be better to become a tragic king defeated by a great power rather than becoming a king who kills his son or dies by his son’s hand?”

And so he was loaded onto a ship bound for the Empire’s capital.

As Cadriole had said, the courtesy was sufficient. On the surface, it was the King of Eimel visiting the capital of the Cratese Empire.

However, he would be detained here. After a year or two, they would demand he write an abdication edict citing the political vacuum in the Kingdom of Eimel.

Cadriole had said he would make him a tragic king crushed by the Empire’s pressure, but in reality, it would mean that Cadriole himself hadn’t driven out his father, but had ascended to the throne unavoidably because of the Empire.

And Emperor Gregor’s status had risen regardless of whether he received criticism or not.

‘Hmph, do you think it will stay that way forever?’

The king thought to himself.

The servant guided him and showed him a large hall that could host a ball, a spacious drawing room, a dignified study, and a large dressing room.

The manor was satisfactory. Though small in size, its quality was actually better than the Eimel Royal Palace. The king honestly acknowledged this.

“We have arranged for a cook and gardener. If you have brought anyone with you, we will have them step aside.”

“No, that’s fine as it is.”

There was no guarantee that a cook brought from Eimel would be trustworthy. The cook that Emperor Gregor had arranged might actually be better.

After all, it would be awkward for them if he died immediately upon arriving in the Empire.

There was something more important than that.

“Since I’ve come all the way to the Empire’s capital, I should contact those I have connections with.”

The king said this.

He was thinking of making contact with Duke Loigar first.

However, the servant said with a gentle and obedient face,

“You will have an audience with His Majesty the Emperor in two days. Please rest well until then. You must be tired from the long journey.”

The king couldn’t control his expression and his face hardened.

However, even though the servant must have noticed, he didn’t change his expression or apologize.

“We have prepared heated water from hot springs in the bathroom. His Majesty has sent a masseur as well. After you bathe first, we will prepare your meal. Shall we prepare it Eimel-style?”

“…Very well.”

The king finally realized that he was a prisoner.

* * *

A single candle flickered in the dark attic.

Countess Camellia sat on the dusty old bed, lost in thought with her gaze fixed beneath the candlestick.

The King of Eimel had been moved from the port to the manor under the strict escort of the royal guards. There had been no opportunity for contact with outsiders, and the same was true of the manor now.

However, they couldn’t prevent the news of his arrival.

‘I’ve made excuses as much as possible by releasing the agreement in advance. There’s no other way I can handle this beyond this point.’

She planned to hold out like this and wait for the incident to pass.

If she were to cause any trouble, it would be after the aftermath had passed. She would first assassinate Leticia, then either trap the House of Evron in a conspiracy or something similar.

But if the King of Eimel started babbling unnecessary things, everything would be for nothing.

‘Surely he won’t blabber things that are disadvantageous to himself as well.’

However, the King of Eimel’s position was different from Duke Loigar’s.

Though he had been pushed out from his home country and came here, conversely, he would no longer face threats to his life.

Depending on what Emperor Gregor offered, he might even confess to things that never happened.

‘I must make contact by any means before the audience.’

Knock knock.

Someone knocked on the door.

“Mother, it’s me.”

It was Skyla calling from outside the door.

“Come in.”

Countess Camellia said.

Skyla opened the door and entered. She was holding a large candlestick with six candles in her hand.

The narrow attic became bright in an instant.

“Why are you alone in such a dark place? It’s cold and damp.”

“This place is good for thinking alone.”

Countess Camellia said in a sunken voice.

“How did you know I was here?”

“You weren’t anywhere, so I was looking for you, and great-grandmother told me to come up here.”

She was currently staying at the Marquess Luden house.

This was because Gannett had remained at the Marquess Ruden’s residence even after the memorial service ended. She wanted to comfort her mother’s grief and help organize her father’s belongings.

She seemed unaware that she was the person who grieved Marquess Ruden’s death the most.

And she believed that Countess Camellia’s staying at the Marquess Ruden’s residence was also for Gannett’s own sake.

This made Countess Camellia feel complicated.

Her staying by Gannett’s side was not purely to comfort and support her, but to prevent anyone from whispering unnecessary words about Marquess Ruden’s death into Gannett’s ears.

“Do you regret it?”

Skyla sat on the floor in front of the Countess and asked. Countess Camellia looked down at Skyla for a moment, then realized that she already knew about Marquess Ruden’s assassination.

“What’s done is done.”

“It may have been a strategic failure, but you didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Killing someone is wrong, Skyla.”

Countess Camellia said in a sunken voice.

“Especially since it had no strategic meaning.”

“If Mother hadn’t done it, I would have done it someday.”

Of course, the revenge Skyla dreamed of was not one that would end as an accidental death.

What she wanted was for Marquess Ruden to be driven to some distant countryside, digging dirt and plowing fields alongside those he so despised, barely surviving on a tenth of the harvest before dying alone.

“Perhaps it might have been for the best.”

“For the best?”

“Since grandfather is gone, there’s no one with ambition left in the Marquess Ruden’s house.”

“So?”

“Divorce aunt.”

Skyla took a deep breath and said.

“You know, don’t you? The situation became too difficult because Lady Leticia was born.”

“…”

“If we endure this incident, will an opportunity come? Even if we assassinate the Lady to buy time, it’s the same. Have you forgotten what happened during Archbishop Akim’s time? His Majesty the Emperor will use that as an excuse to frame Mother and uncle for treason.”

“Skyla…”

“Or would it be possible to assassinate both Evron and the Lady? With the Prince’s Consort standing firm?”

Skyla said.

“In the end, this is a matter of His Majesty the Emperor’s heart. And His Majesty will not make uncle his successor. Even more so after this incident.”

“Ah…”

Countess Camellia couldn’t help but sigh. It was a problem she had thought about herself.

“It’s not too late yet, Mother. Everyone knows that aunt hasn’t been involved in politics. Even now, divorce aunt and negotiate with the Duchess of Evron. There may be humiliating conditions attached, but that’s the only way our family and the Marquess Ruden’s house can survive.”

Skyla grasped her hands tightly with her own and spoke earnestly.

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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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