The Villainess Lives Twice - Chapter 224

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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 224

The aftermath of this treason incident, which erupted before the adultery scandal had even concluded, was like a tsunami.

Duke Loigar had falsely claimed to be Emperor and conspired with foreign nations. The attendants who accompanied the special envoy and handled practical affairs couldn’t have been unaware of this.

Therefore, all the attendants were implicated in treason. The families and merchant groups to which these attendants originally belonged were also involved.

This was no exaggeration to say it included everyone in Duke Loigar’s faction who had enough power to claim their share.

In other words, they were those who belonged to the faction opposing the Emperor and had accumulated enough wealth and power to make the Emperor feel burdened.

The Emperor did not wish to purge Duke Loigar. However, there was no reason to spare the nobles involved in this matter.

Treason was almost always a trump card.

The Emperor, who had driven his sister and brother-in-law to death on charges of treason to strengthen imperial authority in his early reign while the Empress Dowager was still alive, could not be ignorant of how to wield it.

However, if that had been done out of practical necessity at the time, this time the reasons were more about dignity and displeasure.

It was indeed presumptuous.

He could understand what Duke Loigar was thinking when he created such an agreement.

Though there had been many twists and turns, he had lived as the legally first-in-line heir to the throne for over 18 years.

He had started his political life as a check against the Empress, and now had grown to the point of openly showing resistance by gathering nobles around him.

If he didn’t have a grand vision of how he wanted to rule the Empire in the future, that would be even more problematic.

‘Lawrence said the same thing.’

The Emperor thought bitterly.

But that was one thing, and the fact that he dared to try to implement it while he was still very much alive and alert was another problem.

He hadn’t even entrusted him with regency, let alone declared him as his successor.

Even saying that he had succession rights could be considered impious.

So the Emperor deliberately refrained from making more public statements.

It was a time when political caution was necessary.

If he revealed his anger, he would not be able to achieve the results he desired.

However, he couldn’t signal his intention to cover it up either. The incident itself was too significant, and it wasn’t what the Emperor wanted.

The Emperor’s investigators and the Royal Guards moved swiftly.

Just those who were captured on their way home from that night’s banquet numbered in the dozens.

The attendants who had accompanied the special envoy were dragged in chains to the underground prison of the Imperial Palace.

The secret investigators compiled and submitted a list of the missing attendants.

Until now, even though they knew Duke Loigar was hiding the attendants, they couldn’t openly search for or arrest them.

However, this accusation made it possible to capture them all at once.

The Emperor’s secret organization had long since run out of meaningful work to do.

The last major operation they had undertaken was 18 years ago. It involved investigating the deaths of the Prince and Princess and entrapping the House of Duke Riagan.

Since then, they had continued to gather information and devise minor schemes.

However, imperial authority was already supreme. Even if there were those who inwardly opposed the Emperor, at most they only gathered around Duke Loigar.

Since the size of imperial authority and secret organizations was proportional, the organization continued to expand. Conversely, enemies disappeared.

Minor conspiracies and schemes existed everywhere. However, they became unable to respond swiftly. This was because the organization had become too bloated and its objectives had become unclear.

The organization members the Emperor had once trusted also disappeared one by one.

Among emperors with such organizations, many obsessively eliminated criticism and conspiracies directed at themselves.

However, Emperor Gregor prided himself on being wise. He was not deceived by the existence of enemies that the secret organization created for itself.

He balanced power and promoted checks between factions. He made all judgments himself.

This had continued for 18 years. The organization had fallen into complacency.

It only reacted to treason and crimes of impiety against the Emperor.

No matter what other information came in, they first examined whether it existed by the Emperor’s will.

Since the Emperor no longer had political enemies, the path to earning merit was already blocked.

They were also reluctant to appear incompetent by reporting matters the Emperor might already know about or had intentionally left alone for his own reasons.

This was why Artizea could focus on expanding her organization’s size without being cautious when establishing organizations in the capital and the south.

If the Emperor’s secret organization only reacted mechanically to specific keywords, one only needed to avoid those.

However, the mention of Duke Loigar’s treason had enough firepower to sweep away all of that.

Once the organization began to move, its power was terrifying. Finances, scale, and manpower would be invested without limit.

It wasn’t just those who had accompanied the special envoy as attendants.

They intended to completely overturn everyone: those who had personal relationships with Duke Loigar, those entangled in mutual interests, blood relatives, and even intellectuals and artists who frequented salons.

If judged in such a manner, not only noble families in the capital but anyone who had accumulated even some wealth could be said to have connections.

The House of Evron was no exception.

Cop, who was both a palace servant and a secret investigator, had long thought the House of Evron suspicious.

Today’s incident must be connected to the treason case of Archbishop Akim.

There was no evidence. Looking at objective facts alone, it would only amount to Duke Loigar continuously eliminating other imperial family members and coveting the Emperor’s position.

However, Cop’s instincts kept tingling.

If investigated, something would definitely turn up.

The justification was also sufficient.

Although Ean was staying in a separate building, he was a guest of the House of Evron. The Duchess of Evron was a friend of Skyla Camellia.

Ferguson had received orders to investigate Ean, but secret investigators’ inquiries were originally conducted simultaneously with official investigations.

An opportunity like this wouldn’t come twice.

So he rushed to the House of Evron as soon as the incident broke. He thought this was his chance while the Duke was still at the Imperial Palace.

However, he was blocked by the knights at the main gate.

Since the birth of the Princess, the security posture of the House of Evron had never been relaxed.

Even if the other party came as the Emperor’s investigator to investigate a treason case, there were no exceptions.

Cop spoke sharply.

“Do you know what you’re doing? Even the Duchess of Evron cannot claim to be unrelated to this matter.”

The knights didn’t even respond. Not a single crack appeared in their expressions.

They showed no fear even at the mention of possibly being implicated in treason. No, it was closer to feeling that they didn’t care even if that happened.

The answer came from behind.

“So you’re saying you’ll enter my house leading a group of people with unclear identities?”

Cedric spoke coldly from atop his horse.

Behind him were five more elite knights of the House of Evron.

Cop first offered a polite greeting to Cedric. Cedric did not accept the greeting and said.

“Do you have an imperial command?”

“Prince Loigar’s treason has been reported. Since this is such a grave matter, naturally the accuser must also be investigated.”

“I asked whether His Majesty personally issued you an imperial command. There should naturally be evidence, whether a written order or an imperial seal.”

Cedric spoke coldly. Of course, Cop had nothing to present.

The gatekeepers, knowing their master had arrived, opened the main gate.

Cop tried to follow Cedric inside, but the knights blocked his way.

“This will cause you trouble, Your Highness!”

“By what right would you cause me trouble?”

Cedric looked back at the knights and said.

“Don’t let even a single rat get in or out.”

It was clear who he meant by “rat.” The knights responded in booming voices.

“Yes!”

Cedric rode his horse inside.

At that moment, Artizea was standing by a window on the highest floor of the manor.

The Evron ducal residence had extensive grounds but was not particularly tall.

However, just seeing the torches moving busily about, one could tell that the situation was escalating.

“Did you order the information organization to be disbanded knowing this would happen?”

Freil asked.

“Once His Majesty’s organization begins to move, no organization can avoid being caught up in it. And there hadn’t been any work worthy of merit for a long time.”

Artizea had issued the dissolution order just before the adultery scandal broke.

It had originally been an organization close to a cell structure. Most informants didn’t know which of the information they provided was meaningful or where that information went.

Thanks to this, dissolution was simple. Just by cutting off funding, most informants scattered.

Most of those who had been on the money-giving side didn’t know who the real upper echelons were.

It was an organization created to monitor targets’ movements and lay groundwork. Since it hadn’t been used much for actual conspiracies, the danger level was very low.

Artizea still didn’t know what evidence Ean had presented.

Since the Milsaem incident broke out, she had deliberately turned a blind eye to avoid leaving any evidence of her involvement in such matters.

“May I ask? I understand that Lady Skyla betrayed first, trying to survive by reporting the treason as her achievement.”

Hailey said.

“It must have been Lady Skyla who brought out the evidence. As an insider among insiders, Lady Skyla could have stolen crucial evidence.”

“That’s right.”

“Your Highness told Lady Skyla to plant the idea in the Duchess Loigar that she could become Empress, which must have been to make the Duchess commit mistakes.”

“That’s also correct.”

That too was one of the various groundwork pieces Artizea had laid.

The Duchess Loigar was bound to make mistakes eventually. She wasn’t someone who thought carefully about politics step by step and moved while organizing her surroundings.

She had simply wanted to accelerate that timing.

“But that mistake alone wouldn’t have constituted treason. In the end, isn’t the agreement the problem?”

“That’s an easy story to understand. Duke Loigar officially went down to the Southern Region leading an envoy that included hundreds of attendants from forces supporting him, so there’s no way he would have done nothing.”

So the key was in sending Duke Loigar to the Southern Region itself.

After Lawrence’s downfall, Duke Loigar believed his succession rights had become relatively stable.

He had endured and waited for too long.

It wouldn’t be strange if he was now desperate to draw his reign into reality.

Then all that remained was how to package his blunders and present them to the Emperor.

Artizea looked out the window and thought. She could see the knight order’s deployment moving and investigators returning as Cedric came back.

‘Leticia would be a variable no one could have anticipated, but not considering the Emperor’s emotional changes was Duke Loigar’s biggest problem.’

Artizea thought this as she looked down at Cedric.

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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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