The Villainess Lives Twice - Chapter 234

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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 234

Artizea entered the palace within an hour.

She had just returned from meeting Cedric and was immediately changing her clothes.

Whether it was contact from Editor Belmond or changes in the palace situation, she needed to move quickly.

Though she hadn’t expected the Emperor’s summons to come first.

‘Something has changed, at least.’

She didn’t think Cedric had created a troublesome situation.

It was Cedric who decided what needed to be done.

Making him Emperor didn’t simply mean placing the imperial crown on his head.

It meant wanting the world to move according to his desires.

Ideals were never easily achieved. Her role was to bring down dream-like notions to a realistic level, supplement the gaps, and achieve the goal.

She hadn’t come to his side to become his wife, had she?

As she boarded the carriage alone, Hailey asked with concern.

“Are you really going alone?”

“If His Majesty the Emperor wants to harm me, you wouldn’t be able to stop it with your strength anyway. Even if all of Evron were mobilized, it would be the same.”

“Yes…”

“Don’t worry. A private audience is an honor.”

Artizea said this.

But she too had no idea what the Emperor intended to say.

Upon arriving at the Imperial Palace, Artizea was guided to the Emperor’s private audience chamber.

The Chamberlain personally came out to greet her and apologized.

“I apologize. We didn’t expect you to arrive so early, and His Majesty is sleeping.”

“I see. I did come too early.”

Considering that a noblewoman’s preparation for entering the palace usually took a couple of hours, Artizea arriving in less than an hour was indeed too fast.

It was because she had entered the palace in a simple dress without elaborate adornment.

The Chamberlain bowed his head.

“I apologize. His Majesty has been suffering from intense work day after day recently, so we want to let him sleep soundly.”

“Of course I should wait.”

“If you need anything, please let us know. Shall I call a maid for conversation?”

“That’s fine. If there are books in the study, I’d like to borrow one.”

“Yes.”

The Chamberlain noted down the title of the book she mentioned and entrusted it to an errand boy.

And he personally brought refreshments and honey tea.

Regardless of his birth status, the Chamberlain’s position was never low. Only the Empress could order around the one who served the Emperor.

So him kneeling on one knee beside Artizea and personally pouring tea was a very special occurrence.

It probably meant the Emperor was sorry for making her wait too long.

Artizea, and the attendants watching, all thought so. The Chamberlain had the authority to act on the Emperor’s behalf to that extent.

However, Artizea held her breath.

The Chamberlain poured pale yellow honey tea into a transparent cup until it was almost overflowing.

There he stopped his hand, then dropped two more drops. Now the honey tea was on the verge of overflowing. A film of water pulled by surface tension formed a round dome above the teacup.

If even one more drop were added, the balance would collapse and it would overflow.

The Chamberlain stopped his hand just before that point.

Tea should naturally not be poured this way. If one tried to drink it, it would spill.

But the Chamberlain spoke in a calm voice.

“This is herbal honey sent by Countess Unise. His Majesty also treasures it.”

Artizea stared at the Chamberlain with wide eyes.

Not a single word came out of her throat.

The Chamberlain had a composed expression. Artizea barely managed to open her mouth.

“I… heard that my maid went to Countess Unise’s residence and made some together. I’m drinking almost the same thing.”

“Because it’s good for health.”

The Chamberlain said gently.

“Then I’ll bring you the book when it’s found.”

Artizea nodded. He withdrew.

Artizea stared down at the honey tea for a long time.

She had no particular friendship with the Chamberlain. It had been the same before her return.

The Chamberlain was inclined to be content with his lot rather than get involved in political strife.

Though she didn’t know what he was like when young, once he decided to serve the Emperor, he created his position by devoting his entire life to him.

When she gave information to Cedric, she thought he might have changed.

Perhaps the reason she couldn’t win him over in the past was because the one she served was Lawrence. Just like Prime Minister Lin.

So she had told Cedric to try building a friendship with him if possible.

However, even after mentioning Viscount Bellon’s name, the Chamberlain remained unchanged. Far from winning him over, Cedric couldn’t draw out anything more than courteous exchanges befitting their respective positions.

The question of why he had given information about Viscount Bellon continued to remain within Artizea.

The Chamberlain’s position was too important to ignore.

Now Artizea perfectly understood why he remained faithful to the Emperor, unchanging and allowing no one’s approach.

And why he had informed her of that fact.

‘Alone…’

Artizea could understand the Chamberlain’s heart.

It was better to cross a single-log bridge alone. Even if one fell by mistake, they wouldn’t drag others down with them.

Soon an errand boy brought the book.

Artizea opened it to any page and placed it on her lap so as not to look suspicious.

However, not a single character entered her eyes.

Artizea glared at the honey tea.

The inside of her eyes stung.

The most difficult task she had to do from now on was solved by this. She could now fit the end pieces of the puzzle.

Artizea bit her molars.

With so many cards in hand, she could not fail.

She knocked over the teacup with a tap. Because there was no way to drink it without spilling.

“I accidentally knocked over the teacup, so bring a new one.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The servant bowed deeply and withdrew with the fallen teacup.

The Emperor only woke up after sleeping soundly for more than four hours.

His body was warm and his mood was good. The heavy stiffness that had been weighing on his neck had also considerably lessened.

Knowing that his hands and feet often went numb when he woke up, the attendants massaged them.

The Chamberlain entered with a basin filled with warm water.

“It seems I slept for a long time.”

“Yes. Evening is almost here.”

“I must have kept the Duchess of Evron waiting long. Without waking me.”

After wiping his face with a warm wet towel and then, unsatisfied, washing his face with water from the basin himself, the Emperor spoke.

“Since Your Majesty was sleeping soundly for once, I didn’t urge you to wake up. I also told the Duchess of Evron the truth and asked for her understanding.”

“Is she still waiting?”

“Yes. She’s in the drawing room. She’s absorbed in a book.”

“That’s fortunate. Well, you would have taken good care of things.”

The Emperor said this and dried his wet hands.

The attendants swarmed around him, changing his wrinkled shirt and pants and combing his hair.

The Emperor soon regained his usual dignified appearance.

He regained his confidence and strode toward the drawing room.

The drawing room door opened.

Artizea was turning a page when she put down the book and stood up.

“Artizea of Evron requests an audience with His Majesty the Emperor.”

She bowed politely.

The Emperor gestured for her to sit and seated himself as well. Then he spoke.

“It has been a long time. This is the first time since the naming ceremony.”

“Yes.”

“Are you still in good health?”

“I have recovered much by now.”

“After childbirth, one must take good care of oneself, but I have not been attentive to this.”

“Being able to rest peacefully at home without any troubles is all thanks to Your Majesty’s grace.”

Artizea said.

“How is Leticia?”

“She is healthy. Perhaps because she resembles Lord Sedric, she is very lively.”

“I see. She must have grown quite a bit by now.”

The Emperor paused for a moment.

Artizea tensed, fearing he might tell her to bring the child to the palace.

Though Leticia was healthy and had grown much, she was not yet old enough to be brought to a place like the Imperial Palace.

The Emperor tapped the armrest with his fingers a few times, then spoke in a subdued voice.

“Be careful. While parents can make efforts to protect from those who would harm, what the Divine takes away cannot be prevented by human strength.”

“Yes…”

What the Emperor recalled was probably the matter of his deceased children.

Artizea did not think the Emperor had felt no sorrow when the Empress’s children died one after another.

However, his power must have been more important to him than that grief.

The Emperor chewed over old regrets. But soon he changed his mind.

He looked at Artizea for a moment with his wrinkled eyes.

Artizea was still young. But she was no longer a girl.

Children grow up in an instant. If you are not always watching, you suddenly discover they have become adults.

The Emperor had never experienced this with his own children.

Duke Loigar had gained a child and become an adult, and Sedric too had returned from the battlefield as an adult.

He had seen with his own eyes the moment when the Duchess Loigar grew enough to shelter the young bird in the nest with her wings, rather than being one herself.

But his children had not done so.

The children who died young remained buried in his heart as they were.

Lawrence had left without becoming an adult. Countess Unise, despite bearing two children, was still no different from a young daughter to him.

And Artizea, who was younger than that, sat here not as a clever girl but as a noblewoman of the Imperial Palace.

The Emperor felt the illusion that he had watched her grow up.

“It would have been good if you had been my daughter.”

The Emperor spoke impulsively.

Artizea smiled faintly.

“Her Majesty the Empress said she would have made me a friend of the late First Princess. I know that both Your Majesty and Her Majesty say this because you know such a thing could never have happened.”

The Emperor could not help but laugh.

That was true.

Artizea knew what the power of the imperial throne could do, feared its majesty, and because of that, remained loyal and tried to understand his heart.

The reason it felt like they were in sync was because of this. Originally, people’s hearts do not naturally align as one.

If they did align, it meant the other person was adjusting to him.

And for someone to do so with him also meant that person was coveting power.

The Emperor relaxed his comfortable sitting posture and leaned toward Artizea.

Then he asked.

“How far did you involve yourself in the Loigar matter?”

“…”

Artizea smiled awkwardly.

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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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