The Villainess Lives Twice - Chapter 270
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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 270
Lawrence must have felt Lisia’s gaze. However, he showed no sign of caring at all.
“I’ve prepared dinner. It may not be particularly fine cuisine.”
“You’re not even human.”
“It’s just a meal. No priests, nobles, or officials that you hate, and no particular purpose either.”
Lawrence smiled with his smooth face. Then he approached Lisia.
“You used to like this sort of thing. Dining together in atmospheric places, drinking tea, things like that.”
“….”
Lisia looked at him with a pale face.
There had been such times.
When she still believed she could change him. When she thought love could solve everything.
When she thought he would treat only her differently in the name of love. When she thought he would share burdens and responsibilities for her sake.
Back then, she had felt sweet emotions.
Even while saying she knew palace life would be difficult, even while saying she knew people don’t change easily.
Even while understanding that he was a cruel person.
Still, there had been moments when it seemed even the difficult work of sustaining the world could be done with ease.
Benia gripped her hand tightly from behind, terrified. That’s how Lisia managed to maintain her sanity.
“Wait outside, Benia.”
“M-Miss….”
Benia whispered, frightened.
Lawrence was still smiling. Though his appearance remained beautiful as always, Benia could only feel eeriness.
Lisia squeezed her hand once and said.
“Wait outside.”
Benia startled. Something small and heavy had rolled from inside Lisia’s sleeve into Benia’s palm.
She clutched it tightly in her hand.
Then, still looking terrified, she hesitantly stepped aside from Lisia and fled from the room.
What was in her hand was a bullet. Benia held her trembling breath and looked around.
Then she quickly hid it in her skirt.
Lawrence watched Benia’s retreating figure and twisted his lips.
“Still so kind. Aren’t you curious?”
“About what?”
“Whether Benia betrayed you after you died?”
Lisia bit her lips.
“I’m not curious. Even if Benia trampled my grave with muddy feet, it wouldn’t have been Benia’s fault.”
“Is that maid so trustworthy?”
“Benia is someone who knows what loyalty and faith mean. If she ever betrayed me, it would be because you drove her to have no other choice.”
“Or maybe Tia did.”
“….”
Lisia couldn’t answer.
Lawrence chuckled.
“You’re only cold to me after all.”
“….”
Lisia remained silent. She had nothing to say, and nothing she wanted to say.
Lawrence approached Lisia.
Lisia unconsciously stepped backward. But the room wasn’t that spacious.
Soon the wall touched her back.
Lisia drew in her breath. Lawrence’s hand grabbed a handful of her hair.
He lowered his head and pressed his lips to Lisia’s hair that he had lifted. His jewel-like vivid eyes glanced up at Lisia.
The next moment he yanked that hair hard.
“Ugh.”
Lisia stiffened. She was overcome more by humiliation than pain.
She couldn’t resist. She couldn’t win against Lawrence in physical combat. It would only result in harming herself.
Even if she had a weapon, what would be different?
If the gun were loaded and she could shoot, what then? If bandits swarmed and killed her?
What about Benia? The plague?
Could she even kill Lawrence in the first place?
Love had been completely drained and dried up, and she wasn’t worthy of feeling pity.
But she wasn’t certain.
The bottom of her heart was seething.
Looking into Lisia’s face, Lawrence growled.
“What? Are you pitying me, Holy Lady?”
“….”
“If you’re going to pity me, do it properly. You always tell only me. Endure, compromise, understand. Shouldn’t it be the other way around?”
“What exactly is your purpose?”
Lisia asked with a miserable face.
“I’m no longer the Holy Lady. The divine revelation came to Tia, and the Crown Prince investiture ceremony is over. Doing this to me won’t make you Emperor.”
“I don’t care about that stuff.”
Lawrence chuckled and threw Lisia onto the bed. Lisia groaned painfully and tumbled.
Lawrence climbed on top of her. Lisia again fled until her back hit the wall.
She knew there was no space to escape. But she couldn’t overcome her revulsion.
Lawrence lowered his head. Lisia turned her head away.
Then Lawrence grabbed her chin and covered Lisia’s lips.
Lisia screamed through her throat.
Lawrence grabbed her wrists. Lisia struggled frantically.
Unable to suppress all her resistance, Lawrence finally pulled away from her. Lawrence’s lip was torn and bleeding.
He laughed pleasantly. Then he pulled the panting Lisia, whose breath reached her chin, into his arms.
“Oh my, Lisia.”
He pulled out the pistol caught at his fingertips.
“Gasp.”
“If you had a gun, you should have shot me right when I opened the door.”
Lawrence’s laughter smoothly brushed past Lisia’s cheek like silk. A bloodstain remained on her white cheek.
“Or is it that again? Are you enduring whatever I do because you’re afraid Cedric would collapse if you died?”
He laughed as if delighted. Then, sitting on top of Lisia, he clicked open the cylinder.
The cylinder was empty.
“Ah. Well, you were suddenly dragged here, so there was no time to load it.”
Lawrence spoke nonchalantly as if it wasn’t something he had done.
Lisia breathed heavily and spoke again.
“If you don’t even want to become Emperor, then why are you doing this to me?”
“I’m trying to get my woman back. What’s strange about that?”
“I’m not your wife.”
Lisia said as if squeezing out the words.
“It’s all over already.”
“But you love me, don’t you?”
Lawrence said.
Lisia gasped for breath. Her exhaled breath was so hot it felt like fire had caught in her chest.
“How can you, how can you say such things…!”
“Well, it is ridiculous for me to say such things.”
Lawrence giggled as if it were truly amusing.
“What does it matter? Whether you love me or not doesn’t concern me. It’s not like that changes the fact that you’re my woman.”
Lisia gritted her teeth. She tried not to feel anything.
It was just as she had told Artizea in her final words. In the end, it was all something Lisia herself had chosen.
Her belief that Lawrence was the subject of divine revelation had also been Lisia’s own decision. Romantic feelings had definitely been involved in that.
She had loved him, and tried to keep loving him. She had wanted to live caring for each other as husband and wife.
She had tried to forgive him for her entire life. When she came back and extended her hand, if Lawrence had taken it, she could have tried even harder going forward.
But Lawrence hadn’t taken that hand.
At that moment, Lisia had let go of everything.
Lawrence gently stroked her cheek.
“Have you really let go of everything? Your hatred for me too? Our child too?”
In that instant, Lisia thrashed about as if she had gone mad.
Lawrence chuckled and grabbed her arms and legs, pinning her down.
Truly, Lawrence had no interest in becoming emperor.
The first thing he felt after regaining his memories was closer to amusement.
He didn’t harbor anything like revenge toward Artizea. What did it matter that she had gone to Cedric?
Lawrence was different from Milaire. When he decided to eliminate Artizea, he clearly understood that all ties had been severed.
It was natural for her to come at him seeking revenge. Lawrence accepted that naturally.
However, Artizea could never have been an object of passion for Lawrence from the start.
It had been annoying that the imperial ministers seemed to rely on her even more than on him.
But the thrill of victory had been momentary. Even that had extinguished instantly like foam.
She had been a younger sister who would have withered and died even if left alone.
‘In the end, nothing I did had any meaning.’
He had possessed the entire world. He had built sandcastles and destroyed them, kicked down toy houses made of blocks, smashing everything unpleasant to pieces.
The result of doing everything as he wished was boredom.
He thought his father was a remarkable person. If it were him, he would have grown tired of dominating and ruling long ago.
In one lifetime, the only thing that had meaning was Lisia.
“I want to become the one and only existence in your life.”
“Ahhh!”
Lisia cried out, unable to contain her anger.
“You don’t love me! That kind of thing isn’t love!”
Lisia’s eyes seemed to burn fiercely.
Lawrence gazed into those eyes with an ecstatic feeling.
“That might be true. I don’t care what you call this emotion. I just need to possess you completely.”
For that purpose, he intended to destroy those she cherished and felt bonds with.
Starting with that damn bastard she claimed wasn’t love.
“I could drive you to despair and madness so you’ll only look at me, couldn’t I? Right?”
“You’re trash.”
Lawrence smiled sweetly like someone who had received a compliment.
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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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