The Villainess Lives Twice - Chapter 277

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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 277

Cedric kicked Lai’s legs, knocking him to the ground, and lowered his own body to the floor.

Right next to Lai, a wooden barrel shattered and pickled vegetables spilled out. Lai crawled along the broken building wall.

Was there more gunpowder? He didn’t know. His hands and feet trembled.

Lai had lived a life of violence, but he had no real combat experience. He couldn’t grasp what was happening.

So this was why Cedric told people to scatter, he understood that much.

Cedric rolled across the ground.

He hid his body in the shadow of a nearby building. The Evron knights protecting Cedric scattered in unison.

Staying close to Cedric could instead reveal the target’s location.

It was already night. Though there were torches, there were hardly any skilled enough to shoot and hit a person in this brightness.

Even if there were, they wouldn’t be someone a secret organization could mobilize.

‘Not enough numbers to form a firing line.’

Cedric thought as he listened to the gunfire. Beside him, the rotten wall of an old shack broke with a thudding sound.

‘Is there more gunpowder?’

That was the key question. In the central region, gunpowder was strictly controlled, but given the large quantities, it wasn’t impossible to steal some.

“Aaaaah!”

Someone screamed. It wasn’t from being shot, but a cry of surprise.

“The Security Forces shot!”

“It’s not the Security Forces, it’s some bastard!”

“They shot Prince!”

Cries filled with fear and confusion spread everywhere.

“The Crown Prince deceived us!”

Whether it was an agitator or a madman, there was someone saying such things.

Of course, it was absurd. If they had decided to suppress the riot with force, the Security Forces could have just come armed.

There was no need to come to such a place personally to deceive.

However, not many were thinking that rationally. They picked up the clubs and swords they had put down, but the direction of their fear and anger was confused.

To make matters worse, the startled Security Forces came pouring in.

“Dewin! Coner!”

Cedric shouted.

The two knights who heard the command rushed out of the alley. It was to block the Security Forces.

After a moment, the gunfire stopped. The loaded guns had run out.

Cedric still waited for a while. If there was someone skilled in assassination on the enemy side, they would save a loaded gun and wait for him to reveal himself.

While holding their breath, the remaining knights moved in all directions.

There weren’t many tall buildings in the slums.

Moreover, with many buildings destroyed by the riot, the buildings where the shooters could be hiding were obvious.

The 5 minutes felt suffocatingly long. The Security Forces indiscriminately entered among the crowd. Someone filled with resentment overturned an oil barrel to start a fire.

It would only take a moment for the induced disturbance to become a real riot.

Cedric hesitated for just a brief moment. But soon he rushed out of the shadows.

“Damn it…!”

Lai cursed. Whether it was trust or something else, not a single knight who should have stuck close to his master remained.

He understood what they were trying to do, but there was no one to assist. In the end, Lai followed after him.

Cedric jumped onto the wooden boxes he had stacked as a barrier. Then he drew his pistol from his waist and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

One shot drew everyone’s attention.

Lai held up a torch high so his face could be seen.

Cedric’s face, covered with soot and mud, looked much more human than before.

“Do not fear! The Imperial Court will protect you!”

The resounding cry spread to the end of the street.

“Return to your homes!”

It was a command to the crowd and a signal to the Security Forces.

The crowd scattered at once like ants hit by water. The Security Forces members were also confused. The sound of gongs could be heard. It was the sound commanding the Security Forces to retreat.

There was a second gunshot. It was impossible to tell where the sound came from. Lai threw away the torch and lay flat on the ground.

Cedric jumped down beside him. At that moment, as if they had been waiting, four men disguised as rioters rushed at them.

Cedric turned the pistol around and struck the opponent’s face with the grip. At the same time, he grabbed the man with his left hand and used him as a shield.

“Ugh!”

Two swords pierced the body of the first attacker.

“Argh!”

One of them was shot by Cedric’s gun before he could even let go of his sword.

Cedric threw the man he was holding to the ground and hastily drew his sword.

A forearm-length blade was shooting toward Cedric’s chest.

Clang!

Cedric deflected it without difficulty. Then he pressed his advantage and slashed the opponent’s chest.

“Ugh!”

The man with the slashed chest couldn’t even scream properly and died spilling blood.

The last one swung his sword with a terrified face. Cedric looked at him calmly.

Against guns might be different, but in one-on-one combat with a blade-wielding opponent, he never lost.

Especially against such a frightened opponent.

“Argh!”

With one strike, the sword was knocked away and both arm and thigh were slashed. The man screamed and rolled on the ground.

“Haaah!”

Someone nearby who witnessed this scene sat down in terror.

Cedric reflexively pointed his gun in that direction, then lowered his arm when he realized it wasn’t an enemy.

There couldn’t have been only four hidden in the crowd. Since he had shown his face earlier, they would come rushing this way.

In fact, that was what he had intended.

Cedric reloaded his pistol while speaking to Lai.

“Tie up the survivors and lock them away. We might have use for them.”

“What exactly are you trying to do?”

Then the two knights returned.

“We’ve subdued all those who fired from high positions. We recovered 60 muskets.”

“We’re going to a place with no people.”

Cedric said quietly.

Guns were strictly controlled weapons. He didn’t think they could have stolen hundreds.

Forming a firing line again was impossible.

In that case, it was fine to move to a sparsely populated area with a small group now. If combat broke out here, there could be casualties.

You have to bite the bait deep to not lose the fish.

“Scatter the people. The Royal Guards will come soon.”

Cedric spoke to Lai and began walking with long strides. The nearby crowd stepped back in fear.

Behind him, the knights who had finished their work followed in a group. All had their weapons drawn.

Watching that retreating figure, Lai gritted his teeth.

The way he used people was arbitrary, and his belief that they could naturally do anything was exactly like the couple.

“At least change my fate…!”

Lai couldn’t tell whether the Royal Guards coming meant they were coming as reinforcements or as a suppression force.

Anyway, he had to at least try to do what he was told. Lai looked around searching for his companions.

* * *

The Emperor lay quietly in his bedroom.

The depths of the Imperial Palace were quiet. No one informed the Emperor that events were unfolding.

However, the Emperor could sense that the density of the air was different from usual.

The number of Royal Guards protecting the bedroom also seemed fewer than usual.

“Willy.”

He called the Chamberlain in a low voice.

“Is something happening?”

He didn’t expect the Chamberlain to give him complete information. Whether among the Royal Guards or the servants, it was clear there were watchers.

All of the Chamberlain’s power was granted by the Emperor himself. With him lying sick like this, there was no way the Chamberlain could exercise any visible authority.

If he made the Chamberlain say the wrong thing and got him dismissed, nothing good would come of it.

The Chamberlain spoke carefully.

“There was a riot on Lev Street, they say.”

“And?”

Even the Emperor thought this wasn’t information that needed to be hidden. Rioters rising up from the slums and sweeping through the streets had happened from time to time before.

The Chamberlain answered.

“It seems His Highness the Crown Prince personally went there himself.”

“…Foolish.”

The Emperor closed his eyes and muttered.

The rioters from the slums weren’t public opinion worth worrying about. That place was the capital’s garbage dump.

The riots that broke out there usually started from fights among themselves.

Occasionally there were cases where they rose up against the country.

But they were just words from poor and miserable people anyway. Not only nobles and bureaucrats, but even among commoners, hardly anyone listened seriously.

After the Security Bureau calmed the situation, it would end by appropriately bestowing food supplies to appease them.

What needed to be guarded against was when that backlash spread outside the slums.

“They were destroying the temple demanding the return of the Holy Lady, so His Highness the Crown Prince heard about it and went out.”

“…”

The Emperor let out a small sigh and closed his eyes again.

Even thinking about it again, it still wasn’t something worth worrying about.

“Still the same.”

The Emperor muttered. The Chamberlain carefully wiped his forehead with a wet cloth.

“Your Majesty…”

“You should go rest too. What’s the point of staying beside someone who’s going to sleep anyway?”

“However, Your Majesty…”

“At least you should remain by my side for a long time.”

The Emperor spoke as if admonishing him. Right now he also wanted to be alone.

The Chamberlain answered “Yes” and carefully stepped backward.

As if reading the Emperor’s desire to be quiet, he withdrew with all the others except for two Guard Knights.

The bedroom became quiet.

The Emperor closed his eyes and surrendered himself to the feeling of powerlessness.

He still couldn’t be certain whether this was the Empress’s revenge or Cedric’s usurpation.

In a way, it could be a passive usurpation. Making it so he couldn’t withdraw the regency order and waiting for him to die like this.

His mind wavered back and forth.

It was infuriating.

But he was the master of the Empire. The Empire was his possession. He had devoted his entire life to making that statement a fact.

If he ruined the Crown Prince at this point without an alternative, it would only bring about the Empire’s destruction.

Then should he endure it like this? Even so, nothing would change.

Since Countess Unise had sent word, Countess Josiah would return.

If he died quietly like this, receiving his daughters’ visits, he wouldn’t suffer indignities after death.

Cedric was still his adopted son. The lineage would continue through him, and his name would remain forever in the Imperial family.

Nevertheless, he sometimes felt the illusion that his head was boiling over.

It was then.

The door opened soundlessly.

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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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