The Villainess Lives Twice - Chapter 280

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 280

The explosion occurred in the kitchen. That was where the loud blast came from.

The side door leading outside caught fire. Servants rushed over with water buckets and curtains to extinguish it.

Bang!

Soldiers outside struck the burning door with logs.

Roil rubbed his reddened face with his palm.

This time, shouting came from the 2nd floor.

“The eastern drawing room has been breached!”

“What?!”

Roil ran toward that direction in shock. The knight squad waiting in the lobby followed him.

All windows large enough for people to pass through had been reinforced with iron plates and wooden boards nailed over them.

One of them had been broken, with a log wedged across the window frame.

Roil gritted his teeth. This wasn’t a door that would break after being struck once or twice with such logs.

Someone had loosened the nails beforehand.

The log stuck in the window frame rattled. The soldiers outside were trying to pull it out to secure an entrance.

Arrows rained down from the 2nd floor. The soldiers’ screams carried over through the window.

“Lock the drawing room door!”

The knights retreated while toppling all the furniture in the drawing room to buy even a little more time.

Finally, they closed the drawing room door and knocked over a piece of furniture outside to block the entrance.

“Go to the head butler and tell him to prepare for escape! The 1st and 2nd squads will protect His Highness as planned, the 3rd squad will block the retreat route.”

Roil commanded.

He was brave, but not one to act recklessly.

Explosives had gone off in the kitchen, and the drawing room window had been loosened. There was definitely a traitor.

If so, the doors would be opened. They had to evacuate from the prince’s palace.

“You must prepare to escape.”

A knight opened the baby’s room door and spoke. Then he immediately went back outside.

Every fighting hand was needed.

Ansgard looked at Marcus. He had already finished preparing for escape and was holding a baby wrapped in a large swaddling cloth in his arms.

He had not believed the words that the prince’s palace could be defended. That there would definitely be a traitor.

Ansgard was not greatly shocked this time either.

Rowan Jeiden had impacted Evron differently from Obry Jordin.

Another traitor could emerge. Aubrey had impulsively committed a foolish act.

But Rowan had betrayed while harboring feelings of betrayal and revenge toward Cedric, thinking he was acting for Evron’s sake.

That meant another person like Rowan could appear.

There was no law preventing someone from being recruited by Evron’s hostile forces for other reasons.

A united Evron existed when it was being harshly pressured.

Now not only young people like Hailey and Freil, but also the older retainers understood this fact.

Therefore, they had made plans in advance for when the prince’s palace would be breached.

They were actually going to execute it.

Ansgard also silently wrapped a baby in swaddling cloth and tied it to his chest. It was the wet nurse’s son.

He and this baby were decoys.

The group would split into two to flee.

One would head to the military command under General Huber’s jurisdiction, the other would move to the Duke’s residence.

With two swaddling cloths, carried by the head butler and the steward respectively, the enemy would not be able to distinguish which was real.

The baby held by a stranger struggled and burst into tears. But the wet nurse swallowed her tears and looked away.

Ansgard said.

“Probably after we escape, some search parties will remain. Stay quietly in the bedroom, then request protection and return to your residence.”

Geus was someone who respected Henry Kishower. Moreover, Mielle was completely physically powerless and not a strategist.

Henry Kishower was also maintaining neutrality. There was nothing that could be called the Kishower family, and the related Belmond family was not in a position to wield power in politics.

So even if Evron was completely uprooted, Mielle would be safe.

There was no reason to be accused of harming a frail young lady.

“In case… really, just in case things go wrong, please stay by the baby’s side then.”

Because these were words from someone who had experienced exactly the same thing, they carried great weight.

Mielle bit her pale lips.

She looked at Marcus. Marcus nodded slightly.

“I will protect Lady Leticia with my life.”

“Thank you.”

Ansgard smiled with wrinkles forming around his eyes.

A knight knocked on the door from outside.

Ansgard hurriedly went out first. The attackers had already poured into the prince’s palace.

The Evron knights were fighting to secure a safe retreat route from the 2nd floor to the 1st floor.

“There’s no time to delay!”

Roil’s shout could be heard all the way to the baby’s room.

The moment Ansgard went outside, Marcus unwrapped the swaddling cloth he had been holding to his chest and placed it in Mielle’s arms.

Then he forcefully opened a decorative panel on the wall. Inside was a space about the size of a closet.

“Hurry!”

Mielle crawled inside.

“Stay safe.”

Marcus said earnestly and closed the panel. Then he tied a swaddling cloth containing a doll instead of the baby to his chest and went out.

“Thank you.”

Marcus said quietly. Then he closed the panel.

Soon urgent footsteps faded away. The crying of the baby used as a decoy could be heard from far away.

“Mmm, wah.”

Leticia fussed. She seemed about to burst into tears, so Mielle carefully patted the baby in the narrow space.

“You mustn’t cry, Lady Leticia.”

This closet had been made by Artizea.

“It’s impossible to create secret passages in the prince’s palace. All the old secret passages are too well known, and even trying to build something new would be too conspicuous.”

Large-scale construction would be impossible to hide from the Emperor’s eyes.

So what Artizea had made was a small closet.

“It’s more likely we won’t need to use it… but we could use it to store things later.”

Only Marcus and Mielle knew the exact location of that closet. Marcus had wanted not to tell even Ansgard.

Mielle didn’t know the full details of what had happened tonight. However, she knew that the knights’ tension had been gradually rising.

So she had told Marcus in advance.

“If something happens, I’ll hide with Lady Leticia.”

“Lady Mielle…”

“If it’s just Lady Leticia and me, even if we’re discovered, we won’t be harmed. No matter what happens, Lady Leticia’s safety is most important. Right?”

Marcus had a heavy expression. This was too great a burden for Mielle.

“Can you really do it?”

“I will protect her.”

Mielle said with a determined face.

Pouring love into this small baby was the first thing she had done as an adult since being born into this world.

Mielle used to think her life was more insignificant than dandelion seeds.

She could do nothing but sadden her parents, never vigorously facing the world with flailing limbs, and would wither away and die in her bedroom as if she had never existed.

No one understood how terrifying that was.

But after meeting Leticia, it was different.

Though it wasn’t a baby she had given birth to, she was still helping, caring for, and watching over the growth of a new life.

And just as much, she was being loved by this young baby.

The love she poured into Leticia would remain valuable even after her own death.

Light dimly leaked through the gaps between the pieces. Mielle held her breath and listened to what was happening outside.

The sounds of fighting were so close she could almost touch them.

Hidden inside the wall, she couldn’t distinguish whether the sounds were coming from below or if they were footsteps entering the room.

Military boot sounds scattered chaotically.

“Ah, ahhh!”

A scream erupted right in front of her. Through a small hole facing the floor, Mielle saw the carpet being stained with blood.

To keep from screaming herself, Mielle covered her mouth with her hand. She had put a pacifier in Leticia’s mouth, but the baby kept trying to spit it out and seemed ready to burst into tears at any moment.

Mielle desperately cradled the baby’s head and held her close to her chest.

‘You mustn’t make a sound. You mustn’t make a sound.’

She whispered almost like a prayer in her heart.

At this time, Natalia was in her quarters prepared on the third floor of the Imperial Prince’s Palace.

Guard Knight Alden had come personally to search her room. Three Royal Guards moved about, opening each door one by one.

Natalia had known from the beginning that there would be attackers. Since preparations for a siege were being made, there was no way she wouldn’t have noticed.

She had sent away the maids she had with her on distant errands with suitable excuses.

However, she had briefly refused Freil’s request for cooperation.

「What Her Highness asked of me was the safety of the Imperial Grandson.」

She had no intention of fighting alongside the Evron Knight Order. Not only did Natalia have no such obligation, but for the Kingdom of Ients’ sake, it wouldn’t be right to do so.

So she hadn’t left the Imperial Prince’s Palace.

‘Did the Chief Butler and the nanny succeed in escaping?’

Natalia glanced out the window. Though the moonlight was dim, it wasn’t so dark that she couldn’t make out the five different movements.

Two groups of the Evron Knight Order were fleeing, with the Royal Guards and Capital Guard pursuing them from behind.

And another group of the Evron Knight Order was following their tail.

Though it felt like a long, long time to Mielle, in reality only about 20 minutes had passed from the breach to this point.

All that remained in the Imperial Prince’s Palace were a few search teams. The soldiers had driven out all the servants.

“I have committed a discourtesy. I apologize.

Alden spoke politely after confirming that there was no baby anywhere in Natalia’s quarters.

Even though the Kingdom of Ients was a vassal state of the Empire, searching the Crown Princess’s bedroom was not something that should be permitted.

Nevertheless, they had looked even under the bed. There was no guarantee that the Imperial Grandson wasn’t hiding here.

“As long as you understand. Now withdraw.”

Natalia spoke stiffly. Alden extended his hand and spoke gently.

“I will escort you to the Kingdom of Ients’ quarters in the Guest House.”

“The maids I sent on errands haven’t returned.”

“Since there has been an unfortunate incident, if you remain here you won’t be able to sleep peacefully. I’ll have the maids pack the essential belongings first and follow Your Highness the Crown Princess.”

Natalia quietly stared at Alden’s unmoving hand before speaking.

“I have no choice.”

And she extended her hand over Alden’s.

Alden was relieved. It was a sensitive moment. If a diplomatic issue arose, it would become his responsibility later.

At that moment, Natalia firmly grasped Alden’s hand and drew out her belt with her left hand.

From within the belt decorated with white agate, a flexible sword slid out with a swoosh.

Alden was shocked and tried to shake off Natalia’s hand. But before he could do so, the supple blade rushed at him like a whip.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————