The Villainess Lives Twice - Chapter 282

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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 282

Screech!

The high violin sound made a tearing noise in the high notes.

The musician who made the mistake turned pale and hesitated. But no one scolded him.

The musicians playing together didn’t care even when the violinist made a mistake. They had no energy to spare for others’ performances.

The octet with five string instruments plus clarinet, flute, and bassoon was too heavy to be called chamber music. Even so, it was insufficient to block the explosive sounds echoing from afar.

However, the guests in the salon remained unperturbed. At least they appeared so.

No one went out to the terrace to enjoy the evening breeze.

It would take resolve to ask what that sound was.

Duke Faren of the Siwel Kingdom pressed his eyelids with his hand and massaged them. The inside of his eyes hurt.

“Duke Faren.”

Prince Bernart of the Kingdom of Ients came over with two glasses and sat across from him.

Duke Faren straightened up and sat properly.

“Lord Bernart.”

“How about this?”

Bernart offered him a drink with lime and mint. Duke Faren smiled, but inwardly he was troubled.

He was already unbearably tired. Since he wouldn’t be able to rest properly tomorrow either, drinking would surely make things harder.

But this wasn’t just any ordinary envoy from another country—it was a crown prince offering it. He couldn’t refuse.

As if reading his inner thoughts, Bernart winked with one eye.

“It’s not alcohol, but tea.”

“Oh.”

“I also get sleepy quickly when I drink, so I carry this around to politely decline.”

“Thank you.”

Duke Faren smiled without any awkwardness. His tired, muddled mind sharpened alertly.

Bernart wouldn’t have offered mint tea without any intention. He had even mentioned needing to stay awake with a clear mind tonight.

This was a crucial moment when the Empire’s power was about to change. He should stay to observe and respond to the changing political situation.

‘A saint, an investiture, and now a military revolt.’

It was common for internal rebellions and purges to occur when the throne’s owner changed.

However, he hadn’t expected it to result in gunfire and explosions echoing through the Imperial Palace.

This was all because the Emperor had shown an attitude of trying to check the Crown Prince.

If he had fully supported the Crown Prince and prepared for power transfer from early on, who would have dared to invade the palace?

But what was done was done.

‘The Empress is on the Crown Prince’s side.’

Sending irrefusable invitations to diplomatic envoys, high officials, and nobles who hadn’t yet clarified their stance to gather them in the salon was probably to reduce variables.

The Empress even attended personally, making it difficult for anyone to leave first.

Soon, this military revolt was something the Crown Prince had orchestrated for a purge.

In fact, this was what complicated Duke Faren’s mind the most.

The Emperor had paid a considerable price to the Empress to adopt Cedric as his son. But in reality, those two were on the same side.

Thinking that way, Cedric’s political acumen was far higher than previously thought.

For foreign countries including the Siwel Kingdom, this was cause for anxiety and wariness.

Bernart spoke.

“This is my first time visiting the Empress’s Palace. I was surprised by how elegant the salon is. I heard the decorations haven’t been changed for quite a long time.”

“Historic buildings don’t change wallpaper or furniture frequently.”

Duke Faren answered cautiously.

It was clear that Bernart had boarded the Crown Prince’s ship. Initially it was said to be friendship between the Crown Princess and the Crown Princess Consort, but even now that the Crown Princess had left the capital, Natalia remained at the Imperial Prince’s Palace.

Duke Faren saw this as maintaining an excuse for people from the Kingdom of Ients to frequently visit the Imperial Prince’s Palace.

By the way, what had happened to Natalia? She would have received an invitation too, but she hadn’t come to the salon.

If she had been at the Imperial Prince’s Palace, she might have gotten caught up in the events by now.

But Bernart didn’t seem worried. Duke Faren couldn’t tell whether Natalia wasn’t at the Imperial Prince’s Palace, or if he was confident that the Imperial Prince’s Palace’s defenses would never be breached.

Or perhaps Bernart was worried but not showing it at all.

Bernart said leisurely.

“Still, Countess Marta must have put great effort into managing it so the interior doesn’t feel outdated at all.”

“That’s true.”

Duke Faren agreed while feeling complicated in one corner of his heart.

Was what Bernart was saying really about the Empress’s Palace interior? It would be better to think otherwise.

“Our house is the same. Since it’s where old people live, changing things isn’t common.”

Duke Faren spoke slowly.

“But my wife is always paying attention to various things. Changing flowers daily, or tying vases with fashionable new fabrics. I’m thinking of buying several wolf pelts this time.”

“Hanging them on the walls in winter would look warm. No matter how warm the south is, cold winds seep in during winter.”

Bernart smiled.

The performance stopped briefly. The two men looked toward the orchestra.

Fiona, the eldest daughter of Countess Unise, was sitting at the piano.

Duke Faren, who had observed the Empire’s imperial family as a diplomatic envoy for decades since his youth, felt a strange sentiment.

‘Countess Unise no longer seems afraid of the Empress.’

Before the Empress closed the palace gates and went into seclusion, Countess Unise had been terribly afraid of the Empress.

But now she was attending the salon at the Empress’s Palace like this. Fiona was even playing piano.

His heart felt unsettled.

As a diplomatic envoy of the Siwel Kingdom, he should properly align himself with the new power holder.

But as someone of the same generation as the Emperor, he couldn’t help feeling something like melancholy.

It seemed like yesterday when he first came to the Empire to see the sunrise, but now he was watching the sunset.

A servant handed Bernart a small note.

“Excuse me.”

Bernart unfolded the note and stood up.

“My wife has arrived. I’ll step away briefly.”

“Ah, yes.”

Duke Faren stood up to see him off. Crown Princess Natalia had come? Now?

Come to think of it, the gunfire had stopped at some point.

“Waaah! Huwaah, hic, kuk!”

Leticia cried without stopping. Even though she was already familiar with Natalia, it was no use.

She seemed to know she was separated from her guardians. As if crying all the tears she had held back at once, she wailed until her voice was hoarse.

Even when skilled maids took turns holding her, it was useless. Since she was a baby who didn’t usually cry much, it was even more pitiful.

“Your Highness Crown Princess Natalia.”

A maid called her hesitantly. A washbasin with warm water and a wet towel were prepared.

Natalia took off her gloves and washed her hands in it. The washbasin turned red.

There was also blood hardened on her gloves, and the maid was startled when she tried to clear them away.

Natalia soaked a towel in water and wiped her face. Red came off.

Natalia finally understood why the maids were afraid.

“I’ll prepare clothes for you to change into.”

“No. I’ll see Her Majesty the Empress first.”

Natalia said so.

If even the Imperial Prince’s Palace had been breached, she couldn’t trust the Empress’s Palace maids.

Bernart arrived first.

He left the salon with deliberately calm steps. But he ran through the corridor, forgetting to knock and bursting through the door.

“Natalia!”

Bernart shouted. Thanks to his gaze, Natalia realized there was blood on her ear too.

“Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine. I’m not injured anywhere.”

Bernart approached and examined her.

Natalia chuckled softly and lightly pushed his shoulder.

“You know nothing will happen. I kept my promise too.”

Bernart nodded and let out a long breath.

“As long as you’re safe, that’s all that matters.”

Bang!

Once again, the doors burst wide open as if they might break.

The Empress stood before the door with a pale face. Countess Marta and Viscount Yuven followed behind her.

Leticia, who had been hiccupping tiredly, was startled and burst into loud crying again.

The Empress approached the maid holding Leticia and extended her arms. The maid handed the baby to the Empress.

“You were frightened. Poor thing.”

Patting Leticia’s back, the Empress looked back at Natalia.

“The Empire owes a debt to the Crown Princess.”

“I am honored, Your Majesty the Empress. I merely did what was right.”

“Thank you.”

The Empress even bowed her head. Natalia and Bernart hurriedly bent at the waist.

“I shall have a room prepared for the Crown Princess to rest.”

“No. I am grateful, but I intend to return. Lady Kishower and Lady Belmond are still at the Imperial Prince’s Palace.”

Mielle had risked her life. Though she had received advance notice, Natalia hadn’t thought Mielle would truly be capable of such a thing.

Such devotion deserved to be repaid. Natalia wanted her to live.

It would be faster for her to move alone than for the Empress to take measures.

The Empress looked at Natalia for a moment. She should have refused. It meant a foreign Crown Princess would take up arms and roam the palace again.

But the Empress could not do so. The Imperial Prince’s Palace had been breached, and without Natalia, Leticia might not have been safe.

“I’ll speak to the Guard Corps so you can take everything you need.”

Bernart gripped her hand tightly.

“You must not get hurt.”

“Thank you for your permission.”

Natalia kissed the back of Bernart’s hand and hurried outside. Bernart struggled to suppress his anxiety.

“Tell the guard knights on duty tonight that I want to see them.”

At the Empress’s command, a servant ran out.

And the Empress personally wiped Leticia’s face and hair, wet with sweat and tears, with a damp cloth. She changed her diaper and replaced her swaddling cloth.

The fabric was pure white with the imperial coat of arms embroidered in gold.

It was cloth that had been prepared in advance to make formal wear when Leticia grew older.

“Hic, waaah…”

Leticia’s crying subsided a little. It seemed not because her heart had calmed, but because she realized that no matter how much she cried, her parents or wet nurse would not come.

The Empress stepped out of the inner chamber, holding Leticia.

“Your arm is uncomfortable, so please allow me to carry her.”

Viscount Yuven said carefully.

“That’s unnecessary.”

The Empress cut him off curtly.

She had no intention of hiding and protecting Leticia in the inner chamber like the people of the Imperial Prince’s Palace had done.

With the Imperial Prince’s Palace breached, would the Empress’s Palace be safe? In the end, the only thing to rely on was the barrier of people.

And if people cannot be trusted, then nothing should be trusted.

In the spacious audience chamber of the Empress’s Palace, three guard knights and three hundred royal guards had gathered.

The sound of prostration shook the ground.

The Empress spoke in a stern voice while holding Leticia.

“Within this Imperial Palace, the Imperial Prince’s Palace has been attacked by enemies. How can such a thing happen? What exactly has the Royal Guard been doing?”

“We are deeply ashamed.”

Guard Knight Samuel answered with his face flushed red.

“They tried to harm the imperial grandson, so this is undoubtedly high treason. Capture every last one of them.”

The Empress commanded.

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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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