The Villainess Lives Twice - Chapter 283

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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 283

The Royal Guards were extremely tense.

Among the Guard Knights, only a few expressed political opinions. Only three had actively joined the anti-Crown Prince faction.

That didn’t mean the others actively supported the Crown Prince either, and most, like Samuel, were simply watching the course of events.

If the Royal Guards moved properly, attacking the Prince’s Palace would be impossible.

Therefore, the anti-Crown Prince faction’s Guard Knights had spread word in advance. That an imperial decree would soon be issued.

The Guard Knights knew that the Emperor had tried to check the Crown Prince. So those words carried persuasive power.

Once they turned a blind eye, the situation became too serious afterward to intervene further.

To stop that situation, they would have to attack the anti-Crown Prince faction. And if they did that, they would become traitors when the imperial decree was issued.

As Royal Guards loyal to the Emperor, that was difficult for them.

But now the Empress’s order had been given.

The imperial decree still hadn’t been delivered. The Crown Prince was absent.

So now the Empress, as the mistress of the Imperial Palace, was their commanding officer.

Gayan was the first to pound his left chest and respond.

“Guard Knight Gayan will obey Her Majesty the Empress’s command.”

With this, the other knights had no choice but to follow the order.

Guard Knights Samuel and Delmar still had hesitation in their hearts.

However, the Prince’s Palace was currently burning. The Imperial Grandson was in danger, having to flee not even in the arms of a nanny or maid, but in the arms of a foreign Crown Princess.

In this situation, Gayan had already said he would obey the command. All the Royal Guards were watching.

They couldn’t openly defy the Empress’s order.

Gayan took the lead and went out, with Samuel and Delmar following behind.

Only then did the Empress slowly turn around and head to the salon.

When she entered carrying Leticia, all eyes were drawn to them. Sounds of admiration and applause erupted.

Bernart was the first to applaud, and following that, the envoys sent their applause.

The Empress sat down while holding Leticia. The envoys competed to come forward and pay their respects.

It was the first day Leticia had shown her face in an official setting since the naming ceremony.

* * *

When the first explosion erupted from the Prince’s Palace, the anti-Crown Prince faction nobles had already gathered at the Imperial Palace.

3 had delivered the news in advance. That an imperial decree had been issued and they had begun attacking to secure the Imperial Grandson.

So they planned to gather in the audience chamber to confirm the imperial decree and ensure the Crown Prince’s dethronement.

Bertolt, who was in charge of the main palace’s security, blocked the nobles’ entry.

“After sunset, you cannot enter the palace without summons from His Majesty the Emperor, Her Majesty the Empress, or His Highness the Crown Prince.”

“His Majesty has issued an imperial decree, so we’re going to confirm it.”

“I have heard nothing of the sort.”

Bertolt spoke with a solemn attitude.

Count Eison raised his voice.

“There’s chaos at the Prince’s Palace, what do you mean by that!”

“It’s true there was a fire at the Prince’s Palace. The servants are working to extinguish it, so it will end soon.”

Bertolt spoke with a face that seemed impenetrable.

“It has nothing to do with you distinguished gentlemen. I was attending His Majesty, but an imperial decree? This is the first I’ve heard of it.”

With the Royal Guards blocking the palace gates like an iron wall, there was nothing they could do.

Whatever was happening inside, they couldn’t openly intervene from outside. The nobles had no such authority.

Some frantically sought invitations to Countess Marta’s salon. However, they were turned away at the door.

The Royal Guards, following the Empress’s command, instantly suppressed the inside of the Imperial Palace.

Gayan dragged not only the unit that attacked the Prince’s Palace, but also the Prince’s Palace servants, maids, main palace employees, and countless others, binding them and throwing them into the interrogation chamber.

He already had a list. Who had let Cop through. Who had turned a blind eye to Hoson’s unit.

“The one and only Imperial Grandson nearly lost his life.”

Those words were absolute justification now that the existence of an imperial decree hadn’t been proven.

“Arrest and imprison all those who tried to disturb the Imperial Palace by claiming an imperial decree. They might be accomplices.”

Not only the Prince’s Palace, but even the dark main palace was ablaze with torchlight.

Meanwhile, the place Cop headed to was the most important place – where Hudson, the Commander of the Capital Guard, was located.

His calculations were wrong tonight.

He hadn’t anticipated that the Empress would hold a salon tonight and invite all the diplomatic envoys.

With those eyes watching, the fight at the Prince’s Palace couldn’t spread to the main palace, let alone the Empress’s Palace.

Except for Geus and Alden, who had been anti-Crown Prince from the beginning, and three or four others, all the Guard Knights who had been watching the situation turned around.

He also didn’t know that Bertolt would lock the palace gates and guard them strictly. Cop and the other secret investigators thought they had successfully intimidated him.

Even so, Cop wouldn’t have minded much. In fact, he didn’t care greatly whether they succeeded in capturing Leticia or not.

If they captured her, she would be helpful as a hostage in subduing Evron.

But more important than anything else was killing Cedric. If only that was accomplished, the rest could be managed somehow.

And right now, the most powerful military force in the capital was the Capital Guard.

“No matter how great Duke Evron and his knights’ prowess, they can’t defeat an army. The saying about one against a hundred is just a metaphor.”

Hudson twisted his lips and said that.

“Bring the imperial decree. Without an imperial decree, we can’t enter the capital.”

About 200 men, including Hoson’s unit that attacked the Prince’s Palace, had already entered the capital under Hudson’s orders.

This was possible because the unit commander, like Hudson, was part of the anti-Crown Prince faction.

But they couldn’t openly lead an army inside. Entering the capital without an imperial decree would be defined as treason on the spot.

Cop delivered the letter signed by the Emperor to Hudson.

One thousand Capital Guards who had been waiting in full armor moved.

Cedric stopped at a temple near the slums.

There was no sign of people at all. The temple was eerie. Rioters had destroyed it during the day, leaving not a single door or window intact.

He entered the chapel without hesitation.

The long benches were broken and scattered, and the curtains were torn. The altar that remained intact looked eerie in the moonlight.

“Roll call.”

The Evron knights who followed him counted from 1 to 18.

Finally, a knight who appeared from inside prostrated himself and paid his respects.

“Central Army Maverick and 100 others pay respects to His Highness the Crown Prince.”

“Well done. Are the introductions finished?”

“Yes.”

Cedric nodded.

From the beginning, whoever had incited the riot had destroyed the temple to use this place as a battle site.

This temple was in a quite secluded location. Right after being swept up in the riot, Bishop Nicos from the cathedral had gathered not only the priests but also people from nearby buildings and evacuated them to other temples.

Thanks to that, the area around this temple was now empty.

Before Cedric moved to the slums, Maverick had entered the temple first.

And he had been waiting until now.

“Now all that’s left is waiting.”

Cedric said.

As those words fell, the Evron knights relaxed their tension for the moment and each checked their posture.

Instead, 30 Central Army knights each took up guns and positioned themselves by the windows.

Even though they had moved at a pace that maintained appropriate distance and allowed pursuit, the attack didn’t begin immediately.

“Are they trying to replenish firearms?”

Cedric muttered.

He couldn’t remember how many he had cut down. Certainly at first, forty or fifty had been chasing them.

And on the way, that number gradually increased to over 150.

Few knew how to properly use swords and spears. They were probably guards working for noble families or thugs bought with money.

“They’re probably waiting for reinforcements. They wouldn’t have the courage to face Evron knights directly.”

Well, that would be the case.

Even among the Evron knights, two had been injured, but they had cut down about twenty times that number.

They controlled their speed to keep the pursuit going and deliberately broke formation several times.

Even so, having few casualties was a stroke of luck.

Cedric wondered how things were going in other places by now.

“They’re coming!”

The lookout who had been watching from the temple tower shouted and came running down.

Maverick shouted.

“How many?”

“At least a thousand!”

Tension spread across Maverick’s face. He hadn’t expected the entire Capital Guard to turn against them.

Cedric said bitterly.

“The fight is going to be bigger than expected.”

He ordered about twenty men to fire sporadically. He hoped the enemy wouldn’t notice the ambush.

Hudson surrounded the temple tightly with a force of a thousand.

It wasn’t because he was wary of a mere twenty or so people.

This wasn’t a battle. Simply pushing forward to victory wouldn’t do.

The important thing was that Cedric must not survive.

So Hudson planned to form a firing net and annihilate the temple completely.

But just as he finished the encirclement and was about to detach part of his special unit to charge the temple.

Click!

The sound of thousands of guns being loaded rang out.

Guns emerged from every window of the buildings surrounding the temple. Torches blazed on every rooftop, making the temple as bright as day.

Flames raced along pre-made oil channels.

The ambushing Central Army revealed themselves. It was a formation where another unit had surrounded the Capital Guard that had surrounded the temple.

General Boyden stepped forward. Hudson was shocked. As far as he knew, Boyden should still be stationed on the Southern Road with the Southern Subjugation Army.

“Commander Hudson, I’ll offer this only once. Have them drop their weapons.”

“General Boyden, are you defying the imperial command?”

“The crime of attacking Prince with a forged imperial command should rightfully be called treason, but your subordinates must have followed without knowing anything. If battle breaks out, only innocent soldiers will be sacrificed.”

General Boyden said.

“As a commander, it would have been right to attack immediately rather than waste time like this. However, aren’t both your men and my men all loyal soldiers of the Empire? Prince doesn’t want innocent sacrifices. That’s why I’m offering this only once.”

Hudson gritted his teeth.

There was no chance of victory against the Central Army. The Capital Guard stood with their guns aimed at the temple.

The moment they tried to turn around, the Central Army would shoot them in the back.

The battle wasn’t Hudson’s decision.

One of the Capital Guard members, realizing that the person in the temple was the Crown Prince, panicked in shock and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

Maverick returned fire. General Boyden stepped back and ordered the attack.

Hudson led his loyal Elite Guard and rushed into the temple.

It was an attempt to capture Cedric and reverse the situation.

However, he couldn’t even enter through the door. The waiting knights shot him down at the entrance.

The last thing he saw was Cedric’s troubled face.

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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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