The Villainess Lives Twice - Chapter 321

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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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2. Spring Breeze (15)

By the time they arrived at the Empress’s Palace, the sun had already set.

It had been a leisurely walk for Sedric, but Leticia had alternated between running and walking. She had made a fuss about going ahead first, but eventually in the garden of the Empress’s Palace, Leticia stretched out her arms.

“Daddy, carry me.”

“Alright.”

Sedric scooped Leticia up in his arms.

Although Mel’s family and several others from Evron would be staying there, he didn’t bother to show his face.

Sedric had decided that the time he spent at the Empress’s Palace after sunset would be completely private time.

If there were urgent matters, he would receive reports and leave, but he decided to postpone things like receiving greetings until tomorrow.

The dinner with Mel’s family was scheduled for a few days later. Count Jordin’s family and the children would need time to adjust.

Artizea was waiting in the family dining hall.

“Mommy!”

Leticia asked to be put down and immediately ran into Artizea’s skirts.

Stroking the child’s head, Artizea said,

“You’re late. It’s been quite a while since we received word that you had departed from the main palace.”

“Tisha said she wanted to walk.”

“Did you really walk all the way?”

“Mmhm.”

Leticia hesitated. She hadn’t walked the entire way, but she had walked to the Empress’s Palace.

The desire to boast about her accomplishment and the thought that maybe it wasn’t quite right tangled together in her little head.

Sedric placed his hand on Leticia’s shoulder and said,

“She didn’t walk. She ran half the way.”

“Hehe.”

Leticia laughed with relief.

“I see. But why does your face look like this? Did you make her cry?”

“…Because I broke my promise yesterday and left without saying goodbye.”

“I told her it couldn’t be helped because you were busy.”

Artizea gently chided in a soft voice. Leticia puffed out her cheeks.

“But still. People who break promises are bad people.”

“Then is Daddy a bad person?”

Leticia’s eyes wavered. If she had been really angry, she would have said he was bad without hesitation, but not now.

Sedric rescued Leticia from her confusion.

“Now, we need to eat dinner, so let’s go wash your hands and face.”

“Okay.”

Leticia obediently took Sedric’s hand and moved to the adjacent room.

A ceramic basin filled with warm water was prepared on a shelf specially made to match Leticia’s height.

When Sedric rolled up her sleeves, Leticia squeezed her eyes shut like a knight facing an enemy and plunged her entire face into the basin.

Water overflowed from the basin and splashed everywhere. The attendants had been waiting with towels, anticipating this would happen.

“Your clothes are getting all wet, Tisha.”

Despite Sedric’s warning, Leticia splashed around with her arms, making gurgling sounds.

Then she suddenly lifted her head and buried her face in the towel Sedric was holding, with her eyes still closed.

Even her bangs were completely soaked. Sedric sighed and dried everything from her bangs to her arms with the towel.

Since Leticia was born, he had been trying to do everything he could when possible, to make up for the long periods he couldn’t be with her.

Even so, it was still embarrassing for the attendants, so they all kept their heads bowed.

“There, you’re all clean. Do your eyes hurt?”

“They don’t hurt.”

“Then go with Lady Kishower and change your clothes. They’re all wet.”

“Daddy, I want strawberry ice cream.”

Leticia tugged at his trouser leg and wheedled.

“Change out of your wet clothes and finish all your dinner first.”

“Aww.”

“No.”

Leticia was about to sulk again.

Sedric thought for a moment. He knew the effective response for times like this better than Artizea.

He had only hesitated about whether it was educationally appropriate. But today was a day he felt sorry, so he rationalized to himself.

“If you go and change clothes nicely and behave well, I’ll give you mine too.”

“Really?!”

Leticia shouted excitedly. Then she ran to Lady Kishower.

The attendants had anticipated this too, so Leticia’s new shirt was ready.

While Sedric washed his hands, Lady Kishower helped her change clothes. Leticia pulled Sedric’s hand, urging him to hurry.

Artizea had been sitting at the dining table, staring blankly at the candlelight, then looked up.

“Did we take too long?”

“No.”

Artizea gestured for them to sit.

Dinner was already fully prepared on the table.

There was Northern-style ham roasted over wood, and Sedric didn’t hide his pleased expression.

“Huh.”

Artizea let out a laugh. Sedric looked puzzled. But he soon understood the reason.

“Wow!”

Leticia cheered at the sight of the large omelet. She poked the omelet with her spoon and got excited seeing the runny yolk flow out.

By now Sedric knew that Leticia’s face was exactly like his own. But.

“Am I making that kind of face?”

He awkwardly touched his cheek. Artizea smiled.

“You don’t show your expressions quite so openly.”

Sedric felt relieved. Artizea wiped up the egg Leticia had spilled and said,

“I thought it would be better to include many foods familiar to the guests, so I had them prepare it that way. If it’s food you like, you should have told me.”

“It’s not something I particularly seek out.”

Sedric answered that way, but Artizea didn’t respond differently and said,

“Mel brought a cook with him. For a while, their cuisine will also appear on our side.”

“Tia.”

“They probably encountered quite a bit of Central cuisine while on the ship, but I plan to have them use Eastern and Southern ingredients as well. Broadening their experience is the main purpose.”

“It’s just what I’m used to.”

Sedric denied it again. Artizea smiled slightly.

“I understand.”

“Hmm.”

“You like many other things too. But since this kind of ham doesn’t require much effort to transport, it would be good to have it brought occasionally.”

When Artizea said that, Sedric felt embarrassed.

“I already knew. You ate it often in the North.”

This time Sedric truly kept his mouth shut and quietly sliced the ham thinly. He placed pieces of ham on both Artizea’s and Leticia’s plates.

Leticia stuffed the omelet into her mouth until her cheeks were about to burst, while waving her spoon around.

Artizea stopped her and said,

“It’s just that I have good observational skills. Even if you do like it, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about, is there?”

“I’ve never thought it was embarrassing, but…”

Sedric cleared his throat.

Having favorite foods wasn’t embarrassing. What would be embarrassing was if he had been making the same face as Leticia when she saw the omelet.

After finishing the meal, strawberry ice cream was served for dessert. For Artizea, who didn’t particularly like cold things, plain cream was served over strawberries.

When Sedric pushed his cup over to her as well, Leticia looked at him with sparkling eyes.

“It’s a promise.”

“You’re not giving it to her just because you feel sorry, are you?”

This time it was Sedric’s turn to lie.

When he flinched, Leticia took his side.

“Daddy gives it to me because he loves me.”

The lie was obvious. Artizea was exasperated, but decided to close her eyes and let it pass.

“Fine. But I’m going to talk to Lady Kishwar about this.”

“Mmm….”

Sedric groaned. He constantly heard that he shouldn’t reward the baby with material things, but perhaps because he spent so much time away from her, he just couldn’t seem to get it right.

Leticia, unaware that Sedric was destined to get a lecture later, busily worked her spoon.

Sedric only had a cup of tea. Iced tea was as much a luxury as ice cream from spring through fall.

In winter, no one wanted to waste body heat, and when the weather warmed up, ice became expensive.

It was the only luxury Sedric sought for himself after becoming Emperor.

Only then did he let out a long sigh and ask.

“How were the guests?”

“It was a beneficial meeting. Actually, even though I said I was studying the language, I thought it wouldn’t be of any real use. But once I get used to it, I’m confident I’ll be able to understand everything.”

“Weren’t you being too enthusiastic for that?”

“If they know I understand even part of the words, the interpreters won’t be able to pull any tricks. And more than that, I was trying to find similarities in the pronunciation of old northern dialects and ancient languages.”

“You have some confidence then?”

Artizea nodded at Sedric’s question.

“Yes. I’ll need to do research to know for sure, but I’m certain there’s at least a connection to northern dialects. We’d have to go back hundreds of years though. Even though the pronunciation of ancient languages is just speculation now, we can record the Karam language.”

That was why she had specifically demanded the temple create a dictionary. Most academic achievements regarding records and languages from hundreds of years ago belonged to the temple.

It was also the temple that had left proper records about the North.

Artizea had already checked the list. But she had no intention of handling it directly herself.

Not only was it not something an individual could finish in a short time, but it would be much easier for them to accept if it was discovered and researched within the temple.

“Anyway, right now we’re in the stage of getting familiar with each other’s existence. I plan to have them engage in simple conversations multiple times.”

Artizea’s short-term goal was to discover academic priests within the temple who would take interest in this problem.

And Apua planned to have the Karam physically experience new civilizations during their visit.

Actually, among the items he requested, not a single one contained important technology. Except for steel wheel axles and a few types of precision ironwork, the rest were mostly things like picture books, colored pencils, scented candles and porcelain, and flowering potted plants.

The permitted time wasn’t long. They would leave before the weather got hot. The capital’s summer wasn’t weather the Karam could endure.

Artizea put a strawberry topped with whipped cream in her mouth, then suddenly felt nauseous from the sweetness.

“What’s wrong?”

“I think I ate too much.”

To Sedric’s eyes, it wasn’t just that the amount was small—objectively, she had eaten less than usual.

“It must be because you’re tired. And I drank too much tea during the day.”

Saying this to Sedric, who looked worried, Artizea put down her fork.

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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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