The Villainess Lives Twice - Chapter 322

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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 (16)

“And so, Milk lived happily ever after with his grandmother for a long, long time.”

Sedric finished reading the last sentence and glanced at Leticia. Leticia was fast asleep, snoring softly.

“Mmm, Daddy, I want Red…”

Perhaps sensing Sedric’s movement, Leticia turned over.

But her mumbled words seemed to be sleep talk. Despite his efforts to stay quiet, the child had already drifted far into dreamland.

Sedric closed the book and looked at the cover. On the book cover was a fluffy white puppy.

It was a story about a puppy who fell asleep in a neighbor’s cart while playing hide-and-seek, ended up traveling to a distant city, went on adventures, and finally returned home to reunite with his worried grandmother.

It seemed Leticia thought of Red whenever she heard about dogs.

Sedric quietly stood up and put the storybook back in its place. Looking around, he noticed the dog-shaped bookshelf was filled with picture books about dogs.

In the drawings she had made while playing during the day, Red was drawn next to Mother, Father, and Mielle.

Sedric picked it up and smiled wryly.

“I thought she might forget about it.”

“I know. I thought she only talked about raising one when she went to play.”

Artizea, who had been sitting a little distance away reading her own book, stood up and approached.

Sedric showed her the drawing and said,

“She’s more persistent than I expected. How about we allow it now?”

“Let’s do that. If Lord Sedric thinks that’s right.”

Sedric looked at Artizea in surprise.

“Weren’t you against it?”

“I neither dislike nor like it particularly. I just wondered if we should give in to everything she begs for.”

Artizea replied.

“Moreover, it’s a living creature.”

“Hmm… We’ll have to watch carefully. But it should be fine. Tisha is kind.”

“Yes.”

Sedric pulled her hand and linked arms with her.

The wet nurse came in and took over. Behind the two people leaving, attendants closed the curtains.

Normally, it would already be time for quiet by now. But today there were still people coming and going, and the corridor was brightly lit.

Near the quarters given to Mel’s family, lodging for Hanna and several other retainers had also been prepared. There were more people, and since they each had important duties, they wouldn’t have gone to sleep already.

Sedric escorted Artizea to the bedroom. He planned to wait until the entire Empress’s Palace had fallen asleep, then quietly visit the annex alone.

But Artizea sat primly on the bed and said,

“Please sit for a moment.”

“Is there some important matter to discuss?”

“No. It’s not important, but there’s something I’d like to hear about.”

Sedric pulled a chair from the tea table and sat facing Artizea. Sitting like this in the bedroom felt awkward.

Artizea said,

“There’s something you’re hiding from me, isn’t there?”

Sedric looked at Artizea with puzzlement.

Of course there were things he didn’t mention. Not because he was trying to keep them from her, but because there was simply too much work.

Practical matters weren’t worth discussing one by one, and after Artizea said she would retire, he hadn’t sought her opinion on every detail of domestic affairs, except perhaps for major policy directions.

But hiding something? He couldn’t guess what she was referring to.

Artizea spoke first.

“Lord Apua told me. That after the Told Gate fell, you joined the alliance of nine factions that ruled the North.”

“Ah.”

Sedric was surprised to hear something he hadn’t expected. He had never thought of it as hiding anything.

No, he had hidden it. Not so much from Artizea, but to keep it from being known on the homeland.

The Temple’s heretical inquisition was no longer a stage worth worrying about. However, if they knew that the North hadn’t been completely destroyed, there was a possibility that Lawrence would go even more berserk.

But he thought Artizea knew.

“You didn’t know?”

“I pride myself on being quite clever, but I didn’t even know communication with Karam was possible, so how could I have thought an alliance had been formed?”

“Then how did you think I could leave the North and move around so freely?”

Artizea paused for a moment. That was also a valid point.

During Lawrence’s reign, Sedric had stayed in the Western Regions for long periods and had taken her around both the Eastern Region and the North.

Artizea had thought that after he lost the Evron lands, he had become one of the Western Region warlords.

She didn’t know the details. She had already retired by then.

But thinking about it now, it would have been impossible to move around the North like that without a base. It was completely different from the Eastern Region where one could rough it outdoors.

That was something she could judge because she now knew the North.

Thinking about it differently, it meant that the base could remain safe even when the lord led the knights away.

“Even calling it an alliance, it wasn’t a political union like we might think. There wasn’t anything like a proper council meeting.”

Sedric said.

“The North is vast, and there’s plenty of land to divide. Moreover, Karam were close to nomads at the time. Even calling it an alliance, it was only at a primitive level.”

“But you said factions formed.”

“They did. There were attempts to select a king too. But Karam have no concept of territory. Laws follow custom, and there’s no administrative concept. There aren’t even taxes.”

So even calling it an alliance, it was just something like “let’s not fight among tribes and join forces to deal with common problems.”

Karam don’t move based on land. Their concept of politics was also different from humans. The first thing they check for dispute resolution or benefit distribution is blood relations.

So even though he joined the alliance, Sedric was an outsider.

“In effect, a non-aggression pact was formed with the Evron knights not to fight anymore, but humans didn’t function as a political force in the North at that time.”

But that wouldn’t have lasted long either.

From the beginning, rather than Evron being recognized as one of the nine factions, it was Sedric personally who received the same level of respect as the leaders of each faction.

That was a position that would disappear when Sedric aged and was no longer a great warrior. And that time would come soon.

He was already middle-aged. Though he had no illness, his body wasn’t the same as before. Minor injuries and fatigue accumulated over many years had pushed his physical limits.

Fighting Karam’s great warriors again was naturally impossible.

Nor did he have a successor who could fight like that in his place.

Sedric didn’t bother telling Artizea such details. It was already in the past.

There was no need to add to Artizea’s guilt by letting her know that he, a Prince, had to go to such lengths.

Instead, there was one thing he was curious about.

“I thought it wouldn’t affect the overall situation. If… if you had known about it, would your judgment have been different?”

“…”

That was about when Sedric had asked Artizea for a strategy.

It was pointless to be curious about it now. From the point of going back in time, it was already beyond human power to judge right and wrong.

The total amount of sacrifice would have been reduced. For the couple too, despite all the pain and sorrow they had experienced, the situation had become better than then and they had gained a lovely baby.

Nevertheless, in a corner of Sedric’s heart, there were always memories of that time.

Artizea thought for a long time with her eyes downcast. Then she asked carefully,

“Whether I was there or not, could Lord Sedric have regathered forces in the North to create a territory as stable as the Western Region lords?”

“It would have been difficult. In the North, small lands don’t produce enough to maintain an army. The administrative ability to supplement that had already been lost.”

Sedric didn’t hesitate long. It was a problem he had thought about countless times.

If he could have gathered all the remaining Northerners in one region, he might have been able to function as a political force.

But Sedric couldn’t do that.

If Karam had a concept of borders, he would have declared a certain land as territory and gathered people, but Karam don’t live that way.

In the Western Regions, it would have been quite possible. He could have united the warlords and crushed those who resisted to seize their lands.

The reason he didn’t do that was because it would immediately make him a target of the Emperor’s central army. It was inevitable if he had a fixed base.

Hearing his answer, Artizea said,

“Even aside from my health problems at the time… I had no solution.”

“Is that so.”

“Yes. Back then, we were both already… not young anymore. To start from building a foundation in the mud, we had too little time and too few people…”

Artizea murmured.

It wasn’t an era when a hero standing alone could become a nation. Artizea thought about how much despair Sedric must have carried while resisting.

She spread her arms. Sedric obediently approached as she gestured and leaned into her embrace.

Artizea stroked his hair.

“You’ve worked hard.”

“….”

Sedric made a sound that could have been either laughter or a groan. Then he pulled Artizea into a tight embrace.

* * *

The Jordin family’s dinner table was harmonious. For the first hour or so, at least.

Count Jordin’s husband, Yulli, was a kind and honest man. That had been the top priority when Mel chose her marriage partner in the first place.

To be good-natured and sincere, healthy and not too greedy, affectionate and fond of children.

She was the heir to House Jordin and would become the future administrator of Evron Estate. So her husband needed to be someone who could provide suitable support and give her healthy heirs.

Though it was a political marriage, the couple got along well. Yulli gave Mel healthy babies and raised the children without a single gloomy expression even while Mel was away on the battlefield.

Though his family had fallen considerably in status, everyone at the estate acknowledged him as a flawless son-in-law of House Jordin.

Hailey felt the same way. She liked Yulli. Given the age gap between her and Mel, there was also a considerable age difference with Yulli. There had been a time when she received his care.

But after more than an hour of being together, that affection disappeared behind distant memories.

Family members are naturally more endearing when they don’t live together. In that sense, Yulli was definitely Hailey’s family.

“You’re already past marriageable age, Hailey.”

Yulli declared with a solemn expression.

“If you want to bear healthy babies, you need to get married as soon as possible.”

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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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