The Villainess Lives Twice - Chapter 59

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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 59

“Lord Sedric should have more pride in himself.”

Artizea said.

“What made Lord Sedric who he is wasn’t the authority that comes with the Duke of Evron’s title, nor the honor the Empire bears, but Lord Sedric himself.”

“Tia.”

“They say position makes the person, but not everyone in the same position produces the same results.”

If that were the case, it wouldn’t have mattered who became emperor. Artizea smiled slightly at the thought.

“If you had forced sacrifices through power, the Western Army would never have followed Lord Sedric. There were many who wanted to follow, weren’t there? If Lord Sedric had accepted them, the soldiers would have turned their backs on their homeland and moved to barren lands with their families. Do you think just anyone could accomplish such a thing?”

“Did you know about that? Ah, Freil must have told you.”

“It wasn’t the size of your military achievements, but because you could give such faith and hope that Lord Sedric was treated as a hero.”

If he had only thought of the Evron Duchy, accepting would have been right. It was a way to solve both the population growth rate that had hit a wall and the perpetually insufficient military strength at once.

But Sedric didn’t do that.

There were internal circumstances within the Evron Duchy. However, more than that, he was concerned that removing trained forces from the west would cause great damage to civilians in the next monster wave.

“There are as many people who believe in Lord Sedric as there are citizens in this duchy, and countless more in the Imperial Army. You should believe in yourself.”

Sedric’s face turned bright red. Artizea smiled mischievously.

“I’m included in that number too.”

Sedric turned his eyes away from Artizea.

“You sometimes confuse me too much.”

“I don’t say things that aren’t true.”

“I know.”

It wasn’t uncommon for him to hear sincere praise.

However, Artizea’s words had a particularly heart-stirring quality to them.

His chest swelled like when hearing the cheers of soldiers who survived after a difficult battle. He felt proud of himself, proud of her, and above all else, happy.

He was ashamed of such feelings.

Sedric shook his head once, shaking off his emotions along with it.

“Let’s stop this kind of talk now. The food will get cold.”

Sedric broke a piece of bread in half. The white interior tore apart, steaming hot.

“Here.”

He handed the bread to Artizea.

“It’s hot, so be careful.”

“Ah, thank you.”

Artizea accepted it.

The back of her neck felt ticklish.

She knew that Sedric preferred to eat simply without following etiquette.

Even at the manor in the capital, he would often have food brought to his study or drawing room to eat. On the ship too, he would spread all the food on one table in the cramped space and eat without any particular order.

But sitting side by side with their plates in front of the fireplace like this felt excessively intimate.

When Artizea finished all her soup bit by bit, Sedric took the empty bowl and placed it on the trolley.

Then he handed her a plate with a small portion of the main dish and a fork.

“Eat it all. That’s what’s best for me.”

“I’ll try my best.”

Artizea sighed. The soup was so rich that she felt full just from that alone.

“You need to eat well to maintain your body temperature. You should develop the habit starting now.”

“My stomach doesn’t handle it well…”

“It’s not that it doesn’t taste good, is it?”

“It’s not that, but…”

Artizea knew best that the reason was psychological. Even knowing this, it wasn’t something she could control herself.

“Try to eat even a little.”

Sedric watched her eat for a moment. Then he matched her slow eating pace and ate slowly himself.

Then, timing it for when Artizea’s meal was nearly finished, he spoke up.

“Tomorrow…”

“Tomorrow I’d like to look at the territory’s financial situation.”

They both spoke almost simultaneously.

Sedric flinched. Feeling as if she had interrupted him, Artizea hesitated.

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

“It’s nothing serious. I was planning to go to the family mausoleum tomorrow. If you’re alright with it, I was going to ask you to come with me.”

“Ah.”

Artizea let out a short groan.

“I’m sorry. It’s an important matter, but I had forgotten about it.”

She hadn’t even thought about it.

Since she had come as the duchess, it was proper to visit the family mausoleum. It was also a matter of courtesy to the retainers.

“Don’t think about it so seriously. I wasn’t planning to hold a formal service or anything. Since I’ve returned after a long time, I was initially thinking of just going alone casually, like taking a walk.”

Sedric stroked his cheek once to calm the heat rising in his face.

He was asking her to go out together when it wasn’t for any special business. It required considerable courage.

“Since we’re going anyway, I thought it might be nice to go together. It’s not far, so I thought it might be a good change of pace for you too… And there’s something I’d like to show you.”

“Yes…”

Artizea slowly nodded her head.

“So, are you giving your permission?”

“Using the word ‘permission’ is too grand. I have time, and I have no intention of refusing Lord Sedric’s invitation.”

Artizea replied.

“Then let’s visit the family mausoleum in the morning, and receive reports together in the afternoon.”

“Yes, let’s do that.”

After that, they ran out of things to talk about and a brief silence fell.

Sedric became very embarrassed and awkward. It felt as if anxiety was stabbing at his heels.

It felt like something was filling up to his throat. There were many things he wanted to say, and he didn’t know which of them he should say.

Even returning from the extraordinary to the ordinary, the world remained changed for him. Coming back to familiar places made him realize even more how much he had changed.

Eventually, he couldn’t sit there any longer and stood up in his restless mood.

Artizea stood up following him. Sedric cleared away all the dishes and loaded them onto the trolley.

“Just leave them. The maids will take care of it.”

“I’ll leave it here.”

Artizea came out to see him off at the doorway.

Sedric let out a long sigh. He didn’t want to be nervous, but it wasn’t working out that way.

“Tia.”

“Yes.”

“Thank you.”

“Yes? For what?”

Not understanding why Sedric was saying such a thing, Artizea blinked her eyes.

Then Sedric made a deflating sound and laughed.

He still felt embarrassed.

But after saying it, his heart felt more at ease and he could make a natural expression.

“For various things. For listening to what I had to say, among other things.”

His feelings were too complex to summarize and express in one sentence.

Sedric had never thought there would come a day when he would return with someone.

He had never been alone.

People who were like family had always been by his side.

His retainers spared nothing for him. Ansgard followed him even to battlefields. There were several who risked their lives to protect him.

He had stood on dangerous lines of death. But a solid net of trust created among people in the same situation supported him from below.

Love is something that cannot be hidden or falsely created. Though he lost his parents at such a young age that he couldn’t even remember their faces, Sedric grew up surrounded by as much love as parents would give.

This entire Evron Duchy was his home. That’s why even when he was held hostage in the capital during his childhood, and when he suddenly took on the heavy responsibility of being the Empire’s shield as a young man, he had never thought of disliking Evron.

So he had never thought of himself as lonely.

But returning together with Artizea like this, he realized that wasn’t the case.

His heart was full just from the fact that she was there. Only then did he realize there had been such an empty space in his life.

For Artizea, this was a marriage she had no choice but to enter out of necessity. Moreover, it was limited to two years. He would be nothing more than a contract partner.

But for him, it was more than that.

Even if it hadn’t been Artizea, he would have married someone eventually. He would have had children and built a family.

However, Cedric didn’t think he would have felt as fulfilled as he did now if he had done so.

He might have respected and cherished that marriage partner. It could have been someone he found attractive as a woman.

But he wouldn’t have felt both respect and admiration together as he did now for Artizea. He wouldn’t have thought he was happy that she was by his side.

Cedric took a deep breath.

“Thank you for choosing me.”

“You’re saying strange things. You knew from the beginning that this would be mutually beneficial.”

Artizea turned her head slightly and looked down at the floor, speaking deliberately coldly.

‘Don’t speak so kindly.’

Those words echoed countless times in her mind.

She was someone who didn’t deserve to hear such words. She was an enemy against whom he would have every right to draw his sword and cut off her head right now.

From the beginning, it wasn’t she who had chosen, but Cedric.

Cedric had pulled her out of the Underground Prison. He had knelt down and told her to devise schemes for the world.

He was the first to say he needed her.

So she decided to become the person he needed.

This time, she would kneel down and devise schemes for him.

That was all.

Artizea prayed that the sound of her heartbeat wouldn’t reach Cedric’s ears.

Cedric smiled.

“That’s right.”

His voice sounded happy.

So Artizea momentarily forgot what conversation they had been having. She couldn’t understand what Cedric meant by saying “that’s right.”

Cedric reached out and took Artizea’s hand.

The temperature of their two hands was different, making Artizea’s fingers tingle as they warmed.

She didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t think of anything. Her breathing became labored.

“Tia.”

Artizea hesitated, then barely managed to lift her eyes to look up at him. And she froze.

Deep, profound eyes came close. Artizea stopped breathing.

And she stared blankly as his black eyelashes slowly lowered, hiding the gentle light within them.

Something soft lightly touched her cheek. Artizea was startled as if she had been struck.

His lips pulled away.

Cedric gently caressed the spot where he had touched. And he said tenderly.

“Sleep well.”

Artizea nodded stupidly. Cedric opened the door and left.

Click.

The door closed.

Artizea finally managed to draw in the breath she had been holding.

It felt as if blood was finally flowing through all the vessels in her body. Her cheeks burned as if they were on fire.

On trembling legs, she staggered backward and collapsed into a random chair.

She couldn’t comprehend what had just happened.

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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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