The Villainess Lives Twice - Chapter 75

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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 75

As soon as he escaped Alphonse’s blade, Cardriole ran frantically to the first floor.

“How many are left?”

“Three!”

Three elite guards had died at the hands of Alphonse alone.

Including the guard who died bringing in the smoke bomb, they had lost four in an instant.

Evron in winter is vulnerable.

Their forces are concentrated toward Karam. They hardly even considered being attacked by fellow humans. The frozen sea and bitter cold were more powerful defensive measures than anything else.

Moreover, key military figures including knights were away for the hunting event.

If they could just secure an escape route, kidnapping one powerless woman would be easy.

But it wasn’t something to take so lightly.

The moment they recognized enemies had entered, the fortress itself moved.

Steel gates dropped one after another in front of and behind Cardriole. Originally meant to slow down enemies invading from outside.

But falling simultaneously, one could easily be trapped in the corridor.

Though his target location was close, Cardriole had to take a roundabout route. He burst into another room, opened another door, and ran out into a new corridor.

If he hadn’t memorized the fortress structure beforehand from the map Aubrey drew, no matter how skilled his subordinates were as the finest warriors of the Southern Sea, they would have been helplessly captured and killed.

“Damn!”

Arrows flew consecutively from behind.

Guards blocked the corridor. Every entrance to the fortress would be blocked by soldiers.

“Go ahead!”

One guard remained behind. Cardriole shouted, “I’ll definitely repay this!”

And finally he reached the end of the first-floor corridor.

“Turn the left wrist and right wrist of the saint statue carved on the wall simultaneously. It’s a secret passage made to supply water when the fortress enters siege mode.”

That’s what Aubrey had told him.

This secret passage only opened from inside and only led to the river. But that was enough for Cardriole.

Aemel is a maritime kingdom, a nation of water.

For Aemel people, handling ships was no different from handling their own hands and feet. Even a ten-year-old could handle sails and ride the wind.

Even a frozen river was still a river. Once he got on a boat, he wouldn’t lose to anyone.

With a rumbling sound, the wall with the saint statue opened.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

Short arrows struck the saint statue in succession.

Cardriole set off his last smoke bomb. And leaped into the secret passage.

Lisia lowered her crossbow.

If she shot arrows into that smoke, there was no guarantee Artizea wouldn’t be hit.

A group of soldiers rushed into the secret passage.

Lisia said.

“Send people to the outside of the secret passage. We need to get ahead of them.”

“What is all this about?”

“Send a messenger to the Prince immediately. And secure Aubrey Jordin.”

Lisia continued speaking. Margaret’s face turned ashen. Lisia grabbed her hand.

“We need to find out who leaked the secret passage.”

There were three secret passages in the fortress.

Among them, this saint statue passage was the least important. Rather than a secret passage, it was an emergency water supply route, so it was short and unsuitable as an escape route.

But that was speaking from the perspective of Evron people or Cratese mainlanders.

At its end was a river. And the enemy were Southern Sea people.

“H-how do you know it was Aubrey…”

“Think rationally. Aubrey has the highest probability, Aunt. Aubrey is at the temple, and those people were also staying at the temple. Did Aubrey resent Her Highness somewhat?”

Lisia spoke coldly.

Moreover, though Cedric said everyone knew, literally ‘everyone’ couldn’t possibly know how to open the secret passages.

He had only told the retainers in preparation for when Karam might breach the fortress and the command structure might be destroyed.

And that included Count and Countess Jordin, who were the fortress administrators and the lord’s representatives, and their children who were expected to inherit that role.

The color drained from Margaret’s face.

“We need to find out even a little information about those people. Aunt Margaret! If something happens to Her Highness like this, how will you face the Prince!”

Margaret looked up in shock. Then she nodded and ran outside.

* * *

Artizea regained consciousness after Cardriole had escaped the fortress and boarded a ship.

Artizea opened her bleary eyes and raised her head. She was lying on the floor of a cabin as small as a coffin.

Over her body was a thick fur coat made in two layers. A fur skin was also laid on the floor.

“Ah…”

Her whole body ached as if she’d been beaten. She sat up.

Unable to bear her body frozen from the cold, she pulled on the coat that had been covering her. It reached down to her ankles.

Her last memory was being embraced by Cardriole and having her neck grabbed from behind.

She carefully stood up. Her feet in indoor silk shoes were so cold her toes felt like they might fall off.

Large fur boots were placed there. Artizea put them on and staggered out of the cabin.

A modified small ship was sliding forward over the ice like a sled.

Artizea looked around in a daze. The sail was fully inflated with wind.

The riverbank flashed by like an arrow. Even when riding Evron ships during warm seasons, they never achieved such speed.

“You’re awake.”

Cardriole snapped his fingers.

“The accommodations aren’t great, but bear with it. I know the Marchioness isn’t in the best health, but we can’t afford to load things like braziers.”

Artizea sucked in her breath. The cold air froze her lungs.

“I don’t know what kind of hellish weather this is. Is Evron sane? Building castles and making villages to live in a place like this?”

“Prince Cardriole.”

“Are the fur boots warm? I don’t want to cut off the bride’s toes from frostbite either.”

“How…”

“How, you say.”

Handing the sail rope to another sailor, Cardriole approached Artizea.

Artizea flinched and stepped back.

“Where should I start? How I escaped? How I knew the fortress structure? How I got this far?”

Cardriole smiled broadly.

“Or should I start from the moment my head fell off? You didn’t see it, did you, Marchioness? My head falling off after being struck by an axe?”

“Your Highness.”

“The executioner told me. You spent money to change it to a sharp axe? Should I thank you for that shallow mercy?”

“That was…”

“Actually, I was truly grateful. My head came off in one blow. If I’d been axed five or six times, I would have gone mad the moment my memories revived.”

Artizea took another step back.

Cardriole caught her waist. Her wrist, swung as if to resist, was also easily caught.

“Be careful. If you fall under the ship now, your body will be shredded by the ice and you’ll die instantly.”

“How.”

That was all Artizea could ask.

Prince Cardriole of the Kingdom of Aemel was the pirate king of the Southern Sea.

The Kingdom of Aemel was a small island nation in the Southern Sea.

The population was small, and the land was even smaller. There were no resources, and agriculture couldn’t develop in the salty soil.

That said, unlike the Kingdom of Ients in similar circumstances, they hadn’t developed sophisticated technology either.

The only developed industry was fishing. But seafood distribution was only possible at best along the coast.

While Cratese developed, Aemel grew increasingly poor.

So what Cadriole turned his attention to was piracy.

It wasn’t like that from the beginning. At first, he used his advanced navigation skills to enter shipbuilding and intermediary trade.

However, the House of Liagan, backed by imperial support, crushed that.

It didn’t take Cadriole even a few years to realize that he could never compete against the Cratese Empire’s large-scale merchant guilds.

He subdued the pirates of the Southern Sea and gathered them all under his command.

Most of the Southern Sea pirates were originally from the Kingdom of Aemel anyway. Even those from other kingdoms shared the common denominator of being from the Southern Sea.

The organized pirates concentrated on plundering Cratese Empire merchant ships. They also periodically swept through southern coastal regions to weaken the navy.

At the same time, he proclaimed himself the protector of the Southern Sea as a prince of Aemel.

Word spread that merchant ships under the protection of the Aemel Navy could safely cross the seas.

The southern regions of the Empire suffering from piracy had been happening since the founding of the nation.

However, for about the next 10 years from now, the imperial navy would be at its weakest, and pirate power would run rampant.

They fell into a situation where they could do nothing without the help of the Aemel Navy.

It was all Cadriole’s doing.

So Artizea joined hands with Cadriole. Manipulating grain prices to oust Duke Loigar was their first transaction.

For Cadriole, it was a deal he had no reason to refuse.

He received money separately, plundered grain ships to obtain that as well. As grain prices rose, he released the plundered grain into the Empire’s southern regions, gaining triple profits.

Even after Duke Loigar was ousted, their alliance continued for some time. Because Lawrence wanted to subjugate even the House of Liagan.

However, in the end, Artizea betrayed Cadriole. Because he possessed evidence of the conspiracy she had orchestrated.

Cadriole trusted Artizea, only to be captured by the king on charges of treason and lose his head.

It was the Cratese Empire that lent soldiers to the King of Aemel that day. More precisely, it was Lawrence.

“How…?”

Artizea had no choice but to ask again. Cadriole smiled.

“About 4 months ago, I woke up from sleep and suddenly felt so amazed and grateful that my neck was still attached. The memory of being crushed by the executioner’s block was vivid. At first, I thought I had just had some strange nightmare.”

“…”

“But from that day on, things were very strange. The documents, the people, everything was something I had already seen, and I could even predict the exact dates when storms would come. The memories became increasingly vivid until I could no longer say it was just a dream.”

Cadriole said.

“So do you know what I thought of first? Marchioness?”

“I don’t know.”

“That I had to get my hands on you.”

Cadriole’s hand gripped Artizea’s chin, holding it in place.

“You don’t know how desperately I longed for you. I thought about it countless times. When we meet, should I strangle you, or kiss you?”

He smiled savagely. His whisper fell upon Artizea’s lips.

Artizea held her breath.

There should be no one else with memories. Artizea had confirmed this in various ways.

Cadriole kissed her. Artizea bit down hard on those lips.

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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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