The Villainess Lives Twice - Chapter 88

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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 88

When the beacon fire rose from the Tolt Gate Fortress, what worried Artizea the most was the appearance of an unexpected variable.

As far as Artizea remembered, there was no war with Karam this year.

If so, was this incident a butterfly effect caused by her own actions?

Or was it caused by someone else besides Cadriole who had memories from before the regression?

Artizea didn’t consider the former possibility very likely.

The possibility that someone from regions outside Evron was involved with Karam was close to zero.

The monster waves in the western regions were thought to be like natural disasters. Karam was no different. All regions except Evron regarded them as a type of monster.

Artizea knew that among those involved in imperial politics, she had the broadest perspective and was best at coming up with new ideas.

Moreover, she had even been obsessed with causing suffering to Evron.

Even she hadn’t thought that Karam could be a subject of negotiation or politics until she came here and talked with Cedric.

So the possibility that her actions in the homeland had influenced this was low.

That meant, in other words, that a completely unknown variable had occurred in Evron.

Uncontrollable variables are dangerous.

However, this one wasn’t such a problem.

Of course, the war itself was a problem.

But it wasn’t the appearance of an unexpected variable. If the cause of the war was in the northern village of Told, it meant that her own suggestions had influenced this conflict.

Artizea took a deep breath and looked at Hanna.

“Does His Highness the Prince know?”

“Yes. The village guard captain went to the Tolt Gate Fortress to make a report.”

“I see. What about the children?”

“They’ve already been sent back.”

“Still, since this has happened, it’s given the hardliners within Karam room to suppress the moderates and gain power.”

Artizea fell into deep thought.

“How did you handle the villagers? Hanna, I remember you being firmly confident that you could keep secrets.”

Hanna bowed her head with a pale face.

“I’m sorry.”

“I don’t want to hear an apology.”

“I will find whoever leaked the information as quickly as possible.”

Hanna bowed her head.

“What do you plan to do once you find them?”

“Punish them severely and warn them so this never happens again…”

“You surely know what will happen if this matter becomes known to the homeland. I’ve already told you why we’re dismantling the village and taking the roundabout way to offer it at the Grand Cathedral’s altar.”

“Yes.”

“Unless you’re going to kill everyone to silence them, warnings are meaningless.”

Artizea said coldly.

“Your Highness…!”

Lisia called out in surprise. Artizea pressed her forehead.

To be clear, there were no means beyond that. Half-hearted punishment and warnings would actually increase the possibility of information leaks.

In the first place, it wasn’t even certain whether finding them now would be meaningful or not.

Agate Javert said as if making an excuse.

“Originally, we planned to relocate them to a suitable area and cut off contact with the outside for a while. When the conflict arose, we hastily brought them to the fortress first, but since Karam units have been appearing here and there, we haven’t been able to handle the aftermath yet.”

“We need to deal with the residents first.”

Artizea turned to Lisia and asked.

“Would there be room in the Village of the rebels?”

“Our village?”

“The Village of the rebels is the most secret place in Evron. It would be good if you could take in about 8 households.”

First, the remaining households with Karam mixed blood or their relatives were fine. They had already made enemies with the temple.

The words of those with Karam mixed blood among their relatives wouldn’t even be officially accepted.

The rest would be hidden in the Village of the rebels.

The Village of the rebels was a place that all of Evron helped to conceal. The people there were the most loyal to the ducal house in Evron. They would also harbor resentment against the Imperial Court.

They would monitor the people from the northern village of Told to prevent them from leaking information.

“The fortress would need to provide some support.”

“So it’s not impossible.”

“I think temporary residence would be fine. We’d need to discuss whether we can accept them long-term.”

Artizea looked at Agate Javert and Hanna. Hanna nodded vigorously.

“If we can just get through this winter, we can solve the problems after that. When spring comes, we’ll relocate the entire village to a secret place as originally planned.”

“Can I trust those words?”

“They’re not people without such solidarity. They’ve all lived as neighbors with the Karam mixed-bloods for several years. Their loyalty is sufficient. I swear it.”

Hanna said.

Artizea let out a small sigh.

Loyalty and faith could coexist. The person who confessed to the priest this time probably didn’t do so from lack of loyalty.

In any case, fine.

Since information had already leaked once, it was safer to assume that this fact was already known somewhere.

It would be good if information didn’t leak again as Hanna said, but if it did, there was nothing to be done.

The only option was to hurry and have the Grand Cathedral offer the Karam crops at the altar as quickly as possible.

The Western Grain Merchant Guild needed to be established quickly too. So that even if the term “Karam crops” leaked out somewhere, it would be seen as a fight between grain merchants.

Artizea said.

“I need to go to the capital.”

“Pardon?”

All three people – Agate Javert, Hanna, and Lisia – looked at Artizea in surprise.

Artizea said.

“The sea route is blocked, but the land route should be open, shouldn’t it?”

“By land… do you mean?”

“It’s not an easy path, Your Highness. With the snow piled up… if you go slowly by carriage, it would take well over two months.”

“Moreover, Karam has crossed the Thold Mountains. While patrol units are hunting them down as they’re spotted, we can’t say it’s completely safe.”

Agate Javert said. Hanna had other concerns too.

“With conflict occurring at the Tolt Gate, if Your Highness leaves your post, the people’s morale might drop.”

Artizea had that concern too.

To be an excellent duchess, it would be right to remain at the fortress.

Artizea knew that the lord and his family staying at the fortress could give the people pride and trust.

However, considering what she could accomplish by going to the capital, that was too unprofitable.

She didn’t know much about military affairs. Rather, unnecessary effort and resources would be spent protecting her.

Some would view the duchess returning to the capital so soon after marriage as running away.

But such personal dishonor didn’t matter to her.

Though few in number, there were Karam who had crossed the Thold Mountains. Conflict was occurring at the gate. War might break out if things went wrong.

It wasn’t that she wasn’t worried about the war. She was also concerned that Cedric might get hurt.

But no matter how much she lost sleep over such worries, they were meaningless.

On the other hand, there was too much she could do in the capital precisely because of this moment.

At this time, no one could touch the Duchess of Evron.

If they wrongly touched the Duchess of Evron and the duchy collapsed or betrayed them, the next front line would be the Allia Wall.

Soon, it would mean war between the Imperial Court and the central nobility.

Instead of letting that happen, she would extract a sufficient amount of military supplies and compensation. She had to take as much as they were sacrificing, didn’t she?

She didn’t know what the naive previous duchesses were like. But Artizea intended to fully show them what could happen if they touched Evron at this point.

Their lives were worth much more than those of Evron’s people. At least that’s what they themselves thought.

Shouldn’t that difference be compensated with gold?

The Grand Cathedral was the same. While Evron was at war with Karam, they couldn’t excommunicate her, the duchess.

So now was the optimal time to harvest the seeds she had sown and scheme.

Everything she needed to do was in the capital.

“Plan it so we can arrive within two months, Lisia. Before winter ends.”

“Your Highness…”

“We’ll conduct consolation visits while heading south. If we don’t have enough troops for that, we’ll form a minimal escort and hurry there.”

“No. It’s possible.”

Marquis Agate answered.

“However, I would like to speak to His Grace the Grand Duke first.”

“Very well.”

Artizea said.

“I’ll write the letter.”

“Yes.”

Marquis Agate answered, unable to completely hide his bewilderment.

“It’s late at night, so everyone go and rest.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Artizea was the first to rise from her seat.

A rough outline of what to do next had already formed in her mind. Now she just needed to deal with the priest.

* * *

Artizea’s letter was delivered to Cedric at the Told Gate fortress three days later.

“Did you bring the letter yourself?”

Cedric frowned slightly at Lisia, who was presenting the letter.

“Yes. It’s not that far from the main castle. Her Highness said it was an important letter and she’d prefer if I delivered it personally.”

There had been a slight suspicion that she was trying to pass Cedric off to her again.

“She also told me to see the war situation with my own eyes and report back. She thought His Grace might downplay it when reporting…”

As she said this, Lisia looked beyond the castle walls.

Twenty thousand Karam warriors.

It was by no means a small number. But it wasn’t enough to break through the Told Gate fortress either.

Generally, it’s said that attacking a fortress requires three to five times the number of troops as the defending side.

The number of troops permanently stationed at Told Gate was ten thousand. Arithmetically speaking, there would need to be at least thirty thousand Karam warriors to make it a fair fight.

However, that was when it came to humans fighting humans. In reality, Evron held back one hundred thousand Karam with ten thousand troops.

Karam civilization was far behind that of the Empire.

Karam lifespan was at most about forty years even for the longest-lived. Without writing and in an environment unsuitable for developing agriculture, history couldn’t accumulate.

Karam tactics were at a childish level, and their weapons hadn’t developed properly either. Compared to humans who already used firearms, Karam had only just begun to properly handle spears and swords.

Despite their excellent physical and survival abilities close to those of wild beasts, reproductive capacity several times that of humans, and rapid growth that reached adulthood in ten years, this was why Karam couldn’t cross Told.

But.

“Battering rams, aren’t they?”

Lisia stared blankly at the other side. There were siege weapons.

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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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