The Villainess Lives Twice

Chapter 29

Translator: effefille

Proofreader: xoxomonami

“That’s right. Do you often talk about that with your fiancée?”

Cedric looked at Lin with an embarrassed face.

She had already been exposed to the outside world too much. Newspapers had made noise that Cedric had found the trafficking site in the midst of looking for a proposal gift for her.

As the case progressed, the words seemed to fade for a while, but as soon as Count Eisen’s affairs were revealed, her name began to reappear.

Artizea didn’t seem to mind.

However, contrary to the request to strictly protect the White family, she isolated herself.

Cedric hated it.

Apart from trusting Lin personally and as a servant of the empire, he did not want to be sloppy. However, when Lin asked, it was impossible not to answer.

“It’s not like this has nothing to do with her.”

“I know that the Lady Rosan is still young, but she has great insight. Well, the Marchioness Rosan is also smart in certain areas if you take away her hysterical temper. Instinctively, she knows how to get what she wants.”

“….”

It was about Artizea’s parents, so Cedric refused to talk.

“Do you feel skeptical about politics?” Lin asked gently.

“A little bit.” Cedric responded bluntly.

He didn’t know it before, but the fact that this incident was nothing to the emperor gave Cedric an unfamiliar realization of futility.

When Cedric himself was in check, he did not realize it was his problem.

It was a dangerous law for those who hold military power. In addition, he was the child of parents related to royalty, who died tragically for accusations of treason.

However, in this case there was no object to be held in check. It seemed like a completely accidental incident, thanks to the circumstances Artizea had made.

Lin is only a servant of the emperor and is only tasked with dealing with the trafficking case.

If he had to keep it in check, it would be Cedric again, but Cedric has never been involved in domestic politics up until now.

Therefore, this was a purely public issue.

Nevertheless, the emperor seemed to be thinking of only using Cedric’s work to strengthen his own power.

“But that’s the politics of Krates. We are not doing the right thing to cover up disputes, not using the finances efficiently, but we are running away from the people’s will by weighing in the wishes of the emperor.”

“Doesn’t the Chancellor feel skeptical about it?”

“I shouldn’t feel that way.”

“So why do you ask me if I feel skeptical?”

Lin kept his mouth shut.

There was a moment of silence. Lin changed the topic.

“It is rather fortunate that the Grand Duke was able to cover up the bribe case.”

“Pardon?”

Cedric asked back. Lin replied.

“As far as we know from the inside story, Lord Lawrence and Grand Duke Roygar were also hit by this incident. Grand Duke Roygar not only lost an important source of funding, but was also weakened by His Majesty the Emperor. He was favored by his Majesty.”

“Yes, I know.”

“The blow that Lord Lawrence suffered because of Count Eisen is not to mention great as well. Not only did he gain a bad reputation, he must have hated His Majesty. Considering that Count Eisen was rejected, he probably also suffered a blow to his fund line.”

“I would assume so.”

“If the bribery case was made big, there will be many people who think that the Grand Duke has dug this up for Lord Lawrence. But since we’ve covered up the bribery case, Lord Lawrence is the only one left. It’s a shame, but the emperor punished Lord Lawrence instead and cut off his power.”

And at the same time, rumors spread that he was engaged to Artizea.

People will now never say that the engagement was a marriage alliance between Lawrence and Cedric.

It worked out as she promised. Cedric was brought to central politics by imprinting important figures of the Lawrence faction.

But it started out by accident, so Lawrence would not see him as an enemy.

Did Artizea predict this far? It’s a mystery.

“Isn’t your fiancée sad?”

“Yes. She told me to follow the path that I thought was right. She knows what I need to do now more than anyone else.”

“Your fiancée has good sense. Do not let go of that hand, Your Grace. It is rare for a person in your position to find genuine affection and trust, not politics.”

“Yes, I know.”

There was a stifled sigh in Cedric’s heart as he answered.

It was when this began to escalate, and Freil said the same thing for a completely different reason.

[You must not lose the Lady Rosan, Your Grace. I feel it is too dangerous to pass her onto others. Honestly, it’s creepy to think that Lady used to be Lawrence’s support.]

Cedric agreed rationally to the remark. But the sentiment was opposed.

Whenever he thought of Artizea, Cedric was caught in a strange mood.

His heart seemed to be pounding and he felt excited.

She is only 18 years old now. She was still young. It was the age to be protected.

Looking at those pale and slender wrists, he thought it would be right not to talk about the situation and ask for advice, but to wrap her into a warm flower blanket and put her on a sofa on a sunny day.

He wanted to take care of her. Although he needed her advice, she wasn’t a tool to be used.

But more than anyone else, Artizea treated herself that way. It was frustrating, but he felt upset because he couldn’t do anything about it.

****

Scratch scratch

The sound of the quills scratching the rough paper was irritating.

Bill groaned and looked at the original again, drawing a stroke as if he were sewing stitch by stitch.

“Shiiiiiit…….”

He had been stuck in a narrow closet for nearly a month, copying an unreadable ancient text book he was given by Artizea.

He felt like his wrists and fingers were going to come off. His eyes hurt, too, and he felt like he would vomit just by smelling paper and ink.

It could have been fortunate if it had ended there.

Having been trapped here, he could hardly grasp how the Marquisate of Rosan’s mansion was doing.

However, he could tell that there were a lot of people.

Most of the servants, perhaps Bill’s closest associates, had disappeared.

Instead, it seemed that the old employees he had put in the corner of the former Marquis’ estate or villa were asked to return.

The maids have also changed quite a bit. In particular, a lot of maids who do chores such as cleaning and laundry have changed, and more and more maids wore luxurious clothing.

Most of the high-ranking maids would have followed Miraila to the annexes, and all of them would be newly hired maids to serve Artizea.

Jacob, who had been shrugging his shoulders for a while, could not be seen from some point.

“I can’t believe she was such a scary girl.”

As she muttered to herself, Alice, who had just opened the door and came in, snorted.

“Oh, it’s wrong to guess the master funnyly.”

“Alice you…!”

“I don’t know why she told me to give you afternoon tea.”

Alice was in a merry mood.

Rize, who came behind her, pushed the papers piled up on the narrow desk with her hands, threw them on the floor, and set the tea tray.

Bill jumped up.

“Hey you!”

“Who is this man?”

Rize raised her eyes and looked at Bill.

Bill rolled his feet. However, he couldn’t reach out and just cursed.

“Wow, now you’re ignoring me? Hey, Alice, are you still standing with this?”

“Why? It’s better than the usual hustle and bustle. Are you a nobleman? Did you hire me? If you don’t like it, don’t drink it.”

As soon as Alice said so, Rize picked up the tray.

“Hey!”

Bill shouted again.

“No, no. I was wrong. I’m sorry, so put it down.”

“Rize.”

“Honestly, I don’t understand why we are taking care of a criminal.”

Rize said plainly. Alice sighed.

Bill changed his expression and called Alice with an earnest voice.

“Let me see the lady.”

“What are you going to say after seeing my lady?”

“I’ll apologize for doing something wrong.”

“Tell me 10 things that you’ve done wrong, starting with the worst offenses.”

Bill bit his lips. And made a careful choice.

“Ignoring the lady…?”

“Wrong.”

“Then… I misunderstood the lady….?”

“It looks like it will be about the third. Think carefully. I’ll talk to her.”

“This!”

Bill handed out a four-folded paper to Alice who was about to go back.

“What?”

“Self-reflection.”

Rize laughed outright, but Bill spoke with a straight face.

“Please tell her that I really mean it.”

“Okay.”

Alice accepted it with a puzzled look.

****

Artizea, who received the reflection, smiled.

“Even though he has a bad temper, he worked as the Marquis Rosan’s general butler for several years. There’s one thing he’s good at.”

“Rubbing his hands?”

“My mother is capricious. Matching her personality for more than 10 years is a talent if you call it a gift.”

“It’s a talent that is only harmful in everything.”

Alice grumbled.

“Will you just let him go? Can’t he be fired?”

“I’ll just leave him until the day I leave this house. If I leave only the chief maid and the butler, my mother won’t care. I’m just preparing for it now.”

“But even if the lady took the ledger and the key and made a copy of the book like that, it would be a big blow.”

“You’re supposed to close your eyes, right? And it’s still useless for Bill.”

As Artizea said so, she turned over the papers that Bill had copied the day before.

The ancient script is difficult to master. Bill wouldn’t know what he wrote even if he spent a year on it.

Of the papers, she picked the most plausible ones.

Bill will think that what he was copying is an old book. He would believe Artizea brought that book with these intricate texts to harass him.

Of course, Artizea wasn’t doing it because of her petty revenge.

The purpose of this work was to prevent Bill from doing anything else.

Rather, it was to make a book so that the handwriting would not be revealed.

It wouldn’t even be Bill’s handwriting. Because Bill is not writing letters, but drawing pictures.

And just in time today, the pages she wanted were gathered.

Artizea hand-tied it and entrusted it to Rize.

“Take this and put it in the library. The east corner is good.”

“This one?”

Rize tilted her head. Alice then said.

“When the lady speaks, you don’t have to wonder why. Because she tells you everything you need to know.”

“Yes.”

Rize responded obediently and went outside with the book. Alice said again.

“You have to hurry now. It’s afternoon tea time.”

“I know.”

“Really, a day like this is coming. My lady is going to greet guests at tea time. Come on. You have to change clothes.”

Alice rejoiced as she put her fluttering hands together.

Artizea nodded grimly and looked out the window. It was sunny. Perfect for holding a tea party in the garden.

It was a very good day to get the job done.