The Villainess Lives Twice

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Cedric hurriedly headed to the main palace, putting on a formal coat over the comfortable shirt and trousers he was wearing.

“What happened?”

“It is said that the first fire broke out at Eldon Pier 1.
There is a warehouse nearby where grains to be transported to the North were kept nearby…….”

Blood drained from Cedric’s complexion.
The messenger bowed his head like a sinner.

“It must have been humid because of the sea breeze, so did the fire spread?”

“Oh, I don’t know how it got to this point.
Some say it’s because paper flowers are decorated on each pier and candles are lit…….”

It is undoubtedly a rumor.

Blessing for the Crown Prince and the Saintess came back wrong.
It can be interpreted that God did not want it.

At an appropriate time, the rumor will be replaced with another word and re-spread.

That God does not want the newly appointed Crown Prince, or that the Saintess is a fake.

As long as Artizea does not demonstrate her powers, it will become out of control when rumors begin to spread.

“Any casualties?”

“I have sent a messenger to check.”

Emma of the Ministry of Interior answered.

“The fire started from the warehouse at night, so there won’t be many.”

“I think the guards or the warehouse guild will reduce the report.”

“The casualties on the warehouse side will be minor.
It is an area where civilians are not allowed to enter.
We’ll see where the fire spreads.”

It was only then that the Emperor came out of the bedroom.

He wore a robe over his pajamas, and a cloak engraved with the imperial coat of arms roughly wrapped around it.

His face was red enough to fit the expression that his blood pressure had soared.

The chief attendant helped him up and put him first on a chair.
The Emperor asked sharply,

“Is there a fire at the port?”

“Yes.”

The messenger knelt down on his knees and told the same report he had made to Cedric.

The Emperor struck the armrest.

“The first pier and the supply of grain going to the North burns first! Could it be an accident?”

However, there was no primary responsible person in this position.

The Emperor asked, rubbing his forehead,

“How about a ship? Could it be that the ships on which the envoys from other countries boarded were not damaged?”

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“Everyone is anchored at a different pier, so everything is fine.”

“We will be able to stop the fire before it spreads there.”

said Emma.

“Would the words Dame said now any more than words of consolation? If it was an easy task, the messenger wouldn’t have come in the middle of the night.”

Emma shut her mouth at the Emperor’s words, bowed her head, and backed away.

The Emperor looked at Cedric and said,

“You go.”

“Me, what do you mean?”

“It is a matter of both the supply of grain to be sent to the North and the problem of the ships of the delegation.”

“Understood.”

Cedric answered gently.

It bothered him that he couldn’t finish the conversation with Artizea.

However, since this was a case involving both the Northerner and foreign affairs, he had to be in charge of that much responsibility.

Nearly half of the goods circulating in the Capital were there.
It also played a very important role as a port of call.

That means that if the port becomes unusable, there will be a significant level of damage to logistics in the central region.

Since the responsibility is so heavy, it was clear that if they left it to the port’s municipal officials, they would focus on covering up the situation and reporting it.

Cedric placed his hand on his left chest and bent down to bow to the Emperor.

And he turned with a modest gait and ran out.

“Wait for my words.”

“Yes!”

His lieutenant shouted and ran.

The Imperial Palace was engulfed in commotion.
The escort squad was temporarily formed.

Cedric said to Emma,

“You will need administrative support.
Get ready to go as soon as the sun rises.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Emma answered and again hurriedly ran in the direction she was supposed to go.

Cedric returned to the Crown Prince’s Palace.
At Artizea’s order, the butler was already packing a simple bag.

“Tia, I…”

“I know.
Do you think the situation is urgent?”

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“Yes.
I think I should go now.”

“Just change your clothes and go.
I’ll send you a change of clothes tomorrow.”

“Thank you.”

Cedric lightly kissed Artizea’s cheek.

And as he was about to go out, he added one more word,

“Our talk is not over yet.
You can’t make a decision on your own.”

“Yes.”

Artizea answered meekly.
Cedric looked at her with suspicious eyes.

But he had no time to hesitate.
Outside, the guards announced that they were ready to depart.

“I’ll be back.”

Cedric said goodbye and left the Crown Prince’s Palace.

* * *

It was two hours later that the call came from the main palace.
It was now past midnight and close to dawn.

The servant spoke his words with an apologetic face,

“I was told not to wake you up if you are sleeping.”

“His Majesty is calling, of course I should go.”

In response to Artizea’s answer, the servant bowed down with a face showing that he was glad to still be alive and went out.

Until then, Artizea was comfortable, but she was dressed so well that it would not be strange to go out for a walk with it.

Artizea wore only a shawl over it and headed to the main palace.

The outside of the main palace was noisy.
Officials called in to provide administrative support, as Cedric ordered, ran back and forth.

Even when the Crown Princess passed by, they stopped for a moment and bowed their heads.

Artizea waved her hand, saying there was no need for that.

The bedroom was rather quiet.

He entrusted his full power to the Crown Prince, so the Emperor had nothing to take care of.

Cedric responds to the incident first, checks the post-mortem report, and when the situation changes, he can give the order again.

It was as if he had obtained an heir to share the burden with.

However, the Emperor did not seem to be able to sleep again.

Artizea bowed politely in front of the living room door.

“Did you call, Your Majesty?”

“Come in and sit down.”

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He said with a complicated look on his face.

The servant closed the door behind Artizea.

It was impossible for even the father-in-law to summon a young woman at this time and meet her alone.

However, the opponent was the Emperor, and this was private.

It was the first time they talked after Artizea revealed that she was a Saintess.

The Emperor was holding a glass of wine in his hand.
Artizea watched the amber liquor glint.

She wouldn’t need to say a word that he’s not in good health.

The Emperor looked at her and spoke first,

“I have already been advised by the doctor not to drink.
I also heard from the chief attendant.”

“Yes.
I am glad.”

The Emperor wet his lips with wine.

And let out a weary sigh.
He wanted to rest.

But he couldn’t sleep because of the nervousness.
From the moment he awoke, the unpleasant heat on his back hardly subsided.

He deserved to feel stressed out.
Too many things happened one after another, and lately it’s been even worse.

After Grand Duke Roygar committed suicide, he did not remember much of a good night’s sleep.

The bedroom was filled with jasmine and lavender flowers’ fragrances, and the masseur rubbed his throbbing legs until he fell asleep, but to no avail.

He dreamed of an empty dream.

Something was always erased from his hand.
Sometimes it was the pattern of an old teacup handle, and sometimes it was the gold engraving of a fountain pen.

And there were times when his own fingerprints were erased.

Every time the Emperor woke up, he thought he was forgetting something.

But looking back, he really had forgotten nothing.

He seemed to have lost something, but he had it all on his own, so he had not lost anything yet.

Nevertheless, he felt persistent discomfort and numbness in his hands and feet.

His condition only got worse, and there was no sign of getting better.
He’s been taking good care of it for a long time, and he didn’t even know if it was because of too much stress.

The Emperor looked at Artizea’s young and beautiful face.

He couldn’t say that he was old now.
Because it had come to be too close to a fact.

Artizea asked him, who looked at her silently,

“What is wrong, Your Majesty?”

“I was quite fond of you.”

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He didn’t have to say that.
It was nothing more than revealing that the Emperor had been disappointed, betrayed, and even suffered a blow.

There was nothing good about revealing that fact now.
Still, the Emperor showed his heart.

Even that, he thought to himself, was like a weak old man.

And he recalled his own youth.

Artizea had a bright face with an unchanging, thin smile.

“I have not changed, Your Majesty.”

“…… Yes.
I guessed so.”

“The reason why His Majesty made him your heir remains the same.”

For a plotter who lusts for power, any emotion is just a good trap.

In that sense, Artizea was like him.

Knowing that, the Emperor realized that he had always thought she was going to be an exception.
There was just vain laughter.

“You are right.
I chose Cedric because of his personality, and that hasn’t changed.”

It’s probably better to stay like this.

It would be better for him to entrust his life to his trustworthy nephew, as the Empress said, and live watching his daughters and grandchildren.

But he couldn’t do that.

He was defeated and could not live peacefully.
He couldn’t put anyone on top of himself.

Not out of resentment or vengeance.
He was a human being who had no choice but to live like that.

He spoke to Artizea without turning back.

“Go west.
Then, I will put your husband and daughter in their place and treat them as before.”

“Then, will you forgive me?”

Artizea said with a bright expression on her face.
The Emperor’s complexion was dyed with anger.

“Do you dare make a deal with me?”

“Forgive me for not believing in the words.
However, no matter how deeply sorrowful the loss of a parent is, the days of childhood, when memories are not clear, are not the same as those of the present.
Things that have been erased and forgotten are not the same as things that are new.”

Artizea said softly,

“Your Majesty knows it too, so how can I fully believe your words?”

“So what are you going to do? Are you going to keep wearing the Saintess’ mantle like a crown, ignoring the plague and continue playing chess with me?”

said the Emperor as if spitting it out.

“It’s an unfair statement.
You have ordered it, so I have no choice but to follow it.”

Artizea bowed her head.