The Villainess Lives Twice

Chapter 162

Proofreader: somnium

Artizea picked up the teacup and wet her lips. Her eyes were set on the tea that had grown into a painful red.

It was necessary to limit the movement of the eyes in order to prevent the mind from being read by others. There is not a lady who does not know how useful a teacup is.

Anyway, she was curious. Not long ago, Skyla was hoping for a victory for Grand Duke Roygar; a victory that is not too big.

It’s no different than thinking that you have a high chance of winning.

But Skyla became convinced that there was no hope. There must be a reason.

But Artizea could not easily ask. Asking gives an opportunity to speak and re-acknowledging Skyla’s role as a ‘friend’.

She still doesn’t know if that would be a good option or not.

Skyla said.

“I know that Your Grace will want to put Grand Duke Evron on the throne, not Sir Lawrence, but Grand Duke Evron.”

Artizea smiled brightly.

“I’ve never heard of it before. Are you not saying that Grand Duke Roygar or Marquis Luden were thinking like that?”

“No. Sir Lawrence’s appointment as the Secretary of State is due to His Majesty’s erratic mannerisms. This is something that no one…….”

Skyla hesitated for a moment. It was because she thought that if it was Artizea, Artizea might have guessed it.

But she continued.

“It must have been something no one could have guessed.”

Artizea smiled and did not answer. So Skyla had no idea if Artizea had guessed it or not.

“Maternal grandfather is speculating that the situation that Her Grace had originally hoped for would have been very different from what it is now.”

It was probably unexpected that Bishop Akim and Marchioness Camellia were so aggressively trying to get rid of Artizea.

Marquis Luden was convinced that Cedric’s request to the Emperor to treat this as treason must also have been unexpected.

The results after excluding all such variables are as follows.

If Artizea’s meditation had been accepted, Miraila would have remained in the Rosan mansion in the capital. Lawrence had to be more cautious, even when thinking of the Empress.

The social circles who supported him would have lost their center, Miraila, and scattered.

Artizea would have been adequately rewarded by the Emperor for her success in the work. She might have cemented her position as the Emperor’s favorite lady.

The Empress is silent, and Miraila disappears. The Emperor’s daughters are not worthy to do great things.

Then, who will be the next to move the social world with the will of the Emperor?

It was a spot worth taking a look at.

Grand Duchess Evron could simply be said to be the third lady of the Empire after the Empress and Grand Duchess Roygar. She had enough qualifications to rule the social world.

The next step is to become a supporter of Lawrence from a supporter standpoint.

This was a complete reversal of loyalty as a sister. This was a position that anyone who wanted to establish an emperor should aim for.

And the centerpiece there is Artizea. Not Cedric.

Marquis Luden followed the same reasoning and concluded that Artizea herself was trying to acquire power.

[“There’s no way she’ll be able to satisfy her ambitions by relying on Grand Duke Evron. Even if she was respected in Grand Duchy Evron, it wouldn’t have been enough.”]

[“Yes.”]

[“The Grand Duchess is Miraila’s daughter. She must be well aware of how the Emperor’s favoritism and unofficial power are connected, and she must know how enormous power it is.”]

[“But now Grand Duke Evron has become the Secretary of State, right?”]

[“It’s a place with no substance. Doesn’t Grand Duke Evron already have both honor and status? If what the Grand Duchess wanted was power that led to real benefit, she would have been disappointed.”]

Marquis Luden also added:

[“Besides, even if you give Grand Duke Evron such power, there is no way it will be useful.”]

He didn’t mind the fact that Cedric had a chance to win the bureaucracy’s trust.

Citizens had no interest in talking about Lawrence and Cedric side by side.

After all, it was a once-in-a-lifetime thing for the people to say.

Marquis Luden considered it foolish to care about the will of the people.

A power struggle is a power struggle of the nobility.

Where would you use such things as popularity with the people? That’s what you can get just by providing bread and circuses.

Succession to the throne is based on legitimacy.

There is no point in fussing about whether the people support him or whether the people whisper that he will become the next emperor.

Recognizing the legitimacy of Emperor Gregor, Cedric had a lower right of succession than Roygar unconditionally.

According to the imperial succession law, unless you are an idiot, the title and the property accompanying it are inherited by an order, and it is followed in the order of the eldest son to the youngest son. If there is a deficit, then the younger brother.

Therefore, the Emperor’s younger brother, Grand Duke Roygar, came first, followed by his nephew, Cedric.

At this point, no one dared to question the legitimacy of the Emperor Gregor.

So, no matter how popular Cedric is, it all means nothing. For Grand Duke Roygar, this was not an immediate problem.

Grand Duke Roygar did not fully agree with this. However, he admitted that there was some truth to what Marquis Luden said.

Artizea listened to Skyla with interest.

It was interesting to hear the thoughts of Grand Duke Roygar and Marquis Luden.

However, the most interesting thing was that Skyla seemed to have decided to prove her worth, far from the tug-of-war, but to stop offering her conditions.

It was a wise thing to do.

When Ian appeared, Skyla’s usefulness became vague.

It was all the more so because all Skyla had hoped for so far was for Grand Duke Roygar to win, but not to win too much.

Artizea asked.

“You seem to think differently from Marquis Luden, don’t you?”

“Even for a short period of time, I went to the Empress’ Palace and helped with Your Grace’s work.”

Skyla said.

“I consider myself not that stupid. But I am well aware that Your Grace is not someone whom my shallow mind can measure.”

“Well. It seems that Lady has an unreasonably high regard for me.”

“Your Grace, you see power as a tool, not a goal.”

Skyla said.

“You’re also a cold-blooded person.”

“…….”

“I believe that Your Grace concocted the affairs of the Dowager Marchioness Rosan. To really oust the Dowager Marchioness and Sir Lawrence.”

“…… Do you know how dangerous and groundless your story is right now?”

“I am well aware that there is no evidence. So mother was suspicious, too, but we couldn’t tell maternal grandfather or uncle.”

Skyla thought it was a little pathetic.

The situation would be very different if Marchioness Camellia could have expressed a different opinion from Grand Duke Roygar or Marquis Luden without evidence or complete logic.

Skyla wouldn’t even have thought that Grand Duke Roygar would be defeated.

“But I know that from the very beginning, Your Grace had no intention of bringing a close relationship between Sir Lawrence and Her Majesty the Empress. Nevertheless, you made up a number of plausible stories, including the red jewel. Rumors have spread far beyond reality.”

“Well. I tried, but maybe it just didn’t go well. Rumors are always out of control.”

“Then why did you prepare the headdress in advance? Just as Sir Lawrence knew there would be nothing to escort.”

That was the first time that Skyla noticed this.

Artizea answered calmly.

“It was a day when not a single mistake should be made. It’s only natural to be prepared for emergencies.”

“And I know that you comforted and encouraged Lady Hazel of the Belmond house. At that time, I had some acquaintance with Lady Hazel.”

“If anyone other than Lady Hazel, a talented young lady who was hesitating to show off her own talent, I would have pushed her back.”

Artizea raised her eyebrows slightly.

“Lady, are you now trying to claim on that basis that I used Her Majesty the Empress as a bait to set up my mother?”

“I know this is not proof, Your Grace. I hadn’t even told my mother. The reason I am giving you the words that I have only kept in my heart when there is no basis for it is because I hope that your doubts will disappear after telling you how I decided to become a servant.”

Skyla politely bowed her head.

“There is absolutely no way Your Grace would have tried to oust Sir Lawrence for uncle, nor could you have done it for emotional reasons. So I thought that the only reason left behind would be Grand Duke Evron.”

After thinking about it that way, and looking at the current results, it’s not perfect, but it’s in a pretty good shape. Artizea did not fail.

Artizea, who had a presumably angry face, changed her expression again and buried her body back in a relaxed position.

“Okay, let’s assume Lady is right.”

“What?”

“It is, after all, a ‘perhaps’. So, if that’s true, what does Lady want to do?”

Artizea asked with a relaxed attitude.

Skyla felt her breath choke.

Artizea says it’s a ‘perhaps’. But what Skyla is talking about is not an assumption.

The risk is solely with Skyla.

However, if she does not say anything, all that has been said so far will be nothing more or less than the information on the side of Grand Duke Roygar.

“Please allow Marquisate Camellia to add a hand to ushering in the reign of His Grace Grand Duke Evron.”

“It’s not something Lady can promise. Lady is not yet the Marquis of Camellia.”

“Yes. But I will be much more useful than Ian Camellia.”

Artizea looked at Skyla with a careful demeanor.

How far is she prepared?

Skyla is not like the normal noble girl. At the very least, she knew that she had to betray her mother and all her close relatives.

And if Skyla was really prepared to betray that much, of course, she was a much, much more useful sword than Ian.

That was then.

There was a knock on the living room door.

“Madam, this is Alice.”

“Come in.”

Artizea said without taking her eyes off Skyla.

It was Alice who came in. She approached Artizea with a pale face, knelt down on one of her knees next to Artizea, and whispered low in her ear.

“A letter came from the South.”

Artizea took the letter and opened it on the spot. It was the news she had been waiting for.

It was news sent by the South intelligence organization as an emergency.

[Queen Eimmel died of poisoning. The Eimmel Kingdom Army landed in the Duchy of Riagan. Madame Lexen, committed suicide. As new information arrives, it will be dispatched.]

Skyla saw that Artizea’s lips, which had been wearing a gentle and meaningless smile until now, changed to expressionless.

She wondered what the news was.

But Artizea stood up, folding the letter.

“Just go back.”

“Your Grace.”

“Everything I want to tell you today is over. Go back, Lady Skyla. I’ll call you if I need anything.”

Artizea gave a dismissal order. And she hurriedly left the place.