The Villainess Lives Twice
chapter-136

Chapter 136

Proofreader: somnium

Cedric said in a low, cold voice.

“I never imagined that the temple would treat me like this. I believed the Archbishop would protect my wife.”

The Archbishop failed to answer.

Cedric turned his gaze to Bishop Akim this time. And he ordered with his eyes fixed on him.

“Take the attempted kidnapper. Find out who ordered it.”

“Yes.”

Alphonse answered in a stern manner.

“Bishop Akim.”

Cedric then called Bishop Akim. Bishop Akim trembled.

“I heard that my wife came here to voluntarily cooperate with the investigation on the Rosan mansion.”

Cedric’s voice was calm.

However, Bishop Akim’s spine, who was facing his gaze, trembled non-stop as if he had a chill.

Bishop Akim had no intention of showing any humiliation in front of others.

He wasn’t defeated yet. There is no law that holds the temple responsible for Artizea’s collapse.

Cedric could be angry, but he knew very well that that alone wouldn’t cause any decisive effect on him.

But before he could judge with his head, his body felt alive.

Bishop Akim realized that he was shivering like a man covered in cold water in the middle of winter.

He had never been crushed by the pressure of another until now. He was always proud even in front of the Emperor.

However, Bishop Akim could not win against the person who had traveled to and from the battlefield to determine the life and death of people, since he was young.

Cedric said slowly.

“It is voluntary. Because my wife isn’t dragged around by anyone, and she doesn’t have to be.”

“…….”

“We will go back. But I will never let this slide, Bishop Akim.”

Cedric said so and turned around while holding Artizea.

The sound of the Archbishop telling the priests to get the carriage was heard over his ears.

The knights followed Cedric like a low tide. At the order of the Archbishop, the priests were also scattered.

A murmur spread throughout the wide temple.

Bishop Akim stood there dazedly, then suddenly came to his senses. Sweat pooled in the palm of his hand, and as he tried to clench his fist, his finger slipped.

He looked down at the palm. The nape of his neck was also drenched in cold sweat.

Among Cedric’s words, the only thing that stood out in his memory was the last sentence.

‘You won’t let it slide?’

It was only when he escaped from death that his reasoning returned. Then, this time, just the same amount of anger that had been suppressed soared.

“How dare you at the temple…… !”

But he couldn’t release any of his anger. Because the Archbishop is back.

The Archbishop’s face was now stained red.

The Archbishop used to be considered a good man. He was a gentle man with no enemy, and he avoided quarrels with others. He had no faction, and he had no enemies, so he was made Archbishop.

It was rare for such an Archbishop to be so angry.

“Akim, what did I say!”

“…… Archbishop.”

“Didn’t I tell you not to touch the Grand Duchess unintentionally? Trying to weave the word treason to the Grand Duchess without anything else, there is no way Evron would stand it?”

Bishop Akim looked at him with a puzzled expression.

The Archbishop had never been so aggressive in his opposition. He only expressed the anxiety of overdoing things and what if things go wrong.

So Bishop Akim said to the Archbishop.

“The Archbishop will not be able to escape this by claiming that this was a foolish act that I secretly committed alone.”

“What?”

“Do you think the Grand Duke would believe you don’t know that the Marchioness of Rosan was here? In the end, the Archbishop is also guilty of not protecting her. Perhaps you wanted to draw a line in case the Marchioness of Rosan became a traitor.”

“Akim, you…….”

“You took quite a bit of bribes.”

“Akim!”

The Archbishop roared. Bishop Akim ignored him and turned away.

Has Marchioness Camellia left? He had to discuss a follow-up in a hurry.

***

At the Grand Duke’s residence, vassals and servants flocked and rushed, anxiously waiting for the return of the Grand Duke and his wife.

Cedric got off the carriage with the fainted Artizea. Ansgar and Marcus hastily opened the way. The doctor was waiting in advance just in case.

There was an urgent matter that the knights were dispatched to. He had called the doctor in advance because he thought there might be an unexpected situation.

Cedric put Artizea down on the bed himself. The pale complexion did not improve in the slightest.

Alice and Sophie rushed in, took Artizea’s coat off, and rubbed her hands and feet. Marcus, pale blue, rushed in with warm sugar water.

The doctor checked her complexion, breathing and heartbeat.

Meanwhile, Cedric was looking down at Artizea’s face with a dark face.

“Master Ced.”

Ansgar gently stroked his arm and tugged him in.

“The doctor will take a good look.”

“Yes, it should be fine.”

Cedric shook his head. Then, as Ansgar dragged him out, he went out to the living room.

One side of his head hurt like being stabbed with a long skewer. He pressed his finger to his eyes.

“Forgive us.”

Ansgar and Alphonse knelt side by side.

“If I had known that Madam would be treated like that, I would never have let her go.”

“No.”

Hayley intervened, knelt next to them and made excuses instead.

“It is the decision of Her Grace. How could Ansgar or Sir Alphonse have stopped her? Sorry. It’s all because I haven’t been able to help properly.”

Hayley bowed her head.

“When I saw that the room given to her by the temple was for a monk, I should have forcefully brought Her Grace out.”

“Get up. As you said, it was she who decided, how could you stop it? I don’t even know if I could have stopped it if it were me.”

Cedric said in a low voice.

But Hayley knelt down on one of her knees and spoke as an excuse for Artizea.

“Her Grace also said that it was unexpected. There are usually enough rooms for guests to stay in the Great Temple, and there are a lot of old ladies who are recuperating in the annexes.”

“By the way, did you mean that they gave her a rough room used by monks?”

“Yeah. There is quite a bit of chill coming from the walls and the floor, but I believe that the mattress was made of straw, so it was not good for her health.”

“…….”

“Perhaps it was because of fear that rumors would spread outside if they let her stay in an annex or guest room.”

Cedric fiddled with the empty glass he was holding. It was difficult to tell whether his throat was burning or his stomach was burning.

Hayley continued.

“Her Grace intended to meet and negotiate quietly with Bishop Akim. She expected it to be over in two or three days. But it didn’t work out the way she wanted it to.”

“Is it because of Brother Colton?”

Hayley was surprised because Cedric came to the same conclusion as Artizea without asking any further questions.

Cedric sighed.

“It’s rare that someone can make Bishop Akim irrational. Then?”

“Her Grace’s speculation is that Bishop Akim may have partnered with Grand Duke Roygar. If Her Grace is charged with treason, Brother Colton, who was sponsored by Her Grace, will also be a criminal.”

“I see what you mean.”

If Artizea had guessed it, it would hardly be wrong. She is not someone who speaks out of her mouth without certainty.

It was also a conspiracy enough to be fully staged. Although Grand Duke Roygar had spoken favorably by emphasizing his blood ties, Cedric was not foolish enough to believe it.

“She said she would make the capital noisy…… .”

Cedric pressed his hand against his eyes again.

He never thought she would do it this way.

What was a mere suspicion to Marchioness Camellia or Bishop Akim was as clear as the truth looked through a magnifying glass to Cedric.

Artizea planned this to reduce Lawrence’s position.

The Emperor is always at the center of her schemes. It’s probably because she’s been watching the throne all her life and looking at who the owner of this place is.

It was this time too.

It was the result of examining the limits of the Emperor’s patience that she offered a mediation plan to remove only Miraila.

She could have tried to get rid of Lawrence and Miraila at once, but the Emperor wouldn’t stand it and would try to cover it up.

No matter how fearful the Emperor was, he had already lost many of his children.

So first, get rid of Miraila to get rid of the shield, and then Lawrence will commit another sin and instigate anger. That is the safest and most reliable order.

And maybe Cedric himself was a little worried. Because he inevitably married Artizea himself, so when things got bigger, he was going to get involved.

So, as soon as Cedric heard that Miraila had been caught cursing the Empress, he ran to her. He thought Artizea would be overdoing it.

But in the corner of his heart he seemed to believe that nothing wrong would happen.

She never failed to get what she wanted to do. Especially when it comes to conspiring under the waters, negotiating and getting the results she wants.

And all she had to deal with in this job were those people she knew very well.

But reality doesn’t always go the way you think. Like this time

Artizea seldom fails because she pays her own costs when she fails. The result in the recipient’s hands is always only success.

“Hayley. Surely, Tia didn’t collapse because she drank something herself, right?”

Cedric opened his mouth in a subdued voice.

Hayley flinched.

The head of the family is Cedric, but now her mistress is Artizea.

She couldn’t say anything that might upset Cedric just by guessing. Yet she could not casually lie to Cedric.

Cedric seemed to know the answer from Hayley’s late reply. Hayley said as an excuse.

“It’s just my guess.”

“There must be a reason for this.”

Ansgar, who hurriedly prepared the tea, handed the chilled teacup into Cedric’s hand.

Cedric took a sip of it. Then he seemed to calm down a bit.

Then the doctor came out.

Cedric rubbed his face with both his hands, trying to calm his mind.

Then he raised his head and asked the doctor.

“How is Tia?”

“It is not that she had a serious illness. The fainting itself appears to be due to low blood pressure. She is exhausted and her body is very tired.”

The doctor then said,

“Fortunately, the baby in the womb is also blessedly safe.”

Crash!

The teacup fell from Cedric’s hand.