The Villainess Lives Twice

Chapter 279

Proofreader: somnium

So Mielle became a little more anxious. Something was going on.

Two wet nurses, each with their children, were guarding the next room.

“What’s going on? It’s kind of noisy……. Hazel, what are you doing?”

Hazel wore a shirt with leather pants and a short cloak made of wolf fur over it.

It was a popular style after Natalia wore wolf fur to the Crown Prince’s Coronation Ceremony.

“Don’t you know? Countess Martha’s salon is open today at the Empress’ Palace.”

Marcus looked at Hazel. But he did not open his mouth to speak.

If this night could be passed quietly, there was no need to surprise Mielle.

Mielle felt nauseous.

“Is His Majesty ill?”

“I’m sorry to say it like this, …….”

Hazel looked around the people as if there was something, and said to Mielle,

“So, that was why they opened it.”

“Ah…….”

Mielle wasn’t stupid either. Although she didn’t understand it all, she was aware that various conspiracies were being made within the Imperial Palace.

She also knew the Empress’ story.

Mielle said with a tensed look,

“That’s why it’s so messy.”

“Don’t worry about it and sleep well with Miss Leticia.”

“Are you okay? Aren’t you just going to cause problems?”

Mielle glanced at her. Even though Countess Marta’s salon was relatively unconstrained by court manners, Hazel’s current attire was too liberal.

Hazel laughed.

“It’s okay. I will go with Her Highness Natalia.”

“Still…….”

“Why do you think I will always make trouble? I will be right back.”

“Are you coming back?”

“The atmosphere in the Imperial Palace is so quiet these days. I should be with you and Miss Leticia.”

At that, Mielle laughed softly.

Hazel went out. Mielle yawned and greeted Leticia in the cradle,

“Good night, Miss Leticia.”

The sleeping baby wrinkled the tip of her nose. Mielle saw that and smiled a little.

And she said to Ansgar,

“Should I sleep here too?”

“If you do that, the knights’ efforts will be reduced.”

“Ah, His Highness the Crown Prince led the knights out. Would that be alright? I heard there was a riot.”

“Don’t worry. Ced has never been defeated.”

Ansgar smiled, wrinkling the corners of his eyes. Mielle was relieved.

“Yes. And I will sleep here.”

“Thank you.”

Mielle smiled softly and went to the bed in the corner of the baby’s room. There was a separate bed for the caregivers to rest in their spare time.

Ansgar blew out the candle.

He lit only one light in the room, making it shine softly. Mielle lay down and closed her eyes.

It wasn’t long before Ansgar left and she heard the door close.

Mielle tossed and turned for a while. It was when she got up and sat down because she could hardly fall asleep.

Kaang! Kaang!

There was a sound like knocking iron outside the window. Mielle checked the cradle first, in case Leticia woke up, and looked out the window.

A group of torches had gathered near the main gate of the Crown Prince’s Palace. It was hard to see in the baby’s room, but it looked like soldiers.

Mielle took a breath. It really looked like something had happened.

* * *

Possessing Leticia was the most important thing to the anti Crown Prince faction.

No one in the anti Crown Prince faction was thinking of Lawrence.

While in the Capital, Lawrence encouraged some nobles to distrust Cedric and discriminate against the Northerners.

Through his old friends, including Count Eison, he also spread the logic that the North and the West would wipe out the established powers and take its place after Cedric’s accession.

However, he was never involved in any concrete plans. He’s not even in the Capital right now.

Literally, he was only giving those who were hostile to Cedric a chance to express their feelings outright.

Cobb also did not reveal Lawrence’s name, as the order stated.

It was because it was the first priority to eliminate Cedric and neutralize Artizea.

Once the Crown Prince and his wife are removed, the rest will be like putting an acorn in your pocket.

Leticia was the one who was immediately considered as Cedric’s opponent by the anti Crown Prince faction.

As a candidate for the emperor to replace Cedric, and as a hostage to subdue Evron, she was an existence that must be secured.

It was for this reason that Hawthorne, the commander of the Capital Guard, gathered his troops near the Crown Prince’s Palace even before the release of the imperial order.

The soldiers wondered.

“Is something going on in the Imperial Palace?”

“There was a riot.”

“Did nothing happen on the street?”

There were small whispers coming and going. But it didn’t cause commotion or disrupt the ranks.

Hawthorne waited patiently.

Next arrived Gus, the Guard Knight. Behind him were fifty guards.

Unlike the Capital Guards, they headed straight for the main gate.

Gus tilted his head curiously in front of the front door. Unlike usual, there were no guards guarding the door.

The garden was quiet and drenched in darkness.

‘Did they notice something?’

But it wouldn’t be this quiet if Hawthorne troops were spotted.

Perhaps, it was because Cedric led most of the Knights of Evron.

Gus knocked hard on the latched door. Soon an old butler came out to the front door with a lamp. It was Ansgar.

“What are you doing in the middle of the night, Sir Gus?”

Gus glanced around.

“How is it that there is no one guarding it?”

“It is not something of Sir Gus’ interest.”

Ansgar replied politely.

Gus thought he had read the answer. Ansgar looked anxious.

Grand Duke Evron took the knights out, so they might not have had enough guards.

Gus spoke politely for the first time,

“Imperial order. On His Majesty’s orders, I am going to take the imperial grandchild to the Main Palace.”

“It’s late at night, so I’ll have an audience tomorrow. Miss Leticia is already sleeping.”

“Don’t His Majesty know it’s late at night? Even so, it means that the situation is worthy of finding the imperial grandchild in this instance.”

“The night wind is too cold for the baby to go out.”

“There is a situation in which the Emperor’s will will be brought down, are you concerned about coughing?”

Gus said in a pressuring manner.

Unless he knew what was going on tonight, there was no reason not to bring Leticia out.

Ansgar replied calmly,

“Miss Leticia is not yet old enough to understand His Majesty, let alone accept His Majesty’s words. I will see him early tomorrow morning.”

Having said that, he bowed his head politely and turned around.

He couldn’t help it.

Gus raised his hand.

“Capture the one who disobeyed the imperial order and save the imperial grandchild!”

He shouted loudly.

These were the words the soldiers were told to listen for.

Hawthorne’s troops that had been prepared in advance rushed out. The soldiers brought logs with steels on the ends and banged on the door.

Kaang!

The sound of steel hitting each other and tearing the night sky resounded.

This is what Mielle heard.

In the first place, the Crown Prince’s Palace was not a facility for defense. There was a secret passage just in case, but there were no facilities for a siege.

Even the dignified iron gate was actually weak. It was bolted inside, but it got smashed in a few seconds.

The guards rushed in ahead of them.

Gus sent a scout ahead of time to see if there was an ambush in the garden. But it was empty.

The Crown Prince’s Palace building was quite high, but there was not even a watchtower where firearms were placed. A few Evron Knights could not defend them all.

That was the reason why the Knights of Evron had given up on the garden in advance.

Gus confirmed that there was no ambush and rushed towards the main gate of the main building.

Following his beckoning, the guards dispersed. It was to block the escape route.

It was time for the Hawthorne troops to slam the door with logs again.

Tatang!

Volley fire poured over the heads of the Hawthorne troops. Because it was so close, about 30 people spewed blood at once.

“Second floor!”

Gus exclaimed. The arrows were pouring out terrifyingly, and Gus also rolled over the floor to avoid it.

The first shot was a warning. It was close range anyway, and it was an opponent who was not armed with armor. Both sides’ numbers were small. There was no need to reuse firearms with a slow reload speed.

However, a second unit appeared. It was another unit of the Capital Guard that had promised to support the Hawthorne unit if the imperial order was issued.

This time, in the reverse direction, the reinforcements fired.

The knights who shot with their heads out on the second floor of the Imperial Palace quickly ducked their heads.

“Break it down quickly!”

Hawthorne shouted.

It didn’t come easy. The door of the main building was reinforced with several layers of steel plates from the inside. A latch is also made separately.

Still, the door shook.

The commander of the Knights of Evron, Royle, spoke calmly to Ansgar,

“Don’t worry. Even if the door were to be opened, that number would not even exceed the lobby.”

“I believe in you.”

Ansgar replied.

Besides that, explosives were installed everywhere. They will never go as far as the baby’s room.

It was the same for dragging time.

‘I really didn’t know they were going to attack.’

It was highly likely that the siege would end. Preparing for battle was really only for a short operation.

The Crown Prince’s Palace was also part of the Imperial Palace. No matter how much the imperial order was used as an excuse, it was bound to be a burdensome task.

Royle clicked his tongue.

It would have been nice to have returned to the Grand Duke’s residence. There were all the preparations for a siege.

Even thinking about it later, it was unavoidable.

It was impossible to hide the fact that all of the Knights of Evron moved to the Grand Duke’s residence. In that case, it was no different than informing the anti Crown Prince faction that the plan had been leaked.

They didn’t even have enough power to divide.

They were also reluctant to leave the knights here and move only Leticia secretly.

In the end, he decided to protect her with all his might. And he had confidence in himself.

“Fire arrows!”

Royle shouted toward the second floor. One of the most confident archery knights in Evron wielded a great bow.

The fire arrow that flew while drawing an arc accurately ignited the fuse.

Bang!

Explosives that had already been laid on the garden floor exploded. A support unit that had been targeted at the end of range was engulfed in the explosion.

It was then. A servant shouted.

“Chief! There is a fire!”

“What? Now?”

It wasn’t just a fire. The moment Royle was startled, there was an explosion.

Some of the knights waiting in the lobby with their weapons pulled hurriedly headed towards it.

Ansgar had forgotten that his leg was hurting and ran upstairs.