The Villainess Lives Twice

Chapter 262

21. 21. West

The fire burned the fields. Black smoke rose into the sky.

The ashes blew and her eyes sting. That’s why Lysia’s eyes and the tip of her nose are red.

If possible, she tried not to touch the fields or ranches.

But things didn’t always go well.

Lysia was one person, and the plagues occurred simultaneously on all sides. And the West was very wide.

The western administration officials were working hard. The temple and the military also cooperated.

But instead of being transmitted from one place to another, the plague sprang up sporadically.

As soon as they found out, they set up a quarantine line and notified the authority of the news. Since Lysia had informed them in advance of how the contagion would take place, it was never too late to respond.

However, by the time the news reached Lysia, who was working on healing elsewhere, some villages had already been wiped out.

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It spread out of control because of people who broke the quarantine line and escaped.

Lysia thought she could do well this time.

She already knew the cause of the plague and how to prevent it. Both the Empire and the temple were on her side this time.

But it wasn’t as easy as she thought. Things that were supposed to go smoothly when Artizea was doing it were not so at all in her hands.

Especially when there was a real ruler on the land, like this time.

“Miss Lysia, the preparations are complete.”

A man in a brown suit ran up to her and informed her.

Lysia clenched her fist and rubbed the tip of her nose with her thumb. She pulled out a handkerchief, and it seemed that she was only adding to her laundry for nothing.

“Let’s go.”

Lysia said so, and she took the lead and headed towards the village.

Alphonse followed her.

At this point, she said several times that she was more comfortable traveling alone, but Alphonse did not listen.

[“This is a special order from Her Grace.”]

Then she couldn’t help it. Lysia knew how loyal he was. And that he thinks he had sinned against Artizea.

So she knew that this time it was not ‘Saintess Lysia’ that he was following.

Nevertheless, seeing him walking one step ahead and guarding her, she could not help but get caught up in the old days.

A group of armed men had gathered in front of the border around the village.

Some of them were Western troops moving to escort Lysia.

The rest were Jacob’s army, which ruled the area.

Even Jacob himself showed up.

“The Saintess has come.”

He said sluggishly.

Lysia replied expressionlessly,

“I must have said a few times that I was nothing more than an agent, Sir Jacob.”

“It’s Count.”

“Yes, Count.”

Lysia did not have to object.

It was true that Jacob had been given the title of Count by the Emperor.

“By the way, why are you doing this?”

Lysia looked around and asked. Because it looked as if her own attendant and Jacob were confronting each other.

“The messenger has come.”

Jacob glanced at a man. It was a face she never saw.

The lightly-armed man looked at Lysia with a face full of sweat and fatigue.

“Morten Heir Apparent?”

“Yes.”

Then the messenger put his hand into her arms.

Jacob moved his body, and intervened between the messenger and Lysia.

It wasn’t to protect Lysia.

“This person said he couldn’t show me the letter.”

“If it was a letter for me, of course he wouldn’t.”

“I am the owner of this land, Saintess. If it’s from the Imperial Government, I have the right to see it.”

“I am not a Saintess. If I was a real Saintess, Count would not be able to treat me like this.”

Lysia said so.

Her words were sincere. The oracles she received became meaningless as she returned.

However, only the method of using divine power was left as a memory in her body.

Jacob laughed.

“If you’re not a Saintess, by what power would you dare to make such a big fuss with me? Huh? Don’t you think so?”

He stretched out his hand.

Alphonse grabbed his wrist before it reached Lysia’s face.

Jacob’s face turned red. He used strength enough to make his arms tremble, but he couldn’t even move.

“Let him go.”

said Lysia.

Alphonse threw Jacob’s wrist away.

“To insult the lady-in-waiting, who was sent as an agent, is to insult her mistress.”

said the official who followed Lysia.

Jacob made a fierce face. He saw himself as a founding monarch, and he had no respect for the Imperial Family.

He even had a bad feeling towards Cedric.

Jacob made feats in the same year as Amalie.

When Amalie returned her troops to the Emperor and entered the central power struggle, he chose to keep them in his hands.

The West was wide, and the Emperor could not fight with people like Jacob one by one.

It won’t be difficult if the Emperor tries to defeat him. But it was like an elephant fighting a herd of mice.

One can easily be trampled on to death. However, when dozens of animals are standing before its feet, it becomes more difficult to move to kill them one by one.

There was no law that the use of armaments would bring eradication.

Thus, the Emperor conferred the title of Count to those like Jacob. And he was given the title of Independent Commander of the Western Army.

That has traditionally been how Empires managed territories beyond their control.

Jacob was given the power to rule a castle and nearby villages.

His power in peacetime was to collect taxes on behalf of the Emperor, and to supply or recruit military personnel as part of it.

Of course, that didn’t happen in reality.

It was a title and position created by the lack of administrative power in the first place.

Jacob’s castle was as good as his territory. Strictly speaking, he had neither judicial powers nor conscription powers, but within his territory he wielded unparalleled power.

But Jacob always suffered from dissatisfaction.

When he became a Count, he thought he would be growing in power soon. He would sweep the West and threaten as far as the center of the Empire, so becoming King seemed like no dream.

However, even as decades passed, Jacob’s domain did not expand even by an inch.

The Empire was too powerful, and there were warlords who had the title of Count, like Jacob, nearby.

Jacob was one of the most brutal of them all. He was notorious and powerful.

However, it meant that it was only in the vicinity.

Jacob is old now. The children didn’t have a good attitude toward his reign.

His eldest son was a scum that did nothing but eat, drink and paint.

His eldest daughter denounced Jacob’s cruelty and fled with her younger brothers and never returned.

All of his ambition is to create the best family and pass it down to them.

There was also a reason why he harbored anger towards Cedric.

He commanded a great army with a prestige that Jacob could not achieve no matter how hard he tried just because he succeeded the Grand Duchy.

Not a few warlords lost their power in the last Monster Wave. There were not many who were absorbed by the Western Army.

The incident took a toll on Jacob as well. Many of the soldiers he enlisted remained in the Western Army.

Western forces have invaded his territory. As Grand Duchess Evron’s rebirth project began to take effect through the temple, his control over the villagers rapidly dwindled.

He had no way to stop it. For a reason, he was the Emperor’s servant, and he was only exercising military power on the Emperor’s behalf.

Jacob laughed. If that was the case, he had been treated well enough.

She wasn’t even the Crown Princess herself, and she was one of those ladies-in-waiting anyway.

Furthermore,

‘The girl who will be wiped out soon.’

Jacob thought so.

However, it was his meaningless pride that he couldn’t pass over with a smile.

He didn’t know what to do with the messenger.

Lysia held out her hand.

The messenger flinched behind Alphonse. Then he took the letter out of his arms and handed it to Lysia.

Lysia read it quickly and put it in her arms so that Jacob can’t take it away.

“What is written on it?”

The attendant asked.

Lysia spoke without taking her watchful gaze from Jacob.

“On the orders of His Majesty the Emperor, Her Highness the Crown Princess will come to the West.”

A roar spread. The Crown Princess is coming to the West at this time of a plague?

Even Jacob’s soldiers had a face of anxiety and excitement.

The temple believed in the oracle was received by the Crown Princess. Even in this Western part of the Empire, even in difficult times, on the day of the Crown Prince’s Coronation Ceremony, a separate worship service was held to give thanks and blessings.

What Lysia, the agent, has already done was not small. She became the face of the rebirth project. As she healed the plague, many believed her to be a Saintess.

Then the mistress comes. She was the real Saintess spoken of in the temple.

The West will be saved.

Only Jacob did not move.

He didn’t believe in gods, and he never thought that even if there were a god, God wouldn’t save humans with an oracle.

Lysia said,

“Can you please get out of here now? Now that we’re ready, we need to clean up the town before it’s too late.”

“Hmm.”

Jacob retreated.

If it were the village of the neighboring powers, he would be willing to let Lysia burn it.

But this was his territory. There were at most four villages. If one was removed, it would have been a huge hit.

There were already two forces that were falling apart because of the villages she had burned using the plague as an excuse.

He watched as Lysia entered the village. Lysia’s attendants followed her without hesitation.

Finally, Alphonse gave him a wary look and followed Lysia.

Jacob had no intention of following towards the plague-stricken village.

He turned his feet and rode on his horse. Anyway, there was really nothing to do with Lysia in this place.

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He was only curious about the news that the Capital sent to her.

When he returned to his stronghold, Jacob also received a secret letter.

The letter was unsigned. Only the predictions of the Crown Princess’ schedule were written in dry writing.

No matter who it was, the purpose was clear. They seemed to think that Jacob would attack her if he knew this information.

Jacob hadn’t decided yet. It was not too late to confirm that others who had received similar secret letters were moving.

“Your sister must have bought a lot of resentment, too.”

Jacob said while looking at the young man lying languidly on the sofa in the study.

He had a drink in his hand. He showed no sign of drunkenness, but the bottle of strong liquor was quite empty.

“Are you interested?”

Lawrence asked with a grin.