The Villainess Lives Twice

Chapter 133

Proofreader: somnium

Artizea waited another day.

But Bishop Akim never called her back.

Artizea left open the possibility for him to change his mind. She also had a little hope that the Archbishop or Bishop Nikos might put Bishop Akim aside.

But, on the contrary, he seemed to intend to move forward without her by excluding her altogether.

Because he was sure he wouldn’t get any plausible evidence from Artizea or make her do a slip of the tongue.

Artizea had a good meal and was able to eat delicious snacks that were not very different from when she was in the Grand Duke’s residence.

She was able to walk around the courtyard as if someone had talked to the apprentice priests who were watching the gate. Perhaps Bishop Akim did not explicitly forbid it.

But the next day she was again asked to repent herself.

Artizea entered the small prayer room and closed the door. She then sat down on her knees, looking at the sacred icon.

She had no intention of praying, let alone repent, but this space itself was not bad.

The scent of burning incense candles and the smell of old wood harmonized to create a serene and calm atmosphere.

It was perfect for her to focus on her thoughts.

“If it happens, you must be focused on defilements.”

Her muttering alone echoed in the prayer room.

The problem was not in the prayer room itself, but in the request for repentance.

Repentance is something you do yourself. You couldn’t force this unless you were a sinner of the temple.

Bishop Akim must have already guessed that such means of pressure would not work.

It could be because of pride.

A person like Bishop Akim would not be able to tolerate disobedience from a girl who was only 1/3 his age.

‘After all, that was the problem that bothered Lysia.’

It must have been difficult for Bishop Akim to understand.

If Lysia listened to his words, there would be personal glory to gain. And he would be able to shake off divine authority. But he doesn’t understand why Lysia refuses and does not follow.

‘What should we do?’

The quickest solution was to reveal that she was a saintess.

Then this problem will be over immediately. No one could say that the saintess was a heretic.

She couldn’t even be driven as a traitor. Especially in temples, you can never even mention such a word.

Bishop Akim will turn this way immediately.

Artizea’s position was different from Lysia’s. When deciding something, whether it was right or wrong, whether the person was a good person or a bad person, were not very important factors.

So, it wasn’t that difficult to win Bishop Akim’s loyalty. After all, he was a person who had been Artizea’s good partner.

The fact that the saintess is Grand Duchess Evron would be a satisfactory result for him.

And it would be even better if she became the neat empress. So he will immediately reverse his position and try to put Cedric on the throne.

But Artizea didn’t want to do that.

A person like Bishop Akim is not suitable for Cedric.

Besides, if she makes him work, he will be a headache in the future.

If so, will she contact Bishop Nikos?

This is a prudent way. If Artizea didn’t want to be exposed, this was a much better choice.

The majority of priests are stability-oriented.

They want to increase the authority of the temple, but they do not want to fight secular power as actively as Bishop Akim.

They want to enjoy a moderate degree of respect and considerable wealth without having to risk anything.

Rather, it is better to be friendly with the imperial family to gain formal respect.

The Archbishop was no exception. That is why he was able to ascend to the position of Archbishop without any opposition.

If she raises a dispute and gives a good cause, she can win their cooperation and suppress Bishop Akim.

‘The problem is that Bishop Akim’s principles of action are mixed with personal feelings.’

He may not admit it himself, but he certainly did.

It’s not hard to convince someone who’s cool down after acting emotionally. It will be after the self-justification is over.

If the Archbishop could have simply stopped Bishop Akim, he would have already done so.

Taking advantage of those who hate fighting would require a fairly cautious approach.

Artizea didn’t think she could control everything.

The behavior of a person who acts logically and moves for power is predictable.

A person who, like Miraila, is driven solely by emotion, she can guess the next course of action as a result of observation.

But it would be foolish to think that she could completely predict the behavior of a complex person like Bishop Akim.

He sets up the real motives and inner logics of his actions separately.

Artizea wasn’t sure which side he would follow.

She has already made the error once. There was no guarantee that it wouldn’t get any bigger.

‘The variable of sainthood is too large to handle easily.’

It was difficult for Bishop Akim to boldly move forward while acting calmly and cautiously.

She can’t react properly in a current situation, where she’s stuck and is only getting limited information.

And Artizea had a slightly different stance from before. If things went wrong, she couldn’t say out of the blue that she had a plan to separate herself from Cedric through a divorce.

‘Let’s finish it quickly. Get a good night’s sleep. I am getting tired.’

Artizea looked down at the ring she was wearing.

She has been wearing a pearl ring, which she doesn’t normally wear, just in case. The pearl is a fake, with a light drug inside. It was a bit of a strong sleeping pill.

The average person would wake up around the evening of the next day. Or, sleep all day and wake up in the morning of the second day.

Artizea reacted to it more severely. If she drinks it before going to sleep, she will not wake up for two or three days.

At the same time, her fatigue was accumulating. She can’t even remember the last time she slept properly.

Artizea was anxious about not being able to direct the immediate situation with her own hands.

But she’s also told Hayley about the various contingencies, and there’s Freil, so it will be fine.

It was unintentional to worry Ansgar and Marcus, but this was the quickest way.

But Artizea didn’t have a chance to drink it.

It was in the evening when she got up and decided to drink it before she went to bed.

Her eyes flickered. She thought it was a standing anemia as usual, but the condition was more serious than that.

Her vision instantly darkened. Artizea tried to grab the altar and lean on it, but she couldn’t.

‘Ah.’

Artizea collapsed with a thud.

* * *

Hayley, who was waiting right next to the prayer room door, heard the sound.

She hurriedly opened the door. Then she found Artizea lying down.

“Doctor!”

Hayley ran to her and yelled out.

“Call the doctor!”

The two priests who had been guarding the two, while standing a little further away, heard the sound and panicked.

Hayley hurriedly untied Artizea’s hem. It was to make her breathing easier.

She then confirmed the condition by placing her hand under Artizea’s nose. Her breathing was hot and irregular.

“I told you to call the doctor! What are you doing?”

When she yelled, one of the priests was startled and ran outside. Hayley shouted at the other priest.

“Bring water! Go to the kitchen and bring some salt and sugar! What are you doing with her weak body like this!”

The priest was also terrified. He had been told by Bishop Akim to keep an eye on the two of them, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

Hayley slapped Artizea on the cheek a few times. But her consciousness did not return. It didn’t look like she was just fainting.

“Your Grace! Did you do this on purpose?”

Hayley let out her wrath in a low voice.

No wonder she said something like that the night before.

[“If anything happens to me, try to contact Bishop Nikos through the kitchen. Perhaps Bishop Nikos had someone in the kitchen to look after us.”]

[“There is no such thing as a ‘perhaps’ for Your Grace.”]

[“Do I know everything about the world? I said ‘if’. I’m not in very good shape. I don’t have the stamina to last long in a place like this.”]

Then Artizea said.

[“If you get out of here, please contact Brother Colton in the west as soon as possible to inform him of what happened here. Leave everything behind. That’s the most urgent. Then appeal to the Archbishop.”]

[“Yes.”]

[“Control the knights so that there is no excessive conflict. I don’t want it to be a fight, I want Bishop Akim to step down and another priest to take over.”]

Artizea said ‘perhaps’, but there was absolutely no way it would be so. If that’s the case, there’s no way she’d have informed Hayley of that policy in advance.

Hayley put Artizea down on the floor with her face turned red from anger.

She could easily guess Artizea’s thoughts.

The weak Grand Duchess who voluntarily came to cooperate with the temple, but was effectively imprisoned. She was forced to repent and knelt down on her knees in a narrow prayer room until she fainted.

This is enough for Evron to weigh in. They could not help but hold Bishop Akim accountable, a mere moderated bishop.

Citizens who were inherently favorable to her and Evron will become suspicious of Bishop Akim.

She also instructed her to contact Brother Colton. This must have been to empower Bishop Akim’s opponents in the temple.

It was Artizea who didn’t know the extent.

She had to know how far Evron would do for her.

Would Cedric execute Aubrey and throw Jordyn away for someone whom he could sacrifice so easily?

Artizea told her to control the knights so as not to become too much of a dispute, but Hayley had no intention of doing so.

She was determined to make Evron act.

She ran up to the corridor. Then she pulled out a flare.

Then she lit the flare and put it on the floor. The flares made a hissing sound and emitted yellow smoke.

＊＊＊

At the same time Cedric was at Grand Duke Evron’s residence in the capital.

“What happened to you? How can you suddenly…without any news….?”

Ansgar rushed to greet him as he entered through the back door.

“I was lucky. I came by sea, and the weather was nice all three weeks, and the tail winds blew tremendously.”

Ansgar nodded his head.

“What about Tia?”

That’s what Cedric asked next.

“I sent a carrier pigeon several times, did you not receive it?”

“I was in a hurry, so this is the last thing I got before departure. When I heard that Miraila had done something great, I left immediately.”

“Didn’t you hear anything from the port?”

Cedric tilted his head.

Ansgar sighed.

“It seems that there is no news yet because of the distance. There was no notice on the port, either… Her Grace the Grand Duchess has been in the temple ever since.”

“Temple?”

“There was a request for cooperation in the investigation of the Rosan mansion. Her Grace thought it was an opportunity to discuss with the temple secretly. However, the atmosphere is strange.”

That was then.

The sound of the knights rushing out from the front door could be heard.

Cedric’s face hardened.