The Villainess Lives Twice

Chapter 89

Proofreader: somnium

There were also two catapults, not just battering ram.

Lysia looked at them with binoculars. All three were just a rudimentary machine.

The wooden wheels were loose. Instead of capping the tip of the log with iron, a part which would hit the wall, it barely had an iron belt around it.

The catapults were also poorly held together. The rebound will break itself.

However, the design itself was refined enough.

Above all, the fact that it appeared was important.

Until now, Karam wasn’t very dependent on weapons. They have the physical ability to climb the walls barehand. So, there was hardly ever a siege ladder to be placed on the wall.

However, this is the first time that aspect has changed.

“Siege weapon after guerrilla warfare…..”

Lysia sighed.

“They’re perfectly prepared for the war. I don’t think the problem is the kidnapped Karam or anything like that.”

“No, it doesn’t look like they’re ready for war. If they did, they wouldn’t have collected 20,000 at most.”

Cedric’s face remained relaxed.

“Rather, I am curious about how they came up with such an idea.”

“They have been fighting at the Thold Gate for over a hundred years. Maybe they just realized that it’s difficult with a naked body?”

“Rather than that, it’s more likely that they learned from someone. If the first idea was to smash gates by hitting them with a log, they would have brought a log first. But they made a battering ram and also have catapults. I don’t think Karam will be able to make something like that so suddenly.”

“You mean someone taught them?”

Although there are trade routes, it is only at the level of communicating with gestures.

It was impossible to explain the concept and share the design of catapult or battering ram, and to go to war with it.

Cedric was silent.

It’s not that he had nothing to say, but decided to save his words.

The same goes for both siege weapons and small troops crossing the mountain range and disturbing the borders.

It was beyond the limits of accumulated Karam history.

Life or wisdom.

However, some of the Karams have crossed it.

“Anyway, 20,000 warriors are not enough to stage a siege properly. Karam probably knows.”

The fortress commander intervened.

Cedric nodded his head.

And he opened Artizea’s letter. The letter concisely explained what had happened in the stronghold.

Of course, she omitted the story she heard from the priest. The information on the northern village of Thold was leaked, and the information on the follow-up was written first.

And as a result, there was a need to quickly create a grain merchant union, and the main point was that there were works to be done in the capital.

Cedric was first suspicious when he was told that Lysia had brought the letter. He was wondering if it had something to do with Lysia leaving her place.

But when he looked at the content, it wasn’t.

To accommodate residents of the village north of Thold, who may have leaked information, with the village of the rebels, was a reason that Cedric could accept.

In fact, if she wasn’t going to kill everyone, there was no better way.

It seemed that Artizea had not yet decided for sure whom she could trust in Evron Grand Duchy.

It would have been. It wasn’t long since Aubrey’s incident happened.

Loyalty and trustworthiness are different matters. Cedric knew it now.

Cedric folded the letter back and put it in his pocket. Later, the letter will have to be burned. There was some information that should not be put into the hands of others.

He smiled bitterly. From the time they met in the capital to this day, they still exchanged a few letters, but none was left in his hand. Because all had to be burned.

There was never a word written that was affectionate enough to be kept.

“I’m taking a rest at the fort today, Lysia. I have to write a reply.”

“Yes.”

Lysia nodded her head.

“But won’t you stop her from going to the capital?”

“I’m worried about her traveling in winter, but I’m sure Tia knows it already. Nevertheless, the purpose must be important enough to have to go.”

Cedric said so.

It is also important to make a grain merchant union and to put Karam crops on the altar of the Temple.

Apart from that, Cedric was able to raise several advantages for the Grand Duchess during a dispute at the Thold Gate.

So he could have guessed why she was going back to the capital.

If so, all he has to do is support her.

Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong!

The Karam began to beat the drum.

Ka! Kak! Ka! Kaaram!

The shouts of the Karam warriors united and shook the sky.

Said Cedric looking down at it.

“I’ll have to drag the confrontation a little longer.”

“Your Grace?”

Cedric’s command flustered both Lysia and the fortress commander.

“It’s less than 20,000. That means that they didn’t really come together to fight a war. Maybe some of the forces have come to test whether the catapults and battering ram they made were actually useful or not.”

The fortress commander’s face was slightly hardened.

Cedric was speculating that way from the start.

He was first reported as to what caused this dispute,

However, it is a superficial excuse to tilt the scale further toward the extremist due to the kidnapping.

Upon learning of the facts, Evron immediately sent the child back and provided a significant amount of compensation.

Nevertheless, this happened.

“Now, we can destroy all siege weapons with one or two bombardments. It’s better not to let Karam know the utility of it at all, Your Grace.”

“Karam already knows the utility of the weapon and the meaning of tactics. If you break it down at once, you can create infight in Karam. But the end result will be the same.”

“The end result?”

“The second and third attempts will be made. Eventually, Karam will learn as well. That in order to destroy the walls, you can’t do it with physical strength alone. Before that, we must be different.”

You must have the power to pour out enough resources to stop it completely or gain the power to attempt for peace.

Cedric reached out his hand.

“Bring my great bow.”

The fortress commander turned his head in amazement.

One of the lieutenants ran. Cedric’s bow was hung in the third command post adjacent to the wall. These days with guns, it was more of a decoration.

Cedric adjusted the string of the bow that was not used for a long time.

He chose not to shoot a gun, but to shoot an arrow, because it could have a much more direct emotional impact on Karam.

Guns are unknown to Karam. Fear may be instilled on them, but cannot serve as a reminder that a true warrior is here.

Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong!

The drumming rang without stopping.

The battering ram started to move. The fortress commander said with an anxious face.

“Are you really going to just leave them alone?”

“They can’t threaten the gate.”

Cedric hung an arrow on the bow. As the string was pulled, his whole body muscles were tense.

“After I shoot the second arrow, fire afterwards.”

“What about the catapult?”

“Leave one. Let’s see if it’s functioning properly. All shields are in place, right?”

“Yes.”

It was Karam who moved first.

“Kak! Kaak!”

Karam’s warrior, who took the lead, yelled.

“It’s coming!”

Someone shouted.

A group of Karam pushed the battering ram and ran.

Cedric let the arrow go. The arrow that flew away with a whispering sound was stuck in the center of Karam’s big drum.

Tong!

The drum tore apart the shouting sounds.

The second arrow broke the flagpole standing next to the drumming Karams.

The Karam was startled and paused for a moment. Shooting the drum accurately with a bow across that distance and breaking the flagpole was usually not something a warrior could do.

The bombardment continued without missing the beat.

Boom!

The first bombardment broke the battering ram in one hit. Some of the Karam who was pushing the battering ram got caught in the blast and became bloody.

Boom!

The second bombardment threatened the catapult.

Cedric saw a young Karam standing near the flagpole.

The reason he noticed him anew was because he was looking exactly at Cedric.

Cedric could not clearly distinguish Karam’s face. This is because he had been away from the Grand Duchy for a long time.

However, the Karam did not seem to be having the same problem.

A meaningful gaze swept Cedric’s face.

Usually, Karam will not be able to clearly distinguish human faces.

They can tell who is the head of the human beings by clothes, bows, and mood. However, this Karam’s gaze was not simply a face looking at the head of the hostile forces.

‘You know me.’

Cedric caught the gaze. The inside of his chest was flickering.

It had crossed the limit.

Would it be better to kill it here?

Or should he keep it alive?

Is it the status quo or change to a different future?

He wanted to know what Artizea would say.

Karam warriors roared. The situation that almost became a battle entered into a confrontational situation once again.

***

At that time, Artizea headed to the temple with only Alphonse.

She wore a hooded fur cloak over her coat. In her hand, wearing thin lace gloves, she held a small handbag with jewels.

She walked without a carriage, but no one asked why. Because she came out without anyone knowing.

If possible, she wanted to come alone without Alphonse. However, unlike in the capital, she could not separate him.

She didn’t have Freil to take the place of the escort, and Alphonse didn’t want to be separated either. Alphonse insisted that if she doesn’t take him, she should take at least two other knights with her.

Alphonse was better than two knights. Besides, he followed her to the temple last time. He has already seen the priest’s face.

When the Grand Duchess came to the temple without any notification, the apprentice priest at the entrance greeted with great surprise and bowed his head. Artizea spoke quietly.

“I’ll just pray for a while, so don’t let them know.”

“Oh, yes.”

The apprentice priest bowed his head.

Probably not really a secret visit. It is not something to hide; that the Grand Duchess came to the temple and quietly prayed and left.

It didn’t matter that much.

Artizea walked across the temple without taking off her hood.

It wasn’t the chapel or prayer room that she was heading for. It was the room of the faithful priest who told her about the Karam crop.

Cedric was wrong. Artizea had entrusted the letter to Lysia in order to be separated from her.