The Villainess Lives Twice

Chapter 275

Proofreader: somnium

Ferguson said,

“According to General Kylä, Dinsky Cobb said that sooner or later, the Emperor’s secret organization would move to subdue the Crown Prince for treason.”

And the sympathizers will make a big deal the moment the secret comes out.

“Right.”

Cedric replied. Ferguson asked again nervously,

“Aren’t you going to arrest him now?”

“Right now, it is a little vague to move the military. There is no justification.”

Freil answered instead,

“It is, but…….”

Ferguson said hesitatingly,

“Then, we will.”

Of course, Ferguson, the Emperor’s investigator, never needed more evidence than this.

“Do not rush, Sir Ferguson. We must not forget that we are not moving on imperial order now.”

“Well…….”

Ferguson groaned.

Freil was right. When his organization moved according to imperial order, no one dared to resist.

When the investigation organization lacked force, the Guards and the Central Army supported them.

However, there were targets for removal within the very same Guards and Central Army.

Freil asked,

“Is there a list?”

“There is. This is an estimated list and has not been confirmed. General Kylä knew nothing but the extent to which he would raise an army when he received an order.”

Ferguson said cautiously,

“It can be said that it is close to the list of those who usually do not have good feelings for the Crown Prince. And it won’t be too far off.”

That’s what Freil thought, too.

In the military, there were a lot of pro-Crown Prince. Cedric was friendly with military personnel from the beginning due to his inclination.

Of course, most of them were loyal to the Emperor. The Emperor has been working hard for a long time to seize military power*.

It was for this reason that he concentrated his military power on the Central Army, even by deliberately weakening the Western and Southern Army, which he could lose control.

However, although they may attack Cedric according to the imperial order, there was no reason to go into conspiracy to get rid of the crown prince in the first place.

Even more so now, when there are no other Emperor candidates to be loyal to.

After all, if Cedric became Emperor, they had no reason to get involved in this, unless they themselves wanted to be in a position of trouble.

And that was the case for people like General Kylä, tampered with the goods going north, or committed an unacceptable level of corruption.

“This could be an opportunity, Your Highness.”

Freil said.

He warned Ferguson not to rush, but this was certainly useful information.

Taking control of the military is important. To have opposition in the Central Army was as good as standing with a dagger to his neck.

But hopefully, this one blow could wipe out the opposition.

Cedric didn’t answer. He just turned his back on them and looked out the window, thoughtful.

The windows were dark because the sun had already set. Cedric’s face reflected there was gloomy.

Freil thought he had lost some weight. His cheeks were slender and he looked shaded.

People thought he was exhausted from overwork. From the time of the port fire until now, it was true that Cedric was given a greater responsibility than his authority.

The more insidious suspected that he was deliberately losing weight and putting on a haggard complexion to hide his joy.

It also meant that he was starting to be judged by politicians.

Freil realized he was thinking of Artizea.

Cedric is a strong man. Freil had never seen his complexion deteriorated so much, even after months of marching with his troops, and fighting all night long.

Freil couldn’t fathom how many days he hadn’t slept.

The long sleepless nights would not have consisted solely of political anguish.

Cedric muttered to himself,

“It’s a sad thing. I thought I made it clear that there would be no purges.”

“There are more people in the world who listen to what they want to hear than what was said, Crown Prince.”

The name was unfamiliar, and it rolled around in his mouth.

Cedric smiled bitterly.

“I know. There is nothing more difficult than making people understand.”

His words were heavy.

Cedric flicked the window open. A cool night breeze came in.

Freil suddenly thought of the past.

It was when they were on their way to Baron Yetz’s gambling house to find Saintess Olga’s heart.

At the time, Freil had not objected to his engagement to Artizea on the grounds that it was too dangerous to keep her by Lawrence’s side.

But he never imagined that they would come all the way here without finishing the three years.

And Cedric has changed.

If he had been who he was three years ago, he wouldn’t have said it was difficult to understand other people with such a voice like this.

Thinking of each step, nothing strange happened, but it felt as if 30 years had passed.

“Opportunity…….”

Cedric muttered to himself again.

If it was Artizea, she would definitely see it as an opportunity.

She probably intentionally dug a trap without informing him, causing a large-scale purge.

But Freil put it this way,

“In my opinion, a person who wants to drive out the Crown Prince without any alternative candidate right now is a person who can ruin the Empire to maintain his vested interests, and those who were weak in the secret organization and rebels is a person who has reached the peak of corruption. You must not carry them with you.”

Cedric smiled bitterly again.

He was right. It had to be Cedric to hear the opinions and decide, regardless of the content’s right or wrong.

“You are not wrong.”

The opponent was the enemy. With that in mind, it was only natural to dig a trap and drag them in.

Considering domestic politics, it is true that he was reluctant to engage in political wars and conspiracies.

Slandering in front of the Emperor, plotting social extermination with slander, and falsely accusing did not fit Cedric’s nature before the issue of good and evil.

Especially if the purpose is a power struggle.

However, it was different if he thought that the opponent was a military organization.

The opponent intends to attack with practical force in hand. If so, this was the realm of tactics that Cedric had been dealing with all his life.

Defeating them at once was the best way to reduce damage.

Knowing that Cedric had made a decision, Ferguson brightened up. He was worried that the information he had brought would become a piece of waste paper.

“Sir Ferguson, do you think you can identify the spy in the Imperial Palace?”

“Yes.”

“Keep watching. General Kylä’s waiting for an imperial order means that someone is approaching His Majesty. You don’t need to grab them beforehand. You will be committing the mistake of scaring the snake by disturbing the bush.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Cedric beckoned Ferguson to get out. Ferguson bowed and walked out quickly.

Cedric let out a low sigh.

‘That’s what happened after all.’

He wanted to reduce the political turmoil of the regime change. He did not want to open up a reign with purges and political retaliation.

He had no intention of uncovering the sins of each individual or eliminating weaknesses.

It is only the individual Emperor who wields undisputed power to spread his own justice.

Such justice was also in the young Emperor Gregor.

Cedric did not believe that he would never be corrupted.

Even if his heart wanted to be good, it could happen at any time that his eyes and ears would be darkened or his judgment clouded.

Above all, he witnessed firsthand what the Empire became when the absolute power established by the Emperor in this way fell into the hands of the unqualified.

So what he had to do during his reign was not to act righteously alone.

It was to perfect the system and the law, and to make it work properly.

Well, it was a pointless thought. He was no longer clean.

He was still determined to do the best he could.

Freil said as if comforting him,

“Your Highness has already done as much as you can. You were adopted by Her Majesty, and you were ordained by His Majesty.”

“…….”

“That is enough of a gesture of reconciliation. Even after that, those who doubt Your Highness will say that you are avenging your parents, no matter what you do.”

“That’s right. In the end, we will have to face it head-on and rule consistently until we can give them trust.”

Cedric replied that way.

And he threw his gaze out the window.

The Palace at night was silent. The roof of the Imperial Palace looked white in the moonlight over the garden bushes.

“You have to take the initiative. At least we should control the timing of the start of the war from this side so that the situation can be guided as desired.”

After Freil thought for a moment, he answered,

“We have the right number of cases.”

“Tell me.”

“Recently, rumors are being spread in the slums. It is about the western plague that is revolving around the slums these days.”

“Hmm…….”

Cedric moaned briefly. He was also aware of the disease.

It was a diarrheal disease that occurred every year when the days got hotter. This was due to the lack of sewage maintenance.

“People are more ferocious than ever. After all, most of the slum patients never get a chance to see a doctor.”

It wasn’t just spreading rumors.

Several contaminated wells were found.

It was supposed to increase the rate of spread of the disease and increase confusion.

Freil said,

“So, what if a riot starts there? They started it first, so there is no doubt that they pulled the trigger from their side.”

“And I will go there to calm the riot.”

“Yes. Using Your Highness as bait, but…….”

“That is the most certain thing. After all, their purpose must be to get rid of me.”

If so, give it a chance. When the other side bites the bait, from then on, the control of the situation passes to this side.

He wasn’t worried. It was obvious that the level of force that the secret organization could mobilize was negligible if the Guards or the Central Army, who had received an imperial command, came and surrounded them.

“Will the situation get too big and cause casualties?”

“I can’t give you any guarantees. There is no guarantee that the situation will not spread, no matter how little the disturbance may be created. But I know the head of an organization that is quite influential there.”

“…… I see.”

Cedric answered slowly.

It was easy to guess that that network would be Artizea’s source of information. It was unlikely that Freil would have made a connection with the slums organization on his own.

But Cedric didn’t dare to say that.

A sharp pain spread through his chest.

“Go ahead.”

He quickly hid his expression with a faint smile.

Freil bowed his head.

*History Fun Fact from somnium~!

In this era, the person who inherited the crown is always the person with the biggest army. Population support is NOT even worth considering. They are usually incapable of revolt… unless! It’s religion thing. People won’t risk dying for a Monarch that they don’t like, but they will if they believe it will secure their place in Heaven.