CH 164

“What?” Cecile stammered. It wasn’t a dream? She slowly reviewed her memories, and certainly they seemed far too clear to be dismissed as a figment of her imagination. Still, wasn’t the ordeal too ridiculous to be reality?

Cecile remained deep in thought for a long time before eventually casting her gaze towards the two figures with their foreheads stuck to the ground and the other two with their arms straight in the air. It was strange—hadn’t they come to her aid in her moment of crisis? Then, why were they being punished? Not to mention, Aled and Richard’s punishments seemed harsher. For the life of her, Cecile couldn’t figure out what they’d done to deserve such treatment when they should’ve been rewarded.

“By the way, why are they in those positions?” Cecile asked curiously.

“Because of that,” Estian responded dryly, pointing to the other side of the room.

‘That?’ Cecile’s gaze followed to where he was pointing, and she gasped, “A mirror?” At the other end of the room was ‘herself,’ though something seemed off. While she was on the bed in her pajamas, the other Cecile was standing in front of a bookshelf dressed in different attire. But more importantly… “Why am I holding a whip?” she shouted incredulously.

Amidst Cecile’s confusion, her other self only grinned as she pulled the black whip in her hands taut.

* * *

“So… You made a fake me because there’d be chaos in the imperial palace if my disappearance was discovered?”

Aled and Richard vigorously nodded in response; their foreheads red from being plastered to the floor.

“But since it would act like a doll if you just left it as is, you added a small setting so it’d act according to the villainess reputation that I’m known for by the public?” The two nodded again in response. “And the fake me… has caused a lot of trouble while I was gone?”

Cecile looked down at the stack of paper gathered on a table, listing out all the incidents caused by the fake Cecile. ‘What the heck did it do to result in a stack that’s a foot-high?’ She began reading aloud what was recorded on the papers in frustration.

“Gave an order for the entire empress palace gardens to be remodeled… Preserving the beauty of the classics is a must, but a fresh avant-garde spin should also be attempted. The steady basics must be adhered to while being bold in shaping…”

What a pain in the butt! Cecile truly felt apologetic towards the imperial gardeners who’d received such a ridiculous order. She was certain her name must’ve vehemently been circled in red in their diaries that day. Worse still, that wasn’t the end of the list.

“In addition, she remarked that the meals at the empress’s palace were lacking lately, and so every meal must consist of at least 20 courses, but the same menu mustn’t be served twice. Same goes for the ingredients… Then, she had the chefs imprisoned for voicing that the order was too sudden and they needed more time to prepare… These people need to be released immediately!”

“Don’t worry. They’ve been released,” Estian said reassuringly.

Cecile felt herself slacken with relief, before she glanced over at Tania, who was kneading her sore arms with her fist, and Girgantia slumped next to her. Their punishment of holding their arms in the air was because they hadn’t stopped Richard and Aled from creating the doppelganger.

“Still, I’m not sure it’s fair to ascribe blame to these two,” Cecile remarked, sympathetic to Tania’s pain.

“She’s your handmaiden, yet she allowed a fake to run amok,” Estian refuted firmly. “If it wasn’t for the fact that you hold her dear, I would’ve lopped off her head, daughter of Margrave Kaniche or not.”

Tania’s face paled when she realized Estian’s threats weren’t empty. Cecile sighed, as she thought back to how incredulous she’d felt when she first laid eyes on the illusion Richard had created.