Yeah, it can be confusing. In your example you only have cc Data in the Key Editor. The Automation for controlling the cc isn’t really “cc Data” it is normal Automation Data. In Cubase Automation can be used to control almost anything, which means it can also control a cc Controller.
Normally if you are recording a keyboard performance including twisting knobs to play with filters (or whatever) via cc messages you would record that as MIDI data and leave it at that.
But if you want to create more precise sweeps after the fact, then using Automation might be a better choice. That’s because MIDI Data always immediately changes to the new value. So to create a ramp or curve you need to have multiple data points along the entire curve.
Automation data is much more flexible. In the example below it only took 3 data points to create a fairly complex shape. This Automation is not so much like MIDI cc Data that is being routed to the VSTi and more like using your mouse to adjust the knob in the VSTi which is set to be controlled by the cc Data.
