The Villainess is on a Quest - Chapter 24

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 24
The moment Alex spoke, no one spared Peltain a glance—they simply turned to one another and continued their discussion.
“Still, it wasn’t entirely fruitless. The Emperor surely knows something about Aine’s whereabouts.”
The rumor wasn’t baseless. At this, Alex and the others nodded in agreement.
If it were false, Odin himself would have stepped forward to deny it and quash the gossip.
But Odin remained passive, as though he welcomed the very formation of such opinion.
Alex’s brow furrowed.
‘I’ll obtain her no matter what.’
They possessed no real information.
Only the certainty that Aine had surrendered to the Empire.
Yet Alex brimmed with confidence.
‘If I procure enough intelligence, I’ll find her soon enough.’
Set on this course, he was sure her location would come to light.
* * *
Thanks to proper treatment at Brandt Fort, Mane’s recovery had been remarkably swift.
By now she could move about freely as before. Seeking her out, Aine shared everything she knew.
“So such an organization exists within the Empire.”
“Doesn’t the reaction of the Empire’s people concern you?”
Mane’s first question wasn’t about the Empire’s response at all, but about Retaria. Aine regarded her with a look of confusion, yet Mane’s lips curved upward.
“I found merit in what the Crown Prince mentioned. In all my years, I’ve never heard of a general who looks after prisoners of war during a campaign.”
Mane recounted the various collections of great men’s lives she’d read in childhood.
The books detailed how vast territories these figures had conquered and how many enemies they’d slain.
Because the books used this as their standard, many believed that to become a hero, one must do the same.
So whenever Aine seized a great victory, devoted generals like Mery would insist to her:
They would urge her to ascend to herodom by slaughtering all the abandoned prisoners, that all might remember her name.
“Frankly, I found the act itself repugnant. However much they were enemies, it seemed unlikely they’d all come willingly.”
Many had been sent to war by their lords’ demand, or to escape heavy taxes—conscripted against their will.
Watching them nearly meet death in some unknown land, Aine realized she was nothing short of their savior.
‘I’m just an ordinary person.’
Listening to Mane, Aine checked her System window.
[SYSTEM : Favorability Survey]
[Positive Assessment : 55%]
[Negative Assessment : 19%]
[Neutral : 17%]
[Retaria : 10%]
Since hearing Cled’s words, the extreme negative assessment had shifted to Retaria.
Cled’s reason for growing weary lay with Retaria.
Now that they knew of Aine’s existence, they would move heaven and earth to find her and achieve their aims.
‘And their aim is war.’
To sustain the conflict, to seize victory no matter the cost. For that, they needed to scatter ash upon this fragile peace—and she was their instrument.
Though she’d never met them, Aine already felt sick at the thought of them.
While some worked tirelessly to end this exhausting war, others fought to prolong it—the sheer absurdity made her blood boil.
“Is the Crown Prince someone trustworthy?”
Mane asked about Cled, watching those around them carefully.
She wanted to confirm whether he was truly worthy of trust.
Understanding why Mane posed this question, Aine recalled the manner he’d displayed thus far.
“After we finished speaking, he left immediately for the Imperial Palace.”
To secure healers and researchers for treating the Eternal Nightmare, to gather medicinal supplies.
Though she couldn’t know which of his words were truth and which were lies, Aine wanted to believe in him.
Upon hearing this answer, Mane nodded. So long as she’d chosen to trust, she would follow that trust as well.
Then a System window suddenly appeared before Aine, and she stopped walking.
“Commander?”
“A patient shouldn’t be exposed to cold air for so long.”
Mane looked at her with puzzlement, but Aine suggested to her that they return soon.
“I need more time to collect my thoughts. You go ahead.”
Mane sensed something amiss in her companion’s request for solitude, yet she complied and turned back.
Time passed in silence.
“It’s been a while since I’ve visited this place.”
Not long after Mane disappeared, Aine saw a man appear before her.
“I greet the true master of the Empire.”
The Emperor of the Empire, Odin Hertz.
* * *
Odin found it curious how she’d recognized him, yet he marveled nonetheless—remarking that the Kingdom’s renowned commander was indeed a cut above the rest.
[SYSTEM : Appearance of the Empire’s Emperor]
[The Emperor shall present himself before you. Prepare yourself.]
Yet had the System window not informed her, Aine would have been none the wiser.
More than Odin’s sudden appearance, Aine’s attention was drawn to the System window that had delivered the message.
‘It’s never sent warnings like this before.’
Six years together—one with Laysee, five in war—and the System had never been kind to her.
The aid she’d received on the battlefield came solely because it moved in service to Laysee; when her own life hung in the balance, it simply stood by.
And now? Already several times, the System had volunteered vital information to her, asked or unasked.
It was odd, but Aine decided to dwell on it later.
For now, her focus needed to remain on the presence before her.
“I had not expected Your Majesty to call upon me in person.”
“The entire realm’s been in an uproar, hasn’t it? It seemed more prudent for me to move than to have you stirring about. Besides, I have the excuse of meeting my son after so long.”
Beneath his guileless smile and that unfathomable, relentless gaze, Aine sensed she was dealing with someone who could not be taken lightly.
“I hear you’ve made an intriguing proposal. You said you wished to make a transaction with me?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
Odin, too, found it remarkable—this was the first time he’d encountered someone who showed no deference upon meeting him for the first time.
Yet without conversation, there was no way to fully grasp her measure, so Odin resolved to test her.
“You understand, I trust, that a transaction can only proceed when both parties stand on equal ground.”
Odin pressed forward with an intent to intimidate—to convey that if he so wished, he could simply take Retaria’s hand and have Aine executed.
But Aine’s response was remarkably unfazed. This was something she’d already resolved herself to upon crossing into the Empire’s territory.
“As Your Majesty rightly says, a transaction proceeds only when both parties stand equal. In that case, I fear this transaction cannot take place.”
“Are you tucking your tail?”
“No. In the current circumstances, the advantage lies not with Your Majesty, but with me.”
It was so unexpected an answer that Odin’s expression hardened, and he fixed his gaze upon her in silence.
Yet Aine pressed on, unbothered.
“Your Majesty could have had me executed at any time. Yet you have not.”
In truth, from Brandt Fort onward, Aine’s life had rested in Odin’s hands, and yet he had never taken it.
And Aine had already learned the reason from Cled.
“You already know, Sire, that my death would not secure the Empire’s victory in this war.”
If a single hero’s death could topple a nation, the Empire would never have been driven so far into retreat from the start.
Indeed, should Aine be executed here, it would spell catastrophe for the Empire.
“The soldiers of the Orion Kingdom will never forgive the Empire. The war will grow far more brutal than it is now.”
The same holds true on the international stage.
The prevailing sentiment—that the Orion Kingdom bore responsibility for starting the war—had favored the Empire; but executing Aine would reverse it entirely.
A perception would take root that the Empire was so merciless it would put to death a great noble of an enemy realm.
“Therefore, Your Majesty wishes to end this war as swiftly as possible. That is why you’ve taken time from your pressing duties to conduct this transaction with me.”
“Then this is no transaction—shouldn’t you be presenting demands from the outset?”
“Though I am young, I can still distinguish between recklessness and confidence. How could I presume to make demands upon the master of the Empire?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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