The Villainess is on a Quest - Chapter 25

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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 25
Odin took no offense at Aine’s spirited reply.
A sharp mind beat a dull one any day. Even when facing an opponent, Odin preferred those with whom dialogue was possible.
In that sense, she had passed the test perfectly—more than perfectly. Had she wavered and turned arrogant at this moment, Odin would have returned to the Imperial Palace at once.
“Before we proceed with the deal, I’m curious about something. Is my son treating you well?”
The sudden mention of Cled caught Aine off guard, but she gathered herself and answered.
“He is treating me with utmost consideration.”
Aine had not expected to receive treatment in the Verona Empire that she had never known in the Orion Kingdom, and each day still felt strange to her.
Aine believed Cled treated her this way because of her usefulness, but Odin, who knew his son’s nature better than anyone, thought otherwise.
‘That boy, indifferent to people as he is, yet does such things.’
Aine could have been lying, but from what Odin observed firsthand, it didn’t seem so.
Aine didn’t know it, but every garment she wore was crafted by the Imperial family’s private salon.
Without deliberate care, he would never have given such thought to a single piece of clothing.
‘It seems he takes considerable care.’
Noticing the special attention being given, Odin set aside his curiosity, promising himself he would speak with Cled later, and turned his focus back to the conversation.
“Then, tell me what you desire.”
It was time for the deal.
* * *
The deal with Odin proceeded smoothly.
Everything Aine wished for was something Odin already possessed and could readily grant.
“Prince Wilhelm is also here with us. Please guarantee his safety and help him reclaim the throne.”
Simply to protect Wilhelm and help him—that was all. For Odin, this amounted to purchasing peace at a bargain.
Yet Odin said he would discuss what he wanted at another time, and instead asked that she view his requests favorably when they came.
Aine felt uneasy not knowing what Odin might demand, but he assured her he would fulfill her requests.
Thus Aine was left to wait and see what his conditions would be.
Aine sat before the Lake, gathering her thoughts about all that had happened that day.
“So you are here.”
At the sound of the voice, Aine’s mind returned to the present.
When she turned, Cled stood beside her.
For some reason, he looked more displeased than she had ever seen him before.
“Is something wrong?”
“Nothing in particular.”
Something clearly was, but if he didn’t wish to speak of it, Aine saw no reason to press. She remained quiet and still.
Cled then seated himself across from her and spoke.
“I hear His Majesty the Emperor has visited.”
“Yes, he came to me and proposed a deal before leaving.”
There was no need to hide it; he would have known anyway.
So Aine told him the truth. But the result was not what she expected.
‘He waited for me to leave.’
Cled clicked his tongue inwardly as he thought of Odin. What conversation had passed between him and Aine in his absence?
The truth was, Cled was reluctant to leave the Lancaster Estate unless the matter was serious. Protecting Aine was his foremost priority.
But the Imperial Palace had suddenly sent a summons saying they had found information related to the Eternal Nightmare and ordering him to enter the palace at once.
With no cause to refuse, Cled went to the Imperial Palace, only to find when he arrived that there was nothing but Odin’s own work left waiting for him.
They were instructing him to handle it in his father’s stead.
‘I will remember this.’
Though anger burned at having been deceived, Cled focused on Aine. He could not see her face, and so did not know what expression she wore.
“Have you not shown your hand to a physician?”
Instead, Cled examined Aine’s hand—the pale, slender hand opposite him bearing a large scar.
Aine realized she was not wearing gloves and looked down at her own hand.
“I’m fine. It doesn’t hurt anymore, and it’s nothing to worry about.”
It was merely a scar. Aine had seen all manner of wounds on the battlefield.
She had witnessed injuries requiring limb amputation, and watched soldiers whose time had finally run out.
By her measure, this was hardly worth showing a physician.
“That is not acceptable.”
But Cled did not agree.
He took her hand. Their gazes met at the sudden intimacy of the moment.
Silence fell between them, but Cled released her hand and rose from his seat.
He regarded her for a moment, then removed his Outer Garment and offered it to her.
“A wound left untended will never truly heal. So you must show it to a physician.”
With those words, Cled disappeared.
Aine watched Cled disappear into the distance, then looked down at her own hand.
The warmth she had thought was cold turned out to be surprisingly gentle.
* * *
The Orion Kingdom, which had seized victory from the Verona Empire, was passing through the calm before the storm.
Shortly after holding a grand funeral for Matthias and Leicy, Vinet propagated exactly as planned—that these deaths were all the work of assassins sent by the Verona Empire.
“Those vile creatures! It seems they can’t defeat us without resorting to such filthy acts as assassination!”
“We must crush them at once.”
“Surely General Cled will annihilate them completely. The Empire has already been reduced to its final stronghold.”
Public sentiment against the Empire boiled over, precisely as anticipated.
A fever of madness swept through—they must hasten to tear it down, blood vengeance must be exacted, and anything and everything must be permissible to achieve this.
The nobility, by contrast, viewed this fervor with distaste.
They believed the kingdom should now dedicate all its strength to ending the war and rebuilding the ravaged nation, rather than toppling the Empire—yet not a soul dared voice such thoughts aloud.
Any noble who would have spoken such words had already been dealt with.
The great lords found the death of the king suspicious, but they did not contest it.
There was no suitable heir beyond Vinet, and she had given them no opportunity to interfere.
So it seemed as though everything flowed according to Vinet’s will.
“That accursed woman ignored my orders again!”
With a single exception.
Vinet’s voice rose sharp with frustration as she hurled the Crown roughly across the room.
A sharp clang filled the space, but Linus simply picked up the fallen Crown and set it back upon the desk.
“There is no need to trouble yourself, Your Majesty.”
At Linus’s words, Vinet fixed him with a murderous glare.
“No need to trouble myself? The 1st Legion refuses to pledge loyalty to me, and you tell me to let it pass!”
Mary Stewart—she had ascended naturally to command when Aine stepped down.
It was a procedure Aine had arranged beforehand with the late King Matthias, so no one could raise objections.
Vinet had tried her utmost to win her over through coaxing and flattery, but regrettably, Mary Stewart was a loyal hound who answered only to Aine.
Shifting tactics, Vinet issued a summons to arrest her suddenly, as she had done with Aine, but Mary Stewart continued to refuse and ignore every command.
“If they dare to rebel, everyone will question my fitness to rule!”
The 1st Legion held immense significance. It meant not only that they were the kingdom’s most elite unit, but also that they were the most dedicated and loyal soldiers to the kingdom itself.
Yet those soldiers were not swearing allegiance to Vinet.
They offered excuses—the kingdom was at war, they must hold the line against the Empire—but how much longer would such pretenses hold?
“Your Majesty, by now word of what has occurred in the Capital has certainly reached her ears. She will not come of her own volition.”
Linus, by contrast, remained composed.
“Even if she did come to the Capital, she would surely return to the Royal Palace with the 1st Legion at her side.”

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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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