The Villainess is on a Quest - Chapter 28

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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 27
Kled waited in silence, watching Aine lost in her own thoughts.
Not long ago, they had been enemies bent on each other’s destruction.
Was it so simple, then, to move from that enmity not merely to amicability, but to romance?
Kled turned inward, examining what he truly felt about this. The moment Odin’s command reached him, he’d returned to the Chester Mansion and sought out Aine first of all.
Kled was a man devoted to the Empire—so completely that he’d made peace with sacrificing his own life for it.
Under normal circumstances, he would have received the order without feeling a single thing.
But this was different. The moment Odin had laid out his initial condition, Kled felt himself tense.
It was unprecedented, and he couldn’t understand why he was reacting this way.
“There’s no need to decide right now. I can give you all the time you need to think.”
Kled moved to stand—partly to give her space, partly to understand his own turmoil.
But Aine caught hold of his sleeve as he rose.
Kled stiffened at the sudden movement, yet Aine spoke with quiet resolve.
“I’ve made my decision.”
She had decided.
Kled’s heart thundered in his chest. What had she chosen? Watching her steady gaze, he wondered.
What would he do if she refused?
“I will become Your Highness’s woman.”
Her answer came brief and simple, sweeping away his doubt.
Aine rose to face him, taking his hand in both of hers.
“If it means saving Prince Wilhelm and ending the long war between our two nations, I am prepared to do whatever is necessary.”
The aftereffect of his condition usually left Kled unable to see a woman’s face clearly, but in this moment it was different.
‘Ash-gray…’
Kled gazed into Aine’s eyes.
Two eyes filled with ash-gray resolve, beautiful and unwavering.
* * *
The reason Aine had answered so readily was simple: the Quest window had sounded a warning.
If she failed to hold onto Kled in this moment, the Quest would automatically fail and war between the Empire and the Kingdom would resume.
For Aine, there was no choice to make. So she’d conveyed her intention to Kled.
That she would move as the Empire wished.
‘After all, he probably only came to me because the Emperor forced him to.’
As Aine recalled, the Emperor’s power was absolute.
She hadn’t expected Odin’s earlier words to return to her like this, but she reasoned that Kled, too, must have accepted this role reluctantly.
“Playing at being fake lovers.”
It was harder to think of it casually. The narrative had to be that she’d abandoned her homeland for love and crossed over to the Empire.
Acting like any couple you’d see on the street would only invite suspicion.
Aine’s philosophy was to do things properly or not at all, so she found herself caught in deliberation.
How exactly should she and Kled carry themselves to look like the lovers of the age?
“Though the most important thing, of course, is you.”
Aine gazed at Wilhelm, sleeping soundly.
Not long after she’d accepted the condition, Odin had dispatched royal physicians in abundance and spared no expense in providing medicines and herbs.
While Aine held hope for the day he would wake, anxiety gnawed at her.
“How am I supposed to explain all this?”
How could a five-year-old adapt to this foreign land called the Empire? Why was he here, where were his parents, and who was he?
There was so much to explain, and she couldn’t be sure a five-year-old could grasp any of it.
What frightened her most was how much Wilhelm already knew.
How much would this child, barely beginning to grow, remember of the poison his uncle had made him drink, or of the rebellion that had killed both his parents?
“I wish he’d forgotten it all.”
Aine pitied Wilhelm deeply. She desperately wished he could forget that traumatic, terrifying ordeal.
No child should have to bear such weight.
* * *
Mane had remained with the royal physicians after their arrival, and only by the following morning did she learn what had transpired the day before.
“I absolutely oppose this! The Commander has fallen in love with the enemy general!”
Naturally, Mane’s objections burst forth the moment she heard.
“Mane, please calm down.”
“Calm down? If the Vice-Commander Mary and the others from the 1st Legion had been here, they’d be even more furious than I am!”
Mane was outraged. She’d stepped away for just a moment, and in that time the Empire had made such an audacious proposal to Aine.
Meanwhile, Aine genuinely couldn’t fathom why Mane was so agitated.
It was merely pretending to be lovers. If playing the role could secure protection for Wilhelm, Aine was willing to do it without hesitation.
But for Mane, this was a line that could not be crossed. To the 1st Legion, Aine was more precious than life itself.
He could never accept drawing her into his affections in such a way.
“These treacherous Empire dogs—I’ll go meet the prince myself.”
Mane intended to find Kled and either cancel or reverse their agreement.
Just as she made up her mind and reached for the door, a warning appeared.
[Warning: Exercise caution beyond the door.]
“Wait, Mane. Don’t go out yet.”
“Commander. Don’t stop me. This is something I absolutely cannot yield on—ah!”
Aine saw the warning and told her to stop, but Mane opened the door anyway.
The moment she did, both Mane and Aine froze.
“Commander. What… what is this?”
“…I have no idea.”
The space before the door was filled with what appeared to be gift boxes.
Mane turned to Aine with a question, but Aine was equally bewildered and could only stare.
As they stepped outside to understand what was happening, Hamilton appeared as if he’d been waiting.
“Good morning. You’ve awakened, Miss Aine. Is there anything you require?”
The old butler’s face bore the brightest smile he’d shown since setting foot in Chester Mansion.
Finding that smile somehow off-putting, Aine asked Hamilton directly.
“What are these boxes doing outside my room?”
Hamilton’s response came in a cheerful, lighthearted tone.
“They are gifts that the master has prepared for you, Miss Aine.”
“Who?”
For a moment she thought she’d misheard, but Hamilton answered as if he’d held back nothing until now.
“These gifts have all been prepared by Prince Kled for you, Miss Aine.”
* * *
“Did he send more today?”
“It only shows how sincerely the master cares for you, Miss Aine.”
Though she’d made it clear they weren’t needed, when she woke this morning, the same quantity of gifts had been stacked outside her door once more.
Aine, who hadn’t received this many gifts even at Christmas, was flabbergasted.
When she and Mane opened the boxes, each one contained items of considerable value.
Someone greedy for wealth might have lost their mind, but Aine was different.
‘The Kingdom’s people are struggling under the weight of war.’
War is a machine that devours gold. The vast Empire could be no exception.
“Please store these gifts in the warehouse of Chester Mansion as before, without opening them.”
“The master said there’s no need to refuse.”
Hamilton assured her they were hers to keep, but Aine shook her head.
“Objects don’t determine the weight of affection between two people. What truly matters is the heart.”
Hamilton’s eyes widened as he observed Aine speaking with such conviction.
Confirming the unwavering composure in her bearing, Hamilton nodded in agreement.
Having secured his assent, Aine continued.
“Hamilton. Where is His Highness?”
“He is in the Office.”
The moment she heard this, Aine set off in that direction.
As Hamilton watched her depart, he smiled wryly to himself.
“Come to think of it, I neglected to mention that we have a visitor.”
Well, it hardly mattered. Hamilton knew everything that transpired within Chester Mansion.
There would be no problem at all if the visitor in the Office and Aine were to meet.
Hamilton gazed at the heaped gift boxes. They were certainly excessive by his own reckoning, but his mind lingered more on what Aine had just said.
‘There’s good reason why she’s called a hero.’

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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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