The Villainess is on a Quest - Chapter 31

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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 31
“Then I understand.”
Cled didn’t insist on his own thoughts. He believed that if the other person truly wanted something, it was better to accommodate them.
Especially with Aine, he needed to maintain a good public appearance. With that in mind, Cled nodded, determined not to let discord develop between them.
“I think we need time to truly understand each other. If something we don’t know well is exposed, it could cast doubt on our relationship.”
“What you’re saying is…”
“How would it be if, for the next week, we spent most of our time together?”
The proposal that followed caught Cled off guard.
Most of their time together—meals, of course, afternoon tea after dining, walks through the garden, constantly in each other’s company. That seemed to be what she meant.
Cled was about to say there was no need to go that far.
It wasn’t so much that he’d be uncomfortable, but rather that he worried she might need rest.
“I’m not uncomfortable spending time with you. On the contrary, I’m deeply grateful to you.”
“Grateful to me?”
“Yes. Because you used Berona’s Miracle that day.”
That precious, priceless Berona’s Miracle. Aine wanted to repay what she had received, so after that day she studied Berona’s Miracle intently.
And the more she studied, the more she realized just how absurd Cled’s decision had been.
Berona’s Miracle—a miraculous elixir that yields only one or two drops a year.
It was the pure essence of the Berona Tree, which grew only in the Imperial Garden. It was a tree cultivated through noble soil and expensive elixirs.
Even imperial blood could not obtain it. Only the Emperor himself, master of the Imperial Palace, had the right to bestow it.
“The kindness you showed by granting this to Wilhelm cannot be repaid in a lifetime.”
Simply by saving Leicy’s child, Aine had come to regard Cled not as an enemy commander, but as a benefactor for life.
So there was no discomfort at all.
“It was merely my whim, and I have no intention of holding you responsible for it.”
Cled had decided not to tell her the full secret of Berona’s Miracle.
He anticipated that Aine would feel indebted, as she did now.
So with resolve to set the record straight, he spoke: she need not feel any obligation.
“In any case, I had planned to return that elixir to the Emperor once its use was exhausted.”
“You’ve been serving in the military for several years now.”
But Cled’s words did not reach Aine at all.
“There must have been many others in dire circumstances as well. I targeted you because you are the Empire’s sharpest blade.”
Aine had often pondered how to end the war quickly, and her conclusion was always the same: sever the enemy’s heart. To finish the war, one must fell the commander.
There were many capable generals in the Empire, certainly. But no matter how many she cut down, they did not fall.
There was only one reason: the man before her survived to the end. Aine had always targeted Cled’s throat.
And Cled had gracefully slipped through every trap she had so perfectly laid.
“In that process, your precious people must have faced hardship as well.”
Had he intended to use it, he would have used it long ago. But he hadn’t.
Cled laughed bitterly as he looked at Aine. She was right. He could have used it freely if he’d chosen to save them, but his subordinates refused.
He had kept it because if he himself died, the Empire’s entire defensive line would truly crumble.
“Your words seem to be correct.”
In that moment, Cled conceded.
“It seems we need far more conversation to understand one another.”
They were enemies who had each aimed for the other’s throat, yet they were the ones who understood each other best.
Both Cled and Aine had lost many subordinates who died fighting for them.
All in the hope that the war would end, for their homeland’s victory, so that they might return to peaceful days.
“Then what shall we start with?”
* * *
Until now, once a day, Cled would visit Aine for a brief tea time and ask if there was anything she needed. That was all.
But after accepting Aine’s proposal, the time the two spent together increased far more than before.
Unlike before, they began eating every meal together, went on walks side by side, and even spent time together in his office.
“How on earth did you escape during that battle at the Outskirts of Creed? My strategists were all over you—there wasn’t a single gap for you to slip through.”
“I had help from the locals living on the outskirts of Creed. They told me there was a way through the wheat fields.”
“If our Empire had deployed incendiary weapons, you would have died there.”
“But I was certain you wouldn’t use them. It was harvest season—I didn’t think you’d burn the fields and let the people starve.”
Having spent five years each moving between battlefields, the two naturally fell into discussing war.
Cled was certain it would be grim—a place so bleak he’d rather forget it—yet strangely, conversation with Aine was pleasant.
They found themselves able to empathize with each other’s circumstances.
Just as Aine had once sent a brutal warning to the kingdom because supplies weren’t reaching her properly, Cled too had broken into cold sweats over supply issues many times.
“What food does the prince dislike?”
“I eat anything.”
“Still, there must be something you avoid. If I had to choose, turnips were what I hated most.”
“I recall that the Orion Kingdom produces an extraordinary quantity of turnips.”
“Yes, in fact they’ve sent them by the cartload before, as a substitute for bread.”
Cled answered while imagining how much Aine must have disliked that.
“If I had to choose, I find myself averse to carrots.”
“Carrots? Is there a particular reason?”
Without much thought, Aine asked the question, assuming it was simply a matter of taste—the way children sometimes dislike carrots for being unpalatable.
“A carrot dish prepared by my trusted aide was poisoned.”
“I see.”
“He barely survived, but after witnessing that, I found myself hesitant to reach for carrots for some time.”
She felt a twinge of regret at asking, but Cled assured her he was fine now, adding that enough time had passed that it no longer troubled him in the slightest.
“Rather, please ask me whatever you wish. Only then will the awkwardness between us fade, wouldn’t you agree?”
As Aine heard Cled’s invitation to ask him anything, she nodded in agreement.
“Are your preparations for the banquet proceeding well?”
“I mentioned it to Hamilton, and apparently the Imperial Palace has sent several dresses. It looks like we’ll move forward by having them altered slightly.”
The date Odin had mentioned was now only days away. Soon she would attend the banquet and formally introduce herself to the Empire’s nobility.
Aine was curious what outcome this decision would bring, yet she didn’t worry about it overmuch.
‘I’ve been prepared for this ever since I arrived here.’
In the midst of her resolve to do anything for Wilhelm, a System Window suddenly appeared.
It hadn’t appeared since Odin’s visit, which made her wonder if something had happened, but first Aine read through what was written on the window.
“Your Highness….”
“Your expression has darkened. Is something the matter?”
And then a problem emerged.
[SYSTEM: Flower of the Banquet]
[A dance between Aine Claine, the center of this celebration, and Cled Hartz is scheduled for the main stage. Display a beautiful dance to all.]
[Success Reward: Successful entry into high society, the nobility’s welcome]
[Failure Penalty: Failed entry into high society, the nobility’s suspicion]
[D-DAY 4.]
“You dance well?”
Why did quests always emerge like this, without warning and completely out of nowhere?
Aine stared at the quest before her eyes, nearly furrowing her brow.
It wasn’t even a quest, really. It was something she was being forced to do.
‘Spent five years buried on the battlefield, and now my head’s gone soft along with everything else.’
When she thought about it, even back in the Orion Kingdom, high society always featured dancing. A beautiful woman and a handsome man dancing together was always expected.
She was about to sigh at having overlooked this detail when Cled spoke.
“A dance, you say?”

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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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