The Villainess is on a Quest - Chapter 33

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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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Episode 32
“The Duchess Andre has entered the Chester Estate.”
“If she’s visited the estate, then it’s certain. Prince Kleid Hartz has returned.”
The press was not alone in fixing its gaze upon the Chester Estate.
Letaria too was keeping a close watch on Kleid’s whereabouts.
“Isn’t it rather curious? The news that Prince Kleid has returned and that Aine Kleine is in the Capital spread simultaneously.”
Not everyone was a fool. They too were advancing various theories about the situation.
Most treated it as mere gossip or conspiracy theories, but within Letaria itself, they were certain that Kleid’s return and Aine’s appearance were connected.
“How are matters progressing with planting our people inside the Chester Estate?”
“All attempts have failed. That old steward rooted them all out and had them brought to the Imperial Palace.”
Letaria’s members clicked their tongues in frustration. If only they could learn what was happening inside the Chester Estate, they might grasp some thread to follow.
So the moment Letaria heard that Kleid had returned, they moved. But the results were the same as before.
Even when they planted capable spies, even when they bought people inside, Hamilton discovered them like a ghost and severed every connection.
“And on top of that, Marquis Lordman’s dissatisfaction grows by the day.”
“Count Peltain made a mistake recently and was caught out by His Majesty in the Assembly.”
“A man who prizes honor above all was humiliated before everyone’s eyes—naturally he’s furious.”
“And he fell out of favor with Marquis Lordman on top of it all. The Peltain Family will have to work their way back to where they stood before.”
Pressure continued from within to learn the truth by any means necessary.
A suffocating atmosphere of urgency was forming—they had to produce results regardless.
They had to succeed, no matter what. To do so, they could do anything at all.
“The only viable method now is to pose as people from the Andre Family.”
“But their security is nearly as tight as the Chester Estate’s—is that even possible?”
The moment the words left their lips, someone struck the speaker across the face. The sound of impact rang out, but not a whimper followed.
Such violence was far too ordinary for them. They had learned their lesson.
“Don’t speak weakness. For our grand plan, we do whatever it takes—even the impossible.”
Even if the Emperor himself stood in their way.
With cold, piercing eyes, Letaria’s people moved with haste. To find Aine Kleine.
‘An Assembly will be held soon. Before then, we must uncover Aine Kleine’s true identity by any means.’
* * *
Aine’s provocation had succeeded. Not only had she gotten Emilia to sit back down, she was now receiving intensive crash lessons from her.
Only three days remained. Within those three days, she had to bring herself up to at least a minimum standard. But first, Emilia requested a dance test to gauge her student’s level.
It was sound reasoning—she needed to understand the student’s current level before setting the direction of instruction. Aine agreed, and the test results came swiftly.
“It’s true then. If you’d gone into the ballroom like that, my niece would have become a laughingstock.”
Not merely poor but dreadful. The moment judgment was passed, Emilia’s instruction began.
She spared Aine no mercy, as if rest were a luxury.
She had her dance for two hours, then three, then four.
“Hah… hah…”
“You’re not at a point where you should be tired yet. Come now, get up. There’s far too much to correct.”
Her breath came in gasps, her legs trembled beneath her, and sweat flowed continuously down her entire body without mercy.
“You mustn’t expect the Empire’s nobles to be broad-minded enough to forgive someone who forgot dancing while wandering from battlefield to battlefield.”
“Yes. I understand.”
“I cannot speak to how the Kingdom’s High Society operates, but the Empire’s is quite different. They are the sort who seize upon every misstep and tear into it with vicious precision.”
Aine did not stop; she continued to move as Emilia directed.
“Your arms must be more graceful, your steps must exude elegance. Your expression, at least, is passable. That solid mask you wear—impenetrable to any scrutiny—that much is acceptable.”
The slower and more deliberately she moved in accordance with Emilia’s instruction, the more certain her progress became.
Progress brought a sense of achievement, whatever its nature. So Aine continued without rest, pushing her body to its limits in pursuit of perfection.
More than anything, Emilia continued to be her partner as well. Aine could not waste a single second of the time she spent together with her.
‘Now I understand why the Kingdom suffered continuous defeat at the Empire’s hands.’
Even as Emilia continued to offer harsh criticism, a faint shadow of fear began to take root in her heart.
She had intended to discourage the girl with displays of such dreadful skill that she would give up of her own accord. She did not want Kleid to become entangled with her.
At first, she had thought the woman was merely following out of stubbornness. But it wasn’t stubbornness. She was absorbing everything Emilia taught her at a terrifying pace.
Was such a thing even possible? Of course, she too came from a great noble house and must have learned much.
But that dreadful skill she displayed at the beginning—from Emilia’s perspective, it was genuine beyond any shadow of deception.
Even so, doubting whether it might be a ruse, Emilia continued to push her. Yet the skill remained abysmal.
The current situation was nearly equivalent to creating something from nothing.
‘She too is a genius—one capable of threatening Kleid.’
Her opponent was someone who had pushed Kleid to the brink of crisis. In a sense, this was perhaps inevitable.
Yet directly witnessing it with her own eyes, Emilia felt a thirst awakening within her.
If she had time, if her opponent were not Aine Kleine but an ordinary noblewoman of the Empire, she yearned to excavate this unpolished gem herself, pouring her own heart into its refinement.
A hunger so fierce it could make her forget that her opponent had threatened her nephew’s very life.
‘I wonder how far she’ll progress if I teach her everything.’
By the time such thoughts crossed his mind, Aine’s stamina finally gave way, and she sank to the floor.
“Hah… hah…”
“You don’t seem to be the type like those invincible knights.”
“It seems… you’re far more impressive, ma’am.”
“I face multiple students in a single day sometimes. Besides, people of the Imperial Family have naturally superior endurance.”
Though it was before Emilia, Aine let out a hollow laugh. After all, that living proof was Kleid himself.
Like the invincible knight Emilia had described, he embodied valor. When confronting Kingdom forces on the front lines, the tremendous strength he displayed still lingered vividly in her mind.
“By the way, has a Dress been prepared for you to wear when you go out?”
“Hamilton is arranging that.”
“Good heavens. Just how far do you intend to humiliate your niece?”
“Marquise Andre?”
“I’ll go see Hamilton. You rest in the meantime.”
At the mention of leaving it to Hamilton, she sighed with an expression of utter disbelief and withdrew from the room.
Though bewildered, Aine wished to fully enjoy this sudden respite that had come to her.
The thought that harsh lessons would resume the moment Emilia returned weighed on her mind.
But not long after she’d left, the sound of footsteps echoed. Aine lifted her head, thinking perhaps Emilia had returned already.
“Are you well?”
There stood Kleid, who had been sternly ordered not to disturb her and had withdrawn from the room.
Perhaps because she had encountered someone dear to her, though her exhausted body protested loudly, Aine smiled and nodded.
Yet her companion seemed to think otherwise, his eyes clouded with concern.
“Your Highness, what brings you here? The Marquise said you shouldn’t come.”
She asked what matter had brought him to this place, but Kleid found himself unable to answer her question.
He hadn’t even bothered to devise an excuse.
He knew well how Emilia conducted herself toward others, and the worry had set him pacing restlessly until he heard that she had finally withdrawn — at which point he’d come straight away.
With no intention of interrogating him, Aine rose to her feet, moved by his arrival.
Yet perhaps her body had reached its limit.
“Ah.”
Her center of balance gave way, and she began to tilt.
As she thought about what would happen if she fell to the floor, worrying about bruises she couldn’t afford to show, Kleid hurried forward and caught her.
“Are you all right?”

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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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