The Villainess is on a Quest - Chapter 42

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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 42
“I’m going to have to decline.”
“Mother. Please? Couldn’t you?”
Aine found herself in a difficult predicament not long after taking on the role of Wilhelm’s mother.
Wilhelm was certainly not like other troublesome children—his nature was good from the start.
He was calm, obedient, and wore a bright smile.
It bothered her that he hovered at her side all day, though she thought it resembled Raysie as a child, and she attributed it to the strangeness of his new surroundings.
But the real problem came every night when it was time to sleep.
“I want to sleep with Father and you all together.”
“Wilhelm.”
Wilhelm called Cled his father.
‘The people of the Chesher Mansion must have been bewildered.’
He went to the Battlefield and returned with a child—Wilhelm was five years old this year, which was more than enough reason to believe he was his biological son.
And conveniently, his time at the Battlefield had also been five years.
‘I welcome him more than anyone else, Your Highness the Imperial Princess. Please have no concerns.’
Those words from Hamlet still echoed in her ears, but Cled had made his position clear enough that word didn’t spread beyond these walls.
Aine sighed inwardly and tried to address the immediate problem before her.
“The Crown Prince is busy, so it can’t be done.”
“But Father said it would be all right if Mother just gave permission.”
‘What is he saying in front of the child.’
She’d tried to use Cled as an excuse to get out of it somehow, but it had come back at her like a boomerang.
“Does Mother dislike Father?”
“Of course not.”
Aine desperately tried to wriggle free from the increasingly difficult situation, but Wilhelm refused to back down, as if he could never give up.
“Then we should all go to Father!”
“Wilhelm!”
Security at the Mansion had been strict ever since the Letaria intrusion, but nothing in this world was absolute.
Aine moved to chase after the fleeing Wilhelm.
“Father!”
‘This can’t be happening.’
Wilhelm, who always got caught during tag games, was now sprinting at a speed she could barely keep up with.
Eventually Wilhelm reached Cled’s bedroom. Before entering, Aine checked her appearance to ensure everything was appropriate, then knocked.
“Your Highness. I apologize for the intrusion. Is Wilhelm by any chance here?”
When she opened the door and entered, Cled too was already changed into pajamas, prepared for bed.
“He’s lying in my bed.”
“I apologize. I’ll take him back at once.”
She tried to leave quickly with only Wilhelm. Cled was someone who had done her many favors. She couldn’t impose on him any further.
“Wilhelm. Let’s go back to your room now.”
“But Father said he doesn’t dislike it.”
Though she urged him to return, Wilhelm absolutely refused to leave the bed.
As she hesitated over whether to forcibly drag him out, Wilhelm said something troubling once more.
“And Mother, why do you always call Father ‘Your Highness’? You two are already husband and wife.”
Though she was certainly playing the role of a false wife to Wilhelm now, Aine was watching carefully.
It was possible that Cled had been reluctant and forced into this role because of her.
From what she’d seen of him until now, he seemed like the sort of person who would sacrifice himself for the Empire, for the Imperial family, without hesitation.
“Wilhelm is right. Aine.”
“Your Highness.”
Somehow Cled had drawn near her side and now whispered.
“You too should address me comfortably. Call me Cled.”
Cled—how could she possibly do such a thing. She hesitated many times within herself, but Wilhelm beside her protested.
“Go on, Mother. Father wants you to.”
As the child, who had only seemed lovely until now, struck her as annoying for the first time, Aine accepted the inevitable and spoke.
“Yes, I understand. From now on I’ll call you that. Cled.”
Aine felt a strange sensation that was difficult to describe.
* * *
“Next time we’re all sleeping together. I want to sleep with you and Father all together.”
In the end, the situation of the three sleeping together was averted.
Cled had left, saying there was still unfinished work in his study that he needed to handle.
Wilhelm waited for his return, but he never came back.
‘This can’t go on forever.’
She’d meant to scold him for being so stubborn, but Wilhelm insisted that according to his memories, he had always slept with his parents.
Aine thought of Mathias and Raysie. In the Orion Kingdom, the king and queen maintained separate palaces.
Except during the Joint Sleeping Quarters, they lived apart in their own chambers. But Raysie and Mathias were different.
They claimed that living together kept their hearts from drifting apart, so the two of them shared a single bedroom.
‘Wilhelm wouldn’t have slept separately, even after he was born.’
That story about the three of them sleeping together was likely true.
Aine glanced at Cled, who sat across from her—a signal that they should discuss this matter alone later.
Fortunately, he understood. Cled nodded in acknowledgment.
“But where are we headed right now?”
“To the Imperial Palace.”
“The Imperial Palace?”
Early that morning, Odin’s messenger had arrived at the Chesher Mansion.
He brought word that the three of them were being summoned to the Imperial Palace and must come at once.
Though Cled had already recounted everything to Odin, Odin wished to see it with his own eyes.
So Aine found herself in a carriage bound for the Imperial Palace alongside Wilhelm, there to explain the situation.
“You needn’t have come if you were busy.”
Since the Letaria incursion, Cled had begun investigating them in earnest.
He meant to dig deeper into their inner workings and uncover the organization behind it all.
Knowing he worked day and night without rest, Aine hoped he would at least take proper breaks when he could.
“But I gave you my word to protect you and Wilhelm. So it’s only right that I accompany you.”
Cled had grown even more thorough in his protective measures. Beyond heightening the mansion’s security, he now stationed himself at Aine’s side personally.
They ate together, took walks after meals—nothing outwardly changed, yet apart from his duties, Cled devoted most of his day to Aine.
Of course, Mane, ever watchful, cast sharp glances his way and constantly intervened whenever they were alone, determined to prevent any unforeseen incidents.
“Cled. Thank you.”
Yet after receiving so much help—and having her very life saved by him—Aine felt only gratitude.
“We’ve arrived.”
Midway through their conversation, the carriage pulled up before the Imperial Palace.
Aine felt a flutter of nerves seeing the Imperial Palace for the first time, but a smile crossed her face as Wilhelm’s small hand reached over and grasped hers.
“Father. Hold my hand.”
“Wilhelm?”
But moments later, an awkward scene unfolded.
“All three of us, holding hands together like this.”
* * *
When the Imperial Palace physicians and Odin’s inner circle first heard Cled’s explanation, they couldn’t believe it.
They questioned how Wilhelm, now awake, addressed Cled and Aine—and what decision the two had made concerning the boy.
Those who tried to imagine Wilhelm calling Cled “father” felt dizzy; worry and unease consumed them.
“So I’m getting a grandchild?”
“Your Majesty! Please take this situation more seriously!”
With one exception: Odin.
When Odin first heard the news, his reaction was remarkable. He’d asked Cled how Wilhelm regarded him now.
Cled had answered he didn’t know, since the question of Wilhelm’s perception had never come up. That was precisely why Odin had hastily summoned Aine and Wilhelm to the palace.
He wanted to meet his potential grandson as soon as possible.
“But surely Your Majesty already has grandchildren, do you not?”
At the word “grandchildren,” Odin’s mouth twisted.
“I don’t recall when I started calling those fortune-hunting fools my grandchildren.”
“That’s the doing of Your Majesty’s other children, who forced the matter.”
Odin had other children besides Cled.
Though they knew Cled was the legitimate heir, they refused to yield and continued scheming for the throne.
They appeared to him little better than base wolves or hyenas, and no matter how blameless they might otherwise be, he could not regard them kindly.
“And the other party is of royal blood from an enemy nation. How could he possibly become Your Majesty’s grandchild?”
Though his relations with his children were strained, Rotein often served as a bridge, hoping to preserve whatever bonds might exist with the grandchildren.
“Enough. Bring them here at once.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Though his words fell on deaf ears where Odin was concerned.

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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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