The Villainess is on a Quest - Chapter 45

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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 44
“So Retaria truly was preparing an ambush.”
“It might not be, but I felt something unsettling in the air.”
“If Your Highness says so, then it must be certain.”
Trusting Aine’s words, Cled made straight for the Imperial Guard.
Only Emperor Odin could ordinarily command the army, but he had granted Cled special authority.
Thanks to this, Cled intended to use the Guard’s forces to verify the matter thoroughly.
‘I hope Aine was just being overly cautious.’
He would have preferred that to be the case.
Then they could slip past the matter quietly, with nothing amiss.
But what if Retaria truly was waiting in ambush?
That would mean they had learned of their arrival at the Imperial Palace.
‘Which would be evidence that Retaria has already infiltrated inside the Palace itself.’
The Imperial Palace was supposed to be thoroughly guarded against any Retaria incursion.
But if they’d managed to slip in even here, safe havens would soon become scarce indeed.
It was a problem grave enough to warrant serious concern.
“Your Highness. All preparations for the operation are complete.”
The moment those words were spoken, Cled at once ordered the operation to commence.
“Those in disguise proceed toward the carriage as planned, and the rest of you search the area thoroughly!”
Cled, Aine, and the one disguised as Wilhelm headed toward the carriage.
Cled instructed the Guard to search the vicinity around the carriage they were supposed to have taken.
Cled fervently hoped nothing would happen.
He wanted to handle this quietly, to bury the matter without fanfare.
“Shriek!”
But things did not unfold as he desired.
An arrow flew directly toward the woman heading to the carriage.
The ambush Aine had warned of was truly underway.
“The arrow came from that direction!”
“Don’t let them escape!”
Captain Eriksen of the Imperial Guard immediately noticed the arrow’s trajectory and rushed toward it.
“Captain! Suspicious figures are fleeing in the opposite direction!”
“The same here, on this side!”
But reports came pouring in from every quarter, causing confusion.
Suspicious figures were appearing from all directions at once.
“Capture anyone—just make sure we get someone!”
There was no time for hesitation, so Cled ordered them to apprehend at least one of them.
If they could catch even one, they might learn who these people were and what they were after.
‘This is strange. Were they really after Aine?’
But as the situation unfolded, Cled felt something amiss.
The attackers had fled without even confirming whether Aine was dead.
Without knowing if their plan had succeeded or failed.
The moment that discord struck him, Cled asked a question.
“What became of those sent through the secret passage?”
He was asking about Aine’s situation.
Eriksen answered thus.
“The Chamberlain personally guided them, I’m told.”
“The Chamberlain himself.”
That should have been reassuring.
Chamberlain Rotein had served Emperor Odin for decades.
Moreover, his family had served the Imperial Palace for generations.
He was far more trustworthy than Retaria.
Yet something about it nagged at Cled.
“Where is the Chamberlain now?”
He needed to find Rotein and confirm they had arrived safely.
As he moved to search for him,
“Your Highness. The Chamberlain has vanished.”
“What?”
Rotein had disappeared.
And with him gone, Aine and Wilhelm were lost.
* * *
‘I have to run. Far away, no matter what.’
And yet Aine wanted to wait for Cled to the very end.
It seemed safer to return to Chester Mansion with him after he finished his work.
But a problem arose.
“They couldn’t have gone far! Search for them!”
[SYSTEM: You are being pursued. Flee far away.]
[Quest in Progress: Escape from Retaria]
Retaria, who had been meant to ambush the carriage, was now in pursuit of them.
The moment Aine realized this, she fled the Imperial Palace in panic.
She heard Rotein’s voice calling from behind, but it never reached her ears.
There was no way to know when or where Retaria might appear and target her and Wilhelm.
‘What should I do?’
She wrestled with the thought again and again.
Right now they were in pursuit—chasing her.
As she was thinking how to escape this situation, a voice reached her.
“Mother. I’m scared.”
When she turned, she saw Wilhelm trembling with fear, his whole body shaking.
Seeing a child barely five years old so frightened, Aine’s heart twisted.
Even at five, he understood enough; he must have sensed this was no ordinary situation.
Aine knelt down, met his eyes, and spoke with a bright smile.
“It’s all right. I’m here with you.”
“Mother. But…….”
“We’re playing hide-and-seek. We’re hiding from the seekers.”
“……Hide-and-seek?”
She did everything she could to comfort Wilhelm.
Hoping that today’s memories wouldn’t settle into trauma or PTSD.
“Yes, if you stay hidden all the way home, I’ll give you a prize.”
As she felt shadows drawing steadily closer, Aine bit her lip.
She couldn’t quite hear what Wilhelm was saying, but it was time to run.
“There she is!”
“Grab the red-haired woman!”
Damn it—was she the one they were after?
At the mention of red hair, Aine clicked her tongue but felt some relief.
‘They still don’t know about Wilhelm.’
If they did, they would target Wilhelm before her.
Killing a member of the royal family would surely escalate the war.
With that understanding, Aine continued to flee with Wilhelm.
She had to avoid capture at all costs.
‘If I’m caught by them, death is inevitable.’
For Reysi’s sake, for Wilhelm’s sake, it wasn’t her time to die yet.
Not until Wilhelm reclaimed his throne.
“Mother, watch out!!”
Wilhelm, clinging to her back, cried out.
Watch out for what?—the question barely formed before an arrow streaked past her ear.
“You mad bastards! There are people here!”
“We were told it doesn’t matter if they die. So go ahead—draw your bowstring!”
“What the hell are these people?!”
The surroundings were a public square, full of passersby.
Yet they drew their bows without hesitation, aiming at her as if it mattered nothing.
‘Do they not care even if innocent people die?’
The casual disregard with which they fired—indifferent to whether anyone else fell, so long as she did—left her incredulous.
Perhaps they could even dress these deaths up as noble sacrifice.
“If we don’t catch her here, we’re dead!”
“Shoot now! Shoot, damn it!”
Aine hesitated. At this rate, innocent people in the square would die.
Or they might be trampled to death in the fleeing crowd.
Even though continuing to flee was the right choice, she had to make a decision.
‘I hope what the System said is true.’
Aine climbed onto the fountain where everyone could see her.
At this moment, she had no idea what the Empire’s laws were.
“I am Aine Klayne!”
So it truly was the privilege of the royal family alone to ascend above the Fountain.
“Is she really Aine Klayne?”
“It must be a lie. No one in their right mind would appear so brazenly like that…….”
“But her appearance matches Aine Klayne’s exactly.”
“Yes. The crimson hair and gray eyes.”
Yet to the imperial citizens, none of that truly mattered.
“She is the lover of Prince Cled Hartz and is currently being hunted by Retaria!”
What followed in that proclamation threw them into chaos.
The lover of First Prince Cled Hartz—it was unbelievable.
As incredible as that was, what mattered far more was the target upon which arrows were being loosed.
“Retaria is causing trouble again!”
“Seize them!”
“Those madmen—it’s them again!”
“This time we’ll teach them a lesson they won’t forget!”
Retaria once more.
The imperial citizens, exhausted by the long war, had grown sick to death of them and their insistence that the fighting must continue to the bitter end.
But now they were shooting arrows in the very streets where people walked.
The weary, enraged crowd turned sharp as a blade and surged toward Retaria.
“You blithering idiots! The target is right there in the open! What are you doing!”
“B-but Commander. We must flee at once!”
“He’s right! We’ll be beaten to death if we stay!”
Panicked by the overwhelming numbers, they had no choice but to flee.
“Aine Klayne!”

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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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