The Villainess is on a Quest - Chapter 46

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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 45
“Your Highness.”
“Rotein. Are you all right?”
Crucially, Rotein had not betrayed him.
“I have no face to show you…….”
“No, it’s fine. You don’t need to say anything.”
In the secret passage where the royal family was being evacuated, he lay on the ground with a blade still embedded in his body.
There was no need for explanation to know who had done this to him.
‘Those Letaria dogs.’
They’d laid a double trap.
He’d caught the scent of something wrong, realized it in time to have Aine evacuated, and sent Rotein to delay them—all while they’d orchestrated this very snare.
Cled clicked his tongue inwardly and fixed his gaze on Rotein.
“The Imperial physicians will be here soon.”
The wound was not deep, but it was severe enough that he would need to rest for some time.
Cled removed his outer cloak and draped it over Rotein, then turned his attention to the open doorway.
What if Aine had fallen into Letaria’s hands? What if they’d discovered Wilhelm’s true identity?
“They all managed to escape safely, Your Highness.”
Even as Cled’s mind churned with worry, Rotein spoke with great effort.
They had all succeeded in their escape.
Realizing that Rotein had bought them time, Cled nodded and offered his gratitude.
“I will never forget your service to us.”
Now it was his turn to take control of the situation.
Cled swiftly mounted his horse and issued his command.
“From this moment, we search for a woman and a child!”
The woman’s name was—
* * *
It was only natural.
Overwhelmed, Letaria fled with the speed of scattered dust.
“Mother. It hurts so much.”
“Don’t worry, my darling. Bear it just a little longer. The physicians will be here soon.”
“Hurry and call for the physicians! What are you doing!”
“Damn those Letaria bastards! Shooting arrows in a public square like this?!”
Having already cultivated poor opinions of them beforehand, the sight of people struck down by arrows in the very heart of the Plaza sparked an outcry—and the crowd was livid.
Determined to make them pay, they pursued Letaria relentlessly to the bitter end.
‘I barely escaped that trap.’
Thanks to the chaos, Aine managed to slip free from pursuit.
“But is she really Aine Klayne? That woman?”
Yet a new problem had surfaced.
Those who hadn’t joined the chase fixed their eyes on Aine, who stood atop the Fountain.
Their gazes were tinged with suspicion.
About whether this person was truly Aine Klayne.
“She could just be someone who looks similar, couldn’t she?”
“If that were so, Letaria would have no reason to chase her.”
“And it’s strange that an enemy general would be in a place like this.”
“Enemy general? What are you saying about Lady Aine Klayne!”
As they began to chatter among themselves, the Plaza grew increasingly chaotic.
While Aine’s mind raced through how to handle this situation, she turned her gaze to Wilhelm.
“Mother. Are you truly all right?”
Wilhelm didn’t look as terrified as before, yet concern still lingered in her expression.
‘Wilhelm’s existence must not be revealed here.’
She searched desperately for somewhere to flee, but crowds pressed in from all sides.
Aine bit her lip as she weighed her options.
Her identity was already exposed.
If they felt hostile, if they threw stones or worse, there would be no escaping unharmed.
‘Cled.’
His final words echoed in her mind—that he would protect her.
The fact that she was thinking of him now, absent as he was, showed just how cornered she felt.
“As I said before, I am indeed Aine Klayne, as you know me.”
But Aine did not surrender to despair.
She had faced countless perils in her lifetime.
“Just as the papers reported, I surrendered to the Empire.”
And how many subordinates had died along the way.
Especially when he thought of those who had given their lives for him, he could never afford to lose his own life in a place like this.
“The reason I surrendered is that I’ve fallen in love with Prince Cled.”
So she wanted to reveal it openly, without concealment.
It was already a planned relationship anyway. Whether she announced it in a banquet hall filled with nobles or in a plaza before the eyes of all the Empire’s people made no difference.
“You’ve fallen in love with His Highness the Prince?”
“What on earth is this.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
“She must be an impostor pretending to be Aine.”
The people who heard what Aine said fell into confusion.
They found it difficult to believe her words at face value.
And not just anyone—Cled, of all people.
Unable to believe the situation, some of them thought she was indeed an impostor pretending to be Aine.
Even as some prepared to cast stones at her for daring to invoke Cled among the royal bloodline.
“What she says is true.”
A man had climbed atop the fountain, just as Aine had.
A man with platinum-blonde hair and striking blue eyes.
“You came.”
“I’m glad you arrived in time.”
“Y-Your Highness the Prince?”
The man who enjoyed the love and respect of all the Empire’s people was none other than Cled.
“You found me.”
It was remarkable. After slipping out of the Imperial Palace and wandering through several streets, he had finally reached this plaza.
He had thought it would take Cled considerable time to find him, yet the prince had arrived promptly before him.
“Protect His Highness!”
“Guard the prince!”
And immediately after, the Imperial Royal Guard appeared as well.
“Did I not tell you? I will protect you no matter what.”
Aine lifted the corners of her mouth in relief, reminded that he was a man who kept his word once spoken.
At least now that he had arrived, she could also ensure Wilhelm’s safety.
“Unfortunately, I’ve already told everyone everything. What should we do?”
Meanwhile, Aine recounted to him what she had just said to the people.
He must have heard it too—what she had revealed.
It was something she had said solely to survive, without any prior discussion with Odin or Cled, and she worried whether he would be displeased with her for causing such a commotion.
“There’s no changing what has already come to pass by dwelling on it.”
But as if to dismiss her worry, Cled lifted the corners of his mouth and spoke.
“Yet I must ask you this. Perhaps this is your last chance to correct things.”
Cled spoke of how, after this decision, there would be no taking it back.
So he asked her this question, meaning for her to answer carefully.
“Would you be willing to become my lover?”
A final chance to set things right.
Surely, if he was as thoughtful as she believed, he would protect her by saying this declaration too was merely spoken in confusion from the shock of Letaria’s actions.
But Aine did not want to let him bear such burdensome matters alone any longer.
“I believe I’ve already made my intentions quite clear to you.”
“Huh.”
“My goodness.”
“Was it real?”
Before his words could even finish, Aine stole a kiss from Cled’s lips.
As if to prove to everyone present, as if to demonstrate the nature of their bond.
For a moment, Cled went rigid, but he did not push Aine away.
‘She really is a woman whose thoughts are impossible to read.’
Instead, he pulled her close and met her lips again.
He was the same as she was—announcing to all what this woman meant to him.
As the kiss continued, silence fell upon the plaza.
Everyone seemed at a loss for words, their gazes fixed entirely on the two of them.
“Father. I want to kiss Mother too.”
Yet only one person seemed unconcerned, opening his mouth to speak.
“Mother? And Father?”
“Now that I think about it, who exactly is that child?”
“Oh, good heavens.”
It was Wilhelm.
Though the child’s voice wasn’t particularly loud across the vast plaza, it carried far enough to reach several ears.
Aine and Cled hadn’t anticipated this turn, and they started slightly, but it was a revelation that would have surfaced eventually regardless.
“This child is mine.”
And so Cled spoke plainly before the gathered crowd. Wilhelm was his son.
The plaza erupted into chaos, but Cled turned to the captain of the Imperial Royal Guard who had taken his place at his side—Eriksen.
“I must take these two and depart now. I entrust all matters to you.”
“W-Your Highness?”
“I’m counting on you.”
“Your Highness!”
Before Eriksen could speak further, Cled was already ushering Aine and Wilhelm toward the carriage that awaited them.
“Aren’t you afraid of the backlash?” Aine asked as they made for the carriage, wondering what expression Cled wore now.
But Cled kept his gaze fixed on the carriage ahead as he replied.
“If I had feared it, I wouldn’t have appeared here in the first place.”

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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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