The Villainess is on a Quest - Chapter 54

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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 54
Theo had been content with meeting Aine that day and had tried to return to his own residence, but Wilhelm held him back, wanting to speak longer with his uncle, and as the hour grew late, staying the night became inevitable.
And so Theo found himself sharing a bed with Wilhelm for the night.

“Thank you for allowing me to meet my brother, Kleid.”
By the fireplace where logs crackled and burned, Aine spoke with Kleid, sitting side by side.
She was profoundly astonished by everything that had transpired over the course of the day.
That her younger brother, whom she had searched for so desperately, had been in the Empire all along—that he had married and even had a child.
But what moved her most was the sight of him forgiving her. For Aine, this moment was truly precious and invaluable.
And so she bowed her head to offer Kleid her gratitude.
“Lift your head, Aine. I did nothing to deserve this.”
“That’s not true. If you hadn’t asked me about him, I would never have met my brother.”
Knowing he could not prevail against her, Kleid accepted her thanks with a nod.
Meanwhile, Aine lifted her head and spoke again.
“I never would have expected you to welcome my brother so warmly.”
To be honest, Aine was surprised—by the sight of him, the most exalted among the royal family, shaking hands with Theo and showing him respect throughout their encounter.
“He is your brother. Of course he deserves respect.”
“He is no longer nobility.”
“Whether he is noble or not is irrelevant. If a person is young and capable, there is no reason not to keep them close.”
Watching Kleid sip the whiskey in his hand, a smile tugged at Aine’s lips.
That he, who had spent nearly all his youth in the imperial palace, showed no regard for status and judged only by merit seemed remarkable to her.
‘Perhaps it’s because he stands in such stark contrast to Binet.’
Binet was a man who adhered rigidly to hierarchy. No matter how exceptional a talent might be, he would never grant them a position of importance without a prestigious family to vouch for them.
That was why he could not surpass Matthias, and why he could not marry Leixi.
The times were changing rapidly, and the world they had known was being overturned in an instant.
Unless an enlightened ruler like Kleid emerged, whether the monarchy would endure remained to be seen.
“Which is why I propose, if you have no objection, appointing your brother-in-law to an official position.”
“…My younger brother, you mean?”
Aine was caught off guard by his sudden proposal. She had never anticipated him raising such a matter.
Kleid turned his gaze toward the window and spoke.
“Even if you brought him into the Chesher Residence in secret, his departure will draw the attention of many eyes.”
Hearing his answer, Aine understood.
An outsider whose very whereabouts inside the Chesher Residence are unknown to all.
For Letaria, who must be eager to learn what Aine intended, this would prove tempting.
“If he simply leaves as things stand, not just Theo but my entire family will be in danger.”
Kleid did not deny this and nodded. Aine stared blankly up at the ceiling.
Theo would not be ignorant of this either. A man of his intelligence would surely have deliberated deeply on the risks even before coming here.
And yet he had accepted every danger for the sake of meeting her.
Recognizing the limitations of her own foresight, Aine turned her gaze back to Kleid.
“Why would you go so far for me?”
She was curious. Their relationship was, after all, that of partners in a transaction—people willing to do anything for mutual benefit.
Theo’s safety held no consequence for him.
So Aine needed to understand. Why was he intervening to this extent?
“That is not a matter of great importance.”
“No, it is profoundly important to me.”
Kleid was certainly someone she could trust. And yet the reason Aine pressed him so firmly was that she wished to understand his true heart.
Kleid’s expression remained obscured behind a thick mask. It was hardly surprising that he did not reveal his emotions freely to others.
But Aine sensed something—a fracturing, perhaps—occurring beneath that surface, however uncertain she felt in affirming it.
“I wished to guard against a terrible situation from taking shape.”
At last, Kleid ceased to deflect and began to answer.
His gaze fixed upon Aine as though entranced by something.
Kleid could not discern whether it was the whiskey or the person before him that was quickening his heartbeat, and he felt he was not being himself.
“Because I do not wish to see you suffer.”
If Theo encountered tragedy on his way home? If something happened to his wife and the child in her womb?
No matter how strong a person might be, losing someone dear would leave a wound upon the heart.
Kleid, more than anyone, knew that if Aine understood the loss was because of him, she would shatter.
‘Above all, you have walked the same battlefield as I have.’
The guilt accumulated through countless bloodstains on one’s hands.
Aine too must be carrying the weight of that guilt, just as he did.
This was kinship—a recognition of the same wound.
Kleid downed another mouthful of whiskey, drawing courage from the drink to speak.
“I treasure you greatly.”
You are precious to me. The words had tumbled out before he could stop them, and worry seized him. Perhaps she would find such a declaration burdensome.
But instead of looking troubled, Aine smiled and took his hand.
“Thank you. For being honest with me.”
Once, the eternal nightmare had stolen his sight of women’s faces. Aine was the first woman whose visage he could ever see.
When he looked upon her face, Kleid thought her beautiful.
Like a masterwork hung in a gallery.
‘Please, let her not hear it.’
He prayed that the thunder of his heart would not reach her ears as he savored each moment at her side.
* * *
“I do hope I’m not imposing on you.”
“Not at all. If anything, I’m the one worried I might be burdening you.”
“A burden? Perhaps my wife would be delighted to hear it. She always preferred the city to the tedium of the countryside.”
Theo did not refuse Aine’s offer.
He confided that he too meant to leave the empire and journey elsewhere the moment they departed.
It seemed clear enough that he was equally troubled by thoughts of Letaria.
When Aine learned that thanks to Kleid, her younger brother and his wife would remain nearby, she was overjoyed.
“Above all, I’m grateful to be of use to you, sister.”
Theo’s appointment came as Rank 4 of the Department of Health.
To step into the empire’s official hierarchy—which ran through ten ranks—and immediately receive a Rank 4 position was an extraordinary privilege.
Aine had only suggested that it would be nice if he were placed in the health sector. She had never dreamed Kleid would appoint him at Rank 4.
It was the most influential post after the Rank 2 Minister of Health and the Rank 3 Director—positions of genuine power.
“They will all be waiting for you to stumble.”
His connection to her was a double-edged blade. There were those who would welcome him for her sake, certainly—but there were others who would seize upon any misstep he made.
Especially those who had crossed swords with Kleid.
“How could I ever cast shadow upon the Crown Prince’s name—or yours?”
“Theo…”
“This time, I will not run. I will never leave your side.”
She wanted to tell him that if it became too heavy, too much to bear, he could always step down. But Theo’s mouth curved upward as he spoke.
“You know better than anyone, sister—I was the prodigy among prodigies in the Orion Kingdom.”
How could she forget?
A recognized prodigy, lauded as a brilliant prospect so gifted he might one day overturn the entire health system of the Orion Kingdom itself.
Aine’s memory of those days returned to her, and she smiled with bittersweet understanding, nodding in agreement.
“I will never disappoint either of you.”
With Theo’s pledge, Aine exhaled slowly, steadying herself.
And so the days passed until the evening of the banquet Odin had prepared arrived at last.

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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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