The Villainess is on a Quest - Chapter 55

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 54
“What should we do?”
“What do they want?”
“They’ll never allow that woman from Orion to stand above us.”
Retaria was roiling with competing voices from within.
Some waited for direction from the leadership, while others argued they should register their dissent by refusing to attend the reception Odin was hosting.
“Send assassins. Let the world know the war is not yet finished.”
And still others spoke of reducing the reception to absolute chaos.
Not a single voice among them counseled restraint.
True to their slogans, they dealt only in radical measures and dangerous schemes.
“This is a Secret Decree from our leader.”
In the midst of this ferment, Alex, ranking third in the hierarchy, produced a slip of paper and began to speak.
The room fell silent in an instant. Every eye fixed on Alex as he stood there holding the paper.
Basking in the weight of their collective attention, Alex finally opened his mouth.
“All of you will attend the reception without exception. And you will make it abundantly clear to that Orion woman where the Empire’s true intentions lie.”
As the contents were revealed, every member of Retaria fell into agreement.
They might harbor private reservations, but this was an order from the leader.
The leader’s word was absolute—a truth that could not be changed.
“What the leader commands is that you crush her thoroughly—not as those barbarians from Orion would, but with the dignity befitting citizens of the Empire.”
Indeed, they saw nothing wrong with the method itself.
They were firmly convinced that while the ignorant masses in the streets might favor Aine Kleine, the world of nobility was entirely different.
No sane person could favor the leader of an enemy nation.
It would be, they told themselves, the refined trampling of a flower beneath their heels.
* * *
The Imperial Palace was abuzz with the preparations for the reception Odin had arranged. Kleid remained caught between apprehension and discontent.
He had once approached Odin with a proposal: given that Aine’s identity was already public knowledge, was there any need to present her officially at a state function?
The assassination attempt on the Imperial Palace grounds, which had occurred not long before, had left him acutely sensitized to danger.
Though Odin could hardly be unaware of this, he had nonetheless rejected Kleid’s suggestion.
“Aine must be presented officially as one of us now. Should we not do so?”
“Your Majesty, I understand your meaning.”
“Recognition is all but the same. If she does not receive it, she will find herself in far graver straits.”
How could Kleid not understand? He harbored no illusions about making Aine into a half-fledged member of the imperial family.
“And yet you yourself have acted in ways to draw the people’s gaze.”
Odin regarded him with frank curiosity.
Kleid well understood what the Emperor meant by drawing such scrutiny.
“Bestowing an official post upon Theo Kleine, Aine’s own brother—even I had not anticipated that move.”
The sudden personnel change had taken everyone aback.
Theo. No one had ever heard that name before.
But the surname attached to it made the meaning of the appointment abundantly clear.
“Theo Kleine, you say? I confess myself curious—how did you even discover his existence? And what moved you to offer him such a position?”
Kleine. In some circles, talk was already swirling.
Some whispered that the imperial court was moving to give its full backing to Aine’s house; others added that she herself had demanded it, and still others suggested that Kleid was orchestrating some new game of his own.
Odin too was curious about what Kleid truly intended with such an unconventional promotion.
“I wished to give her support so that she might feel at ease in this place.”
“Hmm.”
Kleid harbored no grand strategy. He simply wanted her to come to feel comfortable in the Empire.
To feel at home. For that to happen, the first necessity was having family at her side.
Once they were married, he could become her new family, but would that truly be the same as having one’s real blood kin near?
Perhaps that was why Kleid had granted Theo such a prominent position.
If he held a place in the imperial bureaucracy, perhaps her feelings toward the Empire might improve.
‘How carelessly I have let myself fall.’
He might well have cultivated imperial relatives—a power base for himself—but Odin took no particular issue with it.
After all, the house of Kleine had no real foundation within the Empire to speak of.
For a Crown Princess, one might even call it meager.
For that reason, Odin approved of lending strength to the Kleine house itself and raised no objection, giving his consent.
“In any case, do not worry yourself at all concerning Aine’s safety. I have already resolved all the matters you fear.”
“Your Majesty’s word is my assurance.”
That Odin had moved personally gave Kleid no cause for doubt.
If the Emperor himself had acted, then it must be arranged with something approaching perfection.
“Indeed. So set your mind at rest and prepare yourself. The Crown Princess must not find you lacking when she looks upon you—dress yourself well and make ready.”
When Kleid realized that things had unfolded exactly as Wilhelm intended, he sighed and made his way back to the manor.
The prince had been right. It was time for Kleid to prepare himself just as carefully, so he would have no reason to feel ashamed before Aine.
* * *
Time flowed swiftly, and before long the day of the banquet had arrived.
“You look absolutely beautiful, Commander.”
“Mane. From now on, just call me by my name. And all of this is thanks to Emilia.”
Aine had intended to attend the event with only modest preparation.
She knew she would be the center of attention that evening, but she hadn’t felt the need to be adorned so elaborately.
But as if Emilia had read her mind, she’d arrived early that morning and forcibly taken matters into her own hands.
Forcibly, in the truest sense. Aine had spent hours in a bath infused with rose petals and spices, received massages, and undergone facial treatments.
‘I was exhausted just from that, and then there was the dress to worry about.’
Because Emilia had taken charge as though she’d been given absolute authority, Aine was already worn out.
To be honest, she’d wondered if it was really necessary to go to such lengths, but looking at her reflection in the mirror made it abundantly clear.
“Your skin is absolutely radiant.”
“And that’s not all. The dress you’re wearing is truly exquisite as well.”
Her skin, once roughened by the biting wind, was now smooth and refined—and then there was the dress, which Emilia had personally crafted.
On top of that, she wore Poseidon’s Tears, a treasure of the Imperial Palace itself.
She could feel how much effort had gone into all of this.
‘I must thank her when we meet at the banquet.’
Having received an honor far beyond her station, Aine resolved to express her gratitude to Emilia when they met at the venue.
“Mother!”
“Wilhelm.”
At the sound of the voice near her ear, Aine turned and Wilhelm came into view.
Seeing him dressed so finely, the corners of Aine’s mouth lifted. True to his royal blood, his bearing was truly remarkable.
For a moment, she wondered what Leixi would have thought seeing him like this, but Aine shook her head. Not now. Don’t think of such things now.
Leixi surely wouldn’t want this either.
“You look absolutely stunning, Mother!”
It was perhaps the countless time she’d heard such words, but Aine conveyed her thanks by placing a kiss on Wilhelm’s cheek.
At that, Wilhelm smiled brightly and returned the gesture with a kiss of his own.
“Aine. The carriage has been prepared at the entrance.”
“Thank you, Hamlet.”
Upon hearing that the carriage had arrived, Aine let out a quiet sigh.
Exhausted as she was, the real ordeal was only now beginning.
She would enter the Imperial Palace and face countless people; there, she would have to distinguish between those who were her allies and those who were not.
As her head throbbed at the thought of the complications that might arise, she reached the entrance, where Kleid stood waiting in an immaculate white uniform.
“You look magnificent.”
Upon seeing him, Aine felt a genuine admiration bloom. She’d always thought black suited him well, but his platinum hair looked equally striking against the pristine white uniform.
When Kleid received the compliment, his eyes flickered for an instant, but then a smile crossed his face and he leaned close to whisper in Aine’s ear.
“You are breathtaking.”
At those words, Aine’s eyes widened.
Though she’d heard similar words many times before, why did his feel so different? Why did they strike her in a way the others’ never had?
Even as she felt her heart quickening with each beat, Aine gazed at the hand Kleid extended toward her.
“Would you allow me the honor of being your partner this evening?”
Aine took his hand, working to maintain her composure.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————