The Villainess is on a Quest - Chapter 58

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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 57
There was one reason Sonelopi waited in the Waiting Room.
Her father, Philip, was attempting to persuade Odin to allow him to enter together with his granddaughter.
In truth, Sonelopi harbored little hope. She was certain Odin would refuse.
Because she already understood well how her grandfather regarded her parents.
‘One must know one’s place.’
Those ignorant of their station never know when they’ll plummet with broken wings.
Despite her tender age, survival instinct had awakened in her, and she craved only safety.
She could dimly perceive how the dangers surrounding them made life precarious.
Perhaps that was why she wished for her father’s fleeting ambitions to wane.
She longed for him to realize how foolish someone’s seductive whispers could be, and to choose differently.
But neither of her parents heard her voice.
To them, she was merely a tool with utility. There were none who would listen to what a tool had to say.
“Grandfather. Does that mean this child is my cousin?”
“Wilhelm?”
When Sonelopi realized this was the new child of her uncle, she had quietly begun moving toward a corner.
Because she understood that the child Odin had brought was Wilhelm, not herself.
But Wilhelm did not release the hand he held.
He gazed toward Odin with a bright smile.
“Could I enter together with my cousin? Would that not be all right?”
To the child’s unspoiled innocence, Odin showed no discomfort. Yet neither did he grant permission at once.
He simply gazed at Wilhelm in silence.
Wilhelm did not avoid Odin’s gaze in return.
“I find you even more pleasing, my grandson.”
“Then I may take that as permission?”
Sonelopi was startled, watching Odin’s satisfied smile directly.
She had never known he could wear such an expression. Yet without leisure to appreciate it calmly, Wilhelm tugged Sonelopi’s hand forward.
“Let’s go together, Sonelopi. I want to be with my newly discovered cousin. Will you give me that chance?”
Wilhelm asked, bringing his lips to the back of Sonelopi’s hand. There was no particular meaning to it.
He was simply mimicking what Kleid had done to Aine before leaving the Mansion.
But Sonelopi flushed with embarrassment. It felt strange for anyone to treat her in such a way.
‘Your Majesty…’
She turned her head and met Odin’s gaze. Though her heart was pleased, she wished at least that he would stop this situation.
To enter together meant conforming to the will of her arrogant and haughty father.
“Do as you wish.”
“Your Majesty?”
“Do not live oppressed by your parents’ will. Do what you desire to do.”
It was utterly unexpected. She thought he would tell her to release his hand, yet instead he told her to do as she pleased.
No one had ever asked for her will before. They only issued commands. Even if she had desires of her own, it made no difference.
Rather, when her wishes opposed theirs, sharp rebukes and cutting gazes came her way—insults calling her foolish and stupid—so she had grown practiced at concealing her feelings.
Sonelopi bit her lip, unaccustomed to being given a choice. She had never actually chosen, even when given the freedom to do so, and she did not know what to select.
“If you come with me, I’ll make it fun.”
Wilhelm’s simple words shook Sonelopi from her hesitation.
What could fun possibly be? She had no idea, yet somehow she felt a desire blooming.
Would it make her happier than when she’d eaten the Chocolate just now? The curiosity swelling in Sonelopi—wanting to know, wanting to understand—made her nod.
“All right, let’s go!”
The moment consent fell from her lips, Wilhelm pulled Sonelopi forward.
Though he appeared younger than her, something about his back seemed steadfast and warm, like that of an adult.
* * *
The Banquet Hall was in full swing.
“How could anyone manage to associate with those filthy Orion Kingdom people?”
“Exactly. I simply cannot believe it.”
The noblewomen from Retaria did not relent.
Even with Siodor’s wife and Emila Andre at her side, they bared their teeth relentlessly toward Aine.
As though they hoped she would be wounded, as though they prayed she would grow weary and collapse of her own accord.
“How could the Marchioness conduct herself in such a manner?”
It was then that one noblewoman approached. According to the list Kleid had given before arriving, she did not belong to Retaria.
“Have you forgotten how my husband fell on the battlefield and was cut down?”
Inet.
“I simply cannot fathom how you could welcome the woman who caused my husband’s death.”
Bonia Inet. In the second year of the War, her husband fell gloriously at the Rodens Battle, leaving her a widow.
Had the War never come, her life would surely have unfolded without hardship. Her husband was a man of great repute, they said, climbing swiftly through the ranks.
The information suggested that had he lived, he would have raised his house to prominence by now.
That he had met so hollow an end was understandable enough—his widow’s gaze burning with hatred needed no justification.
“I offer my condolences on your husband’s death,” Aine said.
“How dare you speak those words! You killed him! You killed my husband!”
Excuses were plentiful. She had not commanded that battle. She had not struck the killing blow.
But Aine did not excuse herself.
She stood before the people of the Orion Kingdom. Everything had gone smoothly until now, but to live among them going forward, she needed to show contrition and bear responsibility with grace.
“I have no words adequate to offer you, madam.”
“I know. I know it already.”
Bonia’s breathing grew ragged, and hot tears spilled down her cheeks.
“That you bear no responsibility. That you owe me no apology.”
“Madam.”
For all the hatred that burned in her, Bonia’s nature was not cruel. She too was merely a victim—someone who despised this interminable War, who found it abhorrent and vile.
She simply needed someone to direct her rage at, for this meaningless conflict had taken her husband from her.
She would have preferred Aine to behave with shameless arrogance. Then she could have raged more freely, could have cursed her as a woman of the nation that killed her husband.
But watching genuine sorrow written across Aine’s face, seeing her mourn and apologize, Bonia realized she was confronting someone of principle.
“Bonia. What are you doing? This woman is from the nation that killed your husband!”
The noblewomen of Retaria, caught off guard by this unexpected turn, spoke to her with visible confusion.
It sounded like a plea—why weren’t you hating her, why weren’t you despising and cursing her?
Bonia seemed to hear it the same way. She let out a bitter laugh and turned to Aine. “Don’t mistake my meaning for foolishness. You’re trying to use me to paint this woman as a villain.”

“What—what did you say?”
“I speak now, for the record: I have just decided to forgive you. All of it.”
Those around her were stunned. The word forgiveness had never crossed the lips of someone with every right to hold onto rage.
She had every justification to grieve her husband’s death with burning fury, and no one would have dared reproach her for it.
But with that single word—forgiveness—everything shifted.
“So the War truly can end.”
“Yes. I will end this War.”
“That is enough.”
Bonia understood what revenge could never accomplish: it would not bring her dead husband back.
All she desired was for this filthy War—the thing that had devoured her husband—to end, even a single day sooner.
With Bonia’s forgiveness and Aine’s composure, the others who had merely watched until now began to join their ranks.
“We greet the Crown Princess Consort.”
“We welcome the Crown Princess Consort with full hearts.”
The people of Retaria felt the ground shifting beneath them. The current was flowing somewhere they had not willed it to go.
They moved to intercept it, to set things right, when—
“His Imperial Majesty has arrived!”
Odin appeared.

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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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