The Villainess is on a Quest - Chapter 6

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

Episode 5
At the invitation to take a seat, Aine found herself laughing.
No one remarked on his behavior.
No one thought his behavior strange.
‘So that’s why I haven’t seen Mathias’s flock of advisors.’
The elderly nobles who had served Mathias faithfully since the late king’s reign, thinking only of the kingdom day and night.
Though they had despised Aine for following Mathias, they had recognized his mounting achievements and actively supported his rise to his current command.
Yet now not a single one of them was present.
Five years was certainly a long time. It was plausible they had retired, worn down by age and failing strength, and were now tending grandchildren in their estates.
‘But the people I knew weren’t the sort to step back before death—not for five years, not for ten.’
Her gaze passed over the nobles’ uneasy, glittering eyes and finally settled on Vinet.
“Can’t you see people are waiting? Sit down already.”
The man who was boldly occupying the seat only a king could claim.
“My apologies, but I have something to say before I sit.”
“Aine Klayne!”
His brow furrowed, and he cast a displeased look at Aine.
But Aine paid it no mind and let out a scoff.
‘I failed to protect Laisy.’
She had gone to war to protect her, yet Laisy had faced death here in the Royal Palace.
She had heard it was the Empire’s doing, but just as she had witnessed, the Quest Window indicated that evidence of Laisy’s death was to be found there.
Could Laisy’s death be something different from what she knew?
Suspicion kept welling up—that perhaps her death was not at the Empire’s hand after all.
‘And the only thing Laisy left behind.’
She recalled Wilhelm’s image—suffering from high fever, unable even to open his eyes.
She had worried constantly: what if a Quest appeared asking her to kill him just as she had with Laisy?
But fortunately that had proved unfounded, though the unease remained.
[SYSTEM: Quest to Protect Wilhelm Orion]
[Protect Laisy’s son, Wilhelm Orion, from enemies.]
[Quest Status: In Progress]
[Success Reward: Opportunity to Return to Original World]
[Failure Penalty: Death]
“The only heir to the throne is Prince Wilhelm.”
To protect meant there were enemies—of that she was certain.
Aine spoke to those assembled, her words falling like nails driven home.
“Therefore, no one shall be able to usurp the throne and succeed over him.”
Wilhelm, the child of Mathias and Laisy, was the only one who could inherit the crown.
By rights, Wilhelm, being Mathias’s son, held first place in the line of succession—nothing odd about that.
So if these men saw Wilhelm as the next king, it should pass without issue. Or they might find it peculiar that Aine was stating something so obvious.
But not long after Aine spoke, the atmosphere froze.
Some of the nobles cast sharp glances at her; some made their discomfort known; others simply sat in silence, neither one thing nor another.
Observing their reactions, Aine turned her gaze to Vinet at last.
Vinet’s face had reddened, but he offered no real rebuttal to her words.
“Fine, now sit down!”
“If that is what you wish.”
He merely wanted her seated as quickly as possible.
Aine rose and walked to the seat Vinet indicated, but the meeting did not begin at once.
A heavy, suffocating silence hung thick in the chamber.
It was Linus, Vinet’s senior aide, who broke the first word—into an atmosphere that felt sharp enough to cut.
“I have heard the Commander’s words well. It is of course correct that the throne should now pass to Prince Wilhelm.”
Linus too sat in the third position of precedence, closest to Vinet, just as Aine did.
Linus was the man who could be called Vinet’s mind.
“However, the kingdom now stands at the brink of extinction.”
His answer was as good as Vinet’s own will.
“Outwardly, we have been locked in prolonged war with the Empire, and inwardly, famine and drought have left many of our people starving.”
Linus spoke, his gaze sweeping across the nobles as if appealing to an audience. Those who met his eyes showed unmistakable tension.
But Linus paid their reactions no mind and fixed his stare on Aine.
“To say it plainly: we are not in peacetime, but in wartime.”
In an age of peace, one could afford to wait while a young king grew in competence.
Capable talent surrounding him could shore up his shortcomings.
But this was an age of chaos.
“In times like these, we need someone with the exceptional ability and leadership of the late King Mathias on the throne.”
The argument held a certain surface appeal. Wilhelm lacked experience in statecraft, and besides, he was far too young.
What would he know of politics, of warfare, of diplomacy, of his people?
For a child, the whole world was confined to these palace walls.
But a king had to rule not just the palace—the entire kingdom.
“Following the last State Council Meeting, this one requires the consent of just one more person.”
Aine realized why they had summoned her. She shot to her feet.
“Sit back down while I’m asking nicely.”
At a State Council Meeting, no one could rise from their seat until the king dismissed them.
To stand was to challenge the king’s authority itself.
Vinet made his displeasure clear, radiating the full weight of his power at what felt like a direct affront to his rule.
But Aine paid him no mind and drew her sword.
The room froze.
“Commander!”
“How dare you—ugh!”
“How dare? Did you just say how dare?”
Disgusted by his squealing, she leveled the blade at him. He fell silent at once. Aine smiled coldly and turned to Vinet.
“Listen here, Vinet. Do you honestly think you’re in a position to give me orders? You, who commands not a single regular army unit?”
The sword Aine held was the Silver Sword—granted directly by Mathias himself. It was far more than a king’s gift.
It was recognition of her command over the Royal Army 1st Legion, meaning she could lead her troops at her own discretion without waiting for the king’s word.
Vinet, by contrast, had received no command over any regular forces from Mathias.
“When the hunt ends, hunters kill the hunting dogs they brought along.”
The hunting dog in this scenario was herself—one who would have been honorably discharged the moment the war with the Empire concluded.
“But when the master holding the leash disappears, what becomes of the dog left behind?”
Without consolidating power, war heroes became disposable.
Yet Aine cared nothing for power.
She had always been certain that Mathias would never harm someone Laisy held dear.
“And more than that, Vinet—you of all people should know better than to lecture anyone on qualifications. Who exactly started this war with the Berona Empire in the first place?”
There was no denying it.
The entire senseless, brutal conflict traced back entirely to him. And yet he dared question the king’s fitness to rule—a thinly veiled threat.
Vinet’s brow darkened, but Aine merely scoffed and turned away.
He could not deny it. Five years ago, he had slain a member of the Berona Imperial family invited to a royal banquet, setting off the war that followed.
Even with a legitimate reason, the aftermath had been difficult to contain—but Vinet refused to reveal that reason at all. Speculation ran rampant; in the end, no one truly knew.
By law, he should have been executed long ago.
‘He only kept his position because Mathias protected him as a brother.’
Aine made her warning crystal clear to the stubborn nobles: accept Wilhelm’s Succession to the Throne without reservation.
She would have liked nothing more than to make an example right then and there, but they were still at war with the Empire. Division was precisely what their enemy hoped for.
So her thinking was to resolve this fracture as quickly as possible before matters worsened, and then end the war once and for all.
“Have the coronation ceremony for Prince Wilhelm prepared by the time my army returns.”
With nothing left to say, Aine rose and departed.

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