The Villainess is on a Quest - Chapter 69

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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 68
When Aine received the Ring from Kleid, she was now fully recognized as the First Imperial Consort.
Outwardly, everyone regarded her as such, and though no wedding ceremony had been held, her name had already been inscribed in the imperial genealogy.
“My name is no longer Klaine now—it’s Hartz.”
She had never imagined such a thing could happen to her. Yet it was not unwelcome.
In truth, becoming the wife of so magnificent a man felt almost unreal.
Was she dreaming? An anxiety crept in—perhaps this was all happening because Binet had given her the Eternal Nightmare Potion.
But Aine shook her head.
‘This is far too vivid to be a dream.’
Besides, if it were an eternal nightmare, it would gift her nightmares, not these days of such happiness.
In that other reality, Wilhelm would be dead, Mane dragged away by those people, and she herself would be executed under the contemptuous gazes of the Empire’s people.
Yet her circumstances now were so vastly different.
“I wonder when Wilhelm’s memories will return.”
It was not a pressing concern, yet it remained a source of unease. What if he never managed to remember his true origins?
She needed to know who his real father and mother were. She could not remain here forever.
The future king of the Orion Kingdom was to be Wilhelm, not that contemptible man.
‘I wish the System Window would tell me.’
But the System Window had been strangely silent. It used to inform her immediately of anything concerning Leixi, without hesitation.
Aine exhaled a sigh. She found herself wondering not only how all this would unfold, but also what was happening in the Orion Kingdom.
“I hope Meri is managing well.”
* * *
“Now you’re threatening me by cutting the budget?”
Since becoming commander, Meri had begun to suspect that Binet and his faction were trying to stress her to death.
They were desperate to interfere in her affairs at every turn, and most troublingly, they seemed determined to undermine the influence of the 1st Legion.
It was laughable, really. The war was not yet truly over.
She could understand cutting forces stationed in the rear, but to reduce the numbers of those ready to rush to the Frontline at any moment—it was beyond belief.
“I’m beginning to doubt whether they have any sense at all.”
“Looking at their recent actions, I cannot fathom what they intend for the kingdom’s governance.”
Nearly all such concerns had to be filtered through Prime Minister Linus.
The policies Linus put forth were uniformly ill-conceived.
“They are doing nothing but attempting to draw more nobles to their faction.”
They had created privileges exclusively for the nobility.
Though these privileges stirred considerable internal discord in the kingdom, they paid it no mind whatsoever.
“Perhaps they lack confidence in maintaining their hold on power.”
“They seem to have realized that they cannot sustain it by their own strength alone.”
But the real problem lay elsewhere. Controlling the nobility was not something that could be solved simply by giving them gifts.
They were cunning and greedy. Many grew dissatisfied with their current gains and demanded more.
Therefore, there was no immediate need to remain loyal to Binet. If they merely sat back, the nobles would continue to deliver their tributes—why cut open the goose that laid the golden eggs?
“If this continues, the kingdom could fall into ruin.”
“The people seem to be waiting for us to rise up.”
Discontent accumulated steadily, and the sparks began to spread.
Talk of uniting to depose the king and install a new one was rising to the surface.
By this point, there were perhaps sufficient justifications to take up arms.
“The Marquis Balbani is the problem.”
Yet the real issue remained the Marquis Balbani of the 2nd Legion.
“We have confirmed that all of the Marquis’s family members are being held as hostages.”
With his family held hostage, Balbani could not act decisively.
There was even a possibility he might side with them.
Though Meri harbored no doubt about her ability to eliminate them, she had no desire to wage civil war.
All these people were subjects of the same Orion Kingdom. Fratricide was always to be a last resort.
“What is reassuring is that Commander Aine seems to have established herself in the Empire.”
The only source of comfort for Meri was still Aine. Whenever news of her arrived, Meri found solace.
Not only had she become Kleid’s wife and risen to the position of First Imperial Consort, but she had also stopped being despised by the Empire’s prominent figures for her Orion origins.
When Meri read in the papers about her becoming the most popular figure in the entire Empire, a smile crossed her lips.
In truth, Meri had anticipated this outcome when Aine departed for the Empire.
‘You are the sort of woman who can be loved anywhere.’
During her past conflicts with Leixi, things had been different, but after their dramatic reconciliation, it changed.
Aine herself was unaware of how people looked at her.
Or rather, it was more accurate to say she simply did not care, but in any case, Meri had been certain it would turn out this way.
‘If that man were to fail to make you happy, I wouldn’t have let it slide.’
If Aine had been unhappy, or if she’d suffered some terrible fate in the Empire, Meri would have seized Brandtfort Fortress itself and turned the entire kingdom into a sea of flames. She’d sworn as much to herself.
Fortunately, it seemed no such thing would come to pass.
The newspapers showed Aine looking quite content, after all.
“Has Binet still refused all audiences?”
None of them called Binet “Your Majesty” or used any of the formal titles due to a king. No one raised the matter, either.
Binet shared all state affairs with Linus alone, the two of them in private.
He’d declared he would see no courtiers, and he avoided public appearances unless the matter was truly urgent.
In a way, they were grateful not to have to look upon that man’s hateful face, but on the other hand, there was no way of knowing how he actually lived.
“The kingdom’s in a proper state of ruin, that’s for certain.”
* * *
In a space so utterly dark that not a single ray of light could seep through, Binet was surrounded by objects.
“Leixi.”
Things that Leixi had owned. His eyes were red-rimmed as he stared at her photograph.
Looking at her image—so full of happiness—Binet bit his lip until blood came.
“Why wasn’t I enough? Why, exactly?”
He’d been living as though nothing were wrong at all.
“It’s because of you. All of this is because of you.”
He told himself that none of this was his fault, that the true source of it all was her refusal to accept him.
Even as he tried to comfort himself with such thoughts, guilt was flooding through him.
In truth, he knew. He knew that he was the root cause of everything.
“I never wanted it to come to this.”
Leixi, already dead, no longer existing in this world. Binet had tried to live on without shame, as though nothing had changed.
After seizing the throne his brother Matthias had held, he’d told himself he would sit boldly in that seat and begin a new life.
But no matter how much time passed, the face of the woman he’d loved would not fade from his mind.
It was strange, surely. Time was supposed to erase such things on its own. He’d long forgotten his parents’ faces, their voices.
So why couldn’t he forget her? Because he’d loved her? But a bitter smile soon twisted Binet’s lips.
“Of course I can never forget. I’ll carry your memory for the rest of my life, I’m sure. Like a curse, your image keeps haunting me.”
Binet understood why he couldn’t forget her. He would have to remember until the moment he died and was buried in the earth.
“I’m the one who killed you.”
Leixi, the woman he loved. The one who’d killed her was Binet himself.
He’d killed her with his own filthy hands.
In this very room.

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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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