The Villainess is on a Quest - Chapter 7

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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 7
Aine had issued a stern warning to everyone.
Not to attempt anything foolish while she existed.
“She’s gone, then.”
But there was one thing Aine hadn’t foreseen.
The moment Aine left, Linus opened his mouth again.
“Everyone here must have understood by now—she is not someone to be persuaded.”
The fracture had already begun, and it had reached a point of no return.
“We must strike before her 1st Legion arrives. So prepare your forces, all of you.”
* * *
“The total number of soldiers we brought with us is only one hundred.”
“Because we moved so quickly, so many fell behind along the way.”
Aine, returning to her quarters, assessed the situation first.
With an enemy practically at her doorstep, she could not deploy a large force; she had brought only around three hundred soldiers to the Royal Palace.
Even so, most had fallen behind during the forced march through rain and mud.
‘If I’d known such turmoil was unfolding here, I would have prepared far more thoroughly.’
The fact that she had only one hundred troops under her command weighed on her constantly.
“Have you made inquiries about Matthias’s ministers that I mentioned?”
Aine then sent out a small contingent to locate where the Five Great Ministers were.
Five elder statesmen who had served the kingdom loyally since the previous reign.
The heads of the Palace Affairs Ministry, Legal Ministry, Ministry of Military Affairs, Administrative Ministry, and Personnel Ministry.
At the moment of Matthias’s death, those who should have rallied to protect Wilhelm above all others were nowhere to be found—which was deeply troubling.
“We… could not find them.”
“What do you mean by that?”
An answer came back that she had not anticipated at all.
“We searched not only their ministries but also their private residences, yet found them nowhere.”
“When we pressed those around them for information, we met only evasion or refusal. All of them avoided giving answers.”
“Commander!”
Just as Aine was about to say something, an urgent voice cut through.
“Count Romperio, the Minister of Military Affairs among the Five Great Ministers, has left a letter for you!”
“Romperio sent me a letter?”
“Yes, ma’am. The cleaner who tends Count Romperio’s office still works in the Ministry of Military Affairs, so we questioned him persistently. He told us where to find it—a letter addressed to you was waiting there!”
“…Where was the letter found?”
“It was buried in the Royal Palace Greenhouse.”
The Royal Palace Greenhouse. It was a path Romperio had often strolled through.
But those close to him knew well what that place truly was.
Where Romperio hid confidential documents in times of urgency.
‘He left me a letter there.’
Receiving the letter, Aine burned with curiosity about what had transpired in the Royal Palace.
Would this letter hold the answers? With a heavy heart, Aine looked at the letter in her hand.
Just as she was about to open it and see what he had written, Mane appeared with an urgent expression.
“Commander.”
“Mane. Are you all right?”
“Your face doesn’t look good.”
“Mane?”
Mane was ashen, visibly drained.
Everyone nearby cast worried glances at her, but Mane turned to Aine and spoke.
What she said first was shocking.
“The prince did not come down with a fever.”
“What are you saying?”
“He doesn’t have a fever?”
Until now, they had all believed Wilhelm had simply caught a cold.
But no fever? Everyone except Aine struggled to grasp what Mane meant.
But Aine waited for Mane’s explanation.
Until the physician revealed the exact cause, nothing could be confirmed.
“The prince’s high fever is not from illness. Someone has poisoned the prince.”
Upon hearing this, Aine made for Wilhelm’s chamber.
Wilhelm’s condition had worsened since their last meeting.
Cold sweat pouring like rain, breathing shallow and ragged.
After assessing his state, Aine bit her lip and turned to Mane.
“The antidote?”
“An antidote does exist, but—”
“Stop dragging this out. Give me the answer.”
Whether an antidote existed in this world or not.
Mane hesitated for a moment, but upon meeting Wilhelm’s gaze, she answered.
“It does not exist in our kingdom. The poison His Highness ingested is the Eternal Nightmare.”
* * *
The Eternal Nightmare.
Aine had heard of it before.
It was an infinitesimal poison—only a single drop could be obtained from each Nightmare Snake.
True to its name, whoever drank it would slowly suffer nightmares.
What had been a nightmare once a week would come to pass every few days, then every other day, until finally—in a state of unconsciousness—it came every single night.
The nerves would weaken, and both body and mind would deteriorate gradually until the nightmares consumed everything and death arrived.
‘And this child has consumed it.’
Aine looked at Wilhelm. He was undoubtedly experiencing the nightmares as well.
“What you’re saying is that an antidote exists elsewhere.”
“Commander.”
“Tell me. Where is the antidote?”
Mane had not said the antidote was completely nonexistent.
She had only said it did not exist in the kingdom.
That could only mean one thing—a nation that possessed the antidote existed.
“The only nation that possesses an antidote is the Verona Empire.”
“……The Verona Empire.”
Those who heard this fell silent in despair.
With relations strained even at the best of times, the Verona Empire was a nation with which they had fought a bitter war.
Would they truly give us the antidote if we asked? At best, we might escape mockery; at worst, we’d receive nothing but jeers.
In this dire situation, all fell into despair—all except Aine, who remained unmoved.
“The Verona Empire, then.”
“Commander?”
Rather, Aine alone remained composed.
“The antidote definitely exists in the Verona Empire?”
“Yes. I witnessed it with my own eyes during my time as a foreign student there.”
The officers exchanged meaningful glances toward Aine.
But Aine’s gaze remained fixed solely on Wilhelm.
‘Someone poisoned this child.’
When the prince died from poison, it did not take much thought to identify who benefited most.
The one who would move up to second in the line of succession at this very moment.
It was plausible enough—a desire for the crown so great that one would murder the son of a beloved sister, one’s own nephew.
Yet there were many things Aine did not understand.
‘Why seek the crown now, after all this time?’
The Vinette she remembered was not someone who coveted the throne.
She had always believed the crown belonged entirely to her elder brother, who was superior and more capable.
She had maintained this throughout her life, and Aine had expected her to do so forever.
The last time they had met, Vinette had been satisfied with her position as Grand Duke.
It occurred to Aine that some sudden circumstance might have driven her to this, yet she could not shake the sense that something was wrong.
“Ungh.”
“Commander!”
“Are you all right?”
Dizziness struck, and Aine lost her footing.
Fortunately, officers standing nearby quickly steadied her.
They urged her to rest, their faces etched with concern.
But Aine shook her head. There was still work to be done.
“Mane, do whatever you can to show improvement. The rest of you, check whether there have been any unusual movements within the palace.”
Having left only her orders, Aine departed.
* * *
“Finally alone.”
Now alone, Aine sighed and gazed toward the window.
The rain that had been falling continued still.
It was then that Aine drew the Letter Romperio had left for her from her pocket. Not knowing what it contained, she wanted to read it first herself.
“His handwriting is atrocious.”
Romperio had always taken pride in his elegant handwriting, and he was a man of considerable self-regard.
For such a person to write so carelessly meant he must have been in truly dire straits.
Though the script was difficult to parse, Aine took her time, studying every word within with meticulous care.
[Everything has spiraled beyond our reckoning. Perhaps we have grown too complacent, underestimating that whelp.
Already the Minister of Palace Affairs, along with the Ministers of Personnel and Administration, have fallen to him.
I alone remain, the last guardian standing over our fallen king. But I cannot say how much longer I can hold.
We are cut off entirely from the outside world. No help can reach us.
Our only hope lies in Aine Kleine, commander of the 1st Legion, returning victorious from war.
How long can I endure? I do not know. If I fall, if I cannot hold, then the King and Queen…….]
Aine set the letter down for a moment.
From that point onward, the script was smudged or rendered illegible by something—a chaotic tangle of ink.
Here and there fragments emerged that suggested meaning, but the crucial passages remained obscured.
“The Five Great Ministers. All dead.”

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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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