The Villainess is on a Quest - Chapter 77

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

Chapter 76
In the silence, everyone fixed their eyes on Aine as though they dared not miss even a single misdirected breath.
With the Emperor and Crown Prince both absent, the fact that Aine was the one who appeared made them gleam with challenge and suspicion in equal measure.
Though she had won favor among the noblewomen in society, this was the ruthless arena of politics.
It was no place where one could reveal weakness and expect genuine assistance.
“After the Chesher Estate, this is already the second incident! How far has the prestige of the Imperial House fallen for such calamities to strike one after another?”
“In the time of the previous Emperor, we could never have imagined such a thing.”
‘There, you see?’
Their first move was always to gauge Aine’s reaction and test her resolve.
They intended to observe how much the fierce winds of the typhoon would shake her, then decide whether to intensify their pressure further.
Had she been an ordinary noblewoman nurtured like a hothouse flower, she would have buckled beneath the weight of these seasoned politicians’ intimidation.
“It seems you are all reaching an age when retirement should be considered.”
“Crown Princess, what do you—”
“Did you fail to hear what I said moments ago? I distinctly stated that I convened this assembly to discuss the incident of yesterday’s assault on the Imperial Palace.”
Yet Aine’s entire life had never been spent sheltered like a hothouse bloom.
“I do not understand why you persist in denouncing the Imperial House before me.”
In the political arena, she had long since grown weary of dealing with decrepit politicians, and on the battlefield, she had fought with the resolve to meet death itself.
“Why, might I ask? Could it be your words are directed at me? At the Crown Princess whom the Emperor himself has recognized?”
To be wounded like a delicate flower and shed tears over their every word was impossible—not with the deep scars that lay embedded in her heart.
Aine felt the urge to sneer at them. Had they worked diligently with Odin to manage the Empire, would the people’s hearts be in such turmoil now?
Radical organizations like Retaria would never have been born in the first place. Such filthy, worthless factions were nothing but vermin without a single redeeming quality.
But she held it back. This gathering had not been convened to crush them.
“My sincerest apologies, Your Highness. My words were not intended as an insult.”
Alex Lordman yielded first.
While they could not truly be imprisoned for Imperial Defamation Crime, the woman before them looked as though she would genuinely restore Imperial order as she saw fit.
When Alex Lordman, who had always carried himself with supreme confidence, lowered his head in apology, the remaining officials gasped and followed suit in quick succession.
“I accept all of your apologies. I have no desire to quarrel meaninglessly with you.”
With the grace of a great man, Aine accepted their contrition smoothly and returned to the matter at hand.
“A sweeping manhunt will be issued for the intruders.”
“But surely they have already fled across the border?”
“That’s true. We should contain it appropriately and first attend to calming the people.”
Aine could not help but let out a hollow laugh.
“After the Imperial Palace has been attacked and the Emperor himself has suffered at the hands of these assailants, you truly believe it possible to end this matter with moderate measures? You are all out of your minds.”
“Crown Princess, that is not what we intended to convey—”
That they spoke this way at all was precisely because Retaria was involved—or because they had received bribes from Retaria’s interests.
To some degree it was understandable, but there remained such a thing as moderation. In Aine’s eyes, their actions had long since crossed that line.
“The Military Minister will immediately mobilize all forces stationed in the Capital. This crisis cannot be quelled until every last one of them is suppressed. The longer we sit idle, the more we embolden our enemies.”
There were times to respond with lenience and times to respond with firmness, but now was the hour for absolute decisiveness.
The Imperial Palace had been assaulted. The Emperor himself had been wounded. To demonstrate decisive action was necessary—only then would the people’s unease settle.
“Hear me, all of you. I will never compromise with a Terrorist Organization. And the Crown Prince holds the same conviction.”
Her eyes blazed with warning as she looked upon them all.
“If you dare show such conduct before the Crown Prince as you have shown before me, you would do well to think twice. I am not one to forget a grudge once it takes root.”
Whether this warning would take hold, Aine did not greatly concern herself. Should even one of them dare to overstep, she would make an example.
* * *
“She is more formidable than the Emperor and Crown Prince combined!”
The moment the Noble Faction left the council chamber, they gathered at the Lordman Marquis Estate.
Having fully expected to crush Aine, they found themselves on the receiving end instead, and their pride was deeply wounded.
“I could not meet her gaze. All this time we have seen her at the Crown Prince’s side with such refinement, I expected the same today—but those eyes were merciless.”
“I thought I might lose control of myself entirely. She is more formidable than the Emperor himself.”
Yet beneath their indignation, fear had taken root. Her warning did not feel like empty bluster.
One woman against twenty, and they had been routed entirely in terms of momentum.
Alex’s brows furrowed in resentment at the fact.
‘How dare this woman of the Orion Kingdom, merely fortunate enough to become Imperial, look down upon us with such arrogance!’
The fact that he had been utterly humbled by a woman and had spoken not a word in that chamber completely crushed his pride.
‘I will have my revenge!’
Swearing never to forget this day and to seek vengeance, Alex turned his mind to the problem ahead.
“If matters proceed as the Crown Princess indicated, the Military Minister will deploy the defensive forces of the Capital.”
It was a thorny matter. He had anticipated her taking personal command and issuing investigation orders.
But to reveal such resolve as to mobilize the military for suppression—he had not foreseen this.
Should it become known that Retaria was involved in this incident, the consequences would be all too clear.
“In all likelihood, we’re the real target here.”
Aine drew her sword. Of the three—Odin, Kleid, and herself—she was the one least bound to worry about the imperial nobility’s sensibilities.
‘Perhaps the Emperor deliberately chose a dangerous route precisely for this reason….’
Retaria had never aimed at the Emperor himself. She merely hoped to find some way to suppress Odin’s power, however slightly.
Yet something had gone wrong, and now even Odin lay wounded—an unprecedented turn of events.
“We must win over the Military Branch.”
“How do you propose we do that?”
“Orders have already been issued.”
They had to move quickly to bring the Minister of War to their side before he mobilized the Capital’s garrison forces.
One fortunate point was that Dunkin Horizen, the Minister of War, was not aligned with the Imperial Faction.
True, he had declared complete neutrality and was not on Retaria’s side either, but there remained a tactical advantage.
“Isn’t Dunkin Horizen’s daughter the Crown Princess Lena?”
Lena’s maiden name had been Horizen. In other words, they would draw Philip into their camp, securing the support of Lena and her family as well.
If they managed that, they could overturn the current situation entirely.
‘If the Military Branch were to stand with us instead, everything would become far simpler.’
Even Odin himself would become a spent force, utterly powerless, if he lost the Military Branch’s backing. Alex Lordman made his decision.
“Find Dunkin at once and bring him before us! By any means necessary—coercion, threats, whatever it takes—make him one of us!”
“And where will you go, my lord?”
“I shall call upon Crown Prince Philip. If I secure the support of Crown Princess Lena, the matter will proceed far more smoothly.”
He was certain the situation favored them. Alex smiled at the thought of Aine, who would soon lose her position as Crown Princess.
But there was one thing he had overlooked.
He had no detailed understanding of what bond existed between Dunkin and Lena.

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