The Villainess is on a Quest - Chapter 78

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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 77
By imperial law, when the Emperor was incapacitated, all Command Authority passed to the Empress; should she be absent, it fell to the Crown Prince as his successor.
But what if even the Crown Prince found himself in unavoidable circumstances? The third-tier Command Authority would have gone to the Crown Grandson—but at present, no Crown Grandson existed.
Of course, though the formal appointment had never been made, Wilhelm did exist as the Crown Prince’s son, yet he was scarcely six years old.
‘In such cases, naturally, the commands of the Crown Princess Consort would be executed.’
The imperial legal code accounted for every conceivable contingency. Now that an order had been issued, there was no reason to hesitate.
Dunkin planned to summon the Capital commanders at first light and issue the operational directive.
“My lord. A visitor has arrived.”
“I wasn’t expecting anyone today.”
Just as Dunkin was returning to his estate to rest, someone came calling. Given the unsettled state of affairs, his guard had risen considerably.
The Imperial Palace and Chesher Estate had been attacked in succession, after all.
In the process, not only the Emperor but his entire faction had been wounded. He held no certainty that he himself would escape their fate.
“Summon the private soldiers.”
As he called forth the soldiers who guarded his estate, he asked who had come.
If they were suspicious characters, he had no intention of meeting them—only of fleeing to safety.
“The Crown Princess Consort and Marquis Alex Rodman, my lord.”
But the moment he heard those familiar names, his steps halted. His brow furrowed, and he let out a sigh at these unexpected visitors.
‘Of all people, these two.’
He had not the slightest desire to see them, yet now that they had come all the way to his door, ignoring them was equally impossible.
One thing, however, was clear: he suspected he knew why they had come.
Since Alex Rodman had been present in that same conference chamber, he must have come to discuss Aine’s orders—or so Dunkin assumed.
Likely, he would argue that the people of Retaria had nothing to do with it.
Alex Rodman was, after all, the one who always defended Retaria at State Council meetings.
“Where are the guests?”
“They have already entered the reception room.” “I told them never to darken my threshold again, yet here they are.”
“Forgive us, sir.”
“Never mind. You couldn’t have stopped her anyway.”
With a lightness born of complete indifference, Dunkin made his way to the reception room—a place devoid of any welcoming feeling.
House Horizon had always been a family of soldiers. They lived according to the ancestral maxim that politics brought only ruin in its wake, and nothing else.
Indeed, among the family, scarcely anyone who had involved themselves in politics had come to any good end.
So they remained carefully uninvolved with either the Emperor Faction or the Aristocrat Faction, quietly tending to their duties and maintaining a neutral stance.
Until Reina Horizon had suddenly married the Second Prince, Philip.
‘I told her never to come home again if she married that fool.’
Marriage to an imperial prince was, in the eyes of a mere noble house, a blessing. It meant binding the family to the imperial line, gaining true entry into the central court.
Yet no one in House Horizon saw it as such a blessing.
Many regarded it as a dangerous spark, and Dunkin had warned Reina accordingly.
If she did not wish to sever ties with her family, she should refuse Prince Philip’s proposal.
‘But you threw caution aside, saying you would become Empress.’
Philip would become Emperor one day. He possessed abilities and qualities that the common people could not perceive.
When that day came, he had uttered harsh words telling her to weep in bitter regret, and abandoned his family.
Now, with all contact long severed, her sudden return left Dunkin swallowing a hollow laugh as he entered the reception room.
“It has been some time, Your Highness. And again we meet, Marquis Rodman.”
Gone was the confident bearing of her youth—in its place stood a gaunt and haggard Reina, her eyes darting anxiously about the room, while beside her stood Alex Rodman with a sinister smile.
* * *
Reina had never wanted to return to Horizon Estate.
Though she had once severed ties and sworn never to come back, what truly kept her away was her shame at allowing Dunkin to see her in such a pitiful state.
She had tried to convince Philip to reconsider, but it had fallen on deaf ears.
When Sonelopi disappeared, Philip’s rage had poured entirely onto Reina.
In that short span of time, her heart had been utterly shattered.
Too ashamed to speak of what transpired in the estate, she kept her silence; yet with each passing day, the hours spent with Philip grew more frightening, and she lived in constant dread that one day he would strike her as he had struck Sonelopi.
“Your Highness the Crown Princess Consort, you must find some way to turn your father’s will aside.”
“Marquis Rodman, my father hates me. How can I possibly turn his will aside?”
“Still, you must succeed, if only for Prince Philip’s sake. If this matter is resolved well, he will become Emperor, and you shall become Empress.”
In former times, she would have been seduced by such words, would have answered without hesitation, and would have thrown herself into convincing Dunkin with desperate fervor.
But Reina’s thoughts had changed.
‘Can that truly be the path to my happiness?’
Even before coming here, Philip had hurled abuse at her, telling her not to sit idle like a parasite but to earn her keep.
If he became Emperor with absolute power—would he truly become gentle then?
Because of those brief, hellish hours with him, Reina’s thoughts kept shifting in darker directions.
What grated on her most was that none of these people seemed to care about her at all.
It seemed as though if a moment ever came when he had to abandon himself for the sake of the throne, he would even compel such noble sacrifice.
“It has been some time, Your Highness. And here we meet again, Marquis Rodman.”
The moment Reina Horizon encountered Dunkin after so long in the reception room, she forgot how to breathe, unable to exhale.
She had left home, yet he remained undeniably her father.
Though he had said she would come to regret it, when Reina became Empress, she had harbored the intention of visiting her family and providing them comfort.
But seeing how much Dunkin had aged in the time they had been apart, she was struck by the sudden realization of how much time had passed, and she stood there dazed.
“Then why have you come here?”
“Your Highness the Crown Princess Consort. Please, speak your mind.”
Alex Rodman made his prepared request to Reina, asking her to persuade Dunkin. Yet nothing emerged from Reina’s lips.
She simply kept her seat in silence. Sensing her reluctance, Alex pressed her again with what was less a plea than a demand.
Should she not speak for Philip’s sake? It amounted to coercion, yet even so, Reina could not bring herself to shamelessly petition before Dunkin.
To her, he was family.
“Since Your Highness the Crown Princess Consort appears indisposed, I shall speak in her stead.”
Displeased with how matters were unfolding, Alex had no intention of wasting this opportunity.
Besides, there was no guarantee Dunkin would agree to meet again. So he resolved to persuade the man himself and opened his mouth.
“Earl. How would you feel about joining hands with us?”
“By ‘us,’ you mean….”
“The Imperial House has already been completely corrupted by a woman from the Orion Kingdom. Has she not made the Empire a shambles?”
Alex spoke bluntly. Aine was a seed of misfortune that would bring the Empire to ruin.
If she were not removed with haste, the Empire would surely face great calamity, and none of them gathered here would ever again enjoy the peace they knew today.
“Retaria moves solely for the Empire’s sake. If the Empire can only prosper and grow, we shall do whatever it takes.”
Emphasizing their dedication, Alex began to lay out his terms in earnest.
“Of course, we shall offer commensurate reward. Should you join us in this cause, we can elevate your merit and raise you to the position of second-in-command of the Empire.”
“Second-in-command, you say?”
“Yes. I offer you the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial military.”
The Commander-in-Chief was a seat that only the imperial bloodline could occupy.
It was the most critical of critical posts—one with direct command over all the Empire’s armed forces.
Alex judged that if he went this far, Dunkin would certainly be swayed.
“I am sorry, but I must decline the Marquis’s proposal.”
But that was a grave miscalculation.

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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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