TVIQ 03

Chapter: 03

At the time she was possessed, she had glossed over everything by claiming to have lost her memories.

She had lived her entire life as a modern person.

Would someone like her know how to command those beneath her? Would she know how to walk with grace and dignity? Would she know how to speak with the refinement of aristocrats?

The novel had never gone into such details.

She either had to hope the status window would help her or learn everything from scratch.

[SYSTEM: Quest to Return to the Original World]

[To return to the original world, kill Lacey Flamingo.]

[Remaining Chances: 10]

[Success Reward: Return to the Original World]

[Failure Penalty: Death]

[Would you like to proceed with the quest? Y / N]

However, the status window was not kind to Aine at all.

It merely said what it had to say, as though it had thrown her into the wilderness and expected her to survive on her own.

Thanks to that, a hellish life unfolded before her.

“At this rate, you will be laughed at in high society. Do it again.”

“From the beginning.”

“Again.”

Things such as properly using several different forks and spoons were completely useless for survival in her original world.

She wanted to collapse on the floor and give up, but Aine endured the pain that felt like it was shaving away her very flesh and eventually mastered everything.

“The Marquis ordered us to make sure that Young Lady never enters high society until she has mastered everything perfectly.”

Not to survive in this tiresome world, but to escape from it.

“There is no time to rest. Get up immediately.”

After having a dream for the first time in a long while, Aine rose from her bed with a deep sigh.

‘It must be because of the forced march.’

She had spent her entire life as the daughter of a marquis.

There was no way her body had suddenly become stronger simply because she had become a soldier.

Even the parts where she had distinguished herself were related to strategy and tactics. She had never fought directly like some kind of monster.

After several days of forced marching, her body could no longer endure it, and she had passed out.

She felt unsettled by having such a dream after Lacey’s death, but for now, Aine pushed it aside and focused on the child she had seen before collapsing.

No matter how she looked at him, he was the child of Matthias and Lacey.

The child looked about four or five years old.

If Lacey had become pregnant in the year before Aine left, the timing fit perfectly.

Unless she was feeling unwell, Lacey was not the type to visit a doctor regularly.

“Was the meaning of her last letter about that child?”

Without ever forgetting, Lacey had sent her a letter once a day.

She had written about how she hoped Aine would not die during the war and shared everything she had experienced, organizing it like a diary.

Perhaps she had hoped that through their letters, they could make up for the time that had been torn apart by the war.

But like a thorn stuck in her throat, there was something about it that did not sit right with Aine.

‘But why did no one know?’

Even if it had been a secret, the heir to the royal family was a matter of great importance to the kingdom. No matter how hard they tried to hide it, there were some things that simply could not be concealed.

In particular, Lacey had conceived five years ago. Could she really have kept it a secret from even her friend for five years?

If even one person had known about the child’s existence, someone would have told her before she left.

‘It’s not like I can’t understand why.’

They might have hidden the child away because they did not want him exposed to danger.

The kingdom had been at war with the empire. The moment word got out that a prince had been born, they would not have left him alone.

They had even experienced the assassination of the late queen by an assassin sent from the empire. After that, several other members of the royal family had died one after another.

Perhaps they had kept the matter an absolute secret to prevent any more members of the royal family from being murdered.

However, even after she arrived at the royal palace, it was strange that everyone had kept their mouths shut and never told her about the child’s existence.

Aine wanted to leave and find out what had happened. But when her gaze fell upon the edge of the bed, she stopped.

“Mm.”

There was a child there, accompanied by soft breathing.

‘Has he been here with me all this time?’

Aine clearly remembered the child’s name.

She remembered everything, including how he had introduced himself as Wilhelm Aine Orion.

It was a custom in the kingdom for the late queen to choose the child’s name, and before her death, the late queen had left the name Wilhelm in advance.

The middle name, which could be chosen by the parents, was the most important name for the child.

Usually, it was the name of a parent, teacher, or one of the previous emperors.

“But my name? I can practically picture the expression on Matthias’s face.”

A smile formed at the corner of her lips, but for some reason, tears streamed down her cheeks.

Just as Lacey had waited with her child, looking forward only to the day Aine would return, Aine had done the same.

She had counted down the days until she could meet Lacey again, looking forward to whatever surprise Lacey might have prepared for her.

But now she could never meet Lacey again.

Aine looked at Wilhelm, who was sleeping in a corner, and thought.

Matthias might feel hurt if he heard this, but from head to toe, the child was the spitting image of Lacey.

“There is absolutely no doubt that you are her child.”

She carefully moved him to the middle of the bed so that he could lie comfortably and covered him with a blanket. Then Aine continued watching the child, lost in thought about what she should do from now on.

‘How will this little child accept everything that has happened?’

He had suddenly lost both of his parents overnight. And he did not even have grandparents who could take their place.

Because of the previous incidents, the royal bloodline had gradually become scarce, and among those still alive were only Vinette and distant collateral relatives who were almost too far removed to even be called royalty.

‘Perhaps, for the child, his uncle Vinette would be the most reassuring person.’

Aine did not want to admit it, but to a child, there was a great difference between blood relatives and those who were not.

No matter how close she had been to Lacey, there was no way a child who had never even met her could know that.

However, there were several things that puzzled her.

It had happened immediately after Wilhelm appeared.

Before long, the Royal Guard had rushed in, and they seemed to be trying to drag Wilhelm away.

What Aine understood least of all was Vinette’s attitude. The way Vinette had looked at Wilhelm at the time was not at all the way one would look at a blood relative.

Considering that he was Lacey’s child, it made even less sense. He had clearly loved Lacey, so he should have protected her child more than anyone.

If Aine had not taken Wilhelm away from that place, she could not even imagine what might have happened.

‘I should meet Vinette again soon.’

He was the only child Lacey had left behind.

Lacey was the one who had reached out a hand of salvation to Aine when she had been waiting only for death.

Aine could not bring herself to turn her back on Lacey’s child.

Even if he had no guardian, she could guide him as his subject so that he could grow into an excellent king.

Just as she was about to leave after arranging another meeting with Vinette—

“Mom… Dad…”

The child grabbed her clothing.

“Please, don’t go. Please stay by my side…”

“Ha.”

He was desperately clutching her clothes with tears in his eyes, but it was not as though she could not pry his hands away.

But then Aine noticed his tiny hand.

It was burning hot, and his breathing had become labored. He seemed to have a fever.

Aine frowned as she looked at him.

“What were the two of you thinking, leaving your child behind like this?”

In the end, feeling resigned, she could not bring herself to free herself from that tiny hand and quietly remained there until the child woke up.

“Mom.”

But even while sleeping, Wilhelm continued to clutch Aine’s clothes as though he were anxious.

As she watched Wilhelm, Aine remembered something that had been bothering her.

It was the system window floating in midair.

[SYSTEM: Emergency Quest Activated]

[The quest will be revealed after acceptance. Accept within 8 hours.]

[If accepted, the quest will proceed. If rejected, your soul will be extinguished.]

[Success Reward: ???]

[Failure Penalty: Death]

[Would you like to proceed with the quest? Y]

The words telling her to kill Lacey had disappeared, replaced by a new quest.

‘Come to think of it, the failure penalty had been displayed as an error.’

Why had it been displayed as an error?

She had failed the quest.

According to what had originally been written, she should have died.

Yet now, instead of death, a new quest was sitting right in front of her.

Feeling uneasy, Aine looked at the system window before her again.

She could not understand its contents.

There was only an accept button, as though she had no right to refuse.

Why was it floating above Wilhelm’s head, and what was that ????

Everything about the situation was a mystery.

“Huh?”

As she became lost in thought, the ??? written under the success reward suddenly disappeared, and new words appeared.

[Success Reward: Clue to Lacey’s Death]

Aine had already been told about Lacey’s death.

Then why?

Why was a clue to Lacey’s death listed as the success reward?