TVIQ 06

Chapter: 06

Aine gave everyone a stern warning.

She told them not to even think about doing anything foolish while she was still around.

“In the end, she left.”

But there was one thing Aine had not anticipated.

The moment Aine left, Linus spoke again.

“Everyone here has realized it by now, haven’t you? She is not someone who can be persuaded.”

The division had already begun, and things had reached the point of no return.

“We need to make the first move before her First Legion arrives. So, everyone, prepare your armies.”

“The total number of people we brought with us is one hundred.”

“We moved so quickly that far too many fell behind along the way.”

After returning to the quarters, Aine immediately assessed the situation.

With an enemy right on their doorstep, Aine had been unable to mobilize a large force. She had only been able to take around three hundred soldiers with her to the royal palace.

Even then, most of them had fallen behind during the forced march through the rain, wind, and mud.

‘If I had known something like this was happening in the royal palace, I would have come fully prepared.’

The fact that she had only a hundred people under her command continued to bother her.

“Did you manage to find the ministers of Matthias I told you about?”

Aine then sent some people out separately to search for the Five Ministers.

They were five elder ministers who had served the kingdom loyally ever since the previous king’s reign.

They were the heads of the Palace Affairs Department, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of National Defense, the Administration Department, and the Ministry of Personnel.

At a time when Matthias had died, it was strange that the very men who should have banded together more than anyone to protect Wilhelm were nowhere to be found.

“We couldn’t find them.”

“What do you mean by that?”

An answer Aine had never expected came back.

“We went to their respective departments, of course, and even visited their private residences, but we couldn’t find them anywhere.”

“We also asked around among the people close to them. It was the same everywhere. They either avoided answering or refused to meet with us.”

“Commander!”

Just as Aine was about to say something, someone’s urgent voice interrupted her.

“Count Romperio, the Minister of National Defense among the Five Ministers, left a letter for you, Commander!”

“The old man left something for me?”

“Yes. The cleaner who was in charge of Count Romperio’s office remained at the Ministry of National Defense. After questioning him persistently, he told us that there was a letter for you at the location he mentioned.”

“……Where was the letter found?”

“It was buried in the royal palace greenhouse.”

The royal palace greenhouse.

It was a walking path that Romperio often enjoyed.

However, those who had been close to him knew exactly what kind of place it was.

It was where Romperio hid confidential materials in times of emergency.

‘The old man left a letter for me there.’

After receiving the letter, Aine couldn’t help but wonder what on earth had happened inside the royal palace.

Could this letter contain the answers?

With a heavy heart, Aine stared at the letter in her hand.

Just as she was about to check what Romperio had written, Mane appeared in a hurry.

“Commander.”

“Mane. Are you all right?”

“You don’t look well.”

“Mane?”

Mane’s face had gone deathly pale.

Everyone around her looked at her with concern, but Mane looked at Aine and opened her mouth.

The first words she spoke were shocking.

“His Highness the Prince isn’t suffering from a fever.”

“What do you mean?”

“He isn’t suffering from a fever?”

Until now, everyone had simply thought Wilhelm had caught a bad cold.

But he wasn’t suffering from a fever?

Everyone except Aine failed to understand the meaning of Mane’s words.

Aine, however, waited for Mane’s answer.

Until the doctor determined the exact cause, it was still too early to be certain of anything.

“The reason His Highness the Prince is suffering from such a high fever isn’t because of an illness. Someone poisoned His Highness.”

After hearing the answer, Aine headed to the room where Wilhelm was.

Wilhelm’s condition was worse than the last time she had seen him.

Cold sweat poured down him like rain, and his breathing had become labored.

After checking his condition, Aine bit her lip before asking Mane,

“What about an antidote?”

“There is an antidote, but……”

“Don’t drag it out. Just give me the conclusion.”

Whether an antidote existed in the world or not.

Mane hesitated for a moment, but after looking at Wilhelm, she finally answered.

“There isn’t one in the kingdom. The poison His Highness ingested is called ‘Eternal Nightmare.’”

Eternal Nightmare.

Aine had heard of it as well.

It was an extremely rare poison, of which only a single drop could be obtained from each Nightmare Snake.

True to the poison’s name, anyone who drank it would gradually begin suffering from nightmares.

At first, they would have a nightmare once a week. Then it would become once every three or four days, then once every two days, and eventually, they would experience nightmares every day while unconscious.

Not only would their nerves gradually deteriorate, but both their body and mind would slowly break down. In the end, they would become completely consumed by their nightmares and die.

‘And this little child has been given that.’

Aine looked at Wilhelm.

There was no doubt that he was also experiencing nightmares.

“That means there is an antidote somewhere else.”

“Commander.”

“Tell me. Where is the antidote?”

Mane hadn’t said that the antidote didn’t exist at all.

She had only said that it didn’t exist in the kingdom.

That meant there had to be another country that possessed it.

“The only country that possesses the antidote is the Verona Empire.”

“……The Verona Empire.”

Everyone who heard those words was left devastated.

Of all places, it had to be the Verona Empire.

Their relationship had become horrendous after the war, to the point where even if they had been on friendly terms, it would have been questionable whether they would hand over the antidote.

And now, if they asked for the antidote, would those people really give it to them?

They would be lucky if the empire didn’t simply send back a mocking message saying how fortunate this situation was.

Everyone despaired at the worst possible situation.

Everyone except Aine.

“The Verona Empire.”

“Commander?”

Rather than despairing, Aine remained calmer than anyone else.

“Does the Verona Empire definitely possess the antidote?”

“Yes. I saw it with my own two eyes when I was studying abroad.”

The officers exchanged meaningful glances with Aine.

But Aine’s gaze remained fixed solely on Wilhelm.

‘Someone poisoned this child.’

Without having to think deeply, it was easy to identify who would benefit the most from the prince’s death by poisoning.

The person who had been pushed back to second in line for the throne at present.

He was trying to kill Wilhelm, the child of the woman he had loved and his own nephew, in order to obtain the throne.

It was a plausible theory.

But there were many things Aine couldn’t understand.

‘Why would he suddenly want the throne now?’

The Binnette she remembered had never been someone who coveted the throne.

He believed the throne rightfully belonged to his older brother, who was far more outstanding and capable than he was.

He had maintained that belief throughout his entire life, and Aine had assumed he would continue to think that way.

The last time she had seen Binnette, he had been perfectly content with his position as Grand Duke.

Perhaps the sudden circumstances had driven him to act, but Aine still couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.

“Ugh.”

“Commander!”

“Are you all right?”

Aine suddenly lost her balance and staggered from dizziness.

Fortunately, there were officers right beside her, and they immediately supported her.

Worried about her, all the officers urged her to rest.

But Aine shook her head.

There was still work she needed to take care of.

“Mane, do everything you can to help him show signs of improvement. As for the rest of you, look into whether there are any other movements taking place inside the royal palace.”

After leaving them with her orders, Aine left the room.

“Finally, I’m alone.”

Now that she was alone, Aine sighed and looked toward the window.

The rain that had been pouring down was still falling.

Only then did Aine take the letter Romperio had left from her pocket.

Since she had no idea what was written inside, she wanted to read it herself first.

“His handwriting is terrible.”

Romperio had always been proud of his elegant handwriting, and he himself took great pride in it.

For someone like him to write so messily meant he must have written it in an extremely urgent situation.

The handwriting was difficult to read, but Aine took as much time as necessary to examine its contents.

[Everything was completely unexpected. Perhaps we had become too careless around that brat.

The Minister of Palace Affairs, as well as the Ministers of Personnel and Administration, have already fallen to that bastard.