TVIQ 04

Chapter: 04

Wilhelm had spent his days happily until then.

‘Then, shall I go on another adventure today?’

‘Your Highness! Where are you planning to go today?’

Every morning, he would have breakfast with his parents before setting off to explore the royal palace.

His little legs could not carry him around the entire palace, but he gradually expanded the areas he had yet to visit, drawing a map of the palace himself as he went.

He found it incredibly enjoyable to explore unknown territories.

And while drawing his map, he encountered all kinds of people.

‘Good morning, Your Highness.’

‘Yes. Good morning to you too, Minister!’

‘I happened to bake some cookies. Would Your Highness like one?’

‘Thank you! Mr. Gardener!’

There were the splendid knights who guarded the royal palace, the officials who were always there to assist his parents, the gardener who made the gardens beautiful, and the maids who doted on him.

Everyone always smiled kindly at Wilhelm and would sometimes secretly slip snacks into his hands.

After eating his snacks, when the sun was beginning to set, Wilhelm would take his nanny’s hand and head toward his final destination, the glass greenhouse.

It was his favorite time of day.

‘Wilhelm. Where did you go today?’

Because it was the time when he could meet the kindest and most dependable mother in the world.

His mother was loved by everyone, from his father and the nobles to the common people.

Wilhelm loved his mother just as much.

‘Today, I went exploring the garden to find the flower you told me about before! But I couldn’t find the flower you mentioned.’

Leaning against his mother’s embrace, Wilhelm whispered softly.

His mother smiled tenderly and answered in a gentle voice.

‘You couldn’t find it because it’s a flower that blooms in autumn. It’s late spring right now, so you’ll probably be able to see it soon, once some time has passed.’

Wilhelm remembered why his mother liked that flower.

She had said it reminded her of the friend she loved more than anyone else.

She had even said that this person was more precious to her than his father, which made Wilhelm incredibly curious.

‘Will your friend like me, Mother?’

Ever since he was born, everyone had loved him.

Even people who had never met him before would greet him with bright smiles and warmly welcome him.

But for some reason, Wilhelm was afraid.

What if his mother’s friend didn’t like him?

‘Of course. Because that person likes me very much. So I’m sure they’ll like you too.’

As if trying to dispel his anxiety, his mother smiled brightly and answered with confidence.

She assured him that this person would undoubtedly like him as well.

‘Wilhelm! Run away!’

And not long after hearing those words, his happy days came to an end.

“His fever isn’t going down.”

“Indeed, it isn’t.”

Unable to stand by any longer, Aine summoned the royal physician.

Wilhelm’s fever was not subsiding. Instead, it was steadily growing worse.

“Wouldn’t it be best to simply continue monitoring his condition for now?”

However, the royal physician calmly reached his conclusion as though it were nothing serious.

“If word gets out, amid this chaotic situation, that His Highness the Prince has fallen ill as well, there will undoubtedly be an uproar.”

“That is your answer?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

Aine had fought on the battlefield countless times, risking her life.

The royal physician had assumed that someone so devoted to the kingdom would agree with him.

The Kingdom of Orion was currently at war with the Verona Empire.

They had to refrain as much as possible from doing anything that might cause further unrest among the people.

However, there was one thing the royal physician and everyone else in the kingdom had misunderstood.

“Lock this lunatic in the dungeon immediately.”

“Yes, Commander!”

“C-Commander?!”

She had never once fought for the kingdom.

“What kind of doctor says something like that when a child is on the verge of death?”

“I had to question my own ears to make sure those were really the words of the royal physician.”

“What on earth happened to the royal palace while we were away? Hah.”

The officers who were present glared fiercely in the direction where the royal physician was being dragged away.

They had been relieved when the royal physician arrived, believing that Wilhelm’s health would finally recover.

But instead, they had received a completely unexpected answer.

An answer that sounded as though it wouldn’t matter to him even if Wilhelm died.

‘If I had it my way, I’d cut out that tongue right now.’

Aine was just as disgusted, but the person she needed to worry about now was the child struggling on the bed.

As she looked at the child, she felt a sense of déjà vu.

The royal physician, who should have been more concerned than anyone about the safety of the royal family, had behaved exactly like that.

Biting her lip, she gave the officers an order.

“Daniel. Bring the military physicians and have them take care of His Highness. I don’t think we can leave him in their hands.”

“Mane should be arriving soon anyway.”

Aine was relieved that Mane had managed to keep up without falling behind.

She was a talented young woman who had lived near the border and volunteered to become a military physician at the age of twenty-one.

Since she was the most skilled doctor in the military camp, there should be no difficulty in treating Wilhelm.

Aine looked at the quest window floating above Wilhelm’s head.

As though she could no longer ignore it, there was less than an hour remaining.

‘What on earth are you trying to make me do?’

Reluctantly, Aine pressed the accept button.

She desperately hoped the quest would not tell her to kill this child after Raysie.

At the same time, she hoped she could finally learn what Raysie’s death, listed as the quest’s success reward, actually meant.

‘At least that’s a relief. This time, it’s the exact opposite.’

And when she was finally able to read the contents of the quest, Aine’s expression hardened.

“From this moment on, make sure no one except me and the officers is allowed anywhere near His Highness the Prince.”

“Yes, Commander.”

She could easily have been accused of imprisoning the future king, but no one objected to Aine’s order.

The battle-hardened officers had also realized that something was strangely wrong with the current situation.

“Commander. A request has come from the Council of State for you to attend as well.”

Yet no one had accurately understood Aine’s intentions.

Strictly speaking, Aine’s position was a field assignment.

With her busy fighting the Verona Empire’s forces on the front lines, she had neither the time nor the inclination to travel all the way to the royal palace to attend a meeting.

Even if she had been given the opportunity to attend in the first place, she would have avoided it whenever possible, since there were plenty of faces she had no desire to see.

But this time was different.

“Ah, the Commander has arrived.”

“You have been working tirelessly for the kingdom, day and night.”

“Ha ha. My, my. You certainly don’t look anything like you used to. You had quite a reckless streak back in the day.”

“Watch what you say! How can you speak that way to someone who has accomplished such great things?”

The meeting room was filled with acrid cigarette smoke, as though everyone had been waiting for her.

When Aine ignored all the greetings directed at her, embarrassed laughter broke out here and there, but she paid it no mind and looked for her seat.

In the Council of State, the closer one’s seat was to the king’s seat of honor, the greater the status afforded to that person.

In that regard, Aine’s seat had always been at the very end.

Her relationship with Matthias was not particularly good, either.

Yet something was strange.

“Where is my seat?”

No matter how much she looked around, she couldn’t see the seat where Aine usually sat.

At present, the only vacant seats were the seat of honor, which could only be occupied by the king, and the seat of the chancellor, who could be considered the kingdom’s second-in-command.

She wondered if they seriously intended for her to stand throughout the meeting, but a familiar voice reaching her ears explained everything.

“Where else would it be? Can’t you see the empty seat right in front of you? Surely you can figure out which one is yours.”

Aine turned her head and saw Vinnet dressed in clothes as splendid as a king’s, adorned with gold decorations.

Not only had he entered through the central door reserved exclusively for the king, but he also walked without the slightest hesitation toward one particular place.

The king’s designated seat.

“Come on. Sit down so we can start the meeting.”

Vinnet pointed toward the chancellor’s seat, the position closest to the king, and spoke.