TVIQ 05

Chapter: 05

At the words telling her to sit down already, Aine couldn’t help but laugh.

No one pointed out his behavior.

No one thought his behavior was strange.

‘So there was a reason why Matthias’s old nagging advisers aren’t here either.’

The old nobles who had been loyal to Matthias since the previous king’s reign, thinking of nothing but the kingdom day and night.

They had hated Aine to an extreme degree, following Matthias’s lead, but they had also acknowledged Aine as she accumulated achievements day after day and actively helped her rise through the ranks to become the commander she was now.

Yet not a single one of them could be seen here now.

Five years was certainly a long time. They could have grown old and lost their strength, retired, and perhaps be spending their days looking after their grandchildren at their estates by now.

‘But the people I know aren’t the kind to step down after five or ten years. They wouldn’t quit until the day they died.’

Her gaze met the nobles’ uneasy eyes before finally settling on Vinet.

“Can’t you see that everyone is waiting? Sit down already.”

She was speaking to the man who had brazenly taken the seat that only the king was permitted to occupy.

“I’m sorry, but I’d like to say one thing before I sit down.”

“Aine Kleine!”

He frowned and glared at Aine with displeasure.

But Aine didn’t care in the slightest and merely scoffed.

‘I couldn’t protect Lacy.’

She had gone to war to protect her, yet Lacy had met her death right here in the royal palace.

She had been told that the Empire was responsible, but just as she had seen moments ago, the quest window said it would provide evidence concerning Lacy’s death.

Was Lacy’s death different from what she knew?

The suspicion that perhaps the Empire wasn’t responsible for her death kept welling up inside her.

‘And the only thing Lacy left behind.’

She recalled Wilhelm, suffering from a high fever and unable even to open his eyes.

She had kept wondering what would happen if a quest appeared ordering her to kill him, just as it had with Lacy.

Fortunately, that fear had turned out to be nothing more than needless worry, but something still didn’t sit right with her.

[SYSTEM: Protect Wilhelm Aine Orion Quest]

[Protect Wilhelm Aine Orion, Lacy’s son, from his enemies.]

[Quest Status: In Progress]

[Success Reward: An opportunity to return to your original world]

[Failure Penalty: Death]

“The king’s only heir is His Highness Prince Wilhelm.”

Being told to protect him meant that enemies existed.

Aine spoke firmly to everyone present, as though driving a nail into place.

“Therefore, no one will ever be able to inherit the throne over His Highness.”

There was only one person who could inherit the throne: Wilhelm, the son of Matthias and Lacy.

By principle, Wilhelm, as Matthias’s son, was first in line to the throne, so there was nothing strange about it.

Therefore, if these people considered Wilhelm the next king, they could simply accept it without any issue. Or perhaps they might find it strange that Aine had bothered to mention such an obvious fact.

Yet not long after Aine began speaking, the atmosphere froze cold.

Some glared sharply at Aine, others showed their discomfort, while a few simply remained quietly in their seats, neither showing support nor opposition.

After observing their reactions, Aine finally shifted her gaze to Vinet.

Vinet’s face had turned red, but he offered no meaningful rebuttal to Aine’s words.

“I understand, so sit down already!”

“If that’s what you want.”

He clearly wanted nothing more than for her to sit down as quickly as possible.

Aine walked over and sat in the seat Vinet indicated, but the meeting did not begin immediately.

A heavy and uncomfortable silence filled the conference room.

In an atmosphere where it felt as though one wrong word would cut like a blade, the first person to speak was Vinet’s chief adviser, Linus.

“I have heard the commander’s words clearly. Naturally, the throne should pass to His Highness Prince Wilhelm.”

Like Aine, Linus was seated in the third-ranking position, closest to Vinet.

Linus was essentially Vinet’s brains.

“However, the kingdom is currently facing a crisis of survival.”

His response could be taken as Vinet’s will itself.

“Externally, we have been at war with the Empire for a long time, while internally, many of our people are starving due to drought and famine.”

Linus looked at the nobles as though appealing to his audience. Each noble who met his gaze showed obvious signs of tension.

But Linus paid no attention to their reactions and continued to stare at Aine.

“As I said before, this is not a time of peace. We are at war.”

In peaceful times, they could afford to wait while a young king developed his abilities.

There would be no problem as long as capable people around him supported him in the areas where he was lacking.

But these were chaotic times.

“In an era such as this, the throne should be occupied by someone with outstanding ability and leadership, like His Late Majesty King Matthias.”

The argument seemed fairly convincing.

Wilhelm had much to learn before he could govern the kingdom, and above all, he was simply too young.

Did he know politics?

Did he know war?

Did he know diplomacy?

Did he know the people?

To a child like him, the entire world probably consisted of this royal palace.

But a king had to rule not only the palace, but the entire kingdom.

“Following the previous state council meeting, this state council meeting requires only one person’s agreement.”

Having realized why they had summoned her, Aine abruptly rose from her seat.

“Sit back down while I’m still asking nicely.”

During a state council meeting, no one was permitted to leave their seat until the king concluded the meeting.

Standing up from one’s seat was tantamount to challenging the king’s authority.

Vinet seemed displeased by the current situation, which appeared to be a challenge to his authority, and he radiated an intimidating presence.

But Aine paid no attention and drew her sword.

The atmosphere froze in an instant.

“Commander!”

“How dare you! What do you think you’re doing—ugh!”

“How dare I? Did you just say ‘how dare I’?”

Annoyed by his voice, which sounded like a pig being slaughtered, Aine pointed her sword at him, and he suddenly fell silent.

Aine gave a mocking laugh and looked at Vinet.

“Hey, Vinet. Do you really think you’re in a position to give me orders? You, who don’t even have a single regular army under your command, think you can order me around?”

The sword in Aine’s hand was the silver sword personally bestowed upon her by Matthias.

It wasn’t simply a sword granted by the king.

It represented Matthias’s recognition of her authority over the First Legion of the Royal Army, which she commanded. In other words, she was permitted to command the army at her own discretion without needing direct orders from the king.

Vinet, on the other hand, had never been given command of any regular army by Matthias.

“They say that when the hunt is over, hunters kill the hounds they brought with them.”

The hound in question was herself.

A hound that would have been honorably discharged as soon as the war with the Empire ended safely.

“But now that the master who held the hound’s leash is gone, what do you think will happen to the hound that remains?”

Unless war heroes firmly established their own power, they would eventually be discarded once they had served their purpose.

But Aine had no interest in power.

From the beginning, she had been certain that Matthias would never kill someone whom Lacy cherished so dearly.

“And above all, Vinet. Don’t you think you’re the last person who should be talking about qualifications? Who was responsible for this war with the Verona Empire breaking out in the first place?”

How could he deny it?

The entire beginning of this foolish and painful war lay with him.

Yet he dared to talk about the qualifications required of a king?

It was a form of pressure.

Vinet furrowed his brow menacingly, but Aine merely scoffed and turned her head away.

He wouldn’t be able to deny it.

Five years ago, the war had begun when he killed a member of the Verona imperial family who had been invited to a royal banquet.

Even if there had been a legitimate reason, the situation was already difficult enough to resolve, yet Vinet had refused to reveal even that reason.

Only speculation had spread, and in the end, no one actually knew the truth.

Under the law, he should have been executed long ago.

‘The bastard barely managed to keep his position because Matthias protected him as his brother.’

Aine issued a clear warning to the nobles who were sitting so heavily in their seats.