For the Young Villain’s Happy Ending - Chapter 109

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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 109

Raina Hart and her group entered Midra’s Cave.
The lava that had melted the massive black serpent from ten years ago had hardened into stone, solid and unyielding.

“Raina Hart, have you explored beneath this area?”
“Beneath?”
“The surface of the hardened lava and the cave floor are at different heights. There might be a space underneath, don’t you think?”

At Kevenriak’s words, I turned my gaze toward Zikhard.

“I never examined the floor back then.”

Even the Grimoire of Magic seemed unaware, and Kevenriak asked me a question.

“Shall we break through it?”
“Yes.”

Boom!
A protective barrier enveloped my group just as a tremendous explosion erupted, blasting a hole through the floor. Kevenriak descended into it. Standing at the edge of the opening, I called down to him.

“Keri, is there something down there?”
“There’s another underground cavern. It looks like the serpent traveled through here as well.”

We had found a new passage. From the entrance, Kevenriak and I decided to search the cavern to the left, while the Grimoire of Magic would explore to the right. We were searching for magical stones.

“I’ll find a supreme-grade magical stone and create an Elixir. It’s a miraculous potion that can save even those on the brink of death. With it, I’ll replenish Keri’s lost vitality.”

At this moment, the best way to survive was to restore Kevenriak’s life force with the Elixir.
I had access to two supreme-grade magical stones—the main ingredient for the Elixir I could obtain. One was in my spatial pouch, and the other remained in Midra’s Cave.
Possessing magical stones didn’t guarantee successful Elixir creation, but I had someone in mind. If I entrusted it to him, at least one would surely come into my hands without issue. However.

‘The problem is that Keri has lost his vitality over a long period. Even if he drinks the Elixir, his lifespan will only extend by about five years.’

The thought pained me no matter how many times I considered it. As I walked through Midra’s Cave, I gazed at Kevenriak beside me.
His refined profile with its high nose bridge came into view. A beautiful man whose very eyelashes captivated the eye.
This beautiful disciple, who moved my hollow heart simply by being seen, would have died as he was if I had never come to the Imperial Palace. He had made my empty heart beat again.

“….”

At my gaze, Kevenriak let out a small, stifled cough. His face, half-hidden behind his raised hand, had flushed crimson. The words I had poured out moments ago still echoed relentlessly in his ears.

“Do you know how precious Keri is to me?”

At first, he had taken it as nothing more than the tender affection I showed all my disciples. But what followed was.
A desperate cry—that without him, I could not live.
I was not one to speak hollow words. Though Kevenriak had believed my affection toward him differed not at all from what I bestowed upon my other disciples, the emotion radiating from my words was so transparent it shattered that conviction in an instant.

“Raina, if you keep looking to the side while walking, you might stumble. But… why are you staring so intently?”
“Because Keri’s eyes are beautiful. They’re like a blue moon hanging in the night sky.”

Not the hollow, vacant eyes from before, but the vibrant blue eyes of the Kevenriak I knew.
I would ensure that light never dimmed in those eyes again.
At my sudden words, Kevenriak’s lips sealed shut. A mere cough would not suffice. He spread his hand wide to conceal his face.
His reddened neck remained exposed, but my mind was so consumed with other thoughts that I failed to notice Kevenriak’s reaction.
I turned my gaze forward and resumed walking, sinking once more into contemplation.

‘The elixir is merely a delaying measure.’

What I truly sought lay beyond that. When both I had safely recovered my body and Kevenriak’s heart had not ceased.

‘I can share my life with him. With the vitality of a Dragon Quarter, two people should live far longer than ordinary humans.’

Then my cheeks grew slightly warm.
It was because of the knowledge Raina Hart possessed.
‘Life Sharing’ was not widely known, but it was a spell ancient dragons had created to welcome humans as their companions.
Dragons who lived for millennia would share their lifespan with humans, allowing them to live the same span of years and end their lives at the same moment.
Dragons who had fallen in love with humans, facing similar circumstances, had used that magic on their companions.
As such cases accumulated, the spell took on a meaning among dragons—a proposal to spend a lifetime together with the recipient.

‘But what I intend is different. I’m sharing my life to save Keri.’

And in the end, we would simply die together on the same day, at the same hour.
Suddenly, I recalled the image of Vivian’s note in my notebook, letting out a small, delighted gasp.
Right. This was exactly the sort of thing Vivian would adore. If she had heard of it, she would have made a fuss about how fateful it all was—.

[….]

Raina Hart stifled a laugh, then suddenly stopped in her tracks. Kevenriak, who had been following his master while cooling the heat from his face, stiffened at the sight of something amiss in Raina’s demeanor.

“Raina?”
“…One moment, Keri.”

Raina brought her index finger to her lips in a gesture of silence toward Kevenriak, then tilted her ear to listen to the sound drifting through the air.

[….]

The sound of wind. Or rather, something mingled within it.

“Keri, I think there’s something ahead.”
“Should I call Zikhard?”

At Raina’s nod, Kevenriak extended his hand. In an instant, Zikhard, who had been searching for magical stones far across the cavern, flew toward him against his own will and found his spine grasped in Kevenriak’s palm.

“….”

It happened in the span of a single bewildered moment.
Caught off guard by the sudden summons, the Grimoire of Magic fell silent. He had been searching for magical stones while singing of world conquest amid blood and screams, yet this Emperor was treating him like a lapdog that came running at his beck and call….

“H-h-hey~!”
“Quiet.”

Zikhard, about to voice his indignation, fell silent at Raina’s single word. Raina surveyed her surroundings. The underground cavern with its lofty ceiling had many branching paths, and sound echoed from all directions, making it impossible to pinpoint where the noise originated.

“Zikhard, search for any hidden spaces.”
“Yes, ma’am.”

As Kevenriak released his grip, the Grimoire of Magic floated upward and scanned the surroundings.

“Hmm?”
“What is it?”
“There’s a barrier here.”

At Raina’s command to lead the way, Zikhard ventured forward. Raina and Kevenriak followed in his wake.
The distance to the barrier was considerable. After passing through three branching paths, Raina’s vision suddenly blurred and her legs lost their strength. A wave of dizziness had overcome her without warning.

“….”

As my vision cleared, what appeared before me was—.

“…Be careful, Raina Hart.”
“…Thank you.”

I looked down while Kevenriak held me by the waist. A small pebble that had kicked from the tip of my foot tumbled down into a chasm with no visible bottom.
The path we had been traveling was severed in the middle, revealing a deep precipice.
Thump, thump. Both our hearts pounded simultaneously in shock.
Had Kevenriak not caught me when I mistepped just now, I would have met the same fate as that pebble.
Kevenriak teleported with me across the chasm to the path beyond, then asked me a question.

“It seems Vivian Asperada’s stamina has run out. Would you like me to carry you?”
“…I can’t refuse.”

Though Kevenriak had healed me several times today, Vivian’s stamina was a fundamental problem.
It meant that dizziness like this could strike again and cause me to misstep. Kevenriak couldn’t possibly stand ready for every one of my sudden mishaps.
I accepted his offer and let him carry me.

“Sleep if you’re tired.”
“I’m not that tired….”

Despite my murmured protest, I rested my head against his broad shoulders. I wasn’t tired, but the headache I’d been feeling since earlier throbbed dully in my skull.
I broached a problem I’d been pondering for days to Kevenriak.

“…Vivian’s stamina is far too weak. At first I thought it might be innate, but I’m beginning to suspect there’s a reason for it.”
“An acquired condition?”
“Yes. My suspicion is that Simona Asperada did something—.”

It wasn’t the stamina of an ordinary person. In the original story’s flashbacks of Vivian’s past, she was only slightly ill, nothing that would interfere with daily life to this extent.
When Simona Asperada alone remained as a suspect in finding the true culprit, I became strongly convinced that the cause of Vivian’s physical condition lay with her.
Hadn’t there been a sachet containing a shell with sleep-inducing properties—something too potent for a child—placed at young Vivian’s bedside?

“Once I reclaim my body, I intend to solve Vivian’s problem as well. First, I need to understand what she did.”
“You can do it, Raina Hart.”

At Kevenriak’s encouragement, I curved my lips into a smile. When I closed my eyes slightly, even comfort washed over me.

“By the way, Keri. Your back is quite wid—.”
“Master! I’m here!”

Then the Grimoire of Magic called out to Raina Hart with a thunderous voice. The moment Kevenriak teleported, the two of them stood before a bare cavern wall.

“There’s a barrier on this wall.”

The Grimoire of Magic fluttered its pages gently. It resembled a dog showing off its accomplishments to its master, waiting for praise.

“Well done.”

At Raina Hart’s brief commendation, the Grimoire of Magic couldn’t hide its delight and flipped through its pages frantically.

“There’s nothing this great Zikhard cannot—”
“It looks like a wall, but the barrier is creating an illusion. Keri, can you unravel it on your own? The incantation is quite complex.”

Raina Hart descended from being carried on Kevenriak’s back, her gaze fixed on the barrier’s incantation that materialized in response to the mana he released.
It was supreme-tier magic. Kevenriak stared intently at the incantation for a moment, then moved his hand.
Grasping the complex incantation at a glance, Kevenriak unraveled the sequence in reverse without hesitation. Both Raina Hart and Zikhard marveled inwardly at the sight.
…Keri wasn’t human either. The Emperor wasn’t human either.

And with the incantation dissolved, the entrance revealed itself. The three who stepped inside fell silent at the sight before them.
So this was why Zikhard couldn’t find the mana stone. A colossal presence had been blocking access.

■■■■
■■ ■■
…

“…A dragon.”

Raina Hart murmured, gazing at the massive skeleton curled protectively around the mana stone.

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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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