For the Young Villain’s Happy Ending - Chapter 115
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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 115
I had spoken with the intention of sharing life itself in mind. Yet the word “companion” that the Dragon kept repeating had become a form of brainwashing, making it feel as though I were proposing marriage.
No, that’s not it. This absolutely cannot be a proposal. That’s the only way I can extend Keri’s lifespan.
But my face was burning.
“….”
Silence fell between us. I didn’t even ask why there was no response.
I continued walking, and Kevenriak’s pace gradually slowed. When his footsteps came to a complete halt, my arm—which had been leading the way—was suddenly pulled taut. It was only then that I realized Kevenriak had not been matching my pace. In an instant, strong arms wrapped around my waist, drawing me into a vast embrace.
My feet left the ground. The Emperor’s body became a fence that enclosed me.
“I agree, Raina Hart.”
His low voice carried solemnity. Listening to the sound of my racing heart, I understood that he was making a vow. A vow to live. We had both resolved to live together, after all. His agreement must have been about the future where neither of us would die.
‘Do you still think of me….’
Yet curiosity occasionally stirred within me. Do you still hold me in your heart? Are you looking at me the way you did two years ago when you confessed, not as a cherished teacher you must save, but as something more?
“Keri, you must think carefully. It’s for your entire life.”
“Yes.”
“Is it alright if I covet your entire life?”
Crunch. At my words, Kevenriak’s arms tightened. Was this his hesitation, or a positive answer?
I pretended to be composed while waiting for Kevenriak’s response.
Truthfully, even after coveting your entire life, I still didn’t clearly know what kind of relationship I desired. Yet the fact that the future I imagined contained scenes different from before suggested that our relationship might transform.
Among countless branching paths, there was one constant. If you were to give me your entire life here, I would truly never let go of that lifetime by my side.
So Keri, think carefully and answer me.
“Raina Hart, I am….”
Bzzt—.
Then a small vibration sounded from Kevenriak’s pocket. I could have ignored it, but there was a call I was waiting for. Kevenriak and I exchanged glances as I lifted my head, and he withdrew a communication device from his pocket.
「Din」
The disciple’s name glimmered across the surface of the spherical communication device.
Contact after two years. Watching Raina Hart’s eyes brighten at the characters spelling “Din,” Kevenriak smiled helplessly. Raina Hart held many precious people in her heart, not just him.
Kevenriak accepted the communication and passed it to Raina Hart.
“…Din.”
I spoke my disciple’s name carefully.
– ….
“Din?”
– ….
But no matter how many times I called, silence persisted on the other end of the communication device. Perhaps it was because I had taken the communication that Kevenriak had received.
A worry crept in—could this be a resentful silence directed at my teacher?
“Din, I’m sorry. I’ve been far too late.”
– Miss Vivian?
In that instant, an unfamiliar woman’s voice came through the communication device. Not Din. Yet the voice stirred a memory from somewhere.
As I recalled who she was, my expression froze cold. It wasn’t because of who had answered the communication.
“It’s Maya.”
– Yes, yes! It’s me…!
It was because of where she was.
“You’re still working at the castle?”
– Of course! How could I leave Miss Vivian’s side? Miss Vivian, you’re alive, aren’t you?
Asperada Duke’s Castle.
Why was my disciples’ communication device there?
***
Moments earlier.
The disciples trapped in Simona Asperada’s subspace were in a frenzy of excitement.
Under Max’s guidance, Ban, Din, and Quade had finally broken through the wall they’d been relentlessly assaulting all day. Beyond the wall lay a room of some kind.
Simona Asperada’s subspace also appeared to be connected to reality. It was standard for mages’ subspaces to have a medium anchored in the real world—like a subspace pouch.
“Then communication should work too, right?”
Oh. That’s worth trying.
The Disciples nodded at Din’s words. The hole in the wall was smaller than a fist, but large enough to fit a communication orb through.
Din inserted the communication orb he’d been carrying into the hole. The wall’s thickness was about a hand’s breadth. As the marble-sized orb settled against the opposite wall, it began to glow brilliantly.
「7th Circle」
“It worked!”
“Yes! We got through immediately!”
“Emperor! Can you hear us?!”
– …Din?
Contrary to the Disciples’ expectations, the voice that emerged from the communication orb belonged not to the Emperor, but to a woman. Though unfamiliar in tone, it was unmistakably their Master.
Din, whose name had been called, along with several emotionally sensitive Disciples, felt their faces crumple.
No, not again. The tears were coming. The Disciples pushed back their tears for a moment and cried out toward the communication orb.
“Master!”
“It’s us!”
“Are you safe?”
But Raina Hart on the other side of the communication orb showed no sign of hearing their words. It seemed that voices cried out from within the Subspace could not reach beyond reality. To make matters worse, the communication orb, which had been precariously balanced, suddenly tumbled with a soft thud to the other side of the wall.
“….”
Ah. Just as the Disciples all froze and stared blankly through the hole.
“Miss Vivian?”
A maid’s figure appeared through the gap in the hole, picking up the communication orb. So there was someone else in the room.
– It’s Maya.
“Yes, yes! It’s me…!”
The maid, who seemed to know Vivian Asperada, clutched the communication orb and spoke through tears.
– You’re still working at the Castle?
“Of course! How could I leave Miss Vivian’s side? Miss, you’re alive, aren’t you?”
At the unusual tone of voice coming through the communication device, the seven Disciples pressed against the wall exchanged glances with one another.
This is serious. Master is angry.
Meanwhile, the communication between Raina Hart and Maya continued.
– Maya, where are you?
“I’m in an empty room in the Annex Building. I came to get extra bedding, but the communication device suddenly fell from the wall.”
– Suddenly? From a place with nothing around it?
“Yes, that’s right!”
– …Where is your mother?
“Oh, you didn’t know yet! It seems her condition has improved enough to ride in a carriage, so she left on a trip with the Duke yesterday. The butler said she’ll be taking lots of rest breaks along the way, so it will be a long journey.”
The household information was transmitted entirely to Vivian Asperada, the only daughter of the family. The Disciples continued eavesdropping on the communication while piecing together their situation.
Current location: First floor of the Annex Building at Asperada Duke’s Castle. Both the Duke and Duchess are absent.
“It seems like Master is asking questions deliberately and in detail, doesn’t it?”
“She’s trying to give us information too.”
The Disciples agreed with each other’s words.
Master seemed to have realized they were trapped. If she were the Master they knew, she would bring the Emperor here.
“It’s dangerous.”
Ban muttered in an ominous tone.
“Vivian Asperada’s body is extremely weak. If Master tries to rescue us, she could end up in danger.”
When I had met Master in Vivian Asperada’s body at the Imperial Palace, she hadn’t even fallen off the carpet at my meager threat.
This was Asperada Duke’s Castle, but there was a risk that Master could end up trapping Vivian Asperada here instead. It seemed Master still hadn’t recovered her original body.
“It would be better if we escaped on our own.”
Stale nodded in agreement with Ban’s opinion.
“Could we break through the wall more, or…is there a way to make that maid work with us? It seems like we could get help from her.”
“It’s impossible. We can’t communicate. She won’t hear any of our voices.”
“If sound doesn’t work, what about paper? Like what Master did with the Emperor.”
At Liam’s words, the Disciples’ faces lit up with understanding.
A genius. Our information specialist.
The Disciples quickly retrieved writing implements from Jasmine’s merchant’s bag, jotted down a brief message, and hurled the paper over the wall.
However.
“…?”
After the communication ended, Maya was about to hide the communication device near the wall as Raina Hart had instructed when she discovered a single sheet of paper and picked it up.
She examined it for a long while, then stuffed the paper into her apron and left the room.
“Why isn’t there a response…?”
“Could it be… they don’t know how to read…?”
That made sense. The Disciples all nodded in unison.
***
“Person.”
Person, who stood guard at the Emperor’s Palace, turned his head at the sound of his name. Maverick Marquis, his expression weary, approached with a wave of his hand.
“My Lord Marquis, His Majesty the Emperor is currently receiving no one.”
“Ah, I know that much. Did you think I wouldn’t?”
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Maverick Marquis leaned in and whispered his true purpose for seeking Person out.
“By the way, have you heard the recent rumors?”
“What rumors might those be, my Lord?”
“They say signs of rebellion are appearing.”
“….”
At those words, Person studied Maverick Marquis quietly before opening his mouth.
“Raina Hart once told me that while Maverick Marquis is an odd fellow, he becomes trustworthy when there’s a contract involved.”
“Raina…?”
Caught off guard by Raina Hart’s assessment, Maverick Marquis’s expression grew bewildered.
“Raina… truly? So she said such things to you before…?”
If you’re going to praise me like that, do it openly. Just say that right now I’m in some sort of spiritual state, inhabiting Vivian Asperada’s body.
“…Wait a moment, Person.”
“Yes.”
“…If there’s a contract?”
“Yes.”
Maverick laughed with a hollow sound, as if escaping from reality.
The fact that a soul inhabited Vivian Asperada’s body meant the owner of the promissory note was still Raina Hart.
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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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