For the Young Villain’s Happy Ending - Chapter 116

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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 116

“….”

After ending the call, I fell silent.
Maya caught the communication device that had fallen from the empty wall of the Duke’s Castle. A communication device that couldn’t be activated unless by its owner was connected—which meant Din was trapped somewhere connected to the wall.
Considering the location, it had to be Simona Asperada’s Subspace.

‘If he managed to send an object out of the Subspace, considerable time must have passed since his capture. Is that why he couldn’t reach out yesterday evening?’

Furthermore, if Din had been captured, the Disciples who moved with him would have contacted Kevenriak by any means necessary. The fact that there was still no contact meant the other Disciples were likely trapped in the Subspace as well.
The Disciples had been captured by Simona Asperada.

‘The problem is I can’t guarantee their safety.’

At least if the Disciples appeared in Betuzhenia’s Garden, I could gauge the situation ahead. But they were children unrelated to the original story. Children who would never have any connection to Simona Asperada in their entire lives.

‘They’ve been put in danger because of me.’

I clenched my fist. While communicating with Maya, I extracted as much information as possible. It was to understand the situation on my end, but I also hoped the Disciples would hear it.

‘The Duke and Duchess of Asperada have left the castle on a journey.’

In the original story, Simona only appeared at the Asperada Duke’s Castle. What on earth was she planning to do….
As I lost myself in thought, Kevenriak, who had been standing beside me, spoke.

“I’ll go, Raina.”
“Keri?”

He wrapped his hand around my clenched fist and gently unfurled my fingers one by one. Small crescents from my fingernails had already marked my palm.
Mana flowed from Kevenriak’s fingertips as he caressed my palm.

“You were thinking of going to the Asperada Duke’s Castle, weren’t you? Because we need to rescue the Disciples.”

Kevenriak slowly lifted his head, confirming that my palm was now unmarked.

“You stay here, Raina. I’ll bring the children back. A 7th Circle mage would be better than Vivian Asperada without a Mana Heart.”

Blue eyes gleamed with serene light as he smiled warmly.
Raina Hart watched Kevenriak. There he goes again, pretending nothing is amiss. I can see right through his preemptive strike—he’s worried I’ll mention going to Asperada Duke’s Castle.

“But Keri, there’s a barrier around the Duke’s Castle. One that prevents intruders. If she triggers it, Simona Asperada will know, and she’ll come to investigate. The fact that’s publicly known—that she has limitations with teleportation—”
“—becomes an excuse for her not to come to Jenia.”

Raina Hart nodded at Kevenriak’s words.
Two years ago, Simona Asperada had fallen gravely ill. The lingering effects supposedly left her averse to teleportation and other mages’ spatial transfers.

“But what she truly feared was the barrier that detects poison. The moment her mana touched Jenia’s barrier, the toxin woven into her mana would have dragged her into the Subspace—”

Raina Hart stopped there, and Kevenriak’s eyes narrowed. Hadn’t Person reported something to him when he was at the Imperial Palace?

“Two years ago, they found the blood-drawing tools the perpetrator used beside where the coffin had been.”

Why Simona Asperada couldn’t retrieve the box and vanished. Why she didn’t appear until the empty coffin was buried in the ground.
…If the unexpected accident she suffered was connected to my barrier…

“Keri, do you remember the necklace I gave you? The one inscribed with the same incantation as Jenia’s barrier. From my funeral two years ago—”
“You put it around her neck.”

Kevenriak answered, having reached the same conclusion.
The Grand Cathedral where the funeral was held lay thirty minutes away by carriage from Jenia. A place with no issue for a Dark Mage to enter. The Emperor, lost in despair at the time, had placed the necklace his Master gave him around her neck.
Before I broke a taboo with my Master.

“So Simona Asperada truly was bedridden. Ill enough that she couldn’t come retrieve the blood-drawing tools that would expose her identity. …Keri.”
“Yes. She’s a Seventh Circle mage. The Duchess.”

Subspaces, which exist in different dimensions with anchors in reality, were broadly classified into two types: storage-type and containment-type. The former allowed objects to pass in and out freely, like a spatial pouch. The latter was exemplified by the Subspace I created to capture the Dark Mage.
Containment-type Subspaces were typically designed with incantations that dispersed magical power, preventing spellcasting. The effectiveness of such incantations depended on the Circle of the mage who created it.

But if a supreme-tier mage capable of interfering with mana flow were to draw upon a powerful force like life essence…

“She must have destroyed the anchor wall to escape the Subspace. There’s no way the Duchess broke through by sheer force. She would have strained her mana heart severely, drawing mana faster than it could disperse.”

Two years ago, the containment-type Subspace I created was meant to buy time. I never believed it could imprison a supreme-tier mage forever. So I set one more trap.
Raina Hart continued with a meaningful smile.

“She may have suffered at least twice the damage. It was a Subspace connected to the Imperial Palace Underground Prison. To reach Asperada Duke’s Castle, she would have had to break through Jenia’s barrier again.”

I’m not sure how she managed to slip through a barrier that detects poison.

“Breaking free from a Subspace and barrier created by an 8-circle mage like myself isn’t exactly easy, is it?”

Even amid the gravity of the situation, Raina playfully boasted of her abilities. At her display, Kevenriak let out a soft chuckle and leaned his upper body forward.

“That’s right.”
“….”
“My teacher is quite the remarkable 8-circle mage.”

Raina stiffened for a moment. She thought he was about to embrace her. The subtle, delicate fragrance she favored stimulated her senses. His lips, which had stopped near her cheek, were dangerously close.
That honey-sweet voice meant he had ulterior motives. Her disciple was clearly intent on robbing her of her senses and bending the situation to his will.

“So wouldn’t it be fine for me, who has such a remarkable teacher, to visit Asperada Duke’s Castle alone?”

There it was. He was harboring another scheme to sacrifice himself.

“Keri.”

Raina turned her head. Because Kevenriak tilted his face slightly, their lips nearly touched. The distance was so close their eyelashes could brush.
She held her breath. Kevenriak, too, seemed flustered, a flicker of disturbance crossing his blue eyes. The fact that this was Vivian’s body drew a line between them—thin as a sheet of paper. It was Raina who pulled back first, creating distance.

“Is there any need for that?”

Raina pointed to herself before Kevenriak. What he lacked as a 7-circle mage and Emperor, she possessed.

“I can just ask to open the door. It’s Vivian’s house, after all. There’s no risk of triggering the barrier.”
“….”
“See? Now you have a reason to go with a noble lady who doesn’t have a mana heart.”

Watching her disciple’s speechless expression, Raina’s lips curved upward. Victory was hers. But then, concerned about Vivian, she made a request of Kevenriak.

“If Vivian wakes up, could Keri watch over her? She seems to be… afraid of being alone.”

Her plan was to rescue the Disciples and leave the Duke’s Castle quickly, but Vivian could wake before then. Kevenriak nodded in agreement.

“Understood. Dinsper said the elixir will take some time to prepare, so we can visit the Duke’s Castle in the meantime. Oh, but Keri.”

Raina, who had been speaking enthusiastically, asked with the expression of someone who had just remembered something.

“Where is the necklace now?”

***

Tiernan steadied his breathing and raised his sword.
He had lured the enemy into the mountains to keep them as far from the village as possible. The strategy had gone according to plan until this point, but now it was Tiernan who found himself cornered. The shadows he severed with his blade multiplied—two became three, and sometimes they merged to attack him as one. It felt like battling an undying army.

“Did the Emperor send you?”
“Hardly.”

Surrounded by densely packed trees, Simona stood across from Tiernan. The colossal shadow beside her let out a chilling laugh as it reattached the halves of its body that Tiernan’s blade had severed.
The shadows cast by the thick forest mocked him as well. A chill ran down his spine. It was as though the forest itself had encircled him. Shadows fell across his clear green eyes.
Simona smiled at Tiernan with her eyes.

“I told you, didn’t I? Since things have gone awry, they must be set right.”

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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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