For the Young Villain’s Happy Ending - Chapter 131

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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 131

I spoke to Vivian, who sat beside me on the sofa.

“I’m relieved you looked like a villain.”

Vivian and I were in the Emperor’s Chamber. Kevenriak Heteroven was in the Audience Chamber, summoning the nobles of the Betuzhenia Empire to face them directly.
It was to change the future I knew.
By now, he was probably performing as a tyrant, intimidating—or rather, persuading—the nobles.

To return the land to the Tunterra Empire, the lords had to surrender the territories they possessed.
Vivian and I would handle the Rebel Forces, while Kevenriak would persuade the Betuzhenia nobles.

“I’ll take care of the nobles.”
“They won’t want to return territory they’ve already claimed. Are you certain you can handle them alone?”

The question was whether Kevenriak could face the nobles by himself.
Kevenriak gently grasped my periwinkle hair in his hand, then lowered his crimson lips to it. He smiled softly as he looked at me, my body now restored.

“Mere rats are nothing for me alone.”

A cold light flickered in his blue eyes before returning to the gentle gaze of an affectionate student.

“The only person who can trouble me is you, Raina.”

Kevenriak occasionally showed glimpses of the mad emperor he once was, and each time, I didn’t know how to respond.
I’d considered responding with clever deflection, but for some reason, my body wouldn’t move as calmly as I imagined.
I grasped Kevenriak’s wrist, lowering his hand that held my hair.

“Just one thing.”
“Yes.”

Kevenriak answered with a smile.
Sharing a life meant sharing unexpected things as well.
That I was wavering so much for him. That our two hearts beat toward each other at similar speeds.

“I’ll wait patiently.”

His voice reverberated against my eardrums in a way that made them tingle. The warmth of his breath against my cheek sent heat cascading down the nape of my neck. He whispered to me like a docile lamb, yet the audacity woven through his words was impossible to conceal.
I locked eyes with Kevenriak Heteroven. In that fleeting moment, profound emotion tangled within our gazes.
He had promised to wait, but a beast—once hunger gnawed at its belly—would inevitably lick the trainer’s hand. It would rub its head against her body and wag its tail, begging for even a taste.
I was certain of one thing: I possessed no means to ignore such pleas.

“….”

The sensation of Kevenriak Heteroven’s whisper against my ear seemed to resurface. I gently rubbed the area beneath my ear with the tip of my palm.
Vivian failed to notice that the Grand Mage was embarrassed, given the absence of any change in her expression.

“Have you made contact with Maya?”

I asked Vivian.
While at the villa, I had confirmed that I’d missed a communication from Maya.
Vivian had agreed to call back.
The communication device recognized its owner by verifying the registered body part, so the device I had been using became Vivian’s.
Vivian nodded.

“Yes, the Butler apparently told Father that I came and went. Father returned home alone and threw a fit, demanding I come back.”

On the surface, one might assume it was the concern of a father worried about his daughter chasing after a man of unknown origins.

“He said he’s found a suitable marriage prospect that would benefit the family. Surely he’s not asking me to marry some grandfather I don’t know again? Ugh, I really hate that.”

Her deliberately cheerful tone was transparent.
Pialtis Asperada.

‘When Vivian was younger, she said he was an ordinary father….’

The Pialtis Asperada I had encountered maintained his sanity. He came and went from the Imperial Palace without being affected by Zenia’s barrier, so he wasn’t afflicted by dark magic either.

‘Simona must have done something to him.’

Recalling how she had placed a sachet by young Vivian’s pillow, she might well possess knowledge of such matters. If I connected it to the image of the First Empress Consort from ten years ago—rambling between sanity and toxicity—there was one fragrance among those I knew that fit perfectly.

‘A fragrance that amplifies human desires several times over and incites their execution.’

However, it was not a fragrance that created something from nothing. It meant Pialtis Asperada was originally such a man—one who would sell his own daughter for power without hesitation.

“It’s probably because of dark magic. That’s what made Pialtis Asperada into such a father.”
“Are you trying to comfort me? Grand Mage, you’re truly kind.”
“You’re the only one who would say something like that.”

Actually, there was one more person.
There was another audacious Disciple—one who claimed to wait for words while pressuring her Master with her eyes.
Not wanting Kevenriak in the Audience Chamber to notice my heart racing, I stroked Vivian’s head.
It was a desperate measure, but Vivian’s silky brown hair gave me considerable comfort. My heartbeat returned to its normal rhythm.

‘It’s quite effective.’

Since I, having stopped aging at eighteen, appeared somewhat younger than the twenty-two-year-old Vivian, it wasn’t exactly a natural sight.
Vivian seemed to sense it too, speaking to me. Separate from how the resentment she’d felt from her father was melting away beneath my touch.

“It feels like I’m being comforted by my younger sister.”
“You’ll get used to it.”

I answered without concern.
In the past, I would have been somewhat shocked by what Vivian just said, but now that I’ve come to appreciate the value of this body.
Looking young was hardly a matter of consequence.

“Oh, Mabel. You and your Master look like sisters. You look older.”
“Really? If my Master were my younger sister, I’d be thrilled.”
“….”
“At this rate, won’t we eventually look like parent and child? Since you never age, Master.”
“Wow. Then I’d be your mother.”
“Should I call you Dad?”
“There should be a big uncle too.”
“…I’ll be the aunt.”

I felt momentarily dizzy at memories formed in less than a day. The dignity of a Master couldn’t be allowed to crumble over mere appearance. I decided I really should research magic to make myself look older.
At least there was one consolation—Kevenriak, who now shared my lifespan, would also stop aging at this current appearance.

“You’ll get used to it?”
“I have to. We’ll be seeing each other for a lifetime.”

At my words, Vivian’s eyes widened as if she’d heard something unexpected.

“A-are you going to keep watching me for the rest of my life?”
“…I didn’t consider your feelings. I was being inconsiderate—”
“N-no, that’s not it!”

Vivian shook her head frantically. The Grand Mage was someone I admired. How could I dislike her? It was just—

“But I won’t be going back home. I’m not even Vivian Asperada anymore, so why would the Grand Mage…I just…”

As the worries I’d been harboring for days spilled from my lips, I finally recognized what I was truly feeling. It was anxiety.
I hadn’t felt any attachment to the Duke’s Castle, but at least there were walls around it.
I didn’t have to worry about food, sleep, or clothing, and I didn’t have to fear having nowhere to return to. Living a predetermined life within those walls until death—that was its value.
I’d left those walls because I hated them, but I had no idea where to go. Apart from growing close to people, I could never shake the feeling that I was a stranger. A stranger who would have to leave whenever they rejected me.

“I just…”

It was my habit to compare people to butterflies, but the truth was that I was the butterfly. A wandering butterfly with not a single old tree to rest upon.

“I’m on your side, Vivian.”

Raina Hart spoke quietly, watching me like that.
An abrupt statement with no preamble or explanation. Yet the moment I heard those words, I felt as though a heavy anchor was being lowered into my trembling chest.

“…If you have no intention of joining the Rebel Forces, will you come with me?”
“…”
“I heard His Majesty is giving you a restaurant. My territory is a small countryside, but the crops are abundant. The vegetables you like grow well there. And…”

As I listened to Raina’s explanation, my face crumpled. Tears quickly welled up in my hazel eyes.
Strangely, those words—that I was on her side—brought such comfort. It felt like I finally had somewhere to lean on.

“Vivian.”

Sniff—
Raina stood with her hand suspended in the air, bewildered, trying to soothe my tears while mentally retracing her words to see if she’d misspoken somehow.

“Why would I…go to the countryside with the Grand Mage…”

Thud. Raina was struck by an unexpected, roundabout rejection. Had Hibei been so unbearable that just hearing the proposal made me cry?

“Still, it was peaceful and rather nice in its own way—.”
“But the Grand Mage will become the Empress… *sigh*—.”
“The Empress? What…?”

***

The Audience Chamber, filled with dozens of people, was so silent that even a single cough seemed terrifying.
The nobles summoned by the Imperial Palace mages through instantaneous teleportation trembled with fear, their gazes fixed firmly on the ground.
All their attention was concentrated in one place.

Upon the elevated dais, seated upon the imperial throne—a beautiful, mad Emperor.
Kevenriak Heteroven’s frigid gaze swept across the interior of the Audience Chamber.

“….”

My heart raced faster once more.

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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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