For the Young Villain’s Happy Ending - Chapter 154

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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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Side Story Episode 7

It was then.
[So… beau… tiful.]
In that instant, Vivian turned her upper body toward the faint sound that grazed her left eardrum. The central aisle between the chairs. The shadows cast by flower petals scattered across the floor remained perfectly still.
‘Did I… mishear?’
“Vivian? What’s wrong?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
There were so many people inside the temple. She must have misheard some other noise. Just as Vivian was about to dismiss her unsettling gaze, a young noblewoman seated nearby let out a small gasp.
“The two of them are kissing…!”
What!
Vivian’s head snapped around reflexively, and she caught her breath at the sight before her eyes.
Beneath the beautiful sky created by the disciples, two figures kissed. Above their heads, an identical pair of crowns gleamed brilliantly.
Applause and cheers celebrating the birth of the Imperial couple filled the vast hall. Raina Hart gazed into kind blue eyes and whispered.
“You see, Keri. I’ve been thinking about what comes after being lovers.”
“Yes.”
“I found the answer in a dream I had last night.”
Raina Hart, originally descended from dragons, was one who perceived prophecy through dreams.
After the soul transfer, I thought that ability would never manifest again, yet it came to me last night.
The setting in the dream was Raina’s sanctuary—the study in Hibei. A black-haired child sat on the sofa, displaying a round backside, fluttering small wings sprouted from their shoulder blades.
“What was the answer?”
Kevenriak asked eagerly, his voice full of anticipation. Raina Hart smiled warmly at her companion, her eyes crinkling with affection.
Someday I would tell Kevenriak of this prophetic dream. But for now, it might cause unnecessary misunderstanding—
“Family.”
I’ll leave it at that for now.
Even that seemed to be enough, for Kevenriak broke into a radiant smile.
“I won’t let you go for the rest of my life, so be prepared.”
“Forgive me, Raina.”
Kevenriak whispered.
“Preparation isn’t necessary. But…”
“But what?”
“…what if my heart stops because I’m too happy?”
At his renewed, earnest worry, Raina Hart held back her laughter and took Kevenriak’s hand.
“Shall we find out?”
Their faces drew closer. Beneath slowly descending eyelids, affectionate gazes intertwined. Their lips met.
Kevenriak, do you know.
How long I have waited for this page. And how much I anticipate the story yet to be written.
The congratulations of those blessing the happy future of the Imperial couple echoed through the hall. It was the happy ending Raina Hart had so desperately desired.

【Side Story: Wedding’s End】

***

“What do you think will happen if I regress while retaining my memories?”
“It’s dangerous.”

The Realm of Observation.
Ando Hwa had killed the wolf. The world existed in an unstable state due to her intervention, which violated the laws of observation.
The Reptilian God, opposing Ando Hwa’s opinion, held the Grimoire of Magic and spoke.
“Your memories are far too vast, and the grade of your soul is high enough to threaten even a god. To minimize collision with the world during regression, it would be better to seal your memories within the Grimoire of Magic.”
“….”
“Are you listening? Ando Hwa. There are too many variables. There is also the possibility that your regression ability will interfere with the world to return to the time period when you possessed Kin Setric….”
Ando Hwa sat before a translucent barrier. She gazed at the woman collapsed beyond the boundary.
A young Grand Mage who had just breathed her last, suspended Tunchar in the air. During her time in the Imperial Palace as Kin Setric, she had long known the name Raina Hart, but this was her first time seeing her appearance.
‘She died at eighteen, they said. She certainly looks young.’
Ando Hwa existed in this realm as a spirit. If she touched an empty body, possession would occur, and then the memories of that person would flow into her as well, allowing her to use the Grand Mage’s magic.
…Will I be able to save you this time?
Ando Hwa spoke.
“I’m quite fortunate, you see.”
“I know. A mere human ascending to a position equal to a god cannot be done without good fortune.”
“So there’s no need to seal my memories in the Grimoire of Magic.”
“What…? Ah, Ando Hwa!!”
Ando Hwa’s hand crossed the barrier. The Reptilian God cried out urgently at her action of crossing into the human realm, but it was too late.
Ando Hwa had already entered Raina Hart’s body, carrying all of her memories with her.

***

“Keri.”
“….”
“Fourth Prince, Your Highness.”
“….”
“Darling?”
“….”
Raphatel rested her chin on her hand, propped against the armrest of the sofa. My eight-year-old son’s gaze remained fixed beyond the window, unwavering.
The maidservant pouring tea beside me attempted to console me with a comment.
“He must be watching the entrance to the Main Palace Building. He’s so focused that he can’t hear anything around him.”
“As if he knows when he’ll appear.”
A small, dissatisfied sigh escaped from Raphatel’s lips.
Raphatel Heteroven, the Second Empress Consort of the Betuzhenia Empire, was renowned for her exceptional beauty. Her face bore delicate features and flawless skin, framed by large blue eyes and full crimson lips. Her black hair cascaded with the softness and luster of ebony.
The Fourth Prince, who had inherited that beauty in full, was now visible only from behind. He did not respond even to his mother’s calls.
“He hasn’t moved in quite some time.”
Raphatel recalled her days as a dancer in the Traveling Troupe.
At an inn she frequented, they kept a cat that would sit by the window all day, gazing outside. I found its back of the head endearing and often called out to it, but the cat never made a sound. The owner later told me it was deliberately ignoring me.
My son was doing exactly the same thing. Kneeling on a chair placed by the window on the servant’s orders, his eyes never left the view beyond the glass.
‘Hmm.’
Raphatel tapped the armrest lightly with her index finger on her other hand.
Recently, my once-secure position had come under threat.

“My son loves his mother best, doesn’t he~?”
“…Yes.”

Three weeks ago, a hesitation appeared in Kevenriak’s responses.
There was now an adult he cared for just as much as his mother. The most likely suspect was Raina Hart, who had begun frequenting the Imperial Palace around that time.
‘My son doesn’t listen to a word I say anymore. He’s completely smitten with the Grand Mage.’
Raina Hart.
A genius mage who reigns supreme over all the mages in the world.
According to rumors, she even possessed swordsmanship that could rival a Sword Master. If true, there would be no human capable of defeating her.
Raina Hart began making her existence known to the world two years ago. At the age of sixteen, she unified the Magic Tower, leading her followers. An independent institution belonging to no nation. They were extraordinarily powerful.
The new Magic Tower had mysteriously established itself in the region where the Tunterra Empire and the Betuzhenia Empire met.
Then, claiming the conflict was too noisy, she brought a ceasefire to the seventy-year war between the two empires, and recently even compelled them to sign a peace treaty. This was why Raina Hart had been frequenting the Betuzhenia Imperial Palace.
Today, she was supposed to obtain the Emperor’s signature for the peace accord. By now, she would be in the Audience Chamber.
‘She’s truly reckless. To think of coercing the emperors of each empire into ending the war.’
Perhaps she simply could not turn a blind eye to those sacrificed under the pretext of war.
Despite her expressionless demeanor that made her seem indifferent to everything, Raina Hart was such a person. When suffering caught her eye, she could not simply pass by. That must be why she had spoken to me, a stranger, eight years ago in the Imperial Palace.
Raphatel harbored this deep misunderstanding of Raina Hart.

***

Eight years ago.
Raphatel was enduring a difficult period at the Imperial Palace.
Emperor Cheinols no longer sought her out, and Empress Trattsha despised Raphatel for carrying the Emperor’s child.
Naturally, everyone in the Imperial Palace looked down upon the Second Empress Consort, who had come from a background as a dancer.
With her sister Simona gone, Raphatel stood utterly alone within those palace walls.
She held herself upright, refusing to break, yet there were moments when she felt as though she might crumble entirely.
In those times, she waited for nights when the sky blazed with stars.
Sitting upon a rock in the Separate Palace Courtyard, gazing up at the starlit heavens, she sang songs of her homeland—melodies the Shaaten Tribe performed once every five years during their sacred tribal ceremonies.

“The stars protect us, you say? The stars can do nothing.”
“…!”

Raphatel started violently at the sudden voice from behind her.
In her own quarters, only a single elderly maidservant with failing hearing attended to her needs. The Empress had expressly forbidden anyone else to be sent to her.
She had never expected anyone to speak to her—and certainly not in the clear, crystalline voice of a child.
Raphatel spun around hastily. There stood a young girl, her face turned upward with an expressionless gaze toward the star-filled night sky.
Her hair, a pale lavender hue, fell to her waist. Her skin was luminously white, a stark contrast against the darkness of the heavens. Fireflies glimmered around her small form.
The sight stirred such wonder—as though she had encountered a spirit in the forest—that Raphatel found herself speechless. Then the child lowered her head and looked directly at her. Upon meeting those transparent silver eyes, Raphatel recognized her at last.
She was the disciple of the elderly Grand Mage whom the Emperor trusted.

“Do not drink the tea they give you in the morning. It contains poison.”
“Poison…? But I have been drinking that tea for quite some time now….”
“They used small amounts so it would accumulate in your body. The symptoms will appear gradually. Your hands and feet have grown cold lately, haven’t they? And you suffer from headaches? You cannot sleep well either.”
“…How could you possibly know that…?”
“In the end, it will take the Empress Consort’s life.”

The blood drained from Raphatel’s body, leaving her ice-cold. Instinctively, her trembling hands moved to cradle her abdomen. At six months, her belly had grown quite round.
I have been consuming poison? …Then what of my child?
Guilt and terror flooded her mind, leaving it blank with panic. What if something is wrong with my child because of me? My child must survive. If I die, who in this palace will protect my child…?
A small, delicate hand came to rest upon Raphatel’s trembling ones.

“Shall I protect you?”

The girl’s voice and the warmth of her touch were impossibly comforting. Feeling another’s warmth for the first time in months, tears spilled freely from Raphatel’s azure eyes.

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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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