For the Young Villain’s Happy Ending - Chapter 155
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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 8
Raina Hart’s assistance to Raphael extended far beyond merely curing the poison that had ravaged her body. She seemed genuinely committed to protecting both Raphael and her son with unwavering dedication.
A girl barely ten years old possessed a remarkably keen understanding of Imperial Palace politics and the intricate world of nobility. Which aristocratic families to cultivate connections with, what vulnerabilities plagued the Imperial Family—Raina Hart had guided her through it all.
It did not take long for Raphael, a former dancer who became the Second Empress Consort, to emerge as the true power behind the throne of the Betuzhenia Imperial Palace.
What puzzled me was the reason behind such devotion. Raina Hart had aided me without ever demanding anything in return.
“Why do you help me so much? I’ve done nothing for you.”
“I owe the Empress Consort an apology.”
“An apology?”
“I failed to protect something precious to you.”
Her answer only deepened my confusion. I had gained countless things because of Raina Hart, yet lost nothing. After much contemplation, I reached a conclusion: Raina Hart was simply an extraordinarily kind person who could not turn away from a poor Empress Consort dying from poison.
That was the only explanation that made sense.
Years later, Raina Hart departed from Betuzhenia, saying she had matters to attend to.
Her deeds were magnificent, and because those close to her maintained connections with me, I heard news of her from time to time.
I heard she had reached the eighth circle this year. Perhaps that was why—when I saw Raina Hart again after several years, she had matured considerably. The mysterious aura that clung to her seemed only to have deepened.
‘Yes, Raina Hart is talented and beautiful. Children naturally gravitate toward beauty, so it’s entirely understandable that my son has fallen for her. Still…’
Still, couldn’t he at least respond once when his mother called him multiple times?
I watched my son’s back and grumbled inwardly. It took only a moment before a smile tugged at my lips, which had puffed out slightly in a pout.
‘Really, who does he take after? Ah, he’s so adorable.’
Those soft black locks and that endearingly small head were impossibly cute. Had there been no one watching, I would have scooped him up and spun him around in a dance.
‘There’s no helping it.’
I surrendered. If he was so happy, then I should indulge him.
“Fourth Prince, shall we go meet the Grand Mage together?”
At the mention of the Grand Mage, Kevenriak finally turned around slowly.
The expensive robes worn by the Imperial Family suited him remarkably well.
His round blue eyes, with their slightly upturned corners, sparkled with interest.
“Yes, I’d like that.”
***
The Emperor of the Betuzhenia Empire, Cheinols Heteroven, sat upon his throne. He observed the young Mage Tower Master standing in the center of the Audience Chamber. I’d heard she was eighteen this year, and her youth rendered her fearless—or perhaps foolishly so.
How little regard she must hold for the Betuzhenia Empire, for Cheinols himself, to arrive with merely a single advisor in tow.
“Mage Tower Master, do you recall? Your Master swore loyalty to the Betuzhenia Imperial Palace. Upon returning from his long travels, he brought you here, declaring that you would serve our empire.”
Yet contrary to the old Mage’s wishes, upon his death, his disciple abandoned Betuzhenia. She belonged to no nation, instead forging her own power and becoming a threat to the two suns of the continent itself.
“He foresaw that you would become a formidable mage. Extraordinarily so. Troubled by this prospect, he entrusted me with a potion of subjugation, hoping you would drink it and swear eternal loyalty to me.”
Cheinols, seated upon his throne, withdrew a vial from his robes and displayed it.
Dozens of nobles gathered in the Audience Chamber fixed their gaze upon the vial, their eyes gleaming with anticipation.
Should the Emperor secure the Mage Tower Master’s loyalty, the Betuzhenia Empire could swallow the entire world beyond the Tan Continent.
“However.”
Cheinols uncorked the vial and poured its contents onto the floor without hesitation. Not a single drop remained as it fell, and the nobles gasped in shock while Raina Hart remained unmoved.
The Emperor continued.
“At this historic moment when we’ve concluded a peace accord with the Tunterra Empire, how could I employ such a despicable thing? Betuzhenia shall endeavor to maintain trust with the Magic Tower.”
“You’ll understand in time. And going forward, I hope there will be no troublesome incidents surrounding the Magic Tower.”
Raina Hart placed the accord she’d received from the Emperor into her robes as she spoke. Her bearing was audacious for one addressing an empire’s ruler, yet Cheinols laughed heartily and nodded without reservation.
“Indeed, as it should be. I shall be cautious. Hear me, all of you—from this moment forward, Betuzhenia declares all regions adjacent to the Magic Tower as non-combat zones.”
Just this morning, the Emperor had been gnashing his teeth at the Mage Tower Master.
The nobles could make no sense of his sudden reversal. Yet with the Emperor taking such a stance, what grounds did they possess to object? When Maverick Marquis moved to agree, the other nobles, sensing the shift, began offering awkward cheers and applause one by one.
The Emperor’s eyes crinkled with a satisfied smile, and those seated upon the throne cast a shadow deeper than usual—though none noticed.
“Raina Hart.”
With her business concluded, Raina Hart offered a proper bow before departing the Audience Chamber, her advisor following in her wake.
“Where are you going? We haven’t finished our earlier conversation.”
“…Here? In the middle of the Betuzhenia Imperial Palace corridor, not the Magic Tower?”
“I’ve cast a soundproofing spell. That works, doesn’t it?”
Raina Hart released a heavy sigh and stopped walking. She sensed there was no escaping the relentless scolding.
As expected. The Grand Mage’s advisor, whose beauty mark was her most alluring feature, stood with arms crossed in dignified posture and began her earnest reproach.
“You teleported the Dragon Lair beneath Tunchar to the middle of the sea, didn’t you? You fought the dragon there? The sea had a proper hole torn through it. When I saw lava pouring from it, do you know how shocked I was?”
“I didn’t cause the lava.”
“The Red Dragon did—the one you sent flying. Wait, so the hole is your doing? Damn it, if this gets out, we’ll be buried in protests again. Listen here, Mage Tower Master. Does it make sense for you to go slay a dragon the moment you reach the 8th Circle?”
“‘Slay,’ is hardly language becoming of someone who was a duchess in a past life, is it…?”
“I’m a commoner now, so what does it matter? Besides, spend eight years attached to a mage who defies common sense, and your speech becomes crude regardless of station.”
“Then how about we part ways starting today, so your speech doesn’t become any cruder?”
“It’s already too late. That’s why someone intercepted my revenge? Thanks to you, I’ve incurred an unpaid debt. I won’t consider parting ways until I’ve repaid the debt of my sibling’s and my tribe’s lives.”
Please, enough.
Raina Hart covered her ears against the torrent of reproach.
***
So, in short.
Ando Hwa was incredibly fortunate.
It happened when the hand extended from the Realm of Observation touched Raina Hart’s body.
Her high-tier soul and vast memories collided with the world, and a problem arose during skill activation.
[Permission from the World Administrator has been granted.]
[Regression (L) activates.]
The Reptilian God had approved regression to the moment immediately after Raina Hart’s death, but because the skill activated again after Ando Hwa possessed her—
“…Nine-year-old Raina Hart?”
She had gone to the past while possessing Raina Hart’s body. Raina’s soul, already departed, never returned. And so Ando Hwa began living the life of a genius mage.
Then one day, while pursuing Raphael’s ascension to Empress Consort, I discovered Simona Asperada.
She was living as a musician in a Traveling Troupe. Her younger sister was Raphael. They appeared to be the closest of friends—naturally, unaware of anything I had done in my previous life.
Fury surged within me. Zikhard, who had awakened early and become Raina’s subordinate, chuckled beside me.
“Will you kill her, Master?”
“Of course.”
Ando Hwa had experienced countless regressions.
Betrayers from past lives became victims in the present, ordinary people became villains, and villains became heroes—such reversals were endless.
There was no guarantee Simona would be different—
But this was my final regression in this world. That was my covenant with the Reptilian God.
I had a clear purpose: to create happiness for Kevenriak Heteroven. With only one chance, I thought any potential threat should be eliminated.
“I can no longer perform without my sister’s accompaniment or dance.”
Had Raphael not gazed at Simona with such affection in those blue eyes so like her own—
Raina would have drawn her blade.
“For now, I’ll observe.”
At that time, Simona was a 5-Circle mage. Her awakening to the highest tier of magic would come through the deaths of those she held dear.
It was better to prevent that. Beyond Raphael, whom I had originally intended to save, I also protected the Shaaten Tribe.
Not long after, Simona came to me with bloodshot eyes. With her memories from her previous life restored, she had discovered who was responsible for saving those she cherished.
She faced a young mage barely ten years old, her expression confused, then clenched her fists and spoke.
“You ruined my revenge.”
She had uttered her thanks with such difficulty. Given how twisted her mind had become, it made sense that she’d once contemplated annihilating the entire continent.
Raina Hart issued her a warning.
“Revenge? Shouldn’t becoming Duchess Asperada come first?”
“…Who are you, really?”
Simona’s shadow stretched toward Raina Hart’s shadow.
It was simple shadow magic, one that didn’t rely on human souls—shadow magic that consumed shadows to control the target’s movements.
A blade wreathed in sword energy severed Simona’s shadow. A ten-year-old mage wielding a Sword Master’s blade technique!
Raina Hart spoke to the astonished Simona.
“Because I was Kin Setric.”
“The red-haired knight…!”
“So it’s best you harbor no foolish thoughts for the rest of your life. I’m barely restraining myself from killing you right now.”
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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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