For the Young Villain’s Happy Ending - Chapter 159

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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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Special Side Story Episode 2

After Jasmine left, I watched my sleeping son in the cradle with careful attention.
Normally, I wasn’t the type to be swayed by others’ words, but when it came to my own child, it wasn’t so simple.

“I’ve seen quite a few children, you know? The Imperial Prince looks like a baby about a month old.”

Five days old appearing similar to a one-month-old child—was that possible?
“Could that be a problem?”
I had no experience raising children. I’d seen newborns before, but I’d never observed one day by day.
“I’m not sure.”
The tiny fingers gripping my index finger were so small. His fingernails, his nostrils—everything was miniature.
Small and squirming. Wasn’t that how babies were supposed to be? Of course, unlike other children, he did have wings.
“What do you think?”
When uncertain, it was best to seek help from someone with professional knowledge.
“Shouldn’t a five-day-old be this big?”
“How would I know how fast humans grow?! I’m just a book!”
The Grimoire of Magic floating in mid-air answered flatly. It had been like this ever since fighting with Max, my disciple, recently.
“Zikhard, how long are you going to keep sulking?”
“I’m not doing anything.”
“And what’s with the ‘just a book’ comment?”
At my words, Zikhard couldn’t hide his rising emotions and bounced indignantly.
“Master!”
The pages of the thousand-year-old Grimoire of Magic trembled as stiffly as its pride.
At the sharp sound, I quickly erected a soundproofing barrier around my son.
“Didn’t you hear what that whippersnapper who hasn’t even lived twenty years said to me?! How dare she call me ‘just a book’ and then splash water on me?!”
“You provoked Max first, though. You said a third-circle mage was utterly useless.”
“That’s the truth!”
“That doesn’t mean you should cast a fourth-circle fire spell at her. No wonder Max brought a bucket of water.”
“Master, are you taking Max’s side?!”
“….”
It was a petty quarrel that had started over nothing. A pathetic fight between an adult disciple and a thousand-year-old grimoire wasn’t worth taking sides over.
“I’m hurt! I’m your one and only beloved Grimoire of Magic, even though you have over ten disciples!”
So that was why it had been sulking these past few days. I sighed softly.
“If you were hurt by me taking Max’s side, then I should take your side too.”
“Really?!”
Zikhard wagged its bookmark like a puppy’s tail, the top of its spine drawing dangerously close to my nose.
“How? How will you take my side?”
“We need to recreate the situation. Bring Max here. Wait—were you soaking wet back then?”
“Eek!”
The Grimoire of Magic shrieked at the glint in Raina’s eyes, flinging itself backward in an instant and plastering itself against the wall.
“How could you say such a thing! You beast!”
“….”
Zikhard even mimicked the pitiful whimpering sound of the Grimoire of Magic. It was the tone of dialogue from a theatrical performance that Vivian had invited to the Imperial Palace about two months ago. Zikhard cried out like a tragic heroine.
“Is this why you created me?! I’m a fragile body made of paper and must be handled with care! You’re always like this, Master! Treating me so carelessly—.”
“…Keep going.”
“What can I help you find?”
The Grimoire of Magic, snapping back to its senses at Raina’s icy gaze, spoke in a normal tone. Then it fluttered its pages as it approached her.
“Whether Dragon blood affects the child’s growth.”
“Master! I can’t access anything related to Dragons, you know! But I can find information to compare whether that pea-sized brat’s growth is abnormally fast. Shall I?”
“Yes.”
“The average measurements for newborns five days old in the Betuzhenia Empire are: weight 3.4kg, height 49cm, sleep time 17 hours, nursing 10 times a day. They show reflex responses to sucking objects or grasping—.”
Elbian’s body was about 1.5 times larger than the average figures Zikhard mentioned, but it wasn’t something to be overly concerned about.
“What about visual development? I heard newborns have difficulty distinguishing objects.”
“They can focus when viewing objects within 30cm?”
“Hmm.”
But if there was something that bothered me—.
Raina looked down into the cradle.
“….”
Elbian, who had quietly awakened from sleep, was staring directly at me.
His gaze was far clearer than it had been an hour ago when Jasmine was here. This time, I couldn’t dismiss it as coincidence. My son was definitely looking at me. At myself, standing more than two meters away.
“Elbian.”
At Raina’s call, his water-blue eyes crinkled softly as a smile bloomed in them.
“…He’s adorable.”
“He’s cuter than me…?”
At the sight of the child smiling with a Bennet-like expression, Raina and Zikhard murmured as if enchanted.
That was when it happened.
“Ma-ma.”
Elbian’s babbling burst forth.

***

Ban had just entered the Emperor’s Office and stood motionless. Her golden eyes, inherited from tiger-human bloodline, fixed upon Kevenriak seated before the massive desk.
‘Why so gloomy again?’
Hadn’t the Emperor’s dark period ended with Master’s return?
‘A man who’s become a father.’
They say that when you have a child, laughter comes naturally even when you’re doing nothing. Yet this man kept his lips sealed tight, glaring down at his desk.
The image of the past Emperor, calling Master’s name like a madman, suddenly flickered through her mind. Damn it. This was bothering me.
“Is something the matter, Your Majesty?”
Ban couldn’t endure the minute-long silence and asked Kevenriak.
“….”
Kevenriak lifted his gaze upward.
Eyes as clear as gemstones, brilliant blue. Ban’s nose twitched. Kevenriak’s beauty possessed an almost overwhelming, surreal quality to those who beheld it.
Impossibly, strikingly handsome was what it meant.
“Where did the rumors originate?”
A deflection.
An expression of unwillingness to reveal the reason for his gloominess. Ban gave up pressing further and brought forth the matter she’d come to discuss with the Emperor.
“Well, you see.”
It was Kevenriak’s order to find the source of the surrogate mother rumors.
As it was the Emperor’s command, she had no choice but to obey, but nothing was harder to trace than baseless rumors. Especially ones that had spread throughout the entire Betuzhenia Empire.
For all she knew, the rumor might have started from some child in a remote countryside village seeking attention.
“I’ve nearly uncovered the outline, but—.”
Ban scratched her head.
Why wouldn’t she want to find the culprit who’d brought shame upon her Master? It wasn’t easy, but she had managed to trace the likely source of the rumor. It was a Private Magic Organization that harbored jealousy toward Raina Hart.
“It’s just that it doesn’t make sense, Your Majesty.”
“Why.”
“The source is—.”
“Speak quickly.”
Urged on by the impatient Emperor, Ban’s lips moved with a smacking sound, unable to stay closed.
“All that remained was ash. There was only a thirty-meter-wide stretch of pitch-black soot extending in a straight line with no visible end.”

***

A banquet was held to commemorate Elbian’s birth.
It was the first auspicious occasion since the Emperor and Empress’s wedding. The recovery magic Kevenriak had been diligently casting since Raina Hart’s childbirth had left her in better condition than ever before.
However.
“….”
Seated in the Empress’s chair beside the Imperial throne, Raina Hart found herself utterly captivated by temptation.
‘How delicious that looks.’
The Red-haired Noble picked up a plate and walked toward the food table. Raina Hart’s eyes followed his hand as it reached for the tongs resting atop the meatball platter, and she sighed inwardly.
‘How I envy him.’
The banquet was in full swing. Raina Hart bore the duty of maintaining her position as Empress, and she felt the weight of responsibility to greet those who approached her with a benevolent countenance.
“…Y-Your Majesty the Empress, it is such an h-honor to meet you….”
“I’m delighted to meet you as well.”
Of course, by Raina Hart’s standards, it was a benevolent expression.
She never understood why everyone who came to meet her trembled so. She assumed they were merely nervous about her husband sitting beside her. The real problem was the meatballs.

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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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