For the Young Villain’s Happy Ending - Chapter 162
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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 5
“We’ve been caught, haven’t we…?”
“I knew this would happen.”
Jasmine and Rose exchanged cautious glances as they entered the room. Raina realized from their words that her suspicions had been correct.
“Jasmine, Rose. Would you mind explaining what’s going on? Since when has Elbian been able to speak?”
Raina sat on the sofa, gesturing toward the child cradled in her arms as she posed the question. Elbian’s face remained stubbornly pouty.
“Well—”
Jasmine glanced sideways at Elbian, hesitating before answering.
Kevenriak and Aggrad, who had ceased their bickering, each occupied their own spot on the sofa, their attention fixed on the unfolding situation.
“The thing is—”
This was unlike the usually composed Jasmine. Kevenriak, seated beside Raina, observed his son’s small head with meticulous attention.
“…..”
His head tilted slightly side to side—a gesture that was clearly signaling Jasmine to keep quiet.
“Elbian.”
Kevenriak gently grasped his son’s cheek and slowly turned him toward himself. The child gazed back at him with innocent, crystalline eyes, blinking softly.
Certainly, his adorable appearance made one want to indulge him in everything, but this was something that needed to be addressed clearly from the start.
“You mustn’t blackmail adults.”
“Blackmail? Keri…”
Whimper.
Elbian pulled his face away from his father’s hand and burrowed into Raina’s embrace, the one who had taken his side. His black wings fluttered in a manner that made him seem like a mischievous little rascal.
Watching this, Raina paused briefly before asking Jasmine.
“You were blackmailed?”
“We were.”
Rose answered without hesitation.
“About two weeks ago. Rose and I discovered that Elbian could speak.”
“Two weeks ago?”
“Yes. But he told us not to tell anyone. Especially not you or the Emperor.”
“Why?”
“Scolding.”
Elbian spoke with his face buried in Raina’s embrace. His small fist, gripping her collar tightly, trembled slightly. Though his pronunciation was baby-like, it was still comprehensible.
“…..”
As Raina patted his back in silence, Elbian whimpered again and nestled deeper into her arms—a plea not to be scolded.
‘He probably can walk too…’
Judging by how freely he moved his body, he clearly knew how to walk. He was simply hiding it, just as he had hidden his ability to speak.
Uncovering this was the most crucial matter in the current situation.
‘What matters most is what kind of thoughts my child is developing.’
More important than his abnormally rapid growth was understanding the workings of her son’s mind—a mind capable of devising schemes sophisticated enough to blackmail Jasmine and Rose.
‘If he did that with ill intent….’
I gently patted my son’s small back while lost in thought.
‘I need to steel my resolve.’
I had no intention of raising him by indulging his wrongdoings. Elbian, sensing some inexplicable crisis, trembled slightly.
In the meantime, Kevenriak asked Jasmine and Rose.
“What leverage did he gain over you?”
“Well, that is…”
Jasmine’s cheeks flushed red, and Rose spoke as if it were nothing serious.
“Liam confessed to Jasmine.”
“What?”
“…Rose!”
My eyes widened in surprise.
Jasmine gasped and reached out to cover Rose’s mouth, but it was already too late.
“Sister, this is my doing. How much longer will you let Elbian push you around? Master already knew everything.”
Rose pulled Jasmine’s hand down.
“Sister confided in me in this room, but we didn’t know Elbian could understand us back then. Elbian overheard everything when you earnestly asked me to keep it secret.”
“…I promised to keep secrets. But I told everything.”
Elbian, feeling betrayed, sniffled with evident displeasure. I asked in the gentlest and most soothing voice I could manage.
“Why did you do that?”
*Squeeze.*
Elbian clung tightly to my embrace, hesitating for a long moment before finally speaking. The fabric of my upper garment grew damp where his face pressed against it.
“Grow fast, Mother. Father gets surprised.”
“Oh my goodness.”
“Elbian.”
At my son’s confession, both Kevenriak and I let out involuntary exclamations of emotion and placed our hands on Elbian’s back. We wanted to embrace him tightly, but feared hurting him. My son was still so small and fragile.
“Being surprised isn’t a bad thing.”
I opened Elbian’s small hand. Kevenriak patted his head. The hand that had been gripping my clothes so tightly gradually relaxed under our parents’ tender touch.
“Whimper.”
Elbian lifted his head. With a tearful expression, two tiny lower front teeth peeked out from between his parted lips.
Resisting the urge to touch his cheeks because he was so adorable, I spoke.
“We’re surprised when we’re happy too.”
“That’s right. If we’re surprised because you’re growing so quickly, it’s surely because we’re happy about it.”
Kevenriak agreed with my words and tried to reassure our son.
“I didn’t fully understand about the Grimoire of Magic. I should have asked you directly, my son. Mother was too hasty.”
“Really…?”
Tears streamed down Elbian’s cheeks.
The two of us spent a long time comforting our crying son. After that, Elbian, finally released from weeks of tension, nestled into Kevenriak’s embrace and drifted peacefully to sleep.
Watching our sleeping son, Kevenriak and I felt a weight lift, but we turned our attention to the problem that still remained unresolved.
“Why is his growth accelerating so rapidly? It seems too much to attribute solely to Dragon blood…”
“He’s a Dragon.”
Aggrad, who had been silently sitting on the opposite sofa eating pastries until now, finally spoke.
“It’s because he’s a Dragon. A Hatchling that breaks free from its egg can use magic from birth and rapidly complete its growth by taking human form. They must be capable of surviving alone, after all. Since Dragons are perfect beings even in solitude, many don’t bother raising them until they hatch from their eggs.”
“I’m aware of that.”
Raina Hart opened her mouth.
When it came to Dragons, Raina Hart possessed more knowledge than Kevenriak. She carried Dragon blood in her veins, after all.
“Elbian is an Octarin. He inherited diluted Dragon blood—only one-eighth of a Dragon’s essence.”
“No.”
Aggrad objected.
“That’s how humans calculate it. We judge bloodline by its essence. The aura emanating from your son is denser than that of a Dragon Quarter. Though he grows slower than a typical Dragon since he wasn’t born from an egg, he is undoubtedly a Dragon.”
“How is that possible?”
Raina Hart asked.
“I’m a Quarter, and Keri is human.”
She had a point. The rumors about a surrogate mother had only recently faded, making this a sensitive topic.
Kevenriak grasped Raina Hart’s hand and waited for Aggrad’s next words with a cautious gaze.
Aggrad, contemplating other possibilities, posed a question to Raina Hart.
“Did you encounter a high-essence Dragon during your pregnancy? Or perhaps a thought-form entity? It’s an extremely remote possibility, but there are cases where a fetus carrying Dragon blood absorbs such an aura and grows stronger.”
“A Dragon, I haven’t… Oh.”
Something clicked in Raina Hart’s mind just as she was about to shake her head.
A few months ago, a being with Dragon eyes—the god of this world—had visited her dreams.
It had drawn near to her pregnant form, speaking of regression, only to vanish, constrained by the world’s limitations.
If a high-essence Dragon’s thought-form could influence a fetus, there was only one culprit.
‘A troublemaker to the very end.’
I resisted the urge to clutch my throbbing head.
Kevenriak, bewildered, muttered the timing of when the Gold Dragon’s thought-form had appeared, his brow furrowing. No matter how he calculated it, the timeline wouldn’t align, and he was clearly troubled.
At the sight of the couple’s distress, Aggrad broke into a satisfied smile.
“It seems you two need a Dragon to help with child-rearing. You appear to know absolutely nothing about Dragon growth.”
Certainly. Reluctant as I was to admit it, it was true. Even Sieghard couldn’t access information about Dragons.
Raina Hart gazed into the distance and nodded.
The Red Dragon’s eyes gleamed with opportunity seized.
“I’ll raise him into a splendid descendant. I don’t ask for much in return. Just the meat you cook, Emperor.”
He was certain this time he wouldn’t be refused. The Red Dragon laughed with the confidence of a victor before even hearing the answer.
I felt an unexpected pang of sympathy. I gently squeezed Kevenriak’s hand, and he smiled, whispering to me.
“I don’t ask for much either, Raina Hart.”
“…What are you talking about?”
“I’ll tell you tonight.”
At his impudent words delivered with that handsome face, I quickly glanced at Elbian’s direction. I was afraid he might hear.
“You’ve really become shameless.”
I shot Kevenriak a look, but his unwavering smile made me laugh despite myself.
At the sound of their laughter, a smile bloomed on sleeping Elbian’s lips as well.
【 End of Special Side Story 】
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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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