For the Young Villain’s Happy Ending - Chapter 28

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 28

Lindraham Mine.
In the original work’s backstory, this was how it went.
The Emperor transferred the mine—which no longer yielded gold—to the local lord as compensation.
It was given under the guise of a reward, but it was a mine whose maintenance costs, like taxes, exceeded its value.
The lord, plagued by this white elephant, set his sights on a wandering mercenary of unknown origin.

That mercenary was none other than.

‘The male lead, Tiernan Fargan.’

The lord transferred ownership of Lindraham Mine to Tiernan Fargan in place of unpaid mercenary wages.

‘And by chance, he discovered a passage leading underground, where diamonds came pouring out.’

The tunnel I was currently traversing was precisely that future diamond mine.
The underground depths of Lindraham Mine.
Diamonds overflowed so abundantly that raw stones were visible embedded in the walls.
Yet neither I nor Zikhard seemed inclined to mine them.

“There’s a supreme-grade mana stone down here?”
“That’s what I’m telling you.”

Zikhard, floating in mid-air and following behind me, answered my question.

A supreme-grade mana stone.
A precious mineral so valuable that even one could sustain three generations in lavish idleness.
According to Zikhard, six of them lay deep within the underground of Lindraham Mine.
Not just one, but six.

‘If I secure the mana stones, I won’t need to touch the diamonds at all.’

Then, eight years hence, in spring.
I would simply need to find a way to naturally transfer ownership to Tiernan Fargan when he turned twenty-two.
Of course, I would have to conceal that the mine’s previous owner was me, Raina Hart.

“Master, think about this carefully. A creature large enough to carve out a cavern like this—are you truly going down there?”

Zikhard spoke in a voice lower than usual.
The Grimoire of Magic had good reason to be cautious.
The tunnel carved by the creature sleeping in the depths below was three or four times taller than Raina.

“I genuinely don’t think this is a good idea.”

Zikhard spoke while reviewing the information he had previously consulted.

Lindraham Mine
: A gold mine discovered 23 years ago by the miner ‘Lindraham’.
…(omitted)…
A black serpent named Midra, who has lived for 1,500 years, slumbers here.
In the depths below, within Midra’s lair, the finest magical stones can be mined.
※ Current remaining finest magical stones: 6/6

Midra. A black serpent that failed to become a dragon.
She was a lower subspecies of the draconic lineage.

“She may be weaker than a true dragon, but she’s no monster for humans to face lightly.”
“Humans will have to confront her eventually. Once she awakens, she’ll lay waste to the entire region trying to satisfy her hunger, won’t she?”
“Well, that’s true, but…”

Eliminate a man-eating monster and harvest magical stones in the process.
Not a bad arrangement.
Zikhard posed a question to the slightly excited Raina.

“Master, what Circle are you?”

Zikhard’s information display showed nothing about her.
When I first heard that, I recalled one plausible explanation.

‘Is it because this body is one I’ve possessed?’

It was actually fortunate.
Raina Hart was originally meant to be an extra who should have died.
If the Grimoire of Magic could have accessed all information, it might have revealed even that.

“What good does knowing how many circles matter?”

Zikhard’s frustration deepened at Raina Hart’s words.
She was called the Archmage, so she must be quite powerful.
But no matter how strong a human was, they could reach at most 6th or 7th circle.
No, looking at that youthful face that appeared to be around twenty, 6th circle was more likely.

‘With that level of power, what gives her such confidence! Could it be… me?’

The red letters within Zikhard’s pages deepened in color.

“Master, I think you’re misunderstanding something! I’m not a grimoire specialized in combat, you know…!”

Zikhard protested in an embarrassed voice.
What was he going on about now?
Raina Hart, who had been walking ahead, turned her head as if asking what he meant.

“I can use all the spells written in my pages, but since I’ve poured most of my abilities into knowledge, I can only output power at a 3rd circle level, you see? That’s why I need a contract with a human to destroy this world in my stead…!”
“…”
“The 3rd circle part was a joke.”

Zikhard hurried to correct himself, but the words had already left his mouth.
Raina Hart turned her gaze forward again.

‘Damn it. I didn’t want to mention the 3rd circle level.’

This was all because of the subjugation potion.
Toward the grimoire, whose pride was wounded and spirits dampened, Raina Hart stopped walking and asked.

“Is this it?”

Directly ahead was a dead end.
Raina Hart pressed her hand against the earthen wall and channeled her mana into it.
A magical formula emerged, glowing with light.
It was the homeowner’s security measure, set before falling into deep slumber, to block intruders.

“The entrance leading to Midra’s nest.”

The diamond mine was a labyrinth of intricate passages that could only be reached by following the correct sequence of turns.
Even Raina Hart, guided by Zikhard, found the method of discovery to be quite troublesome.
I wondered if the reason Midra never appeared in the original work was perhaps because no one had ever found the entrance.

‘I was told that once I enter the passage, I’ll need to fall quite a distance downward.’

Raina examined the magical barrier.
Perhaps because it was a lower subspecies of dragon, the monster had erected a rather sturdy ward.
I wished I could break through the spell and teleport directly to the lair in an instant.

‘But since it’s my first time going there, I don’t know the layout, so setting coordinates for teleportation is difficult.’

I could end up teleporting into the earth itself, or worse, directly into Midra’s mouth.
It seemed I would have to jump down manually after all.

“This is indeed the entrance, but that barrier shouldn’t break so eas—”

Boom!
As Raina shattered the spell, the hidden entrance was revealed.
A single dark chasm with no visible bottom.

“It broke. But I don’t want to go—Kyaaaah!”

Raina snagged Zikhard with magic and plunged into the darkness.
She descended at tremendous speed.

***

“I concede.”

Fontepon raised both empty hands that had released his sword.
The training assignment Raina Hart had left for Kevenriak Heteroven before departing.
In their one-on-one duel, Kevenriak Heteroven had achieved a decisive victory.
The Fourth Prince’s blade traced a clean line as it returned to its scabbard at his opponent’s declaration of defeat.
Fontepon observed the noticeably more composed Kevenriak Heteroven and reflected.

‘This is troublesome.’

Since the former vice-commander, Person, had not come to Hibei with them, it now fell to him and Shukal to take turns sparring with the Fourth Prince’s swordsmanship.

‘That won’t be easy at all.’

I was already overwhelmed. At this rate, next year Shukal and I might be groaning through this one-on-one duel together.
Fontepon picked up the fallen sword and spoke to Kevenriak.

“Your Highness, you’ve grown considerably stronger since returning from the Imperial Palace. Did you gain another mana ring? You’ve made remarkable progress.”
“….”

Fontepon’s praise.
Kevenriak opened his mouth with an impassive expression.

“Even if I’ve grown stronger, I cannot defeat the Empress.”
“Defeat Her Majesty the Empress? That would be quite difficult, wouldn’t it?”
“Why?”
“Well, in the Betuzhenia Empire, power rests upon authority.”

Authority.
Words suddenly surfaced in my mind.

“Are you envious of the authority I possess? If you’re resentful, try seizing it for yourself.”

Words the Empress had spoken at the Imperial Palace yesterday.
Kevenriak asked Fontepon.

“If I possessed that, could I defeat the Empress?”
“Hmm….”

Fontepon shrugged his shoulders.
Thinking of defeating Her Majesty the Empress through authority.
In the past, he would have firmly declared such a thought sacrilegious.
But he had been dismissed from the Imperial Knights, and the place he now served was the Hart Barony.
Fontepon spoke to Kevenriak with realistic possibility.

“For the Fourth Prince to possess authority sufficient to defeat Her Majesty the Empress, you would need to become Emperor.”
“To claim the Emperor’s crown.”

Kevenriak recalled the Empress’s words once more.

“The Emperor’s crown will not permit even a single fingertip of yours.”

Fontepon nodded.

“But that’s hardly an easy task for the Fourth Prince’s current position. You are the Fourth Prince, after all. It would only be possible if the three princes above you renounced the succession or became unable to pursue it, and I’d say the probability of that is nearly zero.”

Unless someone stirred up a rebellion, it wouldn’t be simple.
At those words, Kevenriak fell into deep contemplation.
Fontepon sheathed his sword, which gleamed as it reflected the sunlight, and spoke.

“I suspect Raina Hart would dislike the Fourth Prince becoming entangled in such a rebellion. She’d find it bothersome.”

Was it only rebellion?
In a hypothetical scenario, the Fourth Prince might even find becoming Emperor bothersome.
After all, an Emperor’s mentor would have much work to do.
If Raina Hart weren’t someone who found such matters troublesome, the Hart Household would have risen to imperial status long ago.

“But wouldn’t you not need to concern yourself with defeating the Empress, Your Highness?”
“…?”

Kevenriak looked at Fontepon, as if asking what he meant.

“You have a promising future as a mage. Unlike the other princes who would be overshadowed by the succession, you possess a bright path ahead.”
“…I want to become someone who can protect my mentor.”
“Raina Hart?”

At Kevenriak’s quiet resolve, Fontepon asked in a surprised tone and said nothing more.
To protect Raina Hart.

‘He harbors a dream more difficult than becoming Emperor. The Fourth Prince certainly does.’

***

Caaaack—!

Deep beneath the Lindraham Mine. Within an enormous cavern.
The black serpent, having retreated momentarily from Raina’s attack magic, opened its maw.
The cavern’s master, awakened from its ancient slumber by the intrusion of visitors.
From a head the size of the diamond vein they had walked past moments before, venomous breath poured forth.
Toxic mist spreading thickly through the air.
Raina purified the surrounding air and murmured.

“…This much power won’t do it.”
“Of course it won’t! You stubborn master!”

Beside Raina, Zikhard trembled as he shook his pages and cried out.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————