For the Young Villain’s Happy Ending - Chapter 3

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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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Chapter 3

‘I’m nervous.’

Raina Hart glanced sideways at the undergrowth, then opened the picnic basket she’d brought with a composed expression.
Inside were sandwiches, milk, fruit, and cookies.
She’d asked the Head Chef to prepare them.
Raina Hart reached for a sandwich.

The bread was hard as stone.
The child had scraped the bread against the wall and eaten the crumbs.

Ignoring the window that came to mind, she bit into the sandwich.

“Delicious.”
“….”

A pair of eyes gleamed from within the undergrowth.
In the crisp air of early winter, Raina Hart chewed her sandwich calmly and thought.

‘Remember this: the creature is more like a wild cat than a child.’

One wrong footstep and it would bolt far away—she needed to approach with utmost delicacy.
After finishing one sandwich, Raina Hart cleared her throat awkwardly and began speaking to herself.

“Ah, I’m so full. But there’s still so much left. What should I do? The Head Chef said he hoped I’d eat it all.”
“….”
“Hmm—. If I leave this here, won’t someone eat it? They say there’s a fairy in the Imperial Palace that grants wishes.”

She even raised her voice slightly, delivering the performance flawlessly. She could have been a one-woman show actress.
Raina Hart, expressing exaggerated distress, left the basket where it was and stood up.

“I’ll come back tomorrow to check. I hope the fairy will help.”

The next day.
Raina Hart discovered the picnic basket filled with flowers at the spot where she’d left it yesterday. Remarkably, all the food inside had vanished.

‘So flowers bloom even in early winter in this place?’

I brought the basket to my room and arranged the flowers in a vase.
The child had plucked each one so carefully with small hands that every delicate white petal remained intact, not a single one fallen.
Was this a gift of flowers in return for the food?

‘…I can’t let this go too far.’

Imagining the child’s thoughts and actions made my heart ache.
But when I thought of the future that should unfold according to the original story, I couldn’t bring myself to interfere with Kevenriak’s circumstances.
So….

‘I’ll just feed the child.’

That much should be acceptable.
I had only a week left before departing for Hibei.

From that day on, I searched for the fairy near the Fourth Prince’s Separate Palace every day, carrying a basket of food.
As the days I spent searching for the fairy increased, so did the vases in my room.

By the fifth day.

‘Oh.’

Arriving earlier than usual to retrieve the basket, I spotted someone and hastily concealed myself behind a tree.

‘That was close.’

A shaggy-haired boy with dark hair stood at a distance, holding the basket of flowers.
I peered at him from behind the tree.
Though I’d joked about calling the Fourth Prince a wild cat, seeing him in person, he truly resembled a feral creature.

“….”

The weather of early winter was bitterly cold.
Yet the child’s clothing remained frozen in late summer—tattered, worn, and torn in places.
His sleeves were short, leaving his thin forearms and calves half-exposed to the frigid air.

‘He has quite a few wounds on his body.’

Bruises in various stages of healing, each a different shade. Scabs forming as wounds mended.
Inflamed, reddened skin and lips cracked and bleeding.
I had known what to expect, and it was entirely predictable.
So I wasn’t surprised.
But something felt deeply wrong.

Eight years old.
Shouldn’t a child this young still be sheltered in a guardian’s care?
Yet this child stood covered in wounds, abandoned and neglected, with no one to tend to them.

“….”

I felt something heavy settle in my chest.

‘Damn it.’

I bit down hard on my lower lip.
Without fully understanding my own thoughts, I stepped out from behind the tree and strode purposefully toward Kavenriak.

“…!”

Kavenriak’s eyes widened in panic upon spotting me, frantically glancing left and right.
He seemed to be searching for an escape, but my magic had already bound his feet in place.

“Ah….”

Kavenriak’s face drained of all color.
The thought that his true identity had been exposed to her was catastrophic.

‘She has every right to be furious.’

A monster masquerading as a fairy.
The price of my greed—wanting to see that smile on her face again and again whenever she looked at flowers.
I walked directly in front of him, my raised hand beginning to descend toward him.
Kavenriak stared calmly at my palm, familiar with the gesture.
Would it be my cheek? Or my back?

“Heal.”

Kavenriak’s eyes widened at the unexpected turn of events.
A palm resting atop his head, applying no pressure whatsoever.
Watching the wounds vanish cleanly from Kavenriak’s skin, I stroked the child’s hair with a satisfied smile.

‘Oh no, I’ve done it now.’

Even as I thought this, I couldn’t bring myself to stop stroking his hair.
Between the tousled bangs, a pair of blue eyes emerged into view.
The child gazed up at me intently. I looked down at him in return, meeting his gaze.
Had he been watching me like this all along, hidden away in the shadows?

‘He really does look like a little kitten. …And oddly charming at that.’

Up close, his beauty shone through even in his current state.
As the original story’s main villain, he certainly lived up to the part.

‘I wish they’d given him some reckless crown prince character instead. Anything but this tragic backstory.’

Then I remembered I had something to give the child today.
Withdrawing my hand, I retrieved a small wooden box from my pocket and offered it to him.
It was a salve for wounds.

“Please take this.”

I’d planned to leave it in a basket later, but since we’d met, I might as well give it to him now.
I placed the wooden box into his small hands.

“It’s a very effective medicine. Since I won’t be able to heal you with magic again, please apply it whenever you develop new wounds.”

Even after saying this, my heart remained unsettled, so I added several more explanations.
Kavenriak stared at the wooden box and slowly nodded along to my words.

***

That night.
Kavenriak lay in his darkened bed, gazing at the wooden box for a long while.

‘…It smells wonderful.’

Sometimes I caught the scent of the wooden box, as if his fragrance had seeped into it.
It felt wonderful. Kevenriak’s large, elongated eyes narrowed to slits. A soft smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
Except for infancy, this was the first smile he had ever genuinely worn.

But that happiness was fleeting.

Through the darkness came the sound of footsteps shuffling closer.
Kevenriak hurriedly hid the wooden box inside his pillow.

Creak.
The rusted hinges groaned as the bedroom door swung open.
Through the gap came the terrible voice of a large man.

“Your Highness, are you awake?”

It was the signal that a dreadful night was beginning.

***

Several hours before such a night would begin.
The Imperial Palace Pharmacist stopped Raina Hart as she walked down the corridor.

“Lady Raina Hart, you found that highly effective healing medicine before, didn’t you? A better one has arrived, and I’d be happy to prepare it for you if you need it.”
“I need it.”

Remembering the child I had met that morning, I stopped in my tracks and followed him straight to the pharmacy.
A box of healing medicine that had just arrived was displayed on the pharmacy shelf for only a moment before settling into my arms.
The pharmacist asked as I examined it with satisfaction.

“But wouldn’t it be more effective to use magic for healing? Is there a particular reason you need to obtain healing medicine?”
“It’s not for me. The person who will receive it doesn’t know how to use magic yet.”

Years later, Kevenriak would become a skilled mage, but that was still some time away.

‘The development where he meets Kiyeon by chance at the Imperial Library on his tenth birthday and awakens his magical talent.’

Until then, perhaps this medicine would help.
A contented smile played at the corners of my mouth as I gazed at the medicines in the box.
The Imperial Palace Pharmacist was inwardly astonished at the sight.

‘So Lady Raina Hart smiles? Whoever receives such a gift must be truly beloved by someone extraordinary.’

The rare sight was fleeting. Raina turned her head toward the Imperial Palace Pharmacist.
Her smile had vanished without a trace.

“Ah, these medicines were supplied to the Imperial Palace. Is it alright if I take them like this?”
“Please don’t mention it. I owe you my life, after all. Don’t give it another thought—take whatever you wish.”
“Then….”

My eyes swept rapidly across the interior of the pharmacy.
The life debt was incurred by Raina Hart before the possession, but now I am Raina, so what does it matter?

“I won’t be modest.”

Moments later, I left the pharmacy with three boxes of medicine cradled in my arms.
I had swept up all the medicines reputed to be excellent from various shelves.
The Imperial Palace Pharmacist’s voice trembled as he saw me off, but I was too pleased to care.
Though I hadn’t eaten a single meal all day, I felt utterly satisfied.

‘It would be better to leave them secretly.’

I considered this, keeping the morning’s events in mind.
The Fourth Prince had bolted like an arrow the moment I handed him the healing medicine and dispelled the curse.
By now, his guard would be at its highest—he wouldn’t come near me willingly.
Tomorrow would be the final day of instruction for the Imperial Palace mages, so I might not see him again before leaving the Imperial Palace.

‘I should leave them at night.’

I believed this was the most I could do for the child while adhering to my decision not to interfere with the original story.

***

Time passed, and midnight arrived.
Having waited for the night to deepen, I entered the Fourth Prince’s Separate Palace.
The palace, unguarded, readily permitted an outsider’s entry.

‘The Fourth Prince must be asleep.’

I walked through the corridors cradling the boxes of medicine, searching for the child’s chambers.

‘…Water sounds?’

A distant splash caught my attention, pulling my focus toward the sound.
I stopped in my tracks and surveyed my surroundings.
A quiet corridor shrouded in dim darkness.
I wondered if the noise had drifted in through a window from outside, and I was about to continue on my way when—

“….”

The water sound came again. This time, it seemed to be accompanied by laughter.
I set down the box and quietly followed the sound, moving with careful steps.
Down the staircase to the first floor.
And there—at the far end of the corridor—a closed door with light seeping through its edges.
It wasn’t completely shut; when I touched the handle, the door yielded slightly.
Through the narrow gap, the sounds from within flowed out with perfect clarity.

“Ugh, how filthy.”
“Your Highness, doesn’t it feel wonderful to be clean?”

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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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