For the Young Villain’s Happy Ending - Chapter 34

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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 34

“Keri, you’re back?”

I welcomed my student as he returned to the study.

“I’m sorry for stepping out. I had something to ask Maverick Marquis about.”
“It’s fine.”

Kevenriak shook his head with a smile.
When I asked what he’d been doing, he said he’d taken a walk through the Garden, then draped a shawl across my shoulders.

“It’s chilly outside.”
“The study isn’t cold, though? Besides, it’s spring.”
“Even so.”

A student so thoughtful he’d bring a shawl for fear his teacher might be cold.

‘Where else could I find a student like this?’

My heart swelling with warmth, I tilted my head up toward Kevenriak, but—
my neck craned endlessly upward until my jaw ached.
My student had grown so tall that standing directly before him made it difficult to even see his face.

“Keri, haven’t you grown far too tall? The Keri I remember was still about this size.”

I held my palm flat at the level of my thigh and moved it side to side.
Kevenriak took my hand and lifted it slightly higher.

“It was a bit taller than that.”

Master.

“Do I still appear that small to you?”
….

The disciple bowing lowered his gaze and met Raina Hart’s eyes.
Beneath lashes so long and thick they cast shadows, blue eyes gazing upon his master shimmered with crystalline beauty.

‘The main villain.’

In the original work Raina Hart remembered, Kevenriak Heteroven was described as a captivating villain.
Though lately, I’ve been thinking about it.
Wasn’t this very appearance the genesis of that ‘captivating’ descriptor?

‘He’s grown so well.’

Didn’t Maverick Marquis always say the same?
That the Fourth Prince grew more charming and handsome with each passing day.
Kevenriak Heteroven was an exceptional man—not merely through the biased eyes of a master seeing only her disciple’s merits, but in the eyes of others as well.
Raina Hart, feeling a swell of affection, gently pinched both of her disciple’s cheeks and shook them playfully.

“My goodness, when did you grow so tall? Your master is so proud of how well you’ve developed.”
“It’s all thanks to you, Master.”

Kevenriak Heteroven offered a soft eye-smile toward Raina Hart, who still treated him as her young disciple.
There was still a long way to go.

“You’re giving credit to your master too. Truly, there’s no one like my disciple.”

Raina Hart withdrew her hand from Kevenriak Heteroven’s cheek and walked toward the sofa.
The book that Raina Hart had dropped earlier and Kevenriak Heteroven had caught lay on the table.

“Did Keri place that there?”
“Yes. Before I left the Study earlier.”

How thoughtful.
Raina Hart thanked him, picked up the book, and lay down on the sofa.
She wanted to finish reading the book that Maverick Marquis had started earlier.
When Kevenriak Heteroven brought his own book and sat beside her, Raina Hart naturally rested her head against her disciple’s thigh.
The angle was perfectly suited for reading.

“Keri, is it uncomfortable for you when Master rests her head like this?”
“Not at all.”

I asked a few times just in case, but each time I received the same answer—it wasn’t uncomfortable.
Since my disciple was the type to speak plainly when something truly bothered them, I had no qualms about using their thigh as a reading pillow.
As the two of us sat in quiet concentration over our books, I broke the silence.

“I think I should research magic that makes one appear older.”
“Why?”

Kevenriak lowered his gaze diagonally to look at me.
Strands of pale violet hair scattered across the sofa cushion resembled flower petals.

“Maverick Marquis said something before he left.”

I stared at my book with a sullen expression.
Across the pages filling my vision, the irritating figure of Maverick Marquis seemed to materialize.

“Use the youth-enhancing magic in moderation, Master. Don’t you realize you look younger than your disciple right now? Like a younger sister.”

Maverick Marquis. That damned fool.
To point out the very concern that had been weighing on me.
But what was I supposed to do about the fact that Raina Hart’s body didn’t age?

‘A younger sister?’

Looking like an older sister would have been acceptable. But a younger sister—that was another matter entirely.
My dignity as a master was in tatters.

“Perhaps looking young undermines my authority as a teacher.”

At the melancholy in my voice, Kevenriak spoke with quiet conviction.

“You are magnificent as you are, Master. Maverick Marquis simply misjudged.”

Kevenriak’s left hand tightened around the book, though I didn’t notice.

“Are you truly fine with me remaining like this?”
“Yes.”
….

I lowered the book in my hand and looked at Kevenriak Heteroven.
Above his sharp jawline, his transparent blue eyes—sharp at the corners—met mine.

“Keri, there’s a secret I wanted to tell you….”

Bang!

“Master!”

I jolted upright at the loud crash of the Study door swinging open.

***

“Master!”
“Let’s go have fun!”
“The Kocha Village Festival starts today!”

I found myself surrounded by my disciples, who had rushed into the Castle in a tumultuous wave.
Before, even when they crowded around me like this, I’d only seen them as chicks.

‘I can’t see ahead anymore.’

Now I could see nothing but their bodies.
Thirteen disciples, including Kevenriak Heteroven and Kin, had grown so much over the years that more than half of them had reached adulthood.
The youngest was already fifteen.
My spacious Study suddenly felt cramped.

‘Maybe I should research magic that increases height instead of age.’

Kin was twenty-one, and Kevenriak Heteroven was twenty.
The disciples the Village Chief had brought were between fifteen and nineteen.
When my disciples turned eighteen and reached adulthood, I would call them in separately to discuss their futures.
I’d told them I would support them if they wanted independence, but for some reason, not a single one of them wanted to leave Hibei.
Except for Kin, they had all become at least intermediate-level Circle 3 mages, so it seemed they were earning their own living these days.

Thanks to that, Hibei remained bustling with activity.
Just like around me now.
I asked my disciples, my expression already beginning to show signs of exhaustion.

“The Kocha Village Festival?”
“Yes! The Night Market Festival is opening today!”

Every spring, the neighboring village of Kocha held a Night Market Festival as their annual village event.
With its diverse attractions and food stalls, it was an incredibly popular festival.
In other words, it meant an overwhelming crowd of people.

“I was planning to take Fontepon and Shukal-.”
“Can’t you go with us, Master?”
“….”
“We’ve gone out to play with those uncles plenty of times.”
“But we haven’t gone anywhere with you even once this year!”

Master, let’s go. Please? Please?
As my whining disciples’ voices grew louder, their bodies pressed closer and closer.

“….”

Though I cherished my disciples, this was getting far too close-.

“All of you.”

Leaving Raina Hart behind, eleven disciples were pushed backward by Kevenriak’s barrier.
The disciples trapped within the transparent barrier he had created.

“Don’t whine.”

Ugh. How mean, a 6-Circle mage. Jeers rained down toward the Fourth Prince.
A one-on-one with the eldest disciple was frightening, but a many-against-one allowed for at least some protest. Assuming their master remained in the same space.

“Master.”
“Really, you won’t?”

Ignoring Kevenriak’s words not to whine, the disciples turned to me with their plea.
The pitiful eyes of the disciples pressed against the barrier.

“Master.”
“….”
“Maaaster.”

My disciples had found the perfect weakness of the great mage Raina Hart.

***

“Wow!”
“It’s so beautiful!”

The Night Market Festival stretched out along an endless road, a shimmering expanse of golden light.
Raina Hart and my disciples—fourteen of us in total—stood at the market’s entrance.
The disciples, who had been exclaiming in wonder and looking around, discovered a large signboard displaying a map of the market.

“I want to go here.”
“Huh? We can’t go there?”

After whispering among themselves while studying the market map, they turned to me with a question.

“Master, can we split up into groups and explore?”
“We’ll make sure the children aren’t alone and properly supervise them!”

It seemed they hadn’t reached a consensus among themselves.
I looked at my eleven disciples.
Five of them were adults. There was no real need for me to oversee and guide everyone personally.

“Enjoy yourselves, but be careful. Don’t cause any trouble.”
“Yes, Master!”

At my words, the disciples scattered in all directions as if they’d been waiting for permission.
Watching their excited figures disappear into the distance, I found myself thinking.
If this was going to happen, they could have come on their own without me bringing them from the castle.

“Um… Master.”

A voice called out to me.
When I turned my head, I saw a woman with long crimson hair.

“Kin.”

Twenty-one years old. Kin’s magic and swordsmanship hadn’t changed from eight years ago.
But did progress matter? She had grown up healthy and strong, and that was enough.

“Are you worried the children might cause trouble?”
“Yes….”

I knew it. Raina Hart spoke warmly.

“You go and enjoy yourself too, Kin.”
“Yes…!”

Once Kin departed as well, only Kevenriak remained at my side, as always.
Kevenriak gazed at me beside him.
Standing at the threshold between the Night Market Festival’s luminous glow and the quiet night, my silhouette captivated his entire attention in a way that felt almost overwhelming.

‘She’ll likely want to return to the Castle. Should I ask her for a moonlit stroll, just the two of us?’

Then transparent silver eyes gleaming with golden light turned to meet his gaze.
Even at this sudden meeting of eyes, Kevenriak smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling.

“Master, if you’re tired, shall we head back?”
“No?”

I had expected my master to readily agree to leave.
An answer that defied my expectations.
I took Kevenriak’s hand, seeing his bewilderment.

“This is Keri’s first time at this festival, isn’t it? We should make the most of it while we’re here.”

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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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