For the Young Villain’s Happy Ending - Chapter 51

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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 51

I regained consciousness lying on a sleeping bag spread across the ground.
Raina Hart blinked at the darkening surroundings, then lifted her head at the crackling sound of a campfire.
A man came into view, snapping branches and tossing them into the flames.
Unlike the knight’s uniform from before, it was Tiernan Fargan dressed in mercenary garb.
His silver hair and pale skin made it seem as though winter existed only in the male protagonist’s season.

“…He didn’t abandon me.”

At my murmur, Tiernan Fargan’s gaze shifted toward me.
Those transparent green eyes regarded me.

“Did you wish to be abandoned?”
“No.”

I shook my head.

“Thank you. For bringing me with you.”

Honestly, the odds weren’t great.
There was a real possibility that Tiernan Fargan would have left Vivian Asperada in front of the Asperada Duke’s Castle and departed.

‘This is a different development from the original story.’

In the original, at the tea party, Tiernan Fargan would have been disappointed that Vivian Asperada didn’t recognize him and attempted to leave the castle.
It was a single word from Vivian Asperada that stopped him.

– Do you perhaps remember me?

That was the moment the male protagonist fell in love with the female protagonist.
And so Tiernan Fargan would visit the Asperada Duke’s Castle several more times, concealing his identity.
The original story showed the two gradually developing feelings for each other through that process.

‘But if that happened, I’d be stuck in the Asperada Duke’s Castle far too long.’

How many years would it take to confirm their love, and how would I possibly escape with Tiernan Fargan while avoiding Duke Asperada, who was trying to marry her off to the Emperor?

‘I need to check on Keri’s condition right away, but it might already be too late.’

A second possession? And two years from now at that? This world had truly struck me from behind and from the front simultaneously.
Under these circumstances, just because I’d been asked by someone I couldn’t even remember and entered this novel, didn’t mean I had to follow the plot as written.
So Raina Hart ignored Tiernan Fargan thoroughly throughout the tea party.
She allowed him, disheartened, to slip away from the Asperada Duke’s Castle during the event.

“Mother, would it be alright if I rested in that room? I’m not feeling well.”
“Of course, dear.”

Once Tiernan Fargan left as planned, Raina Hart also made an excuse and slipped out of the party.
She climbed the city walls with the luggage she’d secretly prepared. Just then, she spotted Tiernan Fargan mounting his horse and called out to stop him.

‘Fortunately, the escape succeeded as planned.’

Raina Hart lay on the ground, gazing at the campfire.
After her words of gratitude, silence flowed between the two of them.
Since silence was one of the things Raina Hart enjoyed, the current atmosphere wasn’t entirely unpleasant. Then a thought occurred to her.

‘The window hasn’t appeared even once.’

It was strange.
That translucent window that used to appear constantly whenever I was by Kevenriak Heteroven’s side.
Since the original story began, it hadn’t appeared before my eyes even once.

‘Is it because I’m now possessing Vivian Asperada?’

Perhaps now that I’d possessed the female protagonist, the window could no longer show me the original story, or something like that.
Even in such circumstances, Raina Hart frowned at the window’s arbitrary nature.

“…Lady…”

Then Tiernan Fargan spoke up.
Raina Hart lifted her head to look at him.
Tiernan Fargan kept his gaze fixed on the campfire as he spoke.
While Raina Hart had been lost in thought, he too seemed to have much on his mind.

“Are you not being treated well at the House of Asperada?”
“…Why would you think that?”
“It’s not common for a noblewoman to leave her family home.”

I suppose that was a fair assumption.
Though my only memories of the House of Asperada were of being confined to my room and knocking on the door, I had no intention of earning Tiernan’s pity through such tales.
Explaining the circumstances to Tiernan in tedious detail would have been nothing but a nuisance.
I turned my gaze forward, away from Tiernan, and answered.

“I was living well enough in my own way. I can’t say whether the treatment was good, but I wasn’t starving. The bed was soft, and I slept soundly.”

I gazed up at the night sky. Stars glittered densely across its expanse.
It was the same sky from those days when Keri and I would often take walks together.

‘This is troublesome.’

I brushed away the tears flowing from my eyes without concern.
Based on the knowledge of the Grand Mage that still remained within me, it seemed to be a side effect of occupying a body that already had an original owner.
Tears that emerged when Vivian Asperada’s body collided with Raina Hart’s soul.
Since emotion was the greatest force to a soul, the collision would be most severe when I recalled my disciples.

‘The collision between soul and body means the original owner’s soul still remains within. Vivian must still be asleep.’

Vivian must not awaken until I meet Keri.
As I wiped away tears with such thoughts, Tiernan glanced at me from the corner of his eye.

‘As I suspected.’

The House of Asperada was definitely mistreating Vivian.
When Tiernan had moved about with Vivian earlier, he was honestly shocked.
He could not have believed her to be someone who had lost consciousness.
Despite her limp form, her body was so light. He even doubted whether she was eating properly.

“What will you do now?”

Tiernan asked her this question.
If he could help Vivian, he intended to offer some measure of goodwill.
She did not seem to remember him, but even so, was she not a friend from childhood?
Tiernan had not yet realized that the lingering attachment he had tried to shake off still remained.

“There’s somewhere I need to go.”
“Where?”

Raina Hart pushed herself upright.
Her hazel eyes—a mysterious blend of brown and green—fixed upon Tiernan Fargan.

“The Imperial Palace.”

***

The current Emperor of the Betuzhenia Empire.
Kevenriak Heteroven.

The day after his coronation, the Emperor awakened as a supreme mage of the seventh circle.
Though a personal tragedy had befallen him, it was a blessing for the Empire.
Rule by a supreme mage, no less.
The Betuzhenia Empire would flourish as never before.
The anticipation that began circulating among the nobility transformed into the hopes of the entire nation.

Yet that very year of his ascension.
The Emperor did nothing.
Contrary to expectations, his actions drew no attention.
As if the Emperor slumbered within the vast cavern that was the Imperial Palace.
In Imperial Palace councils, even as nobles voiced their passionate proposals, the Emperor sat upon his throne with an expressionless face.
Then he opened his mouth.

“How tiresome.”

The proposal was rejected.
His governance was unremarkable, and within that unremarkableness lay peace.
A tranquil peace that someone favored.

“Raina Hart has squandered her talent.”
“This is why environment matters. Having spent your entire life in some rural backwater, you lack the sophistication to navigate greater waters.”

Expectations of the Emperor transformed into contempt.

“Even the Grand Mage’s life is remarkably tenacious. I thought she’d disappear along with Tunchar.”
“Ah, you suggested that back then? To send Raina Hart to Tunchar alone.”
“Did I alone suggest it? All the nobles present in the Imperial Palace at that time were of one mind. Everyone found it distasteful that a commoner-born woman dared to call herself the Grand Mage.”

Words that should never have been spoken within the Imperial Palace flowed out boldly.
Yet there was no hesitation.
In the minds of the nobility, the current Emperor had transformed into the Fourth Prince—someone deserving of their contempt.

The final day of the year the Emperor ascended the throne.
A grand banquet hosted by the Emperor was held within the Imperial Palace.
It was a banquet where only invited nobles could enter.
The attending nobles were delighted, saying the Emperor wished to recognize those he should favor.
None of them knew that day would be their last.

Dong. Dong.

The bell tolled, marking the passage of the sun.
The Emperor seated upon the throne muttered one final time.

“The bell rings.”

The Emperor’s Knights burst through the banquet hall doors.
Screams and shrieks. The banquet hall descended into chaos.
Then, at some point, all sound ceased.

Squelch. Squelch.

The banquet hall fell silent.
The only sound was the sticky, wet footsteps of the Emperor walking with weary strides.
The Emperor, leaning back against the throne, exhaled a languid sigh.
Eyes as deep and dark as an abyss gazed down at what lay before me.

“I kept my promise, Master.”

Pools of blood staining the path the Emperor had walked.
Nobles collapsed upon them.

“Last year, I didn’t kill anyone.”

And so Kevenriak became a tyrant.

***

“They say the Emperor is truly remarkable, don’t they? A fourth-circle mage at twelve years old—surely a genius, right? And his appearance is quite striking too. All the nobles were in awe at the coronation ceremony. On top of that, his manners are impeccable, and his social grace is-.”
“My lady, you seem to know the Emperor quite well.”
“…That’s what some noblewoman was saying earlier. She seemed to be quite fond of His Majesty.”

I got carried away by Keri’s words.
Raina Hart cleared her throat and closed her mouth.
Tiernan Fargan watched her intently.
Just moments ago, Vivian Asperada had told me I needed to go to the Imperial Palace.

“Why do you need to go to the Imperial Palace?”
“There’s someone I need to meet. …Someone I absolutely must meet.”

Vivian’s face held a look of unwavering resolve as she spoke.
It was the same expression she’d worn when we swore to reclaim the Tunterra Empire.
I couldn’t bring myself to tell her to abandon the journey to the Imperial Palace, not when the Emperor had become a blood-crazed tyrant.
Vivian Asperada seemed to know nothing about the Emperor.

“Aren’t you afraid of the Emperor in the Imperial Palace? He’s a seventh-circle mage.”
“…What?”
“Aren’t you afraid of the Emperor-.”
“Wait, seventh-circle? Did you say seventh-circle?”

I had only meant to give her a subtle warning, but Vivian’s reaction was entirely different from what I’d expected.
At the mention of the Emperor being a supreme-tier mage, her eyes suddenly lit up as she began praising him.
Listening to her, I felt oddly displeased.
Tiernan Fargan turned to Raina Hart with a question.

“By the way, my lady, why are you speaking so casually to me?”
“…You’re doing the same thing, aren’t you?”
“I’m older than you.”

Raina Hart’s jaw dropped in disbelief.
If he wanted to pull rank based on age, I would deserve morning and evening greetings from him as well.
Raina Hart protested against Tiernan Fargan, who acted like a puppy with a short memory.

“How am I supposed to believe you’re older than me?”
“What will you do if you don’t?”

Tiernan’s response was absurd.
Since when did the Betuzhenia Empire determine speech levels by age?
By strict social hierarchy, I—a lady of noble birth—should be the one receiving formal speech.

“You know I’m a lady of noble birth, don’t you?”
“Do you know I’m not a citizen of the Betuzhenia Empire?”

Raina Hart turned the question back on Tiernan.

“Not a citizen of the empire?”
“That’s right. So now you’ll need to use formal speech with me, lady.”
….

As Vivian fell silent, Tiernan’s lips curved into a playful smile—hidden from her view.
The moment her gaze returned to me, he erased the smile and wore a shameless expression.
Raina Hart extended her hand toward Tiernan.

“Show me.”
“Show you what?”
“Your identification.”

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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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