For the Young Villain’s Happy Ending - Chapter 61

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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 61

A voice dripping with contempt flowed from the Emperor’s twisted lips.

“A disciple?”

I realized he had channeled mana into my wrist where he gripped it.
Since Vivian’s body lacked mana circuits, Kevenriak’s mana would have dispersed uselessly.
He would have instantly discerned that I was an ordinary person.

“Yes.”

Yet shameless words spilled from my lips regardless.
Once I decided to become a madwoman defying all reason, there was nothing I couldn’t say.
Perhaps the headache was so severe that I’d simply lost my fear.

“Please take me as your disciple.”

A fleeting worry crossed my mind that he might kill Vivian, but I felt no fear of the Emperor.
Kevenriak was not the merciless tyrant of the original story who had his soul stolen by the Grimoire of Magic.
He was merely an Emperor who had lost his mind for a moment, wandering in the depths of loss from those he cherished.

“….”

The Emperor’s gaze turned toward the princess lying limply on the bench.
I watched the corners of the Emperor’s mouth intently—the Emperor I had come to care for.
Kevenriak had a habit of pulling his lips taut before casting magic.
It was the same even with silent spells.

‘If he tries to kill me, I’ll just throw myself down. What else?’

If that doesn’t work either, then so be it.
I was prepared to flaunt the vast knowledge inscribed upon my soul as Raina Hart.
Mages are creatures who instinctively obsess over the unknown.
Even if Kevenriak had gone mad, he couldn’t help but succumb to the tantalizing meat dangled before his eyes.

‘…I wonder if he’s overcome his picky eating.’

And so my recollection, which had begun so innocently, suddenly veered off in an entirely different direction.
It was something I’d thought before, but Kevenriak’s lips were truly beautiful.
Smooth crimson lips. Delicate contours.
When he called my name with those lips and smiled so brightly, there was nothing quite like the joy it brought me.

“….”

Kevenriak’s lips began to move.
He seemed to have something to say to this mad princess.
Fortunately, his lips didn’t curl into a sneer.
Instead of casting magic at Vivian, the Emperor spoke to her in a frigid tone.

“I don’t understand how an ordinary person without any magical power became a mage’s disciple.”

Kevenriak still held the princess’s wrist firmly.
Thump. Thump. The princess’s pulse remained steady from the moment he channeled his mana into her until now.
At that unnervingly serene rhythm, Kevenriak twisted his lips into a smile.
Like a villain captivating the protagonist with a bewitching grin.
In such moments, villains typically spouted absolute madness.

“How about as a swordsmanship disciple instead.”

It was certainly not something a sane person would suggest.
Vivian’s arms were clearly incapable of properly wielding a single sword.
Her stamina was problematic too. She would undoubtedly collapse before even completing the basic lessons.

“I’d love to.”

I matched his madness with equal fervor and laughed.
At my response, Kevenriak pulled my wrist toward him.
The Emperor’s mana pushed against my back as I lay on the bench.
My upper body was suddenly lifted upright. And there, mere inches from my face, was Kevenriak’s face.

“….”

We were close enough to feel each other’s breath.
Vivian’s forehead was tickled by the Emperor’s silken hair.
I paused for a moment, gazing at that face as though entranced.
Every feature visible before me—each line of the eyes, every strand of the brows—held an undeniable beauty.
It was only those deepened blue eyes that made my heart ache with longing.
Perhaps that was why my chest trembled so.

“Am I your disciple now, Your Majesty?”
“Perhaps.”

Kevenriak turned his head in response to my question.
Every sense in my body converged upon my face, following his every movement.
I could not tear my eyes from him within my field of vision.
The beautiful lashes descending slowly, those deepened blue eyes now tinged with emotion, the flawless white skin unmarred by a single pore.
As Kevenriak’s lips drew closer, I swallowed hard.

Thump, thump.
My heart pounded violently. Was this heartbeat thundering against my eardrums mine, or was it Vivian’s?
The mind I had feigned to lose suddenly became whole again.

‘This is…’

Troublesome, and yet…
Kevenriak stopped his face mere inches from hers—his lips hovering just above the curve of Vivian’s cheek.
A soft chuckle escaped him.
The Emperor answered me.

“Very well.”

The hand gripping my wrist tightened.
The Emperor spoke.

“I shall take you as my disciple.”
‘You will be the one to kill me.’

In Kevenriak’s vision, the lady’s cheeks—flushed deeper than before—came into view.

***

Tiernan Fargan gazed at the ornate building before him.
The signboard displayed flowers in a riot of colors, while the exterior was painted in a dizzying array of hues.
Wooden plaques stood haphazardly in front of the shop, each adorned with smiling flowers.

‘Daisy General Store’

The striking impression stirred a faint memory from my childhood visit.
Had it been this garish back then?
It felt even more excessive than what I remembered.

“Despite appearances, this Detective Agency boasts the finest magical expertise in the city.”

My aide, who had accompanied me, offered an embarrassed explanation.
My lord stood speechless, which made it seem as though he doubted the recommendation I had made.

‘Admittedly, even competent mages would flee at the sight of this place.’

Looking at the exterior alone, I harbored doubts myself.
Yet the competence here was guaranteed.
After all, this was the regular Detective Agency of none other than Raina Hart.
Though she was a witch, no one could match her level of expertise in magical matters.

‘My lord abhors witches, so I could not mention that…’

For Tiernan Fargan’s condition—’a mage capable of infiltrating the Imperial Palace’—there needed to be a Detective Agency with such caliber.
The Emperor, a 7th Circle mage, was feared by mages far more than by ordinary people.
Still, the witch is dead now. My lord will never learn that this was her regular Detective Agency.

“Let us enter.”

My aide, a 5th Circle mage himself, was visiting this place for the first time.
As we navigated past the wooden plaques clustered near the entrance and stepped inside, a bell chimed and a staff member’s greeting reached our ears.

“Welcome.”
“Ah, this place…?”

A muscular middle-aged Clerk wearing an apron decorated with flowers.
The aide flinched at muscles too impressive to be contained by a thin shirt alone.
But wasn’t my lord standing behind me?
If my lord showed no surprise, then I, as his subordinate, must project unwavering composure.
The aide strode forward and addressed the Clerk.

“I wish to purchase a dandelion seed, a small giant, and a round mouse hairpin.”
“Is this your first purchase?”

The Clerk asked.
Wasn’t it simply a matter of reciting the code that changed according to the date pattern?

‘Among the magical Detective Agencies, many do impose restrictions on first-time purchases. Is this one of those places?’

The aide glanced sideways at Tiernan Fargan standing behind him.
I had brought my lord here, assuring him of my trust.
If I had to turn back because this was my first time, how would my lord regard me?

“It’s not my first time, actually… I came here several times with an acquaintance…”

The aide avoided Tiernan Fargan’s gaze and slid a gold coin across the counter.
But the Clerk was merciless.

“I apologize. You’ll need to leave for today.”

With those words, the floor flashed brilliantly. A magic circle activated.
Tiernan Fargan and the aide were instantly teleported outside the shop.
The ornate storefront came into view once more.

“What… what just happened?”
“I, I’ll try again!”

Tiernan Fargan looked at the aide as if asking what had gone wrong.
The aide rushed frantically toward the shop door.
But before he could grasp the handle, the door swung open from inside.
It was the Clerk from moments before.

“Do come in.”
“Ah…!”

The attendant let out a small exclamation. Well, of course. How could anyone refuse a customer who readily handed over gold coins?

“Nox, let’s go inside.”

I tried to enter the store, but the large Clerk stood like a boulder, refusing to move aside.
What? What? Why was this Clerk—?
The Clerk, completely ignoring my bewilderment, kept his gaze fixed behind me and spoke.

“Only the guest in the back may enter.”

***

Upon entering the room at the Emperor’s Palace, I saw a simple meal laid out on the table.
Beside it lay a neat card.

「If you need anything, please let me or the servants who frequent the Emperor’s Palace know. – Person」

Person had arranged this for me.

Salad, bread, vegetable soup, fruit….
Though it felt rather sparse, I had no appetite.
It would be shameless to request meat-based dishes instead.
I tore off a small piece of bread and ate it, then headed to the Bathhouse.
First, I wanted to wash up.

“….”

Looking in the mirror, I was somewhat shocked.
Vivian’s beauty was certainly exceptional.
But beauty and filth were separate matters entirely.
Puffy eyes, reddened eye sockets and whites, tangled hair, dried tear streaks clinging to my cheeks.

“Please take me as your disciple.”

I had uttered those words lying on a bench in this state.
I sank down, overwhelmed by shame.
And worse, I had become aware of my disciple’s actions.

‘Why did my heart race like that?’

As if I’m viewing Kevenriak as a romantic interest.
That’s not what I meant at all.

“…I shouldn’t dwell on this.”

I shook my head once and rose to my feet.
Instead, I needed to figure out how to restore Kevenriak to his senses.

After a quick shower, I sat down at the table.
I needed to eat to have the strength to move, so I decided to have a meal even though my appetite wasn’t particularly strong.
I also brought along the spatial pouch I’d taken from the Separate Palace.

“Zikhard.”

I called out the Grimoire of Magic’s name several more times, but the pouch remained silent.
Like with Kin, I felt an inexplicable anxiety wash over me.
I would have preferred if he were simply sleeping inside the pouch.
He was noisy, certainly, but Zikhard was still a being that belonged to me.

“Is there anything that could serve as a clue….”

I rummaged through the pouch.
Even when I turned it inside out, all I found was the bare lining—to anyone but the owner, it appeared to contain nothing at all.
Then I noticed a stitch along the inner seam had come loose.

“…?”

I brought the pouch directly before my eyes.
Magical incantations written in letters smaller than millet seeds covered the lining densely.
The loose stitch meant something had gone wrong with the incantations.
A spatial pouch couldn’t be damaged physically, after all.

Just as I suspected.
The incantations at the damaged spot were misaligned.

‘Did Zikhard tamper with the incantations?’

I pondered for a moment, then restored the pouch’s interior and exterior to their original state.
Then I held the spatial pouch upside down and shook it vigorously.

Thud. Boom. Rumble.
A cube the size of two fists tumbled from my pocket as if hurled downward.
The object struck the floor with a deafening clatter and rolled across it.

“…Gasp.”

Raina Hart’s trembling hands flew to her mouth as she stared at the object scattered across the floor.

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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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