For the Young Villain’s Happy Ending - Chapter 65

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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 65

“If you need anything, simply ring the bell.”

The Imperial Palace was arranged entirely according to the Emperor’s preferences.
After the servants finished laying out all the dishes, they left behind a magical summoning bell and withdrew from the room.
And so I found myself alone with the meal spread before me on the table.
I wondered why the Emperor treated me with such kindness.
But this was not the moment to dwell deeply on such questions.

“…Ah.”

At the sight of the magnificent spread before me, I nearly shed tears of joy.
Roasted duck with its skin crisped to perfection, thick medium-rare steaks, meatballs glazed in a sweet and savory sauce….
The master’s understanding of my preferences was flawless.

“Since your digestive system hasn’t fully recovered yet, it would be best to focus on soups for now. As for meat, since it’s fatty, vegetables would be preferable.”
“Vivian, that’s perfect. The innkeeper said she can prepare invalid’s meals too. What about something simmered slowly—pumpkin with minced vegetables?”

I recalled those past days when I said it was fine, though it truly wasn’t.
Since entering Vivian’s body, I had eaten similar meals—mostly the bland, easily digestible food patients consumed.
Vegetables, bread, vegetables, vegetables, occasionally meat, vegetables….
Of course, being in someone else’s body, I had no right to complain and ate without protest.
Yet deep within my stomach, an unresolved craving accumulated, never satisfied.
Still, there was an unfulfilled longing that accumulated deep within my stomach, unable to be resolved.

I want to have a meal filled with nothing but meat.

But that dreamlike sight was now unfolding before my eyes.

“The male lead might be Keri…”

My voice trembled as I said, “I will eat well.”
Though these were Vivian’s taste buds, my palate hadn’t changed at all.
It was Vivian’s sense of taste, but her palate hadn’t particularly changed.

Is taste a matter of the soul?

With each bite, a delicious thrill coursed through my entire body.
I had to grip my sanity tightly, lest I become so enchanted by this world that I transcended into enlightenment.

“Sigh.”

After a while, I set down my utensils with a satisfied exhale.
Though I hadn’t managed to finish everything, given the generous portion that had been brought.

I’d eaten too much.

My stomach felt uncomfortably full.
If I were in Hibei, I would have taken a brief walk with Keri before collapsing onto the study sofa.

“….”

I gazed at the temptingly luxurious bed positioned in the corner of the room, then reconsidered.
Indulgence could wait until I was completely dead.
Since I had no idea how long I’d remain in Vivian’s body, I needed to stay diligent.

Today I needed to check whether I could access the Secret Vault of the Imperial Library. Zikhard might be there.

That was when I recalled my plans for the day.

Tap. Tap.
A sound came from the window being struck.

“…What is that?”

The rhythmic tapping seemed deliberately artificial. I rose and approached the window.
A small paper bird was pecking at the glass with its beak.

“A magical messenger bird?”

It was a letter folded into the shape of a bird, infused with mana.
Once activated, the paper bird would fly to find its intended recipient.

This one was designed for short-range delivery, though…

If we use Hibei as a reference point, the maximum distance would be from the lord’s castle to the orphanage down the hill.
If we use the Imperial Palace as a reference, it would be about the distance from the Emperor’s Palace to my Separate Palace.

‘Is there anyone in the Imperial Palace who would send me a messenger bird?’

I opened the window and tilted my head in confusion.
Kevenriak came to mind, but I couldn’t imagine him writing a letter in his current state.
The moment my hand touched it, the bird transformed into a letter.
It was a letter with no sender.

“…Look below the window?”

I leaned against the windowsill and peered down.

“Oh.”

There was a man standing near the outer wall, waving at me with a bright smile.
It was Maverick Marquis, impeccably dressed.
Maverick sent another messenger bird toward the noblewoman peeking out from the second-floor window.
I caught the letter as it transformed from the bird.

「My lady, I have something to tell you. Could you spare me a moment?」

“…?”

I was puzzled by the contents of the letter.
Why was Maverick asking for Vivian Asperada?

***

Confused as I was, I dressed and went outside anyway.
I went to where Maverick had been standing, but he was nowhere to be found, so I looked around.

“Vivian Asperada.”

Then I heard a whisper from behind a large tree nearby.
When I stared blankly, Maverick waved at me from behind the tree, beckoning me over.

‘…What is he doing?’

I don’t understand why he’s lurking over there when he claims to have something to say.
Raina Hart walked toward the tree and stood before it.

“What did you wish to tell me?”
“Lady Asperada, there are a few things I’d like to ask you about.”
“…Is this something you can’t discuss while looking at my face?”

I was curious about his intentions.
Maverick lowered his voice in response to my question.

“We’re near the Emperor’s Palace, after all. I didn’t want His Majesty to see me in your company.”

So Maverick didn’t want Keri to see him with Vivian.

‘What scheme is he plotting now…’

I narrowed my eyes at him.
This was precisely why I couldn’t fully trust Maverick without a contract.
When something piqued his interest, he had a strong tendency to act first and ask questions later.
The type who would play alongside you, then suddenly plunge a dagger into your back without warning, and say something like, ‘I just wanted to try it. Sorry~’ before walking away with a smile.
The only thing that restrained that nature of his was a contract.
But setting that aside.

‘Why did Vivian come looking for me?’

I asked Maverick.

“I see. So, what is it you wished to say?”
“Lady Asperada, have you perhaps been kidnapped by His Majesty the Emperor?”
“…?”

Kidnapped. Technically, that wasn’t entirely wrong, but it was far more comfortable than I’d expected, and Keri had suddenly been treating me well…

‘But how does Maverick know about the kidnapping?’

As that thought crossed my mind, Maverick provided the answer.

“My acquaintance encountered someone in trouble yesterday,” Maverick said.
“Someone in trouble?”
“A man named Nox Din.”

Tiernan Fargan.

“A silver-haired foreign mercenary. Apparently, a sorceress abducted the young lady he was protecting. The description he gave matched the Duchess and His Majesty the Emperor so closely that I wanted to verify it.”

Listening to Maverick’s account, I pieced together what had happened.
Tiernan Fargan, whom I’d thought had returned to the Rebel Forces, had apparently sought out Maverick’s Detective Agency to find Vivian.
Maverick’s approach to me meant the contract had been concluded.

‘Tiernan Fargan isn’t a sorceress, so why would Maverick….’

The contract likely stipulated that Maverick would smuggle Vivian out of the Imperial Palace.
It wasn’t an unfavorable arrangement.
But I still had much business remaining within the Imperial Palace.

‘Perhaps I should ask Maverick to extract Vivian a month from now? By then, I should be able to restore Keri’s mind to some semblance of wholeness.’

Moreover.
Even if my soul were to vanish before then, I would have someone I could trust to look after Vivian.
A Marquis of the Betuzhenia Empire, no less—one with access to the Imperial Palace itself.

‘…This could work.’

With the contract binding them, Maverick would become a steadfast ally to Vivian.
I opened my mouth to speak to Maverick, but—

“Yes, that’s—”

My gaze fixed on empty air, and I turned my head back with a grave expression.

“What’s wrong?” Maverick asked.

Sensing something amiss, Maverick cautiously peeked his face around the tree.
He caught sight of the Duchess rushing urgently toward somewhere, and startled, he gave chase.

***

The pinnacle of magic that humans could reach.
An 8th Circle Grand Mage, Raina Hart.

Many revered her, and many feared her.
Yet she possessed a single weakness.

Raina Hart’s Tomb.
The ice Kevenriak summoned blocked Ban’s flames.
Ban bared her fangs, pouring her fury at her first disciple.
“Come at me then. I’ve been curious how strong a 7th Circle truly is.”

Raina sprinted forward without extinguishing the translucent barrier.
This wasn’t in the original story, so it must be happening now.
Her two disciples were fighting each other.

‘Why are Keri and Ban…?’

Raina Hart’s Tomb.
Within the Imperial Palace, the only place that came to mind was the Separate Palace where she had stayed before her death.
Raina was racing toward it from the Emperor’s Palace.
Her lungs burned as if they might burst, but she gritted her teeth.

….

Meanwhile, Maverick watched the noblewoman running before him.
The noblewoman who seemed ready to sprint toward her destination without pause.

“M-My lady! Wait a moment! Shall we…?”
“…Huff, gasp…”

She managed only a short distance before stopping, breathing heavily.
Then she ran again.
Maverick followed in her wake.
For him, it was merely a light jog—no strain on his breath.

‘The Lady Asperada will be crawling soon.’

Her physical stamina was abysmal.
Maverick assessed Vivian’s condition.
He needed to account for it when extracting her from the Imperial Palace.

‘Her perseverance, though… isn’t terrible.’

On trembling legs, she twisted and strained forward, running with all her might.
Though her hand pressed against her waist as if in considerable pain, the princess did not stop.

‘The sight of it is rather amusing.’

A princess and a marquis running through the Imperial Palace—what a spectacle.
Where had the dignity and decorum of nobility gone?
Within this desolate Betuzhenia Imperial Palace, there was no one of rank left to care.

“Princess, where are you headed? Shall I assist you?”

At Maverick’s words, Raina Hart glanced back.
Ah, she was beautiful indeed. No wonder the Imperial Prince of Tunterra had lavished diamonds upon her so generously.
The princess whose beauty made him pause asked him urgently.

“Marquis, you’re a mage, aren’t you? You used that messenger bird earlier. What circle are you? Can you teleport?”

He was genuinely committed to maintaining his dual identities—as Director of Daisy and as Maverick Marquis.
The Director of Daisy was a high-ranking mage of the 4th Circle.
Maverick Marquis’s circle was something he’d never disclosed.
So.

‘Please let me be a mage.’

Please let me have teleportation—
As if her desperation had reached him, Maverick smiled softly.

“I am a mage. 4th Circle.”

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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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