For the Young Villain’s Happy Ending - Chapter 72

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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 72

“You said we’d have fun.”

Kevenriak stared blankly at the place Vivian Asperada had led me to.
The Imperial Palace Library.

“I didn’t know the Lady had a fondness for reading.”

This was not a place that held any warmth for Kevenriak.
For him, a library conjured memories of Raina Hart’s study in the Hibei Lord’s Castle.
That’s why he had deliberately avoided it even within the Imperial Palace. This was his first visit since the coronation day.

“I do love books. My favorite genre is healing fiction. Even the villains find happiness there.”
“….”

In the corridor, standing beside the Emperor, Raina Hart gazed toward the library beyond the door.
The Imperial Palace Library was immaculate and orderly.
As though no one had used it for two years.
Raina Hart moved to enter the library but stopped when a large hand blocked her vision.

“What are you doing?”

She questioned the Emperor who stood in her path, glancing back at him.
Kevenriak smiled, the corners of his mouth lifting as though he had been waiting for Vivian to meet his gaze.

“Not this.”
“…?”
“How about a lesson instead.”

A sword lesson in broad daylight.
His expression is charming when he smiles with such intent, I must admit.

“I don’t want to.”

I’m already busy enough just keeping you alive, Keri.
Raina Hart countered with a radiant smile, then ducked away from Kevenriak’s reach and slipped into the study.
As Kevenriak watched her retreating figure, his expression settled back into its customary impassiveness.
There was something almost dissatisfied about his gaze—as though her beauty had failed to spring the trap he’d laid.

“My lady, you’ve lost considerable fear in just four days.”
“Is that so? I suppose it’s because I’ve become Your Majesty’s student. You’ve become quite reassuring to me now. Is this what they call the bond between master and disciple?”
….

Kevenriak made no reply, merely leaning his crossed arms against the doorframe.
In his line of sight, Vivian Asperada crouched before the bookshelves, earnestly selecting volumes.

“Wow, this is here.”

I wonder what’s so thrilling about that. She’d be better served learning swordplay in this moment.
Yesterday, she finally executed an overhead strike.
She seemed unaware of it herself, but her grip and aptitude were honestly not poor—one could even call them exceptional.
Since she claimed never to have trained before, she must be a natural genius with the blade.

‘Vivian Asperada….’

The Emperor’s quiet eyes gleamed with cold calculation.
The problem was the strength in those slender limbs. I’ll focus on teaching her the short blade rather than the longsword.
As Kevenriak entertained such thoughts, Raina Hart’s attention was wholly consumed by what lay before her.

‘A sequel came out? And I haven’t even seen the previous volume yet!’

The world moved far too quickly.
The study was lined with new releases of the novels she loved to read.
Even though the Emperor paid little attention to the library, new installments of serialized works had been steadily added to its collection.
The study, to which she’d submitted a list of books to acquire before the coronation, was now filled primarily with volumes suited to her tastes.

‘Wow, shouldn’t I read these now? A soul can’t turn pages, can it? When I entered Vivian’s body….’

My mind churned with deliberation, yet my hands, driven by desire, continued extracting books with practiced efficiency.
After gathering about ten volumes in my arms, I slowly regained some self-control and decided: this would suffice.
The moment I rose from my crouch, I realized I’d overlooked something about Vivian.

‘Oh no.’

A spinning world before my eyes. My body swayed.
Everything tumbling down….

‘That can’t happen…!’

If even the cover tore when the books hit the floor, my heart would break. What would I do then?
It was precisely when Raina Hart gritted her teeth to keep her balance.

A decisive moment.
Two steady hands appeared and caught the teetering tower of books from above and below, cradling them against his chest.

“Be careful.”
“Oh….”

I had never expected help.
Startled, Raina Hart followed the Emperor’s movements with her eyes, only to regain her senses when she heard the books being set down on the table.
It was a low table surrounded by sofas.

“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.”

Kevenriak’s gaze turned toward the books on the table. The title on the cover of the topmost book felt familiar.

“Keri, this author seems like a genius.”
“You find it that entertaining?”
“Yes. If I could step into a book, I’d want to enter this world.”
“May I come along?”
“…Well. That wouldn’t be so bad. Though I’d hope you’d be the protagonist in this world.”
“Why?”
“Because the protagonist is so very happy.”

A book my teacher used to read.

….

The Emperor’s blue eyes, recalling those memories, dimmed once more.
In that moment, Raina Hart walked to the table and picked up a book.
She had deliberately chosen books that were famous throughout the Betuzhenia Empire. Kevenriak wouldn’t suspect a thing.

“Your Majesty, will you be reading?”
“….”
“If you’re just going to sit there, perhaps the oath—”

Thump.
In that instant, Raina Hart stared at the Emperor seated on the sofa with wide, astonished eyes.

“Is something the matter?”
“Oh, nothing at all.”

This.
Without realizing it, I had gained a weapon to handle the Emperor.

***

“Is that truly so?”

Pialtis Asperada spoke loudly to the nobleman who had visited the Duke’s Castle.
Then, concerned that his voice might carry beyond the reception room, he lowered his tone.

“You truly saw my daughter at the Imperial Palace?”
“Yes, yes.”

Count Mars nodded hurriedly.

“Otherwise, why would I have gone to such lengths as to hire a mage and use teleportation to visit you? It was certainly Vivian Asperada, your daughter.”

Duke Asperada had been minimizing his visits to the Imperial Palace to preserve himself.
He knew the mad Emperor held him in disfavor.
Count Mars was the one Duke Asperada had planted within the Imperial Palace.

“I saw the young lady myself not long after she awakened. I am certain of it. She appeared healthier than the last time.”
“Ha.”

Pialtis gripped the armrest of his chair tightly.
So Vivian Asperada had gone to the Imperial Palace after all.

‘At least she didn’t speak nonsense to the Emperor.’

Just as he had threatened me back then, he seemed not to have spoken that nonsense to the Emperor.
Had the Emperor discovered my support for the Third Prince, he would have already appeared here and taken my life.

“I apologize, Father.”

The words I spoke on bended knee must have been sincere.
As expected.
Pialtis Asperada’s lips curled upward with satisfaction.

“However, Your Grace. Does the Lady have an acquaintance with His Majesty the Emperor?”
“An acquaintance?”

Pialtis Asperada gestured to Count Mars as though asking what he meant.
It was a signal to continue.

“I saw His Majesty the Emperor walking through the palace grounds holding the Lady’s hand. Though I hesitate to speak of such matters, they appeared like lovers.”
“Lovers? Explain in detail.”
“That is….”

Count Mars feigned reluctance as he spilled everything I had witnessed.
How the Emperor had acted affectionately toward Vivian’s shoulders, how he had smiled, how he had readily extended his hand to her….

“Ha, indeed.”

A sound of astonishment escaped Duke Asperada’s lips like a murmur.
Then, at some point, a scheming expression settled upon his face.

‘Vivian and the Emperor.’

The Emperor’s father-in-law.
The marriage prospect I had lost due to Vivian’s disappearance was but a pebble compared to the position of the Emperor’s father-in-law.
Now, they say the empire runs well enough without the Imperial Palace.
But there was no guarantee that the commands of a mad Emperor would hold sway forever. Should not someone of sound mind like myself stand behind the Emperor?
If all went well, the Betuzhenia Empire could come to rest in the palm of my hand.

“Shall I inform the Duchess? I hear she worries greatly about the Lady’s whereabouts—.”
“No.”

Duke Asperada waved his hand.
It was true that Simona was worried about Vivian.

“I’ll tell her myself.”

She mustn’t know yet.
I need to solidify my plans before I reveal anything to her.
The Duke’s hand gripping the armrest tingled with anticipation.

***

Reading all ten books proved impossible.
But Raina Hart had received permission from Kevenriak to take the books to her room.
Kevenriak had left the study first to attend to the Emperor’s afternoon duties.

I’ll read them bit by bit whenever I have time.

Raina Hart walked toward her room, cradling three books in her arms.
Greedily, she would have liked to take dozens, but—

It’s obvious I won’t finish them all anyway. And I don’t have time to lose myself in books.

Still, she couldn’t complain about her fortune.
As Raina Hart walked forward with evident joy, someone called out to her.

“Lady Raina Hart?”
“…?”

Raina Hart reflexively turned her head, but immediately felt her body constrained by the oath’s restrictions and froze. Before the constraint took hold, she had reacted to the call for just an instant. He must have noticed.
Any seasoned knight with battlefield experience would have caught it.
The sharp tap of boot heels echoed unusually loudly through the corridor.
The sound of footsteps echoing through the corridor was unusually loud.

“….”

Raina Hart called out to the Knight standing before her.

“Mr. Person.”

Person opened his mouth toward Raina.

“…Are you the ghost of Vivian Asperada, my lady?”

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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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