For the Young Villain’s Happy Ending - Chapter 77

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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 77

Considerable time had passed since Person went to find the horses, and upon hearing the servants mention his failure to return, I ventured into the forest.
Finding Person collapsed beneath the cliff was fortunate enough, but.

‘His condition is grave. I must act swiftly.’

Vivian’s body lacked the means to pull Person up to safety.
Even if I descended below, I possessed no way to administer emergency treatment.
Raina Hart called out to Person.

“Sir Person, is your pain severe?”
“I’m… fine.”

Person answered with his large hands covering his face.

‘He’s in considerable pain. His voice trembles with it.’

It would have been strange if he weren’t suffering.
His leg was bent at an unnatural angle, and broken branches protruded from his upper body.
The branches at least stemmed the bleeding, preventing excessive hemorrhage. Otherwise, he would have lost consciousness from shock already.

“I’ll summon His Majesty. Can you remain conscious until then?”
“…Yes, I will manage.”

Upon hearing Person’s response, Raina Hart rose from the ground.
She intended to return to the Separate Palace where the fire had occurred and summon Kevenriak.
Even if he had departed elsewhere, those remaining to handle the aftermath could surely assist her.

‘Ah.’

As I turned my body with that thought, I brightened at the sight of the path I had traveled.
A man whose appearance seemed radiant even from a distance was walking toward me.
Kevenriak had arrived with perfect timing.
However.

“Lady Raina.”

Person’s voice echoing from below the cliff seized her body.
Hadn’t Person just called her Raina?
But the oath had activated. She couldn’t respond at all.

“Are you… Lady Raina…?”

His trembling question spilled out between anguished coughs.

‘Person, not yet.’

Person had recognized her identity.
Raina had guided him to it, but she hadn’t anticipated a situation like this.
Temporary rigidity from the oath. And Kevenriak discovering her.
Vivian’s heartbeat quickened with the tension Raina felt.

‘Keri hasn’t regained his senses yet. If he discovers I’m Raina in his current state—’

The Emperor showed no mercy to liars, especially those who imitated his Master.
‘Anyone who calls themselves Raina is a liar.’
The mad Emperor’s subconscious whispered.

A spear materialized as if in warning.
If her identity were exposed before Kevenriak regained his senses.
He would kill Vivian. Believing her an impostor claiming to be Raina.

“Your silence means… yes, to Lady Raina…”

Person’s words continued, unaware of the situation above the cliff.
Mana swirled around the Emperor’s body. Teleportation.

“Your Majesty, the oath—”
“Knight Person! Stop!”

Everything happened simultaneously.
Person spoke the word “oath,” the rigidity released Raina who cried out, and the Emperor materialized before her.

“My lady.”

Kevenriak seized Raina’s arm. The moment she saw the look in his eyes, a chill ran down her spine.
Had he heard it?

“….”

Person seemed to sense the ominous shift in atmosphere and fell silent.
Kevenriak and Raina. They stared at each other.
The Emperor’s hand moved toward the princess’s neck. Raina swallowed hard, wondering if he would strangle Vivian.
But his hand passed over her throat. He buried his fingers in her soft hair and pulled her close.

“I almost eliminated that loyal little rat who tried to take the princess away from me.”

A whisper against her ear.
Coldness mingled with melancholy. Fortunately, he seemed not to have heard what Person said about the oath.
And in that moment, Raina understood.
The “rat” Kevenriak spoke of wasn’t specifically Tiernan. He meant everything—everyone—who tried to take Vivian Asperada away from him.

“So don’t ever disappear without a word again.”

The Emperor’s quiet obsession poured forth.
His tone was calm, yet the determination to never let Vivian go was unmistakable.
For a moment, I felt myself being pulled into Kevenriak’s abyss, but there was no time for that.

“Your Majesty, Knight Person is gravely wounded.”

Person might die at any moment.
At Raina’s urgent voice, the Emperor whispered again.

“Answer me, princess. Will you disappear without a word?”
“That’s not what matters right now.”
“It matters.”

Kevenriak spoke with a melancholic tone.

“…If you save Knight Person first, I’ll answer you.”

Raina Hart delayed her response.
That she would not disappear, that she would remain by his side.
To him, who sat alone and forlorn, submerged deep within a swamp, these were not words she could speak easily.
Because even when she had spoken those words with sincerity, she had ultimately abandoned Kevenriak.
Perhaps it was because of the news that Person had suffered greatly—Kevenriak did not demand an immediate answer, but instead walked toward the cliff’s edge.

“Person.”

The Emperor’s emotionless blue eyes looked down upon him.
Only then did Person understand why Raina Hart had even cried out while covering her own mouth.

“…Your Majesty.”

He had nearly made a mistake. Person’s gaze shifted to another pair of eyes beside Kevenriak.
Instead of clear silver eyes, unfamiliar hazel-colored ones.

‘So Lady Raina Hart remains by His Majesty’s side, even in such a form.’

Though her appearance had changed, she was the Raina Hart he remembered.
His heart burned at the sight of her unchanged spirit.
The lord to whom I pledged my loyalty could not abandon her beloved disciple even in death, and so she came to this place.

“…Ugh….”

A sob escaped from the lips of the knight past forty.
The two of them watched Person together.

“He weeps.”
“It seems he is in great pain.”

To the Emperor’s casual murmur tinged with curiosity, Raina Hart answered with a start.

***

Moments later.
Through the Emperor’s teleportation, Person was lifted above the cliff’s edge.
His wounds too were cleanly healed thanks to the capable 7-Circle mage, and even the abdominal injuries he had worried over appeared to have mended without organ damage.

‘Magic truly is supreme.’

Raina Hart watched as Person, who had seemed on the brink of death, was revived by magic, and for a moment, she found herself yearning for the body she had lost.
It wasn’t for nothing that she had lived comfortably as a Grand Mage for over a decade.

“My apologies, Your Majesty.”
“Never mind.”

Person, who had been lying on the floor, rose to his feet in perfect condition.
Raina Hart spoke to him.

“Are you alright, Person?”
“Yes. I’m fine….”

But Person could not finish his words. The moment his eyes met Raina Hart’s, his eyes began to redden.
Raina Hart noticed Person’s reaction.
Fearing the Emperor might detect something amiss, they both hastily averted their gazes.

I was relieved, at least. Person had figured it out.

I had gained a proper ally.
I wanted to speak with Person about what had happened in the past. I was certain he felt the same way.
But.

….

There was one more person in this place besides Person and me.
Having caught some scent or other, the Emperor wrapped his arm around my shoulder and gazed at Person.

His Majesty still doesn’t know that Vivian Asperada is Raina Hart….

Yet there was a clear wariness directed at me.
Was this the Emperor’s instinct toward Raina Hart?
Now that I thought about it, it was strange that His Majesty had brought a woman he’d never seen before to the Imperial Palace.
As this thought crossed my mind, I decided I should leave first.

“Your Majesty, would it be acceptable if I withdrew for now?”

It was almost amusing that the commander of the Emperor’s personal knights was asking permission to leave while the Emperor remained.

Perhaps being with Raina Hart alone might ease his madness, even if only slightly….

***

With the Emperor’s permission granted, Person rose from his seat and departed.
Raina found herself alone in the forest with Kevenriak Heteroven.
The silence between them, which had felt awkward mere days ago, was gradually becoming familiar.

‘I wonder what Keri is thinking.’

His quietude troubled me. I found myself curious about what occupied his mind.
Preferring conversation to this unease, I turned to him with a question.

“Your Majesty, what of the people inside the building?”
“They all survived.”

They survived.
From the moment I brought Kevenriak Heteroven there, I had harbored no expectation of casualties.
Yet hearing confirmation that no lives were lost brought genuine relief.
I smiled toward Kevenriak Heteroven and spoke.
I longed to stroke his hair in gratitude, but my hand could not reach him—and besides, the Emperor despised such gestures.

“It was thanks to Your Majesty’s magic. Had you arrived any later, the consequences could have been catastrophic.”

The Emperor, who had been quietly observing my smile, finally broke his silence.

“You saved Person. Now answer my question.”

The topic’s opening was far from welcome.
He was determined to extract the answer I had evaded earlier.
As I hesitated, the Emperor pressed further.

“Will you also leave me without a word?”

Yet even with more time granted, this was not a question I could answer readily.
My time is not my own, so even I do not know when I will depart, Keri.
Did he interpret my silence as affirmation?
Between the Emperor’s fingers, Vivian’s hair became entwined.

“So you intend to leave after all.”

Reflected in those blue eyes was not hair the color of pale purple, but brown.

“Like my Master.”
“….”

Like the Master I killed with these hands.
The Emperor murmured sadly.

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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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