For the Young Villain’s Happy Ending - Chapter 81

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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 81

My sixth day at the Imperial Palace.
My morning had begun ominously.
A shoe heel snapped. A water glass cracked during breakfast.

“Please, kill me! Miss Vivian!”
“…People don’t die from things like this.”

It had been a strange day, to say the least.
And I had just realized why all these incidents were happening in succession.

“Vivian.”

Pialtis Asperada.
I inwardly clicked my tongue at the sight of the middle-aged man who had come to my room.
I had thought it was only a matter of time, but it seemed the rumors of Vivian Asperada staying at the Imperial Palace had reached his ears as well.
Of course, on the surface, I greeted him with feigned surprise for the sake of Vivian’s smooth family relations.

“Father? How did you come here?”
“That’s what I should be asking. How are you at the Imperial Palace when you’ve been missing?”

Even if she was a daughter he intended to use as a means to his success, he was curious about the circumstances of her disappearance.
To Pialtis’s question, I fabricated a story—that I had been attacked at the Duke’s Castle and suffered such a severe shock that I couldn’t remember several days of events.

“When I came to my senses, I was near Jenia. I was being chased by beasts in the mountains when His Majesty the Emperor rescued me.”
“…Is that so? Then that mercenary must have kidnapped you after all.”
“A mercenary? No, it was a group of ruffians who attacked me at the castle.”

Pialtis frowned, displeased that intruders had infiltrated his own castle.
The conversation between father and daughter, reunited after two weeks and learning each other’s fates, was anything but touching—it was utterly plain.

“For now, return home. Your mother has been waiting for you greatly.”
“That is….”
“Why do you hesitate?”

As Vivian wavered, Pialtis asked with a rather displeased expression.

“Are you reluctant to be separated from the Emperor?”
“I… beg your pardon?”
“There’s been talk among the nobles who frequent the Imperial Palace. That you and His Majesty share an intimate relationship.”

Intimate?
Raina Hart narrowed her eyes at those words, recalling the past six days.
Was there an incident that would give such an impression?
Keri carrying me around like baggage, or Vivian’s stamina failing and suddenly collapsing in front of Keri…

“It’s a good thing. An intimate relationship between a man and woman means they can dream of a future together.”

Then, realizing Pialtis Asperada’s true intentions, I let out a silent scoff.
So he plans to entangle Vivian with the Emperor like this. He’s after the position of the Emperor’s father-in-law.

‘He’s too afraid to broach the marriage topic directly with Keri, so he’s subtly hinting at it to Vivian instead.’

A character who acts unchanged from the original story, regardless of circumstances.
I admired Pialtis Asperada’s consistency.

“And Vivian.”

Pialtis Asperada lowered his voice and asked her.

“Have you told His Majesty the Emperor?”
“Told him what?”
“…About your dreams.”

The rebellion of the Third Prince, then.
Though he dismissed it as the ravings of a mad daughter, he seemed afraid of it reaching the Emperor’s ears.

“My dreams? Was there a dream I should have told His Majesty about?”
“Ah, no. I was just speaking carelessly.”

Pialtis Asperada felt relieved at his daughter’s response.
I needlessly worried. She lost consciousness for several days after being attacked by some ruffian or other—perhaps even those memories were swept away.
In any case, it was a welcome development for me.

“How is Mother?”
“Tsk, tsk. Now you finally ask after her? Your mother is always worried about you. Confined to the castle like that—how pitiful it must be.”

Pialtis Asperada clicked his tongue at Vivian’s continued questions, regarding Simona with pity.
Was Vivian, who had been attacked by a ruffian and now found herself at the Imperial Palace, not deserving of sympathy?
Raina Hart’s eyes grew cold as she observed Pialtis Asperada.

‘The sachet, the illness from two years ago that doesn’t appear in the original story—Simona Asperada has more than one suspicious point. She’s one of the suspects, so it would be fortunate if I could meet her.’

I haven’t even restored Kevenriak’s mind yet, and already my greed resurfaces.
I must abandon such attachments, Raina.

‘I am no longer someone who can live in this world.’

The corpse that Kevenriak likely spirited away had surely decomposed by now, leaving only bones.
After returning my body to Vivian, my soul would either descend to the underworld or simply cease to exist.
Revenge belongs to the living. My desires, now that I am dead, are more than satisfied by merely wishing for my disciple’s happy ending.

“I intend to remain in Jenia for the time being. How could I return with peace of mind while you are at the Imperial Palace? I shall visit you often.”
“…Very well.”

Duke Asperada never once asked Vivian how life at the Imperial Palace suited her, whether living alongside the tyrant Emperor was tolerable—nothing of the sort.
Despite his own fear of the Emperor having kept him from visiting the Imperial Palace all this time.
For his own gain, he cared not what became of his daughter’s circumstances.
A cold smile played at the corners of Raina Hart’s mouth as she watched Pialtis Asperada’s retreating figure.

‘At least Vivian has one more option—Tiernan Fargan.’

She could never find happiness under such a father. It was the same in the original story.

‘I hope that when Vivian awakens, she will choose to follow Tiernan Fargan.’

I adjusted the bracelet on my wrist.
I did not know when Vivian would awaken.
But I hoped I would have approximately three weeks.

***

Special Investigation Bureau.
Hazel, commander of the 1st Special Investigation Unit, answered the summons and made his way to his superior’s office.
As he knocked, a cheerful male voice from within invited him to enter.
The neat and pleasant office immediately drew his attention to a large desk bearing the nameplate “Director Maverick.”
A refined gentleman with hair swept back from his forehead sat at that desk to greet Hazel.
A high-ranking nobleman whose heterochromatic eyes—each a different color—possessed an undeniable allure.
It was certainly suspicious that someone holding the rank of marquis had seized the directorship of the Special Investigation Bureau, which had split off from the main Investigation Bureau while being treated as peculiar individuals.

“Director Maverick, you called for me.”

Maverick glanced over Hazel’s formal greeting, then welcomed him warmly as he looked up.

“Inspector Hazel, have I ever called you in separately before?”
“This is the first time in the two years since you took office.”
“Ah, I see. No wonder it felt unfamiliar.”

Maverick touched the documents spread across his desk.
They were the records Hazel had compiled while investigating and pursuing the Old Woman who used dark magic under the orders of Cheinols, the previous Emperor.

“Is this still under investigation?”
“Yes, it is.”
“For something like that, there’s remarkably little here?”
“…Yes.”

After Raina Hart’s death, I had thrown myself even more intensely into pursuing the Old Woman’s whereabouts.
Yet I had failed to uncover any meaningful leads.

“What about the evidence—the potion bottle?”
“That… it disappeared, caught in the barrier of the late Archmage.”

Lost evidence.
Hazel hung his head in shame.
I had found a mage willing to examine the enchantments on the potion bottle.
Just as I was about to leave Jenia with the evidence in hand, the potion bottle I had tucked into my pocket vanished without a trace.
I searched extensively but could not find it. It was only when a colleague informed me in my despair that I learned it had been pulled into Raina Hart’s pocket dimension.

“…So it went into Raina’s subspace?”

Maverick tapped his index finger against the desk, then pushed the documents to one side.

“Well, let’s drop this investigation now.”
“I… beg your pardon?”
“The Emperor from two generations back is no longer with us. What’s the point in continuing an investigation that’s going nowhere? Our only piece of evidence has vanished anyway.”
“But still—”

Though I’d been assigned other cases as well, this was the one I’d been chasing for over a decade.
The words came out easily.

“Ah, I suppose I didn’t mention it.”

Maverick smiled slyly.

“This is an order, so you have no choice in the matter.”
“….”
“Don’t give me that look of a stray dog robbed of its bone. It’s breaking my heart. Instead, I’ve discovered an intriguing cold case for you.”

Maverick placed another folder on the desk.
It was equally thin, much like the case of the Old Woman’s disappearance I’d been investigating. It meant there was almost no information gathered from the investigation.

“This one is a goldmine of a case. It’s something the Emperor from two generations back ordered us not to investigate, so we just shelved it. It’s technically already been closed as an accident, but—”
“An accident, you say…?”
“Suspicions surrounding the death of the current Emperor’s mother, the Second Empress Consort from two generations back.”

Maverick whispered discreetly.
I could see my eyes change. I’d be interested, wouldn’t I.
After investigating the Traveling Troupe that visited the Imperial Palace, I’d seen every dirty secret of the Heteroven Royal Family laid bare.
I already knew the Second Empress Consort didn’t simply die from complications in childbirth.

‘I’ve gotten quite skilled at picking the right person for a job.’

Maverick chuckled inwardly.

“…What should I investigate, sir?”
“Everything related to the Second Empress Consort—her origins, her background, all of it.”
“Understood.”

I picked up the folder and left the director’s office.
As the door closed, Maverick leaned back in his chair.
A faint sigh escaped him, as though a weight had finally lifted.

“I do hope Hazel brings back information that will satisfy the Fourth Prince.”

Maverick had been summoned to the Imperial Palace that morning by the Emperor’s unexpected call.
He’d gone in a state of high anxiety, wondering if it concerned his debts, only to find it was merely an order the Emperor was issuing to the Minister of State.
An investigation into the Second Empress Consort through the Special Investigation Bureau.
With no leads on the Dark Mage, it seemed they were digging back twenty-two years. The Second Empress Consort had also been a dancer from the Traveling Troupe, after all.

“Revenge is truly exhausting. I don’t understand why everyone pursues such things.”

Even the living found life difficult.

“Mages.”
“Yes?”
“A wandering mage clan, or so I’ve heard. My mother’s people.”

There was no need to pursue revenge for the dead.
Despite such thoughts, tension crept into Maverick’s fingertips as they flicked against the stitching of the armrest.

***

“This is truly impossible.”

I attempted to persuade Kevenriak, who stood across from me with a wooden sword in hand.
Sword training for only five days—

“A duel with Your Majesty?”

I shook my head firmly. It was impossible.
Kevenriak smiled beautifully, his blue eyes crinkling beneath his dark hair as he spoke.

“You can do it, my lady.”

No, I’m telling you it’s impossible.
A beautiful smile doesn’t change that.

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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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