For the Young Villain’s Happy Ending - Chapter 82

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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 82

So that’s why he suddenly offered to gift me a new wooden sword.

“Hollow it out,” he’d said. “So you can wield it easily with your strength.”

He was right about that.
The sword Kevenriak had given me was light enough that I could lift and swing it with ease despite my limited strength.
But still.

“There’s no way I could block His Majesty’s blade…”

Clang.
Despite my murmured doubts, my wrist moved of its own accord.
By adjusting the angle, my blade intercepted the Emperor’s sudden strike.
Kevenriak chuckled and spoke to me.

“See? You blocked it, didn’t you?”
“…That’s impossible.”

I blinked in astonishment at my own reflexes for blocking Kevenriak’s blade.
Though his attack carried no real force, its speed was far from ordinary.
To unconsciously match that velocity and defend against it?

“Am I truly a genius…?”

Honestly, whenever Kevenriak mentioned that I had talent for swordsmanship, I’d dismissed it without a second thought.
How could someone with senses so dull they couldn’t even detect a person approaching from behind possibly have talent for the blade?
Yet here I was, blocking the Emperor’s strike with flawless form.
The Emperor, hearing my murmur, spoke.

“It’s fortunate you didn’t pursue magic.”
“…Your Majesty, let’s try again. Until I can’t block it anymore.”

Once is luck.
True skill requires ten attempts.
I gripped the sword and spoke to the Emperor. Seeing my earnest determination for the first time, Kevenriak readily took up his wooden sword.

Whoosh—. Clang. Tap. Clang. ….

The Emperor’s blade descended through the air, and Raina Hart’s sword responded instantly to meet it.
It was as though they had rehearsed their timing beforehand.

“…?”

Even as I blocked the blade directly, I couldn’t believe what was happening.
Kevenriak was surely holding back, of course. Yet here I was, facing off against such a formidable swordmaster.
My body moved of its own accord. It was as though, before my mind could even process the trajectory of his incoming blade, my instincts guided my defense.

‘Is Vivian truly a sword genius?’

Admiration flowed ceaselessly through my thoughts.
At this rate, couldn’t I even aspire to become a Sword Master?
But that inflated dream deflated just as quickly as a punctured balloon.

“P-please stop.”

Vivian’s stamina simply couldn’t sustain the exchange any longer.
When Kevenriak ceased his assault, I used the wooden sword as a staff to support my failing body.
My trembling arms had no strength left to give.
Yet we had exchanged blows nineteen times.

“Your Majesty, did you see?”

I lifted my head and smiled proudly.
At my boasting, Kevenriak’s lips curved upward as well.

“I did.”
“At this level—”
“You could pierce a heart.”
“….”

At those words, my elevated spirits plummeted in an instant.
I lowered the wooden sword to the ground and simply collapsed where I stood.
Sword genius, my foot. If the goal was to assassinate the Emperor, I’d be better off abandoning swordplay altogether.
I grumbled inwardly.

“What kind of master requests an assassination from their own disciple?”
“Does it displease you?”
“Of course it does.”

The Emperor, his expression betraying confusion, crouched before her.
Raina Hart gazed quietly into Kevenriak Heteroven’s blue eyes as they faced one another.
Those eyes, still devoid of vitality, resembled a deep abyss—captivating enough to bewitch, yet bottomless enough that escape seemed impossible once ensnared.
The Emperor smiled with those eyes, and for a moment, Raina felt herself entirely ensnared by the trap he had laid.

“Vivian Asperada.”

The Emperor spoke her name, then took her hand and placed it upon his chest.
Beneath a single layer of shirt, she felt the Emperor’s upper body.
Kevenriak Heteroven’s heart beat slowly—unlike Vivian’s, which quickened gradually with each passing moment.

“I hope you grow stronger quickly.”
“…?”
“Time is not something I have in abundance.”

At the Emperor’s cryptic words, Raina Hart felt a nagging sense of unease.

***

‘Time is not something he has in abundance?’

Raina Hart lay sprawled across the Training Ground floor.
It was a posture only possible because no one was watching. She had to maintain Vivian’s dignity as a lady-in-waiting, after all.
Kevenriak Heteroven had told her to rest while he returned to his chambers for a moment.
Perhaps he was concerned about my ghost visiting the temple. Regardless, today’s communication would also be by letter rather than in person.

‘Why is that?’

More than that, Kevenriak Heteroven’s words from earlier continued to gnaw at me.
Time is not something he has in abundance—shouldn’t that be something I should be saying instead?

‘Is he speaking with the Rebel Forces in mind? …But their movements haven’t surfaced publicly yet.’

In the original work, Tiernan Fargan and Kevenriak Heteroven did clash several times.
But the main conflict with the villain only began after Vivian left the Duke’s Castle with Tiernan Fargan. Though, what meaning does dwelling on that timeline hold now?

‘Don’t rely on the original story. The original story won’t help at all.’

Raina Hart lifted the wooden sword she held in her hand slightly.
The light wooden sword rose toward the ceiling as easily as a toy blade. Lying on her back, she assumed a ready stance with both hands.

“….”

Earlier, Kevenriak had gone on about piercing her heart and whatnot, so she’d dropped the sword.

‘Honestly, it felt good.’

The sensation of moving as one with the blade wasn’t unpleasant.
Vivian’s swordsmanship talent—even Kevenriak had acknowledged it.
Vivian, whom she’d thought was a sickly lady, turned out to be a hidden powerhouse.

“Did I just glimpse the life of a genius….”

Raina Hart murmured before setting down the sword.
Idle musings wouldn’t solve her troubles.
What exactly did he mean by not having much time?

“Maybe Person would know if I asked him.”

Raina Hart placed her palm over her chest.
Why had Kevenriak guided Vivian’s hand to where her heart was?
If he’d simply meant for her to strike the heart as usual, he would have positioned the tip of the wooden sword instead of her hand.

‘His hand was so large.’

Not just his hand—even through a single layer of shirt, his chest had felt solid and firm.

“….”

After closing her eyes briefly, Raina Hart struck her forehead with a sharp sound.
It was terribly inconsiderate toward Vivian, but she hadn’t had the presence of mind to consider that this was her body.
Raina Hart sat up abruptly, her upper body rigid.
Though she’d struck only her forehead, her face had flushed crimson all the way down to her nape.

“I had come to admire you.”

Vivid memories of the past she had momentarily forgotten, and the raw, bare chest glimpsed between the Emperor’s robe on that first night at the Imperial Palace, surged vividly back to mind.

‘When did that happen…’

Raina Hart nearly struck her forehead again before realizing it was Vivian Asperada’s body she inhabited, and she thrashed about to dispel the intrusive thoughts.
Her heart raced uncontrollably.
How could she harbor such shameless thoughts about her own disciple?
Raina Hart buried her face in both hands, convinced she had lost her mind.

***

The Asperada Duchy.
Maya, a servant, sat before a table and gazed at the Duchess’s profile as she wrote something.
Beneath the amber glow of the lamp, the soft curve of her cheek was revealed—the enchanting beauty who served as mistress of this household was so lovely that anyone would lose themselves in admiration.

“Madam, I’ve brought warm water. Is there anything else you require?”
“Nothing.”

Simona spoke without lifting her gaze from the table.
Maya moved quietly toward the door, careful not to disturb the Duchess’s work.

“Maya.”
“Yes, yes, Madam.”

Startled by the Duchess’s call, Maya stopped and turned to face her.
She had never expected the Duchess to know her name.

“You were Vivian’s personal attendant, weren’t you?”
“Yes…”

At those words, Maya’s shoulders sagged.
It had been roughly two weeks since Miss Vivian Asperada had gone missing.
With no duties to perform, Maya had been helping wherever hands were needed throughout the estate.
But her drooping shoulders now were not because of that.

‘Our dear Miss Vivian…’

Since the days when she slept, I have cared for her with all my devotion.
Thinking of Vivian Asperada’s disappearance, Maya felt tears welling up.
The worry that something terrible might have befallen her plagued her constantly.

“They’ve found Vivian Asperada’s whereabouts.”
“R-really?! W-where is she?!”

Maya’s face brightened.
Simona glanced at the maid.

“I-I’m terribly sorry, madam. I just behaved so improperly….”

Maya, suddenly coming to her senses, bowed deeply.
Simona smiled, her eyes with their beauty marks crinkling slightly.

“Don’t worry about it. Vivian Asperada is doing well at the Imperial Palace, so put your mind at ease.”
“Ah…!”

The Imperial Palace. So she finally went there, despite how much she wanted to.
The brightness that had illuminated Maya’s face upon learning Vivian Asperada’s whereabouts dimmed with shadow.

‘Will she be alright, Miss Vivian Asperada? The Emperor is mad….’

Everyone said that once you entered the Imperial Palace, you came out dead.
Just then, as Simona arranged her cards, a single thin card slipped from her hands.
The white card fluttered like a butterfly and fell to the floor.
Though it landed closer to the duchess than to me, Maya rushed over, picked up the card, and offered it to Simona.

“Madam, you dropped this.”
“….”

But Simona merely gazed at the card held in Maya’s two hands, making no move to take it.

“Madam…?”
“Maya, there’s something I need to verify. Would you read the writing on it for me?”

At Simona’s words, Maya looked down at the card.
On the white card were words written in Simona’s hand.

“Age 15. Carriage accident.”

The maid’s eyes studied the written words intently.
Yet.

“One… five… I’m sorry, ma’am. I cannot read.”

Beyond the numerals she encountered at the market, there was nothing she could decipher.
Ashamed of her illiteracy and inability to help, Maya’s cheeks flushed as she offered the card once more.
Simona accepted the card at last.

“I see. It’s all right.”

Her shadow cast upon the wallpaper withdrew the dark hand that had stretched toward the maid, concealing it within her own form.

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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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