For the Young Villain’s Happy Ending - Chapter 85

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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 85

The magical energy belonged to Ban, who had teleported directly into the Emperor’s Chamber.
She had come to find the Emperor at another Disciple’s request to bring back information about the Rebel Forces.

“What’s going on, Emperor.”

Ban, who had expected a brightly lit room like yesterday, furrowed her brow at the dim interior.

“Why are all the lights off today—? Wha—?!”

Then she jumped back in shock upon realizing the person in the room wasn’t Kevenriak.
She had mistaken them for the First Disciple based on the faint silhouette she’d glimpsed.
What reflected in the predator’s yellow eyes, now accustomed to the darkness, was the woman who had been protecting the Emperor days ago.

“…You.”

Why was that woman in the Emperor’s Chamber without the master present?
The woman was catching her breath, her upper body heaving as if she’d been running through the night.
Her gaze was fixed on me, and from the way her eyes were wide open, she seemed startled to see me.

‘Is she frightened?’

Well, a tiger’s eyes in the darkness do look quite terrifying.
Even though we’d lived together for fourteen years at the Orphanage, the Disciples who encountered Ban or Din in the dead of night still jumped in fright.

‘I should give her a warning.’

Ban snapped her fingers.

Whoosh. Whoosh.
Seven fireballs erupted into the air in succession.
It was an ability Ban possessed, born from her tiger-human heritage and fire attribute.
Standing surrounded by blazing fireballs would certainly look quite threatening.

“….”
“Listen.”

Ban bared her fangs and called out to the woman who had frozen in place at her bow.
But contrary to Ban’s expectations, Raina Hart was not frightened—instead, she was lost in a brief reverie.

“Master, look at this. I can now summon five flames at once!”
“Impressive.”
“With this much skill, wouldn’t it be enough to introduce myself as your disciple, Raina Hart?”
“That was always enough.”
“Come on, I can’t settle for that. I need to grow stronger so I can bring more honor to your name, don’t I?”

Two years ago, you spoke those words with such playful laughter, and the memory remains vivid.
You’ve grown so much in the time we’ve been apart, Ban.
A mixture of regret and pride toward my disciple welled up within me. A bittersweet smile graced my lips.
Seeing that smile, Ban’s eyes twitched.
She laughed at my threatening bow? Perhaps she was stronger than she appeared?

“Does this seem trivial to you?”
“That’s not wh—”

Then perhaps I should press harder.
Ban swung her right hand, now transformed into a tiger’s claw, toward the woman.
She had only intended to make a show of attacking.

“What—what is this?”

The woman staggered from the wind pressure created by the claw that hadn’t even touched her, and fell to the ground.
Ban’s eyes widened in shock, her yellow gaze round with surprise.
How could there be a human this weak?

“Do not use magic carelessly in front of ordinary people who cannot perform magic or combat.”

My late Master’s voice echoed in my ears, and cold sweat began to pour down my face.
But that didn’t mean I should stop warning her just because the woman was weak.
My first disciple was not in her right mind at the moment. I had to be the one to remain vigilant toward the woman.
Ban looked down at the fallen woman with a menacing expression and spoke.

“What is your purpose in approaching the Emperor?”
“….”
“If you’re trying to do something about the mad Emperor, you can forget it.”

Raina Hart fell silent.

‘Ban.’

Thinking this might be our last moment, I wanted to convey something—anything—to her.
Yet that too seemed like words spoken merely for my own comfort, making it difficult to open my mouth.

‘I am Raina Hart.’

Would revealing myself as the Master about to depart only inflict a different kind of loss upon her?
Perhaps it would be better to assume the role of a third party and leave my final words that way.
After a moment of deliberation, Raina Hart spoke.

“…Raina Hart is.”
“Why.”

But the moment those words—Raina Hart—left her lips, Ban let out a bitter laugh.

“Did the Master’s soul enter you too?”
“…!”

Raina Hart looked up at him in shock.
He remained sprawled on the ground.

“What are you talking about…? Someone with Raina Hart’s soul inside them appeared?”
“…What, why are you so serious? Did you really approach me for that purpose?”

Ban’s eyes held a wounded expression as he gazed at her, as if wounded by his own words.

“Ban.”
“…How do you know my name? Did the Emperor tell you? Have you grown that close to him?”

But Raina Hart had no mind to answer Ban’s accusations.
Who on earth had approached my Disciples with such words?
I had to warn the children. They must not trust anyone who approaches them that way.

“You mustn’t trust people like that.”
“…What are you trying to say? Stop it.”
“Raina Hart’s soul has entered someone—.”
“I said stop.”

Ban cut me off repeatedly, as if she couldn’t bear to hear my words.

“Who exactly came to you—.”
“Stop it!”

Thud.
Her thick front paw finally pinned my upper body to the ground.
My breath caught halfway. Sharp claws scraped against the floor, glinting near my fallen face.
Ban leaned over me, unable to contain her fury, her breathing ragged. The eyes meeting mine burned with a raw hostility entirely different from moments before.

“So your soul has been replaced by Master’s too, hasn’t it?”

What was she saying….
As I stared at her in confusion, Ban spoke as if to herself.

“Those Sorcerers especially. They came to Hibei so many times…. And we were foolish enough to welcome them…. Not knowing it was all a lie. Damn it.”

Ban’s voice trembled with rage. Moisture glistened in her heated yellow eyes.
From my Disciple’s muttering, I grasped what had transpired during my two years of absence, and my fists clenched.
I was too late.

‘I was too late for all of you.’

I had foolishly believed that since Ban hadn’t lost her mind, even indirect words would reach her.
The imposters claiming to be Master had found my Disciples as well.
They were still children, too young to be called worldly adults.
The oldest Disciple now was barely twenty-one.
Two years ago, they would have easily believed the imposters and rejoiced with pure hearts.
But what returned was betrayal.
Having experienced hope that Master was alive and the devastation of discovering it was all a lie, repeatedly, my Disciples had constructed a thick wall of distrust.

‘Is this what I left you with?’

So that’s all my legacy amounted to.
I clenched my fist tighter. I had no right to shed tears before a wounded disciple, so I had to hold them back.

“Woman, I don’t know if you’re a Sorcerer or whatever.”
….
“Stop spouting nonsense about how the Emperor has lost his mind and thinking you can do something about it from the sidelines. All those kinds of people are already dead.”

I listened silently to my disciple’s words, then placed my hand on Ban’s thick paw.
Ban flinched.

“I’m sorry.”

This seemed to be the best I could manage while facing you.

“I’ll disappear by tomorrow morning.”
“Disappear? Just like that?”
“Yes. So come back in the morning and check.”

Perhaps Kevenriak might discover my traces first and fall into madness.
Perhaps he might erase my traces himself.
But there was something I needed to properly leave behind for Ban and my other disciples.

‘If all I left behind for you after my death is wounds….’

Wouldn’t that be too sorrowful?
So I hope my words reach you.

….

Ban, who had been glaring at me, spat out a curse and withdrew her front paws roughly.
My breathing suddenly opened up, and I broke into a fit of coughing.

“Fine. Disappear before dawn. If you don’t, I won’t let you off easy.”

With a threatening growl, Ban teleported away with that threat as her parting words.
The room, now devoid of her fire and magical light, sank into a darkness deeper than before.

….

Left alone, I slowly rose to my feet.
Night still remained, and I could use Vivian Asperada’s body, so I had to move.
Otherwise, I wouldn’t have the face to see my Disciples even in the afterlife.

***

Kevenriak left the Villa around the time the sun rose.
After spending the entire night prostrate before his Master’s coffin, he could only rise by casting aside all his emotions once more.

“….”

Then Vivian Asperada came to mind.
A liar who had masqueraded as Raina Hart, though she was.
He needed her.

‘You who consumed Raina Hart don’t deserve an easy death.’

If he transferred all his life to Raina Hart, he would die.
Simply, as if drifting peacefully into sleep.
That could not be allowed.

‘How much did Raina Hart suffer? Her heart was pierced by a blade.’
‘Your end must be the same.’
‘It’s fortunate the Princess is skilled with the sword.’
‘Ask her to kill you as painfully as possible.’

Kevenriak brought his hand to his heart.
Not much time remained. Would it last until the end of this year?
By then, he had to avenge his Master and nurture a Disciple who would grant him a painful death.

“…I must… teach….”

The Emperor muttered, clinging to his fragile sanity.
Standing at the mountain’s edge, bathed in the light of the rising sun, he resembled a beautiful beast on the verge of shattering.
Kevenriak teleported, following the Princess’s bracelet.

And.

“….”

Vivian Asperada’s Chamber.
An ownerless bracelet resting alone on the desk beside a sealed letter envelope.
Familiar handwriting that entered my field of vision.

Thump, thump.
My heart—impassive as the Emperor’s own—thundered through my foolish body, sounding an alarm.

“…Ah….”

It was the moment a button pressed slowly in my mind clicked, about to flip the switch.
Above my head, the deafening roar of a beast tore through the air.

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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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