For the Young Villain’s Happy Ending - Chapter 9

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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 9

Hibei, the rural territory of Raina Hart.
Atop the highest hill stood the lord’s castle.
A small, beautiful fortress built in harmony with the surrounding nature.
The main residence where the lord dwelled, and two auxiliary buildings flanking either side.
Beyond the Garden in front of the main building lay the castle’s entrance.

“So this is Lord Raina’s territory.”

Person, vice-commander of the Imperial Third Knights Order, sat before the castle entrance alongside his subordinates Shukal and Fontepon.
The exhaustion etched upon their faces bore the unmistakable marks of last night’s battle.

“…Lord Raina.”
“Only three survived, then.”

Last night.
I had returned with the kidnapped Fourth Prince and a single assassin in tow.
Three knights had survived the Empress’s assassins’ onslaught.
I studied Person carefully before entrusting the sleeping Kevenriak to his care.

“I’m counting on you with the Prince.”

He was the first person I had seen when I entered this novel.

Commander Person had searched for the vanished city every year.
Before a towering memorial, he laid a bouquet of pale purple flowers resembling her, mourning Raina Hart.
This was already his fourteenth memorial.

In the original work, he had honored Raina’s death for fourteen years.
That should be trustworthy enough.
I entrusted Kevenriak to Person and visited the Empress’s Palace.
Then I came to Hibei with the surviving knights via teleportation.

“Teleporting with five people, no less.”

Fontepon clicked his tongue in disbelief, insisting that the Grand Mage was different.
Shukal, seated beside him, gazed down the hillside and spoke.

“Hibei is as quiet as I’ve heard it to be.”
“Quiet isn’t the word, Shukal. It’s desolate.”

Fontepon countered.
Due to his habit of dawn patrols at the Imperial Palace, he had already surveyed the village upon waking.
Hibei was known to be small yet fertile, a place brimming with human warmth—
Yet everywhere lay broken structures and people bearing dark expressions.

“Could Hibei have been ruined while Baroness Hart was away fighting?”
“Pointless speculation.”

Person dismissed Fontepon’s words outright.
Shukal surveyed the quiet castle.

“Raina Hart must still be sleeping. I wonder if she’ll permit us to remain in her domain.”

The three men belonged to the Imperial Third Knights Order.
Their original mission had been to escort Baroness Hart and the Fourth Prince to Hibei.
But when they reported the attack from last night at dawn, the reply came to remain in Hibei until a return order was issued.

“We’ll ask Raina Hart when she wakes. Yes?”

Then Person’s eyes caught sight of four figures approaching the castle.
He rose from his seat and addressed the middle-aged man leading them.
He appeared to be around forty, his clothes tattered and his frame gaunt.

“What brings you here?”

The middle-aged man hesitated at the sturdy knight’s question.

“I… I heard that Baroness Hart has arrived…”
“How did you know? The Baroness did not arrive by carriage.”

A suspicious character. Shukal also rose, his eyes narrowing with caution.
Fontepon’s expression shifted as something clicked into place.
He recalled a farmer he’d encountered during his dawn survey of the village, who had said he was following the Baroness.

“Captain, I—.”

Fontepon rose to his feet as well, attempting to defuse the tense atmosphere.
Just then, the sound of a door opening echoed from beyond the garden, followed by a clear and distinct woman’s voice.

“What’s going on?”

Raina Hart had come downstairs from the first floor and stepped outside upon hearing the commotion.
The mistress of this estate, resembling a violet kissed by dawn’s dew, and as always, the Fourth Prince standing beside her.
Person spoke toward Raina Hart, who stood at the entrance of the main building.

“Ah, Lady Raina Hart. You’re awake. This man—.”
“My Lord!”

Seizing the moment, the middle-aged man bolted across the garden and prostrated himself flat before the short steps where Raina Hart stood.

“Please, save me!”

…Save you from what?
Even as that thought crossed her mind, Raina Hart covered the eyes of Kevenriak, who held her hand.
It didn’t seem like a pleasant sight for a child to witness first thing in the morning.

***

‘I thought I’d have a leisurely time once we arrived in Hibei.’

Raina Hart sat in the lord’s chair.
Beyond the open door, Kevenriak peeked his eyes out, gazing at Raina Hart.

‘Like a kitten…’

Raina Hart gently waved the hand she’d rested on the armrest, pretending not to notice.
At that, Kevenriak’s mouth widened into a beaming smile.
Perhaps one of the things she did best was making Kevenriak laugh.

‘I should count how many times he smiles in a day soon.’

Even as Raina Hart entertained such thoughts, the Village Chief continued his report on the state of the territory.

“While you were away, the Tunterra Empire’s forces invaded, and not long ago, bandits appeared as well….”

The content was primarily a lament about the territory’s dire circumstances.
The village had suffered damage from the war, bandits had plundered the crops, and the villagers who had fled for safety still hadn’t returned….
One hardship after another piled up, but the conclusion was simple.

“We would be grateful if you would come down to the village and personally inspect your domain.”

In other words, they wanted me to actually fulfill my duties as a lord.

“Me? Personally?”

My question hung in the sudden silence that fell over the room.
Person, Shukal, and Fontepon stood in a line to one side.
The Village Chief stood in the space before my chair, along with the three companions who had accompanied him.

‘Just as I thought! Raina Hart is nothing but a warmonger!’

A boy who still appeared to be in his teens among the villagers trembled with clenched fists.
The war between the Betuzhenia Empire and the Tunterra Empire.
Though Hibei was a small territory, it couldn’t escape the enemy’s attacks precisely because it was Raina Hart’s domain.

“The Tunterra Empire’s forces! Run!”
….
“Mother, won’t Baron Hart come? Our lord is strong, isn’t she?”
…
“I heard the lord won again in the war. …I’m leaving Hibei.”

Whenever the Tunterra Empire’s forces came, the villagers fled to the mountains and survived.
After several evacuations, a village reduced to ruins, and a lord who never returned—the exhausted villagers abandoned Hibei.
Later, word came that Raina Hart had destroyed the Tunterra Empire.

‘I was in the Imperial Palace and gave it no thought.’

Once the Tunterra Empire’s forces vanished, bandits appeared in the now-unguarded Hibei.
Even though the war had ended, the lord never came to protect them.
Not even now.

‘I don’t want to get involved directly. They’re just an inconvenience to me.’

Gritting his teeth at Raina Hart, the boy’s legs suddenly buckled and he tumbled forward.

“…?!”
“Brown!”

Something crashed down upon his back, sending him sprawling to the ground.
A crushing weight pressed against his upper body. A chilling sensation emanated from the nape of his neck.
The boy turned to look behind him, and his entire body erupted in goosebumps.
A fierce predator’s piercing blue eyes fixed upon him with savage intensity.

“Are you Raina Hart’s enemy?”

The young beast seemed ready to bare its fangs at any moment, its hostility directed squarely at the boy.

‘S-so terrifying.’

Just as the frightened boy Brown’s face crumpled in fear.
Delicate hands grasped Kevenriak’s upper body.

“He’s not an enemy.”

Kevenriak was lifted upward and separated from Brown.
At Raina Hart’s words, the fierce blue eyes softened into wide, innocent circles as he gazed at her.

“Not an enemy?”
“No.”
“But—”

He had clearly been glaring at Raina Hart just moments ago.
Yet Raina Hart’s words could never be wrong. Kevenriak dangled in the air, tilting his head in confusion.
Raina Hart set Kevenriak down on the ground and fell into contemplation.

‘Raina Hart was never a particularly warm-hearted lord.’

Yet she was not indifferent to her domain either.
Within the memories I possessed of her, there was certainly a scene where Raina Hart had requested something of the Emperor regarding Hibei.

“While I am away on campaign, I would be grateful if you could dispatch a knight order to protect Hibei.”
“Very well. I shall keep my promise.”

The Emperor readily accepted that request. However.

‘Based on what the Village Chief said, it doesn’t seem like the knights actually came. Did the Emperor just say he would?’

Deep distrust toward the Emperor had already taken root within me.
I lifted my head, harboring reasonable suspicion.

“….”

Perhaps because Kevenriak had just attacked the boy.
The villagers looking at me wore expressions of fear.

‘Playing the role of a lord, huh.’

I had only thought I’d idle away in Hibei until the original story began.
I never intended to work diligently.
I gazed at the people before me.
Blackened fingernails, tattered clothes, emaciated bodies from hunger….

‘How quiet it is.’

At this point, something should appear before my eyes to poke at my conscience.
What kind of system operated so arbitrarily?
It was certainly reminiscent of whoever had placed me into this novel.
I shrugged my shoulders.
In any case, I’m a lord now—what can I do about it?

“Then let’s go out.”
“Yes…?”
“To the village. I’d like to tour my domain personally.”

Might as well let them benefit from having a Grand Mage as their lord.

***

“Wow.”

It was not an exclamation from a single person.
Wherever Raina Hart visited, people could not help but marvel.
Broken homes were repaired, and devastated fields were restored.
The damage inflicted by war and bandits was being swiftly returned to its former state by my magic.

‘So this is what a Grand Mage truly is…!’
‘This is our lord…!’

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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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