For the Young Villain’s Happy Ending - Chapter 90

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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 90

“What—what are you doing?!”

Zikhard’s pride was wounded by being held like an ordinary book with his cover still closed, and he shrieked indignantly.

“Do you think I’m the kind of being who can be treated like a mindless pile of paper?!”

Of course I’m a book, but being treated so openly as one doesn’t sit well with me.

“…Zikhard.”

The Grimoire of Magic, who had been grumbling, shifted his demeanor at the Emperor’s following words.

“Can you read souls?”
“Souls?”
“There’s a soul I need to find and verify.”

At those words, Zikhard felt his binding ribbon stiffen.
If Kevenriak Heteroven had come all the way to find him, sealed within a barrier, just to locate a single soul—.

“Your master’s soul?”
“….”

He ventured the question carefully, but the Emperor remained silent.
The Emperor’s blue eyes were cold and inscrutable, revealing nothing of his thoughts.
Yet it was crystal clear.

‘He’s found Raina Hart’s soul.’

Zikhard smirked.
An eighth-circle archmage whose information I cannot access.
Could I, bound to contract only with humans, ever meet a master stronger than him in the future?
She was far too valuable a contractor to let slip away.

‘Her body still exists, and her soul exists as well….’

If I do this right, I might be able to revive them.
Zikhard answered cooperatively to Kevenriak Heteroven.

“I can’t read souls themselves. Not unless there’s a body to work with.”
“…Have you accessed any information about Vivian Asperada in the Imperial Palace over the past week?”
“Who’s that?”

The Grimoire of Magic’s innocent question came back in response.
Kevenriak Heteroven, having little hope to begin with, quickly changed his approach.

“Fine. So you can read it if a soul is inhabiting a body. Let’s go search.”
“Wait, just a moment! What body are you looking for? What’s the search range?”

Zikhard, suddenly sensing an ominous future, stopped Kevenriak Heteroven.
Kevenriak Heteroven surely knew that the range I could scan at once was limited to the Imperial Palace…!
Kevenriak Heteroven opened his mouth.

“The Northwestern Continent.”

Isn’t that far too vast a scope?

“You’re planning to use me as a search tool—”

But the Grimoire of Magic’s protest couldn’t escape before the Emperor’s mana, which allowed him to teleport, blocked it.

***

Crackle. Crackle.
Raina Hart sat on a fallen log laid upon the ground, running her fingers along the wooden sword’s grip as she gazed at the campfire.
Her hazel eyes, reflected by the dancing flames, were serene.

‘What could she be thinking about?’

Tiernan Fargan, sitting beside Vivian, was watching her.
Vivian, lost in thought while gazing at the fire, appeared so fragile she might vanish at any moment.
That’s why he wanted to speak to her.
If he simply left her alone like this, he felt he would lose her.

“Vivian, where did you learn swordplay? Your fundamentals seem quite solid. Was breaking that rock magic?”
“Oh.”

I snapped to attention at Tiernan Fargan’s question, my gaze falling to the wooden sword in my hands.
I hadn’t even realized I was still gripping it.

“That’s right. What you saw earlier was magic.”
“A mage?”
“Hardly.”

I laughed aloud.

“If I were a mage, I wouldn’t have shamelessly relied on your help. Look here—there are magical inscriptions carved into this blade. It’s equipment doing the work, not skill.”

I leaned toward Tiernan Fargan to show him the runes etched into the wooden sword. The moment Vivian’s head drew near his shoulder, his attention shifted entirely there.
Tiernan Fargan forced himself to concentrate on the guard beneath the hilt before him.
Minuscule magical characters were inscribed across a surface no larger than two finger joints.
My eyes brightened as I began my explanation. When it came to magic, I was more serious than anyone.
Raina Hart’s eyes changed as she began her explanation. When it came to magic, she was more serious than anyone else.

“That’s… impressive. Would I get the same effects if I wielded it?”
“A Sword Master coveting a beginner’s equipment?”
“Is the Sword Master really coveting beginner equipment?”

Tiernan Fargan glanced at my smirking face, then met my eyes and quickly looked away.
Such bashfulness from the male lead.
I found his embarrassment endearing.
Raina Hart found Tiernan Fargan’s shyness adorable.

“I see. You certainly possess considerable magical knowledge.”
“I do. Quite considerable.”
“Yeah. Quite a bit.”

Not everyone possessed Eighth Circle knowledge.
Tiernan Fargan chuckled softly at my prideful demeanor. I’d thought the same thing when discussing my age through identification, but it seemed there were certain things Vivian simply wouldn’t yield on.
Tiernan let out a short laugh at Vivian’s proud demeanor.
“…Tiernan Fargan.”

“…Tiernan Fargan.”

Then Raina Hart hesitated before speaking to Tiernan Fargan.

“What you just explained—could you tell the other me as well? Since my body will remember it, there shouldn’t be a problem. Like this, you need to swing the wooden sword with full force to strike effectively….”

As Vivian continued with her detailed explanation, Tiernan gazed at her.
If the personalities couldn’t communicate with each other, it wouldn’t be strange for Vivian to make such a request of me.
Yet something about the nuance felt off.
And there was that lonely glint in Vivian’s eyes.

“You’re going to disappear…?”

Though I thought it an odd question, I felt it instinctively.
If there were two personalities, couldn’t one of them vanish?

“…Perhaps?”

At her affirmation, my heart sank.
What will I do if you disappear?
The flames I saw seemed to come from you.

“Don’t disappear.”
“That’s not something I can decide, Tiernan Fargan.”

Raina Hart shook her head at my urgent words.

“Then who decides?”
“I don’t know—God, perhaps?”

Raina Hart laughed weakly.
The translucent window no longer appears now.
Perhaps the one who placed me in this world had deemed it hopeless.
That I had failed to make you happy.
Yet even in this situation, my desire for your happy ending never faded.

“The Rebel Forces are ultimately targeting the Betuzhenia Imperial Palace, aren’t they?”

As Vivian recalled the young Tiernan Fargan from her memories, the information that he was the Imperial Prince of Tunterra naturally followed.
Since Vivian knew his identity, Tiernan Fargan openly revealed that he was the leader of the Rebel Forces.
He believed it was his obligation to the Vivian who had followed him.

“That’s right. I’ll defeat the Emperor of Betuzhenia and raise Tunterra’s flag over the Imperial Palace.”

Tiernan’s resolve appeared unwavering.
Defeating the Emperor would inevitably mean Kevenriak Heteroven’s death.
If I could persuade Tiernan here, would my chances of survival increase?

“If the Emperor abandons the Imperial Palace and flees, will you pursue him?”
“….”

Tiernan fell silent at Raina’s question.
Say no, Tiernan. Please.

“Yes.”

But his answer shattered her hopes.

“You’re the witch’s apprentice.”

Because I am the apprentice of Raina Hart, who destroyed Tunchar overnight, the Rebel Forces would hunt me down.
Raina quickly protested.

“Raina Hart is not a witch.”
“…Vivian, you may wish to defend her because you are a princess of the Betuzhenia Empire, but she is an enemy I cannot forgive.”

Tiernan tightened his grip on the cup in his hand.
Even if Vivian defended her, he could not forgive that witch.

“Live the life you wish to live, Tiernan.”

Those words from the woman who had bought me from the Slave Trader haunted me for a lifetime.
A life I wish to live—what a cruel notion.

‘That life is now impossible.’

The family I lost, the homeland I lost.
They were things lost forever, beyond recovery.
So shouldn’t I at least reclaim our ancestral lands?
Vengeance too was my burden to bear.

“That’s not what I meant. Raina Hart was trying to save Tunchar.”
“…So that’s why you tore such a massive hole? Made Tunchar disappear without a trace?”

An accusatory tone seeped into the air.
Tiernan Fargan immediately regretted it.
He hadn’t wanted to argue with Vivian about this.

“I’m sorry, Vivian. That was my mistake just now. I don’t want to fight with you over this. Let me step away and clear my head for a moment.”

Tiernan Fargan rose from his seat as he spoke those words to Vivian.

“….”

Raina Hart, still seated, grasped his hand.
Her delicate hand tightened around his large one with surprising strength.

“Tiernan, listen to me.”
“…What is it?”
“Tunchar sleeps within the Dimensional Space.”

Tiernan Fargan turned slowly back toward Raina Hart, his gaze meeting hers.
She looked at him directly, her eyes unwavering and resolute.

“Time stopped there fourteen years ago.”
“….”
“Raina Hart is not a witch. Neither is the Emperor, nor a witch’s disciple.”

***

“Director.”
“Hmm?”
“Are you all right?”

Maverick Marquis, seated before the desk in his office, looked toward his secretary.

“You’ve spilled all your cookies.”
“Oh, dear.”

Maverick Marquis placed the cookie that had fallen onto the documents onto a plate.
His leg bounced anxiously beneath the desk.

Yesterday, the Emperor had visited me while I was taking an afternoon nap.

“Your M-Majesty…?!”
“Maverick Marquis.”
“You were standing at my bedside, so I thought you were the Grim Reaper… What brings you here?”
“Where did you take Vivian Asperada?”
“I… beg your pardon?”
“Person said a man with a buzz cut and a silver-haired man took the lady away together.”

The Commander of the First Knights Order had blabbed everything.
Maverick Marquis racked his sleep-addled brain frantically.

“That would be… the Eastern Continent…”
“If the location is a lie, I’ll hold you responsible for taking the lady away. Otherwise, I can always examine your mind directly.”
“I… cannot disclose the details due to contract, but it is the Northwestern Continent.”

Such terrifying words.
Intimidated by the threats of a 7-Circle mage, Maverick Marquis had blurted out the direction of the teleportation in a moment of panic.
Still, he had only given the direction across that vast continent.

‘I upheld my integrity with my client.’

In truth, it was to protect my heart, which had been bound by a secret oath.
That was why I had been anxious since yesterday afternoon.
Since I hadn’t revealed the exact location, the contract’s binding force should also—

“Ugh.”
“Director! What’s wrong?!”
“Secretary… my heart…!”

Maverick Marquis suddenly clutched at his chest.

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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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