For the Young Villain’s Happy Ending - Chapter 93

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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 93

“My lady.”

It was the Butler.
Simona spoke toward the closed door.

“What is it?”
“The master has returned.”

Duke Asperada, Pialtis, had returned after ten days of being away in Jenia.
She rose to her feet to greet Pialtis, who would be on the first floor.
The cold expression that had adorned Simona’s face transformed into that of a gentle wife the moment she stepped through the door.

“Welcome home, dear?”

As she descended the staircase toward the Main Hall, Simona called out to Pialtis.
Pialtis’s face bore a displeased expression as he handed his clothes to the Attendant, and Simona, approaching beside him, asked him a question.

“Did something happen in Jenia?”
“…Nothing of note.”

A frustrated grunt escaped him. Pialtis furrowed his brow, unable to voice the frustration that gnawed at him.
He had kept secret from Simona that Vivian Asperada was at the Imperial Palace, so he could not speak of the disrespect he had endured these past few days.

“The young lady of House Asperada has departed from the Imperial Palace.”

The white uniform of the First Knights Order.
That commander had blocked me as I attempted to enter the Emperor’s Palace.

“Departed? To where?”
“We do not know, sir.”

The audacity with which they claimed ignorance of their daughter’s whereabouts, standing before her own father, was infuriating.

“I must verify this myself!”

Pialtis pushed against the Director, attempting to enter the Emperor’s Palace, but the immovable figure felt like shoving against a boulder.

“Outsiders are not permitted to enter the Emperor’s Palace.”
“I entered before, did I not?”
“That was because Vivian Asperada was present.”
“…Then I must see His Majesty the Emperor.”
“His Majesty is unwell and has stated he will not see anyone for the time being.”

An Emperor I could scarcely imagine being ill was actually sick.
The way I was being treated with such disrespect as a Duke of the Empire was utterly infuriating and suffocating.
After visiting every day for five days and receiving the same cold treatment, I had just returned to my castle.

‘This humiliation I must endure…’

As I seethed with boiling rage, my eyes met those of the kind-hearted woman before me.
With my anger somewhat cooled, I asked Simona.

“Who visited today? She’s not in her usual attire.”

She wore formal visiting clothes.
Since my wife, unable to use transportation, would not have gone out, it seemed we had received guests.
Simona linked her arm through Pialtis’s as she spoke.

“Yes. We had visitors.”

The corners of her eyes, marked with a beauty spot, curved softly as she smiled.

***

“I can’t reach them.”

Din, with her silver short hair, tucked the communication device into her pocket as she spoke.
Contact with the disciples who had gone to House of Asperada had been cut off.

“Hey, Director. Do you know anything about this?”

Quade, an impatient disciple, sat at the table and waved the letter opener in his hand. Before him sat a pitiful shaggy-haired figure crouched on the sofa.

“Your Detective Agency is skilled, isn’t it?”

The eleven disciples were divided into three groups to track down Vivian Asperada’s whereabouts.
The group pursuing Raina Hart—composed of Din, Quade, and Stale—had arrived at the Daisy Detective Agency.
The three were in the midst of demanding (threatening) the Director to reveal where Vivian Asperada had gone and the identity of the client.

“Y-you all…?”

Maverick opened his mouth to placate his disciples.
He had hastily teleported the moment the visitor bell rang. But what was this?
These weren’t customers—they were extortionists.
Of course, I had instructed my staff to treat Raina Hart’s disciples as guests, but…

‘That was the story from two years ago.’

When I ran into them a few times in Hibei, they were merely cute children. How had they grown so terrifyingly?

“You mustn’t interfere with the shop’s business operations, yes?”
“Right, Quade. Stop it.”

At Maverick’s words, twenty-year-old Stale of the Fifth Circle restrained Quade.
The blonde smiled brightly and looked at Maverick.
Seeing that smile, I remembered. Wasn’t he one of Raina Hart’s disciples—a rare one who was polite and kind?

“Right, let’s st—”
“Please cooperate so that we don’t destroy your shop, Director. Would you tell us where Vivian Asperada is?”

Crackle, pop.
Electricity flowing from Stale’s feet to the ground climbed up the sofa and burned a hole in Maverick’s sofa cushion.

“Ugh. Extortion—I mean, valued customer? You know how a small spark can start a great fire, yes?”

Maverick gasped and frantically patted the smoking sofa.
It seemed I would need to ask the Emperor for compensation. How much should I demand? If I called it a one-of-a-kind vintage sofa in the world, I might get a decent sum.
Thinking of reducing my debt slightly, Maverick smirked inwardly, but outwardly continued to play the pitiful Director of Daisy.

“And even if I wanted to tell you, I cannot. The moment I speak, my heart will burst—what am I to do?”

At Maverick’s words, the three flinched.
Though their request had unintentionally sounded like a threat, the Director was their Master’s acquaintance.
Besides, making his heart burst would be unfair to the Director, and they couldn’t face their Master afterward.

“I have no choice. I’ll have to tell the Emperor what’s in my head….”

At the ominous words, Maverick hastily steered the conversation toward his disciples with a different topic.

“By the way, everyone—why are you searching for Vivian Asperada?”

But contrary to his intention, the disciples fell silent.
I wondered if I’d said something wrong.
That’s when Din asked Maverick.

“…Sir, don’t you know who the lady is?”

Sir.
At those words, Maverick let out a sound as if he’d been struck, his arm trembling against the sofa he’d been leaning on.
Of course, to a boy in his late teens like Din, he would be considered an old man.
Then the space inside Maverick’s shaggy hair grew quiet. He’d begun to contemplate Din’s question.

‘…Don’t know who the lady is?’

Vivian Asperada is a lady—what other identity could there possibly be?
Yet considering how Raina Hart’s disciples had come flocking to find her whereabouts, and the strange silence from moments before, something was definitely amiss.

‘Vivian Asperada….’

Maverick recalled the information he’d gathered beyond her basic personal details.
A wealthy, handsome man who harbored unrequited love for the lady, a remarkable survival instinct despite proximity to the Emperor, and sporadic outbursts of madness that erupted from time to time.
And….

“Do you like—like lemons?”
“I dislike them.”

A conversation that suddenly surfaced in his mind, and Maverick murmured.

“Le….”
“….”
“…mon—someone who likes lemons?”

Ugh. Ah. Ugh.
At those words, all three Disciples sighed in unison.
All that breath held in anticipation, and for nothing.

“Fine. The Director clearly knows nothing, so let’s just handle this ourselves.”
….

Quade’s words made Maverick’s emotional gauge twitch.
To be treated as useless because of inferior information—as the Director of the Daisy Detective Agency, my pride was considerably wounded.
The Disciples had apparently concluded there was nothing to gain from the Daisy Detective Agency, and began sharing teleportation coordinates to rendezvous with the other Disciples.

“Customers.”

Maverick called out to the three of them.

“Congratulations.”
…?

The Disciples turned their heads toward the sofa at the sudden remark.
Maverick, who had been crouching, rose from the sofa.
His great height meant it took considerably longer for him to stand than it would for others.
He stood rigidly and opened his mouth toward the Disciples.

“You’ve won one free service voucher for the Daisy Detective Agency.”

Beneath the Director’s shaggy hair, the corner of his mouth twitched with stubborn pride born from wounded dignity.

***

「There seems to be something in the Mountains.」

Raina Hart sat at the dining table, chewing an apple while reading her notebook.
The apple was one Vivian had left for her.

‘Something in the Mountains, you say?’

There were far too many things in the Mountains to pinpoint any one thing.
I continued reading Vivian’s note, curiosity piqued.
The earlier part described how she had climbed the Mountains with friends yesterday, fallen behind, and was resting on a rock.

「I was thirsty, so I muttered to myself, ‘Ah, I wish I could drink some water.’ And when I looked to the side, a bottle of water had appeared, you know?」

Vivian’s astonishing experiences didn’t end there.
The mountain berries she’d regretted not gathering enough of were piled up on the path back to the village.
The handkerchief she thought she’d lost in the mountains was in her mailbox this morning.

「Could these things really happen one after another? It’s so amazing. It seems like there’s something in the mountains that grants wishes.」

Vivian’s letter ended with those words.
Just then, I swallowed the last piece of my apple.

“…Suspicious.”

I murmured to myself.
I cleared away the apple core and plate, my eyes sharpening with focus.
A being that grants wishes? I had knowledge of such things, but they weren’t the sort of creatures that commonly inhabited mountains like these.
Could someone who’s taken a fancy to Vivian be secretly following her?

‘I need to keep a careful watch on my surroundings today.’

If he were to confess openly, that would be one thing, but I couldn’t tolerate someone secretly trailing after her. My protective instincts stirred.
I wrote to Vivian that the apple was delicious, then tucked my notebook into my pocket.
Since someone had taken a fancy to Vivian, one person came to mind.

‘It’s been a week since Tiernan Fargan left.’

I’d thought he’d return by now, but it seemed he still hadn’t pierced through the grand mage’s illusory magic that concealed Tunchar in the sky.
I recalled Tiernan Fargan’s final expression and let out a soft chuckle.
He’d had the face of a puppy separated from its master.

“He said he’d come back soon, so I shouldn’t disappear.”

The sky visible beyond the window was clear.
This time, a full day had passed since my last memory.
How many more days would pass before next time?

“Or will I disappear like this….”

Each time I closed my eyes and opened them again, hours had slipped away without my knowledge.
Vivian Asperada must have experienced the same.
But soon, those lost hours would belong entirely to her.
One day, closing my eyes might mean the end—truly the end.
I might never open them again, ceasing to exist anywhere at all.

Knock, knock.
At the sound of someone rapping on the door, Raina Hart opened the entrance.

“Yes?”

A familiar face Raina Hart recognized stood there wearing a straw hat, beaming brightly.
The second daughter of the village ranch owner—a friend Vivian Asperada had made on the third day of her stay in the village.

“Vivian, are you all set?”
“Set for what?”
“You forgot again? We promised to strip all the figs from the trees at Paul’s Farm today.”

Vivian’s Friend held up a large empty basket toward Raina Hart and made a show of rolling up her sleeves.

‘Paul’s Farm, then…’

A farm nestled in the mountains.
Raina Hart’s eyes gleamed sharp once more.

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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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