The Yellow-Haired Villain in Soaring Phoenix's Novels Also Desires Happiness

The Kingdom.

The royal capital.

The temporary Imperial military encampment.

The first word that surfaced in Muen’s mind when he stepped into the camp was—

Big.

As a symbol of victory, this temporary encampment had been designed from the very beginning by carving out an enormous section of Saint Blancfazesiya itself. After all, to accommodate an army of one hundred thousand soldiers, anything too small would obviously have been impossible.

But in a city like Saint Blancfazesiya—a metropolis with a population exceeding a million and centuries of history that had long rendered much of its urban planning obsolete—there was simply no way to directly provide such a vast area.

Even the original garrison grounds of the Kingdom’s city defense forces combined could not satisfy even one-third of the required space.

Thus, in the initial negotiations, an entire eight districts had been designated as “military encampment zones,” with the Kingdom ordered to evacuate them within forty-eight hours for Imperial use.

However, when Celicia saw the proposal, she was extremely dissatisfied. With a single stroke of her pen, she erased the original eight districts and instead designated the military encampment within the territories of several great nobles.

It had to be said that noble estates truly were wonderful places—mountains, lakes, pleasant scenery, and because the grounds were spacious enough, there was no need to demolish large numbers of civilian homes for reconstruction like the original plan required. They were practically perfect for military encampments.

Thus, the Imperial army gained a place to station its troops, the Kingdom’s ordinary civilians avoided harassment, and the great nobles managed to put their unused lands to productive use.

It was truly a three-way victory. A victory on top of victory. Absolute victory.

Unfortunately, some of the great nobles were so overjoyed upon hearing the news that they were immediately hospitalized, and even now they had yet to personally witness this encampment symbolizing peace and friendship between the Empire and Kingdom after setting aside their hostilities.

If they had seen it in person, they probably would have been even happier.

“Though afterward, because our forces needed to spread throughout the city to maintain public order, this place quickly emptied out. Which is why it looks like this now.”

The knight guided Muen deeper into the camp while casually explaining its origins.

Not far away, two squads of soldiers were playing football across a broad grassy field. Probably due to a lack of manpower, they had placed two unknown statues in front of the goalposts to act as goalkeepers.

Smack.

Ah, the ball went in.

And the statue shattered.

Some noble lying in a hospital bed somewhere probably felt his heart shatter too.

“I see. I was wondering why this camp felt so... luxurious.”

Muen’s lips twitched.

As expected of Celicia. When it came to stabbing nobles directly in the heart, no one in either the Empire or the Kingdom surpassed her.

“This way, please. The thing Young Master requires is beyond here.”

The knight led Muen past the soldiers’ living quarters and soon into a quiet garden estate. It seemed this noble territory had not been entirely remodeled, preserving some traces of its original appearance...

Though certainly not out of pity for the nobles.

Passing through winding paths and pushing aside branches, Muen finally saw the enormous beast leisurely pacing through the gardens, occasionally lowering its head beneath a fountain to “bathe.”

“This is...”

The beast stood as tall as a three-story building, its physique mighty and imposing. The front half of its body was covered in steel-like feathers, while the rear half bore dense fur. Its massive wings occasionally stretched outward, and every movement sent violent gusts roaring through the surrounding trees.

Though it appeared to be casually playing in the water, the eyes at the sides of its head remained sharply alert, filled with savage menace.

A griffin.

The legendary beast. A monstrous predator said to devour humans.

And now it stood directly before Muen.

“So it’s you.”

Yet rather than fear such a terrifying magical beast, Muen simply extended his hand calmly.

Sensing someone approach, the griffin suddenly turned its head. Ferocious killing intent erupted from its body alongside hurricane-force winds stirred by its wings—

Yet both the murderous aura and the winds stopped abruptly before reaching Muen.

The griffin let out a low cry. The instant it recognized Muen, the sharpness in its eyes melted into gentleness. Folding its wings behind its back, it lowered its head before him and allowed him to stroke it freely.

“As expected of Young Master.”

The knight sighed in admiration.

“To tame even such a ferocious beast so easily...”

“No, this has nothing to do with me. The reason it behaves gently toward me... is simply because it knows me.”

Muen smiled faintly.

After all, this griffin was none other than his father’s mount.

He still remembered how Father had once ridden this griffin to the frontier to take command there, leaving Muen alone to guard the ducal estate.

Which had ultimately given a certain maid the perfect opportunity to make her move, leading to everything that followed afterward.

“Even so, the fact it allows you this close proves it recognizes you as well. Aside from the Duke himself, there’s no second person it treats this way.”

“Enough flattery. Let’s talk business.”

Muen vigorously rubbed the griffin’s head. Though its feathers looked hard as steel, they were surprisingly soft to the touch.

“Before Father left, did he intentionally leave it here for me?”

“Yes. The Duke hoped Young Master could return home sooner.”

“Heh... return home sooner.”

Muen’s cheek twitched.

He clearly no longer believed that explanation.

If it were truly just about getting him home faster, then why had the letter specifically required him to open it this morning?

If urgency had truly been the priority, one sentence from Father yesterday would already have put him on the road home.

Which meant this was not merely about “sooner.”

Before “return home sooner,” there existed an even more important prerequisite.

“An left last night.”

“Senior suddenly got tied up dealing with something in an eastern Imperial city.”

“Liya also conveniently happened to be absent from Saint Blancfazesiya.”

“And all of them left yesterday. If I had departed before them yesterday, it would’ve triggered some kind of suspicion.”

“So the timing absolutely had to be today.”

Originally, Muen had only felt a vague sense of confusion.

But after witnessing one coincidence after another, and now seeing this griffin so obviously left here specifically to wait for him, he finally understood everything completely.

Calling him back this time absolutely was not his father’s doing.

Someone else was directing this from behind the scenes.

And in the present world, there was only one person qualified to direct even his father.

The Empress of the Empire—

Celicia.

“So... this was all your arrangement?”

Muen gazed into the distance.

Though he did not know what methods she had used, it was obvious that Celicia—already waiting in Belrand—had successfully drawn Anna away, drawn Liya away, and even An’s sudden departure was difficult to believe uninfluenced by her.

Using the authority and reach of an Empress, she had quietly removed everyone else from the board and arranged for him alone to return.

And there could only be one purpose behind doing all this—

“You got lonely again, didn’t you?”

A wicked grin slowly spread across Muen’s lips.

They had only experienced that thrilling night together recently, and after merely a few days apart, she already could not suppress her loneliness anymore. She had even forgotten all about his previous “offenses” against her.

What a greedy little glutton.

He really needed to find a chance to “discipline” her properly.

Now every question had finally been answered, and Muen’s heart relaxed completely.

Though these methods were obviously far too roundabout and scheming, Muen had already grown used to it.

Just look at An. Look at Liya. Look at Senior’s near-failure before. Even Ariel, who had nearly turned into a complete little idiot last night.

Which of them hadn’t been scheming and calculating endlessly just for this one “meal”?

So this was normal.

Perfectly normal.

Even if everyone loved speaking in riddles, the ending would definitely still be a happy one.

Everything was auspicious.

“Fine then. Since you’ve already gone this far, I’ll head back first.”

With practiced ease, Muen vaulted onto the griffin’s back and instructed the knight:

“Since Senior and the others have already left ahead of time, there’s probably nothing left here for me to linger over. But Ariel’s still staying at my place for now. Go pass along a message for me. Once she’s recovered properly, she can slowly make her way back to Belrand too.”

Muen worried that the still-sleeping Ariel might miss messages sent through the Voice Stone. And since Voice Stones also had range limitations, sending someone personally was safer.

“Remember. Slowly.”

“Understood.”

The knight nodded.

“I’ll make sure the message is delivered.”

“Good.”

Muen lightly patted the griffin’s back.

“I’m off.”

BOOM!

The griffin suddenly spread its enormous wings and shot into the sky with astonishing speed.

As violent winds rushed against him, Muen imagined the little glutton waiting shyly for him in Belrand, and his mood became indescribably delighted.

And because of that...

He completely failed to notice the trace of pity that had flashed across the knight’s face while responding earlier.

“Sigh. The world may truly be about to lose another playboy.”

The knight shook his head and mentally noted that he needed to hurry and purchase more gossip magazines about Muen Campbell from the markets, along with those legendary collections detailing the romantic exploits of men juggling over a dozen lovers at once.

Because before long, those things might become limited editions.

After all, Muen Campbell was currently heading toward...

His very own graveyard.

...

...

“See? He specifically told you to return slowly.”

Inside Muen’s bedroom.

A beauty formed from drifting smoke leaned lazily against the wall, glancing sideways at the newly delivered letter on the table with an amused expression.

“He just rolled around in bed with you all night, and now he gets called away without the slightest reluctance. What exactly do you see in a man like that?”

“Wasn’t he summoned back by his father? What am I supposed to do about it?”

Ariel yawned from atop the bed, completely ignoring her teacher’s attempt to stir trouble as she prepared to go back to sleep.

This was one of the rare occasions she actually slept in. But after last night’s intense battle, even she...

“Hm? Wait! No, something’s wrong!”

The moment she lay back down, Ariel suddenly sprang upright like a carp leaping from water. Her movements were swift and nimble, as though she no longer felt the slightest discomfort.

“What is it?”

Peles asked casually.

Ever since falling in love, her disciple had become increasingly dramatic.

“I feel like something’s off.”

Ariel pressed a hand against her chest.

“Off? What’s off? Muen Campbell? Wasn’t he simply called back by his father? What’s strange about that? Don’t tell me you think his father’s trying to harm him?”

Peles sighed helplessly.

Even if it was her beloved, surely there was no need to spend every waking second thinking about him? The once unyielding warrior whose eyes had only ever focused on becoming stronger was practically turning into some clingy little wife who could only whimper now.

“No, not that...”

Ariel frowned.

“My intuition feels strange. Like I have a really bad premonition.”

“A bad premonition?”

Peles immediately became serious.

In many matters, Ariel might not be reliable.

But her intuition...

Was often frighteningly accurate.

“Specifically?”

“I don’t know. But it feels like something’s wrong on Muen’s side.”

“His side... Could it be some weird lunatic trying to kill him again?”

Peles thought briefly.

“That’s still too vague. Let’s use the old method.”

“Right!”

Ariel immediately nodded and dug out a...

Silver coin.

“Heads means this premonition is just my imagination. Tails means Muen really is going to face danger. Come on, Goddess bless us!”

The silver coin flew high into the air, then clattered down under the watch of both women.

It rolled across the floor for a long while before gradually slowing and beginning to spin upright in place.

Slower.

And slower.

Until finally revealing the answer.

Neither heads nor tails.

The coin stood upright vertically.

“Hiss...”

Ariel instantly sucked in a cold breath.

“This is... an omen of extreme disaster!”