The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 170

Viewing begins.

Olivia gently closed her eyes and listened to the voice of the Blue Window.

The Blue Window’s voice, speaking in a cold and emotionless tone, always told stories she didn’t know.

Stories she had never seen.

Stories she had never experienced.

It was something she could ignore, but strangely, the voice of the Blue Window tugged at her heart, pounding against her chest.

-As a penalty for failing the quest, you will view a portion (5%) of the 〈66th Side Story〉 “The Weight of an Unpayable Debt.”

┗Information will be restricted.

┗You will view the final part of the story.

Her eyelids slowly grew heavier.

As the notification of the viewing began, multiple voices started to echo in her ears.

-…Ugh, the smell of blood.

-I knew you’d do this.

-Please cast some buff magic.

-I’ll kill you for sure.

The voices of the people were filled with panic and malice. Some shouted from the depths of their diaphragm, others screamed, and some voices, soaked in hatred, hurled accusations.

‘What is this…?’

Was it because she was hearing only the final part of a story without a narrative? Or was it because she could only hear the voices?

Olivia couldn’t understand how this story was unfolding.

She just hoped that the criticisms from those people weren’t directed at her as she listened to the Blue Window’s voice, written in blue text.

[Ricardo was deeply troubled by his hefty debt. It was far too much for him to handle alone, especially with you as his patient.]

[‘Burden’ might be the right word. Though Ricardo didn’t see it that way.]

[Ricardo tried. He worked hard to repay the debt and to stay by your side.]

[At times, he worked at construction sites, got injured while doing adventurer work, and tried every job imaginable.]

[But earning 1 million gold in just one year was impossible, and Ricardo’s worries grew with each passing day.]

[Ricardo became desperate, and his urgency grew. So, he began to break the iron principles he had set for himself.]

[One day, strange rumors began circulating in the Empire. You, lying in bed, couldn’t hear them, but the public spoke of a murderer called the ‘Red-Haired Devil.’]

[Wherever the Red-Haired Devil passed, unknown priests were found dead, and the offerings were completely looted.]

[The public loved sensational stories.]

[They omitted the fact that the people who died in the Devil’s wake were sinners deserving of death and began writing malicious news articles about the Devil.]

[At some point, Ricardo’s absences became more frequent, and you misunderstood, thinking Ricardo had abandoned you.]

[Five years passed.]

[The weight of the unpayable debt gradually lightened, and Ricardo’s absences grew longer.]

[By the time you saw the maid Ricardo had hired more often than Ricardo himself.]

[Ricardo left you, leaving behind a potion and a large sum of money.]

[You came to hate Ricardo, who left without a word, and as time passed, you met him again.]

[At a place.]

[A place that would become Ricardo’s end.]

As the Blue Window’s words ended, Olivia’s eyes slowly began to open.

Olivia was flustered.

She muttered incomprehensibly, as the idea of hating Ricardo was unimaginable to her.

Why did Ricardo abandon me?

What does Ricardo’s end even mean? Olivia, unable to understand anything, exhaled trembling breaths.

And as her vision gradually brightened, Olivia screamed.

‘What is this…!’

Turning her head with a trembling voice, Olivia was shocked by the sight before her.

It was a cathedral.

A cathedral where the warmth of God lingered.

Ricardo, shaking off a sword stained with thick blood, stepped over a pile of corpses and spoke in a languid voice.

-Ah… You’ve arrived?

Ricardo’s voice was directed toward the entrance of the cathedral, where numerous people armed with weapons had gathered.

Ricardo, staring blankly at the pile of corpses.

And the countless people who had come to capture Ricardo—Olivia couldn’t comprehend any of it.

Mikhail.

Yuria.

Ruin.

The Imperial Knights’ Order.

Familiar faces surrounded Ricardo, who scratched his head with an awkward expression.

-It’s troublesome when so many of you come at once.

Ricardo looked utterly exhausted.

The once-kind eyes now brimmed with thick killing intent, and his weary face showed nothing but fatigue.

With his shoulder-length hair tied back, Ricardo resembled a martial god who had reached the pinnacle of his craft. The aura emanating from him sent shivers even to Olivia, who was watching from beyond the illusion.

It was overwhelming.

So deep it was immeasurable.

Ricardo, exuding a killing intent so suffocating it felt like even a small gesture could stop one’s breath, briefly wore a cold smile before awkwardly smiling again as he saw a woman slowly walking out.

-You…

A familiar voice.

A voice she had heard her entire life.

-You did all this?

Ricardo, looking at the woman walking out from among the soldiers surrounding him, gave an awkward smile.

Ricardo, showing a rare expression of confusion.

Lowering his head as if he were a sinner, Ricardo spoke.

-Young Lady.

The person who walked out was Olivia.

Walking steadily, her hair floating slightly from mana, Olivia ignored Ricardo’s bitter smile and spoke.

-Trash.

-…

-You piece of trash.

Ricardo looked at her with a sorrowful expression. Without offering any excuses, he simply gazed at her silently, a small voice escaping his lips.

-I’m glad you can walk.

-Shut up.

-I’m glad you look well.

-Well? I’m suffering because of the mess you made, and you call this well?

-…That’s true. You must be.

The Olivia in the illusion spoke to Ricardo.

-Why did you do it?

-…

-Abandoning me. Killing people like a madman… Why did you do it? Do you know how much I’ve suffered because of you?

Ricardo, looking up at the cathedral’s ceiling, murmured softly.

-The sky is clear, isn’t it?

-What?

-It’s disgustingly clear.

-…What are you even saying?

-No matter what I say, you probably won’t believe me, but I became a target for some dangerous people.

-Hey… Speak clearly.

Ricardo gave a bitter smile.

Then, stepping lightly on the ground, he approached everyone. As Ricardo swung his sword lightly to loosen his wrist, everyone took a step back, raising their weapons.

Ricardo smiled.

-Blame me.

And he murmured softly.

-It was unavoidable to protect it.

Black energy began to flow from Ricardo’s body.

It was a familiar mana.

Sticky and filled with deep malice.

It was dark magic.

As Ricardo’s sword scattered like a storm, an all-too-familiar ‘ding’ alarm echoed in the ears of the Olivia within the illusion.

*

-Shall we stop…?

The sword, which had been pouring out sword energy like a madman, stopped right in front of Ricardo’s neck, refusing to move.

The explosively emitted sword energy.

The dark red aura.

The sticky dark magic—all of it stopped and ceased to move.

-…What is this.

Olivia’s eyes widened in astonishment.

-What… is this.

Suddenly halting in the midst of battle, Olivia, who was staring blankly at Ricardo as if waking from a dream, spoke with trembling eyes.

-It wasn’t, was it?

What wasn’t, she didn’t know.

What had gone wrong, she realized as Ricardo’s sword reflected in her eyes.

Ricardo hadn’t killed a single person.

Not Mikhail, not Yuria, not even the people who had hurled malicious words at him—he hadn’t killed a single one.

Standing there with a blood-soaked body, Ricardo, wearing a stern expression, seemed to be bracing himself to collapse for the sake of just one person.

-Young Lady.

-…It wasn’t you. It wasn’t something you did.

For some reason, the Olivia within the illusion was looking at Ricardo with trembling eyes. As if realizing something unknown, she was shouting at him, while Ricardo shook his head with a bitter smile.

-Shh. I don’t know how you figured it out, but you realized it far too late.

Ricardo spoke with a faint smile to Olivia, who was staring at him with trembling eyes.

-Become a hero.

-No…

-It’s my time to exit.

*

Three days after the viewing ended.

“What are you doing?”

Ricardo asked, watching Olivia attach the eyes of a teddy bear while sitting on the bed.

“Hm?”

Olivia replied with a serious expression.

“Earning money.”

“Stop it.”

“Whyyyyy!”

Ricardo let out a deep sigh and picked up one teddy bear.

“Who puts eyes on a bear’s forehead? And why are you attaching them to its chest?”

“It’s a female bear.”

“…Fair enough.”

Ricardo nodded and sat beside Olivia to help, but only after receiving sharp criticism from the people who came to collect the teddy bears was he able to stop.

“Ricardo, I got fired.”

Once again, Olivia found herself unemployed today.