The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 184

The sunny Desmond Estate.

Darbav, who had planted a variety of flowers in the yard, smiled with satisfaction.

Darbav wiped the sweat off his forehead, a hoe in hand.

Although it wasn’t something a head of a prestigious family would typically handle, Darbav was pleased to decorate the estate with his own hands.

Is it because I’m getting older?

These days, Darbav found beauty to be delightful.

“Wonderful.”

“…”

“As expected, doing it yourself is the best.”

“…”

“Even though I planted them myself, the colorful arrangement of the flowers is quite pleasing to the eye.”

The yard, filled with roses, lilies, forget-me-nots, and other various flowers, was exactly to Darbav’s liking. Smiling, Darbav looked at Olivia, who had plopped down in the yard with a thud, and asked.

“How is it? Do you like it?”

Olivia, holding a hoe with a sullen expression, looked at Darbav and replied.

“No.”

“…!?”

The ground where Olivia was sitting was covered with marks of reckless digging.

Despite having been told to plant flowers, Olivia had turned into a plow herself and dug up the ground. Watching her, Darbav smiled with satisfaction.

‘At least she didn’t uproot the flowers… Excellent.’

Olivia threw the hoe to the ground irritably and wiped the sweat off her forehead.

“This is boring.”

Seeing Olivia declare a strike with her whiny complaints, Darbav asked.

“Why is that?”

“Working under the blazing sun is hard and hot.”

“Didn’t you ask for an allowance?”

“Isn’t allowance supposed to be free?”

“No.”

“Dad, you’re so stingy.”

“It can’t be helped.”

Olivia stretched out Darbav’s face, which had come close to hers, expressing her discontent.

“Eeeek…”

Olivia was bored.

Playing with her dad was fun, but recently, the butler hadn’t been playing with her, leaving her feeling bored.

Olivia, whining, shared her true feelings with Darbav, saying that the butler seemed to be neglecting his duties lately.

“Dad.”

“Why is that?”

“Ricardo doesn’t play with me.”

“I see.”

“He says he’s busy these days and won’t play with me.”

“That has nothing to do with the flowers, does it?”

“This is more important than the flowers.”

At Olivia’s words, Darbav nodded with a sullen expression.

“For me, the flowers are more important.”

Olivia shook her head and said.

“For me, this is more important.”

Knowing well that he couldn’t break his daughter’s stubbornness, Darbav crouched down beside Olivia and listened to her concerns.

As the head of the Desmond Estate, sitting on the dirt ground was unthinkable, but what could he do? He wanted to do it.

Darbav waved off the startled servants, signaling that it was fine, and opened his ears to Olivia’s words.

“It’s something that can’t be helped, isn’t it? He’s living such a busy life, so I can understand.”

“What good is it if you understand, Dad? I’m the one who needs to understand.”

“Don’t you understand as well?”

At Darbav’s question, Olivia nodded and buried her face in his shoulder.

“Yeah. I was just whining a little.”

Darbav was moved as he observed Olivia’s growth.

In the past, she would have yelled, “I’m bored!” but now, seeing his daughter understand Ricardo’s situation, Darbav felt proud as a father.

It seemed he had raised at least one good daughter.

In a sullen voice, Olivia muttered.

“Ricardo must be really busy. I told him to take it easy, but he doesn’t listen.”

“Aren’t you worried about me? I’m working a lot too.”

“Dad, you should take it easy too. Health is more important than money.”

“…”

Darbav’s eyes began to redden slightly.

Perhaps it was because of his age, but Darbav felt his emotions growing richer, and the pride of raising a devoted daughter made him feel like he had nothing to envy in the world.

According to the rumors, the Histania Family hadn’t raised very good children.

Darbav shook his head as he recalled the face of his old academy mate, who had been so rigid.

-I exist for the sake of the family.

From the moment that guy announced his marriage, Darbav had thought his parenting would fail, and sure enough, strange rumors had started circulating, leaving Darbav no choice but to nod in agreement.

Look at himself.

Of course, his daughter had a bit of a difficult personality, but wasn’t she a devoted daughter who worried about her father? Darbav, thinking this was enough to consider her a devoted daughter, smiled as he mentally scored a victory over the rival Histania Family.

Parenting.

Social status.

Even his wife’s appearance.

He was still winning.

“Heh heh.”

“Dad, you sound like someone who’s just convincing himself.”

“I’m not.”

“Then why are you laughing?”

“I’m just happy that you’re worried about me.”

“Am I a good person?”

“…”

Darbav couldn’t answer.

After all, he had a conscience.

“Why aren’t you answering?”

“My daughter is the prettiest in the world, though.”

“I know.”

“And though I don’t know who you take after, you’re smart and capable too.”

“I take after Mom.”

Darbav let out a sigh of relief.

“And I take after Dad too.”

Darbav inhaled the sigh he had just exhaled.

“Doesn’t your personality take after your mom more?”

“No, I take after Dad too.”

“Think about it again.”

“Why?”

“…”

Darbav had a conscience.

Time passed, and as the afternoon sun began to give way to darkness.

“Huh?”

In the distance, the familiar face of a man walking with a pleasant smile came into view.

A man carrying shopping bags in both hands.

Olivia reacted faster than Darbav. Like a dog catching the scent of something delicious, Olivia, who had been dozing on Darbav’s back, quickly lifted her head and shouted as she spotted the red-haired young man walking from afar.

“Abby Ricardo is coming.”

“I see.”

“Abby, move out.”

“…”

Darbav felt a bit hurt.

“Move out!”

Even so, he was happy.

“Eeeek! Move out!”

Because his daughter was alive.

And because a reliable ally stood by his daughter’s side, Darbav felt reassured.

*

Another peaceful day at the Desmund Family estate.

Sitting on the bed with the Young Lady after a long time, I listened to her recount the events of her day, a satisfied smile spreading across my face.

“So, I asked Abby for some allowance for free, but he said he could only give me a little.”

“I see.”

“Yeah. He said he had to pay Ricardo’s salary. Since I’d already gone all out, I told him to go a bit further and give me more….”

“Oh… As expected of your father.”

“Right? Even I think so.”

“That’s not a compliment.”

“It’s not?”

“No.”

The Young Lady smiled shyly as she spoke to me.

Today, she planted flowers in the estate yard. She said it was tiring, but after planting the maxim, it looked so pretty that it lifted her spirits. Her cheerful recounting of the day made me smile repeatedly.

The Young Lady spoke honestly to me.

-I was upset because Ricardo hasn’t been playing with me lately.

-But I understand Ricardo. He’s busy, isn’t he? Just like I’m busy, Ricardo is too, so I can understand. When I earn a lot of money later, I’ll take care of Ricardo, so he just has to endure a little longer.

-I didn’t go to earn money, though.

-Then?

-I went because of a friend.

-Ricardo has a friend?

-That comment hurts, you know?

Though her innocent teasing stung a little, I was moved by the Young Lady’s broad and mature heart.

She had learned to understand others…. She had grown so much compared to her days as a villainess. As someone who had served her for a long time, I was pleased to see her growth.

I liked the Young Lady for expressing her emotions without hiding them.

Instead of silently brooding over her hurt feelings, she openly shared what had upset her. I admired her candidness.

I even liked her jealousy over having less time to play, and I appreciated being able to talk to her while looking at her face.

I smiled as I looked at the Young Lady.

Gazing into her bright and sparkling eyes as she lay on the bed, I focused on her story.

“Ricardo.”

“Yes.”

“Are you not busy anymore?”

“Hmm… It seems so. I’ve collected the overdue money from the academy and resolved my friend’s concerns.”

“Then…”

The Young Lady hesitated, carefully gauging my reaction before speaking.

“What are you doing tomorrow?”

At her shy question, asked while pulling the blanket up to her lips, I smiled and answered.

“I’m planning to go downtown tomorrow.”

“Downtown?”

“Yes.”

“With whom?”

The Young Lady avoided my gaze, clutching the blanket tightly. Her honest expression, clearly showing that she would feel upset if it wasn’t her, made me suppress my rising laughter as I decided to tease her.

“Hmm, I think I’ll go with someone really beautiful.”

“…Beautiful?”

“Yes.”

“More beautiful than me?”

“Oh, where in the world could anyone be more beautiful than the Young Lady?”

“Hehe… That’s true.”

The Young Lady smiled pleasantly, staring at me intently.

“So, who is it?”

I looked at the Young Lady and said.

“I haven’t received permission yet, so I can’t say.”

“Hmm…”

“Then what will the Young Lady do tomorrow?”

“I was planning to eat chocolate with Ricardo.”

“I see.”

I looked at the Young Lady and said.

“Then, do you have time tomorrow?”

“Huh?”

“I was thinking of going shopping with the Young Lady tomorrow—buying pajamas, chocolate, and so on….”

“Am I the really beautiful person?”

“Yes.”

The Young Lady pulled the blanket over her head and began punching it with her fists.

-Thud.

After punching the blanket for a while, the Young Lady revealed her face shyly, a pleased smile on her lips.

“I know.”

I looked at the Young Lady and asked.

“So, what’s your answer?”

“Hmm…”

The Young Lady pouted her lips and fell into deep thought. Saying she was an expensive person, she hummed for a long time, pretending to deliberate, before finally nodding with difficulty and giving her answer.

“Alright.”

“It’s an honor.”

“Then I’ll go as a special favor.”

I smiled faintly and expressed my gratitude to the Young Lady.

“Thank you, Young Lady.”

*

And so, the next day arrived.

The Young Lady caught a cold.

“Hiiiik… Hiiiik! Achoo!”

A severe flu, to be exact.