The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 188

Mikhail knew nothing about the world.

“What’s that?”

“What? That statue?”

“Yeah, that.”

“It’s the Emperor. The First Emperor.”

Although he could read, he lacked basic knowledge and was so ignorant about the world that he even believed the Demon King lived in the Magic Tower.

I thought to myself as I watched Mikhail look at the statue of the First Emperor and call it an ugly old man.

‘He’ll be a sight to behold when he meets Olivia.’

Back then, I briefly considered introducing Mikhail to Olivia.

I thought I might repay the villainess who had generously given me money by setting her up on a decent blind date.

Olivia might be able to let go of her feelings, and it could reduce the stress she’d face later at the Academy.

But after seeing Mikhail, who disregarded social status and attempted royalty insult, I decided to abandon the plan altogether.

Because if Mikhail and the Young Lady met, they’d probably fight like cats and dogs.

-You look really nasty.

-Eeeek…? You wanna fight? I’m really good at fighting!

-No. If I fight with you, I feel like I’d become a bad person too.

-Eeeek!

The future was clear as day, even without seeing it.

Anyway, Mikhail knew nothing and often showed amazement at trivial things. Unlike the strong image he portrayed in the novel, Mikhail was a delicate and easily frightened child.

At first, he was as wary as a wet cat, but as we spent more time together, Mikhail gradually brightened up.

Perhaps it started after the day when heavy rain poured down, and I saved Mikhail from being swept away by the overflowing river water.

He stopped rejecting the hands extended to him and slowly began to speak to me.

Sitting alone under the bridge, crouched in solitude, he would look at me with wide eyes and try to hide his twitching smile.

Today, after finishing my begging rounds, I went to find Mikhail under the bridge.

“I’m here. The most handsome beggar in the world has come again today.”

“Why are you here! Don’t come!”

“Why are you sulking? Are you upset because I came later than usual?”

“I’m not sulking.”

“Liar.”

I chuckled softly as I observed Mikhail’s reaction.

I scanned his body, checking if he was hurt or if anyone had harmed him while I was away, and smiled.

‘Looks like he’s fine today.’

After confirming Mikhail’s safety, I sat down beside him as if it were second nature and began unfolding a box.

“I brought a new box today. What do you think? The cushioning is amazing, right? It could even be used as a bed.”

“A box is just a box. Don’t call it a bed.”

“Says the person who’s hoarded so many boxes.”

“Uh… Don’t look!”

I laughed as I glanced at the pile of boxes hidden like treasure in the corner of the pillar. It was funny how someone who denied that “a box is just a box” had stockpiled so many.

Mikhail hastily covered my eyes and said,

“…Don’t look!”

“I’ve already seen it all.”

“Don’t look! Forget it, forget it, you fool!”

A blush began to spread across Mikhail’s cheeks. After boldly declaring that “boxes are useless things,” he was embarrassed to have been caught secretly collecting them. I thought that even I wouldn’t be able to lift my head in such a situation.

Mikhail feigned indifference and said to me,

“I only collected them because you like boxes!”

“Oh, is that so?”

“Yes!”

“Then I can take them all with me when I leave, right?”

“Uh…?”

“Isn’t that right?”

Mikhail clenched his fists and looked at the boxes he had gathered with a wistful gaze.

He wanted to protect the boxes.

But he didn’t want to abandon his pride either. With a face that looked like he might burst into tears at any moment, Mikhail reluctantly nodded.

“That’s right…”

“Puhaha! I’m kidding, I won’t take them.”

I waved my hand as I watched Mikhail’s dejected expression.

Mikhail was fun to tease.

Contrary to the image he had in the novel, his fiery reactions were amusing, and I found joy in his refusal to compromise his pride.

And I also liked seeing how Mikhail had grown to the point of going around collecting boxes on his own.

Even though he still hadn’t ventured beyond the bridge, I enjoyed watching Mikhail gradually expand his boundaries. Smiling softly, I began placing the chocolate and bread I had in my pocket on top of the box.

I smiled as I looked at Mikhail, who was staring at me with wide eyes.

“What are you doing, just standing there?”

“Huh?”

“You should eat too.”

Mikhail, startled, stood frozen in place.

We’d eaten together more than a few times, so I didn’t understand why he was surprised every time. Having never done anything bad to him, I couldn’t figure out why Mikhail was so wary of me.

Perhaps it was because of the time I ate in front of him after he said, “I won’t eat anything you give me.” I smiled softly and patted the box beside me.

“Come on, hurry up.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. It’s lonely eating alone.”

Mikhail hesitantly approached and carefully reached out to take a cream bun.

Noticing Mikhail’s blatant gaze as he watched me, I chuckled softly and nodded.

“Go ahead, eat.”

-Nom. Nom.

Though it wasn’t a long time, there was one thing I had come to know for sure about Mikhail.

Mikhail liked cream buns.

Not the ones with a little cream, but the ones stuffed with loads of cream.

“Eat slowly. It’s not like anyone’s going to steal it. You’ll choke.”

I opened the milk and handed it to Mikhail.

With his mouth full of bread, Mikhail mumbled,

“Mmhm mm mmhm!”

“What?”

“Mmhmhm!”

“What are you saying? Swallow everything in your mouth first. I can’t understand a word.”

“Gulp… Cough, cough. I said you should eat too.”

“Me?”

I rubbed my hungry stomach and said to Mikhail,

“I already ate, so I’m full.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

I thought I sounded pretty cool when I said that.

I cautiously brought up the topic while watching Mikhail’s reaction. I told him that if he came to where I lived, he could live more comfortably than in such a harsh place.

Believe it or not, I was a well-off flower beggar. Handsome, kind-hearted, and with a reliable sponsor.

On days like today, when the streets were empty, I sometimes had to go hungry, but most days, I lived a plentiful life as a beggar.

Unlike the orphans who starved to death.

I carefully offered Mikhail a piece of chocolate and said,

“If you come to where I live, you can eat until you’re full.”

“No.”

Mikhail answered firmly. Considering my feelings, he could’ve at least pretended to think about it, but Mikhail didn’t hesitate for even a moment.

“I don’t want to follow you.”

“Oh, come on. Why don’t you want to?”

Mikhail hugged the teddy bear tightly and spoke in a sullen voice.

“What if my mom comes back?”

“She won’t…”

I almost made a slip of the tongue.

I nearly crushed Mikhail’s hopes. Just because I knew the future, I almost made a mistake. I didn’t want to subject him to meaningless hardships when the answer was already clear.

As a possessor who knew the future, I almost made a mistake I should never make. With a bitter smile, I said,

“She probably won’t come back.”

“…”

“Just kidding… Here, take this.”

I pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and a pen from my pocket.

Mikhail looked at the paper in my hand with a questioning expression, but I smiled faintly and began planting hope in him.

“Draw something on this.”

“What should I draw?”

“What else? Your mother.”

“My mom?”

At the mention of his mom, Mikhail’s eyes welled up with tears, and he looked like he might cry at any moment.

“Don’t cry, just draw!”

“Sniff…”

“No!”

Mikhail seemed to cry a lot.

After consoling Mikhail for quite some time, he finally drew something on the paper I handed him. With a wistful smile, he held it out to me.

On the paper was a drawing of a beautiful woman who resembled Mikhail.

Perhaps thanks to good genes, her appearance was striking. Smiling faintly, I looked at Mikhail and said,

“She’s beautiful.”

“Yeah. My mom is really pretty.”

“She really is stunning.”

At my praise of his mother, a smile began to form on Mikhail’s lips.

I tucked the drawing Mikhail had made into my pocket and said,

“If I see someone who looks like your mom, I’ll tell the others right away. So don’t worry and come out to the streets with me.”

Since I knew the future of the novel, I had to get Mikhail out of this place to plant more hope in him.

Besides, this place wasn’t an environment fit for a child to live alone.

Mikhail lifted his head and looked at me.

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

After thinking for a long time, Mikhail shook his head.

“I still don’t want to.”

“Ugh, why not again!”

“I just… I want to be the first one to see my mom.”

“Ugh… Seriously.”

It took quite a long time.

It took a lot of time to open the closed door to Mikhail’s heart and to bring him out from underneath the bridge.

Of course, completely leaving underneath the bridge was impossible, but Mikhail slowly began to hold my hand and walk through the slum streets.

“Wow…”

“How is it? My territory.”

“It’s amazing.”

“Looks different, right?”

“No.”

“…”

Mikhail, unwilling to take handouts, even tried begging on his own.

“Do it like me. Say, ‘Oh, these pretty eyes!'”

“That sounds so pathetic.”

“You have to do it like that to earn money. You might not have the looks to steal the ladies’ hearts like I do, but you’re decent enough…”

Looking at Mikhail’s begging tin, which held twice as much as the money I earned in five hours, I felt the unfairness of the world.

-Damn?

He really was an exceptional kid in many ways.

Both mentally.

And physically.

He was an extraordinary child.

And so, we began to develop a relationship that could be called friendship.

Yes, friendship.