The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 220

The cold wind blows.

Yuria, heading toward the hospital balcony, followed Olivia while listening to the wheel noise of the rolling wheelchair.

“…”

Olivia said nothing.

Not even a simple greeting.

Not even asking how she had been.

Without saying a word, Olivia moved the chair with wheels with a stern expression.

-Clatter…

There was no sense of joy in seeing her. There wasn’t even fear. Instead, the first thought was discomfort at meeting someone she didn’t want to see.

Since they weren’t in a relationship where they would ask about each other’s well-being, she didn’t bother to initiate a conversation.

There was just one thought lingering in her mind: she didn’t understand why Olivia had called her separately. Olivia likely thought there was nothing to talk about with her either.

-Screech.

Upon arriving at the balcony, Olivia stopped the wheelchair and slowly turned her body.

“Ahem.”

After clearing her throat once and tying her hair back, Olivia cautiously began to speak, facing the cold wind of the North.

“First, I’ll apologize for calling you out at this late hour.”

“…”

“I didn’t want to call you out either, but I thought I wouldn’t have another chance if not today….”

With a stern expression, Olivia, seated in the wheelchair, lowered her head.

“Honestly, you and I aren’t in a relationship where we sit face-to-face and talk. Especially not you.”

Why would she do this, knowing that?

She was someone she didn’t even want to see.

Yuria clenched her fist as she looked at Olivia, who maintained a calm expression. Even if Ricardo was tolerable, Olivia was not.

As if aware of Yuria’s feelings, Olivia lowered her head and apologized again, sincerely saying she was truly sorry and that this wouldn’t happen again.

“I’ll apologize properly later.”

“…”

“I’ll do it properly next time, so don’t feel too uncomfortable about it.”

Reluctantly, Yuria nodded at Olivia’s words. Olivia sighed and began to speak.

“…I’ll say just one thing. Just one thing.”

-Nod.

After letting out a deep sigh, Olivia spoke heavily.

“Why do you hate Ricardo?”

Olivia clenched her fist and spoke with difficulty, cautiously watching Yuria’s reaction.

“No matter how much I think about it, I just can’t understand.”

“Me…?”

At Olivia’s question, Yuria raised her tone in confusion. She didn’t hate Ricardo.

It was an unexpected question.

‘Hate him?’

‘I hate Ricardo…?’

Under Olivia’s expectant gaze, Yuria shook her head. She was mistaken.

“No. Why would I hate Ricardo? If anything, I….”

Without waiting for Yuria’s answer, Olivia spoke with conviction. From Olivia’s perspective, Yuria clearly hated Ricardo.

“No. You hate Ricardo.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Yes, you do.”

Olivia looked straight into Yuria’s eyes. Despite their uncomfortable relationship, she clenched her fist as if determined to say what needed to be said.

“If you didn’t hate Ricardo, that kind fool wouldn’t have any reason to be so wary of you.”

“That’s just your misunderstanding.”

“No. My eyes don’t lie.”

Shaking her head, Olivia replied.

“Whenever Ricardo sees you, he lowers his head. He can’t stay still and flinches as if he has to do something for you.”

“…”

“He worries, wondering if you’re hurt or if something bad happened to you.”

“That’s…”

Hearing such words, Yuria’s mood began to lighten. She hadn’t expected Ricardo to think that way. Even though it was coming from the mouth of a villainess, it somehow made her want to smile. Knowing that someone she liked cared for her was both delightful and surprising.

With a stern expression, Olivia spoke to Yuria. Her voice carried a hint of emotion, as if to emphasize that her words were not meant as praise.

“But that’s not how you feel, is it?”

“Huh?”

“Whenever you see Ricardo, you get angry. You resent him. You yell at him.”

“…”

“You misunderstand him for things he didn’t even do. If that’s not hatred, then what is it?”

Yuria couldn’t deny Olivia’s words. There was nothing incorrect about them. She had no excuse for her actions.

Olivia continued pointing out Yuria’s flaws. As a villainess, she spoke without regard for the other person’s feelings, yet as a perpetrator who had left an indelible nightmare, she spoke with as much consideration as she could muster, placing her hand on her chest.

“Even if I can hate him, you shouldn’t. What kind of person is Ricardo to you…? Why do you hate him?”

Olivia said she couldn’t understand her.

“No matter how much I think about it, I just can’t understand you.”

Setting aside her past emotions, Olivia spoke with a tone that might have been uncomfortable for Yuria to hear, thinking of Ricardo lying in his hospital bed.

“What more does Ricardo have to do for you?”

“…”

“When you were expelled from the Academy, Ricardo apologized, didn’t he?”

Listening quietly to Olivia’s words, Yuria clenched her fist. Olivia had brought up memories she didn’t want to recall.

She had hated Ricardo.

Recalling the memories that forced her to hate him, Yuria’s emotions began to surge.

-Clench.

Olivia, watching Yuria’s reaction, continued speaking. Her voice was timid, as if she was prepared to endure any backlash to get an answer.

“Ricardo clearly apologized to you. He said he was sorry for causing you trouble and promised never to appear before you again.”

“Ha.”

Overwhelmed by emotions rising to her chin, Yuria let out a bitter laugh. The memories she shared with Ricardo were unforgettable yet also her reverse scale.

“If he apologized…”

“…What?”

“Does an apology make everything okay?”

“No, that’s not…”

“I apologized to you too, didn’t I? I didn’t even know what I did wrong, but I said I was sorry.”

“…”

“I admitted I was wrong and asked you to forgive me. But how did you treat me? You said it was fine and acted nice to me? Compare the situations properly.”

Yuria bit her lip and spoke with a muffled voice.

“Do you know how much I suffered because of you…?”

“…That’s…”

“Don’t make excuses. I don’t want to hear them.”

“…”

Olivia tightly shut her eyes. Shaking her head, she steadied her trembling shoulders. Ricardo had told her not to get angry. Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself.

-Sigh…

“Fine, you’re right. You can treat me like that. But you can’t treat Ricardo that way.”

“…”

“Ricardo isn’t a punching bag. He’s not someone you can just bow your head to whenever you meet.”

Shaking her head, Olivia spoke. Clenching her fist, she looked at Yuria with a timid voice.

“He’s my punching bag, the one only I can hit, and no one else can touch without my permission….”

At Olivia’s whiny complaints, Yuria had a lot she wanted to say.

Yes, she knew.

She knew it was wrong to be so sensitive and angry toward Ricardo.

“But, I feel wronged too.”

“The person I trusted and liked… even now, the person I like more and more—when I think about the time I was ostracized by them, I feel wronged and angry.”

“I know. I do.”

“But.”

“What am I supposed to do about feeling wronged?”

Yuria couldn’t understand why she had to be criticized for being more hurt because she liked Ricardo.

Clenching her fist, Yuria told Olivia not to act so shamelessly.

“A punching bag just for you?”

“Yeah.”

“Ricardo can’t do anything because of you.”

“I know.”

“Don’t you feel guilty?”

“Of course I do.”

Lowering her head, Olivia stammered as she spoke. She said she wasn’t someone who didn’t know her place, nor was she an ungrateful fool.

And then, once again, she repeated the same words to Yuria.

“But, you shouldn’t do that.”

Olivia looked straight into Yuria’s eyes as she spoke.

“You don’t know.”

“Know what?”

“You don’t know how much Ricardo has suffered because of you.”

“No, I do know.”

“If you know, then why do you think you’re the only one suffering?”

Olivia was fully aware of her own situation.

She knew she was a burden holding Ricardo back, and that she was a nasty villainess who only caused trouble. She also knew that fixing herself wasn’t something that could happen overnight and would take time.

That’s why she always felt sorry and grateful toward Ricardo. Because he seemed to dislike it, she avoided talking about the Academy and tried her best in her own way.

At least.

Olivia had some understanding of Ricardo’s struggles.

“At the very least, I’m grateful to Ricardo. But you’re not.”

Yuria clenched her trembling fist and lowered her head. Her lips quivered as she held back her words.

‘I have to endure.’

Because she didn’t want to bring up the Academy again.

‘I can’t say it’s unfair.’

Because Ricardo almost died because of her, stabbed by the blade she wielded. She had to acknowledge how terrible and cruel she was to resent Ricardo, who never even brought it up.

‘I know. Olivia is right.’

But.

But still.

What could she do about being scared?

Yuria shouted.

“Do you know?”

“…”

“Do you know what it feels like to be betrayed by someone you trusted? To see the person who promised to always be on your side turn against you overnight and scribble graffiti on your desk?”

Yuria began to vent her pent-up emotions, pouring out her resentment over what she had experienced.

“You think I don’t understand gratitude? I do! I know how much Ricardo has suffered because of me! I know he got hurt because of me!”

“Hurt…?”

“But you don’t know! You don’t know about being locked in a wardrobe for three hours at the ballroom!”

Ignoring Olivia’s now-changed expression, Yuria continued to speak. She said Olivia didn’t know anything about her.

“I trusted him, I really trusted him! Do you know what it feels like when that trust hits rock bottom?”

Yuria shouted about the dual nature of Ricardo that she had witnessed in the past.

“I’m scared… Honestly, I’m terrified.”

“I want to stop too, but I’m scared of being betrayed again.”

Olivia let out an empty laugh as she spoke. She was starting to get angry at one particular keyword.

“You really don’t know anything.”

Olivia glanced around cautiously and muttered under her breath. “Ricardo told me not to say anything…” she murmured before letting out a sigh and speaking.

One word at a time, clearly and deliberately.

“Ricardo, you see.”

She made sure Yuria could hear her clearly.

“Because of you, he was ostracized at the Academy.”

“You really don’t know anything, do you?”