The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 226

Inside the estate where silence lingered.

Sitting on the sofa, Darbav took a sip of tea and nodded.

“So…”

With sharp eyes, Darbav slowly opened his mouth. He looked at me with a gaze that demanded the truth, no lies, and asked.

“Where is Olivia?”

“Father.”

“You clearly said Olivia had turned younger. Where has she gone?”

Darbav was deliberately pretending not to notice the young lady sitting right in front of him. He fiercely ignored the young lady, who was waving her hand in front of his face and exclaiming, “Oh…! Invisible!”

“Ricardo. Father says he can’t see me.”

“Young Lady, please stay still. That will enhance your stealth ability.”

“Gasp!”

Darbav clenched his fist as he watched the young lady holding her breath to strengthen her stealth technique.

“Bring Olivia here.”

“Ohhh…!”

“I said bring Olivia, who promised she wouldn’t marry anyone but me.”

“Father, I never said that.”

‘Ugh…!’ Darbav slammed his fist on the desk, venting his resentment at the young lady’s response, which shattered even the slightest hope.

“Why…”

“…”

“Why, I ask you. I thought I’d be able to see the pure, innocent Olivia.”

“The Young Lady has been dark-hearted from the very beginning.”

“Ughhhh…!”

With a face that looked like he might cry at any moment, Darbav stared at me with eyes full of grudge. It was as if he was saying, “You’ve seen her, so why can’t I?” filled with envy.

“It’s true, so I can’t make any excuses.”

“Still, she was somewhat pure. In various ways, that is.”

-Nod, nod.

Looking at Darbav, I thought, ‘He’s definitely an incredibly busy person, so why is he here?’ Sure, the young lady’s younger appearance was rare, but it wasn’t enough to abandon his work and come here. Of course, if it were me, I’d drop everything and come too.

I gave Darbav a bitter smile, offering him some light consolation.

And then.

“Stop it.”

“Don’t you feel wronged? That you can’t see Olivia’s innocent self again…”

“This isn’t even funny. Isn’t that right, Kyle?”

The young lady’s mother, Rosanna, pinched Darbav’s thigh lightly, giving him a look to stop as he clenched his fist and vented his injustice.

Then, looking at Kyle, who was calmly sipping tea, Rosanna gave a small eye smile and asked, seeking a positive answer from her reliable eldest son.

“Kyle…?”

“Yes, that’s right. This isn’t even funny, really.”

-Rattle, rattle.

“Kyle?”

Kyle’s teacup was shaking noisily. Glancing at me with eyes full of envy, he muttered, “There’s no photograph, is there?” Despite this, Kyle still displayed the dependable demeanor of Desmond’s next head of the family.

“When will I get to see her?”

“Haha…”

“Let me know in advance so I can clear my schedule.”

“That’s something only the Young Lady knows.”

The Desmond Household, gathered in full to catch a glimpse of Little Olivia. The busiest people in the Empire had made this rare journey, but the young lady, who had recovered her dark mana, was nonchalantly snacking on jerky, exhaling through her nose.

“Father.”

“Yes.”

“Want some jerky?”

The young lady offered the jerky she was chewing to Darbav, displaying her lack of filial piety. Although the bag in her hand was full of fresh jerky, she deliberately handed over the one she was eating. Watching this, I gave a bitter smile, thinking, ‘What should I do?’

Even though he’s an overprotective father, he’s still a noble…

“Thank you.”

Apparently not.

Underestimating the Desmond Household’s resilience, I admitted my mistake and nodded. Expecting common sense from Desmond was clearly futile.

I refilled Darbav’s empty teacup and cautiously changed the subject. After all, these weren’t people who had the leisure to come all the way here just to see Little Olivia.

“So, what brings you to Hamel?”

“I came to see Olivia.”

“…”

Kyle also nodded, as if to say it was an obvious question, and Rosanna, who I had trusted, gave a satisfied smile and nodded as well.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“What about your work?”

“Tomorrow’s me will handle it.”

Truly, the head of the Desmond Household had an extraordinary conviction.

In the novel, he was portrayed as a cold and ruthless figure rather than someone so free-spirited. I wondered where it all went wrong, chuckling softly as I blended into their lives.

The teacups continued to empty.

Perhaps because we were serving expensive black tea, our conversation took on a refined tone as we discussed recent events and politics.

-I feel like dropping a meteor on the Imperial Castle.

-Do you have a reason?

-No reason.

-That does make sense.

While calculating the coordinates of the Imperial Castle, Darbav began to take an interest in the black creature that ambled over, plopped its rear on the floor, and stuck its head out.

“What is this…?”

Darbav looked at Gomtangi with a question mark on his head.

Kyle, who was already familiar with Gomtangi’s existence, watched as Darbav, who had only seen Gomtangi as a pup, reached out cautiously to touch its head.

-Gooooom.

“Oh.”

Gomtangi, seemingly pleased with Darbav’s touch, closed its eyes softly and leaned into his hand.

“Remarkable…”

Smiling faintly at Darbav’s curiosity, I uttered the excuse I had repeated countless times before. Though I had come to accept it to some extent, it would be difficult for Darbav to do the same. So, I told a virtuous lie.

“It’s a dog.”

“I see.”

“It’s a dog the Young Lady is raising.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen this breed before.”

“It’s my first time seeing it too.”

“Hmm…”

With a subtle smile, Darbav petted Gomtangi’s head and said.

“A remarkable bear.”

As expected, a clumsy lie didn’t work. I was foolish to think I could deceive him.

-Gomgom.

With eyes filled with nostalgia, Darbav looked at Gomtangi and said.

“It reminds me of the old days.”

“The old days?”

“Yes.”

Darbav glanced at Rosanna, who was looking at Gomtangi with a pitying gaze, and gave a bitter smile.

“Rosanna used to raise a bear too.”

“…What?”

“I still remember it vividly, that one named Sagol running around.”

“Oh…”

“Sometimes it even bit me, but without that creature, we wouldn’t be where we are today.”

“You must have adored it a lot.”

“No. We fought every day.”

“Pardon?”

“I had to fight to avoid being eaten. It growled so much whenever I wagged my tail at my master that I almost sent a meteor flying at its head.”

How should I even process this?

Unable to adapt to Desmond’s wistful memories, I awkwardly smiled with a bewildered expression.

“Still, since it was the angel that brought love together, isn’t that a good thing?”

Darbav nodded with a subtle smile.

“That’s true.”

Gomtangi, as if understanding Darbav’s tender feelings, let out a “Gom” sound and acted playfully.

“We will raise it well, too…”

-Gom!

“…”

I stopped mid-sentence, staring at Darbav’s hand disappearing into Gomtangi’s mouth. Gomtangi, biting gently without causing pain, was showing affection just as it did with the Young Lady.

“Haha.”

Darbav let out a hearty laugh and nodded.

“This one is no different.”

Darbav disliked bears.

And yet.

“It reminds me of how my baby used to be.”

Rosanna liked bears.

*

Inside the estate, where darkness had fallen.

After putting the Young Lady to bed, I came down to the estate’s living room and locked eyes with three people waiting for me.

Darbav, Kyle, and Rosanna, who were staying the night due to the late hour, looked at me with gentle smiles.

Rosanna, gazing at the neatly cleaned ceiling of the estate, spoke in a gentle voice.

“You’ve managed the estate well.”

“It was nothing.”

“No, maintaining an estate alone is no easy task. As expected, Ricardo is good at running a household.”

“You’re too kind.”

With a faint smile, I placed a bottle of whiskey and some glasses on the table.

Darbav, wearing a heavy expression, stared at the liquor being poured into the glass. Unlike the lighthearted conversation earlier, Darbav, now spinning the glass with a somber look, tapped his forehead with his fingers and let out a deep sigh.

“You’ve worked hard on your own.”

“It was nothing.”

“Don’t say that…”

Darbav chuckled softly and raised his glass. Late at night, with the Young Lady asleep, we gathered here with drinks.

It seemed like a serious conversation was necessary.

It wasn’t anything grand, but a single line in a letter had plunged Darbav into deep contemplation.

“Hoo…”

Setting his glass down, Darbav spoke.

“Ricardo.”

“Yes.”

“The contents of the letter—are they all true?”

“Yes.”

Darbav tapped the table with his fingers and lowered his head.

[The Young Lady used dark magic.]

“Things have gotten complicated. Were there any witnesses?”

“None. The survivors were unconscious at the time and claimed to remember nothing.”

“That’s a relief. The letter’s contents can only be deciphered by someone like Rosanna, so there’s no need to worry.”

“…”

“So, in other words, no one knows except for those of us here.”

We couldn’t come to a clear conclusion. After hearing about what happened that day, Darbav, deeply troubled by the Young Lady’s unexpected use of dark magic, tapped his forehead and fell into thought, letting out a worried sigh.

Kyle emptied his glass and spoke.

“Can Olivia’s leg be healed using dark magic? In a way that doesn’t burden you, of course.”

Shaking my head, I answered Kyle.

“It’s impossible. However, I’ll be able to resolve that issue soon and will contact you separately.”

“…”

Kyle looked at me with trembling eyes. Though he didn’t know everything, Kyle, who was aware of the situation, couldn’t seem to take his gaze off me.

“You’re part of Desmond, too. Don’t get hurt recklessly.”

“Thank you.”

Silence filled the air.

Time passed heavily as we pondered how to approach this issue. Though the conclusion of ‘turning a blind eye’ had already been reached, accepting and processing it took a long time.

In the long silence, Darbav cautiously opened his mouth.

“This is serious.”

“…”

“I’m planning to hold a ball soon under Olivia’s name.”

“…”

“It’s a big deal.”

Our concern was singular.

We were afraid the Young Lady might act out of anger and cause trouble.