The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 253

‘Drop.’ A small tear fell from the Young Lady’s eye. It wasn’t a tear filled with sorrow but one soaked in worry, wetting the floor below.

She tightly shut her large, round eyes.

Rubbing her eyes with her small, delicate hands to hide her tears, the Young Lady cried like a child.

“Hic…”

“Ah… Young Lady. Why are you crying?”

Even playful jokes felt awkward.

“It’s not like that, so please don’t cry.”

The usual lies I always told were blocked by the Young Lady’s tears, making it impossible to utter them easily. I couldn’t think of the right words to say or how to escape this situation.

For now, all I could do was…

“Please don’t cry.”

I didn’t want to see the Young Lady crying.

“Hic… I’m not crying.”

Yet, the Young Lady continued to shed tears. She bit her lips tightly, trying to hold back the tears, but once they started, they showed no sign of stopping.

Like a child who, once they burst into tears, can’t stop, the Young Lady sobbed, her shoulders trembling.

It felt as if time had stopped.

“…”

My helpless hands and the Young Lady’s sniffles seemed to trap me in this moment.

‘What should I do…’

I couldn’t think of anything to say.

While I was flustered by her sudden tears, the Young Lady slowly opened her mouth. Chewing over each hesitant word, she spoke with sorrow about what my existence meant to her.

“I can’t live without Ricardo.”

“…”

“It’s so sad and exhausting.”

‘Thump, thump.’ The Young Lady pounded her chest as if trying to make a hole in it and spoke.

“It feels… like my chest is hollow and empty, like even eating chocolate wouldn’t make me feel full. If Ricardo disappears, I’ll be in big trouble.”

I kept my mouth shut and watched the Young Lady. I was grateful for her words, yet I also felt sorry.

Because I thought she would be happy if it was for her sake, I couldn’t easily bring myself to speak.

After all, the Young Lady is a Villainess.

I hadn’t deeply considered that there might be no one who would care for a vagabond from the slums, but I thought it must be a wound festering from deep within her.

I had been alone for a long time.

Even when I chose sacrifice, all I received in return was cold criticism and scorn. Perhaps without realizing it, I had been harboring such thoughts until now.

“Don’t go!”

“…”

“Don’t run away! Stay with me!”

My heart felt warm. It was foolish, but I felt a surge of emotion, and the thought that I wasn’t alone made me softly gaze at the Young Lady and shake my head.

“Why would I disappear? I’m right here in front of you.”

“You’re not!”

“Then am I a ghost standing before you?”

“Hic… No.”

The Young Lady shook her head firmly as she replied.

“Ricardo is so dumb that it feels like he’ll vanish.”

“…”

“I feel like I’ll wake up and you’ll be gone! Do you know how many dreams I’ve had where Ricardo disappears?”

“Is that so…?”

“You disappear because you’re hurt.”

“…”

“You disappear because you do something bad.”

“Someone as good as me doesn’t exist in this world.”

“And!”

The Young Lady lowered her head and spoke in a small voice.

“You disappear because of me.”

“…”

“You’re stupid! You get hurt like an idiot! You get insulted!”

The Young Lady tightly shut her eyes and shouted.

“Idiot! Moron! Mutt!”

As if reflecting the image of myself I had seen subconsciously, the Young Lady trembled as she clenched her fists. Her shoulders quivered as she voiced her fear that reality might mirror the dreams she had.

“I can’t let anything bad happen to Ricardo.”

“You lived just fine without me before, didn’t you?”

“I can’t live without you!”

The Young Lady shook her head firmly.

“I can’t live. If Ricardo isn’t here, I’ll die. I used to think about marrying Ricardo off to a good place so I wouldn’t be a burden!”

“You used to?”

“Now, I’ll stick to you like glue!”

I chuckled softly and added to her words playfully. While her crying face was cute, the Young Lady’s smiling face was far more beautiful.

I tried to lighten the darkened atmosphere with a joke.

“Does that mean you’re proposing to me? I might need to calculate that a bit more.”

“Ugh…”

“You seem to dislike the idea quite a lot.”

“Ugh… I’ll think about it.”

I laughed quietly as I patted the Young Lady’s head. Her soft, fluffy hair brushed between my fingers, bringing a pleasant smile to my face.

“We still have a long way to go.”

“Hmm..?”

“I told you to listen to me carefully.”

The Young Lady nodded as if making a promise. She vowed to become a Villainess who would listen to me well from now on.

I carefully knelt down and looked at the Young Lady. Her cheeks, puffed up and swollen, were bitten down as she stared straight at me with a fierce gaze.

“What are you looking at!”

“I’m just looking because you’re cute.”

“Then look.”

“Heh… I was going to anyway.”

“Hmm.”

I cautiously gazed at the Young Lady.

Her small frame.

Her eyes.

And her white hair.

She looked like the most beautiful and precious person in the world. Someone so radiant and lovely that I wouldn’t regret giving her everything I had.

“Ricardo…?”

What started as a fateful encounter had transformed into friendship, and over time, it had grown into something heavier than friendship.

Before I knew it, spending time with the Villainess became enjoyable, and just seeing her smile made me smile too.

Yes, unrequited love.

This was an undeniable stubbornness of mine. Even if someone told me otherwise or warned me not to fall in love, I couldn’t let go of this obstinacy.

“Yes, Young Lady.”

This was the weight of the feelings I carried.

The Young Lady cautiously placed her hand on my cheek and stretched it out. After making a pouty face at my elongated cheek, she spoke in a gloomy voice.

“It’s okay if I can’t walk.”

“…”

“It’s okay if people call me a fool.”

“…”

“It’s okay if people point fingers at me and call me an incompetent Villainess.”

“…”

“It’s okay if people say I deserve it. Ah… but if they do, I’ll get mad and won’t tolerate it.”

“Pfft…”

“Don’t laugh! I’m being serious here!”

“You’re just too cute, I can’t help it.”

“Ugh… Haa… Anyway, Ricardo.”

The Young Lady puffed out her cheeks and then pressed them down, making her face resemble a fish. Her comical expression seemed to make her want to laugh, but she steadied herself and spoke calmly.

“Don’t get hurt.”

“…”

“Don’t disappear in front of my eyes, don’t die, and live a long, long life with me.”

“Then what about my marriage?”

“That…”

The Young Lady rolled her eyes, lost in thought.

“Th-That…”

“Are you planning to marry me, Young Lady?”

“No…! I don’t want to because Ricardo is ugly!”

“Pfft… Just kidding.”

I carefully placed my hands on the Young Lady’s shoulders and pulled her into an embrace. Her warm breath brushed against my ear as it traveled up my chest.

Her small shoulders flinched, unsure of what to do, and her adorable hands pushed against me in frustration, which I could feel against my chest.

“…You know, Young Lady.”

“Hmm.”

I whispered my wish softly into her ear.

“I hope you are the happiest person in the world.”

I spoke with a sincerity deeper than anyone else’s, sharing a small wish that others might dismiss as trivial.

“Just like you said, I want to see you walking on your own two feet.”

Because I know it would make you happy.

“I want to proudly tell others that you’re someone who stands tall among them.”

“You already are.”

“You’re too amazing for your own good.”

“That’s true.”

“Pfft…”

“And I want everyone to see you as the best, even if the person standing next to you isn’t me….”

-Thwack!

The Young Lady smacked my lips with her palm and glared at me. Her eyes scolded me, asking how I could say such a thing and telling me not to.

“Tsk!”

“…”

“I can’t live without you, Ricardo. Who else would run my chocolate errands…!”

“That’s true.”

“Don’t even joke about things like that. Got it?”

In the past, she would have told me to get lost because she couldn’t stand the sight of me. Now, I was grateful that she relied on me like this.

I held the Young Lady tightly and said,

“Yes, I understand.”

So please forgive me just this once.

“What you’re worried about won’t happen.”

“Really?”

“Yes, I’m someone who values my own life very much. Don’t worry.”

I held the Young Lady close as the night passed.

And Olivia…

“Once I become someone truly remarkable….”

She murmured to herself alone in her room.

***

The next day.

“Air Raid Alert!!!!”

The Young Lady rubbed her eyes as she got up.

No longer the small Olivia.

“No…”

But Olivia.

She returned to her original form, shocking the Desmond Household as they arrived with a rattle in hand.

*

In front of Hamel’s quiet estate.

-Bear?

Gomtangi, who had been guarding the house alone for the first time in a while, tilted her head at the silhouette of a woman beyond the estate’s entrance.

-Bear bear?

The woman with silver hair and a sword at her waist was hiding behind the estate wall, peeking inside.

Holding a small letter envelope in her hand, she cautiously poked her head out.

Gomtangi, with an exclamation mark hovering over her head, recalled what her master had once said.

-If a thief comes, bite them. Got it?

-Bear.

-Do you understand? Look, if someone tries to climb over the wall like this….

-Bear bear.

Gomtangi lifted her head and stared at the woman in front of her.

And then.

-Bear?

“Is she an intruder?”

Hans, who was hiding in the doghouse with Gomtangi, also watched the intruder with heightened alertness.

Gomtangi was hungry.

-Bear.

Not for pet food, but for meat.

-Bear bear bear.

Still, as a well-behaved pet bear, Gomtangi nodded her head at the woman who didn’t climb over the wall.

-Bear bear bear.

Gomtangi, who had inherited her master’s dislike for troublesome matters, decided to let it go.