The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 59

Alcohol clouds a person’s judgment.

Sometimes it turns people into beasts.

Sometimes it leads to accidents under the influence, while at other times, it lends the courage to say things one normally wouldn’t dare to.

Near the summit of the Hamel Mountain Range, known for its breathtaking scenery.

Spreading out a mat in the refreshing breeze, I saw a Young Lady sitting on a cart.

“Hmmm… Hm-hmm~”

The Young Lady, clearly in high spirits from her rare outing, had a smile on her lips.

Holding a liquor bottle in one hand and chocolate in the other, the Young Lady leisurely enjoyed herself while watching the panting Gomtangi and said,

“Ricardo.”

“Yes?”

“She looks like she’s about to die.”

-Huff… Huff…

Despite having two more legs than a human, the weak Gomtangi was gasping for breath. I thought to myself that pulling a sled this winter was out of the question.

Lifting the Young Lady sitting on the cart in a Princess Carry, I said,

“It’s because she’s gained weight.”

“Oh… I wonder if she’d taste good if eaten?”

Faced with the Young Lady’s sincere question, I pressed my lips together in silence.

Various foods were laid out on the mat.

Fruits like apples and grapes.

Gimbap, a classic picnic dish, and even warm soup. Considering my lack of culinary skills, the lunchbox was impressively well-made. The Young Lady, however, looked at the gimbap in the lunchbox with a sullen expression and said,

“…This is weird.”

The Young Lady poked at the gimbap.

Worried it might have gone bad, I lifted the lunchbox to sniff it, but all I could smell was the fragrant sesame oil.

What’s so weird about it?

I tried one, but it tasted like ordinary gimbap. Yet, the Young Lady’s expression remained displeased.

Poking at the gimbap again with her chopsticks, the Young Lady said,

“There are too many vegetables in this.”

Watching the Young Lady complain about the vegetables in the gimbap, I finally understood why she had that sullen expression.

The gimbap was packed with ingredients the Young Lady disliked: spinach, carrots, pickled radish, and cucumber. The most important ingredient, meat, was included in a thickness thinner than a pencil.

It was the kind of food a meat-loving Young Lady would naturally dislike.

With a disappointed look, the Young Lady began removing the ingredients from the gimbap. She tossed the spinach onto the ground, calling it the Devil’s Plant, and threw the cucumber far away, declaring it the World’s Disease.

“Being a picky eater is bad.”

“If I eat it, I’ll die.”

“You won’t die. Avoiding healthy vegetables will actually make you unhealthier.”

The Young Lady glared at me with a sullen expression.

“Feed it to her.”

The Young Lady pointed at Gomtangi resting under the shade of a tree. She expressed concern that at this rate, the puppy might turn into a pig.

Shaking my head, I replied to the Young Lady,

“If you don’t eat that, there will be no alcohol for you today.”

“That’s not fair!”

“It is fair.”

I showed the Young Lady the clinking liquor bottle with a sly smile, prompting her to clench her fist and throw her chopsticks at me.

I easily dodged and put on a smug expression.

“You’re slow because you don’t eat vegetables.”

“Eeeek!!!”

She didn’t want to eat vegetables.

But she wanted to drink alcohol.

The Young Lady stood at a crossroads of choice.

I kindly gave her an opportunity.

“Chicken?”

With tears in her eyes, the Young Lady reluctantly ate the lunchbox food.

*

The sun was setting.

The Young Lady, who had dozed off in the cool breeze, was now using my lap as a pillow, breathing softly.

As the gentle wind tousled her hair and tickled her, the Young Lady furrowed her brows and mumbled, “Ugh… Ricardo, a fly is trying to eat me… Catch it.” She was summoning her butler.

Feeling mischievous, I covered her face with her fluttering hair.

Rustle. The Young Lady’s face was now hidden under her hair.

Flailing her hands in the air, she said,

“Ughhh… A swarm of flies is coming…! Aaaah!”

The flustered Young Lady thrashed about before suddenly opening her eyes wide.

Blink.

Seeing my mischievous smile right in front of her, the Young Lady clenched her fist and said with a defeated expression,

“Ricardo destroyed Dreamland.”

“I am the Demon King, after all.”

“…Eeeek!”

The Young Lady plucked some grass and threw it at me.

Below the Hamel Mountain Range, the night view was beginning to appear.

Compared to the nightscape I had seen in Seoul in my previous life, it was unimpressive, but the stars shining in the night sky and the lights from the village created a modestly charming view.

I pressed a cold liquor bottle against the Young Lady’s cheek as she dozed off.

“Ack!”

The Young Lady’s eyes shot open. Drooling, she looked around in alarm, clearly startled.

I cautiously spoke to the Young Lady.

“Young Lady, aren’t you going to drink?”

“Alcohol…!”

Shaking off her drowsiness, the Young Lady looked at the liquor bottle with excited eyes.

I brought over a chair I had prepared and seated the Young Lady. Then, I took out a bottle of brandy I had bought on the way and spun it in front of her eyes.

“Hamel 12-Year Aged. Apple Brandy.”

The Young Lady’s eyes followed the spinning liquor bottle. Clenching her fists, she said with a puff of air,

“I don’t know what it is, but it sounds delicious!”

“I bought it for 1 gold at the marketplace.”

“…Is it cheap?”

The Young Lady’s interest instantly waned.

“That’s a lie. I paid a hefty price for it. It’s the first drink for Olivia, the Noble Lady, after all. I couldn’t possibly give you something cheap, could I?”

“Hehe… Is that so?”

“Yes.”

The Young Lady smiled shyly.

I folded up the mat and lit a bonfire, creating a fitting atmosphere.

The Young Lady brought her hands close to the warm bonfire. It seemed she appreciated this modest, intimate setting with just the two of us, rather than the grand chandeliers of high society.

I thought we should come here more often.

Let’s skip winter since it’s too cold.

I decided we’d come again in the spring.

The Young Lady seemed to be looking forward to it.

A serene atmosphere.

Her first drink as an adult.

And a handsome man like me.

Or maybe not.

Anyway.

The Young Lady, indulging in a rare escape, couldn’t hide the girlish sparkle in her eyes.

Drinking alcohol was forbidden at the Academy, and her injured leg had prevented her from doing many things.

Judging by her puffed breaths and clenched fists, it seemed my guess was right. I chuckled softly and etched her smiling face into my memory.

“By the way, Ricardo.”

The Young Lady looked around.

She meticulously examined the surroundings, which consisted only of chairs and trees.

Tilting her head, the Young Lady spoke to me.

“Is there no snack?”

“Snack?”

“Yeah. Isn’t it customary to have snacks when drinking? That’s what I learned from books.”

“Ah…”

Scratching the back of my head awkwardly, the Young Lady spoke to me with a sullen expression.

“It’s fine! We still have the leftover gimbap from earlier!”

“Gomtangi ate all of that.”

I showed her the completely empty lunchbox with an awkward smile.

The Young Lady glared at Gomtangi, who was lying on the ground, with eyes full of fury.

Pointing a finger at Gomtangi, the Young Lady said.

“What about her?”

“Pardon?”

“She looks delicious.”

To the Young Lady, Gomtangi still appeared to be an Emergency Food Supply.

I chuckled softly and pulled out a large side dish container from the rear seat of the handcart, showing it to the Young Lady.

The container was filled with bright red meat and sausages.

It was a treasure trove containing the Young Lady’s snacks.

In her previous life, she had wanted to try glamping, but she had passed away young. A dream she couldn’t fulfill. Though a bit late, her childhood fantasy was coming true.

I placed the grill plate over the bonfire and looked at the Young Lady. For the first time, she gazed at me with admiration.

“Ricardo, you’re amazing…!”

At her obvious statement, I nodded and replied.

“I know.”

“Oh…!”

Slowly, the meat began to cook.

We poured drinks into each other’s liquor glasses.

Since it was the Young Lady’s first time drinking, she furrowed her brows and poured hesitantly, asking, “More…? Should I pour more?” I considered her tolerance and filled her glass only halfway.

The Young Lady frowned at the half-filled liquor glass.

“Tsk, tsk…”

She looked at me with a disappointed expression. Complaining that I was being too stingy, she scolded me, but I responded with a subtle smile and a shrug.

“For now, just try that much. You might not like the taste.”

“…Still.”

The Young Lady let out a deep sigh and stared at the liquor glass. She sniffed the whiskey, its golden hue shimmering, and furrowed her Truthful Brow.

She looked at me as if I had handed her a spoiled drink.

“This smells weird. It stings my nose… I feel like I’ll die if I drink it.”

“That’s how alcohol usually is.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

I could understand the surprised Young Lady since I had also been startled by the smell the first time I drank alcohol.

The strong scent of alcohol mixed with fruity notes. It seemed like a good smell, yet it gave off the feeling that it shouldn’t be consumed.

I was curious about the expression the Young Lady would make as she experienced drinking alcohol, something she had only seen in science labs.

I carefully extended the liquor glass toward the hesitant Young Lady.

“Shall we say cheers?”

“Cheers?”

The Young Lady awkwardly held her liquor glass.

The Young Lady didn’t know what “cheers” meant.

Holding her glass absentmindedly, I gently clinked my glass against hers.

When the glasses collided, a clear sound of “cheers” resonated.

“This is what we call a toast.”

“A toast…? Why do people do this?”

“Hmm…”

I wasn’t sure either.

For the eager-to-learn Young Lady, I came up with a plausible explanation.

“Maybe it’s to ward off evil spirits?”

“You don’t know either?”

“No.”

At the meaningless reason, the Young Lady let out a bright laugh and extended her glass again.

“Let’s do it again. Again!”

“Again?”

“We didn’t do it properly!”

“Haha…”

Smiling slightly, I cautiously extended my glass.

The Young Lady laughed energetically, clinked her glass against mine, and said with a Bright Smile.

“For world domination!”

“Puhaha! What is that?”

“It’s my dream.”

The Young Lady still hadn’t given up on her ambition.

She was a Young Lady with grand aspirations.

Gulp. After drinking, the Young Lady furrowed her brows.

“Ugh! It’s awful!”

I couldn’t help but laugh.