The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 2

Right in front of the entrance on the first floor.

After hastily smoothing down my disheveled hair with my hand and lightly tidying up my outfit, I stood in front of the Young Lady’s room.

Today was the maid’s day off, leaving only the Young Lady and me in the estate.

Now that I was the only one who could look after the Young Lady if something happened, I found myself incredibly busy.

‘This should be good enough.’

-Knock, knock.

“Young Lady, I’m coming in.”

A composed voice, as if the loud noise earlier had never occurred, came from beyond the door.

“Come in.”

-Creak.

When I opened the door, a dismembered teddy bear greeted me.

“Oh, my God.”

I bowed my head in mourning for the teddy bear I had bought yesterday to provide peace of mind, now tragically destroyed.

And that wasn’t all.

The flower vase was shattered.

The blanket was in utter chaos.

‘She really went all out…’

Why did she make the room look like this?

I could vaguely guess how unstable the room owner’s mental state was.

While I was blankly enjoying my reality check, the room owner’s cold voice reached my ears.

“Ricardo.”

“Yes.”

I locked eyes with the room owner, who was glaring at me fiercely from the floor.

[Desmond Olivia Lv. 0.5]

[Occupation: Unemployed]

[Favorability: 20]

[Favorite Conversation Topic: Mikhail]

Her matted white hair.

Her scruffy face.

My master, who could be the very definition of a recluse.

Desmond Olivia.

The Flower of Society was nowhere to be seen; instead, there she was, sprawled next to the bed, her head in the clouds.

Olivia reached a hand out to me.

“Help me up.”

The outstretched pale hand of the Young Lady.

I lightly ignored her hand and lifted her up in one motion.

“Ugh! How dare you grab a noble so recklessly?”

The Young Lady waved her hand up and down in protest.

I ignored her cute rebellion and unceremoniously threw her onto the bed.

“Ack…! A ruthless butler who throws nobles around!”

“I can live with that.”

The Young Lady opened her eyes with a sulky expression.

It seemed she was displeased with how casually I treated her as a noble. Her clenched fists trembling made her look quite intimidating.

“Eeeek! You commoner!”

The Young Lady grumbled.

She seemed intent on expressing how immensely angry she was, but as I was distracted by her pale forehead, I felt less fear and more of a single impulse.

‘I really want to flick her forehead.’

But I shouldn’t. Considering the Young Lady only eats one meal a day, a flick to her frail head might lead to a funeral. I decided to suppress my trembling impulse.

That aside.

Was she hurt anywhere?

I worried whether the shards of the flower vase under my shoes might have cut her delicate skin.

At a glance, she didn’t seem seriously injured. But since injuries could be hidden, I needed to check carefully to be sure.

Olivia lay neatly on the bed with her hands folded.

I cautiously grabbed the hem of Olivia’s skirt.

“May I check for any injuries?”

“You may.”

The Lady Villainess nodded gracefully.

She showed no sign of embarrassment about exposing her bare legs to a grown man, her expression completely unchanged. At the very least, her cheeks could have flushed. My pride took a slight hit.

“There’s a small scrape. I’ll need to apply some ointment.”

“A scrape?”

“Yes, just a small one on your knee.”

“I didn’t feel anything.”

A moment of silence filled the room.

Even though a year had passed, I still didn’t know how to react to such a response.

The Young Lady, who used to get angry over even the tiniest injuries, now reacted indifferently with an “Oh, really,” and it still felt awkward.

Olivia might have spoken without much thought, but it was a bit hard for me to accept.

Olivia hesitated, letting out an “Ah.”

“Anyway, what did you do today?”

“I worked hard.”

“A slug who does nothing but laze around?”

“…This slug feels offended.”

The Lady Villainess harshly criticized her unpaid butler. Annoyed, I decided to apply a bit more ointment.

-Press.

Of course, her knee, which couldn’t feel pain, had no way of knowing my emotions, but I still wanted to show that I, too, was capable of revenge.

“Today, I cleaned the fence.”

“Cleaned?”

“Yes. The vines had grown too much, so they needed trimming.”

“Hmm… You worked hard.”

“Indeed, I did. What were you doing, Young Lady?”

The Young Lady furrowed her brow as she spoke.

It seemed something significant had happened.

I paused applying the ointment and focused on her words.

“A cockroach appeared…!”

“Pfft!”

“You’re scared of them too.”

“Ah, yes…”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

We shared a few more lighthearted words.

From the disgusting comment about how big the cockroach was to the latest trending rumors.

To satisfy the curiosity of the Young Lady, who couldn’t go outside, I added a bit of embellishment to the stories I told her.

Among them, the Young Lady’s biggest interest was undoubtedly the Academy. When I brought up the Academy, she pretended not to care, turning her head away, but her ears perked up.

“This year, the Swordsmanship Department won the Class Battle. Last year, the Magic Department took the victory, though.”

“That’s because I wasn’t there.”

“Indeed.”

“And also…”

“By the way, Ricardo, did it arrive?”

While I was enthusiastically unraveling the tales I’d heard while cleaning the wall, the Young Lady abruptly interrupted.

If a Greek god who valued enthusiasm above all else had seen this, they might have slammed a harp onto her head, but since I didn’t hold enthusiasm in such high regard, I decided to quietly answer her question.

“What do you mean?”

“A letter.”

Olivia compressed her thoughts into a single, brief sentence.

“Isn’t it too early for a debt collection notice to arrive?”

“Not that.”

“This is the most important thing, though.”

[Olivia’s Favorability has decreased by 1.]

A Favorability decrease notification after a long time.

It had been visible since the possession.

I still don’t know what this is.

Sometimes it gives quests, but aside from slightly increasing stats, the rewards weren’t particularly great, and I hadn’t seen any quests since being expelled from the Academy.

Even the Status Window has abandoned me. Is that it?

Setting aside my bitter feelings, I continued the conversation with the Young Lady.

“The fine is 1 Million Gold.”

“…Shut up.”

Olivia, sending a villainess-like glare after a long time.

I thought, ‘What are you going to do by glaring at me like that?’ but I decided to hold back because it was cute.

But a letter, huh.

If it’s a letter coming to our mansion, there are only two types.

A threatening letter from the students the Young Lady bullied at the Academy, or a debt collection notice for 1 Million Gold.

Neither are letters to be welcomed…

With an uneasy feeling, I looked up at the Young Lady.

“Young Lady, please don’t sell me as a slave.”

“Stop spouting nonsense!”

The Young Lady tightly gripped the blanket.

“Not that, is there a letter from the Academy?”

“No, I haven’t seen one.”

“What about a letter addressed to Mikhail?”

A wrinkle formed on my forehead for a moment.

“What did you just say?”

A brief silence passed.

“I apologize.”

I quickly apologized.

A butler who can’t hide his expressions.

I still have a long way to go.

The Young Lady’s lips twitched, seemingly displeased with my blunder. She appeared to be pondering over what to say.

“Forget it. Be careful from now on.”

The Young Lady shook her head. It seemed the letter she was waiting for was more important than my mistake.

The Young Lady turned her head towards the window.

Perhaps because it was awkward for her to say it herself, I decided to quietly listen to her words.

“I wrote a letter last week too. Still no reply.”

-Nod.

I nodded indifferently.

“Did I do something terribly wrong? Even after a year, not getting a reply must mean they’re really angry.”

“I see.”

“Ricardo, do you think so too? This week, I wrote a letter apologizing for everything.”

“I see.”

An idea crossed my mind in response to her question, and I clapped my hands.

“Then stop writing letters.”

[Olivia’s Favorability has decreased by 5.]

With a sudden ‘Ding!’ alarm, a cold reaction returned.

“Shut up.”

The Young Lady retorted coldly.

Her words pierced like a dagger.

At this moment, I felt deeply that the Young Lady truly was a villainess.

Judging by her glaring eyes and clenched fists, as if daring me to say something, I, too, felt annoyed.

But I wasn’t that upset.

Who am I?

Am I not the pushover butler of a villainess?

For 13 years, no less.

Even this side of her seemed healthy, which was reassuring. Compared to that day a year ago, this was manageable.

No matter how awful her personality is, we’ve lived together for 13 years, and it wasn’t a fight serious enough to abandon my master. If anything, this was mild.

Last time, she even threw a flower vase at my head.

“I apologize. I will go check again.”

Every argument ended with my defeat.

Most of our conversations were filled with lost Favorability and hurt emotions.

I glanced at the Young Lady, who glared sharply at me as I sat on the bed.

She seemed thoroughly upset.

I should prepare dinner quickly.

I made an excuse and left the Young Lady, as if fleeing.

“I’ll go prepare dinner.”

“I’m not eating. Get out.”

It seemed the Young Lady was seriously upset.

I bowed my head in farewell.

I didn’t forget to vent my anger.

“Mikhail, you idiot! Lolicon bastard.”

-Ding!

The sound of Favorability decreasing echoed.

***

In the room Ricardo had left with a sullen expression.

Left alone in the room, Olivia muttered softly.

“Annoying. Annoying. Annoying.”

Today was a day where nothing went right.

A cockroach appeared, and she fell off the bed.

Her beautiful knees got scraped.

No letter arrived from Mikhail.

On top of that.

She fought with Ricardo.

Over something utterly trivial.

Because of a letter that hadn’t even arrived.

This wasn’t kindergarten.

Olivia pulled the blanket over her head. Whispering softly, Olivia spoke in a voice so low even a passing ant wouldn’t hear.

“Scary.”

Olivia clenched her fist.

“The cockroach is scary.”

The cockroach she saw in her room today was too big. She wanted to call Ricardo right away, but her pride wouldn’t allow it.

“Sigh.”

Unable to sleep, Olivia’s mind wandered over everything that had happened today.

Nothing special had happened.

She stared blankly at the ceiling.

Fought with the butler.

That was it.

The image of the Red-Haired Butler slumping his shoulders and leaving the room still lingered before her eyes.

“What’s it to you, meddler?”

Ricardo was right.

Waiting for a letter from the man who destroyed the household was madness, a foolish act. How pathetic must she be, punching her blanket in shame every night?

“But what can I do if I like him?”

It was a kind of stubbornness.

Since she had already started, she wanted to see it through to the end. She was already utterly broken, with nothing left to lose. The only thing she could cling to was a shabby unrequited love.

‘But still, isn’t it a butler’s duty to cheer me on?’

Even if it’s empty words, supporting and encouraging should be what a butler does. Other Noble Ladies would have their butlers secretly hide love letters under shoe cabinets, after all.

Ricardo had never done anything like that.

On the contrary, he was always busy interfering with her love.

[Olivia’s Favorability has decreased by 2.]

Come to think of it, Ricardo was the root cause of all this.

Whenever she tried to meet Mikhail, he would come up with all sorts of excuses to interfere, and when she wanted to give Mikhail a gift, he’d overstep his bounds as a butler with advice like today.

If Ricardo hadn’t been there, wouldn’t things have worked out between her and Mikhail?

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.

[Olivia’s Favorability has decreased by 1.]

Even though she felt pathetic, these thoughts wouldn’t leave her mind.

If Ricardo hadn’t stopped the Dark Magic back then, wouldn’t Mikhail be dating her now?

At that moment.

[Affinity 0 has been achieved.]

[Quest ‘Ingratitude’ has been completed.]

◎You have earned the right to view the Hidden Side Story.

◎You may now access the [32nd Side Story] “What if Ricardo hadn’t stopped Olivia from using Dark Magic?”

was now available for viewing.

“What is this?”

Has the insanity finally come?

Lying in bed all day, she thought, “I’ve finally gone mad.” Otherwise, it made no sense for blue text to appear in the sky.

[Would you like to view it?]

The blue text didn’t disappear, no matter how much she waved her hand.

‘I must really be crazy.’

Olivia became depressed.

But for some reason, her eyes were drawn to the blue text. It felt like looking at a lone poisonous mushroom blooming in the mountains.

Strangely, she couldn’t look away.

It felt like she could see the picture she had longed for.

A dream she had desperately wished for.

Herself, laughing and going on dates with Mikhail.

‘I’ve really become a crazy woman.’

Growing tired of the blue text that didn’t disappear even after an hour, Olivia spoke.

“I’m already crazy. A little more won’t hurt.”

She was certain that the future shown by the blue window would, of course, be a happy one.

“Alright.”

Olivia nodded.

“I’ll view it.”