The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 7

“Who is that?”

With groggy eyes that had just woken up, Olivia looked at the woman in front of her. A noble lady with a plain appearance and light brown hair. A question mark formed in Olivia’s mind.

I spoke as I sat the half-asleep Olivia on the bed.

“She is from the Academy.”

“The Academy?”

A brief moment of buffering time.

Olivia slapped her cheeks to wake up her brain.

“Ah… Academy?”

“Yes. She’s from the Royal Academy.”

“Why would someone from there come to our house?”

“She said she came because she was bored.”

Miss Hanna looked at me with a ‘What?’ expression. I turned my head indifferently.

The Student Council Treasurer who suddenly came to the house of an expelled student out of boredom. I felt a bit sorry, but what could I do? If I said she came because she had business with the lowly butler and not the master of the house, the Young Lady would sulk.

I could already see her whining all day, saying, ‘The butler is more popular than me? Is this what a master of the house is?’

Since Miss Hanna was the one who woke up, it was only right for her to handle the aftermath, so I shifted the responsibility onto her.

While wandering gazes exchanged.

Olivia’s voice rang out.

“Did she come to help me re-enroll?”

“No. Do you want to re-enroll?”

“Uh… huh? No?”

The Young Lady’s true feelings slipped out.

I gave an awkward smile.

The Young Lady looked up at me again and asked.

“Then, did she come to get revenge on me?”

“No… I don’t think so?”

Oops. I hadn’t considered the opinion of the person in question, so I looked at Hanna and asked.

“Did you come for revenge?”

“Ah… no?”

“That’s what she says.”

The Young Lady nodded.

It seemed she was starting to wake up now.

“Ah…!”

Realizing that there would be no harm to her, Olivia, after calculating the profit and loss, belatedly showed an intense reaction.

Olivia’s eyes widened.

“The Academy! Ooooooh!!”

At Olivia’s enthusiastic response, I gave a satisfied smile. I had expected her to react positively.

My choice, fully understanding the algorithm forming in Olivia’s mind—Mikhail and the Academy.

How about it, Olivia? Doesn’t this make me a butler worthy of receiving a letter of gratitude? Pay me back when you succeed.

Even I thought I was a professional butler.

Sitting on the bed, Olivia looked up at me. Like a puppy that had just received a fun toy, she urged me to introduce Hanna. It was adorable.

“Ahem. This lady here is none other than a member of the Student Council from the Academy!”

“The Student Council!”

“And she’s the Secretary!”

“Secretary! History Manipulation! Ooooooh!”

-Clap! Olivia clapped her hands.

If she gave me such reactions too, I’d be willing to grill steak twice a week, but Olivia’s usual bland reactions had always annoyed me. Still, it was nice to see her laughing energetically after a long time.

Olivia’s eyes had long since lost their drowsiness.

Her previously high fever seemed to have mostly subsided, and now her bright eyes were fixed on the awkwardly standing Hanna. Olivia, urging her to speak quickly, made me prepare some time for them to get to know each other.

“This is the Young Miss I serve, Desmond Olivia, the youngest daughter of the Desmond Family.”

“Ah… hello.”

Hanna looked at Olivia with a reluctant expression.

The woman sitting on the bed.

An expelled student from the Academy known as a villainess.

With messy white hair.

And wearing pajamas.

She didn’t look to be in great condition.

Hanna had heard countless rumors from her seniors.

All of those countless rumors were bad.

Pouring wine on dresses.

Bullying others.

Using dark magic.

She wasn’t pleased to see her.

Nor did she want to get close to her.

If anything, she wanted to say a word or two.

But the red-haired butler standing next to her was intimidating, so she couldn’t say a single word.

‘Scary…’

Even so, she had no intention of being kind to Olivia.

No matter how scary the butler was, this woman was the one who tormented Senior Mikhail. Her pride wouldn’t allow it.

‘I’ll never forgive her!’

“Miss Hanna.”

“Eek!?”

I called out to Hanna, who had a heavy expression. She seemed to have made some grand resolution, but when I called her, her twisted expression was almost artistic.

“It might feel a bit awkward, but could I ask you for a favor? The Young Lady hasn’t met anyone in a long time, so could you keep her company…?”

“Yes… of course.”

Hanna probably wasn’t happy with this situation.

Considering what had happened earlier with Ruin and now facing the villainess from the rumors.

I would feel the same way.

She’s infamous in the village, so her reputation at school must be worse. And the strongest connection she had was with Mikhail.

To her, we probably seemed unpleasant.

Even so, I called Hanna because I wanted the Lady Villainess to talk to someone new after a long time.

Talking only with the maid and the butler every day.

It must get tiresome.

How painful must it be to see the same ceiling and the same people every day? I invited her to this room to ease that feeling, even just a little.

My one-sided hope was that Hanna, who attended the Academy, might share new stories with Olivia and lift her spirits.

My idle thoughts stretched on.

I sincerely asked her.

Whether my genuine feelings were conveyed or not, Hanna spoke in a calmer voice than before.

“I am Hanna of the Histania Count Family. Please feel free to call me Hanna.”

Fortunately, she didn’t say anything harsh.

I had worried about what to do if she cursed, but thankfully, no harsh words came from her mouth.

At Hanna’s introduction, the Lady Villainess frowned. It seemed the name was listed in her mental encyclopedia of noble households.

“Histania?”

It seemed to be a somewhat notable noble household.

‘Then that’s a problem.’

The Young Lady memorized other households in her mind with keywords.

For example.

-The household whose head is a womanizer.

-The household with three mothers.

-The household ruined by gambling.

She stored them in her mind like this.

It’s a relief if she just saves it.

The Young Lady says it out loud.

Without any filtering, that is.

I focused on the Young Lady’s words with concern, and as if answering my worries, a destructive word came out of her mouth.

“Ah. The household with nothing but swords in their brains?”

I wanted to applaud Olivia’s behavior. Today, as always, the straightforward speech of the ever-innocent Lady Villainess.

There’s nothing she won’t say on a first meeting.

The Young Lady isn’t bad. She’s just a little more honest than others.

Sometimes her hands move faster than her words, but considering there are people whose magic comes out faster than their hands, I think she’s at least moderate.

Or maybe not.

Whether she knows my worries or not.

The Lady Villainess continued to talk to herself.

“If she’s the youngest, then she’s the Knight Commander’s daughter. Do you also have nothing but swords in your head?”

At Olivia’s villainess-like words, Hanna’s face turned red.

“Young Lady, that’s rude.”

“Ah, sorry. I guess I got too excited seeing someone after so long.”

Still, she’s a woman who knows how to admit her mistakes. I wanted to clear up the misunderstanding for Hanna, who must think she’s a truly despicable person.

I was about to say, “If you talk a bit more, you’ll see she’s not so bad.” But.

Hanna was already broken.

“Ah… That’s true.”

It seems clearing Hanna’s misunderstanding is out of the question.

***

Hanna was flustered.

From the butler beating up Ruin to being in the bedroom with a villainess.

From start to finish, Hanna was experiencing a series of new things today.

Especially.

“Ah, the household with nothing but swords in their brains?”

Hanna couldn’t hide her bewilderment at the sudden comment that came without warning.

The Histania Family.

A family that honed their swordsmanship handed down from their ancestors, made contributions in war, and rose to the rank of a Count Family.

In other words, a family built solely on swordsmanship, and also a family where swordsmanship is everything.

The villainess’s words were correct.

Her family is all about the ‘sword.’

They inherit the position of the Head of the Family through the sword.

They pass down wealth through the sword.

No talent in swordsmanship? That’s worse than being treated as a branch family member.

Her father is the Knight Commander of the Imperial Knights’ Order.

Her older brother is the youngest knight in the Imperial Knights’ Order.

Her older sister has been the top ranker in the Swordsmanship Department for four years now.

They were people who shone brighter than anyone else.

She herself was the top of the class in the 1st Year of the Swordsmanship Department, but unlike her older sister and brother, who achieved their positions through talent, she earned hers through painstaking effort.

Swinging her sword all night.

Putting marriage aside to develop calloused skin as she honed her swordsmanship and rose to the top of her class.

At first, she was proud of her efforts.

Her father had said that effort itself is also a talent. But she recently realized that effort cannot surpass talent.

Before entering the Academy, she had once seen her father and Senior Mikhail sparring by chance.

-You’ve improved even more.

-You flatter me!

-Hahaha….

It was dazzling.

It was inspiring to see someone who could make her father smile with just swordsmanship, and the two of them conversing through their swords was so impressive.

At the same time, she felt a wall.

Because she had never experienced anything like that.

She couldn’t make her father smile like that, and honestly, it was hard enough just maintaining her position as the top of her class.

From that day, Hanna lost interest in the sword. And instead, she found a new hobby in Mikhail.

Hanna liked swordsmanship but also hated it.

It seemed like a repercussion.

Because her own talent was lacking, she admired Mikhail, who was talented, and her father also thought highly of Mikhail…

She was annoyed at herself for thinking this way.

The voice that had unsettled Hanna’s mood spoke again.

“How’s the Academy?”

It was an extremely innocent question.

How’s the Academy, she asked.

Hanna answered indifferently.

With an arrogance that implied, “What does it matter to someone who’s already been expelled?” She wanted to say it out loud, but with the butler next to her, she couldn’t.

“It’s just okay.”

She hid the underlying meaning in her heart: “It’s better now that you’re gone.”

“–Hmm. I see.”

Olivia nodded.

A curiosity arose, wondering if the rumors about her having trouble walking were true, but she suppressed the sensitive question.

Olivia threw another question at Hanna.

“How’s Yuria? Is she doing well?”

Yuria. The woman Olivia had tormented the most.

Driven by jealousy, Olivia had started tormenting her, but Yuria had overcome it and risen to the top ranker in the healing department—a remarkable senior.

One of the people Hanna respected the most.

Even now, Hanna replied spitefully to Olivia.

“Yes. She’s doing very well.”

“I see.”

And then it happened.

A chilling voice came from Olivia.

“But why do you speak so unpleasantly?”

Unlike earlier, the Lady Villainess’s tone was cold. Hanna’s chest tightened.

“I’m speaking kindly, aren’t I?”

“Pardon…?”

“You should speak kindly too.”

The warmth returned to the Lady Villainess’s voice.

“If you don’t, I’ll have no choice but to speak harshly too.”

Hanna felt offended.

Who are you to tell me what to do?

She thought about saying something, but the strange sound she’d been hearing for a while stopped her.

-Hic… Hic-hic. Snrk-hic!

The sound was coming from the butler standing behind her.

The butler, with his fist in his mouth, nodded his head. He looked like a father gazing proudly at a child who had succeeded in their first errand.

From behind, the butler quietly gave a thumbs-up.

“Didn’t I do well?”

The villainess smiled brightly at the sight.

‘What is this?’

Hanna couldn’t keep up with the two of them.