The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 9

The room where Ricardo had left, leaving Olivia alone.

Olivia sat on the bed, blankly staring outside the window.

“Hmnya.”

The sunlight was blazing.

The sand grains glittered.

It was silent. There was no Ricardo to strike up noisy conversations, nor was there Ricardo to annoyingly call her a pig.

On a day like this, lying in bed and sleeping would be the best, but thanks to Ricardo waking her up, her sleep was completely ruined.

-Chirp chirp….

“Haaaahm.”

Olivia stretched out and leaned against the window.

“I’m bored. I’m hungry.”

Every time Ricardo went out to work, she was left alone in the estate like this. Her daily routine was like that of a guard dog, mindlessly watching to see if anyone came by outside the window, and sleeping when she got sleepy.

One might suggest calling a maid to play with, but she didn’t like that idea.

She wasn’t close with them, and it felt awkward.

Should she say it felt like everyone disliked her? A strange paranoia made her not want to talk to anyone when Ricardo wasn’t around.

‘Bothersome.’

After all, the person who understood her the best was Ricardo. He fed her when she was hungry and gave her exactly what she wanted to eat—a true competent butler.

Olivia found such a Ricardo comforting.

It was a point of pride, but her butler was capable.

He had served her, a difficult person, for 13 years—a truly skilled butler. It would probably be hard to find someone like Ricardo across the entire continent.

She knew it herself.

How much trouble she caused.

Perhaps it was because she was raised in luxury from birth, but she was a peculiar woman who spoke harshly and acted before thinking. Even the puppy she had raised for 10 years liked Ricardo more than her, despite her feeding it plenty of snacks.

Olivia was good at self-awareness. Saying ‘Damn it!’ felt more natural to her than saying ‘Haha-hoho.’

Olivia and pretense were worlds apart.

Ricardo would wrap her personality in a positive light, calling her ‘an honest person,’ but she knew it wasn’t a compliment. Still, it felt nice to hear, so she didn’t tell him to stop.

There was a time when she tried to change her personality.

She even bought the Kind Words Dictionary and studied it.

-100 Ways to Change Yourself? Young Lady, why are you reading such a boring book?

-So I’m thinking of giving up.

-That’s a good idea.

When books didn’t work, she even hired a tutor.

-Young Lady, I’m your new tutor.

-You look like you have a bad personality.

-Pardon?

-Get out.

She even tried meditating.

-Young Lady?

-Zzzzz…

-A good nap, indeed.

Despite all that, her quirky personality wasn’t easy to fix.

She wanted to speak kindly to people.

Especially to Ricardo.

She felt pathetic for saying bad words to the person who always took care of her, even when she was angry and demanding. Moreover, the reason he went to earn money was all… because of her mistakes.

She had tried to create a job where he could live comfortably for the rest of his life, but everything fell apart because of her.

Was it love that went wrong?

Was it the Academy that went wrong?

Or was it she herself who went wrong?

Where did it all go wrong?

No, it’s all my fault.

Maybe because it had been a while since she woke up in the morning, she found herself lost in thought.

Especially that strange dream she had the other day.

After seeing a vision so vivid it couldn’t be called a dream, she had been spending more time reflecting on herself.

If it weren’t for Ricardo, she probably would have died. With such thoughts, she found herself looking back on the past more often.

“My head hurts.”

She figured she and her butler wouldn’t be able to live together forever.

Ricardo would eventually have to get married.

And she would have to live in bed for the rest of her life.

“I feel gloomy.”

Thinking about a bleak future dampened her mood.

At times like this, she wished Ricardo would suddenly open the door and comfort her. Seeing his silly smile every day was nice, and being with Ricardo made her feel at ease.

Now, she couldn’t see a future for herself without Ricardo.

“My benefactor… perhaps.”

What was the relationship between her and Ricardo?

The employer-employee relationship had already been ruined.

She just hoped Ricardo didn’t hate her.

Olivia fell deep into thought, staring out the window.

The guards were diligently patrolling.

The birds were chirping busily.

The kids were playing energetically.

Everyone was working hard in their own place.

Olivia felt even worse about her useless self.

It was then.

A child wearing a deeply pressed hat and carrying red paint came into view from afar. The child looked around nervously, as if about to do something suspicious, catching Olivia’s attention.

‘A thief?’

The movements were too suspicious to be a painter. Olivia stared intently.

Though there wasn’t anything worth stealing in the house.

Still, the thought of someone taking something was incredibly irritating.

Olivia tightly gripped the bell to call the maid and kept her eyes on the child.

Thud. The child stood in front of the wall outside the house and picked up a brush.

Seeing this, Olivia took a deep breath. Then, without filtering her words, she barked out:

“Hey, you son of a b*!!!”

Come to think of it, she wasn’t exactly unemployed.

She was diligently doing the job of guarding the house.

Watching the child run away, Olivia felt better.

“Hehe.”

***

After walking for about 30 minutes, following the address on the business card, I arrived at my destination without much trouble.

“Is this the place?”

Feeling good about the closer-than-expected distance, I found myself lost in thought at the unexpected location.

“This is strange.”

Miss Hanna had certainly said this:

-Our household runs a small-scale knight order, so if you come, you can earn some pocket money.

-What?

-Green tea. It was too bitter. Isn’t it that you need ‘money’?

Her keen insight, deducing the family’s circumstances from just a cup of green tea—was this what it meant to be a noble? Thanks to her, I got recommended a decent part-time job.

But for a knight order…

On my way here, I had imagined knights wearing splendid armor.

That’s how most knight orders were.

They handled demonic beasts appearing in their territory or took on tasks commissioned by external households. That was the work of a knight order.

However, this was not a Knights’ Order.

[Adventurers’ Guild ‘Popo’]

“Huh?”

Hanna, who had been informed in advance, was waving her hand at me.

“Over here.”

Wave, wave. Hanna was waving her hand.

Hanna, as if meeting expectations, was dressed in familiar attire.

Wearing brown leather pants and boots, it was the typical outfit worn by adventurers.

It was quite irritating.

I quickly walked toward her.

And I whispered softly enough so others couldn’t hear.

“Didn’t you say it was a Knights’ Order?”

“That’s right. A Knights’ Order.”

Hanna dramatically revealed her party.

A small Dwarf.

An Elf holding a bow.

Not a party with a Healer dressed in a Sister’s robe, but a party with just herself standing there awkwardly.

This is supposed to be a Knights’ Order?

I thought she was a decent person, but now she seemed like someone who would give me a headache. Is she really okay?

“This is the Knights’ Order I run.”

“What?”

“Well… it’s just me, but since I’m a knight, it’s still a Knights’ Order, right?”

Many questions popped into my head, but Hanna didn’t care. Rather, she seemed glad that I had come so quickly.

She grabbed my hand and led me into the guild.

“You can earn pocket money here. It’s also a place where you can hide your social status.”

“Is that what being an adventurer means?”

“Yes.”

Hanna gave an awkward smile.

Was I scammed?

It felt like I had been scammed by a child, but when she said my thoughts would change if I listened to her, I nodded.

“I may not look like it, but I’m a B-Rank Adventurer.”

“B-Rank or not, it does seem like you tricked me.”

Hanna lightly dismissed my opinion.

Instead, as if knowing what I’d be most curious about, she got straight to the point.

“Do you know how much I earned when I worked for just one week during my vacation?”

Hanna raised one finger.

“10 gold?”

My voice raised for a moment.

Certainly, 10 gold was a lot of money. Considering a commoner’s monthly living expenses were about 30 gold, it was a decent amount to earn from a short-term job.

However, it was undeniable that danger came along with it. A job that involved blood was far from safe.

That was why I earned my living expenses by working as a construction laborer instead of becoming an adventurer.

‘She’s impressive for earning her own money.’

I thought she was an ignorant noble, but she seemed to be a more sensible noble than I had expected. My favorability toward her increased.

Even so, I had to refuse.

Because it would be dangerous.

I thought of a kind way to refuse her without hurting her feelings.

That it would be better to work as a construction laborer than to get my hands bloody for just 10 gold.

Moreover, adventurer work consumed a lot of time.

To complete a subjugation mission, you’d have to spend one to three days climbing mountains to find monsters, which was impossible for someone like me who served a Young Lady.

Hanna’s eyes widened.

She waved her hands, looking appalled.

“No? Who would settle for such a small amount?”

“What?”

“100 gold.”

For a moment, I almost called her “Noona.” To think I almost called someone younger than me “Noona”—she was quite a scary woman.

Separate from my chaotic thoughts, my eyes lit up like a blind man seeing light for the first time in a long while.

I strongly hoped she would explain in detail.

Hanna, seeing my expression, let out a small laugh, “Pfft.”

“If you take on big jobs, you can earn quite a bit. And since I work alone, I don’t have to worry about allocation.”

“Don’t those high-paying requests usually get snatched up already?”

Hanna showed me her silver badge.

“I’m a B-Rank.”

“Ah….”

“Difficult missions are prioritized for higher-ranked adventurers. Sometimes, I even get designated requests.”

Seeing her bright smile, I resented my past. Why hadn’t I known about this lucrative job?

Thinking about my days of hauling bricks at construction sites made tears well up. Why hadn’t novels ever mentioned the honey-like job of being an adventurer?

Was it because romance fantasy novels were filled with dreams and hope? Maybe they didn’t want to reveal such bloody, inhumane jobs.

Hanna, with an apologetic smile, grabbed my hand.

“I’m sorry. But I thought you wouldn’t come if I didn’t explain it like that.”

She wasn’t wrong.

I would’ve outright refused if she had asked me to work as an adventurer. After all, I didn’t know much about adventuring, and if a Noble Lady said she was doing it alone, I would’ve scoffed.

One thing I was curious about.

“But why me?”

She probably didn’t have a good impression of me from the last time we met.

From smashing a senior’s face on our first meeting to being made the Villainess’s conversational partner, there were many embarrassing incidents, so it was a bit odd that she called for me so nonchalantly.

So I asked before starting the job.

“I don’t think the events at our estate were fond memories for you.”

Maybe she held a grudge and set a trap to torment me.

It doesn’t hurt to be cautious.

Hanna lowered her head.

“Hmm… That’s true.”

Hanna softly gazed at my hand.

“You were the first person I’ve seen use aura like that, Butler.”

“What?”

“It was the first time I saw someone young use aura, and also the first time I saw someone control its power so precisely. Even my father can’t do that. He just smashes everything.”

Thanks to the Limit Break skill.

I didn’t bother explaining.

Hanna gave a small smile and said.

“The reason I became an adventurer isn’t just for money. I wondered if I could grow even more.”

“Is that so?”

What she meant was this.

To earn a lot of money, you had to take on dangerous missions, and instead of having mediocre teammates, she wanted to work with someone whose skills were verified—me.

At the same time, she wanted to improve her own skills.

That was the main reason.

Hanna bowed politely.

Her demeanor was quite different from what I had seen at the estate.

“That’s why I asked you.”

I looked at her and said.

“If it’s about skills, is that enough?”

“What?”

“Is skill more important than money?”

If that was the answer, I could give her the response she wanted.

Although I asked with virtuous intention, a crack appeared on Hanna’s face.

She seemed to think I was neglecting her as a woman who belittled money. Just as she was about to tell me not to disregard her—

I gave a materialistic answer before she could misunderstand further.

“Then let’s do an 8:2 split.”

“What?”

Hanna’s dumbfounded response.

“I’m talking about the allocation.”

“What on earth…!”

“Instead, I’ll make sure Miss Hanna can defeat Mikhail in four weeks.”

I was the one who had nurtured Mikhail and the Supporting Male Leads. In a way they wouldn’t know.