The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

The Villainess Hosts a Tea Party (1)

***

Dawn at the mansion, when everyone was asleep.

Having outdrunk the Desmond family, I was swinging my sword in the empty courtyard of the mansion.

-Bang──!

It wasn’t an elegant sword dance.

It was a rough and monotonous sword dance. Even after becoming a Sword Master, it was difficult to change ingrained habits all at once. I was performing a sword dance that others would consider terrible.

-Slash.

Holding Tirbing in my hand, I wiped the sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand and smiled lightly.

It was definitely different.

The feeling I perceived.

The stability in holding the sword.

The magical power I sensed around me.

It was honed much more sharply than before, incomparable to the past. I smiled slightly at the explosive strength that made my entire body feel like a weapon.

“I might be able to take on an Apostle now.”

I felt reassured by this power, which, while not quite end-game level, was at least mid-boss tier in this world. With this, I could probably avoid an untimely death.

Two Apostles, assuming favorable conditions.

Under normal circumstances, one Apostle seemed to be within my manageable range.

I shook my head, erasing the smile that was blooming with overconfidence.

“I must stay humble.”

There’s still a long way to go.

Even as a Sword Master, there are different levels and differences in experience, so I shouldn’t become arrogant prematurely. I could die suddenly if I get cocky, and even with Olaf, I only won because the conditions were favorable, so I shouldn’t be overconfident.

I shouldn’t think I can win. Only after winning can I afford to be relaxed. I took a deep breath, calming my rising shoulders.

“But still.”

“It seems I’ve become a master who won’t shame his disciple.”

Now that I’ve reached a level where I won’t lose to Rowen, perhaps I can have some pride. If we use the novel’s timeline as a benchmark, I’d probably be considered a monster now.

Maybe it would be written something like this: ‘The Knight of the Fallen Villainess’.

“What nonsense.”

I let out a hollow laugh as I recalled the events that would soon unfold.

-Academy riot.

-Michail’s growth.

-Pascal’s appearance.

Pascal. A name that was already over a year old.

It had been a year since I sent that villain who controlled people’s bodies and loved strange art to prison.

He appeared as a relatively significant villain in the novel, but thinking about him being rehabilitated in prison to fill his empty bank account made me smile bitterly.

-Why are you only picking on me!

He was really a good guy.

I felt I would never forget the benefactor who allowed me to repay my debt. If it weren’t for me, he’d probably be living comfortably as a High Priest by now.

I nodded, recalling the mantis struggling in prison, and wished him good luck.

‘Next time we meet, I’ll make sure to put you in a collection box.’

To be honest, Michail and Yuria still couldn’t handle a High Priest. It was the same in the original story, and even now, the High Priest’s power was too much for an Academy student to handle.

Ruin had long since retired, and even the Crown Prince only became truly strong in the latter half of the novel, so their actual combat power was minimal.

At this point, the power ranking would probably be Michail, Crown Prince, Ruin, then Yuria.

They weren’t falling behind. In fact, they might be getting stronger than in the original timeline. Although their explosive growth was somewhat diminished due to the removal of hardships, they had been steadily improving over time.

Especially Michail, who had grown incomparably after the last battle, and Yuria, who was expected to contribute more to combat power after awakening as a saint this time.

With Hanna also at the Academy, she could sufficiently fill Ruin’s vacancy. And if needed, there was Hans, so they weren’t lacking in positions.

The only thing that bothered me was…

Michail’s sword hadn’t broken.

I sighed, recalling Michail’s old sword. I couldn’t understand why he was still carrying that piece of junk around.

He’s really stubborn about unnecessary things.

“Haa…”

Michail’s sword should have broken long ago. It should have shattered when he encountered the heretics. That incident was necessary for him to learn about a sword that fits his body type and break his stubbornness.

He’s doing well, but that’s only true for the current situation. As the novel progresses into its middle stages, the enemies they’ll have to face will become stronger. Michail’s current sword has many limitations.

Just look at the High Priest of Oblivion right in front of us; back then, Michail was just a plaything for that guy.

I know. I know how precious that sword is to Michail,

I also know it was the first gift he received from the nun who took him in at the orphanage and cared for him like a parent.

But what will change if he stubbornly persists without breaking that habit? I recalled Michail’s image with a bitter smile.

“…”

I couldn’t think of a good solution.

If I could have broken his stubbornness, I would have done it long ago. But well, I think things will work out well since only good things have been happening.

Yuria has started to awaken as a saint, and Michail is growing adequately, so the only thing left is for me to live well.

It’s a relief that I can finally relax a bit.

I smiled slightly and called out a familiar name in my mind.

-Status window.

[Ricardo Lv. 92]

[Job]

Swordsman – (Sword Master)

Butler – (Housekeeping Master)

[Abilities]

Strength: 251↑

Stamina: 301↑

Agility: 223↑

Magic Power: 400↑

[Characteristics]

◈Offensive

[Swordsmanship Lv.7↑], [Martial Arts Lv.5], [Dagger Skills Lv.5], [Great Sword Skills Lv.5], [Spear Skills Lv.5]

▣Defensive

[Poison Resistance Lv.5], [Fire Resistance Lv.4↑], [Magic Resistance Lv.5↑], [Lightning Resistance Lv.5↑], [Cold Resistance Lv.4↑], [Dark Magic Resistance Lv.6↑], [Curse Resistance Lv.5↑], [Mental Resistance Lv.7↑]

◉Skills

[Aura(A)]

[Weapon Prodigy(S)]

[Regeneration(A)] ▶ [Body Regeneration[S]]

[Limit Break(L)]

[Thunderstorm(L)]

[Healing Touch Lv.2]

└Vitality consumption is drastically reduced.

└Fundamental healing becomes possible.

It had been a long time since I last opened the status window.

It really felt like it had been ages. When I first came to this world, I used to check it every day to confirm if my training methods were correct, but at some point, I stopped looking at it – a privilege of being possessed.

It was like a memo, or should I say a simple manual, showing what abilities I had. Although the status window, which showed a kind of error log, had been very helpful, it was now an element I rarely looked at.

I couldn’t see other people’s status windows, or rather, I couldn’t see information about others. Since the concept of a status window didn’t exist in this world, it seemed I had naturally stopped using it frequently. I had naturally blended into this world, you see.

The mirror that only I could see was showing different numbers compared to the past.

I had grown rapidly, incomparable to a year ago, and it showed enhanced resistance values that I hadn’t seen in a while.

I smiled with satisfaction and swung my sword again.

To slowly adapt to the unfamiliar power, and to ensure that the young lady would never use black magic again, I swung my sword diligently.

And as morning dawned.

-Air raid siren!!!!

Once again, without fail, a loud shout echoed through the mansion.

*

-Tick.

The stopped clock hands begin to move.

Standing on a chair, Yuria smiled as she changed the battery of the broken clock.

-Tick.

-Tock.

Yuria smiled with satisfaction at the finally moving clock hands and got down from the chair.

The time now is 10 PM.

Yuria, who had woken up alone in the hospital, carefully sat down after evenly covering James with the blanket he had kicked off in his sleep.

“Dad.”

-…

“Are you sleeping?”

Yuria smiled as she touched her father’s cheek. Despite it being only 10 o’clock, an early hour, Yuria’s father was asleep. He couldn’t resist his daughter’s insistence that he should focus on recovery.

Yuria put her lips close to her snoring father’s ear and whispered softly.

“Dad, you know.”

“…”

“I’ve found someone I like.”

-I know. That handsome one.

“He’s very handsome.”

-Don’t cry.

“He’s incredibly kind.”

-Who is it? The one who made you like this.

“He takes really good care of me.”

Yuria held her father’s hand tightly as she spoke. Her father’s hand, full of calluses, bore the scars of years spent raising her alone.

Yuria smiled as she tickled her father’s rough palm and said.

“You know.”

And then she smiled softly and said.

“I think I really like that person.”

Very much.

Yuria’s clock starts to move.

*

Words are being written on white paper.

To the noble from the frontier.

To the enemy of the Academy.

To the memories of those once thought to be friends.

Olivia was writing letters.

-I invite you.

Darbav expected Olivia’s letters to become a topic of gossip for many and cause a big ripple.

-We’re going to hold a ball.

-Okay.

-At your house.

-No.

-Then at our house.

-Alright.

The Desmond family is still going strong.

Olivia is a member of the Desmond family.

Darbav’s plan was to solidify her position by holding a ball in Olivia’s name.

I watched the young lady writing invitations at her desk after a long time and asked.

“Young lady.”

“Eeek…”

“Young lady?”

The young lady, who had wiped her runny nose on the letter paper, glanced at me and smiled brightly.

“Ricardo.”

“Yes.”

“I don’t have any fwiends.”

Darbav was making the biggest misunderstanding.

“Here! The invitation.”

“Oh…”

I looked at the young lady’s invitation and smiled bitterly.

“Shall we write one for Hanna too?”

“Yeah.”

“And one for the boss too.”

“Let’s do that.”

“And…”

The young lady didn’t realize that she had no friends.

End of Chapter