The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

Chapter 2: The Letter the Villainess is Waiting For (1)

The main entrance, located on the first floor, was immediately before me.

In a hurried attempt to reach there, I swiftly ran my fingers through my disheveled hair and straightened my ensemble before positioning myself in front of the young lady's chamber door.

Today was a day off for the sole housemaid in the mansion. It meant the mansion was currently occupied only by the young lady and myself.

Being the only one present to attend to the young lady if required, my plate was exceedingly full.

‘This ought to do.'

-Knock knock.

I alerted the young lady, "I'm about to enter."

An unruffled voice emanated from beyond the door, as if bracing itself for any impending uproar.

"Please, come in."

-Creak.

As I pushed the door open, a sight of a teddy bear, torn limb from limb, greeted me.

"Oh, dear Lord."

I wondered how the teddy bear, which I had procured only yesterday to comfort her, had ended up in such a dire state. Bowing my head, I mourned the pitiful teddy.

Additionally,

The vase was in pieces.

And the bedsheet… disarrayed.

‘What a rampage…'

Why had she opted to wreak such havoc in the room? Picturing the tumultuous emotional state of the room's owner wasn't a tough guess.

As I stood there, dumbstruck, taking in the spectacle of chaos, I was snapped out of it by the icy voice of the room's owner.

"Ricardo."

"Yes."

The intense gaze from the floor below me snapped me back. There laid the room's owner: glaring at me intensely.

[Desmond Olivia Lv. 0.5]

[Profession: Unemployed]

[Affinity: 20]

[Favored Discussion Topic: Michail]

Her unruly hair, white as snow.

Her wizened face.

And my unkempt master, preoccupied with her uneven bangs.

Desmond Olivia.

Her high societal stature was long past, and sprawled next to the bed was my Mistress, her mind a riotous flower bed.

Olivia extended her hand to me.

"Help me up."

The white hand of the young lady reached out, beckoning.

Unceremoniously, I bypassed her outstretched hand and hoisted her up.

"Good heavens! How dare a commoner audaciously manhandle a noble?"

The young lady flailed her arms up and down. She was curiously silent, though from her body language, it was clear she was seething. The lack of any blush or visible expression on her face left me slightly perturbed.

"You've sustained a minor wound. I'll apply some ointment."

"A wound?"

"Yes, you've slightly grazed your knee."

"I had not noticed."

The room fell into a moment of silence.

Despite a year having passed, I still struggled to comprehend such stoic reactions.

Considering she once had a meltdown over a tiny scrape, her emotionless "Oh, I see" response was unsettling.

Even though the young lady professed that she often spoke without thinking, it was honestly quite challenging to take her word for it.

Changing gears, Olivia let out a faint sigh and broached a new subject.

"Anyway, what were you up to today?"

"I was quite occupied."

"And how exactly does a useless wretch occupy himself?"

"…Well, those words do sting a bit."

My Mistress' harsh words were directed towards a servant who had loyally served her, without demand for compensation. I secretly decided to exact revenge by applying just a tad bit more ointment than necessary.

-Squirt.

Unsurprisingly, the young lady's knee that was numb to pain remained oblivious to my intentions. But nonetheless, I did make clear that I too was capable of sweet revenge.

"Today, I was tending to the garden fence."

"Tending?"

"Yes, a great deal of vines had grown, therefore, it needed some tidying."

"Ahhh… good job."

"Yes, good job. And what were you doing, Young Lady?"

The young lady furrowed her brow, indicating that something significant had occurred. I paused, cotton swab in hand, to lend my full attention to her narration.

"Cockroaches appeared…!"

"Puh!"

"You're frightened too."

"Well, yes…"

"Why are you examining me like that!"

Our conversation flowed as we spoke about various minor matters.

Starting with the distasteful comment, ‘Could you imagine the size of the cockroaches?', then moving on to what the most recent gossip was.

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In order to quench the young lady's curiosity, since she was confined indoors, I composed a mix of truthful and embellished tales of the outside world.

Among them, she was particularly captivated by stories about the Academy. Whenever I narrated those, the young lady feigned indifference while attentively listening to every word I spoke.

"Apparently, the martial arts department won the class competition this year. Last year, it was the magic department, wasn't it?"

"Well, I wasn't there."

"You've got a point."

"Don't just agree with me…"

"In any case, Ricardo, has it arrived?"

While I was enthusiastically regaling her with tales I had heard while tending the fence, the young lady abruptly interrupted me.

If the certain Greek God who regarded amusement as life itself witnessed this, he would likely hurl a harp at the young lady's head, but considering I did not consider amusement as life's sole purpose, I decided to quietly satiate the young lady's curiosity.

"What are you referring to?"

"A letter."

In a single sentence, Olivia encapsulated her thoughts.

"Isn't it a bit premature for the debt collection notice to arrive?"

"…Be quiet."

With that, Olivia shot me a malicious glare I hadn't seen in quite some time.

I silently acknowledged her cuteness despite her glare, thinking, ‘What harm can a glare do?'

But a letter, indeed.

There were merely two types of letters that would reach our mansion.

Threatening letters from students who had been victims of the young lady's bullying at the Academy, and the dreaded debt collection notice for the outstanding debt of 100,000 gold.

If it wasn't a letter of welcome…

I glanced up at the young lady, a foreboding sense of dread creeping over me.

"Young lady, you aren't thinking of selling me into slavery, are you?"

"What nonsense!"

The young lady clenched onto her blanket.

"I was wondering if there was a letter from the Academy, specifically for Michail."

My brow creased, furrowing deeply.

"What did you just utter?"

A disquieting silence filled the room.

"My apologies."

I bustlingly apologized.

As a mere servant, I found it difficult to conceal my expressions.

Clearly, I had a long way to go.

The young lady, visibly unsettled by my response, moistened her lips. She appeared deep in thought, contemplating her next words.

"Well, be more cautious in the future."

The young lady nodded, seemingly placated. Evidently, the anticipation of the letter was far more important than my oversight.

The young lady cast her gaze towards the window.

Unable to express herself directly due to embarrassment, she elected for silence. I chose to respect her wish and attentively listened to her words.

"I sent him a letter just last week too. But I've yet to receive a reply."

I responded with a nonchalant nod.

"Do you think I've made a terrible mistake? Even after a year, he never replies to my letters; he must be truly upset."

"Indeed."

"Do you agree, Ricardo? This week I even wrote in my letter apologizing for past transgressions."

"Hmm."

A sudden revelation had me clapping my hands, exclaiming, "Then you should stop writing."

[Olivia's favorability has decreased by 5.]

Quicker than the ding of the notification of favorability loss, the young lady's icy rebuke was flung my way.

"Enough already."

The young lady curtly dismissed my words.

Her stinging words felt like they bore holes into me, penetrating deeply.

At that moment, the magnitude of the young lady's forthrightness hit me, cutting right to the bone.

She glared at me, as if daring me to utter another word, her fists clenched tightly. I found myself growing increasingly annoyed.

But I wasn't particularly irked.

Who was I?

A loyal servant to a stern lady.

For a whole 13 years at that.

Even such a sight seemed favorable to me, merely because she appeared healthy. Compared to her state a year ago, I was prepared to handle her current demeanor anytime I saw it.

No matter how terrible her disposition was, she was a friend I had associated with for 13 long years. We hadn't clashed badly enough to warrant abandoning her. One could even argue our occasional fights were rather composed.

Last time, she had even hurled a vase at my head.

"I apologize. I'll double-check."

Our disagreements always culminated in my surrender.

Most of our daily interactions involved me losing favorability and causing emotional injury.

I stole a brief glance at the young lady perched on the bed, glaring sharply at me.

She appeared to be rather livid.

I should quickly prepare dinner.

Feigning an excuse to escape, I murmured to the young lady, "I will proceed to prepare dinner."

"I won't be eating so just leave."

The young lady's anger was palpable.

I bowed respectfully.

Before exiting, I couldn't resist muttering my frustration.

"Michail, that idiot! Such a lolicon."

With the ‘ding' of the decreasing favorability notification, I was out the door.

***

Olivia sat alone in the room Ricardo had left with a frown on his face.

In a barely audible whisper, she murmured, "So infuriating. So infuriating. So infuriating."

Today had been a truly futile day.

She had encountered cockroaches that had scurried onto her bed.

Her beautiful knee had acquired a scratch.

There was still no letter from Michail.

And to top it all off,

She'd had a tiff with Ricardo.

Over an idiotic reason.

All because of a letter which was yet to arrive.

This was definitely not an episode from a preschool rhyme.

Olivia shrouded herself in her blanket up to her hair, whispering in a voice so hushed that even an ant scurrying by wouldn't detect it, she softly muttered,

"Frightening."

She clenched her fist.

"Cockroaches are terrifying."

The cockroach she encountered in her room today was of an unusually large size. She wished to summon Ricardo instantly, but her pride held her back.

"Ah."

Sleep seemed elusive, and the events of the day replayed in Olivia's mind.

Nothing extraordinary had transpired.

Merely blankly gazing at the ceiling.

An argument with her servant.

And that was it.

The image of her red-haired servant, his shoulders drooped in defeat, exiting the room still played vividly in her mind.

"Why must he meddle."

Ricardo was indeed correct.

Eagerly awaiting a letter from the man who had brought ruin to her family was lunacy, a downright foolish proposition. She was keenly aware of her pathetic predicament, spending her nights tossing and turning, lashing out on her innocent blanket.

"But what can be done when I harbor feelings for him."

This was a testament to her stubbornness.

Having set out on this path, she was resolute to see it through to the end. Her life was already a tragic disaster; there was nothing more to lose. This unrequited love story was all that remained as her lonely solace.

‘Isn't it the duty of a servant to bolster my spirit?'

A servant should at least feign support, subtly rooting for their master. Rumors were rife about household servants of young noble ladies covertly stashing love letters beneath the shoe rack.

Ricardo had never undertaken any such task for her.

On the contrary, he had relentlessly thwarted her pursuits of love.

[Olivia's favorability has decreased by 2.]

Reflecting on this further riled up Olivia.

Each time she sought to meet Michail, Ricardo presented an array of excuses to dissuade her, and whenever she attempted to present Michail with gifts, Ricardo intervened, overstepping his bounds as a servant with intrusive advice, much like the day's occurrence.

Possibly, had Ricardo not been present, she might have established a promising relationship with Michail?

Her mood soured considerably with these train of thoughts.

[Olivia's favorability decreased by 1.]

Contrary to her embarrassment, these thoughts incessantly lingered.

Contemplating the possibility that had Ricardo not interfered with her black magic back then, Michail might be involved with her now.

Unexpectedly,

[You have attained 0 favorability.]

[Quest ‘Ungrateful Wretch' completed.]

◎You have unlocked access to the hidden side stories.

◎You can now read

What if Ricardo had not obstructed Olivia from using black magic?

"What?"

Had she lost her sanity?

Having lain in bed the entire day, Olivia was convinced she was succumbing to lunacy, considering how blue letters seemed to materialize in the sky. It was improbable she was seeing blue letters floating in the sky unless she was descending into madness.

[Do you wish to proceed?]

The blue letters remained, seemingly untouched by her futile attempts to wave them away.

‘I must have lost my mind.'

Olivia succumbed to melancholy.

Somehow, however, she found her attention pulled towards the persistent blue characters. It felt akin to observing a solitary poisonous mushroom sprouting on a hillside.

A magnetic pull held her gaze, for some inexplicable attraction.

It seemed to suggest that she could bear witness to the scene she had often daydreamed.

A dream she had ardently desired.

The possibility of seeing herself blissfully laughing in Michail's company, appeared highly likely.

‘It seems I've finally crossed the threshold into insanity.'

Frustrated by the tenacious blue letters which refused to vanish even after an hour, Olivia resolved,

‘If I've already slipped into madness, a bit more wouldn't make much of a difference.'

She was utterly convinced that the vision presented by the blue window would undoubtedly be one of happiness.

"Very well."

Olivia nodded her head in agreement.

"I shall read it."