The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

Chapter 80: The Unqualified Person (4)

[Hans's ‘Corruption Score' has exceeded a certain threshold.]

-As Hans has completely turned into a ‘villain', it is no longer possible to persuade him.

[You have failed the ‘Persuasion' quest.]

-Ding!

[The will of the characters opposing Hans has been broken.]

[Reasons]

Ruin: Long-standing friendship.

Michail: Righteous belief of not killing people.

Yuria: Lack of combat ability / The fragile heart that cannot kill a friend.

[No characters willing to kill Hans can be found.]

[You have failed the ‘Eliminate Hans' quest.]

[You have failed the quest.]

The moment Yuria questioned Hans's words.

The blue window rang with a chilling notification, declaring the end of the story. The blue window, telling us that there was no hope left for the disqualified, had delivered its verdict of ‘failure.'

Upon hearing the word ‘corruption,' Yuria's eyes shook violently.

Her expression darkened with the thought that it might be too late and the guilt of not having protected Hans.

"Hans…"

"Don't look at me with that face. It's too late anyway."

Hans said mockingly to Yuria, who had a pitiful expression on her face.

"I should finish what I was saying earlier. How do you think you survived in the dungeon without even knowing offensive magic?"

Hans's words stirred questions that Yuria had forgotten about for a long time. Hans, challenging the conclusion she hastily came to that it was all Ricardo's doing, was wearing a sardonic smile.

"Aren't you curious about how you survived?"

Yuria had thought it was Ricardo's wrongdoing.

She had considered the possibility that it wasn't Ricardo, but if not, that would mean someone else had brought her out of the dungeon. She thought there had to be some connection, however slight.

The odds of it being a coincidence were too absurdly low.

But. Hans's dissent was beginning to shake the conclusion she had reached.

"In fact, I was there too. I came to the dungeon to test out some nice magic I'd learned."

Hans spoke casually as he placed his hand on Ruin's head.

Promising himself this time he wouldn't fail, Hans, who was constricting Michail with black chains and emitting dark magic, looked at Yuria.

"Was it about an hour ago? I heard a strange noise in the corridor, telling Michail to stop following me. I knew it was you from the start. Honestly, who else would I hear that from, right?"

Ignoring Ruin's agonized curses, Hans recounted the events of that day that he remembered.

With eyes like a venomous snake.

"Those guys are so mean. If they're going to curse, they should do it behind my back, not right to my face. Then they cast a spell that collapsed the exit… I wanted to help, but…"

Hans erased the faint smile from his face.

"When I cleared the blocked path, you were gone."

"…"

"Do you remember, Yuria… Have you ever heard of the dungeon ghost stories at the Royal Academy? The ones where if you go into the dungeon alone, you get bewitched by ghosts."

"What are you trying to say?"

Yuria challenged Hans's words, but he scoffed.

"You should know. You were bewitched by that ghost."

In Hans's hand was an orb containing Ruin's unique magic, burning red. Looking down at the gasping Ruin, Hans began to absorb the magic slowly as he stomped on Ruin's head.

Smiling at the hot heat, Hans continued to explain to the clueless Yuria, simplifying his words.

"You know Calypso, right?"

Hans wore a bitter smile.

"This person is the mastermind behind those ghost stories."

"Stop joking around. How could someone who has been dead for over 100 years…"

"Who said he was dead?"

"Actually… Is it correct to say he's dead now?"

Hans flicked his finger.

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The red orb that was Ruin's unique magic began to shine with hundreds of lights, illuminating the dark ceiling.

Yuria squinted as her view suddenly brightened, and the scene before her eyes left her speechless.

The ceiling and walls were covered with numerous sword marks and dense ancient characters.

Reading the bewildered Yuria's eyes, Hans said,

"Do you still not remember anything?"

Suddenly. A memory that Yuria had forgotten flashed through her mind.

-Ruin, snap out of it. I'll say one, two, three, and then you run over there, okay?

-Don't be scared.

-I'll sort it out. Just look ahead and run.

The man's face in the faint memory was obscured like a fog, but the kind voice was unmistakably someone Yuria knew well.

Overwhelmed by the wave of memories, Yuria shook her head.

"No, that can't be right… At that time, it was definitely…"

Watching Yuria mutter, Hans shook his head and sighed deeply.

"Poor Ricardo."

The moment the unique ability Hans had taken from Ruin was completely absorbed into his body.

-Pzzzt.!

"Aaaaargh!!!"

A red light began to pour out of Hans's body.

Suddenly enveloped by the red light, Hans started to be covered by it. The unique ability of Ruin being absorbed into Hans's body reverted to orb form and began to detach from Hans, and Hans started to scream in severe pain.

"Arrgh!!! What's this! I thought I had perfectly manifested the spell…! What went wrong?!"

Writhing in pain, Hans felt something was off and gritted his teeth as he searched for the cause, but he couldn't find the source amidst the rampaging dark magic and kept floundering.

"Now's the time!"

Seizing the moment, Michail, freed from his bindings, charged at Hans, and the unique magic that had been in Hans's hand flew through the air and fell to the floor.

Ruin was crawling on the floor, reaching for his fallen magic.

Michail was confronting Hans.

Yuria was grappling with the fleeting memories in a state of chaos.

Hans, panicked by the rampage of dark magic, muttered a familiar name in a voice filled with frustration.

"Did you serve me spoiled food, Ricardo…!"

Hans looked at the giant sword marks drawn on the ceiling and muttered, the sword marks erasing the complicated characters, spewing out bitter curses.

While everyone was fighting for their lives, the blue window, which had been dormant, began to slowly reveal itself to Yuria, who stood hollowly.

-As a penalty for failing the quest, instant access to 〈Side Story 42〉 ‘The Unqualified Person' is granted.

In that moment, Yuria's time stood still.

Michail with his sword facing off against Hans.

Ruin crawling on the floor.

And Hans himself, clutching his head in the grip of the black magic's rampage.

Everything seemed to freeze as if turned to ice, and even the dust floating in the air stood still.

‘Uh…?'

Yuria harbored a small question.

She, too, could not move freely in the suspended time. All she could do was look at the blue letters that had appeared before her eyes.

A sense of foreboding began to wash over Yuria.

-Aren't you curious?

The words Hans had said flitted through her mind.

Yuria looked at the blue window with trembling eyes, realizing there was a hidden memory in a story she thought had ended.

[In 10 seconds, Part 1 ‘The Reason He Saved Her.' will be accessed.]

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[The viewing begins.]

Yuria's vision went dark.

***

Yuria opened her eyes in a familiar place.

In front of the Royal Academy's fountain.

Yuria stood where many students passed by.

It was early dawn.

The ashen sky illuminated the fountain at the break of dawn.

Confused, Yuria looked around, but realizing the situation was not real upon seeing a girl with black hair, she understood.

-Hmm.

Desmond's youngest daughter, a noble lady with luster in her black hair before she used black magic, equal in prestige to that of a magic tower.

Yuria realized she had gone back to the past upon seeing the former appearance of Olivia Desmond.

‘Is this a dream?'

Or maybe she had passed out, but one thing was clear – she was invisible to them.

Olivia was sitting on the fountain's railing. The princess, chewing on chocolate in front of a red-haired man, had her former fierce gaze.

-So, did you do what I asked?

-Putting tacks in the indoor shoes?

-Yeah.

-No, I didn't.

-Why not?

-It seemed bothersome.

-Want to get cut?

-Snip.

-Aieee!!

The two were having a mundane conversation. Yuria clenched her fists at the sight of the two exchanging banter like old times, not pleased to see the two she disliked. The fact that they were talking about putting tacks in her shoes with such ease made Yuria's blood boil.

After a brief banter, Olivia sighed deeply and spoke to Ricardo.

-I'll say this only once, so listen carefully.

Hearing Olivia's words, Yuria loosened her clenched fists.

‘What…?'

Echoing her thoughts, Ricardo spoke to the past Olivia with a puzzled voice.

-What did you say?

-What you heard.

-No… Ah.

A flustered Ricardo ran his hands through his hair. His exasperated expression as he looked down at Olivia showed a hint of anger.

Ricardo spoke to Olivia, suppressing his anger and calmly voicing what he had heard.

-What does it mean to leave Yuria alone in the dungeon?

Ricardo challenged Olivia. Complaining that it was unfair, how could they leave Yuria, who didn't even know offensive magic, alone in the dungeon? Watching Ricardo raise his voice, Yuria thought,

‘Why is he making that face?'

Yuria couldn't understand why Ricardo, who had tormented her, was making such an expression.

‘Shouldn't he be happy instead?'

Yuria felt that her memory must have been mistaken.

The past Olivia was avoiding Ricardo's eyes.

-It wasn't my idea.

-Then who…!

-Kayla.

A familiar name brushed past her ears.

‘Kayla.'

Despite being a high noble's child, she was a precious friend who approached Yuria when she was being ostracized.

The unexpected mention of her name made Yuria feel as if she had been hit hard on the head with a club.

She wanted to believe it was just a dream.

She had been getting along fine.

When she returned alive from the dungeon, it was Kayla who comforted her first. The thought that Kayla was the mastermind behind everything made Yuria unable to hide her trembling heart.

‘Kayla did that…?'

‘No, how could kind Kayla…?'

‘We ate together, did assignments, and were so close.'

Denying it deeply in her heart, Yuria tried to focus on Olivia's words, but she couldn't shake off her restless thoughts.

Olivia began to tell Ricardo about why she was abandoned in the dungeon that day.

-Kayla said she liked Michail too. So she wanted to teach you a lesson, said if we trample you down, you'll lose the nerve to ever go after Michail again.

Ricardo sighed deeply at Olivia's casual words.

-So you agreed to do it?

-No, it seemed like there would be too much talk afterward, so I said no.

-That's a good thing.

-I know.

Ricardo massaged his throbbing head. Muttering about why he kept getting involved in such incidents, he spoke to Olivia about Kayla.

-Last week, the dead rat in the locker, was that Kayla's doing too?

-Yeah. I'm scared of rats, can't touch them. Ricardo, can you do it?

-No? I also dislike rats.

-Coward.

It seemed Ricardo had always known. What kind of person Kayla was, what intentions she had when approaching him. Ricardo seemed to have known it all along.

‘What is this…'

Yuria grew anxious at a story so different from what she knew.

‘Why… Kayla.'

Olivia relaying Kayla's words, Ricardo nodding along.

Yuria felt a disconnect, and her head began to ache with muddled thoughts.

‘It has to be a lie.'

She couldn't believe that her closest friend, who comforted her, intended to kill her, nor could she believe Olivia relating the story to Ricardo.

The thought that Kayla's protective actions were in fact a ruse was unbelievable to Yuria.

As her confused thoughts ran rampant.

Ricardo, putting on his coat, said to Olivia.

-For now, I'm going to take a leave of absence today.

-Going to save her?

-Yes. I don't like seeing my friend in a bad way.

He called her a friend.

Called her his friend.

It felt strange to Yuria to hear the person she had hated calling her a friend.

Olivia told such Ricardo to do as he pleased. She wasn't Yuria's friend, so whether Yuria lived or died, she didn't care.

Ricardo asked Olivia, full of questions.

-But why tell me? You dislike Yuria too.

-Yeah, I do. But…

Olivia stood up from the railing with a resolute expression.

-Dying is a bit much. And after fighting with Kayla…

-Did you win?

Olivia reached into her pocket and showed Ricardo a tuft of hair that looked like Kayla's.

-Yeah.

A move fitting of the undefeated Olivia.

-And even if I tell you not to go, you'll go, right?

-No. If you tell me not to, I won't.

-Lies. You secretly helped last time.

-That was just good luck.

-Your lies are poor.

-I'll practice.

Ricardo watched Olivia return to the dormitory and then turned around with a determined face.

And he began to run at a rapid pace. Running tirelessly and quickly towards the dungeon where he had been abandoned that day.

The moment the misunderstanding of that day was cleared.

[Part 2 ‘The Unqualified Person' commences.]

The pale blue letters signaling the start of the events once again hovered before her eyes.

And.

She began to see herself stabbing Ricardo in the abdomen with a sword.