The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 208

Five hours ago.

After a long journey in the carriage, I stretched my stiff back and looked up at the northern sky.

“Ugh…! It’s ridiculously far.”

Perhaps because it was the North, at the edge of the Empire, the carriage ride had taken an exceptionally long time. It must have taken about a week. If the roads hadn’t been well-maintained, it would have taken at least fifteen more days.

Riding an expensive carriage had somewhat lessened the travel weariness, but it didn’t change the fact that my body was exhausted. After all, we had camped outdoors in the carriage for an entire week.

What surprised me the most was that the Young Lady didn’t complain. Having spent her days on a soft bed, she must have felt the fatigue even more.

-Camping outdoors…! Like a beggar!

-Young Lady, you are a beggar. I, on the other hand, am wealthy.

-Oh…!

Every time we lit a bonfire and camped outdoors, the excited Young Lady hummed songs, eagerly anticipating her northern travel.

I couldn’t understand why she was so excited about the North. Having only read about its poor conditions and the protagonists’ hardships in novels, I found her enthusiasm puzzling. But seeing her smile, my doubts faded.

The Young Lady must have her own plans.

I firmly believed she hadn’t suggested coming to the North without a reason, so I put my trust entirely in her for this journey.

After stepping out of the carriage, I unloaded the luggage and glanced at the Young Lady.

“Hmmnya.”

Despite the long itinerary and the abundance of luggage to unload, the Young Lady sat idly on Fairy Unit 1, doing absolutely nothing.

“Wow…! Snow! Look at the snow!”

The Young Lady, rubbing her cold hands together and exhaling white breath, showed no intention of helping.

Letting out a sigh, I spoke to her.

“You saw it not long ago as well.”

“That was tasteless snow. This is matured snow.”

Wrapped snugly in a scarf, the Young Lady sat in her wheelchair, beaming with a bright smile.

‘Well, somehow, it’ll work out.’

Watching the departing carriage, I bowed my head in gratitude. Though it had been costly, I was thankful for its service during the long journey.

“Thank you for your hard work. Please use this for your return expenses.”

“Oh, you didn’t have to give me this… It’s too much.”

“Not at all. You went through a lot because of us. I’m sorry I couldn’t give you more.”

When I handed the coachman a small tip on top of the fare, he scratched his head, looking at me with delight.

“But are you sure you don’t want to return? The atmosphere in the North isn’t great right now, and with the Frost Wolves in mating season… it’s far too dangerous.”

At the coachman’s concern, I gave a small smile and shook my head.

“It’ll be fine.”

“At least let me take your luggage to your lodging.”

“Ah…”

I responded with an awkward laugh, admitting that I hadn’t even thought about arranging lodging.

The coachman stared at us, dumbfounded, and only after I reassured him about ten more times did he finally leave.

“Then I wish you a pleasant journey. Please visit us again next time…!”

“Thank you. Young Lady, you should say goodbye too.”

“Goodbye.”

-Whiiing.

Now, where should we go?

The Young Lady and I stood blankly in the middle of the northern city, with our pile of luggage beside us.

Starting the journey had been exciting, but we hadn’t made any detailed plans. While money could solve most problems, we hadn’t even taken care of the basics, like finding a place to stay. So, we stood there, staring at the snowy mountain ahead.

“Wow, it’s beautiful…”

“Indeed.”

The Young Lady turned to look at me and asked.

“Ricardo, where are we going now?”

“Indeed.”

“…”

“Don’t you have any place in mind?”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

“Nope.”

The Young Lady answered confidently.

She declared that her mind had no room for trivial things like plans and told me to focus on appreciating the snowy mountain in front of us instead.

“Didn’t you say you wanted to come to the North?”

“Yes.”

“Is there anything you want to see or eat?”

“It’s a secret.”

“What happened to the romantic bikini you promised?”

“It ran away.”

“…”

The Young Lady smiled with her eyes and said to me.

“I don’t know! It’s a secret!”

As expected, it seemed planning was the butler’s job. Blaming my past self for trusting her, I let out a sigh. With money, nothing was impossible anyway.

Though I wasn’t sure if the Young Lady would like the plans devised by her dull butler, I smiled slightly and started brainstorming quickly.

‘First of all…’

To deal with the luggage, I approached a nearby resident and asked where we could find lodging.

“Excuse me, may I ask for directions? We’re tourists, and we’re looking for an inn where we can stay for about ten days.”

“What?”

“Yes.”

“What?!”

“Yes.”

The northern resident, wearing a thick fur hat, looked at the Young Lady and me as if we were strange people.

Rubbing his ear as if to confirm he’d heard correctly, the resident tilted his head and widened his eyes at the sight of our pile of carry-on bags.

“You came here for a trip?”

“Yes.”

“Now?”

“Yes.”

“During Frost Wolf mating season?”

“Young Lady, it seems like we’ll get to see something interesting.”

“Mating…!”

The northern resident looked at the Young Lady and me with an expression that said he’d never seen such crazy bastards before. Then, shaking his head, he spoke in a calm voice.

“You’ll die.”

“It’s fine. Our lifespans are longer than they seem.”

“Haha… If that’s what you want, good luck. But there’s a problem. There’s nowhere to stay right now.”

“What?”

“There’s nowhere.”

“…”

“All the decent inns are closed. There was a hotel on the outskirts, but it was destroyed by an avalanche.”

Hearing that the last resort for lodging had collapsed, I frowned. Then, looking at the Young Lady, who was leisurely building a snowman, I spoke.

“Young Lady, there’s nowhere to stay.”

“…Why?”

“They went on strike. They said taking a break earns them more money than covering maintenance costs.”

“Smart.”

“Indeed.”

As I sent the resident on his way, I stood blankly on the windy street.

“For now, shall we go eat something?”

“What about the luggage?”

“Most of it is empty bags. Just chocolate, a kitchen knife, a butler suit, and some fur clothes. It’s fine if they get stolen.”

“Then why did you bring them?”

“I wanted to take some souvenirs with me.”

“…”

The Young Lady looked at me with eyes that said she couldn’t understand and nodded.

“Alright.”

And so, we ate at a restaurant and climbed the Northern Mountain Range to aid digestion.

There wasn’t a grand reason for it.

It just seemed fun.

Since sledding seemed like the first thing to try on a snow-covered mountain, the Young Lady and I emptied our minds and entrusted our bodies to the steep slope.

With Perry No. 1 equipped with Protection Magic, there was no need to worry about safety, so we naturally began enjoying the activity.

-Eeeek!!!

-Young Lady, don’t press the acceleration button. You’ll end up buried.

-What? I can’t hear you because of the wind! Hehe… Hiiiik!!!

And so, we continued sledding.

By sheer luck, we encountered a man who ran an inn.

*

James was fed up with the world.

The person he thought was a lunatic guest was standing right before him.

“Haa…”

After finishing his subjugation work and returning, James found a traveler laden with luggage standing at his inn.

-Are you open for business?

-Uh… well.

-Young Lady!

-Eeeek! Let’s go!

Having barged in so quickly that he had no chance to turn them away, James, who had been running the inn for ten years, was now facing a major crisis.

He wasn’t sure if it was right to take in these guests.

Having just witnessed them sledding like maniacs, James couldn’t stop his shoulders from trembling.

-Hehe! That was fun! Let’s go again!

-Haha! If I had been a little slower, Young Lady, you would’ve fallen off the cliff!

-Eek! I’ll drive more carefully next time!

-It’s alright! That’s what I’m here for.

In all his years of hosting guests, James had never encountered anyone like this.

James let out a deep sigh as he looked at the guests before him.

A man with striking red hair.

A woman with impaired legs.

‘Is this really okay…?’

The woman, seated in a chair with wheels, had bags piled high on her lap.

“Hiiiik… It’s heavy…!”

“I’m fine.”

“Eeeek…!”

From their appearance, they didn’t seem like ordinary people. Their demeanor and social status were a complex mix.

Judging by the well-maintained hair, they didn’t seem like commoners, but their behavior gave off a barbaric impression.

James couldn’t shake off a sense of foreboding.

He instinctively felt that taking them in as guests would lead to something going terribly wrong.

“Eeeek…!”

“Please endure just a little longer.”

“Ricardo, you put yours down!”

“I’m fine.”

“I’m not fine!”

James had a strong premonition that he wouldn’t be able to send them off quietly.

As James was deep in thought, he heard a knock on the table. The man with red hair was smiling faintly as he looked at James.

-Knock, knock, knock.

“Boss, do you happen to have a room to stay for the night?”

“What?”

“I heard there aren’t any open lodgings nearby, and if even this place is closed, it’ll be troublesome… I can pay double… no, triple the price.”

James looked at the two.

“Sniff…!”

“Don’t wipe it on your clothes, Young Lady.”

“I don’t have a handkerchief.”

“You could’ve just asked me for one.”

“Then give it to me now.”

Seeing the Young Lady with impaired legs made him feel pity, but her actions gave him the impression that the inn might be doomed.

After about three minutes of deep contemplation, James remained silent.

-Thud.

The man placed a heavy gold coin pouch on the table and spoke.

“Do you have a room?”

It was too large a sum to refuse.

*

The girls’ dormitory at the Academy.

Yuria, seated at her desk, was once again writing a letter to her father. She bit the nib of her pen, pondering what to write.

“…”

-Hello, Dad!

This is the first letter I’m writing since spring began.

I’m sorry I haven’t written lately; the Academy schedule has been so hectic…. There’s so much to learn now that I’m a third-year student.

·

“Haa…”

Yuria couldn’t bring herself to write the next part. She wanted to include something that would make her father smile, but she couldn’t.

Studying at the Academy was tough.

She had fought with Ruin.

And there was the issue with the heretics. She couldn’t decide what to write. Normally, she would’ve started with a boast about her high ranking in the tournament, but even that was off the table because of the heretic issue. Yuria let out a deep sigh and fell into thought.

In a fleeting moment, a story crossed Yuria’s mind. Though it was a bit old, it was something her father would know about.

She remembered a friend who had helped her adjust to the Academy when she couldn’t. Since she had once written a letter about fighting with that friend, Yuria smiled faintly and began to dip her pen in ink.

-Oh, by the way, do you remember the friend I mentioned before?

The one who ate with me and helped me when I got lost at the Academy.

I once wrote to you about fighting with that friend, but this time, I was able to make up with them. It’s still a bit awkward, but if we take it slow, I’m sure we can be as close as we used to be… right?

Yuria smiled faintly as she continued filling the letter.

And in the final line, she began to carefully write a note of concern for her father.

-I’ve been hearing news about an increase in demonic beasts in the North lately. You’re not doing anything dangerous, are you…?

-I miss you, Dad.

-Your loving daughter.

*

At that moment.

“Do you have any intention of dating my daughter…?”

James was trying to entice the man with red hair.