The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 211

The potion’s effect lasted precariously until they disappeared.

If they had stayed here for just ten more minutes, we would have been discovered. If a demonic beast had appeared in the middle, or if we had engaged in idle chatter, we would undoubtedly have clashed with them.

‘That was close.’

Leaving behind the pounding heart of relief from surviving, I looked at the Young Lady, who was staring blankly.

“Young Lady?”

“Hm?”

The Young Lady was nonchalantly chewing on jerky. While munching, she looked at me with a puzzled expression, as if wondering why I was so nervous.

Was it because she was oblivious?

Or was it because her body couldn’t sense mana? Whatever the reason, I was just glad the Young Lady wasn’t startled.

The Apostle was a dangerous being by its very existence. Just seeing it would have surely frightened the Young Lady.

The Apostle was a being referred to as the Pillar of Heretics.

It was akin to a catastrophe.

It possessed overwhelming power.

And it was a self-willed entity by nature.

If it were something I could handle, it wouldn’t have been a problem, but in my current state, all I could do was bite off the Apostle’s arm at best.

Moreover, achieving victory while protecting the Young Lady was close to impossible, which was why I had been more tense than usual.

I let out a sigh of relief and observed the Young Lady’s condition.

“Nom.”

“…”

“Ugh… It’s tough.”

The Young Lady, biting into a large piece of jerky with her jaw, spoke to me in a hoarse voice.

“Ricardo.”

“Yes.”

“Were those people earlier bad people?”

“Pardon?”

Was it the Villainess’s hunch?

It felt like the Young Lady, recognizing her own kind, had asked the question. I nodded slightly in response.

“They were, but… how did you know?”

“They were just ugly.”

“Pardon?”

“Because they were ugly, they were bad people.”

The Young Lady made a racially insensitive remark and nodded. It was the kind of comment that would make Green Head clench his fist and charge in if he heard it, and I couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle.

Judging others by their appearance was wrong, but sometimes the Young Lady’s peculiar biases were surprisingly accurate. Thinking that, I brushed off the heavy atmosphere and patted the Young Lady’s head.

“You’re quite perceptive.”

“Hm. I’m pretty smart.”

As expected, the Young Lady was far from modest.

I stared blankly at the spot where they had disappeared.

Thinking about the back figure of the man whose power I couldn’t gauge, I lifted my heavy head.

‘An Apostle… This is going to be troublesome.’

Frankly, I couldn’t handle it.

The Apostle was indeed terrifying, but there was an even bigger problem lurking beneath. A problem that would twist the axis of the novel.

The Apostle named Olaf was the villain who had killed Yuria’s Father. Because of that, Yuria awakened the Power of the Saintess and gained great strength.

If I were to compare it to a car, it was like a tire. The death of her father was an essential cogwheel for Yuria’s awakening.

There was no way to replace the shock of losing a Precious Person.

If I were to twist such a significant axis just because it was unfortunate, I honestly didn’t have the confidence to handle the consequences that would follow.

If only I hadn’t seen the Apostle today, I could have forgotten about it…

In the novel, Yuria relied heavily on her father. The same was true in reality.

She would often talk about her father in the North whenever she had the chance, or cling to the letters from him, reading them whenever she was struggling.

That’s why she was deeply saddened by her father’s death in the novel. She learned of his death through a single letter sent from the North.

Yuria was consumed by grief to an indescribable extent. She struggled so much that she even developed mutism, abandoning her respect for life and succumbing to killing intent.

That’s why I was even more conflicted.

Should I interfere unnecessarily?

Or should I leave it to the flow of the original work and continue living a peaceful life?

I kept pondering.

Lost in thought, I heard the Young Lady’s voice near my ear.

“Ricardo.”

The Young Lady, staring at the White Snow, carefully tugged at my collar.

Her pitiful gaze, as if asking if we could leave now, made me shake off the thoughts in my head and offer a Small Smile.

“I need to use the bathroom…”

“The bathroom, you say?”

“Hm.”

She truly was a carefree person.

*

After a brief outing, I returned to the inn, escorted the Young Lady to her room, and went down to the first floor.

I wanted a drink.

As my thoughts grew more complicated, I felt like I had forgotten the purpose of this travel, which made me crave a drink. I thought that if I could set aside my complicated thoughts, I might be able to enjoy the travel.

A journey that was supposed to be relaxing now felt filled with unease.

“Sigh…”

As if waiting for me to come down to the first floor, James greeted me with a bright smile, showing off a beer glass filled with cold beer while shrugging his shoulders.

“Ah, it’s a relief you’re alive.”

He cracked a silly joke as he spoke.

I brushed off my heavy mood at James’s jest and smiled.

“That’s a bit harsh to say, isn’t it?”

“Haha…! At this time of year! And climbing a snowy mountain just to watch mating rituals—no one does that.”

“It was entertaining, though.”

I let out a small smile and sat across from James, exhaling a sigh.

I wanted to shake off my worries for now.

Why they were here.

Whether I should stop them or ignore them.

I wanted to set aside those complicated thoughts for a moment.

James, with a Bright Smile, raised his beer glass and offered a Small Toast to celebrate my safe return.

The amber beer in the clinking beer glasses looked especially appetizing today.

I returned a Small Smile, clinking my glass against James’s, and softly muttered, “Cheers.”

“Thank you.”

“For what? This is going on your tab, too.”

“…”

“Hahaha! Just kidding!”

James let out a hearty laugh and looked at me with an excited expression.

“So, how was it?”

“What do you mean?”

“The North. Isn’t it truly beautiful?”

What about the Northern Mountain Range?

Wasn’t the breathtaking scenery surprising?

Were the demonic beasts in the North not stronger than those in the capital? James’s innocent curiosity was evident in his gaze directed at me.

I responded to James’s enthusiastic look with a Small Smile and threw out a playful remark. It was oddly amusing.

“It was more entertaining than I expected.”

“How low were your expectations, then…?”

James clicked his tongue in mock disapproval, and I responded with a Small Smile, lifting my glass.

“Haha! Just kidding. Thanks to you, Boss, I had a really enjoyable time.”

“Well, that’s a relief. I thought you meant you had no expectations but still found it fun, and I was surprised.”

“Haha…”

Behind my bitter smile, a small worry lingered.

I wondered if it would be okay to spare at least one innkeeper.

The novel didn’t provide detailed information about the Cultists’ Raid. It merely mentioned that people in the North died due to the Apostle’s Raid, without explaining the purpose behind their actions.

“Guest…?”

While I was lost in deep thought, James’s voice reached me. With his warm demeanor, James looked at me with concern in his eyes.

“Is something wrong? Your expression seems quite dark.”

“No, it’s nothing.”

“Is that so…? Hmm.”

James continued to look at my shadowed face. His expression seemed to wonder what kind of worries a young man like me could possibly have.

Clearing his throat with a “Kuhum,” James opened his mouth to speak.

“Guest, I’ve developed a certain skill from running this inn for over ten years. Do you know what it is?”

“Is it intuition?”

“That’s correct. Just by seeing the first impression of a guest walking through the front door, I can instantly tell whether they’re a troublesome guest or a generous, high-class customer.”

“…I don’t think that’s quite right.”

“…”

James clamped his mouth shut as he looked at my face.

“Of course! I do get it wrong sometimes, but that’s beside the point. Anyway, from my experience with many guests, I’ve learned that when people keep their worries bottled up inside, they always end up causing trouble. Like starting havoc while drinking or smashing windows, oh dear…”

James let out a hearty laugh and spoke quietly.

“Sometimes, you need to share what’s on your mind with others or even vent about someone to relieve stress. That’s what I’m saying.”

At James’s good-natured advice, I smiled faintly and emptied my liquor glass.

‘If only my worries were that simple.’

Would he understand?

That my worries involved weighing someone’s life on a scale…

Lowering my head, I asked James.

“You mentioned you have a daughter, right?”

“Yes. Want to see a picture? She’s incredibly pretty.”

“No need. My Young Lady is prettier.”

“Haha…”

James clenched his fist and looked at me. Seeing the Overprotective Father reveal his hostility for the first time, I chuckled softly and shook my head.

“How much do you miss your daughter, Boss?”

“I miss her every day.”

“What if… you could never see her again? How would you feel?”

“What? Why do you ask that all of a sudden?”

“I’m just curious.”

“Could it be… you’re planning to elope with the woman on the second floor?”

“…No.”

“Really?”

“I said no.”

In a slightly low voice, I spoke to James.

“It’s not about something like that. I asked because I might have to do something that goes against the natural order of things.”

“…”

James, in his mind, was imagining an amusing love scandal. A butler and a noblewoman’s forbidden love.

A man defying his household’s opposition to claim his love, and a couple choosing to elope despite the father’s disapproval.

James envisioned a fresh love story in his head and rubbed his nose with his finger.

“A daughter… She’s someone so precious that even if she asked for all your organs, you’d gladly give them to her.”

“If I could never see her again… well.”

“It would be incredibly heartbreaking.”

At James’s words, my expression darkened.

Unaware of my feelings, James continued to speak. He smiled faintly as he talked about how extraordinary a father’s love is, how far he’d go for his daughter.

“…But, if my daughter were happy, I think I’d be satisfied with just that. Even if I couldn’t see her anymore, as long as she lived well somewhere, what more could I ask for?”

“…Is that so.”

“Yes, that’s what all parents with daughters would think.”

My thoughts grew more complicated.

Thinking that Yuria’s father might feel the same way made things a bit more tangled.

Which choice should I make?

Yuria’s Awakening.

Or a harmonious family.

Whichever I chose, the guilt that would return to me wouldn’t disappear. The weight of emotions and the responsibility that came with it would remain a heavy burden.

Honestly, the answer was already decided.

I couldn’t imagine defeating an Apostle, someone even a Sword Master would struggle against, on my own. I had too much to protect and too much to bear to sacrifice my life for a small loss.

But.

Seeing the excited face of a middle-aged man talking about his daughter made my selfish thoughts vanish.

Honestly, I wanted to run away, though.

I nodded as I looked at James’s face.

“I understand. You’ve been very helpful.”

James smiled faintly and patted my shoulder.

“Guest.”

“Yes?”

“Haaah… Normally, I don’t share things like this, but since you seem to be struggling so much, I’ll make an exception.”

“Yes?”

James pulled out a small paper from his pocket and showed it to me.

[Warm Northern Hot Springs.

└Mixed Bathing Available.]

With a sly, middle-aged smile, James whispered into my ear.

“It’s a bit pricey, but it’s a famous attraction in the North.”

Shaking my head at James’s sly expression, I accepted the ticket he handed me.

“Really. You’re such a sly innkeeper.”

“This is all part of marketing.”

“Ha… Seriously.”

Honestly, I don’t know anymore.

*

Three days later.

On a late night when Ricardo had left for the hot springs.

-Knock. Knock. Knock.

A knocking sound echoed through James’s inn.