The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 228

A quiet Darvav’s Estate.

“…”

Sitting at the desk in his office, Darvav let out a heavy sigh as he read a letter sent by Olivia.

[To Father]

Father, I don’t have any friends.

Ricardo says he doesn’t have friends either.

I tried counting on my fingers, but I felt bad and gave up. I’ll just host a small tea party at our house.

So, send me some allowance.

Darvav nodded in satisfaction at Olivia’s elegant handwriting. Whoever her parents were, her penmanship was impressive enough to draw admiration.

“Indeed.”

Although the content of the letter wasn’t pleasant, Darvav still nodded in satisfaction at the letter his daughter had sent.

“I never thought she didn’t have friends….”

Darvav lifted his head, recalling his Academy Days.

-Darvav! Let’s eat together.

-Be quiet, commoner.

-Darvav, are you eating alone again?

-What’s wrong with eating alone? It allows me to use my time efficiently. Don’t think it’s strange.

-Uh… okay.

A splendid Childhood.

Thinking of his extraordinary past from an early age, Darvav folded the letter neatly with a sullen expression.

“Like parent, like child, I suppose.”

Darvav could understand Olivia’s pain. Although he had made friends through business, they were merely business relationships.

A ball is traditionally a place to showcase oneself in front of many people, but dancing in front of people one isn’t close to was awkward. Thus, Darvav could understand Olivia’s decision to forgo the ball and opt for a tea party instead.

Although the intended purpose was a modest gathering, this might not be so bad. Olivia could establish her social standing later, so there was no need to rush.

Darvav nodded, blaming himself for not considering his daughter’s feelings.

“A tea party, huh…”

Darvav smiled with anticipation and called the man sitting beside him.

“Kyle.”

“Yes, Father.”

“Olivia says she’s hosting a tea party.”

“Didn’t she decide to hold a ball?”

Darvav, with a serious expression, asked Kyle.

“Name just three close friends.”

“…”

Kyle couldn’t answer.

Darvav smiled contentedly as he watched Kyle follow in his footsteps. How could he be so similar to himself? Seeing Kyle’s excellent qualities as the Next Head of the Family for Desmond, Darvav felt assured about the future.

“I’m proud of you.”

“…”

Kyle gave a bittersweet smile.

*

Another peaceful day at the Young Lady’s Estate.

“Eeeek.”

Sitting at her desk, the Young Lady was wracking her brain, trying to figure out whom to invite as she wrote invitations.

“Young Lady, so far, the confirmed attendees are Darbav-nim, Lord Kyle, Rosanna, Malik, and Hanna.”

“Wait a moment…”

The Young Lady couldn’t easily decide on the members for her rare tea party. No matter how much she racked her brain, there was no one else to invite.

During her Academy Days, people would rush over at a single word from her. But now, as a fallen noble, there was no one who would be happy to receive her letter, leaving her with no one to invite.

Placing her fingers on her temples, the Young Lady was sending telepathy to her future self.

“Eeeek…”

Seeing the Young Lady’s strange behavior, as if asking her future self whether she had any friends, I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Young Lady, doing that won’t make friends appear.”

“Wait. I think I might remember someone.”

Her already narrow social circle wouldn’t change no matter how much she strained. I gave her a bittersweet smile and patted her shoulder.

“Young Lady.”

“Eeeek…”

“Canceling it now and aiming for the next opportunity might be a good idea. After all, friends can be bought with money.”

“You can’t buy friends with money.”

“That’s true.”

“And I want to host a tea party. I want to meet friends after so long, have a pillow fight, make snacks, and have a pajama party.”

I looked at the Young Lady with pity and swallowed my tears.

“Young Lady.”

“Yes?”

“You haven’t done it after so long; you’ve never done it at all.”

“…It happened in a novel.”

“…”

The Young Lady wanted to have a pillow fight.

She wanted a party born not out of complicated business relationships but from deep, genuine friendships.

Wiping my tears with a handkerchief, I cautiously spoke to the Young Lady, trying to console her. I wanted to convey that not having friends wasn’t her fault and that the novels that planted such fantasies were to blame.

“Shall I do it with you?”

“…”

“We can have a pillow fight today, wear pajamas, chat together, and even take a bath. I don’t mind.”

“You know we built a separate bathhouse during the remodeling, right? We can have fun there and create the atmosphere.”

I gave her a small smile and offered some kind words.

“With me, you, and Gomtangi, that makes three… no, three beings, at least.”

The Young Lady lowered her head and clenched her fists.

“Ricardo…”

“Yes.”

“Ricardo, don’t you have any friends?”

“…That’s a rather rude question.”

“But if it’s just you and me, it’s not a tea party.”

“Hmm.”

I cautiously opened my mouth toward the Young Lady.

“Then, may I invite my friends?”

“Friends?”

“Yes.”

“Ricardo, you have friends?”

With an ambiguous smile, I thought of a few people who came to mind.

“They’re people you know too, Young Lady.”

“Who?”

With a bitter smile, I began writing the invitations.

-Yuria.

-Chartia.

These were all the people I knew.

*

Those who received the invitations had various reactions.

Yuria felt excitement.

[Shall we play together at the estate?] – Ricardo

“Oh… oh my gosh?!”

Hanna responded with flattery.

[We’re hosting a tea party at the estate. If you have time, come. Ricardo says he’ll provide food.] – Olivia.

“This is an opportunity…”

Chartia opened the invitation with curiosity.

[Do not open it.] – Ricardo

“I’m not going.”

The ladies, each with different thoughts, began preparing after receiving the invitations. They were pulling out dresses hidden in their wardrobes or putting on earrings, getting ready to attend the tea party.

And so, a week later.

The day of the tea party arrived.

[The 1st Lady Olivia Tea Party]

After hanging a banner on the mansion’s wall, I stood beside the Young Lady, whose face had turned pale with nerves, and gently massaged her shoulders as I spoke.

“Young Lady. Please don’t be nervous.”

“Sniff… I thought no one would come, but three people actually showed up…!”

Malik.

The Desmond Household.

The Master of the Magic Tower.

As quite a few guests gathered, I held back my emotions and said to the Young Lady.

“It seems we’ve done quite well for ourselves.”

“You’re right…”

Still, I was relieved that life hadn’t been in vain. I had even considered catching an orc from a dungeon if necessary, but it turned out I didn’t need to.

I wiped away tears as I looked at the carriages beyond the wall.

“Young Lady… They’re coming again.”

“Hiiiik!”

“Please smile.”

“Hihit…”

“Doesn’t smiling like that look a bit scary?”

“Eeeek!”

I lightly touched the cheek of the awkwardly smiling Young Lady and held my breath as I watched the ladies slowly walking toward the mansion’s front gate.

“Wow…”

Yuria, dressed in a light dress.

Hanna, wearing a dress that accentuated her figure.

Chartia, worn out from work.

People more beautiful than flowers were walking into the estate.

The three of them stared blankly at the banner on the wall and smiled awkwardly.

“Ahaha…”

“You put in a lot of effort preparing!”

“I want to go home.”

The one who reacted the most strongly was Hanna.

“Butler!”

Hanna, whom I hadn’t seen in a long time, had her brown hair tied to one side and ran straight into my arms.

The heartfelt emotions of a disciple.

I smiled softly and hugged Hanna tightly.

“It’s been a while.”

“Butler!”

“I read about it in the newspaper. There was a big incident, but I heard it was resolved thanks to you, Miss Hanna.”

“No… It was all thanks to you, Butler.”

Yuria gave me an awkward smile and greeted me.

“Hello.”

“Thank you for coming.”

“Not at all. I received so much help last time, so of course, I had to come. And…”

Yuria awkwardly looked at the Young Lady and bowed her head.

“Thank you for last time.”

“Yes.”

“There are still many things left to resolve, but I came because I wanted to say this.”

“Thank you.”

Princess Chartia.

“What’s going on?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Then I’ll leave.”

I wanted to go home.

*

After finishing her greetings, Chartia let out an empty laugh and shook her head.

‘…What is this lineup?’

The Desmond Family, rivals of the Magic Tower.

-Father!

-How grand.

Kyle, known as the Iron-Blooded Prince.

-Ricardo.

-Lord Kyle, you mentioned inviting other guests. Are there none?

-…

And Malik, the next head of Histania.

-I wanted to discuss business.

Finally, even the Master of the Magic Tower.

-You want me to install a teleportation device?

-Yes.

-…?

-Didn’t you say you’d grant one wish?

-Even so, this is… ha ha.

-I think this is a bargain.

-That’s impossible. The installation cost alone exceeds ten million gold. Isn’t it strange to ask for that? Besides, inviting the head of the Desmond Family and then calling me here too…

-Isn’t the Magic Tower supposed to make the impossible possible?

-…

-Are you beneath Desmond?

-…I have some matters to attend to, so I’ll take my leave now.

-I was just about to suggest you leave.

Each one of them was a heavyweight.

For a tea party hosted by a fallen Young Lady, the lineup was excessive. Chartia let out an empty laugh and shook her head at the absurdity of such influential figures, who could control a fifth of the empire, gathering for a mere tea party.

“This is insane.”

Chartia clenched her fist as she watched Ricardo slowly walk into the crowd.

She had no idea what words would come out of his mouth.

She couldn’t believe he had gathered these people just to host a tea party. The rumors said the Desmond Household was a family without blood or tears.

-Gulp.

Chartia grew tense, already planning to escape if a rebellion were to break out.

“Thank you for making the effort to come.”

Ricardo, his eyes brimming with emotion, looked at the guests and spoke.

“First, let me briefly introduce today’s schedule.”

Making pastries.

A banquet.

A pillow fight.

A bath.

Hearing the schedule, Chartia furrowed her brow, doubting her ears.

“What…?”

It was an utterly absurd thing to say, considering the group gathered here.

Ricardo, without pausing, continued to outline the day’s schedule. As more items were listed from Ricardo’s mouth, Olivia’s face grew increasingly tense.

“The snacks we make will be donated to a charity organization, so we would appreciate your participation.”

“…”

“If you don’t want to, there’s nothing I can do, but I think the children would be delighted to receive the treats.”

“…”

Chartia widened her eyes as she caught Ricardo muttering under his breath. “Of course, they’ll go to the Villainess Olivia Foundation…”

‘Ha.’

Chartia wanted to go home.