The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 243

◎You have obtained the qualification to view the Hidden Side Story.

◎〈666th Side Story〉 Returning to its Original Form….

-Would you like to view it?

I thought that finding the key would bring an end to all misfortunes.

And to the recurring nightmares.

And to living while seeking justice.

I thought that with the key, that story would come to an end.

“Haa…”

Mikhail took a deep breath, calming his troubled heart. The time had come to receive the answer to the efforts he had poured into one single hope. But it wasn’t easy to calm his mind.

Until now, the reward for his efforts.

Standing before the hope he had wanted to uncover, even at the cost of his life, Mikhail exhaled a trembling breath and nodded.

“I’ll view it.”

The Blue Window whispered in a cold voice into Mikhail’s ear, shifting his vision.

-The viewing begins.

Mikhail envisioned a happy future.

And then.

That hope crumbled.

***

Upon returning to the estate, I swallowed a deep breath in the dark room.

“…My lips are itching.”

[Q. Mikhail’s Guardian.]

·

·

·

◎ Reward: You can now view the 〈16th Side Story〉 ‘The Risk of Truth.’

The limits of keeping a secret that had been postponed and postponed were approaching. Blocked by the hill of restrictions, I, who could no longer play the game of secrets, looked at the status window with a bitter smile.

“I’m not someone who usually listens well to others anyway.”

When the Young Lady wet the bed as a child, I spread the rumor throughout the entire estate, and now, the restrictions tickling the possessor’s lips stirred a needless sense of rebellion in me.

“Suddenly, I’m annoyed.”

Even though I rarely listened to the status window’s words in the first place, the fact that I was being cautious due to various thoughts made me feel like I’d lost my initial resolve, which annoyed me a little.

“…Should I just go for it?”

Though the thought of acting rashly crossed my mind, I let out an empty laugh and shook my head.

‘No, I held back because I hate dealing with hassle…. I can just say it later.’

If Mikhail’s awakening were delayed, I’d be the one most inconvenienced, so I shook my head and sighed.

“Hmm…”

Then, shall I take a look at this restriction?

What could be so significant that it’s being hidden so tightly? I stared at the status window, filled with curiosity.

-◎ Reward: You can now view the 〈16th Side Story〉 ‘The Risk of Truth.’

The quest reward I had completed during my short stint as a teacher in Hamel. As I looked at the reward I had been postponing, I nodded slightly and spoke.

“I’ll view it.”

With a warning that I’d spill everything if it wasn’t a big deal, I accepted the darkening vision with familiarity.

*

My vision darkened.

Perhaps because I had experienced it once before, I wasn’t too startled. After all, the first time is always the hardest.

‘What are they going to show me this time?’

Honestly, I wasn’t looking forward to it.

It felt strange to expect anything from this, and I could roughly predict what would happen.

Shock.

Regret.

And apologies. That’s all I thought it would be.

But since the process was long, I assumed it would cause issues with the awakening. As I felt my darkened vision gradually brighten, I raised my head and let out an empty laugh at the sight of myself standing in a familiar space.

‘Ha.’

A familiar building.

Frozen people.

And in the center of their gazes stood me and the Young Lady.

‘Damn…’

As soon as I opened my eyes, I cursed.

There were no good memories associated with this place. The god’s malicious hobby naturally drew out my curses.

The courtroom.

I was standing in the place where I had met my end at the Academy.

The Young Lady, glaring at the people with a face that looked ready to explode, and me, clenching my fists and holding back my anger, came into view.

Chartia, who was presiding over the committee, and the witnesses—Mikhail, Yuria, the Crown Prince, and Ruin. Gathered in one place after a long time, they looked at our past selves with cold eyes.

And I looked at them, frozen in the past, with equally cold eyes.

‘…I don’t know how to feel about this.’

I thought I was fine, but seeing myself in that place from a third-party perspective made me let out an empty laugh.

‘Seriously… This is messed up.’

Standing there for a long time, I tightly closed my eyes and recalled the events of the past.

-Banish the Evil Villainess.

-Expel her!

-Don’t let her set foot in the Academy again!

-Boo!

Recalling the criticisms, rebukes, and curses that had filled that day, I felt a wave of melancholy. A regret arose that I hadn’t cursed more back then.

Even though it hadn’t even started yet, my mood was already quite sour.

I took a calm breath and raised my head.

-The viewing will begin in 10 minutes.

There’s no point in getting angry, but it seems I still have a long way to go before I can call myself an adult.

Time passed.

Time, which seemed like it wouldn’t move, began to take hesitant steps, awkwardly leaping forward to convey the truth called ‘restriction.’

Just as I was growing tired of waiting.

-The viewing begins.

A cold voice cautiously announced the beginning of the story.

“Ah. Ah…”

Chartia’s voice echoed.

The voice of the strong and cold-hearted Student Council President resonated through the hall, signaling the start of the recollection to the ears of the me standing in the center.

“From now on, we will commence the 307th Academy Countermeasures Committee.”

At Chartia’s declaration of the trial for the Evil Villainess, the audience began to murmur.

“Young Lady…”

“I told you, Ricardo.”

“…”

“If you treat them well, they’ll climb all over you endlessly. I could’ve been harsher, I could’ve just killed them, but this is what happens when I hold back.”

“Young Lady.”

“I’ll kill them.”

The whispered voices of my past self and the Young Lady quietly echoed. Our voices, which had been the most aggrieved and yet the protagonists of that day, rang out without anyone paying attention.

Chartia silently carried out her duties.

“The case we will address today concerns the violence, verbal abuse, threats, bullying, and use of dark magic by 1st Year Olivia on May 15th, and the determination of the disciplinary measures.”

Back then, I didn’t realize.

-Murmur, murmur.

-Again with the same thing?

-The rumors have already spread everywhere.

From a third-party perspective, seeing how blatantly they looked at us, I felt as if the fact that there was no one on our side in this courtroom was piercing my skin.

I knew it all along.

I let out an empty laugh, glancing at the Young Lady with her rage veins bulging and my past self, who had worried about her, with an awkward smile.

“Haa…”

The students claiming to be victims were stepping forward as witnesses one by one.

“That’s right. Olivia made us do everything…”

“I did make you do it, but you all went along with it too!”

“Kyaaah!”

“Make Ricardo kneel down right now.”

The Young Lady’s unfiltered reaction darkened the atmosphere of the courtroom, and naturally, public opinion was flowing against us.

I didn’t feel wronged.

Because we were in the wrong. Even now, I didn’t think we were falsely accused, nor did I want to argue about it. I only regretted not being able to curse at those who stood as witnesses back then.

Since I had no intention of becoming a hero, I cast aside my dark emotions and silently observed the events of the past.

The next witness to appear was Yuria.

“1st Year Yuria. Could you tell us about the situation where Olivia threatened and bullied you?”

-Nod.

Next was Mikhail.

“1st Year Mikhail. Could you testify about the evil deeds Olivia committed?”

“Yes, and I will also testify about that man, Ricardo.”

As the traces of evil deeds piled up one by one, both the Young Lady and my past self were left speechless, their mouths tightly shut.

The Young Lady, blinded by love, cried at the betrayal of someone she trusted.

My past self, who had extended generosity in what I thought was the best effort, waited for the trial to end with a bitter smile.

And then.

“Now, I will deliver the verdict. Regarding this case, the Academy Student Council Members are to expel Olivia, the main instigator, and impose one month of self-reflection and a one-year ban from the Ranking Tournament on Ricardo, who aided and abetted her.”

The moment the verdict was announced, all the criticism and rebuke from that day poured onto me.

“What did I do wrong!”

The Young Lady’s resentment.

“Get lost!”

The students’ grudges.

And the criticism from those we trusted rained down on us.

-Don’t ever show your face again.

-I will never forgive you.

-Idiot.

That day, I laughed and flipped them off with my middle finger, but one man followed me to the end, hurling curses.

“Are you really not going to apologize until the end?”

Facing Mikhail, who had come to me just like in the past, I stood there with a bitter smile.

And, as I always had, I responded with a smile.

[The perspective shifts.]

[The perspective moves to the moment when your kindness was taken as weakness.]

The perspective shifted.

It changed to the day I saved Mikhail from ‘Yung’ for the second time.

“Don’t act so high and mighty.”

And that day, I gave a different answer than in the past.

“Mikhail.”

“…”

“I’m disappointed.”

“What are you disappointed about? I never even wanted help from someone like you…”

“Lee Minhyuk.”

“What?”

“Don’t you remember?”

Mikhail’s face started to crack.

*

At that moment.

Mikhail began to breathe within the alternate future shown by the Blue Window.

“I…”

The face of the boy, once obscured in black, began to reveal itself.

Mikhail clenched his fists and slowly raised his head.

Under the Academy’s fountain square.

Hearing the voice of the man who called himself ‘him.’ Mikhail clenched his fists.

“Actually, I…”

And then.

‘Huh…?’

-Drip.

Tears began to fall.