The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 246

It is raining.

Rain, heavy with regret, fell between the two of us, soaking the scars of memories that could not be erased.

-Ssshhh.

Mikhail was looking at me.

Standing silently in place, he gazed at me with rain-soaked eyes.

His lips twitched as if he wanted to say something, but Mikhail shut his eyes tightly, his shoulders trembling.

“I…”

What could have happened?

Mikhail trembled like someone gripped by fear. He couldn’t meet my eyes, his gaze darting around as though unsure where to settle.

I didn’t know what had happened, but as I looked into Mikhail’s melancholy eyes, I offered a faint smile.

“Miss Misa.”

Just as always.

*

I couldn’t say a word.

“Miss Misa.”

His gentle voice asked a question, but I couldn’t answer. I couldn’t even manage the simple word “Yes,” nor could I meet his eyes.

Mikhail couldn’t think of what to say, how to begin, so he didn’t dare open his mouth.

Those scarlet eyes staring back at him.

Seeing the shoulders he once hated from behind, realizing they belonged to him, made Mikhail’s heart ache.

-Ssshhh.

Ricardo, standing in the rain, held an umbrella over my head and smiled. It was that same inscrutable smile I had despised so much.

My heart ached.

It hurt so much… that it was hard to breathe.

“…I.”

What had I done?

“I…”

Who had I hated?

“I… I.”

Why… had I done it?

A tsunami of regret overwhelmed me. Even if I wanted to deny it, the regret that gripped my heart refused to let go.

It was as if my heart screamed at me not to speak carelessly.

It pounded wildly, as if to say, “With what face do you dare to lift your head?”

“Are you okay?”

Ricardo looked at me with worried eyes.

-Are you okay?

-Don’t pretend to care; it’s disgusting.

-…You seem fine, judging by the way you’re talking.

His voice, mingled with the mistakes of the past, echoed in my ears.

“Miss Misa, you don’t look well. It’s raining like this, and you’re out here without an umbrella…”

-Are you some kind of training freak? It’s pouring rain, and yet you’re still training?

-Don’t worry about it. It’s none of your business.

-Even so.

-Don’t cover me with that filthy umbrella…!

The umbrella I had dropped on the ground back then flashed before my eyes.

Ricardo’s pitying expression overlapped with the image of that child in my memory. The child who always smiled at me and never spoke harshly.

I had finally found the path I had been searching for at the crossroads. I had learned not only that the child had survived but also who he was and what goals had driven him. Yet here I stood, unable to say a word.

Mikhail couldn’t meet Ricardo’s eyes directly.

After all, it was none other than Mikhail who had expelled him from the Academy, where graduation guaranteed success. Mikhail resented his past self, who had spoken such cruel words to Ricardo.

“Why…”

There were so many things I wanted to ask.

Why would someone as radiant as you become Olivia’s butler? Why did you, who once showed mercy to an irritable orphan, turn into someone who tormented the weak?

There were so many things I wanted to ask.

But Mikhail couldn’t bring himself to speak.

Perhaps.

“Why did you…”

Perhaps everything had been for my sake. I didn’t dare to open my mouth.

“…”

Knowing that too much time had passed to mend the rift between us, I tread cautiously.

He wouldn’t know. That’s why he hadn’t revealed his identity to me. Perhaps he didn’t want to be an obstacle, or maybe he didn’t want to remain as someone who remembered his slum origin. If it were him, that would make sense.

“…”

Memories of the things Ricardo had done began to surface in my mind.

The time he deliberately lost to me in the ranking tournament.

-What are you doing…? Fight until the end.

-I thought you’d be a better fit than me.

-Are you mocking me?

The time he smiled brightly at me as I stood outside during the Academy Fire.

-Why are you smiling?

-I’m just glad.

The moment I realized that everything I had hated was done for my sake, my heart felt like it was being torn apart.

“I never once said anything kind to you.”

“I told you I didn’t need help from someone like you.”

Yet he had silently helped me despite my criticism. The realization made it impossible for Mikhail to lift his head. The reflection of himself in the rainwater was unbearably hideous.

His clenched fists began to tremble.

His nails seemed to dig into his skin, but it didn’t hurt. His heart hurt far more.

“Like that…”

Ricardo stood before me, looking at me with eyes filled with concern—not for Mikhail the man, but for Misa the woman.

I couldn’t tell what emotions he held.

Whether they were positive or negative, I wanted to know, but I didn’t have the courage to ask.

Ricardo continued to look at me.

Even as the rain soaked his back, he smiled gently, his gaze fixed on me.

“Don’t look at me like that.”

Because if you knew who I was, you’d hate me.

“Please, don’t look at me like that.”

You know what I did to you—how I treated you so cruelly, pushed you away, insulted you, and humiliated you. So why do you look at me with those eyes? Mikhail bit his lip and clenched his fists.

It felt like his heart was about to break down.

His wildly beating heart seemed shackled by the weight of guilt, refusing to beat freely. It felt as though it was kicking him, saying, “You don’t deserve this. Remember what you said.”

“That’s right. I know.”

If Ricardo had said it out loud.

If he had lost control and burst out in anger, even this opportunity wouldn’t exist.

The chance to see his face.

The chance to see that smile.

The chance to hear his voice.

Mikhail, hidden behind the Mask of Misa, looked at Ricardo. To Ricardo, the man named Mikhail would surely be a nightmare.

Even though this was the truest version of himself and the one he most wanted to face Ricardo with, Mikhail confronted him wearing the Mask of Lies.

If Ricardo knew the truth—that he was Mikhail—who knew how he would react? Honestly, the thought terrified him.

He didn’t know how to face him.

-Why have you suddenly become so kind?

He didn’t know how to look at him.

-Act as you always do. Tell me to get lost. Say you don’t need someone like me.

He feared being hurt by Ricardo’s cold demeanor. Even though what he had done was far worse.

Mikhail knew that these thoughts were nothing more than pitiful excuses, but he was more afraid of being hated by him, so he decided to wear the Mask of Lies.

Ricardo, looking into Mikhail’s trembling eyes, finally opened his tightly closed lips.

“Did you ask why I’m looking at you like that?”

With a small chuckle, Ricardo smiled faintly, shading Mikhail’s head with the umbrella, and spoke in a calm voice.

“A beauty standing miserably in the rain—how could I just pass by? I’m not someone who can do that.”

“…”

Ricardo, smiling faintly at the hesitant Mikhail, spoke again.

“The sword. Didn’t you say you wanted to learn it?”

“…Yes.”

“I’m not often in the capital, but… if you come down to Hamel, I’ll teach you.”

“…”

“But don’t come to my estate directly. Make sure to leave a letter. Something like, ‘I’ll be here at this time, please make time for me.'”

Ricardo glanced around and added in a playful tone.

“There’s a terrifying monster living in our estate… If it catches you, you’ll die.”

Mikhail nodded.

His eyes brimmed with tears.

Holding onto the chasm of regret within his heart, he nodded with a heavy heart.

Just having a way to talk to him was enough. Approaching him with the name Mikhail was unthinkable, so he believed that wearing a mask and approaching him was all he could do.

He knew this wasn’t the best way, and it might even be the worst choice, but Mikhail couldn’t let this opportunity slip away.

“Can I…?”

“Yes.”

“Can I really do that?”

“Hmm…”

Ricardo handed the umbrella to Mikhail, smiling.

“If you offer me a token of sincerity, it’s possible.”

Watching Mikhail lower his head, hidden under the umbrella, Ricardo nodded and bid him farewell.

“You’ll catch a cold.”

“…”

“And don’t cry.”

‘Ah…’

For a moment, Ricardo’s face overlapped with the face of the boy in his memory.

Just like that rainy day when he handed over the cardboard box he had been using to shield his head.

-Because it’s ugly. Don’t cry.

“Because you’ll look ugly. Don’t cry.”

It was the same.

After Ricardo disappeared from the street.

-Thump.

Mikhail collapsed onto the ground and wept endlessly.

Dropping the umbrella onto the street, he cried helplessly.

“Huhuhu… Huaaah… I…”

“Now… Hic… Hic… Huaaah.”

“Ah… I… What do I do now…”

He pounded his chest endlessly as tears streamed down his face.

***

Today as well, Darvav’s Estate was peaceful.

“Father.”

“…It’s fine. Father will take care of everything.”

“Older Brother agrees too.”

“Mother will allow it as well.”

Sitting on the floor, Olivia picked her nose, bearing the full weight of the family’s expectations.

“Hmmph.”

Olivia shook her head and spoke calmly.

“No. What if it fails again?”

“What’s the worst that can happen? A demotion? Father values the present more than such trivial things.”

“I’ve sent all the servants home, so it’s fine. I’ve also layered barriers two or three times over. If anyone comes in, they’ll leave this world without a trace, so don’t worry.”

“Mother will help too.”

I stopped the Young Lady from putting her finger in her mouth and smiled.

“That’s not for eating.”

“…It’s not?”

“No.”

“…”

The Young Lady smiled bashfully and nodded.

“Then, shall we begin?”

The Desmond Family was full of anticipation as they watched the Young Lady roll up her sleeves.

“Eeeek!!!!”

They were waiting for Little Olivia.