The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

Chapter 6: Take Responsibility (1)

[Ruin Lv. 35]

[Job: Academy Student]

[Affinity: -70]

[Favorite Conversation Topics: Yuria]

[Disliked Conversation Topics: Inequality about Magic]

I gently press down on Ruin's head in hopes of him becoming more humble. A cute sound is made.

“Aaack…ugh… ack shitttttt! Let go!”

A sound as noisy as children's squeaky sneakers. It's oddly addictive.

Ruin squirms. It seems that he does not appreciate my disciplinary actions.

"Don't move. You're dirtying the floor."

It's hard to clean up, you know.

A small crack has appeared on the marble floor. I hit harder than I intended, trying to seal his mouth. But what can I do when I’m so angry?

I decided to blame Ruin.

The green-haired brat is at fault here.

I couldn't stand him pretending to be friendly with that nauseating face.

"Ruin."

"You bastard."

Grind. The sound of Ruin grinding his teeth could be heard. I firmly pressed his head in response.

"When people call you, answer with humility. Got it?"

I added one more thing.

"Ah right. And no cursing in our house."

Only Olivia is allowed to curse in this house.

Neither I nor outsiders were allowed to.

This was a rule set since the mistress was three years old. She said she was the only one who could.

She insisted, ‘It is my house, and I’ll do as I please.’ and as a butler, I had no choice but to obey.

Annoyed as I was with a guest who didn’t even know basic manners, it was a butler’s virtue to be gracious to such guests. With this, I forced myself to explain.

Cursing is bad, after all.

“Did I not tell you at the academy? You have to know when and where to say certain things.”

"Don’t try to teach me anything. Calf!"

"Don't yell. You’ll wake the Mistress."

I once again gently pressed down on the furiously squirming Ruin's head.

Ruin twisted his body violently and once again, created a red ball in his hand.

Swiftly standing up, Ruin was about to unleash a fireball towards my face. This fellow, with a green head, why is he using fire magic? He has no sense of romance.

While I judged Ruin who had lost his sense of romance, the hot sphere that Ruin had created nearly burned my face.

I didn’t try to avoid it.

It was created hastily and wasn’t very powerful. It didn't feel particularly threatening.

-Bang!

[‘Flame Resistance' negates ‘Ruin's' The magic.]

With a small alert sound, Ruin's fireball fizzled out instantly. Upon the disappearance of the dazzling light, I saw Ruin look utterly baffled.

I grabbed Ruin's wrist and slammed it to the floor.

Thunk.

“Aaack!!”

“Shh."

I once again humbly face Ruin down.

"Do you think you’ll be safe after doing this?"

"Do you think you would have been safe after this?"

Ruin thrashing about like a third-rate villain certainly did not strike me as a secondary male protagonist.

It seems he's still in love with ‘Yuria,' the protagonist’s name displayed on the affinity window. What can we do, his fate in the original story was to be harshly rejected.

While his sunflower-like figure was endearing, knowing Ruin’s future – a future where he would hear a rejection of being just good friends in the original story – made him appear pitiful.

"Wake up. Instead of complaining to Yuria about getting defeated every day, you should try to get some points by being a bread shuttle.”

“Don’t belittle me!”

“I wouldn’t belittle you if you didn’t appear so pitiful.”

Ruin is undoubtedly powerful.

In the novel, he begins to awaken fully while saving the female protagonist from harm, but even before awakening, Ruin is considerably powerful.

However, he had no talent in selecting his opponent.

It was Michail.

Or entities like the third princess.

There was even a record of him recklessly approaching Olivia and being utterly defeated.

"You should feel embarrassed at being defeated every day. Try to pick on someone you can handle."

I deliberately scratched at Ruin’s pride because it is only fair that he experiences what he made others undergo.

I could be seen as mean.

However, when considering the treatment these guys subjected me to at the academy, my actions are no different from those of a fairy.

And, I am a butler to an evil lady.

If you were to ask me to choose between good and evil, I'd undoubtedly fall into the category of evil. Of course, I am a kind person, but as a butler to an evil lady, I cannot go about getting beaten up like a pushover. Retaliation is something like an occupational hazard for me.

Current Ruin, who was probably cursing at me and grinding his teeth. He seemed desperate to escape from my grip, wriggling his body.

With the sound of sparking flames bursting from his hands and the heated sensation on my back, it seemed he was continuously firing magic.

It's not as if he is a fish, would’ve been nice if he stayed still for a moment, unfortunately, I only have two hands.

"Have you not changed at all in a year?"

While ignoring his magic weaker than a mosquito bite, I muttered the status window in my mind.

[Ricardo Lv. 59]

[Occupation]

Swordsman – (Sword Expert)

Butler – (Pro)

[Status]

Strength: 59

Stamina: 119

Agility: 58

Magic Power: 31

[Traits]

?Offensive

[Swordsmanship Lv.5], [Martial Arts Lv.5], [Dagger Skill Lv.5], [Great Sword Skill Lv.5], [Spear Skill Lv.5]

?Defensive

[Poison Resistance Lv.5], [Fire Resistance Lv.3], [Magic Resistance Lv.3], [Lightning Resistance Lv.1], [Cold Resistance Lv.3], [Dark Magic Resistance Lv.3], [Curse Resistance Lv.3], [Mental Resistance Lv.5]

?Skills

[Aura(A)]

[Genius of Weapon Skill(S)]

[Regeneration(A)]

[Limit Break(L)]

Anyone can see that it's a solid status.

Contained within it were the concentrated efforts of the past 13 years.

I believe the main character of a novel with resurrection as a primary theme should at least have immunity to all poisons as a basic virtue.

Not a choice, but a necessity.

Assassination inevitably follows the protagonist.

There will undoubtedly be villains who will resent the protagonist for faring better than them, and inevitably, there will be someone who will attempt to assassinate them.

I was afraid of that.

As someone who knows the future

No matter how quietly you try to live, you're bound to stand out. Pretending not to know when you know is the fate of those who have taken possession of a new body.

The priority of those who have incarnated should be to keep healthy, shouldn't it?

Therefore, I had happily eaten poison with the Lady Villain. The reason was simple to build up resistance in my body.

-Ricardo, my stomach hurts.

-It’s okay. It’s good for your body.

-I think it's because of the mushroom soup you made earlier.

-How was the mushroom?

-It was fabulous.

-That's a good thing.

Prepared individuals are also the strongest. Therefore, I accumulated many abilities related to resistance.

I used the original story to build up my resistance and polished the incidents that didn't interfere with the story to make my body stronger.

And I sucked honey through the affection quests.

13 years have passed since I incarnated, it would be appropriate to take away the incarnator's badge if I got trampled by the secondary male protagonist.

While looking at the status window with a satisfying smile.

"Gulp!"

I could hear the sound of hiccupping.

It was Hanna, the companion of the green-headed. She was staring at me and hiccupping.

"Hiccup.."

"Ah…"

"Hiccup… hiccup!"

"I apologize for displaying such a state. It seems I got too excited after meeting a friend after a long time."

"A friend…?"

"Yes, a friend."

Hanna wanted to go home.

Ignoring her sentiment, I delved into a deep conversation with the guest.

"Ruin."

"This monster."

There's no sign of his arrogance dwindling.

‘Should I knock him out?'

A red aura flowed out of my hand.

***

Hanna was flabbergasted.

‘Why is he manifesting an aura?'

Aura is a symbol of talent. Among adept knights, their time of ascertaining aura determined their ranking of talent. The earliest anyone in the empire managed to awaken their aura was at the age of 25. Why is that man using an aura as though it is a part of his body?

Even Michail, touted as a prodigy at the academy, hasn't yet manifested an aura.

-Crack.

The sight of the butler playing with Ruin's head as if it were a toy sent chills down Hanna’s spine.

‘Who is that man?'

Hanna could do nothing but quietly observe the scene unfold.

***

"Aaaaaack!! I am going to kill you, you bastard!"

"Your voice is too loud." Crack.

A violent breaking sound echoed throughout the room.

"I clearly told you that the lady will wake up."

"So what! Whether that woman is awake or not is none of my business!"

"It is your business."

I told him bluntly.

"If not, you will never be able to speak again within your life."

I hold no ill feelings towards Ruin. On the contrary, I was glad to see a friend after such a long time. It's just that we carry intense emotions, courtesy of a history filled with numerous events between us. However, I firmly believed that if we resolved our past issues and engaged in a friendly discussion, we could rekindle our friendship.

"There is still no magic that can restore one's voice, right? If you want to invent one, you should keep yelling."

Only then did Ruin fall silent. I decided it was time to establish some concepts for Ruin, who now seemed willing to have a conversation.

"You can curse me in the academy, even our young lady."

There, everyone is equal. The academy is where one can even talk down to the princess. Since there are rules, they must be followed. Of course, the ensuing retaliation is one's burden to bear—but, no matter what, the freedom of speech is guaranteed in the academy.

"But our house is not the same."

Force went into the grip. It didn't seem like I was angry. Nonetheless, it looked like a switch had been flipped on.

‘This could be dangerous.'

I had a hunch. If Ruin continued to provoke me, his charade as the secondary male lead might just end.

I spoke gently, aiming not to provoke Ruin any further.

"I’m just worried that you might make a mistake outside. You aren't going to live in the academy forever."

I meant it. A tragedy could take place where one happily living in a greenhouse like the academy might, one day, enter society and casually call an aristocrat ‘Yo, long time no see!', losing their head as a result.

"So listen carefully."

These are words from someone who has experienced society.

"Don't you dare act up. You might just end up dead."

***

I knocked out Ruin and then walked towards Hanna.

Flinching and shrugging her shoulders…

Extending my hand towards her, I apologized.

"I'm sorry."

"Ah… It's okay."

I bowed my head, filled with regret.

"I’m sorry. I'm at a loss for words for showing you such an unpleasant sight."

"It's okay. But, I have another appointment."

Hanna packed her bags in a hurry. It seemed like she wanted to leave the house as soon as possible. I cautiously blocked her way.

"No, your companion will take some time to wake up. Please take a break."

"I'm okay!"

I said firmly.

"Please go up to the second floor and rest."

"What??"

I lifted my head and looked towards the second floor.

"It's too noisy─────Damn it!!!"

A familiar voice echoed. I glared at Ruin, who had conveniently fallen comfortably unconscious. I truly wanted to kill him.

"It seems like our lady has woken up. I need you to keep her company."

If awakened, one needs to take responsibility.

I had no intention of letting her leave until she put our lady back to sleep.