The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 145

The spinning chandelier.

A faint vibration felt from the floor.

A foreboding sign that only those with sharp senses could detect began to emerge in the banquet hall.

I lifted my head and looked at the ceiling.

‘Is it starting already?’

-Spin, spin.

The chandelier was subtly swaying.

As the shadow of the chandelier moved in circles, as if an earthquake had struck, I swallowed dryly and fell into thought.

‘What should I prioritize?’

The growth of the protagonists?

Or ensuring Yuria’s absolute safety?

Whichever choice I made, the conclusion was tied to the success of the quest. I would fight to protect Yuria, and the protagonists would also fight while keeping Yuria’s safety in mind.

What I had to decide was whether to actively intervene in the eradication of the heretics or to focus on observing with a passive stance.

If I wanted to ensure a definitive resolution, stepping in myself was the best option. If I wished for the protagonists’ growth, silently watching was the correct answer.

‘This is troublesome.’

I just want to play with the Young Lady already.

A raid means attacking suddenly at an unexpected time. That was the ultimate goal and reason behind the method of a raid.

This heretic invasion was of that kind.

Two Archbishops.

20 Inquisitors.

A task force of 30 fanatics was formed with the sole purpose of swiftly kidnapping Yuria.

They were all more experienced than the Academy students and, above all, possessed a resolve that defied death.

Stealth and strike.

Speed and precision.

The heretics’ greatest weapon, more than explosive force, was their conviction, which prioritized speed.

The fanatics, who willingly sacrificed their lives for their cause, were not opponents the sheltered Academy students could handle.

Each of them individually had combat power on par with or slightly below that of the Academy students, but their conviction alone gave them an overwhelming advantage.

Especially the Archbishops, whose presence was on a level incomparable to the Academy students. Only I could face them; for Mikhail and Ruin as they were now, even holding out would be difficult.

If they suddenly struck during a calm moment, everyone would panic and fail to utilize their full strength.

The elite heretic group, composed solely to kidnap Yuria, was like a swarm of locusts.

The User of the Eyes of Divinity was desperately needed by the heretics as well.

Due to the nature of the ball, only a few people were allowed to carry weapons. Unless they were part of the Disciplinary Committee or the Student Council Guards, carrying weapons was prohibited.

I was also included in this rule.

Tirbing was not in my hands right now. To be precise, I didn’t have it with me at the moment. I had wanted to bring it into the banquet hall, but taking the risk of being expelled wasn’t a good choice.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. To attend the ball, I had to abide by the Academy’s rules, so I hid Tirbing in a corner of the banquet hall and attended the ball.

I hid it in a place where I could retrieve it quickly if I wanted to.

Since the sword Tirbing itself had the drawback of captivating its opponent, leaving it with the guards wasn’t an option, and I didn’t want to cause unnecessary trouble.

Lost in thought, I let out a deep sigh as I stared at the chandelier.

‘This is frustrating.’

I had two weapons.

One was a sword, and the other was the newly acquired Thunderbolt, a unique magic.

-Snap.

I flicked my fingers, creating a small static electricity in my hand.

‘Crackle.’ A red electric discharge sparked as mana was consumed. I was starting to get a sense of how to use it.

Magic that activated spontaneously without a spell formula. Thunderbolt, which didn’t require complex calculations, consumed a lot of mana but seemed to impose no restrictions on its form.

‘Is this actually fortunate?’

As I thought about ways to use it, like moving it as if it were part of my body or layering it onto my sword, I gathered my mana.

‘I’ll know once I try it.’

Having something is always better than having nothing.

While I was lost in complicated thoughts about the application of magic.

“Butler!”

A girl waving enthusiastically from a corner of the banquet hall caught my eye.

A girl with brown hair fluttering in a yellow dress, waving her hand energetically.

Histania Hanna was waving cheerfully and greeting me. Seeing Hanna tiptoeing to try and catch a glimpse of my face brought a small smile to my lips.

‘It seems she’s been doing well.’

Hanna, bouncing up and down, looked healthy.

I didn’t know what she had been up to during the vacation, but I immediately noticed that the energy emanating from her was different from before.

The once aimless and wandering flow of mana was now steady, and her movements carried a newfound confidence. She resembled Rowen, the Head of Histania.

I had read in the status window that she possessed talent comparable to Rowen, but to this extent?

Hiding my pride, I waved back at Hanna.

“It’s been a while, Miss Hanna.”

“Yes! Just a moment…!”

Hanna was making her way toward me, cutting through the crowd.

‘I was planning to look for her, but this works out well.’

It was the first time I’d seen Hanna since the Histania Estate.

She had disappeared for a while, and I wondered where she had gone, but seeing her lively appearance put my mind at ease.

If not for Hanna, I wouldn’t have been able to enter the ball.

-Hey.

-Yes, Boss.

-Not Boss, Malik.

-Yes, Brother.

-…Sigh. Do you have time three days from now?

-If you need me to, I can clear my schedule immediately.

-That won’t be necessary. Ugh… Hanna gave me a ball invitation, but I have something going on that day.

-Ah…

-If you’re free, could you go in my place? I’ll make sure to compensate you for the extra time.

-I’m honored.

-Can you stop with the over-the-top flattery?

-Are you asking me to stop breathing?

-Sigh…

As soon as I arrived at the ball, I had tried to find Hanna, but Yuria’s situation suddenly escalated, and I couldn’t. I was grateful that Hanna appeared before me like this.

Though not part of the quest, Hanna also needed to be protected.

Before I knew it, Hanna, now standing right in front of me, bowed her head to Yuria and looked up at me with bright, shining eyes.

“Butler! It’s been so long.”

“Yes, have you been well?”

“Yes…! Um, I saw it earlier.”

“What did you see?”

I scratched my chin awkwardly with an uneasy smile. I felt embarrassed, thinking I might have shown an unsightly side of myself.

Hanna, seemingly unaware of my thoughts, continued speaking with an admiring expression.

“You cursing at that green-haired head. It was so cool! Later, I want to…!”

Hanna, who was glad it was me instead of my brother, said I looked even more handsome now and showered me with embarrassing praise.

I gave a small smile and patted Hanna’s head.

“I’m glad to see you’re healthy.”

“Thanks to you, I’ve been doing well.”

“No, I didn’t do anything.”

That’s a relief.

Having everyone I needed to protect in one place eased my burden. If they had been scattered, I would have had to find them one by one. I smiled with satisfaction as I chatted with Hanna.

Although an awkward tension lingered between Yuria and Hanna, the conversation flowed naturally.

Just as the topic of the Young Lady’s recent activities was about to come up.

-Boom.

A heavy silence began to flow.

From the banquet hall, the urgent muttering of Student Council President Chartia could be heard.

“The guards…! Why aren’t they responding…!”

Chartia’s ominous muttering seemed to foreshadow the misfortune about to unfold.

Hanna, with trembling eyes, looked up at the ceiling of the banquet hall. Then, turning to me, she murmured, asking if I had felt it too.

As her master, I felt immense pride in Hanna’s growth.

After all, fools like Mikhail and Ruin were too busy enjoying the banquet to notice anything.

With a small smile, I spoke to Hanna.

“It seems we have a guest.”

“…”

“Hmm… What should we do?”

-Boom.

Hanna, staring at the violently shaking chandelier as if it might fall, gathered aura in her hands. I, too, released a faint aura as I waited.

-Crackle…

The ceiling of the banquet hall, now cracked, gave no time for hesitation as countless fragments began to rain down to the floor.

Amid the collapsing ceiling, the bright moon started to reveal itself.

The chandelier fell to the center.

Amidst the debris pouring down from the banquet hall ceiling.

Silhouettes wearing black hoods began to kneel rapidly in the center of the banquet hall, one by one.

In their midst, a man dressed in a white cleric robe descended gracefully.

The cleric spread his arms and smiled.

Though his face was obscured by the hood, the mana emanating from him unmistakably signified that he was an archbishop.

“Good evening, everyone.”

The antagonist of the novel, the relatively minor Archbishop of Blasphemy, Mirvael, smiled as he gazed at the sky. Then, a man began walking toward the kneeling heretics.

A young nobleman with an ordinary face roughly swept back his hair as he strode toward the group of heretics.

As the space distorted and his face transformed, Ruin’s expression began to twist.

“Hans…!”

“It’s been a while, Archbishop of Greed.”

“It’s been a while, Archbishop of Blasphemy.”

The story was finally beginning in earnest.

And then.

Hans, with an awkward smile, spoke to the Archbishop of Blasphemy.

“Let’s retreat.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“The plan has failed. That monster…”

-Flash…!

In an instant, red lightning began to strike above Hans’ head.

-Boom!!!

Amid the relentless barrage of red lightning, I pierced through the rising black smoke with a small smile.

“No, that won’t do.”

I couldn’t let them leave before it even began.

*

A long time passed.

Ricardo, like a madman, began unleashing bolts of lightning, subtly cutting off the heretics’ escape routes.

It was peculiar.

Mikhail felt a strange emotion as he noticed the lightning avoiding the archbishop while striking dangerously close to the Academy students.

He began to wonder, “Why?”

While it was surprising that Ricardo was using magic, what shocked Mikhail even more was that Ricardo was helping others.

Grinding his teeth as lightning fell near him during moments of danger, Mikhail grew increasingly frustrated by the sudden situations caused by the unfinished heretics.

As the question “Why?” crossed Mikhail’s mind once more, encircling his hand.

-Whoosh…!

A cleric’s sword, clad in white, grazed his cheek.

Mikhail stared at the cleric with trembling eyes.

“Hehehe… What is the meaning of this?”

“…”

“I’ve never heard of such a monster existing before.”

A strength he had never felt before.

Gripping his sword tighter in response to the overwhelming killing intent, Mikhail steadied himself.

-Crackle!

Once again, red lightning struck, aiding Mikhail.