The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 4

Olivia’s Favorability has increased by +50.

‘What the…?’

While peacefully basking in the morning sunlight and doing photosynthesis, I suddenly noticed the increased Favorability and rushed to the Young Lady’s Room.

Even Bitcoin has never skyrocketed like this.

Did she have Sweet Dreams or something?

Thinking about the ever-enigmatic Young Lady, I arrived at her room and found the room’s owner burning with a fever.

[Desmond Olivia Lv. 0.5]

[Occupation: Unemployed]

[Favorability: 50]

[Favorite Conversation Topic: Mikhail]

New!

[Least Favorite Conversation Topic: Mikhail]

Hmm.

A newly appeared Favorability.

Something had happened while she was asleep.

But what kind of situation is it when her likes and dislikes overlap? My head hurt from the morning.

***

The wet towel quickly became warm.

Looking at the groaning Young Lady, I thought to myself.

‘She definitely slept without a blanket.’

I used to nag her until my mouth was sore to cover herself with a blanket, but Olivia, who caught a summer cold that even dogs don’t catch in summer, annoyed me.

“Cough, cough. Hooeeek! Cough-cough-cough!”

The Young Lady was coughing violently.

It didn’t seem like it would end in a day or two.

Should I take her to the hospital?

I couldn’t possibly drag the Young Lady, who hated going outside, to a hospital, and calling a doctor would cost a fortune.

“Cough. Cough… Water.”

“Yes.”

Compromising with reality, I stayed by the Young Lady’s side.

The maid who came to work was tasked with cleaning the estate. If the maid caught a cold, it would be troublesome.

If the maid took a sick leave, both taking care of the Young Lady and cleaning would fall on me. I might manage for a day, but I wasn’t confident about handling it for two days.

Especially not the bath.

Hiring a new maid was also impossible. Finding someone willing to work in the Villainess’s House, which was ostracized by High Society, was impossible.

Everyone avoided working in Our Mansion.

Even if we offered a higher salary than other estates, most people still declined.

They said they didn’t want the experience of working in the Villainess’s House on their resume. Wouldn’t it actually be a good credential? If they could serve our troublesome Young Lady, they’d surely get recognition.

My regrets kept piling up.

Gulp.

The Lady Villainess, having finished drinking her water, placed the cup neatly on the table.

She seemed like she had something to say.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly opened her mouth.

“Ricardo.”

“Yes. Tonight’s dinner will be porridge.”

“I hate porridge….”

Olivia, trying to complain about the inhumane dinner menu of porridge, reflexively pouted before saying, ‘Oops,’ and got to the main point.

“You know, about that day when I was sick.”

“The day you were sick? Hmm….”

I touched my lips with my hand.

The day she was sick.

That day….

A woman being sick.

‘Ah!’

I thought of the Day of Magic for women.

“It’s still a bit early for that, isn’t it?”

Olivia’s face instantly turned red.

“Cough…! What are you talking about, you pervert! And how do you even know that?”

I proudly replied.

“Isn’t it a butler’s duty? This is basic knowledge.”

“Shut up!”

Olivia’s face turned red.

It was already flushed from the fever, but now it looked like it might explode.

Olivia grabbed the wet towel from her forehead and threw it at my face.

“Ugh!”

With a splat, the wet towel slipped down my face. I naturally rinsed it again in the bucket of ice water.

Olivia was fuming.

“Creepy pervert. Is that all that’s in your head?”

“This is perfectly normal for a 23-year-old healthy Young Man. And what’s so improper about it? It’s a perfectly natural bodily function!”

“Shut up!”

“Hmph…”

She trembled with anger.

Sure enough, a clear notification sound rang in my head.

[Olivia’s Favorability has decreased by 10.]

Indeed, just as her Rocket Rise was artistic.

Her Plummeting Fall was also a work of art.

From today, your name shall be Dojiria.

Olivia cleared her throat.

She seemed quite startled by the sudden joke. I was being sincere, but her reaction of coughing and saying, ‘Don’t joke around,’ was a masterpiece.

If I could record it and show it to the Academy students, it might help recover Public Sentiment, but alas.

“You know, about the day I used Dark Magic.”

“Ah. So it wasn’t that day.”

“You little….”

“I’m sorry. It was just too satisfying.”

It was the first time Olivia had ever talked about that day.

What sudden wind blew in her direction?

Whenever I tried to bring up that day, she would turn away and lie down or get very angry, yet now she brought it up herself.

Was it the Nightmare she mentioned?

I always thought she dreamt of being dumped by Mikhail, as usual, but this was a bit unexpected.

Olivia’s gaze was fixed on me.

She exhaled hot breaths, her strong will to hear an answer evident.

As the memories of that day briefly surfaced, I rubbed my sleeve-covered arm.

The memory from a year ago was still vivid.

That was the last Affinity Quest, wasn’t it?

[Main Quest: ‘Two Lifelines’]

◈In unrequited love, Olivia attempts to use Dark Magic.

1. Go to the second floor and save Olivia.

Rewards

1. Olivia’s Survival

2. Olivia’s Favorability +1

3. Trait [Dark Magic Resistance Lv.3]

Penalty: 50% chance of death.

2. Neglect.

Compensation.

1. All Characters’ Favorability +10.

2. Magic Stat +30.

3. Trait [White Magic Lv.3].

Penalty: Olivia’s Death.

That day, Olivia was screaming.

Of course, I chose Olivia.

That was all.

Olivia didn’t need to know the details. It was enough for me to keep that day’s incident to myself.

“Why are you suddenly bringing up that day?”

“No reason, just curious.”

Olivia turned her head toward the window.

From before, whenever she lied or faced an uncomfortable topic, she would always turn her head.

I was certain.

Olivia’s nightmare was a memory of that day.

“What could our Young Lady be curious about to bring up this story?”

It was quite a difficult question to answer.

Even for me, speaking about it was hard.

And Olivia, asking about it, must feel the same.

That’s why we’re in this situation now.

Olivia lost her legs.

I lost my patron.

Even so, Olivia seemed curious enough to ask me.

“How did you save me?”

Olivia’s sharp gaze was fixed on me. Whether she had a hunch or was still angry that I interfered with her use of Dark Magic back then, I couldn’t tell.

Since Olivia often resented me for that day’s incident, I was cautious about speaking.

“I just went in.”

“It was 4 a.m. You should have been asleep, right?”

“Do you know when I sleep?”

“If you’re human, you sleep at 4 a.m.”

“I might not be human.”

“Don’t joke around.”

I removed the wet towel from her forehead.

Olivia struggled as she sat up, looking directly at me, and spoke each word clearly.

“I’ve thought about it carefully. I’m certain I cast Silence Magic perfectly outside.”

“Couldn’t it have been a mistake?”

“No. I don’t make mistakes with basic magic.”

There was no way to know Olivia’s true feelings.

Was she scolding me?

Or was she genuinely curious?

Either way, the fact was Olivia was asking me, and I had no intention of telling her.

What’s the point of bringing up bad memories?

Wouldn’t it be better to let things be?

I pressed my hand firmly against Olivia’s forehead.

The Lady Villainess, powerless, flopped back onto the bed. She seemed to be pushing herself too hard despite having a fever.

“Telepathy.”

“No, tell me properly.”

“Haven’t I served you for 13 years? Friendship, love, salary! All of it came together beautifully, so I must have displayed superhuman strength.”

“No…!”

Splat.

I covered Olivia’s entire face with the towel.

I decided to shut my mouth. Exciting a patient is forbidden, after all.

“Ughhhhhhh!”

The Young Lady flailed and screamed.

I cast ‘Not My Problem’ and got up from the bed.

“Later. I’ll tell you later.”

***

At that time, Olivia’s estate.

Had the garden caretaker gone on strike? The front gate was overgrown with lush greenery.

A young man and woman in neatly worn school uniforms stood before it.

“Is this a haunted house?”

“Be quiet, Senior.”

Faced with a scene that hardly resembled a livable home, the woman couldn’t deny the man’s words.

The man standing next to her spoke nonchalantly.

“At this point, shouldn’t we call adventurers instead of coming ourselves? No matter how you look at it, this is a dungeon. And the house’s owner is basically a monster, right?”

His casual attitude was no different from that of a delinquent. Who would believe he was part of the Student Council seeing him like this?

The woman thought the man was pathetic.

“I told you to be quiet.”

The man with light green hair, hands in his pockets, mocking the estate, was Ruin, a student of the Imperial Academy and the Disciple of the Master of the Tower.

“Excuse me, Senior Ruin.”

She responded stiffly.

Like him, she was also a student of the Imperial Academy.

The top ranker of the 1st Year Swordsmanship Department.

And the secretary of the Student Council, Hanna.

The reason the two students came to the house of an expelled student was simple.

The Student Council President ordered them to.

To confirm the intent to return to school of a student named Ricardo, who had submitted a leave of absence request, the two executives made the rare trip.

Hanna, standing before the front gate, glanced at the estate’s wall.

[Banish the Wicked Villainess to the Monastery.]

A discomforting phrase.

As rumored, it was fitting for the house of an Evil Villainess.

She had heard from her seniors.

There was once the worst villainess at the school.

Slapping everyone she saw.

Discriminating and looking down on commoners and nobles alike, a truly vicious woman.

Especially tormenting and stalking Senior Mikhail relentlessly…. As someone who had a crush on Mikhail, it was deeply unsettling for her.

Frankly, she didn’t want to come here either.

The senior she admired.

The one called a saint, Senior Mikhail, had described this woman as ‘the worst,’ and she had no idea what such a person might do to her.

She could start cursing her out.

Or she could have a servant dump a bucket full of filth on her. The thought made her steps heavy.

But what choice did she have?

She was the youngest in the Student Council. A mere 1st year.

As a low-ranking 1st year, she had to quietly follow orders.

‘Sigh… I really don’t want to go.’

Hanna tightly gripped the letter in her hand.

‘Originally, I wanted to come here with Senior Mikhail and show him how I put this woman in her place.’

Senior Mikhail had refused to come.

Instead, her companion was Senior Ruin, standing beside her.

With a Peculiar Personality, they weren’t well-regarded in the Student Council, but as the Top Ranker of the Magic Department, their skills were undeniable.

The President assigned them just in case, though.

“Hehe, let’s go in quickly. I want to mess with her.”

They didn’t seem particularly reliable.

Hanna made a decision.

To leave this Estate as soon as possible, and to have a word with that Villainess before doing so.

With trembling hands, she knocked on the Estate’s door.