The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 217

Olaf’s head fell to the ground.

The Pillar of Evil, who had been strong and had killed Yuria’s Father in the novel, was meeting his end at the hands of the Villainess’s Butler.

“Haa…”

I couldn’t believe it.

I couldn’t believe that I had killed an Apostle with my own hands. An Apostle who was powerful and had never lost to anyone—defeated by me. Honestly, I had braced myself for a mutual destruction scenario, so I was relieved that things turned out well.

I quietly muttered as I moved the Apostle’s severed head to a place where the Young Lady couldn’t see it.

“It’s over.”

After all, the Young Lady, who should only see beautiful things, shouldn’t witness something like this.

After hiding the Apostle’s corpse behind the building debris, I confirmed that Olaf’s body was no longer moving and looked down at my clenched fist.

-Craaaack….

It was the same fist as always, but it felt different. It felt solid, brimming with strength. It felt as if I had become a different being.

So, this is what it means to be a Sword Master.

Nothing seemed to have changed significantly, yet I felt like I could do anything. Like I wouldn’t be afraid to face the Sword of the Empire.

I wanted to call out the Status Window in my mind, but I hesitated for a moment and checked on the Young Lady’s safety. Extending my lifespan was good, but the Young Lady’s well-being came first.

I couldn’t help but think that the Young Lady, who had used Dark Magic powerful enough to overwhelm an Apostle, wouldn’t be in good shape.

Severe internal injuries.

Or aftereffects.

Feeling a foreboding sense of unease, I quickly turned my gaze toward the Young Lady.

“Young Lady!”

“Ungnya.”

Leaning against the wall, the Young Lady had a dazed expression and seemed limp. Fortunately, it seemed she had only sustained minor internal injuries, as she waved at me with a calm look in her eyes.

“Young Lady!?”

One peculiar thing was—

“Stubby.”

The Young Lady’s body had changed.

I looked at her, my voice filled with confusion, as I stared at the now tiny, almost dwarf-like Young Lady.

It wasn’t anything too extraordinary.

She didn’t grow four arms or shrink to just a torso like a Dwarf.

It was more like—

Her cheeks had puffed up adorably.

Her eyes had become sharper and more piercing.

She now looked so harmless that no matter what she did, she couldn’t appear evil.

“Pfft…”

“Don’t laugh!”

Seeing the Young Lady’s childlike appearance for the first time in a long while, I burst into laughter and called out to her.

“What is that appearance!?”

The Young Lady had transformed. She now looked like the seven-year-old child I first met.

“Puhaha! No, I mean… kuh… kuhuh.”

“Eeeek…!”

The Young Lady raised her head and glared at me. Her already puffed-up cheeks swelled even more as she filled them with air, clenching her fists and glaring at me.

“Don’t laugh!”

“How can I not laugh? Your body is—kuh…”

“Eeeek… I told you not to laugh.”

“…Haa.”

Sensing that teasing her any further might make her cry, I decided to stop and approached her.

“Why has your body become like this?”

The Young Lady shook her head and answered me in an innocent voice.

“I don’t know.”

“This is serious.”

“It’s not serious.”

“Is that so?”

The Young Lady looked at her shortened arms and nodded.

“I think it’ll return to normal after a day.”

“Oh…”

“It’s because I ran out of Dark Mana. It’ll come back soon.”

“…Hmm?”

“It’s fine. I can replenish it quickly.”

“How?”

The Young Lady grinned mischievously, like a villain, and said it was a secret.

“It’s a secret.”

A Villainess who uses Dark Magic.

She truly looked like a villain now, and I wanted to scold her, but I couldn’t bring myself to reprimand the Young Lady, who had become so cute. I let out a small sigh and shook my head.

The Young Lady spread her arms wide and looked at me. With bright, shining eyes, she seemed to be asking for a hug. I widened my eyes and shook my head.

“Carry me…”

“Young Lady.”

“Yes?”

I looked at the Young Lady’s legs.

“Young Lady, right now…”

I gazed at the stubby legs of the Young Lady, who was standing on her own two feet, with eyes full of emotion.

I knew it was temporary, and I knew it was an aftereffect of the Dark Magic, but it had been so long since I’d seen the Young Lady standing on her own two legs. I felt like crying.

With a trembling voice, I spoke to the Young Lady.

“Young Lady… you are standing right now.”

“Yes?”

The Young Lady lowered her head to look at her legs.

Wiggling her white toes, she changed the question mark on her head to an exclamation mark as she moved her knees and began to let out strange noises.

“Hiiiik?! Eeeek?!”

“Young Lady…”

Overcome with emotion, the Young Lady looked at me with teary eyes.

“Ricardo…”

“Young Lady.”

“Still, carry me.”

“…”

Truly, the Young Lady didn’t understand the concept of being moved.

Letting out a deep sigh, I lifted the Young Lady into a Princess Carry. Holding her now tiny body effortlessly, I carefully moved her to a place where she wouldn’t see anything gruesome.

The Young Lady wiggled her small fingers and touched my cheek.

Checking to see if I was hurt or in pain, she stretched my cheek while smiling brightly. Then, with a slight frown, she spoke to me.

“You’re not hurt?”

I looked at the Young Lady warmly and replied.

“No.”

“Really?”

“I’m really not hurt.”

“Hehe.”

Hearing my confident answer, the Young Lady smiled at me. Her worried hands didn’t stop moving.

The smile on my lips didn’t fade. I liked the Young Lady’s constant concern, even though I kept telling her I was fine.

“More importantly, do you really think you’ll return to normal?”

“Yes. Why? Is it that strange?”

“No. I like you as you are now, but personally, I prefer the Young Lady with the Treasure Pouch.”

“Treasure…”

Hearing the word “Treasure Pouch,” the Young Lady looked down at her chest, her eyes growing wide as she made a face like she’d lost the world.

“Hiiiik!!!”

He really was a funny person.

“My treasure!”

“I will make sure to take care of it later.”

“Okay. But don’t sneak it into Ricardo’s pocket.”

“…Did you notice?”

“Yes.”

Smiling at the Young Lady’s playful joke, I continued walking.

The Young Lady, nestled in my arms, lowered the corners of her lips and spoke to me.

“Ricardo, am I not heavy?”

“You are light. You’ve always been light, but now you feel as light as a feather.”

“Hehe… Hey, Ricardo.”

“Yes.”

“Doesn’t it hurt from being beaten by that man?”

“…”

The Young Lady, who hadn’t seen my impressive moments but only the ones I didn’t want to show, hit me with a piercing question. Asking if it hurt to be beaten—well, that stung a little.

I flicked her forehead lightly and gave her a small smile.

“I hit him more.”

“Liar.”

“It’s true.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

The Young Lady, who had a Sword Master as her butler—or rather, was on the verge of becoming one herself—kept stroking my cheek as if she still saw me as a fragile butler. Truly, she was someone impossible to dislike.

Sitting in her wheelchair, the Young Lady pulled a blanket she’d found somewhere over herself and looked at the collapsed inn, speaking.

“But, Ricardo, where will we sleep?”

“Good question.”

There seemed to be so much to take care of.

Looking at the vanished inn, I gave a bitter smile.

‘I wonder if there’s home insurance in this other world.’

It would be nice if there was.

Well, we’ll figure something out.

Setting aside trivial matters, I decided to focus on finishing the battle. Olaf was dead, but one enemy still remained.

“Father…”

Carefully, I moved my steps and looked down at the writhing black entity with a conflicted gaze.

Even as it was dying, the sight of the monster searching for its father weighed on my mind.

In the novel, this monster had perished alongside Olaf at Yuria’s hands. To be precise, it would be more accurate to say it was exorcised, as it had died by divine power. Either way, it was a creature that shouldn’t be alive….

Holding Tirbing, I fell into deep thought.

“Young Lady.”

“Yes?”

I pointed at the monster with my sword and asked. I wanted to ask the Young Lady what to do. Though my mind told me it had to die, the idea of killing something with a story behind it troubled me.

The Young Lady looked at the black entity and shrugged her shoulders.

“I don’t know.”

“I see.”

“Yeah.”

I didn’t know either.

Still, it seemed like it would die even if I didn’t finish it off.

I sheathed Tirbing and spoke to the dying monster.

“I’m sorry.”

“…”

“I’m sorry that you suffered misfortune because of me.”

The monster cautiously reached out its hand toward me.

Though it was hard to describe as a hand, the touch carried a warmth that felt like it was consoling me, as if to say it was okay. The monster’s hand patted my shoulder and embraced me gently.

-Thank you.

A faint voice came from the monster.

It was funny, really. But I couldn’t laugh. Hearing words of gratitude from someone whose father I killed, and who I also killed, didn’t suit me.

I bowed my head, lowering it deeply.

“Thank you.”

And so.

Olaf’s daughter breathed her last.

I didn’t know where she would go.

Whether it would be to hell or heaven, I couldn’t say. I didn’t even believe in an afterlife, so wishing for her to go to a good place felt absurd.

I nodded slightly and placed my hand on the fading girl’s body.

“You’ve worked hard.”

In the spot where the girl had disappeared, a small sheet of paper peeked out from the black ashes.

Bending down, I picked up the paper that had come from the girl’s body and held it up to the sunlight, a bitter smile on my face.

‘…’

On the paper was a photograph of a young Olaf and a little girl, both smiling brightly.

I spoke to the Young Lady, who was picking her nose. When our eyes met, she quickly hid her hand behind her back, and I burst into laughter as I spoke.

“May I build a grave for her?”

It was the last respect I could offer.

*

At the Magic Tower branch in the capital city.

Standing before the Space-Transfer Magic Circle, Yuria was reading the letter she had received from Chartia.

-Yuria!

The letter, hastily delivered by Princess Chartia, who had knocked on her dormitory door at dawn, contained something Yuria hadn’t expected.

It was a photograph.

A photograph of a red-haired man fighting a heretic. And below that photograph, her home was in ruins. Her father was nowhere to be seen.

Yuria couldn’t shake off the ominous feeling.

No one in the world would look at their burning hometown and think, “It’s fine.”

Yuria was afraid.

She was terrified that the worst she could imagine might come true.

Chartia spoke to Yuria.

“Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

“It’ll be okay.”

Chartia’s comforting hand on her shoulder did little to ease Yuria’s fears.

And so.

Yuria entrusted herself to the portal leading to the North.