The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 223

Yuria widened her eyes and stared at the man in front of her. Then, she shook her head.

“No…”

Because his words were nothing more than a pleasant façade. She thought, once again, that he was just saying something to make her feel better.

“What’s so pretty about me?”

There’s nothing pretty about me.

Neither inside nor outside.

Not a single thing is okay.

Every time she looked in the mirror, the list of her flaws grew longer, leaving scars on her heart. She didn’t think she was beautiful because there were so many people who were prettier and more beautiful than her.

That’s why Yuria shook her head and denied Ricardo’s words. She wasn’t pretty.

“What’s so pretty? I’m foolish and stupid… You’d be better off calling a rock pretty.”

Even she thought she was unattractive, so how much more plainly must Ricardo see her? With fear in her voice, Yuria spoke cautiously.

“My hair is pale, like a faded balsam flower, and I get annoyed, suspicious, and cry over trivial things every day. There’s nothing pretty about me. Even I can see there are so many people prettier than me, so why would you say something like that?”

Ricardo, sitting on the balcony railing, smiled faintly and gazed intently at Yuria. His hair, tousled by the northern winds, was gently smoothed down as his calm eyes quietly took her in.

“Hmm…”

Ricardo’s low voice resonated with a small hum. With a hint of curiosity, he spoke to Yuria.

“Is that so? I don’t think so. How strange.”

Ricardo’s voice carried a subtle excitement as he stepped closer to Yuria. He crossed the invisible line he had drawn, as if it didn’t exist, and approached her.

Yuria shook her head in denial.

“You’re lying.”

“Am I?”

Even though she wanted to tell him not to come closer, that annoying man didn’t seem to have any intention of stopping. If she pushed him away, it felt like he’d only come closer, knocking on the door to her heart.

‘Why…?’

If it were her, she wouldn’t give someone like herself any attention. The question of ‘why’ kept pounding on her chest, demanding her to open the door.

Misunderstanding her as he pleased.

Ricardo, who had extended his hand to the Yuria he had once hated, spoke in a gentle voice that struck her sensitivity.

She wished he would just insult her.

If he had blamed her, saying he suffered because of her, she thought she’d feel more at ease. But ‘why…’ did he expect nothing in return? The ache in Yuria’s chest deepened.

As always, Ricardo spoke in a voice as sweet as candy.

“I like Miss Yuria’s pink hair. Others might say it looks like a faded balsam flower, but to me, it looks like a freshly bloomed flower, and I like it.”

“…”

“And I really like Miss Yuria’s pink eyes. They’re like gems—clear and pure. Just looking at them makes me feel comforted, even without words.”

And then…

Ricardo continued to praise Yuria with a gentle smile. He compared the insecurities she had always disliked to something elegant, describing the Yuria he saw.

Like someone stating the obvious, Ricardo’s words flowed without pause, continuing the conversation.

‘Why…?’

The more Ricardo praised her, the harder it was for the question blooming in Yuria’s chest to settle. Her heart pounded, and the ‘why’ tore at her chest, bringing forth guilt and sorrow.

Even though he knew everything.

Even though he carried everything alone, Ricardo’s composure tightened around her heart.

“And Miss Yuria has a large chest—oh, oops. That sounded too perverted. I’m sorry.”

Seeing Ricardo cover his mouth with his palm, Yuria clenched her fists and spoke.

“…Aren’t you resentful?”

With tearful eyes, she asked him the question that escaped from deep within her.

“Why… do you say those things? I haven’t done anything for you, so why do you speak so kindly to me?”

“…”

“I… I know now. I know why Ricardo treated me that way. I still don’t understand everything, but I know why Ricardo acted harshly toward me.”

Overwhelmed with emotion, Yuria lowered her head and spoke to Ricardo.

“But…”

Because she truly didn’t understand.

“But! I don’t understand why Ricardo is being so kind to me. Even though you were the one who helped me, and I hated you for it, I don’t understand why you’re treating me so well…!”

“Aren’t you resentful?”

If it were her.

“If it were me!”

If it were her, she would never be able to do it. Out of fear, she would push him away, thinking she needed to survive.

“I’d hate and despise you so much that I couldn’t stand it. So why are you making that expression? Why!”

Ricardo looked at Yuria with a bittersweet smile. Silently, he gazed at her clenched fists with a wistful expression.

“I…”

Ricardo opened his mouth softly.

“I think this.”

He spoke his thoughts in a calm voice.

“If there’s a kind person, then there must be a bad person to make that kindness shine brighter.”

“…”

“If someone is only moderately kind, truly kind people might suffer losses. So, if I’m going to live badly, I thought it’d be better to live as I want. That’s why I held back my words.”

“It’s nice if even one person understands… It’s less lonely and a little less painful, isn’t it?”

“Hmm… I suppose so. I was too rigid to think that far. I thought that maybe my existence was more of a poison.”

Sometimes.

“Sometimes, I wonder if I was a hindrance. In some ways, I think that’s true.”

Yuria couldn’t understand Ricardo’s foolish altruism. But Ricardo, as if it didn’t matter whether she understood, steadfastly colored her world.

Ricardo’s deep crimson began to seep into Yuria. His color started to stretch out toward her.

“That’s why I like Miss Yuria. No matter how unfair or sad things are, you remain steadfastly kind, sometimes even like a push-over, but your self-sacrificing nature is so admirable. It’s something I could never do.”

“…”

“Well, the biggest reason is that Miss Yuria is beautiful.”

With a small laugh, as if to say, ‘Haha, was that too blunt?’ Ricardo carefully climbed down from the balcony railing. Step by step, he left footprints on the snow-covered veranda as he approached Yuria. Gently, he reached out and touched her cheek.

“Don’t cry.”

“Hic…”

“I’m just keeping the promise I made.”

“But I couldn’t keep anything…”

“It was a promise I made unilaterally from the start.”

A promise made without her consent.

-I will protect you.

Seeing Ricardo still remember that promise, Yuria burst into tears.

Why couldn’t she trust him?

Why hadn’t she thought a little more?

If only she had opened her heart a little more.

If she had trusted him as much as she loved him, she wouldn’t have had to feel this pain. Blaming herself for breaking the blooming flower in her heart, she cried.

“Are you okay…?”

Yuria looked at Ricardo and asked.

Recalling the memories of how she had hurt Ricardo in the past, she asked with affectionate eyes. Remembering the wounds she had inflicted with her own hands.

“I hurt you… Are you okay?”

Ricardo nodded in response.

“I’m okay.”

Yuria asked again.

This time, she asked with sincerity, recalling the pain she had caused Ricardo’s heart.

“You suffered unfairly and struggled because of me… Are you really okay?”

“Of course. I could do it a hundred times over.”

“Because of me…”

Yuria’s apologies continued endlessly. As the northern snow piled up, she kept apologizing, crying, and asking Ricardo over and over until there was nothing left to apologize for.

If she could hear even a single word of resentment, she wanted to fix it. With fear and sorrow in her heart, she asked.

And Ricardo gave the same answer every time.

“I’m truly okay.”

Many stories drifted away on the northern winds.

The time he was trapped in the wardrobe for three hours.

The reason he lingered around her shoe cabinet.

The retaliation against the false rumors and those who hated her.

Ricardo told Yuria everything without holding back.

-I put all the thumbtacks in Kyla’s drawer.

-…Really?

-Yes, I even kindly labeled them with my name. You should’ve seen her face back then, Miss Yuria. Unfortunately, only the Young Lady saw it.

-Olivia?

-Yes. If the Young Lady has a problem with it… Oh dear.

-Pfft.

A smile bloomed on her lips.

Perhaps this was the conversation she had longed for and missed the most. It wasn’t some grand gesture she had wished for, but something as simple as this. Yuria clenched her fist tightly and looked at Ricardo.

“So, you see…”

In the sky where white snow was falling, it strangely felt as if flower petals were scattering. Petals tinged with a pink hue seemed to carry a spring breeze, knocking gently on the door to her heart.

Strangely enough.

Yuria felt warmth in her melting heart. Though selfish and foolish, she thought to herself, asking for another chance to make a promise.

Staring intently at Ricardo’s profile as he leaned against the wall, she spoke.

“Mr. Ricardo.”

“Yes.”

“Can you make me just one promise?”

“What kind of promise?”

Yuria smiled faintly and buried her face in her knees.

“A promise not to be surprised.”

“Pardon?”

-Smooch.

Yuria grabbed Ricardo’s sleeve and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. Smiling softly, she spoke cautiously, her smile now one of certainty, as if she would no longer wander.

“You promised.”

Ricardo, with a flustered expression, touched his cheek and looked at Yuria.

“Uh…?”

“It’s a token of promise.”

“A promise…?”

“A one-sided promise I made.”

A promise never to waver again.

Ricardo, with trembling eyes, looked at Yuria and spoke. In this kind of atmosphere, he awkwardly smiled and said something he absolutely shouldn’t have.

“Well… Just so you know, I’m not into polygamy…”

“Oh, come on!”

He truly was a man who didn’t understand the mood.

Yuria smiled as she looked at Ricardo.

*

-The Past Restriction ‘Favorability Limit’ is annihilated.

(!) Yuria’s Favorability increases.