The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 231

The center of the estate upon returning from the bath.

The ladies, drying their wet hair with towels, were descending the stairs, already dressed in the pajamas they had prepared in advance, walking toward the center of the estate.

“Refreshing~”

“Right. It was amazing.”

“Me too…”

“Oh, by the way, Miss Hanna, why is your backside so big? Miss Yuria didn’t seem like that, but you have quite the weapon…”

“No, it’s just because I exercise a lot…”

“What?! Ah… Ah… Is that so?”

Rosanna, humming a tune as she descended, followed by Yuria, Hanna, and Chartia, lightly stepped onto the floor, exuding the fragrant scent of shampoo.

“Ha… This feels great~!”

Having finished my bath earlier, I was sitting on the sofa, staring with my mouth agape at the beauties descending the stairs.

‘Wow…’

As expected of beauties acknowledged by the author, their appearances were beyond the realm of ordinary beauty, leaving me nodding in admiration.

‘They’re truly stunning.’

Their looks were angelic enough to be believable.

Even without makeup, the sight of the four women descending the stairs was so overwhelming that the word “beautiful” barely sufficed.

Even the middle-aged Rosanna.

Even Yuria, drying her wet hair.

Even Hanna’s curvaceous figure in her white pajamas, and even the princess, Chartia, exuded an aura that was difficult to put into words.

Watching the descending ladies, I turned to the men sitting beside me and asked, determined to acknowledge what deserved acknowledgment, even if it seemed crude.

After all, Kyle and Malik were robust men.

“Aren’t they all so beautiful…”

“So, if we start a bathhouse business centered around the Desmond Family…”

“That’s definitely a good idea, but to be honest, the Desmond image isn’t particularly favorable externally. Unless you start under the name of Histania…”

“If the target consumers are commoners, wouldn’t that improve public sentiment? Gradually recovering the image, we could expand the business toward the nobles, attaching a premium to it to quickly yield profits relative to the investment.”

“Indeed…”

“If I support it with personal assets, attaching the condition that my franchise gets exclusive rights…”

They seemed entirely uninterested.

‘Are they eunuchs?’

Watching Kyle and Malik, passionately debating in their white pajamas, I seriously pondered. No matter how I looked at it, this wasn’t right.

I hadn’t intended to ask anything grand. Honestly, I wasn’t so generous as to volunteer as a bridge for love, given my greedy nature. I had only spoken up to boast about how beautiful my friends were, yet the two men showed not the slightest interest.

Their focus on work was admirable, but how could they remain so composed with such beauties right in front of them? Kyle and Malik were concentrating on their work like monks uninterested in prey.

I let out a small, empty laugh and turned my attention to Darbav, who was focused on Rosanna.

“Head of the Household.”

“She’s beautiful…”

“Head of the Household?”

“I’m glad I persevered and confessed, even after being rejected five times.”

Unintentionally hearing Darbav’s romantic history, I smiled faintly and rose from the sofa to fetch the Young Lady from the 3rd Floor Women’s Locker Room.

Having enjoyed the pleasant sight, it was time to get to work.

“Miss Yuria.”

“Yes?!”

I lightly stopped Yuria, who was drying her pink hair with a towel, and asked.

“Is there no one else on the 3rd floor besides the Young Lady?”

“Yes, that’s correct!”

“Then I’ll bring her down.”

“Alright!”

-Plod.

“Ah, Mr. Ricardo!”

Yuria, calling out to me as I ascended the stairs, greeted me with a shy smile.

“Today was really fun. At first, I was so nervous and scared, but I’m glad I came…!”

“That’s a relief. I’m even more grateful that you enjoyed it. And…”

I gently brushed Yuria’s wet hair back and smiled softly.

“You look truly beautiful today.”

“Huh? Y-y-yes? Oh, uh…”

Yuria, her face about to burst, lowered her head and stood frozen in place.

Lightly massaging Yuria’s shoulders as she fidgeted with her wet hair, I made my way toward the stairs to the 3rd floor.

*

In front of the quiet 3rd Floor Women’s Bath.

Standing before the forbidden zone I couldn’t enter earlier due to Malik, the gatekeeper, I swallowed nervously and cautiously pushed aside the red curtain blocking the door.

As the damp floor and the warm steam of the bath brushed against my face, I let out a sigh of relief.

I hadn’t expected them to enjoy it, but seeing that they did, I felt relieved. I had thought that high-ranking nobles might dislike such things.

Though I had joked about wanting to enter the women’s bath, the truth was I wanted to gauge their reactions. I was afraid of ruining things with excessive boldness.

It wasn’t the usual tea party everyone knew, but a tea party conducted more like a retreat. I had feared they might be dissatisfied and wanted to observe their reactions. As a man, understanding women’s hearts was difficult.

“Ha…”

Thank goodness.

Smiling faintly with relief, I stepped deeper onto the damp floor of the locker room to find the Young Lady hiding somewhere in the bath.

It wouldn’t feel right to end the tea party with the main character absent from the closing drinking session.

To be considerate of the Young Lady, who might be in an awkward state of dress, I gently knocked on the wardrobe door with my fingers.

-Knock knock.

“Young Lady.”

“…”

“I’ve come to escort you.”

Receiving no response from the Young Lady, I cautiously stepped closer and peeked through the gap in the wardrobe across from me.

“Puhaha!”

Seeing the Young Lady sitting on the floor, I burst into laughter.

“Young Lady!”

“Eeeek…”

The Young Lady, who had thrown her white pajamas to the floor and pulled an unfamiliar onesie over her head, had her head stuck in the armhole and was flailing about.

Watching her try to wear a black-and-white patterned onesie, which I had no idea where she got, instead of the silk pajamas I had prepared for everyone, I couldn’t help but laugh.

“What are you doing?”

“Save me…”

“No… Puhaha, why are you wearing it like that? Where are the pajamas I prepared for you?”

“They’re too plain. I’m the protagonist today; I can’t be the only one wearing something dull.”

“Well, that’s true.”

Nodding in acknowledgment of my lack of consideration, I carefully pulled the Young Lady’s head out of the onesie.

With a “pop,” she finally escaped the garment, shaking her disheveled hair and catching her breath.

“Phew. Thanks to you, I survived.”

“I’m glad you’re alright. But where did you get this onesie?”

Holding up the onesie she had been wearing, I looked at it with a question mark on my face.

A black-and-white patterned onesie with embroidered designs, complete with a hood and cotton horns attached to the ends. I smiled faintly as I looked at it.

‘It’s an animal onesie.’

The Young Lady, who had brought a cow onesie, tilted her head and smiled faintly.

“It’s a secret.”

“What?”

“It’s a secret.”

The Young Lady chuckled softly and extended her hand toward me.

“Help me put it on.”

Truly, her cuteness was unmatched in this world. Unable to resist, I helped her slip into the animal onesie, pulling it over her face.

Since she was wearing short sleeves underneath, there was no awkward incident of seeing her undressed. Still, I was glad to witness her adorable appearance.

Dressed in the animal onesie, the Young Lady sat on the floor, her shoulders shaking with laughter.

“Alcohol.”

“Drink in moderation.”

“Alcohol. Alcohol.”

“Young Lady.”

“Eeeek! Let’s go!”

I gently patted the Young Lady’s head as I moved forward slowly.

*

The drinking party continued.

Perhaps because expensive alcohol had been prepared, Kyle, Malik, and Darbav were smiling with satisfaction, arms slung over each other’s shoulders, while Darbav animatedly shared trivial old stories, delighting in the reactions of the two men.

-Is Rowen still the same?

-Father is as he always has been.

-I knew he was stubborn, but it must be tough for you.

-Not at all.

The Young Lady was learning how to drink from the Duchess.

-Mother! Alcohol…!

-Clink!

-Ack!

-I told you to call me Mother. And didn’t I say that’s not how you accept a drink when an adult pours it for you?

-Hehe… That’s right.

Yuria and Hanna sat awkwardly, tilting their liquor glasses.

“Senior.”

“…Yes?”

Sinking into drunkenness, Hanna gazed at Ricardo, who was alone in the kitchen preparing snacks, and spoke.

“Senior, what do you think of the Butler?”

“Huh…?”

Caught off guard by the sudden question, Yuria fidgeted with her liquor glass, unable to keep her eyes fixed on one spot.

“W-What do you mean by that?”

“Is that really how you’re going to respond?”

Hanna twisted her liquor glass slightly, a bitter smile on her lips. Taking advantage of her drunken state, she began to share the thoughts she had kept hidden from others. Calmly, she spoke about what Ricardo meant to her.

“Senior, you know…”

Hanna looked at Ricardo and parted her lips.

“I really like the Butler.”

To the point of madness.

“I like the Butler.”

So.

“Senior, you better be on your guard. I’m not that nice.”