The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 250

“Eeeek!”

As soon as his feet touched the ground, Darbav slipped his hand under the Young Lady’s side and lifted her like an airplane.

The Young Lady soared quite high into the air.

“Eeeek…”

She seemed to be enjoying herself.

Honestly, I wanted to ask him to lift me too, but considering my age, I decided to keep such an inappropriate request to myself. Besides, I was taller than her anyway.

The servants of the House of Wolfgang bowed their heads the moment they saw Darbav’s face. Even though it was a fallen household due to dark magic, its influence hadn’t diminished in the slightest. Of course, not in a positive way.

Its notoriety had only grown, never waned.

The Desmond Family was the only one that could sustain itself while practicing dark magic. In fact, people cursed the Emperor even more for doling out what they considered a mere slap on the wrist.

“I greet the loyal subject of the Empire.”

“…”

Darbav did not recognize the elderly butler bowing to him. Neither the man’s household nor his existence seemed to register in Darbav’s memory. Strictly speaking, he didn’t realize that the term “loyal subject” was directed at him.

“Are you addressing me?”

“Yes, Head of the Household.”

“I see.”

Darbav nodded and carefully set the Young Lady down on the ground.

“Father!”

“Yes, what is it?”

“Those jerks killed my ice cream!”

“Hmm…”

Darbav nodded readily. True to the reputation of a family with no one capable of rational thought, Darbav’s willingness to approve anything within his power made me puff out my chest with pride.

These are the people I serve.

Everyone in the House of Wolfgang bowed their heads.

“That’s not what I meant…”

Stroking his chin, Darbav glanced at the eagle badge on the old man’s chest and gave a chilling smile.

“Wolfgang, is it?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“The House of Wolfgang, owners of the Western Canal.”

“…”

“It seems the waterway business is quite profitable. It even brings a hint of the sea breeze to the capital.”

“…To my knowledge, the Desmond Family also uses our canal. If you could overlook this incident, I would personally…”

“What nonsense are you spouting?”

Darbav’s smile faded as he spoke in a low voice.

“Your household was the first to sever ties when the dark magic scandal broke out. Does the butler of such a family not know this?”

“I misspoke. My apologies.”

“A servant daring to misspeak to a noble… Is that a hallmark of the Nobles of the West?”

Darbav’s sharp words, naturally laced with disdain for nobles, made me mentally jot down notes in my Provocation Notebook. It seemed nobles only understood when you crushed them like this.

Truly, an educated man is different.

For the first time, I felt the sting of having a short leash on my education.

The Young Lady extended her finger and pointed at a member of the Wolfgang family. The child, who had slowly begun to grasp the situation, quickly retracted his tongue and bowed his head.

Since having adults intervene in children’s fights is always the best solution, I proudly cheered for the Desmond Family.

“Let us settle this House vs. House.”

“…Please don’t.”

“This will serve as an excellent example to show that the Desmond Family is still standing strong.”

“Head of the Household…!”

The price of ice cream turned out to be heavier than expected.

*

A room devoid of light.

A young wizard who had lost his magic trembled in fear.

-Aaaagh!!

“I can’t be of any help.”

-Try something, anything…!

“I…”

-You claim to see the inner self…

“I’m a liar.”

Ruin was broken.

A wizard with nothing but pride to his name had lost his power and was drowning in fear. It wasn’t the overwhelming difference in magic that scared him. That was something effort could eventually bridge.

There was only one reason Ruin trembled.

It was because he couldn’t stand the thought of how he had been the first to flee, blending in among the very people he had looked down on and despised.

Even Mikhail had taken up a sword to fight.

Hanna had also wielded a sword and fought.

Even Yuria had rolled up her sleeves, jumped into the bloody battle raging in the workshop, and thrown herself into treating the wounded.

And yet I…

-Pant… Pant… I’m alive.

At the sight of the Tower Master’s arrival, I had sighed in relief, thinking I was safe.

“What kind of Prodigy of the Magic Tower am I?”

“What kind of Wizard of Fire am I?”

“A fool who can do nothing but run away—what kind of top ranker in the Magic Department is that?”

I felt stupid and pathetic. If there were a hole to crawl into, I would have hidden in it immediately, so ashamed and angry was I.

“I…”

Once again, Ruin closed his eyes today.

Even though the afternoon sun shone brightly, Ruin pulled the curtains shut and tried to sleep, but all that came were restless thoughts kicking at his mind.

“Sigh…”

Ruin slowly got up and went outside. Maybe some fresh air would help ease this feeling.

People around him would surely curse him, but he had to keep living. With a heavy heart, Ruin lifted his body and walked toward the entrance.

-Pause.

His reflection appeared in the mirror.

The sharp jawline was gone, replaced by a rounded face, and his ruined body bore no trace of muscle.

“Haha… Damn.”

Ruin let out an empty laugh as he brushed back his long, unkempt hair, staring at the wretched man in the mirror.

“Pathetic.”

In this state, no one would treat me like a person…

Though dark thoughts crossed his mind, Ruin opened the door to his dormitory to fill his empty stomach. And then.

-Sniffle.

“What the…”

From the next room came the sound of someone sobbing. The voice, filled with sorrow, echoed down the corridor, punctuated by the occasional cough of anguish.

“What’s his deal?”

Room 902 belonged to Mikhail.

Realizing the ghost haunting the corridor was none other than Mikhail, Ruin let out an empty laugh and shook his head.

“That guy’s not in his right mind either. It’s class time, and he’s skipping to do… what, exactly?”

Not that I’m one to talk.

Scratching the back of his head, Ruin gave an awkward smile. This academy really was a mess.

Heretics.

A crazy butler.

And even a villainess who used dark magic.

With the academy full of such a fantastical combination, Ruin let out a cough and shook his head. He didn’t even know anymore.

“Maybe those guys are the real winners.”

He began to think that the ones who had left the academy early might be the true victors. If only he had left too and gone to the Magic Tower to study, perhaps things wouldn’t have turned out this way.

“Idiot.”

Now, no matter how much he regretted it, nothing would change. Ruin sighed as he patted his mountainously swollen belly.

“Let’s just eat. I’m hungry.”

The wizard, having lost his strength, continued to fall apart.

***

Night descended upon the estate.

The Young Lady, who had reverted to a childlike state, fell asleep with the Head of the Household for the first time in a long while.

-Eeeek! Let go! I want to sleep with Ricardo!

-It’s been a while since you slept with your father, Olivia.

-Eeeek!! You smell like a widower!

-I hadn’t thought of that.

-I can’t lie. I have a disease that kills me if I lie.

-Isn’t that a lie?

-I died.

-I see, dead.

Kyle and Rosanna were sitting at the living room table, engaged in conversation.

Coming downstairs to get a drink of water, I saw Kyle and Rosanna in their pajamas and bowed my head. It was nice to see this combination after such a long time. Holding a cup to fill with water, I slowly walked toward them.

“It’s late. What kind of deep conversation are you having at this hour?”

“Hehe… It’s been a while since I talked with my son.”

“…”

Kyle pursed his lips and stared at me. It seemed the Next Head of the Family wasn’t pleased to see an unwelcome guest interrupting a rare conversation between parent and child. His sharp gaze made me smile awkwardly.

“Ricardo, would you like to sit here and join the conversation?”

Seeing Rosanna lightly tap the chair next to her with an eye smile, I smiled back and walked over. After all, Rosanna was the true pillar of the household. She was more important than the Next Head of the Family.

“Shall I prepare some tea for you?”

“It’s fine.”

“Then I’ll bring out some light refreshments.”

“Oh my… Such good manners. Are you already trying to score points with your mother-in-law?”

“Haha…”

“As long as you adore my child above all else, you pass. Even if you bring in other wives, I’ll understand, so don’t feel pressured.”

At the Mistress of the House’s bold remark, I couldn’t lift my head. I secretly marveled, wondering if this was the Noble’s Way of Speaking. Of course, my daughter believes in monogamy.

Even if it was a double standard benefiting oneself, there was no helping it. I was going to live as a selfish father.

Rosanna, with a small smile, spoke to me as I sat down in the chair.

“This is perfect timing. We were just talking about you.”

“About me?”

“Of course~ We were talking about our competent butler.”

“Were you badmouthing me? I haven’t finished squeezing everything out of the household yet.”

“Hahaha!! What else is there to squeeze out? Take it all! Take my daughter too.”

“Haha…”

Kyle kept his lips tightly shut, staring down at his teacup. Without showing any signs of displeasure, he simply gazed at the teacup in silence.

‘Were they having a serious conversation?’

No matter how reticent Kyle was, he wasn’t the type to ignore jokes like these without reacting.

Perhaps the awkward atmosphere lingered for a moment. Rosanna, with a small smile, spoke again.

Wearing a heavy smile.

In the same voice as always.

“So, Ricardo.”

“Yes.”

“Why don’t you stop now?”

At Rosanna’s sudden suggestion of a forced resignation, my body froze as if turned to ice.

“Pardon? I’m not sure what you mean.”

Rosanna’s smile faded as she spoke.

“I heard from Kyle.”

Rosanna gripped her teacup tightly.

“You’re healing Olivia’s leg, but you’re harming your own body in the process.”

“…”

“I heard you even coughed up blood.”

“…”

“And you couldn’t even walk properly.”

In a calm voice, I replied to Rosanna, relieved that she wasn’t asking me to give up my butlership.

“It’s fine. It’s not dark magic, and it won’t harm the household…”

“Do you think I told you to stop just because of that?”

“…”

“The household can be rebuilt. If it falls, we can move to another country.”

“…”

“But you’ll die at this rate.”

At Rosanna’s warning, I firmly expressed my unwavering resolve.

“It’s almost done.”

Truly.

“I have no intention of giving up.”

Rosanna’s expression began to harden, turning cold.