The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 268

Under the rising moonlight.

“Mmmph.”

The Young Lady, folding paper to match the end of the workday, waved her hand and greeted me cheerfully.

“Rikkardo.”

“It’s Ricardo.”

“It’s fine.”

“I’m not fine with it, though.”

The Young Lady lightly ignored my objection and looked at me with sparkling eyes.

-Broadly.

To be precise, she was looking at my hands clasped behind my back. I let out a small laugh at her curious gaze and said,

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

-Broadly.

“…”

When a rustling sound came from the hand hidden behind my back, the Young Lady widened her eyes and smiled brightly.

“Heehee…! Food!”

“Young Lady, are you happier to see food than me?”

With a light sigh, I held up the paper bag containing expired goods and smiled faintly.

Despite feeding her plenty of good things, the Young Lady strangely preferred expired food.

“It’s free, it’s free!”

The Young Lady, with a proper sense of economy, cheered as she accepted the paper bag. Although I felt uneasy about giving her expired food, I couldn’t stop her since she liked it so much.

“Whoa!!! Ricardo! There’s tuna gimbap! And chocolate milk too!”

She was someone who found happiness in small things.

After about an hour of filling her hungry stomach with convenience store food, the Young Lady resumed the paper folding she had put off.

“Hoooh…”

Concentrating for the first time in a while, the Young Lady pressed the paper firmly with her white fingers, a pleasant smile on her face.

“Young Lady.”

“Yes?”

“What are you folding?”

“It’s a secret.”

Pouting her lips, the Young Lady focused intently. Her concentration rivaled that of an archaeologist uncovering ancient relics.

-Sniffle.

Of course, I wiped away her dripping nose for her. After a while of intense focus on paper folding, the Young Lady held out a small creation in her palm and said,

“Ricardo.”

“Yes, Young Lady.”

“Take this.”

“You’re giving this to me?”

“Yes. Ricardo, take it.”

Looking at the Young Lady’s creation, which resembled half-chewed gum, I voiced my question.

“You folded a paper crane quite well.”

Since she had given up on folding cranes last year, it must be a crane. The Young Lady only knew how to fold people and paper cranes, so even though it looked like a chimera disguised as a crane, its essence was still a crane. I could easily deduce her creation.

“Your craftsmanship has improved a lot.”

At my confident remark, the Young Lady shook her head firmly and replied,

“Huh? Nope.”

“Then what is it?”

The Young Lady smiled brightly and briefly introduced her masterpiece.

“A flower.”

“Oh…”

“It’s a flower.”

“This… is a flower?”

“Yes. This is the petal, and this is the stem.”

Oh. No matter how I looked at it, I couldn’t tell.

If half-chewed gum was considered a flower, then the weeds on the roadside might as well be tulips. I stared at the Young Lady’s masterpiece with a question mark floating above my head.

“Ah… So is this flower the famous corpse flower that smells rotten?”

“Nope.”

Taking out a new piece of paper, the Young Lady began folding again. She glanced at me with a pout and shook her head.

“It’s a rose.”

“?”

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that the Young Lady’s aesthetic sense was beyond the comprehension of a commoner’s mind.

‘Nobles are truly profound beings.’

The Young Lady, who had folded another (so-called) rose, handed it to me with a satisfied smile.

“Take it!”

“You’re giving me another one?”

“Yes. Use it for flower arrangements later.”

“I think people will be quite surprised.”

“Heehee…”

She was delighted by the praise.

The Young Lady and I continued folding paper.

I was folding a thousand cranes, while the Young Lady passed the time folding peculiar roses.

This time, folding a green rose, the Young Lady spoke as if in passing.

“Hey, Ricardo.”

“Yes.”

“Is work hard for you?”

“No, it’s not hard.”

“…”

The Young Lady bit her lip and kept folding paper. She felt ashamed that her condition prevented her from helping with anything she wanted to do for me.

Silently folding paper, the Young Lady tried to soothe her melancholy.

“It’s all right, Young Lady.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“It’s written all over your face.”

“Ugh…”

The Young Lady let out a sigh, clenching her tiny fist in frustration.

“If it’s hard, tell me.”

“Haha… Yes, I will.”

“If someone bullies you, tell Father.”

“Understood.”

“And…”

After worrying about me for a while, the Young Lady exhaled softly during a brief silence and asked,

“Ricardo, what’s your favorite flower?”

“Why are you suddenly asking about flowers?”

“Just curious.”

“Then, what’s your favorite flower, Young Lady?”

Surprised by her sudden philosophical question, I chuckled softly and asked her in return. What was her favorite flower?

Since the Young Lady, who preferred combat over flowers, rarely asked such questions, I found it intriguing and asked her back.

“Hmm…”

The Young Lady casually brought her finger to her nose as she thought. Naturally, I stopped her hand.

“That’s unsanitary.”

“Ricardo, nobles aren’t dirty.”

“Even the Head of the Household picks his nose sometimes, so there must be a reason for it.”

“Ugh… That’s gross.”

“That’s a lie.”

At the absurd remark befitting the epitome of hypocrisy, I let out a hollow laugh.

“So, Young Lady, what’s your favorite flower? Roses that are pleasing to the eye? Or perhaps cosmos that bloom brilliantly in autumn?”

“Hmm…”

The Young Lady shook her head, giving a brief negative answer, and then cautiously opened her mouth to speak.

“I like lilies.”

“Is that your preference?”

“Huh?”

“By any chance, do you like women…?”

“I like men.”

At the Young Lady’s clear answer, accompanied by a blank expression, I shook my head and let out a hollow laugh.

“Still, that’s surprisingly romantic of you, Young Lady. I thought you’d say roses.”

“No, I like roses too, but I prefer lilies. They’re pretty to look at and smell nice. And also…”

The Young Lady spoke to me with a gentle smile.

“Their flower language is ‘purity.'”

“That’s the complete opposite of you, Young Lady.”

“Eek!!”

The Young Lady clenched a piece of paper in her hand, fuming with irritation. Her fist, tightly gripping as if ready to throw it, made me wave my hands in surrender as I quickly answered her question. I didn’t want to get hit, after all.

“I like canaries.”

“Huh? Those are really ugly.”

“They’re not ugly. They have a modest charm.”

“They’re plain.”

“Pfft! It’s just… they’re quiet flowers that don’t stand out to others, so isn’t that what makes them beautiful? They’re common and can be found anytime, anywhere.”

“Ricardo, you sound like a teenager going through a phase.”

“Do I? I thought I was being quite romantic, but I guess not.”

The Young Lady pouted her lips and then focused on folding paper. She muttered, “How do you fold a canary?”

Watching the adorable passion of the Young Lady, I smiled faintly and cautiously called out to her.

“Oh, by the way, Young Lady.”

“Huh?”

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure. But don’t ask anything too hard. I’m dumb and terrible at math.”

“I’m aware.”

“Eek!!”

Smiling slightly at the Young Lady’s exaggerated reaction, I carefully asked my question.

“It’s about a friend of mine.”

“You have a friend, Ricardo?”

“…Then let’s say it’s about someone I don’t know.”

“Okay.”

“Well, this friend…”

“Mm-hmm. This friend?”

“…has feelings with an inevitable conclusion. What should they do?”

-Pause.

At the sensitive question, the Young Lady stopped what she was doing and looked at me.

Although I had tried to soften the phrasing as much as possible, the Young Lady seemed to have caught on to what I meant. Either it was about her, or someone with a story similar to hers.

I quickly mumbled my words and lowered my head. Despite my caution, I had upset her, and I apologized for my thoughtlessness.

“I’m sorry.”

“…”

“I misspoke.”

“It’s fine. It happens.”

After staring at the paper for quite some time, the Young Lady finally opened her tightly shut lips and spoke in a low voice.

“You know, Ricardo.”

“Yes.”

“Do you know what happens when a person loses their mind?”

“…”

“They can’t see ahead.”

“…”

“Their vision turns pitch black, and they can’t see anything. No matter what anyone says or shouts, they can’t hear it. Even though they know it’s wrong, they keep going.”

“…”

“And then, when they crash into something with a bang…”

With a bitter expression, the Young Lady spoke to me.

“They crumble to pieces.”

Looking at the Young Lady’s serious expression, I cautiously spoke to her.

“Young Lady.”

“Huh…”

“Please don’t take chocolate out of my pocket.”

“Eek!”

Contrary to her words, the Young Lady’s hands were quick and precise.

***

The Academy’s convenience store was open again today.

Hidden behind a pillar, Shuen was holding her breath as she watched the man sitting at the counter.

“This is bad…”

Shuen was facing a crisis.

Watching Ricardo was already a big deal, but she was dealing with a more pressing issue tied to her survival.

The time was now 12:10 PM.

After the morning classes ended, during the students’ favorite lunchtime, Shuen was pacing alone in front of the convenience store.

Lunchtime was a torment for Shuen.

For her, lunchtime was the scariest time of day, one she wished would never come.

Eating alone in the bathroom was lonely, after all.

“I left my lunchbox in the dormitory…”

Holding back the growling of her stomach, Shuen swallowed her frustration. She felt like crying over leaving her grandly prepared lunchbox—rolled omelette, rice, and stir-fried Vienna sausages—on her desk.

“Today even had Vienna sausages… It’s so unfair!”

Due to her father’s strict policy on teaching her financial responsibility, Shuen received a small allowance. As she thought about the absence of her lunchbox, her forehead broke out in a cold sweat.

“Without my lunchbox… I’ll have to skip lunch!”

For two years now, Shuen had been eating in the bathroom, unable to muster the courage to go to the crowded cafeteria alone.

If she went alone, surely…

-There she goes again, eating alone.

-Didn’t she say she wouldn’t eat commoner food? What’s with the high-and-mighty act, eating alone?

-Leave her be. She’s just going to eat alone anyway.

Fearing that something bad would happen again, Shuen hid behind a pillar, desperately wishing for the convenience store to empty out.

“Why are there so many people here today?!”

Shuen was starving.

And.

‘Hmmm.’

Ricardo was deep in thought.