Page 135 of The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

An ambitious hour.

Sitting at my desk, pondering over the cause of the magic failure, I let out a deep sigh at the unanswered question.

“The theory is flawless, so what’s the issue... Maybe it’s too perfect to be the problem.”

Crooked handwriting filled the notebook.

[December 23rd]

Magic Practiced: Fireball

Outcome: Successfully manifested the magic circle in the air but failed to reach the target and disappeared.

·

·

·

[January 13th]

Magic Practiced: Fireball

Result: Successfully implemented Fireball, but due to a lack of accuracy, ended up burning the tail of Gomtangi. Failure.

[January 15th]

Magic Practiced: Meteor

Result: Nothing came out. Failure.

After a month of bone-breaking effort, the only achievement was a single Fireball. And even that was a misfired dud.

“hahahaha... x-ball.”

What is this?

Stuck from the basics.

I tried to learn step by step from the fundamentals, but faced with the reality of not even being able to take the first step, laughter escaped me.

Today’s notes were no different from yesterday’s... I thought what I was doing was a meaningless effort, but seeing slight improvements in results made me unable to give up.

Because in battle, a single small flame can determine victory or defeat. Just like in love, having many hidden things made it much easier to face someone than going empty-handed, increasing the chances of receiving forgiveness when late, like buying a 1000-won rose instead of going empty-handed.

“Has the spark gone now...”

The moment I was about to raise my doubts to the god who might be watching from somewhere, with a humble heart that the world mocks me.

-Ding!

A clear notification sound rang in my head.

“What is it.”

Even an all-knowing god must not like hearing curses. I was almost blasphemous if I had been a little late, and I regretted it.

“But, why suddenly a quest.”

It was an alert I hadn’t heard in a long time.

An alert I thought had forsaken me for a while. The clear sound of the alarm seemed to be greeting me, acknowledging that the favor of the possessor was still intact.

“If you’re going to show up, you should do it often, why do you come occasionally?”

It was a vague date to say it came to wish a Happy New Year. I gave a wry smile at the blue window that was late to the game.

“Screw off.”

-A quest has been activated.

“Not doing it.”

-A quest has been activated.

Trying to ignore it and scribble in my notebook, I slowly raised my head at the persistent alerts.

The quest window kept ringing loudly until I confirmed it.

When I was young, I had been woken up by this thing not just once or twice. Whenever I tried to divide growth plates and greetings, *ding*. When I tried to take a nap, *ding*. I think this guy has a share in the fact that I didn’t grow up to 190 centimeters.

“Sigh...”

What request might it have come to make this time?

The recent quest was to rescue Uria from the dungeon.

I recalled the incident where I couldn’t refuse the quest due to the promise of a substantial reward of healing.

It was a frustrating quest that turned my resolution, which had sworn not to let anyone help, into nothing.

Honestly, I wanted to ignore this quest.

I didn’t want to hinder the growth of the protagonists, and now they had to grow on their own. Since I couldn’t keep spoon-feeding them like a mother bird forever, the intention to refuse occupied 80% of my mind.

But at the same time, I was also looking forward to it.

The status window always offered rewards that were not easily obtained.

The penalty for failure was relatively light, and the reward for success was generous, which had been the progress of the status window so far.

In childhood, the deceitful trait of being a ‘genius without skills’ was sometimes rewarded, and even the unattainable ‘Aura’ at a young age was also given as a reward for success.

During my academy days, I often received boosts in favorability from key figures or improvements in ability stats as rewards, you know.

All the rewards were things not easily obtained.

The time it takes to increase Strength by 1 varies for each person, but I knew that the time it would take to go from 100 to 101 was beyond imagination.

As the novel progressed to the latter part, everyone’s abilities were being normalized, and there were times when the gap in power became as vast as the difference between heaven and earth due to a mere 1 in a stat.

Knowing the importance of paying attention to such trivial matters, I honestly felt both pleased and annoyed when the quest window appeared after a long time.

‘What could it be this time.’

I hope it won’t have a significant impact on the story.

With a trembling heart, I slowly raised my head and stared at the quest window that appeared before me.

And.

“Dammit.”

I cursed.

*

[Q. The Knight Who Always Protects Her.]

There is a beautiful young girl.

A girl with delicate beauty like cherry blossoms in full bloom and subtle mist flowers.

The girl has not experienced great hardships in life. People treated her well because of her exceptional looks, like a precious gem.

Of course, upon entering the bigger world, she was scratched and hurt by those who envied the girl.

The first experience of criticism.

Ignored.

Neglected.

It was truly tough, but even so, the girl liked people and loved them. It was the advice of her departed mother and the love her parents had taught her.

She doesn’t think deeply about her appearance. Believing she’s ordinary, she thinks her friends see her inner self, not her appearance.

What a fool. A huge fool.

A fool who can’t wield beauty as a weapon. Well, that’s the girl’s charm, though.

One day, a ball is held at the academy the girl attends.

At the ball, many ladies flaunt and groom their weapons. The girl did the same.

Even if she didn’t believe appearance was everything, wanting to look pretty was like a woman’s instinct, you see.

But what if, you see.

If the day comes when the girl loses her beauty, what will happen?

Her once beautiful skin covered in freckles.

Her bright smile turning into a rotten pumpkin-like smile, will the people beside the girl still stand by her...?

The girl will cry.

Cry bitterly.

She will falter.

And...

The shadow threatening the girl is gradually drawing near.

(!) Protect ‘Yuria’, the girl who lost her beauty temporarily at the ball.

1. Find ‘Yuria’ who lost her beauty temporarily at the ball. (0/1)

Guard ‘Yuria’ from the heretics. (0/1)

Reward: Vitality Information/Hidden Talent of Magic/Magic Power +100

Yuria: White Magic Lv.1

Failure: Corruption of the maiden of light ‘Yuria’

Ah...

I softly muttered as I gazed at the brightly shining quest window in blue.

“Damn.”

*

Indeed, a ball was a place frequently seen in fantasy novels.

It was where many supporting male characters would compete to dance first with the female lead, or where villainesses would scheme to torment the female lead when an opportunity arose.

The novel I had possessed was no different.

The academy’s ball was meant for young souls to socialize, but beneath the surface, it was dark.

It was a place where commoners would mock the dresses worn, fallen nobles would gossip about the evening gowns, or where one could legally resort to violence, like pouring wine on a disliked debutante’s dress.

And the ball event mentioned in the quest window contained such heavy themes that it was considered cute pranks.

As I sat at my ? Nоvеl??ght ? (Exclusive on Nоvеl??ght) desk, spinning my pen, I was lost in deep thoughts.

“Why, of all episodes, this one?”

There were plenty of other episodes to choose from.

This particular episode was closely related to Ruin.

I’m a bit worried.

[Ball D-3]

Outside the Academy grounds, a girl with pink hair stood holding a magpie feather in her hand.

“Wow... Beautiful.”

With eyes glistening, Yuria, peeking at the white dress beyond the glass window, exclaimed in awe.

Three days until the ball.

Yuria, who had come to buy a new dress instead of the one she was always mocked for being old-fashioned, couldn’t seem to leave the vicinity of the dress shop.

The pure white dress seemed to captivate Yuria’s steps.

Too expensive, a luxury item that seemed to demand payment just by looking at it.

With Yuria’s meager wallet, the dress was beyond reach, but at least looking was free.

Unconsciously, Yuria turned her head, lips curling into a smile.

“Well... What’s a dress to someone like me.”

Yuria envied other students.

She envied the excited backs of Academy girls going in to buy dresses.

If she had the financial means, she would want to buy at least one, but living off scholarships made such extravagance excessive.

Concealing her bitter feelings, Yuria walked with heavy steps.

From Noble mtl dot com

After walking for a while, Yuria arrived at a bustling marketplace, sighing deeply and rolling up her sleeves.

“Well... Secondhand isn’t so bad after all.”

A thrift store stacked with clothes discarded by nobles.

Yuria rolled up her sleeves and walked on. Buying what someone else had worn and discarded felt embarrassing, but she wanted to avoid the mockery of wearing old-fashioned dresses this year.

When her steps came to a halt in front of a pile of clothes, Yuria plunged her hand deep inside and pulled out a crumpled yellow dress that resembled a squeezed handkerchief.

Full of creases.

Despite the musty smell, it was a dress worth considering compared to what she had on now.

“I found it...!”

‘Ah...’

It was a dress that paled in comparison to the pure white one she had just admired.

Regret washed over Yuria, wishing she hadn’t looked at the dresses in the store but had come straight here.

It felt even more degrading.

Choosing clothes in a place like this.

Picking up a decent dress and liking it felt equally degrading.

With a gloomy mood, she bowed her head for about a minute.

“Hmm...”

A pleasant, deep voice reached Yuria’s ears.

The man stood beside Yuria and asked softly.

“Are you planning to buy that?”

“Ah... yes.”

“Hmm...”

Yuria didn’t lift her head.

She felt embarrassed by herself.

The man, unfazed by Yuria’s demeanor, delved deep into the pile of clothes.

Rustle.

Rustle.

“Personally, I prefer horses.”

From a pile of clothes, the man pulled out a red dress.

Unfolding the dress and fitting it to Yuria’s body, the man nodded approvingly and spoke to Yuria, who was bowing her head with a pleasant voice.

“This dress seems to suit you better.”

“Oh... Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“But who...”

Yuria turned her head to look at the man who had picked out the clothes. She wondered who he was to speak so kindly, and his voice was too sweet not to be curious about.

And the moment she saw the man’s face.

“Uh...?”

A foolish voice slipped out of her mouth.

“Long time no see, Miss Yuria.”

“The most handsome butler in the world.”

Ricardo stood before Yuria.