Page 148 of The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

Evening arrived once again.

[Would you like to read information about Vitality?]

In the dark room, I gazed at the blue window.

Sitting on a chair, the blue window felt eerie. Since I couldn’t know what Vitality contained, what it required as a price, if I wasn’t scared, that would be a lie.

If Vitality meant lifespan, honestly, there was no alternative. Even searching through novels, there were only two ways to extend lifespan.

One was reaching the realm beyond Sword Master.

And.

The other was giving up on people.

In the case of the former, it was a miraculous method that could elevate the completeness of the physical body, extending the lifespan of a human from 100 years to 5 to 7 times, even closer to immortality, while in the latter case, it was a way to prolong life through black magic.

I didn’t want to resort to the latter if possible. There are things one should and shouldn’t do as a human.

Considering myself a possessor of love and justice, heading down the path of a villain seemed a bit off.

Yet, reaching the level of a Sword Master was practically impossible. It was a divine realm mentioned in novels as “such a level exists,” but in reality, no one had ever reached it.

Just reaching the level of Sword Master was sufficient to extend one’s lifespan.

With worries in mind, I slowly nodded.

“Alright.”

Let’s give it a try once.

It’s not too late to think about it after taking a hit. I believed that facing it head-on would be better, so I spat out an answer to the blue window’s question.

“Yes.”

[Accessing information on Vitality.]

And then, unexpectedly, the blue window began spewing out information on Vitality in a way I hadn’t anticipated.

-Side Story 102. Commencing reading on ‘The True Meaning of Vitality.’

***

Another sunny morning at the mansion.

Olivia, who woke up earlier than usual, blinked her eyes and gazed at the dawn sky.

-Chirp! Chirp!

“Ugh...”

Startled awake by the chirping birds since dawn, Olivia covered her ears and punched the air.

The racket of these birds, not even worth turning into chicken, seemed louder today.

-Chirp chirp chirp chirp!

“These pathetic little birds chirping non-stop!”

Back in Ricardo’s days as a street urchin, Olivia had tried eating sparrows. The memory of receiving a roasted sparrow as a gesture of gratitude for her alms was not a pleasant one.

“What’s this?”

“A sparrow.”

“Can you eat that?”

“Yes.”

“It doesn’t seem right...”

“Then don’t eat it.”

“I won’t.”

“Then I’ll eat it all alone. It must be delicious...!”

“Ugh...! Don’t eat it all by yourself!”

Although just bones with a bit of meat, sparrows were the worst ingredients with no taste, Olivia remembered.

Annoyed by the tasteless bird disrupting her sleep, Olivia didn’t fancy the sparrows.

Wanting to go back to sleep but constantly being disturbed, she felt the urgency to express her worry about the empire.

It’s still early...

[06:12]

Feeling it was too early to wake Ricardo, Olivia clenched her lips, suppressing the patriotic feeling rising within her.

“Morning...”

– Chirp chirp!

“Eek...!”

Can’t stand it.

“Gongseupkyeong...!”

Just as the word ‘Gongseupkyeongbo’ was about to slip from Olivia’s lips, a stranger’s hand swiftly covered her mouth.

“Hap...!”

Olivia rolled her eyes along the crude fingers that sealed her lips. She didn’t know who it was, but Olivia felt irritated by whoever was disturbing the patriotic concern for the empire’s security.

At the moment she was about to speak in an annoyed tone, Ricardo’s soft voice reached Olivia’s ear.

“The empire is safe, Miss.”

“Huh...?”

“And how about not getting angry with the sparrows? You used to enjoy watching them.”

Ricardo gazed at Olivia with a slight smile. His tired eyes, looking down at himself, seemed exhausted and weary, as if he hadn’t slept a wink.

Olivia glanced at Ricardo, pursing her lips.

“Ri-har-do? (Ricardo?)”

Unable to pronounce properly due to Ricardo’s hand covering her mouth, Olivia opened her mouth and lightly bit Ricardo’s hand. The taste of Ricardo’s palm felt bland and unsatisfying.

“Why did you bite me!”

“Just because.”

“Just because? That’s not an excuse! I thought I woke you up sweetly...”

“hehehe...!”

Olivia stared at Ricardo with a mischievous grin. Ricardo, wiping his saliva-stained hand with a handkerchief, furrowed his brow and slowly ran his hand through Olivia’s hair.

“Don’t drink it. It’s painful.”

“It tastes bad, so I won’t drink it anymore.”

“...”

Muttering about trying chocolate later, Ricardo smiled and spoke softly.

“Miss.”

“Yes?”

“Why did you wake up so early? You should sleep more.”

“The birds woke me up.”

Olivia gestured towards the sparrows, her expression stern. She demanded justice against the sparrows that disrupted her nap.

Ricardo smiled, petting Olivia’s head, and uttered a plea like an animal rights activist, “Please endure.”

Olivia repeated the question Ricardo had asked. Why did he wake up so early if it wasn’t time for the sun to rise yet?

“Ricardo, why did you wake up so early? The sun hasn’t risen yet.”

“Oh... I had a nightmare.”

“A nightmare?”

“Yes.”

Olivia pondered deeply on the word ‘nightmare’. Nightmares were indeed frightening. Knowing that the fear of ghosts or losing snacks in dreams vanished upon waking, Olivia asked Ricardo with a worried tone.

“Did you dream of losing snacks?”

“No.”

“Oh, come on.”

Olivia tilted her head with a bored sigh as Ricardo recounted his mundane dream story.

“Not a scary dream.”

“Really? I found it quite terrifying.”

“Very scary?”

“Yes. Extremely scary.”

Ricardo’s sigh as he muttered ‘extremely...’ reached Olivia’s ear. Olivia turned her head to look at Ricardo, who seemed to be filled with many worries, and asked,

“Eat something. You’re probably just hungry.”

“No. It’s just that my thoughts are getting complicated, keeping me awake.”

“Complicated?”

“Yes, there was something I thought was fine, but after dreaming about it, should I say it became scary?”

“Cowardly Ricardo.”

“Not as much as you, Miss.”

“Hey! What about me?”

“You were the one who asked me to sleep together because of a cockroach.”

“That person is dead.”

“Phew...!”

Ricardo didn’t go into detail about the nightmare he had. Concerned that Olivia would be shocked and taken aback if she heard, Ricardo, keeping the dream events a secret, spoke with a somewhat gloomy expression about his thoughts on the dream.

“It was extremely scary.”

Ricardo stopped stroking Olivia’s head and stood still.

Olivia, sensing Ricardo’s trembling gaze on her, thought she should display her authority as the mistress and spoke confidently towards Ricardo.

“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you, Ricardo.”

“Oh... Isn’t that touching?”

“Yeah. So, lie down here.”

Olivia tapped the bed next to her, telling Ricardo to lie down. Knowing that it was quite improper for a man and a woman to lie in the same bed, she could at least offer the adjacent spot to the butler who had a nightmare.

Not being the kind of mistress who would fiercely drive away a butler frightened by a nightmare, Olivia wriggled her body to make room beside her on the bed and handed him a bit of the blanket.

Ricardo stared blankly.

Awkward gazes crossed the empty space.

“Lie down.”

“It’s a very charming offer, but if I lie down with you, my heart might not function properly, Miss.”

“I don’t smell.”

“That’s not the reason...”

Ricardo took a deep breath, covering his flushed face with his hands. Olivia gazed intently at Ricardo’s reddened face, possibly due to fever, and said,

“Ricardo, do you have a fever?”

“No.”

“Doesn’t seem like it. Your face is red.”

“It’s just my mood.”

Knowing she couldn’t trust the butler’s words, Olivia grabbed Ricardo’s wrist and pulled him towards the bed.

“Hey!”

Ricardo, caught off guard, was guided by Olivia’s hand and sat on the bed.

Ricardo brought his hand to Olivia’s head, who was lying down. In a somewhat awkward position, Ricardo, with his disoriented center, gazed at Olivia.

Ricardo’s face, staring at his own face as if kissing his lover.

Olivia made a chubby expression, grasped Ricardo’s cheeks with both hands, and pushed his face closer to hers.

With a “thud,” Olivia leaned her forehead against Ricardo’s, looking at his bewildered expression, and gave a short, concise answer.

“No fever.”

“No...”

From Noble mtl dot com

“Why. Does it hurt?”

Once again, as Olivia attempted to touch her forehead to Ricardo’s, he hastily pushed her away.

“What are you doing...!”

“Health check.”

“Who measures a fever like this...!”

Olivia replied confidently to Ricardo, wondering what was wrong with that.

“Why is it wrong?”

“Well, it’s not wrong. But you shouldn’t measure someone else’s fever like this. Really...”

Olivia answered Ricardo.

“I won’t do it to anyone else. I won’t even do it to Dad.”

“Why?”

“It’s a hassle.”

Olivia grinned, grabbed Ricardo’s wrist, and shook him to lie down beside her.

“Ricardo is my butler, so I’m checking his fever.”

With a disappointed smile, Ricardo lay down beside Olivia and said, “I really... can’t stop you.”

Ricardo, who was trembling in a nightmare, lay down beside Olivia, closed his eyes, and the two slowly drifted off to sleep.

Five hours later.

“Ricardo... I’m hungry.”

Olivia woke up Ricardo.

*

[End of the reading.]

I shook with trembling eyes, looking at the fantasy shown through the blue window.

Tragedy unfolding in a familiar space was making me feel the emotion of ‘terror’ for the first time.

I was feeling a fear I had never experienced even in combat across enemy lines, all within the young lady’s room.

– Ricardo...?

-...

– Wake up, ? NоvеIight ? (Original source) Ricardo.

The young lady hugged my cold body, crying. Pouring tears incessantly, calling my name, the young lady seemed like a person stranded on a remote island.

Unable to contain the rising sorrow, she pounded her chest.

Refusing to believe, she clung tightly to me, speaking to me incessantly.

– Yes?

-...

– Why aren’t you answering?

-...

I can walk now... Look... I’m walking like this. Look at me, Ricardo!

At the end of a long and sad journey, the lady’s tears ceased.

The cold darkness began to engulf her body, swirling around.

It was terror.

A fear greater than my own death.

“I will save you. By any means necessary.”

[Vitality...]

[Consuming the user’s lifespan as a medium.]