Page 160 of The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

Mikhail was a child born at an unexpected time.

Born from a mother who was a famous martial artist in the empire and a son of a family that strictly adhered to social status, Mikhail was a child born at an unexpected moment for everyone.

The man couldn’t secure his position in the family, and the woman, at a time when she loved her occupation as a martial artist, gave birth to a child.

Mikhail’s mother began to have difficulties in her martial arts life due to her growing belly.

Pregnancy was like poison to a profession that showcased beautiful dance moves. The woman, who wanted to uphold her honor as a martial artist, chose to retire, and Mikhail’s father abandoned the martial arts and disappeared.

There was nothing a commoner martial artist like Mikhail’s mother could do.

Even if she bore an unwanted fruit, the world was not kind enough to listen to a mere commoner’s story.

Although their relationship may have started from love, the end of their story left only bitter wounds of hatred, so all that awaited Mikhail, who had never seen the light of the world, was resentment and hatred.

The woman despised the child in her belly.

Because of this child, she thought her life was ruined.

The one she loved ran away.

She lost her occupation as a martial artist.

Believing that the reason for her miserably ruined life was the child in her belly, Mikhail’s mother hated Mikhail even before giving birth.

-Waaah... Waaah...

-Be quiet.

-Waaah... Waaah...

-I said be quiet! Stop crying all the time and just be quiet...!

As Mikhail’s ears opened, the first words he heard were his mother’s harsh curses.

The curse to shut up because it was annoying made him understand the word ‘mom’ faster than anything else.

-Shut up...

-...What?

-Shut up!

-What did you just say!

Mikhail thought his name was ‘Be Quiet’ until he was 2 years old.

Every time he called for his mom because he was hungry, she would always say that.

Still, Mikhail loved his mom.

Despite her constant anger and irritation, she was the only one on his side in the world. He waited for his mom who came back after drinking.

Although he had never stepped out of the tightly locked room, his whole world was his mom, so Mikhail loved his mom.

And he loved his mom when she returned after drinking.

On days she came back after drinking, she would always hug him tightly and say, “I’m sorry, my child.”

And so, four years passed.

Mikhail’s world began to expand more than before.

His mother started talking to him.

And his mother started taking him for walks, holding his hand.

The walking route with his mother was always the same.

Buying candy from the store they frequented, walking through deserted alleyways while he blankly stood there.

-“Mom, why do you always stare at this place?”

-...

-Mom?

His mother, tightly holding the hand that was eating candy, would sigh deeply and then return.

It was the same routine every time, but Mikhail enjoyed going out with his mother.

Really.

His mother started working.

No longer a dancer performing in front of high-ranking people, she began working as a server in an adventurer’s tavern.

She drank more often.

And there were more days where she didn’t come home because she was drunk.

Every time she returned home and saw me asleep, she would let out a deep sigh.

‘I should stop resenting her....’ I still couldn’t forget my mother’s muttered words to herself.

Then one day.

A stranger came to the house.

The man who introduced himself as my dad looked about five years older than my mother.

Seeing the man who asked to be called dad, my mother’s expression seemed pleased.

He bought me toys.

I enjoyed the moments when my mother and him laughed and chatted together. Of course, he wasn’t my real dad.

I could instantly tell that this man wasn’t my dad.

Was it intuition?

It just seemed like that’s how it would be.

And so, three years passed.

By the time the number of men asking to be called dad exceeded ten.

My mother came home with a stern expression.

-I’m back, Mom!

-...

-Mom?

-Oh... Yes?

Returning home with a deep contemplative look, my mother smiled broadly at me.

Once, my mother used to dislike me a lot, but now she just slightly disliked me.

I smiled back at my mother’s smile.

-Thank you for your hard work!

-Sure.

Without even removing her makeup, my mother sat facing me. Why was she being so kind when there was no smell of alcohol? I asked my mother with curiosity.

-Did you drink a lot?

“No. I didn’t drink.”

“Wow...!”

Sitting face to face, my mother stroked my head and pulled me into a warm embrace. In the cozy embrace of my mother, I opened my eyes wide and looked at her.

Gently stroking, my mother whispered these words.

“Sweetie.”

“Yes!”

“Does sweetie like mommy?”

“Yes!”

“Okay... Then sweetie would be happy if mommy is happy?”

“Yes! If mommy is happy, I’m happy too.”

“Alright...”

For the first time, my mother bought me a doll. Not under the influence of alcohol, but soberly, a large teddy bear.

It wasn’t a toy that the uncles bought, but the gift of a teddy bear from my mother made me happy.

“Wow!”

“Birthday gift.”

“Really?!”

“Yes.”

Every time my mother saw me happy, she would smile bitterly. At that time, I couldn’t understand my mother’s smile.

It was my mother’s inner thoughts, lost in deep contemplation.

When night fell, I would hold the teddy bear tightly and fall asleep. Holding the teddy bear that smelled of my mother’s strong perfume made me feel like she was hugging me.

Like that, one day.

Two days.

About a week passed.

My mother held my hand and we went for a walk.

Further than our usual route.

As if heading to a place where we couldn’t return by carriage, my mother just stroked my head, smiling silently.

“Mom. Where are we going?”

“...”

“Are we going on a trip?”

“Yes.”

“Wow. Are we going to see the sea?”

“The sea... Yes.”

My mother continued to stroke my head silently, and the carriage kept rolling its wheels without stopping.

As we neared the destination, I was exhaling in excitement. My heart was pounding at the thought of seeing the sea that I had only read about in books.

“Mom, have you seen the sea?”

“No.”

“Oh...”

As we approached the sea, my mother’s expression hardened.

– Squeak.

The carriage came to a stop in an unfamiliar place. The blue sea, like one from a fairy tale, was nowhere to be seen.

There was a bridge with mud flowing beneath it, and on the other side of the bridge, a place filled with houses that seemed like they would collapse at any moment.

I clutched the teddy bear tightly and looked at my mother.

Because I was scared.

The glances of the children peeking at me from the other side of the bridge were scary, and the rats passing by were scary.

And with a foreboding feeling that I might not see my mother again, I held onto the teddy bear tightly.

My mother squatted down and looked at me.

She gently stroked my cheek, gave a tender smile, and said, “Sweetie, Mom has something to take care of, can you wait here for a moment?”

I nodded.

Without even wiping her runny nose, she just kept nodding her head, not letting go of me.

My mother held my hand tightly and said, “Mom will definitely come back.”

-...

– I promise.

– Promise?

– Yes.

– Will you come back when {Novelight} you’re thirteen?

– Yes. Mom will come back with your real dad. Just wait a little bit.

I reached out my pinky finger to my mother.

– Promise...!

She hooked her finger with mine and smiled.

– I promise.

I ran towards my mother who was getting farther away. I had one last thing to ask.

– Mommy!

I fell on the ground due to the wind from running with my short legs, and my nose bled, but I bravely wiped it away because Mom didn’t like crying.

Because we promised, because she said she would come back. I held onto the hem of her dress without wiping the bleeding nose and said, “Mom.”

Mom turned around and was crying.

For the first time in front of me, she was shedding tears.

I looked at my mother and said, “Why are you crying? You said you wouldn’t give me presents if you cry.”

– No, Mom didn’t cry. But why did our daughter come looking for Mom? Mom said she’d be back soon.

– That’s...!

I wiggled my finger and said to my mother, “What’s my name?”

-...

– Mom called me, what if I don’t know?

My mother bit her lip, lowered her head.

– Come to think of it, I didn’t even give you a name...

My mother paused for a moment in her tracks and spoke with a voice dampened with moisture.

– Misa.

– ...Huh?

– Misa. Your name.

– Misa!

– That’s right. Misa.

Upon hearing my name, I let go of my mother’s tightly held clothing with a smile.

I vigorously waved my hand.

– Goodbye!

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– ...

– Mom! Goodbye!

– ...

My mother didn’t return.

I waited for her.

Folding my fingers, I counted the days in a repeating nightmare, “One day, two days, three days.”

I crouched under the bridge where I promised to meet my mother, eagerly listening, but she never came.

Strangers reached out to help, but I bit their hands, ran away, and hid repeatedly.

A day passed.

Two days passed.

By the third day, the somber thoughts in my mind turned into certainty.

I wept bitterly and fell asleep, thinking, “Mom will be there when I wake up.”

That day, the rain poured heavily.

Cold.

Dark.

The teddy bear, soaked in rain, felt unpleasant.

Despite my cold body, my forehead was burning hot. I slowly lifted my heavy eyelids.

“Mom...”

“...”

“Mom...”

“It’s not mom.”

Before me stood a little child holding a paper box.

The child, with a pouting face, looked at me and poked my cheek, saying, “For real....”

“...”

“Is this Ginyeon?”

“...Mom?”

“It’s not mom, not dad either... Hmm.”

The child smiled and spoke.

“Is that so?”

Raindrops falling from red hair landed on the ground, following the child’s smile.

“Nice to meet you.”

“...”

“My name is Im Inhyuk.”

And so, it was the first encounter between Mikhail and the red-haired boy.