Page 189 of The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

A lot happened.

Mikhail sat on the floor and cried because a robber stole his entire begging bowl.

-Sob... cough...

-Why are you crying?

-I collected so much today... I was going to brag about it... I was going to buy cream bread today...!

-I’m fine. He stole yours instead of mine. No loss.

-It’s not okay at all!

-You can earn more than me if you work for an hour.

-...

After begging, I used to lie down under the bridge and watch the falling stars.

-Wow... They’re falling so much.

-Yes, they’re falling a lot.

-Let’s make a wish! My mom said that if you make a wish to a shooting star, it will come true.

-It doesn’t come true. I’ve made so many wishes.

-...

I used to correct Mikhail’s wrong knowledge while looking at the falling stars. Because if you have wrong knowledge from childhood, you can have wrong thoughts.

-Do you know that?

-What?

-They are all stones. Very big stones.

-...

-Even if you make a wish on that, nothing will come true. It’s more meaningful to pray to a statue that looks like your grandfather... Ack! Why did you hit me!

-It’s not funny.

There were many small and trivial things.

Like the time when Mikhail almost got sold to gangsters.

Like the time when I scolded Mikhail for following a strange woman, thinking she was his mother.

-Hey! That person is not your mother!

-...She’s not our mom?

-Ha... Damn it. What am I going to do with you?

-She looked like my mom... She smelled like my mom.

-Are you a dog? Looking for people by their smell.

During that time, Mikhail also went outside the bridge and became close with his friends in the slum.

Of course, Mikhail, who was very cautious, didn’t make many friends, but his world expanded.

If I had to pick the most memorable event, I think that would be it.

It was a rainy day, and it was raining so hard that it was dusty. It was such an impressive event that I couldn’t forget it.

It was a trivial thing.

A trivial thing that people would laugh at.

The time when Mikhail’s teddy bear, which he always carried, was taken away by gangsters is the first thing that comes to mind when I think of ‘Mikhail as a child’.

-Hwaaang! Give it back! Give it back!

-Poohahahaha! Hey, he’s crying.

-Give it back! My mom bought it for me!

-Mom? What mom? You’re an orphan without a mom.

-Give it back!

It was a disaster that young Mikhail couldn’t handle on his own. Most of the things that happened in the slums were like that.

A disaster that you just had to endure in this place where there was no one to help and everyone was only looking out for their own interests.

I was walking back from begging to the young lady when I heard Mikhail’s sad cries at the entrance of the alley.

-It’s mine... It’s mine... Please give it back.

-Poohahahahaha. Hey, look at this. I’m cooking your teddy bear.

-Don’t! Please don’t...!

Boooooom...!

-Gwaaah! Don’t do that!

“What’s this?”

As soon as I saw Mikhail’s torn teddy bear, I think it was the first time I had ever felt murderous intent.

Even the sight of Mikhail picking up the torn stuffing from the floor and cramming it back in. The sight of those guys laughing as if it was funny.

I didn’t like any of it.

“Argh... He’s really pissing me off.”

I brandished my wooden sword like a madman.

“If you don’t want to meet your ancestors in heaven, then stop. I’m going to go see them today anyway....”

It felt like getting beaten to death that day.

I made a grand entrance, but in the end, I was no match for them because of the difference in our weight classes.

It would be more accurate to say that I just fought like a dog with a crude wooden stick.

Since I was a street rat from the slums anyway, I stood out to them, so I got hit even more.

-Hey! Step on that punk!

-Die! Die!

-That little punk’s nothing. He’s just yapping!

Unable to do anything, I hugged Mikhail’s teddy bear tightly. The approaching kicks hurt, but I had already put on a show, so it would be pathetic to get hit again.

I thought it would be less pathetic to just cower and get hit, so I just endured it.

After getting beaten for a long time like that, I pretended to be dead, and the punks ran away. Having decided that I would give those punks a brick to the frontal lobe this evening, I got up nonchalantly and said,

“Let’s go.”

“Huh...?”

“Are you hungry?”

Mikhail, who had stopped crying, looked at my bruised body, and I took Mikhail’s hand and went down under the bridge, smiling broadly.

I kept wiggling Mikhail’s fingers. It was cute.

Once we got under the bridge, I skillfully began to sew up Mikhail’s teddy bear.

I was used to it because I had sewn a lot of clothes in my previous life. I could do this much with my eyes closed.

“Argh... Are you okay?”

From Noble mtl dot com

“What?”

“You got hit a lot.”

“I didn’t get hit once. Didn’t you see me dodging them all? I was really fast.”

“Liar. You got hit a lot.”

“I didn’t.”

“You got hit because of me.”

“...It doesn’t hurt.”

“You got hit here.”

Poke.

‘Is this attempted murder?’

“Ow!”

“See, it hurts.”

“It doesn’t.”

Mikhail had apologized to me. He said that his existence felt like a nuisance.

“I’m sorry. I ended up leaving you here...”

“Don’t say that, even as a joke. It’s not your fault, so why # Nоvеlight # would you say that?”

Honestly, it was strange to blame someone when it wasn’t even Mikhail’s fault. I accepted Mikhail’s apology with a nod.

“That...”

Mikhail fidgeted with his fingers, glancing at me.

Mikhail took a deep breath and opened his mouth with a trembling voice.

“Why did you do that?”

“What?”

“Why did you take the hit for me?”

“You’re weak.”

Mikhail shook his head and replied.

“I’m not weak.”

“Oh yeah?”

At that moment, I couldn’t see Mikhail’s expression because I was sewing up the teddy bear, but I think he had a touched expression.

Because what I said was cool.

I thought that if Mikhail had been a woman, I would have fallen for him a long time ago, and I hid the corners of my mouth as they turned up, pretending to be indifferent.

“I protect you because you’re weak.”

“So why...?”

“Just. Because I want to?”

“What if I get stronger?”

“That will never happen, even if you die.”

‘Isn’t that right?’

“Later, when you become stronger than me, you can protect me then. Right?”

“Me, protect you?”

“Yeah.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

I said with a small smile.

“Until then, I’ll protect you.”

It was hard to smile with my face so swollen, but I smiled anyway, hoping it would help Mikhail’s depressed mood a little.

“I promise. Really.”

Mikhail, who had been staring at me for a long time, spoke up, his eyes sparkling.

“You know...”

“Yeah.”

“When I think about it.”

“Yeah, when you think about it. I should be filial to you?”

“No. I want to be someone who protects weak people like you.”

“What?”

“Just! I want to be someone who wields a sword and says ‘Go away’ coolly when they see bad guys like you!”

“Did I do that?”

“Yeah.”

“Something seems to be off, though.”

Mikhail’s words about wanting to resemble someone who was ruined were funny, but I smiled faintly and hummed in agreement with Mikhail’s rhythm.

“Yeah.”

I said to Mikhail.

“You could do it.”

As someone who knew the novel.

And as someone who had seen Mikhail during his time in the slums, I told Mikhail with confidence that he would succeed.

“I’ll cheer you on.”

“Cheer me on...?”

“Yeah, cheer you on.”

That day, for the first time, Mikhail asked me this question.

“What’s your ideal type?”

“Not you. Lee Minhyuk.”

“Lee Min... hyuk?”

“...”

“Lee... Min... hyuk?”

“Don’t make a normal person into a nuclear weapon.”

I laughed faintly as I watched Mikhail try to follow my name while clenching his fists. It seemed like my name was hard for other people to pronounce.

I patted Mikhail’s head as he tried his best and said,

“Okay. You got it. I turned Min-hyuk, the immigrant, into a nuclear weapon.”

“Im... min...”

“Stop it. It’s just getting worse.”

Mikhail grumbled and spat out his regret. He was mumbling, saying, ‘If I just tried a little more, I could have said it.’

I looked at Mikhail with a small smile.

“Why are you asking about my ideal type? Are you going to introduce someone to me?”

“No!”

“Then why?”

“Just... curious.”

Mikhail’s shy demeanor, as he fidgeted with his fingers, made me clench my fist inwardly. I thought that if I played my cards right, I could be introduced to a really pretty girl later on.

I smiled and answered Mikhail’s question.

“Listen carefully because I’m only going to say it once.”

“Yes...!”

“Kind.”

“Yes.”

“Pretty.”

“Yes...”

Why is he writing this down on paper? He really seemed like a good friend.

I thought about my ideal type that I had in my heart and said,

“If possible, it would be nice if she had an unusual hair color.”

“Hair color?”

“Yep.”

Mikhail, who had buried his face in his notebook and was hunching his shoulders, couldn’t lift his head for a long time.

Mikhail was struggling because I gave him such a difficult order.

I was worried, but I couldn’t help it. He had to understand my situation where I had no choice but to give a difficult order when choosing a companion for life.

I told Mikhail with a bitter smile, thinking that it wouldn’t be too much of a nuisance since I had worked so hard to brighten Mikhail’s childhood and inform him of the dangers of compassion.

“Lastly, someone with a good body.”

“...”

Mikhail suddenly stopped talking.

Mikhail, who had been continuously writing down my words in his notebook, stopped the moving pen and his ears began to turn red.

“Why...?”

Did I ask for too much?

The moment I thought, “Oh no,” and was about to lower the bar, Mikhail muttered softly in a voice I couldn’t hear.

‘Mom is big too... Me too...’

I didn’t know what he was mumbling, but Mikhail quickly regained his spirits, looked up, and smiled broadly.

“Will that do?”

“Yes?”

“Can I be your bride if I’m like that?”

“Uh... I guess? But I have big dreams, so I’m going to have a lot of wives.”

I should have told him in advance.

If Mikhail were to see my shameless married life when he grew up, he might draw a sword, so I thought it would be helpful for the life of the spirit to educate him from a young age.

As expected, Mikhail puffed out his cheeks and told me I was shameless.

“You’re shameless.”

“I can’t help it. I’m just too good.”

“You’re hopeless.”

“...”

Mikhail said with a bright smile.

“I’ll allow it anyway.”

“Just make sure to like your first wife the best.”

I smiled at the fact that it seemed to have ended well, even though I didn’t know why.

“Anyway, thank you.”

As expected, it was good to get beaten up early.

*

A long time passed like that.

Around the time when Mikhail’s pain over his mother had faded a little.

It rained.

Yes, it rained.

It rained very sadly.