Page 243 of The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

◎ You have acquired the qualifications to view a hidden side story.

◎ 〈666th Side Story〉 In Your True Form...

Would you like to view it?

Mikhail believed that finding the key would bring an end to all the misfortune.

The ongoing nightmares. Living in pursuit of justice. He thought the key would put an end to it all.

"Sigh..."

Mikhail took a deep breath, trying to calm his troubled heart. The time had come to receive the answer he had hoped for, the reward for all his efforts. It was hard to steady his emotions.

The reward for all his hard work.

Mikhail, facing the hope he had so desperately sought, exhaled a trembling breath and nodded.

"I will view it."

The blue screen whispered coldly into Mikhail's ear, shifting his vision.

Viewing will now begin.

Mikhail had envisioned a happy future.

But then...

That hope crumbled.

I returned to the mansion and swallowed deeply in the dark room.

"...My tongue is itching."

[Q. Mikhail’s Guardian.] · · · ◎ Reward: You may now view the 〈16th Side Story〉 ‘The Danger of the Truth.’

I was reaching the limit of keeping a secret I had postponed time and again. Staring at the status screen, I smiled bitterly, knowing I couldn’t keep playing this secret game forever, blocked by the hill called “restriction.”

"I’m not the kind of person who listens well anyway."

Even when the lady wet the bed as a child, I had spread the rumor throughout the mansion, so the restrictions that itched my lips filled me with a sense of rebelliousness.

"Suddenly, I’m annoyed."

It wasn’t like I usually listened to what the status screen said, so I found it a bit annoying that I was being cautious, feeling like I had lost my original intent.

"...Should I just go for it?"

The thought of acting impulsively crossed my mind, but I let out a hollow laugh and shook my head.

'No, I restrained myself because I didn’t want to deal with the hassle... It’s fine if I reveal it later.'

Since I would be the most inconvenienced if Mikhail’s awakening was delayed, I sighed and shook my head.

"Hmm..."

Then should I take a look at this restriction?

What could be so significant that it’s hidden so tightly? I wondered as I gazed at the status screen.

◎ Reward: You may now view the 〈16th Side Story〉 ‘The Danger of the Truth.’

The reward for a quest I completed while temporarily teaching at Hamel. I had postponed claiming it. Now, nodding slightly, I muttered,

"I’ll view it."

With a warning that I wouldn’t hesitate to blow it all away if it wasn’t anything serious, I accepted the familiar darkness that fell over my vision.

The screen went dark.

Having experienced this once before, I wasn’t too surprised. The first time is always the hardest, after all.

'I wonder what they’ll show me this time.'

Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much. It would be odd to be excited about something like this, and I had a rough idea of what was going to happen.

Shock. Regret. Apologies.

That’s all I expected.

But I also thought that the process would be long and would interfere with the awakening. As the darkened vision slowly brightened, I lifted my head and couldn’t help but laugh at the familiar surroundings.

'Hah.'

The familiar building. The frozen people. And standing among them, with all their gazes fixed on us, were the lady and me.

'Damn...'

As soon as I opened my eyes, I cursed.

This place didn’t hold any good memories for me. The god’s cruel sense of humor naturally drew a curse from my lips.

The courtroom.

I stood in the very place where I had met my end at the Academy.

I saw the lady glaring at the people with an expression that seemed ready to explode, and my past self clenching his fists, trying to contain his anger.

Shartia, who presided over the proceedings, Mikhail, Yuria, the Crown Prince, and Luin, who stood in the witness stand. They were all gathered in one place, gazing coldly at our past selves.

And I stared back at them with a cold gaze, frozen in that past moment.

'...I don’t know how to take this.'

I thought I was okay with it, but seeing myself standing there from a third-person perspective made me laugh bitterly.

'This is really messed up.'

Standing there for a long time, I closed my eyes tightly and recalled the events of that day.

Expel the evil villainess.Drive her out!Never let her step foot in the Academy again!Boo!

Recalling the scorn, rebuke, and curses that flew around that day, I felt a pang of regret. I should have cursed more back then.

Even though the story hadn’t even begun, I was already quite uncomfortable.

Taking a calm breath, I raised my head.

The viewing will begin in 10 minutes.

Nothing would change by getting angry, but it seems I still have a long way to go to become an adult.

Time passed. The seemingly unmoving time took its weary steps, awkwardly leaping forward to convey the truth behind the "restriction."

Just as I was about to grow weary of waiting,

The viewing will now begin.

A cold voice cautiously signaled the start of the story.

"Ah. Ah..."

Shartia’s voice rang out. The voice of the strong and cold-hearted student council president reverberated through the hall, marking the beginning of the trial in the ears of my past self.

"We will now commence the 307th Academy Disciplinary Committee meeting."

As Shartia’s voice declared the trial of the evil villainess, the audience began to murmur.

"My lady..." "I told you, Ricardo." "..." "If you’re nice to them, they’ll just keep climbing all over you. I could have been nastier, I could have just killed them, but I held back, and this is what I get." "My lady." "I’ll kill them."

The whispered conversation between my past self and the lady quietly echoed. The voices of the two of us, who were both the most wronged and the main characters of that day, went unheard by anyone.

Shartia silently carried out her duty.

"Today’s case involves the incidents that occurred on May 15th: first-year student Olivia’s acts of violence, verbal abuse, threats, bullying, and the use of dark magic. The severity of the disciplinary action will be decided."

I hadn’t realized it at the time.

Murmurs.Again with the trials?The rumors have already spread everywhere.

I hadn’t known their gazes were that blatant toward us, but looking at it from a third-person perspective, I could feel how isolated we were in that courtroom, like a thorn piercing the skin.

But I already knew that. I let out a bitter laugh as I watched the lady, with her veins bulging in anger, and my past self, who worried about her.

'Sigh...'

The students who claimed to be victims began to testify one by one.

"It’s true. Olivia made us do it..." ° N ?? v ?? l i g h t ° "It’s true I ordered you, but you all participated too!" "Kyaa!" "Make Ricardo kneel right now."

The atmosphere in the courtroom darkened at the lady’s unfiltered reactions, and public opinion naturally shifted against us.

I wasn’t upset.

We were in the wrong. Even now, I didn’t think we were falsely accused or wanted to argue. I just regretted not cursing those who stood as witnesses back then.

Not aspiring to be a hero, I let go of the dark feelings and watched the past unfold silently.

Next up was Yuria.

"First-year student Yuria, can you describe the situation where Olivia threatened and harassed you?"

Nod.

Then came Mikhail.

"First-year student Mikhail, can you testify to Olivia’s misdeeds?" "Yes, and I would also like to testify about that man, Ricardo."

As the records of their misdeeds piled up, the lady and my past self naturally lost their words and tightly closed their mouths.

Blinded by love, the lady began to cry at the betrayal of those she trusted. Having offered a small kindness out of a sense of opportunity, my past self smiled bitterly, waiting for the trial to end.

And then...

"I will now announce the decision. The Academy Student Council officers have decided to expel Olivia, the main perpetrator, and to impose a one-month suspension and a one-year ban from ranking competitions on Ricardo, who was complicit."

At the moment the verdict was announced, all the scorn and rebuke of that day were directed at me.

"What did I do wrong!"

The lady’s anger.

"Get lost!"

The students’ resentment. And the accusations of those I had trusted rained down on us.

Don’t ever show your face again.I’ll never forgive you.Idiot.

That day, I had laughed and flipped them off, but one man had followed me to the end, hurling curses.

"Won’t you apologize?"

Just like on that day, Mikhail approached me, looking for an apology, and I stood there with a bitter smile.

And, as I always did, I responded with a smile.

[The perspective is shifting.] [You are now moving to the moment when your consideration was taken as a weakness.]

The perspective shifted.

It moved to the day I saved Mikhail from 'Yung' for the second time.

"Don’t act all high and mighty."

And on that day, I gave a different answer than before.

"Mikhail."

"..."

"I’m disappointed."

"What are you disappointed about? I didn’t even ask for your help..."

"Min-hyuk."

"Huh?"

"Don’t you remember?"

Cracks began to form on Mikhail’s face.

At that moment, Mikhail began to breathe in the alternate future shown by the blue screen.

"I..."

The face of that boy, which had been obscured in darkness, began to come into view.

Mikhail clenched his fists and slowly lifted his head.

At the Academy fountain...

Hearing the voice of the man who claimed to be 'him,' Mikhail clenched his fists.

"In fact, I..."

And then...

'Huh...?'

Drip.

Tears began to fall.