Page 249 of The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

In the original story, Mikhail's mother had died.

She abandoned her child with dreams of a better life, making the difficult decision to part ways to seek a slightly better existence. However, she never completely abandoned Mikhail; she later realized the depth of her maternal instincts.

Perhaps she had promised to return for him.

Mikhail's mother went in search of his biological father—the man who had shared a passionate love with her before suddenly disappearing. He had finally responded to her after many unanswered letters. Following his conditions, Mikhail's mother left Mikhail behind and set out alone to find him.

"...Just wait until I've established myself."She believed in the uncertain promise of waiting.

To hide her identity, she was treated like a maid in the mansion, and the days she could meet with him grew fewer while the persecution continued.

It was as if they were telling her to leave of her own accord.

She endured constant neglect and mistreatment.

One day, Mikhail's mother realized her fate upon reading a newspaper article.

The owner of the Western Canal, the eldest son of the Marquis Wolfgang, has announced his marriage... He expressed his honor at joining with the daughter of a capable family...What returned to the mother who had abandoned her child was a handful of money and a cold warning to stay out of sight.

"Pack your things and get out immediately.""...How could you do this?""Don't call me that. I'm not like you.""You said you loved me...! You promised we'd be together, that you'd persuade your family.""Pfft... Me?""Please, don't do this. Do you know the sacrifices I made for you?""Watch your words. I didn't force you. Besides, I never had a wife like you. Don’t act like we're close. I have no use for you or your child anymore.""Our child... Can’t you at least do something ? Nоvеl?гht ? (Don’t copy, read here) for our Misa? I don’t need anything, just take Misa as your own...""Misa? Hah...""Even as an adopted child... Misa is smart, she could be of use to you...""Hey, that’s not my child. That’s the child you, a common woman, gave birth to.""Let go of me!""Don't ever show your face in front of me again. Don't spread any weird rumors, either. If you do anything foolish, I'll kill both you and your child. Understand that."A bleak story.

The tale of a woman deceived by the sweet words of a nobleman, a woman who fell prey to the schemes of someone trying to erase any future complications—that was the story of Mikhail's birth mother.

In the novel, Mikhail eventually reunited with his birth mother. It wasn't a heartwarming reunion but rather an accidental encounter.

Mikhail’s mother had searched for him persistently, and finally, they met.

Of course, the result was...

"I never had a mother like you.""...""You abandoned me when I needed you most, and now you want to play the role of a parent? Is it because I've become successful? You made me wait my entire life, promising to return, and now you want to live as my mother?"Mikhail coldly dismissed his birth mother.

He expressed his grief and resentment, spewed his anger, and his mother collapsed, sobbing.

With the final words telling her never to return, their reunion in the novel ended. Yet, Mikhail’s mother eventually sacrificed her life, burning with her last remnants of maternal love.

She died saving the child she had nearly lost at the hands of his biological father.

I didn't want to recall the details. Being a person who steers clear of depressing thoughts, I didn't want to dwell on such a grim story. Besides, there was still plenty of time, and I didn't feel like straining my brain.

"..."

That was what I thought, yet here I was, meeting them again. It’s quite ironic.

I looked at the eyes of the panting child and adopted a cold expression. I knew it was pointless to blame a child for the sins of the parent, but in the novel, that child turned dark and ended up killing many, so I couldn’t harbor warm feelings.

The child didn’t know much yet, but as someone aware of what would happen after Mikhail brought down the Wolfgang family, I couldn’t feel any affection.

'Hmm.'

I knew just how deeply the Wolfgang family was tied to the underworld.

Bribes and favoritism to secure power. All sorts of ruthless deeds to build up their family—this was something I was aware of as someone who had taken over this character’s memories.

'I don’t know...'

I sighed lightly, looking at the huffing young lady.

"Young lady."

"Wait a moment."

The young lady was counting something, her fingers moving as she counted numbers.

"One. Two. Three. Four."

She was counting the knights with swords and the elderly butler standing before us. After finishing her count, she nodded slightly and spoke.

"Ricardo."

"Yes."

"Shall we kill them?"

"Why?"

"They're looking down on me arrogantly."

The young lady crossed her arms, exuding the dignity of a noble. She puffed herself up like a frilled lizard, radiating an aura that declared, "Our family’s prestige is greater than yours."

"All they have is a mere shipping route... And they dare look down on me?"

"Well, young lady, you are quite small."

"Eek!"

The young lady nodded in agreement.

"You're right."

"Aren’t I?"

"But their gaze is disrespectful."

"That’s true."

As the young lady, thinking fast in her role as a noble, narrowed her eyes with a mischievous glint, she spoke with determination.

"Let’s kill them!"

"Please, hold back."

"Okay."

As I chatted with the young lady, the child, now emboldened by the arrival of reinforcements, puffed out his chest and began to speak, hastening his own demise.

"Hey!"

Quite the provocative tone.

I thought he probably wouldn’t live long.

The child, his eyes wide, repeated his earlier challenge, his voice dripping with arrogance.

"Why aren’t you saying anything? Are you scared?"

"..."

"Now that you know who my dad is, just kneel and apologize, then get lost..."

Just as the child’s arrogant provocations were about to cross the line, the young lady narrowed her eyes and muttered coldly.

"What kind of education did this brat get, to speak like that?"

I whispered softly into the young lady’s ear.

"That doesn’t seem like something you should say, young lady."

"Really?"

"Yes. If it were you, you’d have already thrown a fireball in his face."

"True."

"But at least he's trying to resolve this with words, so he’s better than most."

"Hmm."

The young lady nodded in agreement with her slip of the tongue. Even she realized that it wasn’t appropriate to criticize someone else’s poor upbringing. With a noble shake of her head, the young lady spoke again.

"Hey."

"Hey?"

"Not you, idiot."

The young lady lifted her gaze to the elderly butler looking down at her. This man, who had been humbly addressing us as "Young Master" just moments ago, was now puffing out his chest and looking down on us with disdain.

Feeling displeased by the old man’s insolent gaze, the young lady, seeing his bewildered expression, spoke once more.

"A noble is speaking to you, and you’re not even acknowledging it?"

"Oh... I apologize."

"Apologize?"

The young lady strutted over to the elderly butler, her heels clicking as she maintained eye contact.

"Your family doesn’t seem to do anything right, do they?"

As the bodyguards moved to restrain the angry young lady, I gave them a low warning.

"Don’t move."

"..."

At my single command, the knights who had placed their hands on their sword hilts froze like statues. Their shoulders flinched, but they didn’t remove their hands, unwilling to abandon their duty of protecting their master.

I chuckled lightly and continued.

"The moment you draw your swords, you’ll die."

"..."

The knights let go of their sword hilts.

Seeing the knights unable to move, the butler, recognizing that someone capable of subduing the Wolfgang family’s knights must be a noble of considerable rank, bowed his head slightly.

"..."

The butler spoke with a snake-like grin.

"I apologize for not recognizing a person of such high standing. I am Lud, the butler of the Wolfgang family..."

"Shut up!"

The young lady, with a sharp turn of her head, cut him off. Her disdain was evident as she made it clear that she didn’t care to hear his name. She was truly a daughter of a deep-rooted villainous family, showing no respect for elders. I couldn’t help but nod in approval.

'Now, this is what you call a villainess.'

There was something satisfying about her unchanging, unapologetically wicked behavior. It was far better than being halfway bad.

With a cold gaze, the young lady spoke.

"A mere Western noble dares to look me in the eye?"

Clench."Are you mocking me?"

The young lady noticed the clenched fists of the knight and the child and arched her eyebrow. Once her switch was flipped, the young lady could quickly find reasons to lash out.

"Release that fist."

Just as she had in the Academy, the young lady began to hurl venomous words.

"If you’re upset, say it. Don’t just curse under your breath."

"...Haha."

"Are you laughing?"

The knight chuckled, but the young lady wasn’t amused.

"Who are you laughing at? Don’t you know it’s rude to laugh in the face of a noble?"

"Apologies, but our family's status—"

The young lady turned to me with a questioning look, clearly annoyed.

"Ricardo."

"Yes?"

"What should I say?"

"Hmm..."

Given the young lady's current appearance, it would be risky to claim she was a Desmont, as it could lead to troublesome rumors—like the Desmont family having a surprise late child. I understood her concern.

I stepped forward and gave the young lady a reassuring smile.

"I’ll handle this."

"Okay. Deal with them."

"That might be difficult."

"Ugh... Then I’ll just beat them up myself."

"Who?"

The young lady rolled up her sleeves and pointed at the child, who was sticking his tongue out from behind the elderly butler.

"I’ll just kill him."

"Please just make sure he can still walk afterward."

"Alright, I’ll try."

As the young lady walked off, the elderly butler finally looked me straight in the eye, his pride clearly wounded by the appearance of someone from the same profession.

"Which family are you from?"

"Sir."

"At least you have some manners, unlike your master. You seem better than her."

"Sir, haven't you felt something... off?"

"...What?"

"You know, that instinct telling you you’ve messed with the wrong people? When you feel that chill, a good butler knows to bow his head."

"...You insolent brat..."

"We both know better than to behave like amateurs."

The sky darkened.

Rumble.I glanced up at the darkening sky and spoke.

"They’re here."

The elderly butler’s eyebrow twitched as he looked up, sensing the ominous magic approaching.

The Desmont family is one blessed with magical power.

Their innate talents are so formidable that even the Archmage would bow to them—a family full of monsters.

Eccentric personalities. Walking a fine line between the light and the shadows. Even the Emperor hesitated to interfere with this family.

"Oliviaaaa!!!!!"

And this was the family I served—the Desmonts.

"Huh?"

The young lady, who had been stomping on the child, widened her eyes in surprise as she saw a middle-aged figure flying toward her from the sky.

"Dad!!!!"

Cracks began to form on the elderly butler's face.

"...Desmont."

He realized too late that he had provoked the most notorious family in history.