Page 253 of The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

A small tear fell from the young lady's eye. It wasn't a tear filled with sorrow but one filled with worry, wetting the floor beneath her.

Squeezing her large eyes shut, she rubbed them with her small, delicate hands, trying to hide her tears, crying like a child.

"Hic..." "Ah... Miss, why are you crying?"

Even the playful jokes I usually made...

"It's nothing like that, please don't cry."

...were stuck in my throat, unable to come out due to the young lady's tears. I couldn't think of the right words, the best thing to say to get out of this situation.

At that moment, all I could think was...

"Please don't cry."

I didn't want to see the young lady crying.

"Hic... I'm not crying."

But she continued to shed tears. Even though she was biting her lip to hold back the tears, once they started, they showed no sign of stopping.

Like a child who, once they start crying, can't stop, the young lady trembled as she sobbed.

Time seemed to have stopped.

"..."

The helplessness of my hands and the young lady's sobbing seemed to trap me in this moment.

'What should I do...?'

I couldn't think of anything to say.

As I fumbled, trying to process the tears suddenly falling from her eyes, the young lady slowly began to speak. Her words were filled with sadness as she carefully articulated just what my presence meant to her.

"Without Ricardo, I can't manage." "..." "I'd be so sad and lonely."

Thumping her chest as if trying to make a hole, she continued,

"It feels like there's a hollow emptiness in my heart, and even eating chocolate won't fill it. If Ricardo were to disappear, it would be a disaster for me."

I kept my mouth shut and watched her. I was grateful, yet simultaneously sorry for her words.

I had thought that if it was for her, she would be happy, so I found it difficult to speak.

She’s a villainess, after all. I didn’t think that anyone would care about a slum rat like me, but perhaps it was a wound that had festered deep inside.

I had been alone for so long. Even though I chose to sacrifice myself, what I received in return was cold criticism and scorn. Without realizing it, maybe I had been harboring such thoughts all along.

"Don’t go!" "..." "Don’t run away! Stay with me!"

My heart warmed. It felt foolish, but I was moved. It felt good to know I wasn’t alone, so I looked at the young lady gently and shook my head.

"Why would I disappear? I’m right here in front of you." "You're not!" "Am I a ghost if I'm standing right here?" "Hic... no."

The young lady shook her head in response.

"Ricardo is so foolish that I’m afraid you’ll disappear." "..." "I’m scared that if I go to sleep and wake up, you’ll be gone! Do you know how many dreams I've had where Ricardo disappears?" "Have you really?" "You get hurt and disappear." "..." "You do something bad and disappear." "Someone as kind as me would never do such a thing." "And!"

She lowered her head and spoke in a small voice.

"You disappear because of me." "..." "You’re foolish! You get hurt like an idiot! You get insulted!"

The young lady squeezed her eyes shut and shouted.

"Idiot! Fool! Dumb dog!"

It was as if she was telling me that she had seen me behave that way, trembling in fear, worried that her dreams might come true, and her shoulders shook with the anxiety.

"I can't let anything bad happen to Ricardo." "You managed just fine without me before." "I can’t manage!"

The young lady shook her head firmly.

"I can’t manage. If Ricardo is gone, I’d die. I used to think about marrying you off to a good family and not being a burden!"

"You used to think that?" "Now, I’ll stick to you like glue!"

I chuckled softly and added a joke to her words. Although her crying was cute, I always thought her smile was much prettier.

I tried to lighten the dark atmosphere with a bit of humor.

"Does that mean you want to marry me? I might need to recalculate some things." "Uh..." "You don’t seem to like the idea very much." ? NоvеIight ? (Original source) "Uh... I’ll think about it."

I laughed quietly as I reached out to pat the young lady's head. As my fingers brushed through her soft, fluffy hair, a pleasant laugh escaped me.

"We still have a long way to go." "Mhm...?" "I said you should listen to me."

The young lady nodded and promised that she would be a villainess who would listen to me from now on.

I carefully knelt down and looked at her. Her cheeks, swollen from crying, were puffed up as she stared straight at me with a defiant gaze.

"What are you looking at!" "Just admiring your cuteness." "Then keep looking." "I certainly will." "Mhm."

I gazed at her carefully.

Her small body. Her eyes. And her white hair.

She looked like the most beautiful and precious person in the world. A person so radiant and lovely that it wouldn’t be a waste to give her everything I had.

"Ricardo...?"

At first, our relationship had started as a bad one, but over time it transformed into friendship, and as time passed, it had grown into something heavier than friendship.

As a result, I found that I enjoyed the time I spent with the villainess, and just seeing her smile made me smile too.

Yes, it was an unrequited love.

This was my unyielding resolve. Even if someone said otherwise, even if they told me not to fall in love, my determination wouldn’t waver.

"Yes, Miss."

This was the weight of my emotions.

The young lady cautiously placed her hand on my cheek and stretched it out. Making a pouty face, she spoke in a melancholy voice.

"I don't need to be able to walk." "..." "I don’t mind if people call me a fool." "..." "I don’t care if people point at me and say I’m a defective villainess." "..." "I don’t care if people say I deserve it. Ah... but I won't tolerate that, because it would make me angry." "Pfft..." "Don’t laugh! I’m being serious!" "Sorry, you're just too cute." "Eek... Huff... So, Ricardo."

The young lady pressed my stretched cheek, making me look like a fish. Her comical face made her want to laugh, but she steadied herself and spoke calmly.

"Don’t get hurt." "..." "Don’t disappear from my sight, don’t die, and stay with me for a long, long time." "But what about my marriage?" "That..."

The young lady rolled her eyes, lost in thought.

"That... that..." "Are you planning to marry me yourself, Miss?" "No...! I don’t want to, Ricardo, you’re too ugly!" "Pfft... I’m just joking."

I gently grabbed her shoulders and pulled her into an embrace. I could feel her warm breath against my ear as she breathed heavily on my chest.

Her small shoulders trembled, and her tiny hands, unsure of what to do, tried to push me away, but the gesture was more endearing than forceful.

"...You know, Miss." "Mhm."

I whispered my wish into her ear.

"I want you to be the happiest person in the world."

It was a small wish that others might dismiss as trivial, but I spoke it with more sincerity than anything else.

"As you said before, I want to see you walk on your two feet."

Because I knew she would be happy.

"I want you to be someone you can be proud of, someone who stands equal with others." "I already am." "You’re so perfect that it’s almost a problem." "That’s true too." "Pfft..."

"And I want everyone to see you as the best. Even if the person standing next to you isn’t me...."

Thwack!

The young lady smacked my lips with her palm and glared at me. She scolded me with her eyes, asking how I could say such things.

"Stop!" "..." "If you’re not around, who’s going to run my errands for chocolate...!" "That’s true." "Don’t even joke about things like that. Got it?"

In the past, she would have told me to get out of her sight, saying she couldn’t stand to look at me. Now, she depended on me, and I was grateful for it.

I held her tightly and said,

"Yes, I understand."

So please, forgive me this once.

"What you’re worried about won’t happen." "Really?" "Yes, I’m someone who takes great care of my own body, so don’t worry."

I spent the night holding her close.

And Olivia...

"I want to become someone great...."

...muttered quietly to herself in her room.

And so, the next day...

"Air raid alert!!!!"

The young lady rubbed her eyes as she woke up.

No longer the small Olivia.

"No..."

But as Olivia.

She shocked the Desmont family, who had brought a rattle, by returning to her original form.

In front of the quiet mansion in Hamel...

Grr?

Gomtangi, who had been left to guard the house alone for a long time, saw the silhouette of a woman beyond the mansion’s entrance and tilted his head in confusion.

Grr?

The woman with silver hair and a sword at her waist was hiding behind the mansion’s wall, peeking inside.

Holding a small envelope in her hand, she cautiously peeked over the wall.

Gomtangi’s eyes lit up with a memory, recalling something his master had once said.

If a thief comes, bite them. Got it?Grr.Did you understand? Look, if they try to climb over the wall like this....Grr.

Gomtangi lifted his head and looked at the woman in front of him.

And then.

Grr? "An intruder?"

Hans, who was hiding with Gomtangi in the doghouse, also looked at the intruder and tensed up.

Gomtangi was hungry.

Grr.

Not for dog food, but for meat.

Grr grr grr.

But being a good pet, Gomtangi simply nodded, seeing that the woman wasn’t climbing over the wall.

Grr grr grr.

Gomtangi, who hated being bothered just like his master, decided to let it go.