Page 269 of The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

Under the Moonlight.

Shuen was in a difficult situation.

"This is bad!"

She had forgotten her wallet.

As someone who couldn’t concentrate in class when she was hungry, this was a matter of life and death for Shuen.

"It’s dangerous!"

She had struggled to enter the convenience store, but now, standing before me, she was frantically searching for the money she hadn’t brought with her.

Hmm...

I looked at her rummaging through her bag, much like a 21st-century robotic cat, searching for her wallet. I smiled awkwardly.

"She really is someone to be worried about."

At this point, anyone would have given up, but Shuen had been searching for over ten minutes, digging through her bag like she was on a treasure hunt. It was clear that she was a person with many problems.

She had a strong sense of pride and seemed determined to solve everything on her own.

With her hand still buried in her bag, Shuen muttered to herself.

"Oh... what do I do now..."

"..."

"I swear I brought my wallet... damn it!"

"Excuse me, miss?"

"Oh, Shuen, are you stupid?! Why would you leave your wallet on top of your lunch box?!"

Seeing her muttering to herself like this, I smiled awkwardly and gently picked up the triangular kimbap she had placed on the counter.

But Shuen, startled, grabbed my hand.

Snap!

"What are you doing?!"

I explained with an awkward smile that she couldn’t buy the food without money.

"You don’t have any money, right?"

"But..."

"Unfortunately, that’s how it works."

"Ugh... it’s the same one that Mihail picked out... Just keep it for me! I’ll go get the money right now!"

I gave her a bitter smile and asked.

"It takes about 30 minutes to walk to the dorms, right? That’s an hour round trip. Do you think you’ll make it back during lunchtime?"

"How do you know that?! Are you some kind of industrial spy?!"

"No, just a dropout."

"Oh... I forgot about that."

"How did you know that?"

"Ahhh! That’s a secret!"

Laughing at her flustered reaction, I asked again.

"So, can you make it back in time?"

Shuen, now looking crestfallen, lowered her head and replied.

"...It’s impossible."

"Exactly. So, maybe you could borrow money from a friend or..."

At the mention of friends, Shuen’s face paled, and she looked at me in shock, her lips trembling.

"Oh-hoho... oh-ho..."

She avoided my gaze, staring at the ceiling awkwardly.

For a long time, Shuen just gazed at the triangular kimbap in my hand, her expression sad, as if she were looking at a lover she couldn’t bear to part with. Feeling awkward, I sighed softly.

"I want to feed her..."

It was hard to resist the temptation to help when seeing a beautiful girl like her in need. But it wasn’t just because she looked adorable.

"How about we do this instead?"

"I’m not selling my body!"

"Haha..."

Shuen hugged herself and took a step back.

"That’s not necessary."

I shook my head at her defensive stance and cautiously suggested an alternative.

"Not your body. You could either borrow money from me or, how about we share some food that’s close to expiring?"

"Sh-share a meal?"

She seemed more shocked by the idea of sharing a meal than by the thought of eating expired food. Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she stared at me.

"Could you step back a little?"

"Oh, sorry! I got too excited..."

"Haha... Anyway, since I can’t give food away for free... here!"

I placed a soon-to-expire convenience store lunchbox on the table and explained.

"It’s food that would be thrown away otherwise, so I thought we could eat it together."

"You’re going to throw away this much?!"

"Yes, the boss insists that food quality is critical, so the expiration dates are strict... But it hasn’t gone bad, so you won’t get sick from it. Just don’t blame me if anything happens."

"Gulp..."

"If you’re uncomfortable, that’s understandable, but it’s free food, after all. Plus, I was feeling lonely eating by myself, so it would be nice to have company."

"...Is that really all it takes?"

"Hmm?"

"If I eat with you, I can have the lunchbox for free?!"

"Yes."

With a sly grin, Shuen covered her mouth and let out a noble-sounding laugh.

"Oh-hoho! I almost forgot! Every commoner dreams of sharing a meal with someone as dignified as me! I’ll grace you with my company—"

"In that case, I’ll eat alone."

"W-wait!"

Shuen grabbed my hand and looked at me with pleading eyes.

"Let’s eat together... I’m sorry."

Honestly.

Pfft!

I couldn’t help but laugh.

Shuen’s feelings were a tangled mess. She didn’t know how to react.

The man in front of her was the one who had tormented Mihail, the man she admired. Simply put, he was someone she shouldn’t get involved with, especially given her feelings for Mihail.

The things she had heard from her seniors confirmed this, and she knew it to be true. Although she had never experienced it firsthand, Ricardo’s notorious reputation was still alive in the academy. It couldn’t have been a lie.

Even Mihail, the kindest person in the world, disliked him.

Shuen harbored many negative feelings toward Ricardo. She didn’t understand why Mihail came to this convenience store, but...

As she watched Ricardo move around, she wondered: What kind of person was he?

"Do you like pork cutlets? Or maybe inari sushi?"

"I like inari sushi!"

"Then I’ll prepare that for you."

It felt like he was up to something, but he never revealed any intentions. Despite the rumors about his nasty personality, he didn’t react to the insults people hurled at him.

"Does that guy have no shame? Why is he showing his face here?""Seriously, he should just die already. The only reason the store isn’t going under is because Mihail comes here.""Though to be fair, it’s convenient. The prices are reasonable."Even when he heard these things, he continued to serve customers with a calm demeanor.

What was he really planning?

Glaring...

"It’s strange."

Shuen couldn’t shake off her suspicion of Ricardo. She had no idea what kind of person he really was. Not that she liked him, of course. She already had her prince—Mihail.

Beep beep!

Ricardo brought over the freshly heated lunchbox from the food heater and sat down, saying, "Wow, it’s hot."

Steam rose from the lunchbox, and Shuen, seeing the warm food, gulped and looked at Ricardo.

"Please, take a seat."

"..."

"I can’t offer you anything fancy since I’m just a store clerk, but it should be decent."

"...Thank you."

Pouting slightly, Shuen sat down and slowly picked up the spoon to start eating the lunchbox.

How long had it been since she last ate with someone?

Sniff...

In the Misamo group, where friendships were forbidden, she hadn’t been able to make any friends. And because of a slip of the tongue during the entrance ceremony, she hadn’t made any friends since then either.

Slurp.

As she sipped the soup, a faint smile appeared on Shuen’s face.

"Is it tasty?"

Ricardo’s gentle question made Shuen respond absentmindedly.

"Yes..."

"Is that so?"

"Well... no! It’s not great because it’s commoner food!"

Pfft!

"Got it, got it."

Thinking she had made a mistake, Shuen glanced at Ricardo and asked, worried she had offended him. She was used to driving people away with her words.

"Are you... upset?"

"Hmm? What did you say?"

"No... it’s just that I keep calling you a commoner, and... doesn’t that upset you?"

"Oh..."

Ricardo waved his hand with a meaningless smile.

"That’s not wrong, is it?"

"Huh?"

"And it’s not like you’re saying it to be mean or anything. I don’t mind."

Shuen lowered her head shyly and spoke softly.

"I guess you’re right..."

Frozen with his spoon in hand, Ricardo shook his head, seemingly amused, and said with a chuckle.

"You’re really something ? Nоvеl?g?t ? (Official version) else."

"..."

"But it’s okay. There are people who say worse things to me than that, so I can laugh off your remarks."

"Worse than what I’ve said?"

"Yes. There are people who call me things like 'poor beggar,' 'Dirtycardo,' and 'Cockroach-cardo.' Compared to that, your words are mild."

"Do they happen to be your friends or...?"

"I don’t have any."

"..."

As she quietly ate, Shuen thought to herself that she really needed to fix her speech.

Since that day, Shuen came to visit me every lunchtime.

Ding-dong.

"Hey, commoner!"

Sometimes she’d come with a towering lunchbox, and other times she’d forget her wallet and we’d end up eating together.

Of course...

"I’ll buy the drinks!""Oh...""Here’s the money!""Didn’t you say you didn’t bring your wallet?""I... just found it!"Her acting wasn’t the best, though.

Anyway, the days when Shuen visited me became more frequent.

"Oh-hoho, commoner! Today, I made a special lunch! It’s way too fancy for a simpleton like you, but I’m letting you eat it!"She was an interesting person.

In the novel, I had thought of her as a quiet girl who focused on magic after Mihail rejected her. But in reality, she had a strong personality. I didn’t know how I appeared to Shuen, but...

"You’re a great cook."

"Oh-hoho~! I am quite good at cooking!"

"That’s impressive."

"Don’t just eat the spaghetti—try the braised potatoes too!"

I didn’t think she saw me as a bad person.

Her innocent gestures of kindness made me smile as I nodded along to her words.

After that, Shuen and I got to know each other better, enough to call each other by name.

And then...

I carefully brought up the subject.

Her feelings for Mihail.