Page 277 of The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

- Ssshhhh...

"Hmm?"

I heard the sound of someone sobbing from the women's restroom. The sobs belonged to someone familiar.

- Sniff. - Shit...! - Huhuhuhu!! - Hmph! Huff! Ohohoho...

It sounded far too loud to be the delicate cries of a woman, so I almost thought I misheard.

- Uwaaaaa!!!! I don’t know what to say!

Recognizing the familiar tone, I turned off the faucet and let out a small, amused sigh.

"How long has she even been in there...?"

I really didn’t know what to say.

- I don’t know what to say either!

"Huh?"

It was as if Shuen had somehow read my mind, saying exactly what I had been thinking.

"What the...?"

- I don’t have anything to say!

"Pfft..."

I couldn’t help but laugh at Shuen’s childish tantrum. Her crying was so dramatic that it almost felt funny.

- What is this!? Aren’t commoners supposed to lead the conversation? This... This isn’t right, Shuen!

"Ah, I really shouldn’t be laughing."

But it was hard not to laugh at Shuen's meltdown after facing such a huge obstacle right from the start. She wasn't even rejected—it was her lack of conversational skills that had her crying. The fact that she liked Michail that much made me feel bad for her, but at the same time, her shy reaction was just too amusing.

"Sigh... Keep it together. Keep it together."

- Dammit! This is totally messed up!

"Pffft...!"

Shuen's gloomy voice and her comical words clashed, making it impossible not to laugh.

I didn’t know why she had come all the way to the public restroom to cry when there was one in the restaurant, but villainesses are generally hard to understand. I dried my hands with a towel, still amused.

"Sigh... Should I go now?"

I glanced at the mirror, trying to compose myself, then slowly walked out to sit on a nearby bench, waiting for her.

About three more minutes passed.

"My life is ruined..."

Shuen finally emerged from the restroom, walking with her shoulders slumped. She was clutching a notebook in one hand and a handkerchief in the other, staring intently at the notebook as if searching for some profound wisdom.

- Flip.

"It's not here!"

- Flap, flap.

"Nobody ever taught me this!"

"..."

"Ugh..."

Watching her frantically flip through her notebook, I stayed quiet and simply waited. Now wasn’t the time to joke around.

"Your makeup... It’s all smudged."

From where I sat, I could see that Shuen’s face was a mess. Her poorly applied # Nоvеlight # eyeliner had smeared all over her cheeks, and her shoulders were still trembling from her emotions.

"...."

Her appearance was so pitiful that I couldn’t help but feel bad for her.

"Ugh..."

I waved to her gently.

"Miss Shuen."

But Shuen, too absorbed in her notebook, didn’t notice my gesture. I muttered under my breath, worried.

"If she keeps walking like that, she’s going to trip."

Sure enough, she hadn’t taken many steps before she stumbled over a small stone sticking out of the pavement.

"Ora?! Am I finally flying?!"

Even as she lost her balance, flailing her arms wildly, Shuen held onto her notebook tightly, determined not to let it go.

"I’ve defied gravity!"

Shuen, teetering on the edge of disaster, made me chuckle bitterly. I rushed over to help her.

- Grab.

"Ora?"

"You almost fell, Miss Shuen. You went through all the trouble of dressing up, but if your clothes get dirty, then what?"

"A... a commoner!?"

Shuen looked at me with wide, surprised eyes, then suddenly threw her arms around me, hugging me tightly as if she wasn’t planning on letting go. I sighed softly and gently patted her head.

"There’s a lot I could say, but if I say it now, I’m sure you’ll cry, so I’ll save it for later."

"Hic!"

"I’ll scold you later, so be prepared."

"It’s improper for a commoner to scold a noble!"

"Well, being born lowly has its advantages."

"...You’re surprisingly smart for a commoner."

Shuen glanced up at me, her lips trembling as she asked cautiously.

"Commoner..."

"Yes?"

"Am I that strange?"

Seeing her trembling eyes, I chuckled and shook my head.

"No, I’d say you’re the most beautiful person in the world. Of course, my lady will always be number one."

"...Really?"

"Yes, your dress is lovely, and your makeup turned out much better than I expected."

"Ohoho... A commoner with an eye for beauty. I’m glad I woke up at 5 a.m. to get ready."

"You spent six hours on your makeup?"

"Indeed!"

At her enthusiastic reply, I couldn’t help but laugh. I guess the gods really are fair.

In life, I’d seen many unfair things, but with Shuen and my lady, I felt the gods had given them equal strengths and weaknesses in different areas. Otherwise, how could such unfortunate results occur?

I awkwardly nodded and pointed to the bench.

"Why don’t you take a seat here for now?"

"Alright?"

I reached into my bag for my clown makeup kit, pulling out some cosmetics and a small hand mirror for her.

"Ora."

Seeing her reflection in the mirror, Shuen’s expression hardened as she touched her face.

"Commoner."

"Yes?"

"Who is this hideous woman?"

"It’s you, Miss Shuen."

"Hic! Don’t lie!"

Shuen hiccuped and stretched her cheeks as she stared into the mirror.

"Oraiyot?"

"..."

"Why is she mimicking me? Am I a fool?"

"Because she’s you, Miss Shuen."

Shuen stomped her feet and covered the mirror.

"What do I do!? I was going to confess today, but now it’s ruined! Even a commoner would reject me like this!"

"I don’t really have picky tastes."

"Waaah! My first love is over!"

"It’s alright."

I chuckled softly, picking up a brush from my clown makeup kit and approaching her to fix her makeup.

Shuen flinched at the sight of the brush and pulled back, trying to stop me.

"What are you doing? My face is ruined, so you’re going to use it as a canvas, aren’t you?"

"No."

"Go ahead! At least Michail-senpai will have a good laugh!"

"Well, that does sound amusing, but I’m quite good at makeup."

"What? How can a commoner be good at makeup?"

"I’m really good at it. Like, professional level."

"You’re so annoying!"

"Miss Shuen, trust me. We don’t have much time, right?"

"Ah..."

Shuen glanced at Michail, who was looking at a clock inside the restaurant, and lowered her head.

"...You’re right."

"You came out to eat something nice, you dressed up beautifully... Wouldn’t it be a shame if you lost your appetite?"

"...That’s true."

I brought the brush closer to Shuen’s face, speaking in a reassuring tone as I began my work.

"I’ve been fixing my lady’s makeup since I was little."

"Isn’t that the servants’ job?"

"Well..."

I smiled sheepishly at her.

"My lady gets into so much trouble that once isn’t enough. If I took my eyes off her for a second, she’d end up in a fight, and if she came back from the restroom, she’d have dipped her face in the chocolate fountain. So I had to learn makeup naturally."

"You must have served someone quite impressive."

"That’s right, haha... Anyway, I’m pretty good at makeup. I’m sure I’m better than most servants."

"You’re more talented than I thought!"

"Of course. Unlike normal butlers, I’m an elite one. By the way, don’t you have a personal butler? A family of your status should, right?"

"I do... but."

Shuen blinked a few times, her voice dropping with discomfort.

"They weren’t as capable as you. Every chance they got, they’d tell me to do nothing. And if I tried to speak to commoners, they’d scold me, saying nobles shouldn’t associate with them."

"How narrow-minded."

"Exactly! So when I came of age, I fired them. After that, I told my family not to assign me another butler."

"I see. You’re kind, Miss Shuen."

"Huh?"

"My lady would have torn the butler’s hair out. I’ve heard she actually did that once."

"Wow..."

At that, I nodded sympathetically and gently placed my fingers on Shuen’s chin.

"Alright, now shush."

"Hic!"

"Don’t hold your breath. You’ll die."

"Heuuu..."

Despite the ticklish sensation, Shuen flared her nostrils as I told her, "Stay still," and bit my lower lip in concentration as I worked on the finishing touches.

"Raise your head a little."

"Alright."

"Good."

"...Nod."

Switching to a finer brush, I carefully applied color to her lips as I casually said,

"By the way, I didn’t get a chance to mention it earlier, but I heard you crying in the bathroom."

"...Are you a pervert?"

"I didn’t want to hear it either, but you were crying so sorrowfully."

"It’s embarrassing! Don’t mention it again!"

"Pfft... You’re really amusing."

As I dabbed her lips with a handkerchief, I asked her softly,

"You were worried about how to talk to Michail, right?"

"..."

"You don’t know how to start a conversation, and you want to talk about things you’ve noticed—though not to the point of stalking—but you’re afraid Michail might dislike it."

Shuen nodded her head slightly in response.

"That’s right."

I gently brushed her cheek as I said in a low voice,

"That must have been hard for you."

"Hic."

"Don’t cry. Your makeup will smudge again."

"Ohoho... I won’t cry."

"You’re sweet. Hmm..."

I leaned in close and said to her,

"If I may offer a suggestion, why not start with something light? Just like how you first spoke to me."

"...Should I call him a filthy commoner like I did with you?"

"Is that what you said when we first met?"

Shuen nodded heavily.

"...No, don’t do that. Try something simple, like commenting on the weather. ‘The weather’s nice today,’ for example."

"Isn’t that too obvious? He can just look out the window and see for himself."

"Are you T-type?"

"Huh?"

"No, just kidding. Anyway, that’s the point. You start with something that doesn’t really need to be said, then slowly ease into the conversation."

"And what should I say after that?"

"Ask what he did yesterday."

"Isn’t that prying too much?"

I chuckled softly as I packed away my makeup kit.

"Just share what you did first. ‘Yesterday, I did this and that,’ and then Michail will naturally tell you about his day."

"Ah..."

"Miss Shuen."

I carefully held up the hand mirror to show her the reflection of her face.

"Don’t be scared. Don’t overthink it."

- Heh.

"Got it?"

Shuen blinked in surprise, uttering a soft "Huh?" as she brought the mirror closer to her face, marveling at the change in her appearance.

"How did you manage this in such a short time? I feel like a different person."

"I only fixed your complexion. You were already beautiful."

Smiling warmly, Shuen stood up from her seat.

"I’ve got it!"

"Give it your best shot."

"Yes."

Just as she was about to rush into the restaurant to meet Michail, she hesitated, turned back to me, and said,

"Thank you."

"...It’s nothing."

"For doing that weird makeup just for me."

"I did it because I wanted to."

With a soft giggle, Shuen replied,

"You’re a terrible liar, commoner."

"..."

I gave her an awkward smile as I waved goodbye.

I maintained a cheerful atmosphere throughout.

Shuen, who had been stiff and nervous, was now chatting away as if her mouth had a motor, and even Michail, who was enjoying his day off from training, had a smile blooming on his lips.

It was a completely different scene from the original storyline.

Michail’s “hospitality,” meant to coax Shuen into confessing her involvement in the theft, had turned into a genuine conversation between two people.

However, Shuen...

'...'

She kept glancing at me with a forced smile.

As if she was suffering from arrhythmia.