Page 295 of The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

Mikhail gazed up at the blue sky.

A sky filled with white clouds and the rising red sun—a scene perfect for putting complicated thoughts to rest.

And Mikhail's mind was filled with complications.

‘Why.’

Everything felt like it was falling apart. His relentless pursuit of revenge, his desire to be seen as a good person by that boy—it all seemed like an illusion now.

He had hated that person so much. He thought they were beyond understanding...

"Haa..."

He never imagined that person would be the one he wanted to meet so desperately.

Mikhail thought God must be truly cruel. No, it wasn’t God—it was himself who was the fool. He had countless chances, but instead of taking them, he drove the nail deeper into him.

He hadn’t even begun to atone for his sins.

He hadn’t managed even a simple apology. He hadn’t bowed his head to express his true feelings.

He didn’t dare approach him under the name ‘Mikhail.’ Not after everything he’d done.

At the academy. In the dungeon. And in every moment in between.

He had always approached him in the worst possible way, and now he thought there was no hope left.

His chest was suffocatingly tight. Just thinking of him made his heart ache. Now, in this situation where he couldn’t even see his face anymore, he couldn’t shake the feeling of despair.

It wasn’t anyone else’s fault; it was the situation he had created himself.

"This is the worst."

When he asked himself, "Why did you do that?" the question immediately bounced back: "Was that the best you could do?" Standing at the edge of a steep cliff with nowhere to run.

"Really..."

Whenever he closed his eyes, he could vividly hear the harsh words he had spoken to him.

I don’t need someone like you.You’re garbage! Irredeemable trash!Why don’t you care about those weaker than you? You’re perfectly capable of it!

"It's ridiculous to the point I’m speechless..."

"Who am I to talk about consideration? Someone else had been looking out for me all along."

He didn't ? Nоvеl??ght ? (Exclusive on Nоvеl??ght) know his story, and that man would never reveal it to him.

Because that was the kind of person he was.

At the academy. In the slums.

Mikhail knew he was someone who didn’t share his pain with others, and so he couldn’t unclench his fist.

He already hated me. He must have been disappointed in me. And probably even despaired because of me.

How nice would it be if someone had told him that? That way, he could at least apologize for all the wrong he had done. Even though he knew the pain wouldn’t be erased.

The thought that he had driven even more nails into a heart that already had thousands pierced through it made his chest tighten painfully.

‘Idiot.’

His head felt like it was filled with fog.

It was as if he was trapped in a maze, every step forward leading to yet another dead end. Mikhail couldn’t tell what was right or wrong anymore.

"Haa..."

How long had he been sitting on that bench, staring blankly at the sky?

-... Yot?!

‘Hm?’

A voice suddenly reached Mikhail's ears.

He turned his head slightly to look in the direction of the voice. He was curious about the owner of the startled voice.

‘Who could it be?’

With that question in mind, he turned his head and spotted Shuen, who was busily handing out flyers.

When Shuen saw Mikhail, she smiled brightly and started waving at him.

"Hello-yot!" "Oh... it’s Shuen." "That’s right-yot! How have you been-yot?! Commoner?" "Uh...?" "Oh, sorry-yot! It’s a habit! Haha! How have you been, Senior Mikhail-yot?"

Shuen, approaching with a radiant smile, was wearing a blue vest and greeted Mikhail while handing him a flyer.

[SU Convenience Store Super Sale!

Buy ?Hot Bar? and Get One Free! 1+1 Event!]

"Take this-yot!"

Shuen's expression was dead serious as she handed him the flyer, as if she'd erased all her past sorrows from her mind.

"The convenience store is having an event-yot." "An event...?"

Shuen glanced around, then leaned in close to Mikhail's ear and whispered softly.

"The boss has lost it-yot..." "R-Really?" "Yes-yot...!"

Seeing Shuen's serious expression, Mikhail didn’t know how to respond to her.

He had once tried to use her to get closer to Ricardo and had left her with painful memories.

"Um..."

Mikhail backed away on the bench, uncomfortable with how close Shuen's face was.

"Hey, you’re too close..."

But Shuen paid no mind to Mikhail’s discomfort and continued speaking.

"...Have you finally submitted to my status-yot?!" "...What?" "Rest assured, I, Shuen, do not oppress or bully commoners-yot. And I don’t dwell on past grievances, so don’t let it weigh on your heart-yot!" "..." "I’m going to date a handsome guy-yot. And here’s a secret-yot." "..." "If you buy the spinach lunchbox today, you get it for half price-yot." "I see." "Amazing, right-yot?" "Y-yeah." "Take this coupon-yot."

[?Super Lucky Coupon - Given Secretly by the Boss?]

Shuen shoved the flyer into Mikhail’s hands, nodding as if she had just revealed the secret to heaven on earth: the convenience store.

"Well then, I’ll be off-yot. Hannah said if I don’t hand out all these flyers by today, they’ll go to waste-yot!" "Wait, Shuen!" "Yes?!" "Um..."

Shuen tilted her head as Mikhail hesitated, then smiled brightly and spoke.

"Oh, right! This...!" "Hm?" "I forgot to give you a coupon."

Mikhail’s eyes trembled as he stared at the coupon that Shuen pressed into his hands.

"I haven’t apologized yet..."

Please take a flyer, you rotten commoners!

Mikhail lowered his head, filled with gratitude, as he watched Shuen’s retreating figure.

"Ugh..."

Yuria, sprawled out on the ground, looked up at Malik’s cold gaze. She hadn’t managed to land a single hit on him.

"Monster..." "If I’m a monster, then that guy is a god." "..."

Malik scoffed at the fallen Yuria, his expression as cruel as Ricardo would’ve expected.

"If you can’t even break through an Expert’s defense, how are you going to dodge a Swordmaster’s blade?" "How could I ever dodge a Swordmaster’s blade...?!" "To be honest, I can’t dodge a Swordmaster’s blade either."

Malik’s calm, matter-of-fact response made Yuria laugh bitterly as she struggled to get back on her shaky legs.

"You’d better keep your promise about the ‘Friends of the Forest’ ticket...!" "Of course." "Hyaaah!" -Thwack! "Too slow. Even a bear cub could hit harder than that." "Who keeps a bear at home?!" "...Sometimes I wonder that myself."

Malik watched as the staggering Yuria got back on her feet. Her determination over the last two weeks had been impressive—she hadn’t given up even once.

Most of the other students had already given in, but this pink-haired girl alone remained, refusing to back down. Malik had to admit he was impressed, especially since her vast holy power wasn’t easy to channel into physical skills.

And, of course, his own fists...

-Thwack! "Argh!"

...Didn’t discriminate between men and women.

‘A top student is a top student.’

Without realizing it herself, Yuria was using healing magic to restore her damaged muscles and increase their strength.

Malik admired her constant growth. With this level of training, even the students in the Swordsmanship Department would have been groveling by now.

"Well done, third-year cadet Yuria." "Don’t compliment me! I don’t even have the strength to respond...!" "Hm. Then I’ll have to talk to you more."

For the hard-working top student, Malik began explaining the virtues a healer should possess.

"As someone who’s been to war, let me tell you about the virtues of a healer." "Ugh, just take one hit already!" "First, you must survive to the end."

-Thwack!

"Wherever you are."

-Thwack!

"Even if you face an unbeatable enemy, a healer must survive. Only then will the vanguard risk their lives to protect you." "Please, just let me hit you!!"

Malik lightly caught Yuria’s punch and, with a brief remark, continued.

"Second. A healer must be able to identify the root cause of an injury. Whether it’s poison, disease, a curse, or bleeding, you must quickly assess the cause and treat it efficiently." "You could explain that in class!" "The fastest way to learn is through experience. Like this."

Malik gently swept Yuria’s legs out from under her. As she collapsed to the ground, Malik smiled in satisfaction, while Yuria gritted her teeth in frustration.

"Simply making the surface appear healed isn’t true healing. Understood, Cadet Yuria?" "Grrr!" "Your determination is commendable."

Yuria clenched her fist against the ground, shakily getting back on her feet. She was so determined to land a single punch now, if only out of sheer frustration.

"Just let me hit you once!" Malik smiled as he replied.

"No."

Malik was notoriously stingy.

Time passed.

In Yuria’s dreams, she saw a woman single-handedly mowing down soldiers. And she saw herself, drenched in blood, smiling.

-Haa...

Yuria didn’t know what the dream meant, but as she watched her dream self, she thought,

"I’ll make that technique mine."

-Desolate Aria.