Page 311 of The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

I had a dream.

A dream where I was with him.

In a field of green grass, we smiled at each other and shared peaceful conversations.

How’s the weather today? What happened?

Though it was a dream filled with trivial conversations, it felt incredibly sweet.

So sweet that I wished that moment could last forever.

—Haha! Hurry and follow me!

Mikhail smiled as he saw Ricardo, who was beaming with joy and gesturing for him to follow.

Even though it was just a dream.

Even though it was a dream that would vanish like dust, Mikhail felt happy to have such a dream at the very end...

—Rustle.

At the sound of rustling in his ears, Mikhail’s eyes slowly began to open.

"Are you awake?" "Ah... ugh!" "Don’t move. I stopped the explosion, but I couldn’t block all the shock."

Mikhail let out a small groan as his body felt shattered, like it was made of glass. His legs, arms, and chest ached with such intense pain that he could barely move. With bleary eyes, he tried to force himself awake.

‘Where... am I?’

The space around him was dark.

The ceiling was so close it felt like it was right in front of his face, and there was barely enough room for two people to sit side by side.

And then...

Mikhail’s eyes widened as he saw the man smiling brightly at him in the dark.

It was Ricardo. The Ricardo whom he thought was dead was standing there, burying something in the ground, and smiling as he greeted Mikhail.

"Did you open your eyes?" "..." "You didn’t wake up for so long that I thought you had died. Mihi... no, Missa."

Mikhail stared at Ricardo with a puzzled expression.

"..."

It didn’t feel real.

Even though the earthy smell of the dirt lingered in his nose, telling him that this was reality, Mikhail couldn’t wrap his head around Ricardo’s smiling face as if nothing had happened.

After everything that had happened. After the terrible things Ricardo had endured because of him, Mikhail couldn’t understand why he was smiling.

"Ah... ugh..."

He couldn’t find the words.

What could he say? How could he even begin to speak? Mikhail, gripped by fear, finally forced himself to open his mouth and speak to Ricardo.

The first thing that came out was...

"Is this a dream?"

That had to be it.

In response to Mikhail's question, Ricardo casually turned his back, pinched his own cheek, and smiled.

"It hurts, right?" —Nod. "Then it’s not a dream, is it?" —Nod.

Mikhail blankly touched the cheek that Ricardo had pinched and nodded.

"It hurts." "Did I pinch too hard?" —Shake shake. "No... it's just... my heart hurts."

Mikhail’s eyes reddened with emotion as the overwhelming relief of knowing Ricardo was alive and the gratitude for his survival hit him like a tidal wave.

"Sniff..."

He couldn’t help but cry.

He was genuinely grateful.

"Sniff... I’m sorry."

Grateful that Ricardo was alive.

"Why are you crying...?" "I’m sorry. I just... the tears won’t stop." "Uh... um... that’s..."

Even though he knew he had no right to be near Ricardo after causing him so much pain, Mikhail couldn’t help but want to speak to him more, to reach out, despite everything.

"I’m really sorry."

He was sorry.

He had no right to talk to Ricardo. What words could he offer to comfort him? Mikhail hated and resented himself for even daring to think of it, knowing it was impossible.

But he wanted to know more about Ricardo. He wanted to ask him about his life. He wanted to get closer to him.

"...I’m sorry."

He knew he had no right. But still... He wanted to be selfish.

"I... I’m really sorry..." "This is awkward." "And... thank you for being alive..."

At that moment, Mikhail could no longer control his emotions, and he hugged Ricardo tightly, unable to stop his sobs.

"Sniff... sob..." "Why are you crying? We survived." "Sniff... sob... huuuh..."

After what seemed like a long time...

Mikhail finally began to calm down, thanks to Ricardo gently patting his back.

Ricardo wiped away the tears from Mikhail’s eyes, smiling softly.

"Did I surprise you?" "...Yes." "Did you think I was dead?" —Nod. Nod. "If I could die that easily, I wouldn’t deserve the title of Sword Master. Look."

Ricardo pointed to his torn shirt and the now-vanished wound on his body.

"See? Nothing." "Sniff..." "Why are you crying again?!" "Your... your scars..."

Mikhail pointed to Ricardo’s scars with trembling fingers, his eyes welling up once more.

"Sniff... huuuh..."

Ricardo, looking flustered, quickly covered himself.

"These... well, they’re old wounds. From a rough life, you know..." "Because of me..." "No, that’s not it... well, okay, maybe it is a bit." "Right..." "Ah, no, I mean..."

Seeing Ricardo flustered, Mikhail’s expression grew even more crestfallen. He couldn’t help but feel that all of Ricardo’s wounds were because of him. The thought made his heart ache even more as Mikhail bowed his head and rubbed his eyes.

"Was I... always this pathetic?" —Nod. Nod. "The image you showed at the academy..." "Sniff... At the academy, I pretended to be strong because... I was a man there." "Huh..."

Ricardo sighed and spoke to Mikhail.

"Why did you disguise yourself as a man in the first place? You could have lived freely as a woman." "Because... Lee Min-hyuk knew me as a man, and I thought if he was still alive, he’d recognize me." "Oh, for goodness’ sake..."

Ricardo rubbed his temple, muttering to himself, "At this rate, I should’ve been the novel's protagonist, not Yuria," under his breath.

As the extra character "Ricardo," who barely appeared in the novel, he tried to suppress his flustered feelings as he looked at Mikhail, who was now crying openly again.

"Stop." "...Sniff..." "Let’s stop the crying." "Sniff... okay." "Good. Now let’s talk seriously."

Ricardo looked up at the blocked ceiling and then turned to Mikhail.

"We’re trapped." "..." "I stopped the explosion, but we’re too deep underground. Digging our way out will be difficult. I’ve called for help, though. Someone you know, actually..." "Sniff..." "Why are you crying again?!" "It’s my fault, isn’t it..." "Well, yes, but still..." "Sniff... huuuh..." "Why?! What now?!" "My name..."

Mikhail, who seemed to have an endless supply of tears, had completely let go of his emotions and couldn’t stop crying.

"My name... isn’t Mikhail." "Oh, then Missa it is." "Heehee... You called me Missa..." "Why are you blushing?" "...Heehee."

Ricardo sighed in resignation, shaking his head, thinking that Mikhail must have hit his head pretty hard during the explosion.

"Phew..."

Suddenly, Mikhail leaned in close, causing Ricardo to jump back in surprise.

"What... what are you doing?" "Just checking to see if you're hurt... sniff." "I already showed you." "You might be hurt on the inside." "What?" "...Yeah."

What...?

Ricardo furrowed his brows at Mikhail, who was now seriously spouting nonsense.

"Mikhail... no, Missa." —Nod. "Did you maybe hit your head on a brick during the explosion? Or is Yung still alive... no, wait, I buried him. Anyway, are you okay? Mentally, I mean..." "Sniff... huh?" "No, no, don’t start crying again. I’m not saying it’s strange. It’s just hard to adjust." "Am I really that strange?" "Yes." "Then...!" "Yes." "Should I die...?"

Mikhail’s serious expression as he contemplated committing seppuku made Ricardo shake his head in horror.

"Why is the conversation going in that direction?!" "I’m a burden. Maybe it’s better if I repay you with my life." "Sigh... this is really tough." "...Should I die?" "No! And why are you suddenly using formal speech?" "I’m actually good at using formal speech." "Then why didn’t you use it with me?" "..."

Mikhail, unable to answer, awkwardly smiled and bowed his head.

"Maybe... I should just die."

At some point, Mikhail had grabbed Tyrfing and was now staring at the tip of the blade with a serious look. Ricardo, horrified, quickly shook his head.

"Let’s talk! Let’s just talk." —Nod. Nod. "Today’s been full of surprises, and my head’s spinning. Honestly, I was worried about how I would face you, Mikhail... or, rather, Missa." "..." "I thought it might be awkward..." "Sniff..." "Stop!" —...Nod.

Mikhail’s unexpected reactions made Ricardo laugh awkwardly.

"Anyway, I’m sorry if I surprised you." "No... I’m the one who should be sorry."

—Grip...

"I know I still have a lot to apologize for, but for today... I just want to say I’m really sorry." "You’ll have to keep apologizing." "...I know."

Mikhail’s previously sorrowful expression hardened into determination as he responded seriously to Ricardo.

"I will keep apologizing. Until I die... until you push me away, I’ll keep apologizing." "..." "The wounds I’ve caused... they won’t heal easily."

Ricardo closed his eyes for a moment, offering a difficult smile. He didn’t know how to resolve this, but he felt that, at least for now, this was enough.

He couldn’t scold Mikhail, nor could he demand answers. For now, this was the right place to draw the line.

As silence fell, Mikhail hesitantly spoke up.

"Lee..." "Lee?" "Lee... Min-hyuk." "...Your pronunciation is still off. How many times have I corrected you? How are you still getting it wrong?" "...It’s hard to pronounce." "Lee. Min. Hyuk." "Leek... Min-hyuk?" "Sigh..."

At Ricardo’s exasperated sigh, Mikhail smiled softly. Only one person in the world would ever correct him like this.

Mikhail, his eyes glistening with tears, looked at Ricardo.

"Hey... Leegminhyuk." "Just call me Ricardo." "Then... Ricardo..." "Yes?" "Why didn’t you tell me?"

Ricardo smiled wordlessly.

"You knew all along, didn’t you? That I was Mikhail..." "..." "If you had told me, I wouldn’t have hurt you. No, ◆ Nоvеl?g?t ◆ (Only on Nоvеl?g?t) actually... maybe nothing would have changed since I’m such a terrible person..."

Ricardo interrupted Mikhail before he could continue, not wanting to hear any more self-loathing words.

In a calm voice, he told Mikhail,

"Because you seemed happy."

Ricardo lied to Mikhail. About transmigration, about the status window—none of that would be believed anyway, and it was forbidden to speak of it.

"You seemed to be living well, so I didn’t approach you. Missa, you seemed to be doing fine without me." "..." "I wanted to succeed, too, and meet you as an equal. Just like how you wanted to succeed as Mikhail, I wanted to achieve something as Ricardo." "...But still!" "And so, we grew distant." "..." "Resentment built up between us."

Mikhail clenched his fists.

It was true that he had caused irreparable harm.

There was still so much left. So many unresolved feelings. So many apologies he had to make. And the relationship between them...

There was still a lot left to work through. There was no need to rush. Taking small steps was enough for now.

Even if the weight of their past couldn’t be lifted all at once, just being able to make amends, even in a small way, was enough for Mikhail.

"I..."

That alone was enough for him.

"I did terrible things to you." "..." "I trampled on the people you cared about." "..." "I disregarded the path you were on and ignored your advice. Maybe... no, I did hate you, Ricardo." "I bear some of that responsibility, so I understand—" "No. I’m a terrible person. It was my fault."

Mikhail shook his head at Ricardo’s words, stubbornly holding on to his guilt. No matter what anyone said, this was a burden he felt he had to bear.

"And so... I’ll keep apologizing. I’ll become a better person, and one day..."

Just as Mikhail was about to reveal his heart—

—Rumble.

"Huh?"

The ground began to tremble, and Ricardo quickly reached out to protect Mikhail. In his current state, Mikhail wouldn’t be able to withstand the impact.

"It’s dangerous—"

—Squelch.

"Um?" 'Wait... a lady? No, she’s a bit smaller...'

In that moment, a soft sensation brushed against Ricardo’s hand, and the indecent thoughts in his mind disappeared at the sound of someone’s voice.

"Ah..." "Oh..."

Neither of them could lift their heads.