Page 334 of The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

In front of the temple where the Holy Sword rests.

Standing atop the corpse of a cultist guarding the temple entrance, I nodded as I looked at Rowen and Yuria, who followed closely behind.

"It looks like things are mostly sorted out." "Quick work." "I expected at least one Apostle to be guarding the entrance, but since there was no one, we could finish up quickly." "I thought the same." "...You’re rather stingy with compliments." "Indeed." "...It seems the Archbishops have retreated, and the Apostles are inside. Should we go in as well?"

Rowen looked at me with a sideways glance and said,

"Hold on." "Yes?" "I didn’t have the time to bring it up earlier." "Yes..." "What did you say to my daughter?"

Rowen’s piercing eyes turned towards me, and I scratched my head with an awkward smile.

"The moon... is shining beautifully tonight." "..." "..." "Let’s let it go, for now."

I almost died. Having narrowly avoided unintended danger, I cleared my throat and began to discuss the strategy.

"As I mentioned before, we’ll split into two teams to enter the temple." "..." "One team will be me and Mikhail, while the other team will be you and Yuria." "...Understood." "The reason is..." "Splitting into two teams makes it easier to find the Holy Sword quickly, right? And you paired Yuria with me and Mikhail with you to ensure we have a fallback if neither of us meets the Holy Sword’s requirements." "...Exactly."

I gave Rowen an awkward smile, impressed that he’d figured it out so precisely.

"How did you know?" "It’s obvious." "Very perceptive."

Rowen let out a faint chuckle and nodded.

"Then we’d better get moving before they find it first." "That’s right."

I nodded with a small smile. At the fork leading into the temple’s underground, I stopped.

"We’ll go to the right." "Then I’ll take the left."

-Click.

"Stay alive." "Likewise. Oh, and Yuria!"

Yuria, looking tense, flinched and turned around when I called her name.

"...Yes!?"

I smiled at Yuria.

"I’m sorry I can’t go with you." "Ah... it’s fine!" "The Commander is stronger than me, so try not to be too nervous and give it your best."

Yuria clenched her fist and nodded firmly.

"Yes...!"

-Click. Click.

"Alright, shall we go?"

I watched Rowen and Yuria disappear down the fork before turning to Mikhail, who nodded with a determined look.

"Yes...!"

The reverberations from our steps echoed down into the underground.

The temple’s structure was incredibly complex and massive—much more so than described in the novel.

Old armor, dulled by time, lined the walls of the temple’s underground, and the hands of knights clad in platinum armor held swords.

‘This alone could be worth a fortune. I’d probably get caught if I stole it, though.’

With a wistful glance at the armor, I noticed Mikhail fiddling with his fingers and threw out a teasing comment.

"Looks expensive." "...Pardon?" "I mean the armor. Not just one, but all made of platinum... Should we steal one on our way out?" "...Shall we?"

Mikhail, casting a dubious look at me, nodded, as if willing to go along with anything I said.

"Haha! I’m joking. Taking that would bring bad luck." "...Ah, then I’d better refrain." "Definitely. Imagine ghosts haunting you in your dreams." "...True."

I gave Mikhail a light-hearted greeting, since I hadn’t had the chance earlier due to the rush.

"Has everything been alright?" "Yes...? Ah... Yes, I’ve been fine." "Glad to hear it." "Has Ricardo been well too?" "Yes, I’ve been doing just fine, as always."

I smiled softly at Mikhail’s shy response. It seemed he was still unsure of how to interact with me.

As we had some time before reaching the resting place of the Holy Sword, I decided to pass the time with some light conversation.

"This is the first time since that day, right?" "...Yes." "We should have met in swordsmanship class, but meeting like this feels a bit strange." "..."

I looked around the wide space and casually asked Mikhail,

"Mr. Mikhail." "..." "Do you prefer to be called Misa? Or would you rather I call you Mikhail?" "...Ah." "I’ve been wondering about this for a while. Since we’ve introduced ourselves, I’d like to know what name you’d prefer I use."

Mikhail glanced at me and responded, albeit hesitantly.

"I’d... like it if you called me Misa." "Is that so?" "Ah... but! I mean, only when we’re alone. Others don’t know that I’m a woman, so...."

Oh...

I chuckled at the blush spreading across Mikhail’s face, thinking about how flustered he must be to turn that red. Tempted to tease him further, I let out a faint laugh and nodded.

"Alright, Misa." "...Yes." "I’ll call you ‘Misa’ when it’s just the two of us." "Thank you..."

As we made our way deeper underground, we talked casually about various things—how I became Desmond Olivia’s butler, how I ended up at the Academy—things we hadn’t shared with each other before, allowing us to relax.

"So... Olivia saved you?" "Yes." "..." "Despite how she may seem, she’s the one who saved my life." "Saved your life..." "She can be quite prickly and throws tantrums, but she’s a kind person. Hard to believe, right?" "...Yes." "Understandable." "Honestly, it’s hard to believe that Olivia is... kind, honestly." "Haha! I understand. If I hadn’t known her from the beginning, I might feel the same."

I shifted the topic, asking Mikhail something else as we neared the Holy Sword’s location.

Judging by the presence I felt, it seemed the cultists hadn’t made it here. They were probably lost in the temple’s labyrinth.

If they tried to break through...

-Scrape.

The displayed armor would not have stayed still.

I stretched and casually asked Mikhail, as if seeking his thoughts before claiming the Holy Sword.

"A bit out of the blue, but..." "Yes?" "Who do you think will claim the Holy Sword?" "...The Holy Sword?" "Yes, since we’re here, might as well speculate."

Mikhail looked at me, then spoke shyly.

"I think... Ricardo will..." "Please, feel free to call me Ricardo." "Yes... I think someone like Ricardo will be the Holy Sword’s master." "...Me?" "Yes. There’s no one more kind-hearted and upright than you." "Your judgment seems rather off."

Objectively speaking, it would be strange for me, the wielder of the Cursed Sword, to become the Holy Sword’s master. Besides, just taming Tyrfing had been a struggle—handling both would be more of a burden than a blessing.

Mikhail, seeing my hesitant response, offered a shy smile and asked,

"Then who do you think will claim it? Maybe Yuria, with her kind heart? Or perhaps the Commander?" "Hmm... Good question."

I looked at Mikhail and said,

"I don’t think anyone but you can claim it." "...Me?"

Mikhail stared at me in shock, his eyes trembling.

"No, I couldn’t possibly... claim the Holy Sword..." "Nonsense. Where could you find someone as kind as you? Always helping others, even when it hurts." "..." "Always taking hits, just like a punching bag." "..." "Getting scammed." "...Stop!" "Haha! Just kidding."

I grinned at Mikhail, who looked thoroughly deflated.

The thought of him becoming the Holy Sword’s master was amusing in its own way. Hiding my true thoughts, I spoke to him with a gentle smile.

"Honestly, neither I nor the Commander are really good people. Our hands are stained with blood, and we’ve wielded our swords for selfish reasons." "...No, you’re both admirable." "Oh, come on... up close, it’s tragic." "..." "To be honest, I think there’s no one kinder than you. Purely as a person, not considering past affiliations." "..." "If you became the Holy Sword’s master, I believe you’d use it wisely. I think the Holy Sword would want that too."

Blushing deeply from the repeated compliments, Mikhail lowered his head, unsure of what to do.

I patted his head and moved forward.

Visualizing the scenes I’d read in the novel and anticipating the hardships Mikhail would face.

"Whatever happens, don’t waver."

I moved forward.

Meanwhile,

Deep within the temple, three Apostles were silently on the move.

The trailing hems of their robes dragged along the ground, dirtying them and amplifying the ominous silence with a soft ‘swish, swish.’

"..." "..." "..."

Finally, the Apostle of Restraint broke the silence with a heavy voice.

"Apostle of Compassion." "..." "How do you find the life of an Apostle?"

The Apostle of Compassion clicked her tongue at the sound of the human language in her ears, expressing ? Nоvеl?g?t ? (Official version) her displeasure.

"Such a cold woman." "..." "For someone so cold, she seems rather useless."

Irritated by the Apostle’s mocking words, the Apostle of Compassion stopped in her tracks and spoke.

"Shut up, human." "...Whoa, whoa. Calm down." "I only joined hands for the greater good. It’s not like I wanted to touch filthy human hands." "Of course. But I find it hard to say anything good about someone who failed to deal any real damage to the enemy forces."

The Apostle of Restraint smiled slightly and glanced at Elicia, who had been keeping her lips tightly shut.

"Isn’t that right, Apostle of Patience?" "..." "Unlike you, the Apostle of Patience always gets the job done. It’s a shame, really. Although there was a recent mishap, if you look at just the results, there’s a lot to learn. Almost as if her life depended on it. Haha!"

The Apostle of Restraint’s words had a bite to them, as if to say, ‘Stay focused on the task.’

Elicia, unfazed by the Apostle of Restraint’s mocking, responded without looking at him.

"Let’s focus on finding the Holy Sword, Restraint." "..." "Intruders seem to have entered the temple." "..."

The Apostle of Restraint let out a long sigh and spoke in a low voice.

"Looks like we’ll have to split up."

He fiddled with the watch in his pocket, wary of the variable that was Elicia.

And then,

"Well, this is an unexpected encounter."

Rowen and Yuria had come face-to-face with the Apostles.