Page 388 of The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

The dark evening in the Imperial Palace.

"...Butler!"

Drunk and furious, the Second Prince called out, his anger echoing through the shadowed halls. The humiliation he had suffered earlier in the day still burned in his chest.

His still-swollen cheek stung, and as his butler rushed to him, the Second Prince demanded in a voice full of rage,

"Did you dig up anything on that man?"

The butler nodded hesitantly, his eyes trembling as he answered. He knew all too well who the prince was referring to—the man who had dared to strike the Imperial Prince of the Empire.

"His name is Ricardo, the personal butler of Olivia Desmont. He’s in his early twenties and currently on leave from the academy."

"You know that’s not what I’m asking, don’t you? Do I need to spell it out for you again?"

"N-No, Your Highness!"

Startled by the prince’s sharp tone, the butler flinched and opened his notebook, reading the details he had painstakingly compiled.

"And..."

The man, whose information seemed intentionally obscured, was shrouded in mystery.

Not even the information guild could provide much on him.

"We’re sorry, but we cannot provide information on the Desmont family.""Money is no object.""We apologize, but it’s not possible.""Do you understand this is an order from the Second Prince? Refusing this could result in severe punishment!""We’re sorry, but we cannot comply."

Even with a fortune at his disposal, the prince had been unable to purchase any meaningful intel.

The notes he now held were acquired at great cost, containing only details of Ricardo’s activities in the West.

"Ricardo participated in the recent subjugation of the demonic beasts. According to reports, he displayed extraordinary martial prowess and played a significant role in the success of the campaign."

"And?"

"And... he purchased large quantities of chocolate while in the West."

"..."

"And he continued buying chocolate after returning to the capital."

Grinding his teeth, the prince shouted in frustration,

"I don’t care how much chocolate he bought! What I ? NоvеⅠight ? (Read more on our source) want to know is how he found out about the drug...!!!"

"...!!"

"If Father hears even a whisper of this, I’ll be disowned! My brother will cut ties with me, and I’ll be cast aside...!"

"I’m sorry, Your Highness."

"Forget the chocolate. Bring me real information—his weaknesses, how to kill him...!"

Suddenly, the prince’s expression changed, a twisted smile appearing on his face as he muttered to himself,

"Kill him...?"

The Second Prince had devised an assassination plan doomed to fail.

An afternoon bathed in the glow of the setting sun.

The sound of papers being sorted echoed through the office.

"It’s finally done, Princess."

The Guildmaster, drenched in sweat, wiped her brow as she handed over the restored documents the Second Prince had torn apart.

"You’ve worked hard."

Shartia smiled at the Guildmaster as she took the stack of papers.

"Huh...?"

"Yes?"

"You seem... different today."

"Different how?"

"I don’t know. More... human, maybe? Warmer, even?"

"I’ve always been human."

"...No, I mean—"

Shartia shrugged at the Guildmaster’s bewildered reaction and continued tidying up the remaining documents. She didn’t forget to compliment the Guildmaster’s new disguise.

"Your new mask suits you well."

"...Are you nearing death, by any chance?"

"Sorry?"

"Nothing."

"I’m sorry for causing you so much trouble. If it weren’t for my brother, you wouldn’t have to change your disguise."

"It’s no trouble. It was about time for a change anyway. By the way..."

The Guildmaster looked at Shartia, who seemed to be preparing to leave early, and asked if she was relocating her base.

"Are you planning to move your base? There’s no place safer than the academy."

"My base? No."

"Then...?"

"I’m leaving work early today."

"What?"

"Yes."

"Is something wrong?"

"No, everything’s fine."

The Guildmaster looked at Shartia as if she’d seen a ghost.

Shartia almost never left work early. For her to announce she was going home early was unthinkable, especially after her unpleasant encounter with the Second Prince the day before.

The Guildmaster, brightening at the thought of an early finish herself, looked at Shartia with a smile.

"Finally, we’re done for the day!"

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"No reason. It’s just... unusual."

"Unusual?"

Shartia shrugged and addressed the Guildmaster.

"You should go home early too."

"If you left me to work late alone, I’d have cried."

"That would’ve been a disaster."

The Guildmaster hesitated, then cautiously spoke to Shartia, who seemed unusually cheerful today.

"Princess."

"Yes?"

"You’re not dying of some incurable disease, are you?"

"Excuse me?"

"It’s just... it’s odd for someone to change so drastically overnight."

Shartia smiled at the question, pausing to think before responding.

"A friend told me I should take a break for a day. That if all I do is work, life will stop being worth living."

Seeing the faint blush on Shartia’s face, the Guildmaster grinned mischievously and replied,

"Wow... men really do make everything better, don’t they?"

"It’s not like that! Now go prepare to leave. If you keep teasing me, I’ll make sure you don’t get to leave at all."

The Guildmaster quickly packed up her things in response to Shartia’s words.

"Then, I’ll take my leave first."

"You’re packing up really fast."

"There’s a lot of overdue work for the guild... haha."

"You’re worse than I am."

"...That’s why I dream of becoming unemployed."

As Shartia left the office, she strolled down the corridor at a leisurely pace.

"Hmm..."

She briefly thought about revisiting the flower field Ricardo had shown her or suggesting another drinking session if he was in the capital. But she decided against it.

"I just saw him yesterday. It’d be too much to suggest meeting again already..."

After all, she had something to do today.

-Would you like to view it?

She had to solve the puzzle that had been tormenting her relentlessly.

Curious about what the blue screen might reveal and who was behind this strange ordeal, Shartia smiled faintly and walked slowly toward the dormitory.

Once there, she prepared tea and sat comfortably in a chair.

"What could it be?"

The blue screen had appeared out of nowhere. She didn’t know who orchestrated it, but she was certain the content it would show would be vastly different from what she already knew.

It was clear that this wasn’t just an ordinary scheme.

"It can’t be a god, can it?"

Perhaps some goddess, out of pity, had granted her a blessing. After all, there were stories of goddesses sending visions to priests in their dreams.

Of course, whether those were truly acts of divine intervention or fabricated illusions, no one could say for sure. But given the phenomena before her, the only logical suspect was something akin to a "god."

"..."

Still—

"I’m curious."

Her anticipation grew.

"..."

And so did her fear.

-The existence of the Loyal Sword has been confirmed.

Go to the place where the ‘Loyal Sword’ made its pact. (1/1)Go to the place where the ‘Loyal Sword’ died. (1/1)Identify the existence of the ‘Loyal Sword.’ (1/1)

Reward: Access to The Eternal Sorrow of the Tyrant, 15th Side Story, The Rebel’s Sword for You.

The "death of the Loyal Sword"—she didn’t know what it meant.

The Loyal Sword was Ricardo.

It seemed that the blue screen wanted to show her a story where Ricardo served her, not Olivia.

"..."

And the result of that story, it seemed, was Ricardo’s death.

"I don’t understand..."

Her honest hope was that the present was better than the story the blue screen was about to tell. No matter what, she wished it wasn’t something that would come to pass. She didn’t want his death to be a source of despair in her life.

"..."

She silently prayed it wouldn’t show the worst possible scenario. She hoped that, at least in another story, she could be someone who gave to him, not just someone who received.

With that thought, Shartia closed her eyes.

She pictured the white flower field.

The gates of the Imperial Palace.

And the cool, solemn place where their promise was made.

At that moment, the blue screen reappeared and asked her,

-Would you like to view it?

Shartia, her eyes still closed, responded.

"Yes."

Let’s see it, then.

One day.

In a story you do not know.

After Desmont Olivia perished due to a fatal mistake with dark magic, you became the master of her orphaned sword. You had promised to fulfill his wish.

In that story, your life became an endless descent into hell.

Your second brother murdered your mother. You lost all your power to the Crown Prince, who conspired with Wolfgang.

You were branded a wicked witch.

A woman intent on destroying the Empire.

Even labeled a heretic.

The accusations grew louder with each passing day, all to crush the power you had painstakingly built.

You abandoned your pride and begged your eldest brother to help you avenge your mother, but it was in vain. You turned to your father for aid, only to be met with silence.

You sharpened your blade of revenge.

For what had you worked so hard?

For what had you endured all this suffering?

The fortress of your life crumbled in a single moment of futility.

But powerless and broken, you lacked the strength to claim what you desired.

And then.

In your darkest hour.

You met him.

The sword that shone brighter than the sun.

Part 1: The Rebel’s Sword begins.

-The 15th Side Story, The Rebel’s Sword for You, is now available.