Page 63 of The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

A blue window appeared before her eyes.

A blue window bearing ominous tales furrowed Hanna’s brows as it overlay her vision.

[Q. If he hadn’t been there...]

Hanna of Histania, a woman with a destiny of misfortune. She was originally meant to die.

Despite constant discrimination from her father and indifference from her kin, Hanna had earnestly raced forward, focusing solely on the recognition she yearned for.

Believing that one day, she too would be treated the same as them.

She had steadily progressed.

Because she had a remarkable talent for swordsmanship and an excellent ability to learn.

But her father never gave her the attention she desired.

He thought it was more important for the family to focus on Malik than Hanna.

Hanna was parched for praise.

If only someone had been there to tell her she was doing well, she might have avoided the tragedy...

On a hot summer’s day.

Hanna makes a drastic choice.

Knowing she faced an insurmountable foe, but in pursuit of the sword’s growth and her father’s approval, Hanna set out to ascend the Hamel Mountains.

1. Read the letter sent by Histania Rowen. (0/1)

2. Meet with Histania Rowen. (0/1)

3. Subjugate the elite orc warriors of the Hamel Mountains. (0/30)

Reward: Access to 〈41st side story〉 ‘If He Hadn’t Been There...’

Hanna blinked her eyes.

What was this situation? She understood it with her body even if her head could not grasp why such a thing appeared before her.

Perhaps it was the result of training too hard.

Or maybe it was because she had skipped a meal.

Even after blinking deeply, the blue window in front of her did not disappear.

‘What is this...’

Chills ran through her body.

It contained an ominous content suggesting that if she hadn’t met the butler, she would have died.

Casually swinging her sword and desiring only her father’s recognition, the content that pierced through her past self caused a slight tremor in Hanna’s fingertips.

‘Why would I die...’

Hanna thought she was a strong person.

Both in the past and now.

The reason she could endure living in contempt was due to her strong mental fortitude.

The thought that she, who had never broken down before her father’s disdain, would have made a foolhardy choice was unthinkable, yet Hanna, who knew herself better than anyone, could not hide her trembling heart.

A bad premonition kept her eyes glued to the blue window.

Though she inwardly denied it as nonsense, there was a chance she might have done something foolish back then.

If...

If she hadn’t gone to see the butler then...

Hanna shook her head, attempting to shake off the thoughts that clung to her.

-Snap!

Hanna slapped her cheeks with both hands, telling herself to snap out of it. She thought she was seeing strange things because she was not focused on training and kept thinking about the butler. Trying to dismiss the absurdity in her mind, Hanna shook her head.

Opening her eyes, which had been tightly shut, the blue window with its ominous content had disappeared.

“It’s just fatigue... It’s because I’m tired.”

Struggling to rise, Hanna clutched her father’s letter firmly in her hand as she stood up.

‘It’s nothing.’

With an uneasy heart, Hanna headed up to the dormitory.

*

Three days earlier.

The commander of the Imperial Knights, Rowen of Histania, sat at his desk in the office, holding a pen after a long time.

Rowen, who picked up a pen instead of a sword for the first time in a while, pressed his throbbing forehead, lost in thought.

[To Hanna...]

His hand holding the pen didn’t move.

What words to write.

What should be written.

Rowen let out a deep sigh as he could not easily come up with the words.

“Sigh...”

Then, the words of a red-headed boy would not leave his mind.

-It’s a madman’s act to hunt elite orcs at this age.

-Isn’t it impressive? Why don’t you applaud?

-You of all people haven’t tried this...

The boy who defended Hanna with unwavering eyes. It was something that could not have been done by someone of meager bravery.

No doubt, he knew I was the commander of the Imperial Knights.

His palpable hostility disappeared as soon as he saw me, and the aura that had subtly risen was cleanly erased, all of which I had witnessed with my own eyes. It was a situation I could infer to some extent.

Yet, the boy’s unwavering eyes still lingered in my memory.

“Impudent brat...”

Rowen felt the pen he was holding heavier than usual today.

Having faced numerous mighty adversaries and having crossed the line of death in battle, the pen in his hand felt much heavier than the sword he had gripped countless times.

“Sigh...”

The blank piece of paper he was about to write on was soaked with ink from the pen.

Rowen crumpled the letter, exhaling another deep sigh.

“This is maddening.”

There was a mountain of crumpled letters behind Rowen.

Starting with letters addressed to Hanna.

It took him an entire hour just to write a simple inquiry about her well-being, but even that he tore apart.

Where did it all go wrong?

Rowen, who focuses only on the best, could not tell.

Praises about Hanna were prevalent among those around him. They said how fortunate he was to have a daughter who had awakened her aura at such a young age.

Colleagues and nobles from the surrounding areas bestowed her with praise, yet the very subject of their praise, Rowen, did not find their compliments pleasing.

‘Did I do something wrong?’

Even when he questioned himself, the answers returned with a strong negation.

He had not done anything wrong.

When he tried to write a letter, only sharp words would come out.

-Put away the sword.

-It would be better for you to stop, it’s dangerous.

If Hanna hadn’t awakened her aura, he would have used his talent as a pretext to write a letter, but now his daughter had created accomplishments that could not be belittled by talent. Even that became impossible.

Pushing Hanna forward would have been the right thing to do for the family.

Although Malik had awakened his aura and was showing impressive performances, compared to Hanna’s reputation, it was a pathetic level.

But the hallucination he had seen made him write negative things in the letters.

-Please save me... Daddy, please save me...

Hanna dying...

It was something he had never even thought of before.

And that made it even more troubling.

What kind of father would think about his own child needing to be saved from death? Rowen found himself unable to make rational judgments.

If it were for the glory of the family, it would be right to support Hanna.

However, Malik was already exhibiting his skill since awakening his aura, and yet when compared to Hanna’s fame, it seemed so trivial.

If it were to be thought through logically... that would indeed be correct.

The thought of Hanna with a sword brought a tremor to his heart.

“Please save me. I don’t want to die like this.”

Crack... Rowen broke the pen in his grip.

“...I need to think of another way.”

Rowen exhaled a sigh and drew out a new sheet of paper.

-To Hanna.

‘...’

The letter once again became soaked with ink.

*

[Read the letter sent by Histania Rowen. (0/1)]

-Crumple.

Seated at her desk, Hanna was looking at the letter with eyes filled with complicated thoughts.

It was a letter she had intended to rip, but the traces of her inability to do so were all over it.

Hanna smacked the desk in irritation.

-Boom...

“What is it you’re trying to say now?”

Her fist was clenched, trembling.

She didn’t want to see.

She was certain it contained the same old lines.

-Put down your sword.

-You have no talent.

Hanna was sure these words would be written there.

What kind of words were going to harm her this time? Would he tell her she was a disgrace to the family? Hanna felt fear.

She was also scared of her father.

She hated that even after proving her worth, he remained unchanged.

All Hanna could do was stare at the letter in front of her with a troubled heart, without opening it.

“I’ve proven myself...”

Proven, but what more were they expecting here... Hanna didn’t know.

With eyes welling up, Hanna glared at the blue window before her.

[Q. If he hadn’t been there...]

1. Read the letter sent by Histania Rowen. (0/1)

2. Meet your father Histania Rowen. (0/1)

3. Subdue the elite orc warriors of the Hamel Mountains. (0/30)

Reward: Gain access to 〈41st Side Story〉 ‘If He Hadn’t Been There...’

“I’m not going to do it.”

Because it’s best to avoid an ending you don’t wish to see.

She was living a sufficiently happy life even now. She didn’t want to cling to the past and had people who supported and believed in her, as opposed to the father who had curtly rejected her.

Hanna coldly turned down the blue window before her.

But.

She couldn’t help but be drawn to it, feeling anxious.

If... If she were to listen to the story that the blue window was showing...

She felt like she might never be able to see her father’s face again.

With a disturbed heart, Hanna gazed up at the sky.

“Sigh... I want to see the butler.”

Today, especially, Hanna found herself missing the red-haired butler.

***

“Sit!”

In the tranquil room of the young lady.

The lady, with a more serious expression than ever before, was holding jerky in her hand, trying to teach Gomtang who sat under the bed.

Gomtang, not understanding the situation, tilted her head and gazed at the lady’s hand, while the lady’s annoyance was reaching an uncontrollable level.

The lady shouted at Gomtang.

“Sit down! You miserable creature!”

-Goom?

Gomtang ignored the lady’s command.

Gomtang’s eyes were fixed solely on the jerky in the lady’s hand.

As Gomtang drooled in anticipation, the lady twirled the jerky in front of her and said,

“Sit and I’ll give it to you.”

-Nom!

Gomtang snatched the jerky out of the lady’s hand along with a bit of her hand. The lady, unable to match the reflexes of the animal, looked down at her right hand drenched with saliva with a hollow expression.

The jerky disappeared in a blink of an eye.

-Gooom!

Gomtang wagged her tail as if to say she was pleased.

“Yikes...! You darn bear!”

“It’s a dog, not a bear.”

“Bear or dog, it’s frustrating!”

The lady swung her hands around threateningly at Gomtang, but to me, she only appeared endearing.

It was a peaceful day.

The sun was shining brightly.

No visitors to be found.

A day stretched out like that of a carefree bum.

This is life.

I want to live like this forever.

Do nothing, eat and play, enjoy a peaceful bum’s life, throw all the work to Michail... and lead a gentle life of leisure...

That’s when it happened.

Gomtang, who had been playing nicely with the lady, climbed up on the bed and started barking out the window.

-Woof! Woof!

“Yikes!! Where do you think you’re going! You need to be scolded!”

The lady who yelled at the disdainful Gomtang peered out the window that Gomtang was looking through, and wondered, “Huh, who is it?”

“Ricardo. A thief has come.”

“What? There’s nothing to steal here.”

“But there is.”

“What then?”

“The most beautiful thing in the world – me.”

I lightly disregarded the lady’s words.

“Why ignore me!”

“...”

“Yikes!!”

I shrugged my shoulders.

Who could have come to a mansion seemingly haunted by ghosts?

I cursed the sinner who was disturbing my blissful bum life inwardly and resolved to hang a warning sign at the manor’s front door: [If you enter, the villainess will bite ° N ?? v ?? l i g h t ° you.]

I slowly looked out the window.

There was a man with brown hair standing in front of the gate, waiting for someone to come out.

With a towering stature.

A handsome appearance.

The man destined to be Michail’s master.

Histania Rowen.

I warned the lady.

“Airstrike alert!!!”

“Eeek!!!”

We hid by lying face down on the bed.