The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen - Chapter 20
20 – Wagering Fines-2-
The eldest son of Histania.
Malik of Histania was a perfectionist.
The child most resembling his father.
The son bearing his father’s expectations on his shoulders.
And he was one who wanted to be like his father.
Malik never missed being at the top of the academy, and after graduating, he followed his father into the Royal Knights.
Acknowledged by all, living a life that satisfied even himself, he now stood at the brink of becoming an oracle.
Now was the most crucial time for Malik. He had to grasp the oracle before losing his sensitivity.
To be an oracle at 27.
The youngest oracle user in the empire was 25, so he wasn’t late. In fact, he was rather early.
The average age of an oracle user in the empire was in the early 30s. He thought he had entered the realm of the elite, but now that held no significance.
Because the youngest oracle user in Histania had emerged.
The brother he had overlooked suddenly became a supernova in an instant, a big shock to Malik.
Furthermore, the mission to escort the adventurer hunter ‘Pascal’, undertaken in his own name, had catastrophically failed, putting his accumulated achievements in jeopardy.
“Damn it. Damn… damn…!”
“Lord Malik, why are you so enraged? Shall I massage your shoulders at least?”
“…Shut up.”
Malik lifted his head.
A red-haired man with a bright smile directed towards him. The man, who looked at him with a reverent gesture as if receiving a god, was a mercenary hired to handle this incident.
He had hired him due to his solid experience and the guarantee of anonymity, but seeing his face again made him quite annoyed.
“If it’s the Water God’s command, even if it means playing dead.”
At Ricardo’s words, Malik tightly closed his lips.
***
The carriage was quiet.
The carriage, which seemed like it could easily pass 500,000 gold, and the plush seat.
It was different from the 1 shilling carriage that disk was trying to escape from after just one hour.
There was only one reason why I came here.
To meet the client.
● I request tracking of a criminal who escaped during transportation.
└Thank you, customer. Please leave the rendezvous location and date. ^.^
└Tomorrow. 11:30 PM in front of the fountain, black carriage.
└Thank you for the request 🙂
When I got on the carriage, Malik, with the same hair color as Hanna, was sitting there.
He crossed his legs and didn’t even pretend to look at me. I looked at him and just lowered my head.
“Hello!”
Malik furrowed his brow. His expression wasn’t good.
He was the one who embarrassed his father and fought him, making his face red.
Malik, who was making a complicated expression because he didn’t like asking favors from such a person, introduced himself properly.
“I will introduce myself formally.”
I took out a neatly printed business card from my chest.
[Name: Ricardo]
[Please entrust all household chores, cooking, and odd jobs to me! The maid of the most beautiful Death Munch Olivia is running to you.]
A business card with neat writing.
And a strange epithet attached to the introduction.
It was a custom-made business card given to the lady along with chocolates.
“I reluctantly persuaded the lady who loudly declared her aversion to writing such letters to create this handmade business card. It’s a business card that encapsulates the artistic value of the lady who can’t give up being called the world’s most beautiful.
Having received the business card, Malick scrutinized me with a displeased look.
Perhaps he envied the title of being the butler of the world’s most beautiful villain.
I understand it too.
Her personality is a bit eccentric, and she’s a stubborn general who doesn’t listen to others, but her appearance is as stunning as the heroine in a story.
“A commoner?”
But Malick didn’t seem upset about this part.
“An unranked commoner… De Smonde Olivia?”
“Yes, that’s right. I am Ricardo, the personal butler of Miss De Smonde Olivia.”
I cautiously extended my hand for a handshake.
Malick did not accept it.
I awkwardly scratched the back of my head with the hand that remained hanging.
“Ahahahaha…”
‘It’s embarrassing.’
“Now I know why you didn’t reveal your affiliation to Father until now.”
“My name is something I’m very proud of, so I hesitated to introduce myself.”
“No, it’s because the family has fallen, right?”
Why do Ruin and Malick think our family has fallen?
We’re still doing quite well.
“We haven’t fallen. To be precise, it’s Miss Olivia who has fallen, our De Smonde family is still thriving to the point of rivaling the Matap.”
“If you look at it that way, you’ve fallen, haven’t you?”
“If that’s how you see it, then yes.”
I wanted to retort, but I didn’t have the courage to speak back to the water lord who had rescued us from the streets.
Who in the world can turn down the offer to make 700 million just like that? It’s not like he asked us to lick his feet.
He’s the rich one.
And I am his sister.
“Did you need a quick cash infusion?”
Malick sneered at me.
“Yes, I needed some money.”
“Hmm…”
Malik rubbed his chin.
A sharp jawline on his black conqueror.
As described in the novel, he was indeed handsome.
But as described, his personality was rather dirty.
Malik asked me again.
“Is it because of the fine?”
“…Yes?”
“I mean your job. Is it because of the fine?”
I didn’t reply.
I didn’t want to be swept up in his provocation.
In the novel, Malik appears as a supporting character who secretly loves Uria, stealing his father’s attention from Mikhail, who becomes more miserable. In the midst of this, Malik falls for Uria, who comforts his wounded heart.
It was a love triangle.
They had quite the intense rivalry to win Uria.
Malik is a significant supporting character. Perhaps because he is the designated sub-male lead, he was kind and somewhat endearing. Despite his arrogance and strong self-esteem, he showed an unexpected side of taking care of his own people. His personality may be flawed, but he was a man who would do his best for his people.
He is acting like this now because of his twisted feelings for me, but if I were one of his people, things might have been different.
One thing is for sure, he knows how to take care of his own people.
That’s why he entrusted me with the task.
The request is probably to capture Pascal. There doesn’t seem to be any other request.
If Malik asked me for this, Pascal must be just right for the job.
In the novel, Pascal was a genius at escaping from prison. If he got caught, he would escape at some point and show up in front of the protagonist. I saw that the knights escorting him had injuries on their faces. It seems that friction occurred during the escort process.
Normally, they would have dismissed the knights and held someone accountable for the incident, but considering that he entrusted the task to me, it seems he intends to resolve it quietly.
In this respect, he was overflowing with loyalty. There was no shortage of talking.
I responded to Malik, conveying the meaning of enduring the provocation and quickly resolving the matter.
“It’s a somewhat sensitive question, that’s why. hahahaha, how about we discuss the request first.”
“I have my pride in my appearance.”
“hahahaha… I’ll forgive your rudeness because I have my pride to uphold.”
“Hmm.”
Malik thought deeply.
Was it because he believed I wouldn’t cross the line, or was it just his sour mood?
He began to ponder, flicking his fingers.
“How much is it?”
“What?”
“I mean, the fine. They punish black magic usage severely in the Empire, and I understand that you can’t handle the amount.”
Why is he even asking me this?
He’s not going to contribute himself.
I answered him because ignoring him might make him angry.
“It’s 1 million gold.”
“1 million gold…”
Malik contemplated carefully.
I wish he would share his thoughts with me.
Keeping everything to himself was detrimental.
Is he trying to rope me into this?
Maybe he wants to forget about the commission.
But one thing was certain, I wasn’t the only one benefiting from this deal.
Only I could expose black magic.
If I asked other aura users for help, Hystania’s reputation would suffer, and if I commissioned the Information Guild, I might end up paying more than what was offered to me. Plus, selling information about this job would bring in some money.
Even if it was a bit expensive, hiring me was advantageous for Malik.
“One week.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You’ve figured out roughly what the commission is, right? I’m talking about capturing Pascal. Do you think you can do it in a week?”
“Raven. You mean an adventurer hunter?”
Malik nodded.
I couldn’t give a definite answer to his question. Catching him might not be easy because we don’t know where he is.
“I will try my best, but the location is not clear…”
“If you know the exact location?”
“It won’t take more than 30 minutes.”
After a brief moment of hesitation, Malik spoke.
“Right. I still don’t know how skilled you are. I doubt if you’re capable enough to capture Pascal.”
That’s true.
When he arrived, everything was already finished.
“But I can’t do it myself. I might be able to capture him, but…”
“No. If the Prince goes, he will definitely die.”
Malik stared at me.
Perhaps he thought I was underestimating myself, but what can I do, my words are correct.
Malik, who still hadn’t realized, fought against Pascal without even realizing it. Not only could he underestimate the performance art, but he couldn’t even find the body.
“Don’t change the subject.”
From Noble mtl dot com
“Then go alone. I will withdraw from this task.”
“Is there such a high reward for this task?”
“If the Prince fails, I can capture him then. The bounty should be quite substantial.”
“Indeed, you are right.”
Malik gave in.
“Fine, I’ll admit it. It’s impossible for me right now.”
He also has a discerning eye.
Having experienced real battles in the Royal Knights and possessing great talent in swordsmanship.
If I were to measure it by level, it would be around level 5.
In terms of swordsmanship, Malik surpasses Hanna. He just hasn’t manifested his aura. He is also an elite among elites, so he would know the opponents he can handle.
“In the Pascal escort operation, three knights were critically injured, and two were seriously injured. They were all exceptional knights.”
Malik looked at me earnestly and said.
“The fact that those guys failed means that it was impossible for me, and even more impossible for Hanna. Then it means that you alone subdued Pascal in that situation.”
“That’s right. It was me.”
I revealed without hiding.
If I were to seek modesty at this moment, wouldn’t that be a greater disaster?
Now is the perfect time to show the weapon I have.
Malik said as if he had been waiting for these words.
“Instead of entrusting the mission to you, let’s add one condition.”
“A condition, you say?”
“Yes, a condition. When we go to catch Pascal. Take me with you.”
“I refuse.”
“I’ll give you exactly 1 million gold coins.”
He said, gripping the handle of Malik’s sword tightly.
“Shouldn’t the owner be the one to avenge their loyal dog?”
I could sense it from Malik’s confident laughter.
“He’s going to have a terrible time with Pascal.”
That was my firm belief.
But I didn’t want to trample on the courage of giving money to learn the wisdom of life from a sandbag.
I wanted to be punished for speaking rudely.
“Yes, but Master Kong should also keep the information about me a secret.”
“Of course.”
After preparing a simple contract.
Malik and I arrived at a dilapidated temple on the outskirts of the village.