The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen - Chapter 23



23 – Outing -1-

After erasing all the graffiti on the wall, I gazed at the clean wall with a fresh expression.

“It’s perfect.”

There was no sign of any graffiti on the wall.

Today is the day we’re going out with the young lady.

It’s not an everyday occurrence.

Since the young lady rarely leaves the house, she must be tired of it.

The Empire’s Top 5 Restaurants

Friends of the Forest.

A restaurant that turned the unremarkable Hamel into a tourist spot. Today, the young lady and I are going to this restaurant, renowned for its juicy steaks and fresh vegetables.

I had something to tell the young lady today.

Good news that I had been considering when to share.

I’m finally going to tell the young lady that I’ve paid off all the debt.

I wonder how delighted she’ll be when she hears that she can have warm newspapers and a good night’s sleep. I’m curious about the expression on her face.

“She’ll probably be happy.”

Before returning to the mansion,

I checked the wall one last time to see if there was any strange writing.

Since it’s a rare outing, I wanted to show only good things to the young lady.

Erase the graffiti that says, “Banish the wicked villain from the village.”

I thought the young lady could leave the mansion with a lighter heart if I removed the graffiti that said, “The home of a villain.”

She might get hurt if she sees such words with her tender heart.

Even though she curses and complains all the time, she has unexpected traits like being afraid of cockroaches, crying loudly when she has nightmares, and whining to sleep together.

Protecting the fragile young lady’s heart is also the duty of a butler.

– The Song of the Forest?

– Yes.

“Did I hear wrong?”

“If what I heard is correct, right?”

“She’ll get angry.”

She’s also quite greedy when it comes to food.

And she has a short temper, this lady.

In my eyes, she seemed more innocent than most people.

“Ricardo! When are you coming?”

The lady’s impatient voice echoed from the second floor of the mansion. She seemed determined to have some meat.

It was like trying to convince a child to go to an amusement park. If you said no, she might burst into tears.

“Is meat really that good?”

I thought we ate it often, but it seems the lady still craves more.

Now that I’ve paid off my debt.

We can probably afford to eat meat about five times a week.

We’re newcomers to the world of the positive bank account.

We’ve also renovated the mansion.

Fixed the leaking roof.

Hired servants to do the cleaning. We’ve prepared the foundation for a decadent aristocratic life, so meat is no longer a frightening expense.

Though we may need to compromise when choosing the cuts.

For now, let’s start by switching to cheap green tea.

When we go to the downtown area, I promise to visit a tea house first.

“Ricardo!”

“Yes!”

I need to hurry.

Or I’ll cry.

***

“You’re late.”

The lady, sitting on the bed, glared at me.

“Why are you so late?”

“There was a lot of garbage outside.”

“But you’re still too late!”

I wanted to go quickly, but the lady who dawdled did not appeal to me. With her arms folded, she was in high spirits. I wanted to pull her protruding lips.

“Stop it.”

She sent a villainous gaze.

“Ugh.”

I defended against the psychological assault of guilt provoked by pulling the lady’s cheeks.

“Don’t pull!”

It’s a quite soft sensation.

Like a sticky rice cake.

It stretches when pulled sideways.

“Don’t pull!”

“Oh…”

“It’ll tear. Hng… It’s going to tear!”

“It’s soft!”

When pulled in the opposite direction, it stretches on the other side.

“Hooh!”

After enjoying the satisfying feeling of the cheek for a while and being hit by the lady’s punch, saying ‘Ouch,’ as she clenched her fist and threatened, I released the lady’s cheek.

The lady, still fuming, extended her fist. A fist filled with irritation.

I lightly dodged and took out two sheets of paper from my pocket, sticking them flat on the lady’s forehead.

The lady, stiff as a statue, relaxed as she smelled the paper.

“Sniff, sniff.”

“Is it for real?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Huh… really?”

“Since it is, wouldn’t I have asked you to prepare?”

“Huhuh… I’m happy.”

She was remarkably adaptable.

The lady tidied up for the first time in a while.

The beloved pajamas worn every day were finally in the laundry basket, and she sat quietly on the bed in a black dress suitable for a ball.

The lady, finally tidied up, was beautiful.

“Did you put on perfume?”

“Oh. Want to smell?”

The young lady swept her hair aside and revealed her fair neck without any hesitation. My face burned as I gazed at her flawless white neck.

“She’s insane,” I muttered.

It was a challenging expression for a Confucian scholar to handle.

I turned my head away.

“I must be going mad.”

It had been so long since I had seen a lady so stunning that even calling her a goddess wouldn’t be an overstatement.

“Miss…”

“Yes?”

Well…

“Do you plan to go out like that?”

“Why?”

“No, it’s just…”

I took out a mirror from the dressing table and showed her her own face.

She tilted her head, unable to find anything unusual.

“Why? Am I too beautiful?”

No.

She had applied makeup as if she were about to appear in a Japanese historical drama.

Heavily applied eye makeup.

Overly bright red lipstick.

Excessive rouge on her cheeks.

It seemed like she had sneakily used her mother’s cosmetics, like an elementary school student.

I wiped off Olivia’s makeup with a cotton pad.

She grumbled in annoyance, “Ugh,” as I removed her rebellious makeup. I did it to uphold the dignity of the aristocracy.

“You’re so beautiful. If you go out like this, you might attract trouble.”

“Is that so? Did I overdo it?”

She giggled at the compliments about her appearance.

“Heehee. Please do it nicely.”

The lady looked at me with a silly smile.

I couldn’t hate her.

Having fixed the lady’s makeup a lot at the ball, I was familiar with makeup. In the past, when the lady with messed up makeup like a fox wandered around the ball after catching Yeong-ae’s hair, I often helped her fix it.

I started fixing the lady’s makeup naturally.

Not too strong-looking.

But not too innocent-looking either.

I finished the makeup in the style the lady liked.

I looked at the lady’s face in the mirror.

“Oh…!”

The lady puffed up her cheeks and alternated between looking at herself in the mirror and at me. With a satisfied look, she raised her thumb and gave a contented evaluation.

“You look pretty.”

“It’s because the original is pretty.”

“hehehehe…”

Light makeup that isn’t too heavy.

The lady, with red-tinted lips, shyly smiled.

The preparation was done.

I leaned against the bed and sat down.

“Okay, one. Two… Three…!”

“hehehehe.”

The lady familiarly piggybac

“Is the weather good outside?”

“Prohibited for a week.”

“… Sorry.”

We tied the bag around our waist and headed outside.

***

All eyes are on us.

It seems that our appearance, carrying a grown adult, inevitably catches the attention of the people in the village.

-“Mom, why is that sister being carried?”

-“She’s uncomfortable somewhere, I guess.”

-“Where is she uncomfortable?”

-“Don’t you know, Mom?”

The young lady, feeling burdened by the obvious stares, held my neck tighter.

“Shhh! Miss, breathe. Breathe!”

“Hush…”

The young lady was embarrassed.

Her uncomfortable body was embarrassing.

Every conversation heard around us seemed to be an insult directed towards her.

As we got further away from the mansion, the young lady’s words decreased rapidly. Even though she wore a hat with a deep brim, she kept looking down at the ground whenever she felt uneasy.

“Ooph.”

“Is it heavy?”

The young lady whispered softly into my ear. Her voice sounded dark, as if she were very tense.

“No, it’s light. I don’t even realize that I’m carrying it.”

“Liar.”

“No, it’s true.”

It felt lighter than the sword I usually carry.

Perhaps it was because it had been a while since our outing with the young lady, but today, I was overflowing with energy.

I wanted to leave good memories with the young lady, but if we continued like this, only the number of bricks on the ground would be remembered in her memories.

We changed our direction from heading to the tea house and instead headed towards a restaurant.

To ease the awkwardness while walking towards the restaurant, I tried telling her old stories.

I don’t know if she would find them interesting.

The young lady hoped her tension would ease.

“Do you remember when your shoelace broke at the academy the other day, and I carried you back to the dormitory?”

“Yes.”

From Noble mtl dot com

“It was really heavy back then.”

– Punch

The young lady playfully punched her servant.

“Ouch.”

“I said it hurts.”

“hahahaha… Where does a lovely servant like you hurt?”

“Many places.”

The young lady buried her face in her servant’s back.

She was not used to so much attention from people, and she was grateful for her playful servant. That’s why she buried her face.

“Why are you hiding on my back like a turtle? You’re not a turtle.”

“Just felt like being a turtle.”

“hahahaha…”

The bashful young lady used her servant’s broad back as her shell and peeked out at the bustling street. She was curious about what was happening outside, but she found the people’s gazes overwhelming.

As her tension slowly eased, she raised her head and looked around.

“Oh…”

The young lady was fascinated by the familiar sight of the bustling street she hadn’t seen in a while.

New buildings had appeared.

Old buildings had disappeared.

The buildings that held memories for her were still there.

Olivia’s tension gradually eased as she took in the scene.

During her time at the academy, she used to come down to this street for snacks and sometimes indulged herself in the dressing room. As she looked around, a mix of longing and nostalgia washed over her.

“Look at that.”

“Is that cotton candy?”

“We used to buy it there often, didn’t we?”

“Yes, it’s been a long time.”

Olivia gathered her courage and said, “Shall we have cotton candy after we finish our meal?”

I was quick to respond.

“Yes.”

I could see my destination slowly coming into view at the center of the bustling city.

A restaurant filled with people even at this late hour.

I told the girl to make sure to hold onto the meal voucher that I had placed in my pocket.

“If you see a waiter, show them the voucher.”

“Okay.”

Malik said.

– This one is a bit special, so if you show the waiter, you won’t have to wait in line and can go in right away. It’s expensive, so don’t be foolish and line up.

– Oh…!

The crowded restaurant.

We pushed through the long line and slowly entered the shop.

“Pardon me.”

“Sorry.”

“I apologize.”

“Sorry.”

The girl and I moved forward, pushing through the massive crowd. I spotted a waiter in the distance and spoke loudly.

“Excuse me! Miss, wave your hand!”

“Uh…uh!”

“Sir~”

“Here…!”

In an instant, someone grabbed us.

I stopped in my tracks, turning my head.

There stood a familiar person behind us.

“Ha. What are you doing here?”

Full of irritation.

A voice filled with disgust.

A man with emerald-colored hair.

Lune was standing in front of us.