The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen - Chapter 25



25 – The Hidden Secret -1-

On the way back home, holding cotton candy in my hand.

The young lady piggybacking on my back was still muttering, not letting go of her anger, explaining the truths of life.

“So! Are you saying that people who give a lot of money are bad?”

“Well, he gave me a meal ticket, does that make him a bad person?”

“Oh?”

In the past, the young lady used to say this.

She taught me that a person who gives delicious food is not a bad person. If you feel that someone is bad, it means either you have a flawed perspective or there’s something wrong with yourself.

As one of the model students who learned the young lady’s philosophy, I expressed my dissatisfaction with her teaching.

“He gave you a meal ticket?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because I did a good job?”

The young lady suddenly fell silent.

After a brief pause, she nodded in agreement.

“So, he’s a good person, right?”

“Is that so?”

“Still, you shouldn’t work with him.”

“Why not? He paid me well and even provided delicious food. It’s not easy to find someone as good as him.”

“That’s because it’s dangerous! He doesn’t even tell you what kind of work it is.”

“He just caught an insect, a very rare one.”

“Don’t lie!”

In truth, I also knew.

Earning a million gold in just one day required a task in the hidden realms with no end in sight or a mission to subdue a Named Marquis, at the very least.

I had caught a Named criminal, but luck had been on my side.

Pascal didn’t get along well with me, and being an antagonist in the original work, I knew his weaknesses, which made it easy to defeat him.

I understood the young lady’s concerns and her scolding, but I found it amusing to tease her, so I was enjoying this conversation.

“So, how are you feeling about it?”

The young lady, perched on my back, responded nonchalantly.

“How am I feeling? Did you pay off your debt?”

“No, that would obviously make you feel good. It’s something else.”

“Something else?”

“Look over here.”

I raised my head and looked around me.

Even though it was a dark night, the streets were brightly lit.

Streetlights were shining above my head.

Even on a weekday, people were busy walking on the streets. Street vendors were clapping their hands and performing magic tricks.

Normally, at this time, people would have turned off the lights and gone to sleep, or they would have been talking in their bedrooms.

I wondered how the lady who hadn’t been out for a long time would feel.

“It’s been a while since you’ve been outside, how does it feel?”

The lady fidgeted like me.

The landscape of the brightly sparkling street was beautiful.

The overly beautiful night scenery made the lady’s eyes twinkle.

The lady buried her face in her shoulders.

It seemed embarrassing to speak honestly. The lady spoke with a muffled voice, hiding her face. I wanted to pinch her cheeks.

“It’s nice.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

I’m relieved.

The lady likes it.

In her heart, she was worried about how she would cope if the lady didn’t like going out this time.

After losing her legs.

She disliked meeting people.

Living in a huge mansion without friends or family.

The lady had been worried that if she got scared and didn’t go out again from her room, what would happen.

Even Luzin, who appeared in the middle.

I wanted to create good memories for the lady, and I felt relieved when I heard her shy response.

It feels like all the hardships have melted away.

“Well, will you go outside next time too? How about going to the street vendors and eating chicken skewers together?”

“…Maybe.”

We made a promise.

We promised to spend the next time in a more fun and fulfilling way, and we returned to the mansion with light steps.

The way back home.

Olivia briefly fell asleep.

It had been a while since she had been outside, so she felt tired, and scolding Ricardo for his risky actions had drained her.

Ricardo’s broad back.

Solid and sturdy.

In her childhood, he had looked as thin as a branch, and now, he had grown so tall that he had become the adult who lifted her up, almost invisible when she didn’t look up.

Olivia liked Ricardo.

Not as a lover but as a person.

Ricardo was kind.

Always ready to smile.

And whenever she had a difficult task, he would rush to help, so she had no choice but to like him.

She didn’t know how Ricardo thought of her, but she liked Ricardo as her butler.

She wished he saw her in a good light.

She even tried to find a job in the newspaper, but it became meaningless because Ricardo paid off all the debt.

It was really frustrating.

So today, she shed a few tears.

Not many, just a few.

She couldn’t have imagined that he had paid off the debt.

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He must have gone through tough times.

Olivia embraced the hardworking Ricardo tightly. When she was young, it felt good when her mother hugged her like this.

She hoped that Ricardo would feel better too.

– For sure.

A warm feeling spread through her chest.

Ricardo’s back, which had been faithfully by her side for 13 years, was broad and warm.

“Hey, Miss.”

“Yeah.”

Ricardo’s trembling voice, carried on the swaying horse, gently reached her ears. His low, soothing voice added to the drowsiness, but Olivia did her best to stay awake.

Being carried on his back was already embarrassing, and falling asleep would only make it more embarrassing.

“How’s everything these days?”

“Just so-so.”

“I see.”

Silence lingers in the streets.

Ricardo’s footsteps, slowly pacing the street, feel like a lullaby. This kind of quietude isn’t so bad.

Sooma approaches step by step.

“I shouldn’t fall asleep.”

Olivia clings tighter to Ricardo’s body.

Ricardo shivers.

Why is he doing that?

Is it cold?

No, it must be hot.

It’s still early autumn.

Not even the leaves have turned yet.

Why is he acting this way?

Olivia worries about Ricardo trembling on a not-so-cold day.

“Are you cold?”

“No.”

“But why are you trembling like this?”

“That’s…”

Ricardo sighs deeply.

His ears are turning bright red.

“It’s because you’re sticking so close, Miss.”

“Why? Is my body cold?”

“No, it’s just that you’re so close… It’s kind of nice, actually. No, wait, what am I saying…”

“Is it okay?”

“Yes, you seem tired, so go ahead and sleep. I won’t leave you behind, so don’t worry.”

A competent butler who knows his own state well. He provides what you want without being told and says the words you want to hear. But today, Olivia decides not to follow her butler’s words.

After all, it’s been so long since they went out together.

“I won’t fall asleep.”

Olivia was coldly rejecting.

She was quite distant.

As she got closer to the mansion, there were fewer people, and it felt good.

Olivia saw Ricardo.

Ricardo, as always, wearing a black suit. He was walking towards the mansion, hiding his reddened face.

Doesn’t he ever get tired of that suit?

He always wears the same clothes.

But, come to think of it, what’s so strange about it?

One question popped into Olivia’s mind. Why does Ricardo only wear long sleeves?

A year ago, after that day.

Ricardo’s clothing was stuck in a white shirt and a black suit.

At first, she thought he stuck to the black suit because something bad had happened.

Later, she thought he wore it because he didn’t have money.

But, you know.

Last summer.

This summer too.

Why does he only wear those clothes?

In the old days, he wore short sleeves.

For the past year, every time she saw Ricardo, he was only wearing long sleeves.

It was strange.

Olivia, who didn’t like being curious, asked Ricardo right away. She decided to ask him why he was wearing long sleeves and if he wasn’t feeling hot.

“Ricardo, aren’t you hot?”

“No, not really. The weather is pleasant today.”

“Is that so? If it gets hot, wear short sleeves.”

Ricardo fell silent for a moment.

Without saying a word, he started to awkwardly smile. Olivia’s curiosity began to grow as she observed his behavior.

Did he do something while I wasn’t around?

Maybe he got an embarrassing tattoo.

Or is he wearing a gold bracelet inside? Olivia wasn’t sure, but her intuition told her that Ricardo was hiding something under his clothes.

Hmmm…

Olivia brought her face close to Ricardo’s neck.

As if she could see something between the collar of his shirt. Pretending to be asleep, she focused her eyes on Ricardo’s neck and opened them slightly.

It was a perverted act, but Olivia couldn’t resist her curiosity.

As Ricardo walked, his shirt opened up, creating a small gap.

As his body tried to become visible through the open clothes.

“Perverted acts are bad, you know.”

Ricardo’s grumbling, as he adjusted his clothes, could be heard. He was irritated. He thought he had done a perfect act, but he was caught right away.

Especially when he was caught trying to steal the maid’s body. Olivia couldn’t look him in the eye.

Olivia said it with a “do as you wish” attitude.

“I didn’t see anything!”

“Lies. Did you not feel my lascivious gaze?”

“It’s not lascivious!”

“Hmm?”

“Don’t look at me like that!”

Ricardo tied his clothes even tighter.

As if he wouldn’t allow even the smallest gap. Olivia was annoyed by Ricardo, who tied his clothes tightly.

“I’m not looking!”

“It’s weird to look at it.”

Olivia silently vowed.

Someday, she would definitely look and speak.

Olivia vowed in her heart.