The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen - Chapter 28



28 – I’m not ready yet.

In a quiet kitchen.

As I was cutting paprika with skilled hands, I dropped the kitchen knife to the floor with a clank.

A frustrated voice escaped my lips.

“Ah… I did it again.”

I looked at my left hand, which had been holding the paprika.

The left hand, unharmed with no minor injuries.

Luckily, the left hand that had been holding the paprika was not hurt.

I let out a sigh of relief that my five fingers were intact and unharmed.

I checked the safety of my left hand.

I looked at the troublesome right hand.

A slightly trembling right hand.

“Sigh.”

A sigh escaped involuntarily.

Sometimes things like this happen.

Times when my right hand doesn’t listen, without giving any notice. Not often, but very occasionally.

My right hand doesn’t listen to me.

It’s not because there’s a Black Flame Dragon or another hidden personality. It’s just that my right arm, starting from the fingertips, stiffened and wouldn’t move at all.

I looked at my quivering right hand. No matter how much strength I put in my fingers to make a fist, my right hand wouldn’t even twitch.

A hollow laughter came out.

“Seriously, it’s not easy.”

It’s the aftermath of saving a girl who failed black magic. It hasn’t healed easily.

Sometimes the pain would rush in.

On really bad days, there would be a pain that felt like my arm would be torn off. But there wasn’t much reason to worry.

It wasn’t something that happened frequently.

It was a good thing that it increased my resistance to black magic.

“Increasing resistance to black magic suppresses necrosis.”

I think of it as an investment for the future.

“Ouch…”

But.

Today, it’s particularly painful.

“Crazy.”

I sat down in a corner of the kitchen as if collapsing. I hugged my trembling right hand and crouched down. The pain was slightly less intense.

It hurts. How should I express it?

A pain like bugs gnawing at my flesh?

That seems to be the perfect expression.

Gritting my teeth, I bit down on it.

In case the sound leaked out, I held my breath and waited for the pain to subside.

I’ve endured this pain dozens of times, but I still haven’t gotten used to it.

My body trembles sweetly.

My lips are parched.

“Phew… Endure… Endure.”

I strained to keep from shouting loudly.

I didn’t want to cause unnecessary worry for the lady on the second floor.

It’s really nothing much.

It hurts just a little.

It’s a pain I can endure. It’s okay.

***

The room of the lady on the second floor, who came up to prepare a meal.

I showed a wry smile while looking at the charred steak.

“hahahahaha…”

“…What is this?”

The lady asked me.

She seemed genuinely curious.

Well, that’s because the steak seemed to have forgotten its duty as meat and turned into a piece of charcoal, resembling black charcoal.

I had forgotten about it while it was stuck in the kitchen, on top of the fire. Unfortunately, there was no extra meat, so I brought this cautiously.

The lady asked me, “Charcoal?”

She awkwardly scratched the back of her head. After all, it was quite surprising for the butler who usually prepared meals to bring something that even humans couldn’t eat. It was quite ridiculous.

It’s currently 9 p.m.

I felt sorry for the lady who was as hungry as can be, but I couldn’t make more since there was no extra meat.

I said with an apologetic tone, “Tonight’s dinner.”

“Oh…?”

The lady had numerous question marks in her mind.

“Dinner?”

The lady seemed to have grasped the tragic situation, as she raised an exclamation mark in her head and said, “Ah, jerky?”

I nodded my head.

“It’s a steak made from beef sirloin.”

“Oh…”

The lady brought her nose close to the plate, sniffing the aroma, her head tilting in contemplation.

“Hmm.”

She wiped her chin once.

After a serious thought,

*Tap.*

She touched it with her finger and licked it.

*Sizzle.*

She savored it in her mouth.

The lady nodded her head.

Seems like she reached a conclusion.

With a more serious expression than ever, she asked me once again.

“…Dinner?”

I nodded my head.

From Noble mtl dot com

“Unfortunately, yes.”

*Chew.*

The lady looked at the plate again.

Checking if there’s any edible part left.

The lady said,

“You’ll die if you eat this.”

“I won’t die. I’ve even eaten poisonous mushroom soup once, and I’m still alive, right?”

“That was cute.”

“If you look closely, this is cute too.”

I said while looking at the charcoal-blackened meat. But if I dig in with my knife, I might find something edible.

Besides, the bell peppers and broccoli are not burnt. If there’s nothing else to eat, this will do.

The lady repeated once more.

“You’ll die if you eat it.”

“I won’t die.”

“You’ll die.”

“Well, I guess I have no choice.”

The lady’s eyes widened as she let out a sigh.

Being human myself, there are times when I make mistakes in cooking, and whenever that happens, I would usually pack the cake or food from the downtown area that the lady likes.

The lady, who knows that, is looking at me with expectant eyes.

“A chocolate cake?”

“Oh, really?”

“Then?”

In response to the lady’s intense anticipation, I picked up a fresh bell pepper with my fork.

-Shoong.

In an instant, the lady’s expression twisted.

“Why bell pepper?”

“It’s fresh and tasty, you know.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

The lady thought it would be better to eat charcoal-grilled meat that had turned black and burnt.

“Ah, alright.”

Whoosh. The lady turned her head vigorously.

“I don’t want it.”

I lifted the fork and made a sound mimicking an airplane taking off as I launched the bell pepper No. 1. Its destination was the lady’s mouth.

“I don’t want it.”

This time, the lady closed her mouth tightly and refused to eat. She glared at me with innocent eyes, and I wanted to flick her forehead.

If I had said it was an airplane and told it to the little ones, they would have eaten it without a fuss. It seems that the concept of airplanes doesn’t work in this world where they don’t exist.

I picked up the fork again.

Well, maybe if I mention something that exists in this world this time, it would be different.

Understanding the common ground, I launched bell pepper No. 2.

-Shoong. “Whoosh! A dragon flies!”

With a small gesture, the lady shot down the dragon No. 2. In an instant, she became a dragon slayer.

The lady smiled proudly.

“I slayed a wicked dragon.”

“Oh…!”

I saw Dragon 2 crashing to the ground, powerless. Paprika, who valiantly perished without even reaching her destination, now seemed pitiful.

The lady looked at the crash-landed Paprika and said, “I am a Dragon Slayer.”

With a ‘hmph,’ the lady saw through her jest. It seemed like such tricks no longer worked.

I took out a new fork, knowing this would happen.

“Illicit eating is not good.”

“It’s fine. That was an evil Paprika Dragon.”

“Paprika is not an evil dragon. In fact, it’s a virtuous dragon that preserves the lady’s health.”

“No, it’s evil.”

The lady furrowed her brow, “It doesn’t taste good.”

The lady loathed paprika due to its unique pungent taste, but I couldn’t understand why. It’s so crispy and delicious…

In truth, I also disliked it.

I initiated Dragon 3 to deal with the leftovers in the lady’s mouth.

“Ah, come on.”

“I refuse.”

“I’ll refuse as well.”

I shoved it into the lady’s mouth.

“Ugh.”

“Don’t spit it out.”

“Why?”

“Because paprika is healthy.”

“My heart isn’t healthy.”

“Paprika will take care of that.”

The lady tried to spit it out without chewing. I held her jaw and made her chew.

Although the lady attempted to land a cat punch on me, it didn’t hurt much, so it was fine.

Gulp. After swallowing the paprika, the lady picked up her fork.

“I mistakenly thought she was raising it to throw, but to my surprise, she was making skewers with the peppers and broccoli on the plate.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Does it taste better than I thought?

When I thought my taste had matured to the third level.

“Ah.”

The lady reached out a fork towards me.

“Ricardo, you should have some too.”

“I appreciate your offer, but isn’t this a bit much?”

The lady said to me with a cold gaze.

“You need to stay healthy.”

“I’m already healthy.”

“Be even healthier.”

“But isn’t just giving me peppers a form of mistreatment? I should report this to the Cat Rights Commission.”

The lady opened her eyes wide and said.

“Is there such a thing?”

“No, there isn’t.”

The lady was the one throwing the fork.

We finished our meal by giving the lady a chocolate cake after completing a small workshop.

***

The lady was lying on her bed, yawning lazily. I sat by her bed and stroked her head.

“Lady.”

“Yes?”

“Do you know I’ll be on vacation starting tomorrow?”

The lady nodded her head.

Seems like she’s aware of my vacation. I thought I had forgotten, so I mentioned it, and I was grateful she remembered.

I’ll have to go to the dungeon this time and bring back many valuable things. Worry and anticipation weighed heavily on my mind.

The lady said to me, “You must come back safely.”

“Yes.”

“I told you, don’t follow people who say they’ll buy you delicious things and be careful of bad people.”

“I know.”

The young lady seemed worried, like she was unsure if she could live well in this harsh world.

We seem to both worry about each other.

“And I am.”

The young lady held my hand.

She looked at my hand with sad eyes, wiping away tears and biting her lower lip.

The young lady didn’t say anything for a moment.

“Um…”

She hesitated and then spoke.

“When you come back from vacation, there’s something I want to ask.”

“Do you want to ask something?”

“Yeah.”

The young lady tightened her fist.

It seemed difficult for her to answer, like she wanted to ask if I had a girlfriend. If that’s the case, she can ask me now.

Being a virgin in both past and present lives.

I told the young lady.

“You can ask me now if you want.”

The young lady lowered her head.

“Not yet. I’m not emotionally prepared.”

“Emotionally prepared?”

The young lady looked at the empty space and said.

“Yeah. I’m still not ready.”

***

Time passed quickly.

I bid farewell to the young lady who stayed at the mansion and gave a generous bonus to the maids, asking them to take care of her.

The most important thing I emphasized was.

Only one chocolate per day.

I didn’t forget to tell them it couldn’t be more than that.

After exchanging greetings with the maid, I immediately set off. I have now arrived at the summit of the Hamel Mountain Range.

A wide, expansive view greeted me at the peak.

The refreshing air pierced through my chest, and the cold breeze tousled my hair, making me feel like I was on vacation.

I should hurry and head back.

Thinking so, as I was about to enter the dungeon’s entrance,

“Who’s this?”

A familiar voice reached my ears.