The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen - Chapter 35



35 – Exposed Secret – Part 2 –

“Sparkling…! Twinkling. Twinkling.”

The lady, whose profession was to lounge on the bed, had found a new hobby.

A luxurious pastime of admiring her necklace in the sunlight pouring in through the window. The lady’s complexion brightened more and more as the necklace, boasting a radiant hue, shimmered.

A smile graced her lips.

The lady’s wallet was plump.

“100,000 gold… If I sell this, it’s 100,000 gold!”

Watching the lady with a materialistic smile, I thought to myself,

“I’m fortunate to have received it as a gift.”

If she had said, ‘I don’t give gifts, my dear lady’… I would have been able to see her in a sorry state for a week, having turned into spinach.

I remember catching her secretly eating chicken at the market three months ago. The memory of her enduring a day as spinach still lingers.

“I won’t take a bath. Anyway, I’m a beggar, so I’ll become a dirty vagrant from a clean idler.”

The chocolates and bath salts I offered to soothe the lady’s anger were quite substantial, though I don’t remember the exact amount.

The lady, entwined with the bed, wriggled like a caterpillar. I asked her, enjoying the life of an idler as if she had given up being human,

“Is it really that enjoyable?”

“Yes. It’s incredibly dazzling.”

“Are you planning to sell it later?”

“N-No… I won’t sell it yet.”

The lady clasped the necklace tightly between her breasts. With great affection, she embraced the necklace.

Looking at the necklace, I thought,

“I envy X.”

Lately, I’ve found myself becoming jealous of material possessions. It made me angry to see objects enjoying privileges that even a butler couldn’t. It’s not because I’m a pervert who likes chests, but because of the privileges… It’s all because of privileges.

“hehehehe… 100,000 gold. Ten years’ worth of meat.”

The lady hugged the necklace tightly, chuckling. Like an old man pounding his stomach and smiling contentedly while eating grilled fish as a side dish, she giggled like a fool.

Just looking at her makes me feel full.

I left the lady in the room and picked up the sword I had propped up in the corner.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to practice swordsmanship. My body has been getting stiff lately.”

“Practice?”

The young lady tilted her head.

The guy who used to play around during swordsmanship classes at the academy suddenly looked at her with an expression asking if this was practice, making it difficult for him to offer any excuses since he had lived like a ruffian.

The swordsmanship instructor had discriminated against commoners and made them practice diligently, and he had hardly ever held a sword in front of the young lady.

The young lady, who was an excellent mage, also had no interest in swordsmanship, and it felt a bit strange to show her plain and unimpressive swordsmanship.

My swordsmanship was rough and monotonous, not as awe-inspiring as Mikhail’s solid swordsmanship or as dazzling as Hystania’s. So, it was a bit awkward to demonstrate it.

“Where should we do it?”

“I plan to do it in the courtyard.”

I pointed to the sunny courtyard of the mansion where the young lady on the second floor could see us.

The young lady stared at me intently.

With a look of annoyance.

She seemed reluctant to go outside, and she gave off an unmistakable vibe that she might take herself there as well. She frowned as she looked at the bright sunlight outside the window and made it clear that she didn’t like it, which made me laugh.

I asked the young lady, “Would you like to come with me?”

The young lady vehemently shook her head.

“No. Going out would make the sun angry, and that’s trouble.”

“You don’t want to go out because it’s too much trouble.”

“…Did I show it that clearly?”

“Yes.”

The young lady, whose true feelings were exposed, lay down on the bed and flicked her hand dismissively.

“Phooey… Phooey…”

***

The sunny courtyard bathed in bright sunlight.

I loosened my right shoulder as if turning a windmill.

After the battle with Balak, I felt inadequate facing a swordsman with a greatsword. I stood here to address the flaws in my swordsmanship.

I raised my head and saw the young lady on the second floor looking at me. The young lady chewing on chocolate.

I waved my hand casually.

“Young lady, where did you get the chocolate?”

“Chocolate?”

The lady confidently raised her chest. And she pointed her chest with her finger and spoke proudly.

“Here.”

Today, I became envious of the chocolate.

I quickly loosened my body.

I rotated my wrists to loosen my forearm.

I stretched my legs.

I gently loosened my stiff body and held the sword with my right hand.

[‘The Sword Genius’ detects the weapon ‘sword’.]

-Skill level dramatically increases.

-Understanding of the sword dramatically increases.

-Becomes a genius in swordsmanship.

An alarm rang. I recalled the last battle in my mind.

-Can this young swordsman handle this too?

The heavy blow of the sword.

-Remarkable.

I withstand it heavily.

My hands trembled, and I remembered when the greatsword approached right in front of my nose. Those moments when I was pushed back with every strike.

Imagining the fantasy of the greatsword in front of me.

I firmly held the sword.

A swordsman who uses a greatsword is inherently powerful.

Each strike was as heavy as a hammer, and if I received it incorrectly, the blade would break.

The same was true in the previous battle.

I saw the fantasy of Valrock holding the greatsword.

Valrock, who had a wide range and unleashed explosive aura.

In the posture solely focused on offense of Valrock, I swallowed my dry saliva.

“He really was a monster.”

If it wasn’t for Yuria, I would have run away without looking back, but seeing the even more monstrous appearance of Valrock, my fighting spirit was ignited.

“Alright, let’s give it a try.”

I lack skill.

The habits that were difficult to fix were deeply ingrained in my body, and there were many traces of experiences that could only be fixed one by one.

My only talent is being a “genius of martial arts” and having a wide acceptance of a blank canvas.

There are already enough pictures drawn on the canvas of me, but there is still plenty of space left to draw.

The canvas will be filled as I encounter many experiences and formidable opponents.

I grasped the sword.

“Let’s go.”

I could feel the tension in this moment.

I focused all my attention on the sword.

With the determination not to be pushed back like before, I exerted strength starting from my stance.

I swung the sword explosively.

Hwoong. Imagining a future where the sword slices through the air, I swung the sword forcefully.

Conjuring up the fantasy of the sword’s impact, I swung the greatsword just like back then.

The moment the sword collided with another sword.

-Clang!

As the sword slipped out of my powerless grasp, the fantasy of the sword’s impact sliced through my neck.

Hmm.

An awkward moment passed.

The sword slipped from my hand.

And my right hand trembled sweetly.

I alternated my gaze between the sword on the ground and my trembling right hand.

“What… why is this happening?”

I picked up the sword from the ground, adjusted my posture, and firmly grasped the handle. With the determination not to let go of the sword this time, I swung it with a thud.

-Clang.

Once again, the sword fell to the ground without any strength.

Bent over, I swallowed dry saliva. Cold sweat flowed and my fingertips trembled with a strange sense of unease.

This is strange.

Why can’t I exert strength in my right hand?

Just this morning, I was able to eat meals properly, so why won’t my right hand listen to me? I smiled awkwardly and looked at the young lady on the second floor.

Fortunately, the young lady didn’t notice anything strange and continued to enjoy her chocolate.

I let out a sigh of relief.

The young lady shouted at me to hurry up and come upstairs. She said if I wasn’t going to practice, we should go see the necklace together.

I bent my waist.

Continuing to gaze at the fallen sword, I let out a deep sigh and climbed up to the mansion.

My right hand was trembling.

***

After waiting for the trembling to stop, I stood in front of the young lady’s room.

“Closet, right?”

“Yeah. Prepare the chocolate cake…and other things.”

Clang…

“Here’s the money.”

“No, Lady! If you take out the money there….”

“It’s okay. I have a lot of money.”

“It’s not about the money…and you gave me too much money.”

“It’s a tip. You just have to do what I ask.”

The young lady and the maid were having an intriguing conversation.

I couldn’t hear exactly what they were whispering in a low voice, but based on what I vaguely heard, it seemed like the young lady was asking the maid to run errands for her.

The young lady was asking the maid to run errands…

I wondered where she got all that chocolate from, but to think the maid was her supplier, I chuckled at the scene of the young lady’s clandestine deal.

“How cunning.”

I didn’t want to disturb the young lady’s small happiness.

She would learn about the economy through running errands, and the maid would earn tips, so it was a win-win situation for both. I decided to observe a little more.

After about three minutes of the conversation between the young lady and the maid, I heard the maid politely greet the young lady and say she had to go attend to other tasks.

“I will prepare everything by the date you mentioned.”

“Yeah. Thank you.”

Click.

As the door opened, the middle-aged maid and I made eye contact.

“Master…!”

“Shh. Please be quiet.”

I put a finger to my lips and silenced the maid.

Time passed quickly and three days had gone by.