The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen - Chapter 385



385 – The Times Consumed by Revenge -6-

Ricardo’s hand held Shartia’s and led her.

“Where are we going…?!”

She didn’t know where they were going.

No, she didn’t want to know.

She didn’t want Ricardo to come back to the office, and she didn’t want to show her weak side.

Right now, she was filled with nothing but shame. She wanted to hide in a place where no one was.

Right now, she was not the confident princess, nor the resolute student council president, but just a defeated girl.

“Stop…”

She didn’t want to follow Ricardo.

Ricardo sighed deeply and said to her.

“Just follow me.”

“What…?”

Knowing where to go.

“That’s why you keep losing to people who are less than human because you only work.”

What do you know?

A curt thought came to mind, thinking that you know nothing about a life that has been tormented for a long time.

But.

-Squeeze.

Ricardo’s hand, which held mine without hurting, was warm, so no rebuttal came out. He wasn’t holding my wrist tightly enough to shake it off.

Just when I was endlessly walking, intoxicated by Ricardo’s warmth. Ricardo stopped walking, took a deep breath, and opened his firmly closed mouth.

“We’ve arrived.”

-Swoosh…!

A white flower field.

A white flower field so bright it hurt my eyes.

The wind blowing from the hill brushed past my hair, and my disheveled hair began to settle down calmly. Just like my current mood.

-Swoosh…

“…”

It began to settle down calmly.

It was a strangely stabilizing place. I had never been here before and had no hobby of looking at flowers, but my complicated mind sank into the depths, and the emotion called ‘peace’ began to approach me.

“How is it?”

Ricardo, who had let go of my wrist, smiled brightly and slowly walked to the middle of the flower field, standing in front of me.

“Where is this…?”

At the questioning look, Ricardo smiled like an inventor showing off his masterpiece and began to speak.

“Pretty, isn’t it?”

“…”

“Haha…!”

Ricardo stretched out his hand as if embarrassed and said.

“It’s the first time I’ve invited someone. Ah… I did bring a lady once, so it’s not the first time.”

“…”

“Welcome.”

“…”

“To my secret garden.”

Ricardo’s red hair, swaying with the wind, held warmth. Like the setting red sunset.

Shaltia reached out and touched the fully bloomed white flower with her hand. The petals, softly wrapping around her fingers, felt as if they could tear at any moment, but the sensation was pleasant.

Ricardo smiled contentedly and said,

“The flower language of the iris is ‘purity.’”

“Purity…?”

“Yes, it doesn’t quite match with me, but isn’t it pretty?”

“It is…”

“Oh, by the way, this is an iris flower garden I secretly made since my academy days. It may look like this, but it’s private property. I bought this land with my saved salary.”

“…It must have been expensive.”

“There were rumors of ghosts, so I got it cheap.”

“…”

Ricardo, with a beaming smile, looked at Shaltia, who was staring at him suspiciously, and said, ‘I’ve never seen a ghost so far,’ dispelling her doubts.

From noble mtl dot com

“Well, you might say it’s odd for a man to grow flowers… but it’s surprisingly fun.”

“…”

“Of course, I mostly neglected it… but I was surprised to see it grow so well.”

Ricardo chuckled and led her to the middle of the iris flower garden.

“Would you like to come closer?”

“…Sure.”

The subtle scent of flowers surrounding them tickled her nose. A sweet, earthy fragrance. Shaltia, smelling the scent that seemed to follow the flower language, muttered to herself.

“It must have been hard to find so many white irises.”

Ricardo, smiling as if it was nothing, replied. He spoke like a shady nouveau riche, rubbing his thumb and forefinger together.

“Money can buy anything.”

“Annoying.”

“Being too modest can be even more annoying.”

“…”

The iris had a relatively unique appearance compared to other flowers. The closed bud seemed to hide its beauty.

“Pretty.”

But the moment the bud fully opened, the plain appearance disappeared, revealing its hidden beauty. Though all flowers are like that.

“Really beautiful.”

The white iris, which had been hiding, opened its bud wide, showing off its beauty, and butterflies were busily working on the yellow stamens.

Ricardo gently approached Shaltia, who was touching the petals, and whispered in her ear. He told her that there were few people he had brought to this place.

“This is a place only I know.”

“…”

“Some students who like to explore might know about it, but until I left the academy, it was a hideout only I knew.”

“…”

Shaltia spoke to Ricardo with a muffled pronunciation.

Why… was he showing her something like this?

“Why are you showing me this?”

“…”

“I thought the flowers would be in full bloom by now.”

Ricardo responded to her question with another question, making Shaltia chuckle and shake her head.

“Ha… I showed you an unsightly side of myself.”

“No, you were absolutely beautiful.”

“What are you saying? Are you trying to get scolded?”

Ricardo shrugged with an awkward smile.

“You held back well. If it were me, I would have hit you.”

“You already hit me.”

“…That was because that person did something wrong.”

A gentle breeze was blowing. It felt as if spring was blowing in her heart, happy to be with Ricardo.

The gloomy feeling from a moment ago was being refreshed. The scent of flowers mixed in, bringing back a sense of calm.

Shaltia lowered her knees, which had been standing blankly, and lay down, looking at the sky.

“Ugh…! Ha… It’s nice to rest.”

“Isn’t it?”

“Yeah… It’s definitely nice.”

“Would you like to sleep for a bit?”

“Maybe…”

Shaltia closed her eyes and thought.

He was truly a desirable person.

Someone who could fight bravely without being intimidated in front of the lord’s enemy. And someone who had the teeth to trample on the enemy trying to bite the lord’s neck.

Especially.

-Saaa.

I was always envious of this creature who leisurely sat in the flower field, forcing me to rest.

Shaltia smiled brightly and sighed.

“Okay. I’ll sleep a little.”

Today, it seemed better to just rest.

The mischief of my brother.

The pressure on the crown prince.

Today, I decided to set aside complicated thoughts and enjoy a leisurely rest. That would be what the stubborn butler wanted.

“…I’ll sleep just a little more…”

Shaltia decided to comply with Ricardo’s wish.

*

It seems I fell asleep for a moment.

-Shaltia.

-…

-Shaltia.

“Uh…?”

Lying in the white flower field, I frowned at the man who had come beside me. As if to ask why he was waking me from my sweet sleep.

The man smiled slightly and patted my head in the dream.

-Are you here again?

-…

-If you sleep carelessly on the roadside, you’ll catch a cold.

I accepted the man’s touch as if it were natural.

-Shall we get up? The wind seems to be getting chilly.

I couldn’t see the man’s expression.

It was hidden in the dark shadow, so I couldn’t see what kind of expression he was making, whether he was smiling or not.

But one thing was certain.

‘He’s kind.’

The man cared for the dream version of me.

In the dream, I pouted, my platinum blonde hair scattered in the flower field.

-I want to sleep more.

– It’s already been three hours.

– It’s okay to sleep more.

– I’m worried, so I can’t.

– Haa…

Despite the man’s irritated grumbling, he shrugged his shoulders and stroked his hair as if it didn’t matter.

The wind blew.

And then.

– Don’t whine. It’s okay even if you don’t whine like that.

I spat out cold words towards the man.

They were stiff, business-like words. Not words spoken from one person to another, but words so stiff they lacked any warmth.

– Anyway, my revenge is the same as yours. So don’t whine.

– Is that so.

– You live a tiring life. So do I, though.

– Because this is my job.

– What’s the promise you made with that dead woman.

– Still, I made a promise.

– It’s not even your fault, so why are you doing this. Foolishly.

– …Because I don’t want her to be forgotten.

In the dream, I gritted my teeth and clicked my tongue.

– Fool.

– I hear that often.

Just as another harsh word was about to pour out towards the man, the man, whose face was not visible, bent one knee and hugged me.

– But right now…

– …

– I’m doing this because I want to stop the tears of a beautiful woman who cries every dawn.

– …

– Foolishly.

– You…

Just as the sunlight hidden by the clouds was about to reveal the man’s face.

“Shalltear-sama.”

A voice vividly echoed in my ears.

“It’s time to wake up.”

The man I was familiar with said.

And then.

– The quest has been completed.

A chilling notification began to ring in my ears.