The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen - Chapter 9



9 – Making Good Money -1-

The room was empty after Ricardo left.

Olivia sat on the bed, staring absentmindedly out the window.

“Hmm.”

The sunlight was bright.

The sand grains sparkled.

It was quiet. Ricardo, who used to talk annoyingly and tease her by calling her a pig, was nowhere to be found.

On a day like this, it would be best to lie in bed and sleep, but Ricardo woke her up before he left.

-Tweet tweet…

“Ugh.”

Olivia stretched and leaned against the window.

“I’m bored. I’m hungry.”

Every time Ricardo goes to work, she’s left alone in this mansion. She spends her days like a guard dog, looking out the window whether someone is coming or not, and if she gets sleepy, she sleeps.

She could call for a maid to play with, but she didn’t want to.

They weren’t close, and it would be awkward.

Should she say that everyone seems to dislike her? She had a strange delusion and didn’t feel like talking to anyone if Ricardo wasn’t around.

“It’s annoying.”

Ricardo is probably the one who knows her best. When she’s hungry, he feeds her and knows exactly what she wants to eat, a true butler.

Olivia found comfort in this Ricardo.

Pride might be involved, but her housekeeper is competent.

Because she had kept such a competent housekeeper for 13 years, who could endure even her outbursts. It would probably be difficult to find a housekeeper like Ricardo throughout the entire continent.

She herself knows it too.

How much effort it takes for her.

Perhaps it’s because she was raised so obediently since birth, she is an eccentric woman whose hands move faster than her mouth, with a rag in her mouth. I wonder if even the dog she raised for 10 years liked Ricardo more than me, since he was given more treats.

Olivia has good self-objectification. She prefers “sh*thead!” to “hahahahaha-Hohoho,” as it feels more genuine.

Pretense and Olivia were far apart.

Ricardo disguises this personality trait in a positive light and calls it “honesty,” but she knows it’s not a compliment. But still, she likes to hear it, so he never told her to stop.

She tried to change her personality in the past.

She even bought a dictionary of kind words and studied it.

-“100 ways to change yourself? Miss, why are you reading such a boring book?”

-So I can fold it.

-That’s a good idea.

When books didn’t work, she even hired a private tutor.

-“Miss, I am your new private tutor.”

-You don’t look very kind.

-Pardon?

-Get out.

She even tried meditation.

-Miss?

-mmm…

-That’s a good nap.

But still, her eccentric personality wasn’t easily fixed.

She wanted to speak kindly to people, especially Ricardo.

She felt pathetic for saying mean things to someone who took care of her, even when she got angry. Besides, everything was messed up because of her mistakes… and the reason she went to earn money.

She tried to create a job that would allow her to live a life of leisure, but everything went awry because of her.

Is love to blame?

Or is the academy at fault?

Or is it herself who is to blame?

Where did it all go wrong?

No, it’s all my fault.

Perhaps it’s because I woke up in the morning after such a long time; I’ve been thinking about many things lately.

Especially that strange dream I had the other day.

Since experiencing such a vivid fantasy that I can’t even call a dream, I’ve been spending more time reflecting on myself.

If it weren’t for Ricardo, I probably would have died. So, I’ve been looking back on the past a lot.

“My head hurts.”

Perhaps the butler and I can’t live together forever.

Ricardo will have to get married someday too.

As for me, I have to live in this bed forever.

“I feel depressed.”

Thinking about a bleak future made my mood sink.

It would be nice if Ricardo could open the door and comfort me at times like this. I love seeing him laugh like a fool every day, and my heart feels at ease when I’m with Ricardo.

Now, I couldn’t see my future without Ricardo.

“Is it kindness… or something.”

What is the relationship between Ricardo and me?

The relationship between the employer and the employee has already fallen apart.

I hope Ricardo doesn’t come to hate me.

Olivia was lost in thought, gazing out of the window.

The security guards were patrolling diligently.

The birds were chirping enthusiastically.

The children were playing energetically.

Everyone was working hard in their own way.

Olivia felt even worse about her own useless self.

That’s when she saw it.

A little child with a deep hat pulled low and holding red paint seemed to be in the distance. The way the child moved, as if trying to do something, raised suspicion.

“A thief?”

It’s not a house with anything to steal, but it was quite embarrassing to think they might be taking something.

Olivia tightly clutched the bell that summoned the servant and looked at the little one.

Tuk. The little one stood by the front wall of the house, holding a brush.

Olivia took a deep breath when she saw the sight and yelled without filtering her emotions.

“Hey, you little brat!!!”

Come to think of it, she wasn’t an unemployed person.

She was working hard to guard the house.

Olivia felt good as she watched the little one run away.

“hehehe.”

***

I walked for about 30 minutes after checking the address on the business card. I could easily reach my destination.

“Is this the right place?”

In the brief moment of feeling good about the closer distance than expected, I got lost in my thoughts when I arrived at an unexpected location.

“It’s strange here.”

Hannah must have said something like that.

– We have a small knights’ order in our family, so if you come, you should be able to earn a small allowance.

– Really?

– Green tea. It tasted so bad. You need ‘money,’ don’t you?

From Noble mtl dot com

Her keen eyes judged the family’s circumstances with just a cup of green tea. Is she really a noble? Thanks to that, I received a good part-time job recommendation.

But it was a knights’ order.

While coming here, I imagined a knights’ order in splendid armor.

They were usually like that.

They caught the monsters appearing in their territory or resolved requests from external families. That was the knights’ order’s job.

But this wasn’t a knights’ order.

[Adventurer Guild ‘Poppo’]

“Huh?”

Hannah, who had received a prior notice, was shaking hands with me.

“It’s here.”

Vroom vroom. Hannah waved her hand.

Hannah, dressed in familiar attire, seemed to meet my expectations.

Wearing brown leather pants and boots. It was the typical attire of an adventurer.

“It was quite bizarre.

I swiftly walked towards her.

And whispered so quietly that it wouldn’t reach others’ ears.

“You said it was a knight order, right?”

“Yes, a knight order.”

Hannah displayed her party proudly.

A small dwarf.

An elf wielding a bow.

Not a party with a healer dressed in nun robes, but a party standing there alone.

Is this what a knight order looks like?

They seemed fine individuals, yet they appeared to be a severe headache. This seems alright.

“I’m the one running the knight order.”

“Pardon?”

“Well… I am alone, but I am a knight, so it still counts as a knight order, right?”

Numerous questions popped in my head, but Hannah seemed unperturbed. It seemed like it was good for me to have come this quickly.

She took my hand and led me into the guild.

“You can earn living expenses here and conceal your status.”

“Is that what an adventurer does?”

“Yes.”

Hannah smiled awkwardly.

Have I been deceived?

It felt like being tricked by a child, but I nodded at the thought that listening to her might change my perception.

“Even if I look like this, I’m a B-ranked adventurer.”

“Whether it’s B-ranked or anything else, it seems like you’ve deceived me, for starters.”

Hannah casually dismissed my opinion.

Rather than that, she presented the crux, knowing what I’d be most curious about.

“Do you know how much I earned during a week-long stint during the break?”

Hannah held up a handful of fingers.

“10 gold?”

Suddenly, her voice escalated.”

Certainly, 10 gold is a significant amount of money. It’s more than a commoner’s monthly living expenses, which are about 30 gold. It was a good way to make money through short-term jobs.

But it’s undeniable that danger comes with it. Occupations that involve shedding blood are far from safe.

That’s why I chose to earn a living as a laborer on a construction site instead of becoming an adventurer.

“Impressive that you can earn your own money,” she said.

I thought she was just a noble who knew nothing about the real world, but she seemed to have a better understanding than I thought. My opinion of her increased.

Still, I had to decline.

Because it’s risky.

I thought of a gentle way to refuse without hurting her feelings.

Earning just 10 gold in exchange for getting my hands dirty with blood didn’t seem worth it. Working as a laborer on a construction site would be a better option.

Moreover, being an adventurer takes up a lot of time.

To undertake subjugation missions, one has to spend one to three days climbing mountains to find monsters. It was an impossible task for me, as I was escorting a lady.

Hannah’s eyes widened.

She waved her hand in a dismissive manner.

“No? What would I do with such a meager sum?”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s 100 gold.”

I almost called her “big sister” in that moment. She’s quite a formidable lady for someone younger than me.

Despite my noisy thoughts, my eyes sparkled like a devoted servant. It felt like seeing the light after a long time.

I hoped she would explain in detail.

Hannah looked at my expression and chuckled softly.

“If you only take on big tasks, you can earn quite a lot. And since I work alone, I don’t have to worry about sharing the spoils.”

“Aren’t all the high-paying contracts already taken?”

Hannah showed me her silver badge.

“I’m a B-rank adventurer.”

“Oh…”

“Difficult missions are usually taken by higher-ranked adventurers. But sometimes there are named contracts.”

I regretted not knowing about this golden opportunity from the past. I couldn’t help but think of my days as a bricklayer on construction sites, and tears welled up in my eyes. Why didn’t the novel mention the sweet gig of being an adventurer?

Was it because it’s a fantasy world full of dreams and hope? Did they not want to promote the inhumane job that involves shedding blood?

Hannah held my hand with an apologetic smile.

“I’m sorry. But I didn’t think you would come if I didn’t put it that way.”

That’s true.

She probably would have refused right away if I had turned down the adventurer job. She didn’t know much about adventurers, and it seemed like a noble lady would scoff at the idea of doing adventurer work, especially on her own.

One thing was puzzling me.

“But why did you agree?”

My behavior in our first meeting wasn’t particularly impressive. I had some embarrassing moments, like frowning at my senior from the start and letting a villainess’s companion boss me around. So, her calling me without hesitation was a bit surprising.

So, before we started the job, I asked her.

“The memories from our last encounter weren’t so pleasant, I assume.”

There was always the possibility that she was setting a trap for me to torment me with lingering grudges from that time.

One should be cautious.

Hanna nodded.

“Well… you’re right.”

She looked closely at my hand.

“You were the first person in our household to use magic.”

“Really?”

“I’ve never seen a young person use magic, let alone fine-tune its power. Even our father can’t do that. He just smashes things.”

Thanks to my skill in transcending limits.

I didn’t feel the need to mention that.

Hanna smiled faintly and said, “The reason I became an adventurer isn’t just for money. I wanted to see if I could grow even more.”

“Is that so?”

That’s what she was saying.

To earn a lot of money, you had to take on risky missions. Instead of having mediocre companions, she wanted to team up with someone whose skills had been proven.

At the same time, she wanted to improve her own abilities.

This was her primary motivation.

Hanna politely bowed her head.

She looked quite different from how she did at the mansion.

“So, that’s why I asked for your help,” I said, looking at her.

“Is skill enough?”

“Yes?”

“If skill is more important than money, is that enough?”

If the answer was yes, I could provide her with the response she wanted.

I asked with good intentions, but a crack appeared on Hanna’s face.

It seemed she had dismissed me as a woman who took money lightly. A moment where she was trying not to dismiss herself.

Before she could misunderstand any further, I gave her a materialistic answer.

“Let’s go with 8:2 then.”

“Yes?”

Hanna’s surprised response.

“It’s a distribution, not a proposal.”

“What does that mean…!”

“In return. I will help you defeat Michael in four weeks.”

I was the one who raised Michael and the supporting characters. But in a way they didn’t know.