The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 101

It was charred black.

Time seemed to have stopped. All Yuria could see was Ricardo’s face, letting out feverish groans before her eyes.

Opening her eyes, Yuria thought to herself.

That something was wrong.

Seeing Ricardo’s hand, burned black like charcoal, Yuria felt the emotions that had just settled within her begin to crumble.

Ricardo, leaning against the wall, exhaling rough breaths. The strong figure he usually displayed was nowhere to be seen as he let out feverish groans.

‘Huh…?’

Yuria rubbed her eyes.

She wondered if what she was seeing was a mistake.

Whether it was because of the alcohol or exhaustion, she didn’t know, but the Ricardo before her eyes was not the one she knew.

He was worn out with fatigue.

Letting out groans of pain.

The sight of Ricardo, bearing terrible scars, was enough to sober her intoxicated mind.

‘What… What happened…?’

Unable to recall her memories from when she was drunk, Yuria desperately tried to retrieve the forgotten fragments but couldn’t think of anything.

Hans’s face.

The faces of men in black priest robes came to her faintly, but Yuria couldn’t remember what Ricardo had done or why he was so injured. She blamed her foolish self.

‘Idiot…!’

Only now did her vision begin to clear. As her eyes, once clouded by darkness, gradually sharpened, she could see the ruined surroundings.

A collapsed wall.

A floor marked with sword scars.

Ricardo, lying collapsed.

Everything around her seemed to point to her responsibility. Everything was in ruins except for the area immediately around her.

And.

Even a cold, lifeless corpse.

Yuria couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed.

‘Is it because of me again…?’

‘Again…’

Why does accursed karma keep piling up like this?

Filled with emotions that seemed ready to burst, Yuria staggered toward Ricardo.

And.

“Huh?”

She locked eyes with a startled Ricardo.

“Ah… This is bad.”

As always, Ricardo spoke with a calm smile.

“I’m sorry.”

“I messed up again, didn’t I?”

At Ricardo’s brief apology, Yuria’s emotions broke down.

*

It was an expression she had never seen before.

Ricardo, looking so flustered.

And Yuria had never seen the always-strong Ricardo in such a weakened state.

With trembling hands, Yuria reached out to take Ricardo’s hand.

She had to heal him.

She had to heal the terrible wounds before her eyes. Otherwise, her heart, on the verge of madness, felt like it would burst.

“Ah… Why…”

If someone were to ask what had hurt him, the answer would undoubtedly be her—standing here unharmed.

If she could think even a little, she could deduce the correct answer about who was responsible for the events before her.

She was the only one left unscathed.

Yuria looked at Ricardo with trembling eyes. Cold sweat trickled down his forehead as he gave an awkward smile and apologized.

A hand where necrosis was spreading, black as coal.

Yuria thought she had encountered many patients in her life, but she had never met one with injuries this severe.

The pain of oscillating between healing and necrosis was unimaginable.

These were wounds severe enough that it wouldn’t be strange if he died right now.

That was the nature of dark magic itself.

Magic that inflicted pain and stole life. That was the sin contained in Ricardo’s hand.

Ricardo’s wounds made Yuria’s heart tremble violently.

With a trembling voice, Yuria asked Ricardo if it was because of her. And… if he had gotten hurt protecting her once again. She tried to open her mouth to ask, but Ricardo’s calm response stopped her question.

“It’s nothing.”

“…”

“It’s not related to you, Miss Yuria.”

Ricardo’s calm words made Yuria’s hand tremble. His composed answer, as if he had anticipated her flustered reaction, made her bow her head. Clenching her fists, Yuria spoke to Ricardo.

“How can you say it’s nothing…”

“It really is.”

“How can you say it’s nothing? I’m standing here completely fine…! Ricardo, you’re the one who’s hurt like this…! How can you say it’s okay!”

Ricardo, with startled eyes, repeated the same answer to me. He insisted that his injuries had nothing to do with me, saying it only looked strange because of the darkness—a response so unconvincing that even a child wouldn’t believe it.

‘Do you expect me to believe that?’

No matter how foolish I may be.

Even if I’m just an idiot who blames others.

Even if I’m nothing but a burden.

Hearing such words… It hurts too much.

What do you expect me to do…

The man I once loved is injured before my eyes.

I hate it, I hate it so much I could go mad… Seeing the man who makes my heart feel like it’s being torn apart just by looking at his face, speaking so kindly.

Watching Ricardo lie, saying it’s nothing, Yuria felt sorrow toward him, who offered such hollow excuses.

Even if those words were true.

In this moment, seeing Ricardo apologize, Yuria felt an indescribable heaviness in her heart.

Ricardo awkwardly smiled as he cautiously rolled down his sleeve. Glancing at Yuria’s reaction, he slowly lowered his sleeve and, with difficulty, stood up, extending his hand to her.

Ricardo extended his left hand, not his injured right one, but Yuria stood still, unmoving.

“Let’s go. It’s getting too late.”

Yuria shook her head.

“Get treated first.”

“You know.”

Ricardo shrugged his shoulders.

Then, glancing at his injured arm, he spoke.

“This can’t be treated.”

“Still…”

“It’s quite an old wound. So there’s no need to worry about it.”

Dark magic cannot be healed.

Attempting to heal it is illegal in itself.

The process of treating it is also far more difficult than for ordinary wounds.

At Yuria’s stubborn insistence, Ricardo awkwardly smiled, withdrew his hand, and said.

“I’m sorry for showing you such an unsightly sight.”

“…”

Unsightly sight.

How could that possibly be considered unsightly?

As Ricardo continued to apologize, Yuria shook her head vigorously.

Ricardo, in a subdued voice, cautiously began to recount what had just happened.

“I just ran into an assailant. Jealous of Handsome Me, of course.”

Trying to lighten the somber mood with a joke, Ricardo gave me an awkward smile when our eyes met.

“It really was nothing. This wound as well. Miss Yuria, you know, don’t you? That I’m not someone who would just get beaten up anywhere.”

At the words “not someone who would just get beaten up,” Yuria’s head dropped to the floor.

‘Not someone who would just get beaten up…’

Ricardo’s words, spoken while stabbed by the dagger I had thrown, brought no comfort at all. They overlapped with his current expression, wearing a bitter smile.

The excuses Ricardo was making now sounded like nothing more than attempts to lighten my mood.

Finally, Ricardo looked at the fallen corpse on the ground and spoke softly.

“The ones who were killed…”

Ricardo let out a deep sigh.

At Ricardo’s deep sigh, as if expecting me to offer sharp criticism, my shoulders trembled.

Because I no longer pitied them.

Was it because of the traumatic experience in the dungeon? Or was it because Ricardo was more precious to me than those who lay dead? The fate of the villains, now cold and lifeless, no longer felt pitiable.

I didn’t know what would happen in the future, but at this moment, I even felt hatred toward them.

Hesitating to respond, Ricardo lowered his gaze to the ground and spoke in a small voice.

“I did it because I thought Miss Yuria might get hurt.”

“…”

“I know you would dislike it, but still, Miss Yuria is precious to me.”

Yuria thought about all the countless pieces of advice Ricardo had given her.

-Don’t meddle unnecessarily.

-It’s for your own good, Miss Yuria.

While offering small pieces of advice, it was always Ricardo who dirtied his hands. Those memories gnawed at Yuria’s emotions.

And then.

Those emotions spilled out of her mouth.

“You said I’m precious…”

“Then you should take care of yourself too.”

“Why…! Why do you always get hurt alone? Why do you have to be the bad person alone? I’m your friend too. A friend who laughs and cries with you…”

Yuria had thought about it for a long time.

Even when she ate alone.

Even when she hated Ricardo at the dormitory academy.

All of Ricardo’s actions that had tormented her were hateful, yet they also hurt her heart so deeply it ached.

Back then, she couldn’t find a reason.

She hated Ricardo.

It felt like everything stemmed from him.

But.

Now, she thought she might know the reason.

Because she felt sorry.

Because she couldn’t do anything for him.

Because she had received his help… only to resent him in return.

That’s why.

She thought she had hated Ricardo so much.

Holding back her tears, Yuria shouted at Ricardo.

“Let’s start over and be friends again.”

“…”

“Forget the past… and start anew.”

Biting her lip tightly, Yuria spoke.

“Let’s be friends.”