The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 110

A heavy silence filled the air.

In the room, the soft breathing of the Young Lady and Kyle’s icy gaze clashed with a chilling intensity.

I swallowed dryly and racked my brain, but no plausible excuse came to mind. No matter what justification I offered or how much I flattered him with sweet words, it was clear that nothing could resolve this situation.

‘Damn.’

What should I do?

Never in my wildest imagination did I think Kyle would appear in such a compromising situation.

When my eyes met Kyle’s, filled with the emotion called rage, I felt a suffocating pressure that made it hard to breathe.

Despite the warnings not to use Dark Magic and the repeated lectures to stop, I had stubbornly continued my suspicious activities. I had no idea what Kyle would say to me now.

Kyle was staring at me.

Not at the hand resting on the Young Lady’s leg, but at my left hand, which was pressed against my bleeding lips.

Drip. As the blood trickled down my fingers and ran along my forearm, Kyle frowned and finally opened his tightly shut mouth.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

I blurted out the first thing that came to mind. I thought that offering some kind of plausible excuse would help me escape this situation, even if it was a ridiculous one.

“I was giving her a massage. To open her closed growth plates… Haha…”

“And, well, I got a nosebleed in the process.”

As soon as I said it, a sudden worry crossed my mind: ‘Am I going to get arrested as a molester?’ I was caught red-handed, so I had no excuse to defend myself.

“Haha… Does that sound too awkward?”

I looked at Kyle with an awkward smile, but his expression only grew paler and more rigid.

Until Kyle opened his mouth, there was nothing I could do.

Kyle, who cherished his sister dearly, might yell or even use magic, given the household’s past crisis caused by Dark Magic.

My only small wish at this moment was for the Young Lady not to wake up.

If she saw this scene, she would undoubtedly cry. It hadn’t been long since I promised her not to get hurt, and now here I was, coughing up blood… Even I found it absurd.

I swallowed hard and looked at Kyle, hoping he would judge the excuse I had just given.

“Are you kidding me?”

As expected, a clumsy excuse wouldn’t work on Kyle.

“Giving a massage in a woman’s room at this late hour… Do you really expect me to believe that?”

“I guess not, huh?”

Kyle briskly approached me, his hand reaching for my nape.

-Grab.

With an unwaveringly cold gaze, Kyle grabbed me by the collar.

-Thud!

Kyle roughly yanked me away from the Young Lady’s bed and dragged me to a dark corner far from her.

The sound of heavy footsteps echoed in the room, and Kyle’s rough breathing filled my ears.

“I’ll ask you one more time. What are you doing right now?”

Gripping my collar, Kyle spoke in a cold voice. Unlike his usual tone, which carried a subtle warmth despite its firmness, his voice now was utterly devoid of anything but anger.

I forced an awkward smile and replied.

“If I said her legs looked so beautiful that I couldn’t resist touching them…”

As the playful response left my lips, Kyle’s complexion turned even paler, and a dense mana began to emanate from him.

“That doesn’t make sense, does it?”

With genuine sincerity, I asked Kyle if he could just overlook this once. If he turned a blind eye, neither of us would have to suffer any consequences.

“Can’t you just let this slide?”

“Do you think that’s a reasonable request?”

Kyle’s grip on my collar tightened. His silent denial was clear in his actions. Wiping the blood from my lips with my sleeve, I spoke in a low voice.

“I was treating the Young Lady.”

“And why would you, someone who isn’t a doctor, do that? Did you pick up some folk remedy from the streets? I doubt you’d lay your hands on Olivia’s legs based on such nonsense.”

“…”

“Judging by your silence, it must be Dark Magic.”

The moment Kyle’s words, filled with certainty, were followed by the flow of dense mana from his hand, I responded firmly and honestly.

“It’s not Dark Magic.”

“Nor is it anything that would harm the household. And it’s certainly not an illegal act. If any problems arise, you can cut me off as a scapegoat.”

“Do you…”

Kyle gritted his teeth and spoke in a muffled voice.

“Do you think I’m angry over something so trivial?”

“…”

“Do you think I’m grabbing your collar just because I believe this might threaten the household?”

“Haha… Is it because I touched the Young Lady’s legs?”

A self-deprecating laugh escaped me, but when I felt Kyle’s trembling hand gripping my collar, I couldn’t help but force a clumsy smile.

Kyle lowered his head.

“Ricardo.”

The strength in Kyle’s grip on my collar gradually loosened. With his head bowed, Kyle spoke in a trembling voice.

“I won’t ask any more questions about what you’re doing.”

“I want to ask why you’re bleeding right now and what you’re planning, but I’ll hold back.”

Just as I was about to let out a sigh of relief, thinking we had reached an understanding, Kyle’s softly spoken final words made me question him.

“So stop it here.”

Without meeting my gaze, Kyle kept his head lowered and whispered his plea to me.

Stop it.

Whatever you’re planning, stop it here, and I’ll pretend I don’t know anything, Kyle seemed to say. I responded with an awkward smile.

“That… would be difficult.”

My stubbornness, rooted in the blind spot called the Young Lady, was a chronic issue that couldn’t be easily resolved. Especially when it came to matters concerning her future, I had resolved not to compromise anymore.

Therefore, I dared to challenge Kyle, who was extending his kindness, and firmly stated that I couldn’t give up on this.

“This is something I cannot abandon.”

Kyle’s face rippled with emotion at my resolute answer.

“Follow my words, Ricardo.”

“I told you, I can’t.”

“Would you say the same if I told Olivia?”

Kyle pressed me by mentioning the Young Lady’s name. If he told her the truth, she would undoubtedly reject the Hand of Rehabilitation, but I had no intention of backing down.

So, I glanced at the sleeping Young Lady and smiled.

“I doubt you would tell her, Lord Kyle.”

“What?”

“Because you love Olivia, don’t you?”

Kyle cherishes the Young Lady.

I thought he might have grown to resent her after the incident with Dark Magic, but from his current demeanor and his cautious effort to lower his voice so as not to wake her, I was certain he hadn’t changed.

And his Affinity Window confirmed it.

If Kyle told Olivia, all our efforts so far would be in vain, but I was confident he wouldn’t do it.

If Kyle stopped me, his beloved sister would never be able to stand on her own two feet again.

So I pushed back firmly.

The card he played, the Young Lady, was like a double-edged sword—a joker that could threaten both of us.

The Young Lady was not only Kyle’s weapon but also a blade in my hands.

“Without me, the Young Lady won’t be able to walk.”

“Didn’t I tell you before? I’m satisfied as long as Olivia is alive.”

“Desire knows no bounds. When the doctor said she might be able to walk, weren’t you happy, Lord Kyle?”

“…”

“Didn’t you imagine your sister walking energetically again, just like before?”

Kyle, who had been resolute in his answers, faltered at my question. His wavering eyes began to ripple like waves.

“That’s… an unavoidable matter.”

Kyle spoke in a faint voice.

‘Unavoidable matter,’ he said. But it was the same for me. The Young Lady was just as precious to me as she was to Kyle.

She was the one who saved my life.

And at the same time, she was the object of my secret, unrequited love.

That was why I couldn’t give up.

Because this is my responsibility.

“I am perfectly fine.”

Kyle lowered his head and spoke to me.

“Stop it. Olivia relies on you a lot. And my father, mother, and I are all deeply grateful to you. So…”

With an awkward smile, I repeated the exact same words Kyle had just said.

“It’s something I can’t avoid either.”

Kyle’s hand, which had been gripping my collar tightly, fell limply to the ground. Biting his lips hard, Kyle glared at me, his sorrow spilling out as he came to terms with the fact that he was just a selfish person who couldn’t do anything.

After all, even he had been tempted when he first heard the news that Olivia’s legs could be healed with dark magic.

He had even looked into the method and tried to find someone willing to take on the risk with money, fully aware of the ugliness of his actions. That’s why he couldn’t deny that the spear Ricardo had thrown was piercing him precisely.

Because Olivia was precious to Kyle as well.

I gave Kyle, who wore a troubled expression, a clumsy smile and said,

“It’s all right. Truly.”

Kyle bowed his head and said to me,

“I…”

The words “I…” that he uttered carried a mix of emotions—genuine regret and guilt over sacrificing me for the sake of his sister.

Kyle spoke in a voice different from before.

“If… something happens to you later.”

“That won’t happen.”

“But if Olivia finds out about this, I…”

I cut Kyle off and, with an awkward smile, said,

“Please cover it up with a lie. Make me out to be as bad a person as possible.”

Kyle shook his head.

“I can’t do that.”

“Then the Young Lady will scold you terribly.”

The Young Lady was sound asleep.

Just like a princess in a fairy tale.