The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 119

Once again, my vision darkens.

-That’s what I’m saying. We should have cut ties earlier. We needed to hire someone with a good educational background and strong work skills.

Through the blurry vision, I faintly hear my voice, dressed in a black dress.

My voice, speaking with a tone that seemed slightly excited, carried a sharp topic, like scraping a broken dish, and spoke as if it were amusing.

-It’s actually a relief that that worm decided to quit. They were just wasting money.

‘…’

Olivia didn’t need to think hard to figure out who the “worm” was referring to.

‘Shut up.’

When I opened my eyes again, I was in a lavish banquet hall.

A lavish banquet hall where everyone was dressed in splendid attire, and everyone was smiling.

Unlike Ricardo’s shabby room I had just been in, there was an excessively ornate chandelier hanging above the stage.

There, I stood wearing a black dress, smiling alongside noble ladies.

Holding a glass of violet wine, I tilted it under the light and swirled it, my expression looking unusually cheerful.

-So, so…! What did you do?

-What do you mean, what did I do? I told them to leave, saying even the air they breathed was a waste.

-Puhaha. Crazy! Didn’t they cry?

-What’s the point of crying? I was just stating the truth.

The version of me in the illusion seemed happy to have someone to talk to after a long time.

Outwardly, I acted as if I didn’t want to get close to people, but in truth, I envied those who had many friends. I seemed excited.

Making up things I hadn’t even said.

Exaggerating provocative topics to make them even more sensational was something I used to do during my academy days.

I wanted to appear strong and, at the same time, gain the upper hand in relationships.

I was clumsy at making friends.

It was a poor excuse, but if not for Ricardo, I wouldn’t have had anyone I could call a friend. I didn’t know how to make friends.

If I gave them money, they liked me.

If I bullied someone they disliked on their behalf, they were touched. If I had power, people approached me. I thought I had to show that kind of image, and that was the only way I knew to make friends.

Ricardo valued friendship and told me to be warm to others, but I didn’t want to go through such a troublesome process. As always, the people around me were only those who approached me for my power.

In reality, when my household fell into ruin, all those people disappeared.

Still, I liked it.

Because I wasn’t lonely.

-Puhaha!

Laughter echoed.

The me in the illusion didn’t know, but the current me could tell that their laughter was full of pretense.

Even the face of the me who enjoyed such attention seemed to be filled with pretense.

In this social gathering space full of fakes, I took a step closer and spoke to the illusionary version of myself in a trembling voice.

‘Ricardo is sick.’

My voice kept trembling.

‘Ricardo… is very sick.’

Olivia, with a trembling voice, spoke to the version of herself who was speaking maliciously about Ricardo.

‘So, don’t say things like that…’

The image of Ricardo lying in bed kept flashing faintly in her mind. Ricardo, looking as if he might collapse at any moment, lingered in Olivia’s vision.

‘Ricardo is very sick…!’

While the me in the illusion, who couldn’t possibly hear my ragged breathing, just kept laughing repeatedly.

Slowly, the music of the ball began, and one by one, the people wearing masks of pretense disappeared with their dance partners.

As always, I was left alone, standing in solitude.

A deep sigh could be heard.

-This is boring.

No one approached the version of me in the elegant dress.

No matter how beautifully I dressed up, the loneliness only grew as the person I truly wanted to show myself to didn’t even glance my way.

While Yuria and the dazzling Mikhail were surrounded by people, I, like a flower blooming on a cliff, was left alone, sipping wine in solitude.

-So annoying.

The me in the illusion lowered my head and muttered softly.

-What’s so wrong with my personality that they act like that? If I just stayed quiet, I could at least keep my place.

-What’s their problem?

-What didn’t I do for them? Why are they quitting?

-Idiot.

The me in the illusion still seemed angry. The sight of Ricardo, who cursed and left when we parted ways, was infuriating, and I wanted to scold him if he ever came back.

-Just wait until you come back.

The feelings of waiting for Ricardo couldn’t be hidden.

Olivia spoke to herself in a gloomy voice, looking at herself with trembling eyes, saying there was no time to waste like this.

‘He’s not coming back… He can’t come back.’

It was just a dream of something I could never see again. The me in the illusion, that is.

After a long time passed, a woman with familiar pink hair slowly walked toward the lonely me from afar.

Wearing a plain light blue dress, the woman approached with quick steps, glanced at me once, placed her hand on her chest, and let out a deep sigh.

-You can do it. Just ask.

Along with her small murmur, the woman approached me, and the me in the illusion frowned.

-Excuse me…

-Haa. What is it? So irritating.

-Could we talk for a moment, Lady Olivia?

The person who approached the isolated me was Yuria. With bright, shining eyes like a frightened rabbit, Yuria fidgeted with her hands, took a deep breath, and couldn’t meet the cold gaze of the me in the illusion.

Yuria, who had endured much bullying—and perhaps even more so after Ricardo’s absence—calmed her pounding heartbeat and cautiously asked.

-Where is Mr. Ricardo? You don’t seem to be with him these days.

-What?

-Could it be…

Yuria lowered her head and swallowed nervously.

-Is Ricardo… very sick?

-What nonsense are you talking about?

-It’s just that…

-You and I aren’t on terms to exchange pleasantries. It’s disgusting enough that a dirty commoner is speaking to me.

Normally, Yuria would have backed off by now, but this time, she stood her ground.

The trembling legs of the frightened Yuria amused the me in the illusion, who smirked as I looked at her legs.

-He quit.

-What…?

-I said he quit.

Yuria’s face began to fill with confusion. Her expression twisted even more than when I usually bullied her.

-What do you mean? Ricardo quit?

-How should I know?

-No, it’s just…

-Stop bothering me and get lost. I’m in a bad mood.

-That can’t be…

-What?

Yuria roughly grabbed Olivia’s hand as she tried to leave.

-Did Ricardo say anything to you?

-He didn’t.

-Please, think carefully.

-Stop annoying me and leave.

-Olivia!

Suddenly, Yuria tightly grabbed Olivia’s hand, her eyes trembling.

-Huh? Olivia?

-Get a grip and listen to me.

-You’re the one who needs to get a grip. How dare you call me by my name so arrogantly.

-Please, just listen to me.

Yuria’s hands were trembling. Her eyes, as if she had seen a terrifying monster, quivered as they looked at her.

-I’m a healer.

-So what if you’re a healer? Are you telling me to get a health checkup?

-No.

The illusionary version of me looked down at Yuria’s hand, which was holding mine, as if it were filthy. With a disgusted expression, as though wanting to shake it off immediately, Olivia glared at her. Despite this, Yuria lowered her head and spoke again, urging her to reconsider.

-I saw Ricardo in the capital not long ago.

-…What?

-He looked so different that I almost didn’t recognize him, but it was definitely Ricardo.

At the mention of Ricardo’s recent whereabouts, something Olivia hadn’t heard in a long time, her eyes began to tremble. It was a subtle change, but ripples began to form on Olivia’s face.

-He bought a bunch of medicine from the pharmacy. I couldn’t see clearly, but they looked like painkillers. Really strong painkillers.

-…You must have seen wrong.

-That’s possible. It’s possible, but…

Yuria grabbed Olivia’s wrist with her trembling hand.

-I was so scared…

-I was so scared that I had to ask.

Yuria looked at Olivia with trembling eyes.

-There’s nothing going on, right?

-…

-There’s really nothing going on, is there?

At Yuria’s persistent questioning, Olivia pressed her lips tightly together before spitting out cold words. Though a faint doubt lingered in her heart, she reassured herself that it couldn’t be true and spoke in a low voice.

-So what does that have to do with me?

-What?

-Whether he lives or dies, what does that have to do with me?

Yuria lowered her head and spoke in a cold voice.

-Watch your words.

-Ha…? What did you just say?

-If by any chance…

It was an expression she had never seen before.

-If something happens to Ricardo…

Yuria’s expression, filled with killing intent,

-Be prepared.

*

On the way back after the banquet.

In a corner of the street, a man wearing a black hood sat on a wooden wheelchair.

The man in the wooden wheelchair simply watched Olivia from his hiding spot.

Walking down the street with the noble ladies, Olivia glanced at the man and shuddered.

Just as an inexplicable sense of familiarity made her turn her steps, one of the noble ladies standing beside her frowned and spoke.

-Did you see that man’s hand? It’s so disgusting.

-Why?

-Look at his arm over there.

Olivia’s eyes caught sight of the man’s hideous hand resting on the armrest.

A hand rotted and disfigured, covered in grotesque scars, came into Olivia’s view.

Olivia frowned as she looked at the man.

-How embarrassing.

When she looked back at the man again,

He was covering his face with his hand, his shoulders trembling weakly.

[The perspective shifts.]

[The final chapter of the 〈3rd Side Story〉, ‘A Villainess’s Sad Love Story,’ begins with ‘I am always on the Young Lady’s side.’]