The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 140

Yuria’s heart was crumbling.

Since the moment she saw her Changed Face, it had been breaking and shattering repeatedly.

When she woke up in the morning, Yuria thought she was dreaming. She never imagined she would face such an ordeal on the day of the Ball.

She greeted the morning as lively as ever.

Today, she had planned to wake up earlier than usual to get ready and look beautiful, but everything had gone awry.

Yuria felt ashamed.

She was mortified to show her Changed Face to others.

After calming her mind, she agonized over it for a long time. Yuria repeatedly thought about and debated which dress she should wear.

Should she wear the dress Ricardo gave her?

Or should she wear the dress Ruin gave her?

Yuria knew that no matter what she wore, she would be criticized because of her ruined face.

She had thought this time would be different. With a desperate hope, Yuria chose a dress.

-Yes… I’ll wear this.

After much deliberation, she chose the Light Green Dress that Ruin had gifted her. She thought that if she wore the dress Ruin gave her, he might recognize her.

She hoped that at least one person would recognize her Changed Face. She didn’t want to spend the Ball alone and lonely again.

If Ruin recognized her, she thought they could talk about the problem she was facing, and it might provide some solace to her aching heart.

Ruin had said he looked at the inner self.

Believing in Ruin, Yuria chose the dress.

Last evening, Ruin had said he saw her as a person, not her face. Yuria trusted his words that even if her appearance changed for the worse, he would surely recognize her.

Instead of the Pure White Dress Ricardo had given her, Yuria wore the Light Green Dress Ruin had gifted and walked toward the Banquet Hall.

Although she regretted not wearing the dress Ricardo gave her, she wanted to face the problem in front of her with someone’s support.

The road to the Ball felt endlessly long.

The students passing by glanced at her face and whispered among themselves, and the sound of their mocking laughter constantly rang in her ears.

Enduring the criticisms, which felt colder than usual, Yuria’s steps toward the Banquet Hall could only be described as The Worst.

Overwhelmed by her tangled thoughts, Yuria sat on a Bench, pondering.

She wondered if she should just not go.

Attendance at the Ball was mandatory for students of the Academy, but she thought they might understand if she explained her current situation.

However.

Yuria was a timid person.

What if they didn’t understand? What if causing another controversy while already under disciplinary action led to even harsher consequences? With these worries, Yuria forced her unresponsive legs to move.

One step.

Two steps.

The weight of the air between each step was unbearable. Even so, Yuria walked with a single hope in her heart.

‘Ruin will recognize me.’ That hope kept her going.

Yuria believed in Ruin.

She trusted Ruin’s confident words and wore the dress he had gifted her. She believed he would recognize her.

When she entered the Banquet Hall.

A torrent of criticism was directed at Yuria.

-Look at her, dressing up despite being ugly.

-Pfft. That’s just…

-She looks like she borrowed her mother’s clothes.

Even though only her Appearance had changed, the way people treated her was unbearably cold.

Everyone was criticizing Yuria.

-Who is that woman?

-She’s so ugly.

-I’d recommend being reborn.

No one recognized the injustice she felt.

Not even the friends she used to be close with. Not even the juniors who had thanked her for helping them with assignments or treating their injuries.

Everyone ignored her, sending mocking smiles her way.

Yuria felt nauseous.

She couldn’t understand their behavior, and even though she could, her stomach churned uncontrollably.

Every conversation sounded like Criticism of her disfigured face, and she felt as though every gaze was fixed on her.

Her head spun.

A wave of nausea overwhelmed Yuria, as if she might throw up at any moment.

She thought she could endure it if she just closed her eyes and held on for a moment. She tried to comfort herself, thinking she could get through it with determination, but upon arriving at the Ball, Yuria realized it had been wishful thinking.

Lowering her head, Yuria ran toward the Corner of the Banquet Hall.

She wanted to survive.

She felt like she would collapse if she endured the stares of others any longer, so she ran, desperate and on the verge of madness.

Hiding from their gazes, she wondered if her heart might feel better. She thought she could avoid the mocking voices if she hid in a place where she couldn’t be seen. Gasping for breath, Yuria tried to calm herself, and when she saw the familiar face of a Friend walking toward her, she let out a sigh of relief.

‘Ruin.’

Ruin was approaching her, who was hiding in the corner.

Watching Ruin take slow, unhurried steps toward her, Yuria felt a sense of relief.

‘I’m glad I wore the dress Ruin gave me.’

Though she felt sorry toward Ricardo, Yuria was relieved that Ruin had recognized her.

She thought there was nothing more miserable than hiding alone in this vast Ball.

She thought things had gotten a little better.

She had made more friends than last year.

Although many of them were still awkward acquaintances, she had made friends she could laugh and chat with at the Academy’s Ball, and Yuria felt a glimmer of hope that things might go in the direction she had anticipated. Watching Ruin approach, her eyes welled up with emotion.

‘You recognized me.’

Seeing Ruin approach, Yuria folded her hands and bowed her head.

She wanted to talk about the shameful and unjust things she had experienced. She wanted to tell him that she had woken up to find her face changed and that they should find a solution together.

She wanted to confide in her close Friend about the frustration she couldn’t share with anyone else.

That’s why Yuria had placed so much hope in Ruin and wished for him to come quickly.

-Plod.

One step.

-Plod.

Two steps.

-Hesitate.

When Ruin finally stood before her, Yuria suppressed her rising emotions and called his name.

-Ruin.

-Hey.

-Can’t you change your clothes?

She was met with crushing disappointment.

It felt like her world was falling apart.

The Ruin who had promised to see her inner self.

The Ruin who had spoken with such conviction just last evening now seemed like a stranger to Yuria, cold and unrecognizable.

-What?

-That dress looks awful on you.

Yuria couldn’t believe Ruin, who had praised the dress and insisted she wear it, was now saying the opposite.

She had believed in him.

She had believed he would recognize her.

But Ruin was speaking cold words to her.

Yuria internally shouted fierce denial.

‘You said it would suit me.’

‘You told me to wear it.’

‘You told me not to wear the dress Ricardo gave me. That’s why I wore this… So why don’t you recognize me?’

Feeling a profound Sense of Betrayal toward Ruin for lying, Yuria clenched her fists tightly.

Though she fully understood why Ruin didn’t recognize her, still, still…!

She hadn’t expected him to treat her so coldly.

Without even asking her name, Ruin’s cold words drove Yuria’s Self-esteem further into the Abyss.

Ruin’s stubbornness was breaking Yuria down.

Even when she revealed her name.

Even when she pounded on her chest in frustration, Ruin’s unchanged attitude only returned with an answer that implied he would act unless she immediately changed her dress.

He said he looked at the inner self.

He said he would recognize her even if her face changed.

Was it all just sweet talk?

As tears kept falling foolishly, Yuria lowered her head and burst into sobs.

Ruin let out a sigh as he looked at her bowed figure.

-Don’t cry.

-…

-I said don’t cry. You’re so ugly it’s irritating.

Though he once said her crying face made his heart ache, though he once promised to make her smile and asked her to remain his friend, Ruin had forgotten those moments and coldly repeated such sorrowful words.

The world felt dark.

Her vision dimmed as if she were falling asleep, and a quiet emotion seemed to echo in her ears.

‘Why do I have to go through this…?’

Hardships always fell on her alone.

She began to feel disgusted at the sight of those who caused her pain, boasting as if they were superior.

She had wanted to try her best.

Was it so wrong to want to laugh with everyone? Yuria lowered her head and let her tears flow.

She wanted to give up and start over.

The friend who betrayed her.

The women who mocked her hardships.

Just as the feeling of wanting to reset everything and begin anew started to arise.

-Bang!

“Hm.”

A man walked in, bathed in the radiant light of the chandelier.

Always relaxed and full of mischief.

And her friend.

Yuria was startled.

She hadn’t expected Ricardo to attend the ball.

Yuria hastily covered her face with her hands and hid. She didn’t want Ricardo to see her in such a pitiful state. Though she knew Ricardo, like Ruin, wouldn’t recognize her, she still didn’t want to show him this side of herself.

‘Don’t come.’

‘I said don’t come…’

‘Go away.’

The sound of footsteps began to draw closer to Yuria, who kept her head lowered.

-Plod.

-Plod.

-Plod.

The approaching footsteps stopped at a certain point and moved no further.

In a moment of relief mixed with complex emotions, a flood of sadness surged through her.

A warm hand gently rested on her head.

It was warm.

Very much so.

It felt comforting and warm, as if it were soothing all the pain she’d endured until now.

A soft, boyish voice reached Yuria’s ears, speaking above her startled head.

As always, the kind voice was directed toward her ears.

“You are beautiful today as well.”

Ricardo, smiling, was looking at her—the one no one else had acknowledged.