The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 141

A chilly atmosphere began to fill the banquet hall.

The crying girl and the dumb green-haired head staring at me were ruining the ball that had been filled with laughter.

I ignored Ruin and kept stroking the girl’s head repeatedly.

[This is a space where the Affinity Window cannot be used.]

-Find Yuria.

-You can only make one choice.

-Once the choice is completed, the Affinity Window will become usable.

The Affinity Window had stopped working the moment I entered the banquet hall.

There was no guarantee that the Yuria in front of me was real.

I had somewhat anticipated the absence of the Affinity Window, so I had prepared insurance in the form of a dress, but there was no one in the banquet hall wearing the pure white dress I had bought.

In the novel, Yuria had come wearing a worn-out dress.

Not the dress Ruin had bought, but a second-hand dress, and I remembered the story where she was greatly neglected at the ball.

Just like now, Ruin hadn’t recognized Yuria, and ultimately, by the end of the ball, Ruin, who had been searching for Yuria, found her crying on the veranda and realized her face had changed—an episode I recalled.

It was quite a touching story.

The illustration of Ruin holding Yuria’s wrist and apologizing for not recognizing her was truly captivating, but now… it’s all a mess.

The difference between reality and the novel was this very moment. In the novel, there was no conflict between Ruin and the changed-faced Yuria.

In the novel, Ruin had ignored Yuria, and there was no conversation.

It was like a heart-wrenching scene of the Little Mermaid, who had lost her voice, hiding behind a rock and gazing at the prince.

Hmm.

I feel like everything has gotten tangled up.

I smiled as I looked at the crying girl in front of me.

“Don’t cry.”

“Sniff… I’m not crying.”

“Liar. You’re crying your eyes out.”

“I’m not…”

“Hmm. I’d like to scold you for not wearing the dress I bought, but seeing you cry like this, I can’t bring myself to do it.”

A quest where the Possessor’s Privilege was sealed.

I had thought it would be a difficult quest. If I missed the single chance, it would lead to immediate failure.

I thought it would be as hard as finding Mr. Kim Cheolsu in Alaska, but this… this quest was just too easy.

Seeing this girl in front of me sobbing helplessly, I couldn’t help but laugh.

Who wouldn’t know?

That this person was Yuria.

I couldn’t deny that the given hints made it easy to find her, but even without those hints, I thought I could have found her easily.

Someone who couldn’t speak up to others.

Someone who would hide in a corner to brood and cry alone whenever something happened—there was only one person I remembered with such habits, and that was Yuria.

Even in the novel.

Even during her time at the Academy.

I had remembered and stored Yuria’s image.

I was Yuria’s friend.

And the possessor who had entered the novel.

It was impossible not to know.

I smiled as I looked at Yuria, who was shaking her head in denial.

“No… I’m not the person you think I am.”

See? If this isn’t Yuria, then who is it? Shaking her head when flustered and covering her face when sad—those were exactly Yuria’s habits.

“Is that so?”

With a small “hup,” I knelt in front of Yuria.

Meeting Yuria’s gaze, I calmly looked into her face, slightly curling my lips into a smile as I held her hand.

Yuria’s small, trembling hand was delicate and cold. Holding her thin wrist, which seemed like it might break at any moment, I slowly began to pull her hand away from her face.

“Please don’t…”

Yuria, trying to muster strength to keep her face hidden, shook her head vigorously once again.

“What are you hiding so much?”

“I’m not hiding anything… I’m not the person you think I am. I’m incredibly ugly and hideous. You’ve mistaken me for someone else.”

“Is that so? But I have an eye for recognizing beautiful people, and that’s not what I see.”

“No, it’s not true. It’s not.”

“Then perhaps your heart is beautiful.”

“Please stop. I beg you…”

Yuria murmured to me in a voice that seemed to crawl. Her trembling voice was filled with vehement denial, yet it sounded so sorrowful that it almost felt like a desperate plea for someone to hold onto her.

I applied a little more strength and slowly lowered Yuria’s wrist.

Seeing her hand covered in bandage tape, I gave a bitter smile.

“That must hurt.”

“…”

“Instead of asking me to heal you, I think you should take better care of yourself.”

“…I.”

“Enough.”

I smiled as I looked at Yuria’s face.

“I understand, so stop crying. It doesn’t feel good.”

Her eyes were swollen.

Her cheeks, shiny and smeared with runny nose, made me chuckle involuntarily.

“Finally, I can see your face.”

“…”

“Why were you hiding? What could possibly be lacking?”

“Because I’m ugly…”

“You’re not.”

“Liar.”

Yuria sniffled, shaking her head vigorously. Biting her lower lip, her trembling shoulders shook uncontrollably.

“If anyone ever calls you ugly, tell me.”

“…There’s no one.”

“Liar.”

“It’s true.”

I could roughly guess, though…

With a gentle smile, I began to scan the banquet hall.

First, the female student standing next to Mikhail.

Then, the one lingering near Ruin.

And finally, the brown-haired girl chatting with the Crown Prince.

The female students who met my gaze began to pale visibly.

They were people I was somewhat acquainted with.

I remembered warning them in the past not to cross the line, saying that if they did it again, there would be consequences they wouldn’t laugh about.

“I have a rough idea.”

“Huh?”

“Oh, nothing. Just talking to myself.”

I wiped the tears from Yuria’s eyes and roughly tousled her hair.

As her soft pink hair spread through my fingers, a faint lavender scent lingered on my hand.

‘I could recognize her just from the scent of her shampoo.’

There seem to be more idiots in this novel than I thought.

Especially the green-haired head glaring at me with disapproval right now.

Yuria slowly pulled away from my touch, rubbed her teary eyes, and hurriedly began to run away.

“I’m sorry. You’re mistaken. I’m not the person you think I am…”

“I understand.”

“Please believe me.”

“I trust my eyes.”

“…”

Yuria, realizing that words wouldn’t get through, ran toward the veranda as if fleeing.

It must be complicated.

She probably noticed the truth but didn’t want to show her broken self at the same time.

Was I being inconsiderate?

I thought it would’ve been better to approach her quietly when she was alone, but I was too angry to wait.

As Yuria glanced back while running, I waved lightly and smiled at her.

“Don’t cry.”

Yuria, reading my lips, shed even more tears as she ran toward the veranda.

Taking in the lingering scent of shampoo, I placed my hands on my knees and slowly straightened up.

It’s about time to get started.

Before going to Yuria, I needed a place to vent my anger.

I couldn’t just leave the ones who almost caused the heroine’s darkening alone.

After all, I’m a reader too.

As someone who’s highly sensitive about the story of a novel and whose peaceful unemployed life was disrupted, wouldn’t it be proper to leave a fitting gift for those responsible?

To do that, it would be right to start by holding accountable the person who hurt Yuria the most.

Looking at Ruin, who had his hands in his pockets, I smiled.

“You’ve done something, haven’t you?”

Ruin let out a deep sigh and said,

“What a bunch of nonsense.”

The sound of him clicking his tongue echoed through the silent banquet hall.

“Ugly bastards making a scene.”

Ruin didn’t seem pleased with the current situation. It appeared he still hadn’t noticed Yuria’s presence.

Ruin approached me, standing right in front of me, and looked up with a chilling gaze.

“Who the hell are you?”

With a small smile, I listened quietly to Ruin’s words. Let’s see how far he’ll go.

“Why didn’t you just stay cleaning up after that ruined Olivia? What made you come back to the academy?”

“I didn’t miss it, though.”

“Look at you talking back again. F*cking annoying. Get lost if you don’t want to hear me.”

In a calm voice, I asked Ruin, who was heading toward the veranda,

“Are you done?”

“What?”

Ruin raised an eyebrow, questioning me with a look of disdain as if my words were ridiculous.

“I asked if you were finished talking.”

“What’s the point of talking to you? It’s useless.”

“Haha. Is that so? Then it’s my turn to speak now.”

With a cruel smile, I opened my mouth.

“Mr. Ruin.”

There are many ways to torment Ruin.

By killing him with violence.

By making him feel an inferiority complex, crushing him with talent, or killing him with words.

No matter how I think about it, the method that seems most effective for Ruin is this one.

“What is it that you’re good at?”

Shaking his foundation.

Ruin, you’re disqualified as the Sub Male Lead.