The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

In a dark space,

Ruin hung his head, grinding his teeth, thinking about what had happened with Hans.

The day Hans escaped from the basement, the conversation they had was disturbing Ruin's mind.

"Hey. Just one question."

"…"

"Why did you do it?"

"…"

"I just can't understand why."

Hans did not open his mouth. He just kept his lips sealed and his head bowed.

He never thought the model student, who lived in the library with thick books tucked under his arm, would end up like this.

"Why did you resort to black magic, that's what I'm asking."

He never thought this guy would plot such a sinister act. He was always smiling, spoke little, and had a tender heart that couldn't even kill a small bug.

That's why he couldn't believe it.

It seemed like he was clinging to a hope.

Ruin knew deleting the old man's magic and confronting Hans alone was a mistake.

Since the barrier was gone, who knew what Hans might do? There was a reason the old man warned him to stay put because Hans was an opponent he couldn't handle.

That his friend had become a bad guy.

That Hans was a criminal who killed people. Ruin knew that.

But the downfall of a longtime friend wasn't easy to accept, which led him to make the stupid mistake of erasing the old man's magic. Ruin wanted to trust his doubts because they had been friends for over ten years.

"Why…"

Ruin's childhood spent with Hans kept whispering the sentiment of mercy to him.

"Why did you do it…!"

The hope that his friend had a story to tell bubbled up to the surface.

The old man always said.

Why live thoughtlessly.

Why keep making mistakes and ruining things because you can't control your anger, when just a little patience could have led to a better outcome. The old man had lectured him.

It was obvious.

I knew that too.

How I can't hold back my anger.

That I'm a fool who resorts to fists before words, preferring force over rational discussion, and that I'm full of problems.

But what can I do if that's the best way, having lived like that until now and receiving such treatment. It was impossible to change long-standing habits overnight.

But this time, I wanted to be calm.

Following the old man's advice to keep my temper in check, I wanted to talk to Hans rationally, not emotionally.

Because I wanted to believe.

That there was another reason.

An unavoidable circumstance.

I wanted to hear it from Hans's mouth.

Because he was a friend.

"Ah… Ruin."

But his friend did not give him the words he wanted to hear, instead responding with a cold smile.

"Do you really not know?"

Hans, who had been keeping his head down, sighed deeply and finally opened his tightly shut mouth. His voice was hoarse from exhaustion, but it was filled with irritation and anger.

"Why did you do it?"

"…"

"Ruin, you're asking me… why I did it?"

Deep hatred filled Hans's eyes as he slowly lifted his head.

It was the first time. The first time Hans, who always showed an innocent smile, wore such a cold expression.

The murderous intent pouring out from him. The swamp of emotions that had been stewing over the long time in the dark prison seemed to have intensified.

"Clank!"

With the sound of rattling chains, Hans shouted.

"Don't talk crap. What do you think you know?"

"That's why…"

"You don't know."

"That's why I'm asking you! Why did you do it!"

"Ah… really."

Hans let out a dry laugh.

Not a scoff, but a laugh of desolation as he breathed in the moist air of the dungeon.

"Do you know? How it feels to have your name follow me everywhere I go?"

"What?"

"Even when I achieve something new in magic. Even when I find an undiscovered formula, I always feel like your name is following me."

"…"

"It's rubbish."

"Just ignore it. F*ck, just ignore it! If someone said that, I would have helped you!"

Then, Hans, with a bitter smile, said to me,

"You."

"What?"

"You! You're the one! Standing in front of me, unable to do even that, putting me down! Laughing off a Fireball, saying it's not even magic! It's because of you! You, dammit, that I chose this path!"

Hans, with his hands bound by the restraining device, glared at Ruin with bloodshot eyes.

"I'll slowly take everything away."

"…"

"Everything you like, everything you cherish! I'll take it all."

And then, Hans spat out the words that severed what little restraint he had left.

"Yuria…"

The moment the name of Yuria, whom I thought was just a friend, flowed from Hans's lips. It felt like my heart turned to ice.

"Yeah, Yuria, whom you like."

The moment malicious words about Yuria flowed from the mouth of an old friend.

"I'll kill her."

For the first time, I wanted to kill him.

In fact, Hans never mentioned Ricardo.

He wanted to give a plausible excuse to the Tower Master and didn't want to worry him.

He had come up with a convenient excuse.

The reason for Hans's escape…

It wasn't because of the provocation between Ricardo and me, but due to a threat on Yuria's life, which Ruin was hiding.

Hans crossed a line he shouldn't have with burning eyes.

"You better watch out. There won't be a second time. I don't care anymore."

Unable to hold back, I threw a punch.

And I fell right into Hans's trap.

***

Being utterly rejected by the lady, who suffers from a reading allergy, I sat beside her, blankly staring out the window.

"Hmm."

"Do you want to read the grimoire?"

"No."

"Ah, here it is."

"I don't want to see it."

"Okay. Then we'll look at it tonight."

"I won't look!"

As always, the senseless lady failed to understand the butler's heart.

Knowledge is supposed to help life the more it accumulates, but the lady seems determined to build a wall between herself and knowledge, hardening her brain.

I placed my hand on the lady's temple and twirled it around.

"Eeeek!"

"Blood circulation needs to happen for the desire to study to arise."

"It's spinning…! The world is spinning!"

"How do you feel now? Ready to study…"

"No! I hate studying!"

The lady endured the pain as if her temples were being pierced, bravely voicing her absolute refusal to study.

‘Is there no helping it?'

It would be good if the lady learned magic, but her will was too strong to force her to do something she disliked.

I didn't want to force her.

So, as I spun the lady's head around, I looked up at the cloud-filled sky.

Oh…

It might snow.

On such gloomy weather, there was always at least one guest with a story to tell who would visit…

I thought of the girl with a sword who visited the mansion on a rainy spring day, using the flimsy excuse that she wanted to drink cheap green tea. She was crying that day, carrying a heavy story.

The weather was similar then too.

A day with many clouds in the sky, when it rained.

That's why it was more worrying.

I despise trouble.

Though no guests were expected to visit the mansion.

"It's about time to start, I suppose."

"What is?"

Hearing my muttering, the lady turned her head and looked at me. Her hair was a mess from the intense tickling, and some strands stuck to the tip of her nose.

Tickling the tip of her nose, the lady frowned.

"Ah… Ah-choo!"

-Gently.

"What?"

"Runny nose."

"What about it…"

The lady showed me her hand smeared with snot. I recoiled, extracting a handkerchief from my pocket and handing it to her to avoid sullying the sacred butler uniform.

Sniffing, the lady shook her shoulders and smiled contentedly.

"So, what's starting?"

"Ah… Choosing tonight's dinner menu."

"Meat."

"How about beef stew packed with paprika?"

"Eeek! Stop torturing the nobility!"

"Sorry, my hobby is torturing nobility. I can't help it."

"Eeek! I'll starve!"

Slowly, the episode of Yuria's kidnapping was approaching.

The heretics, recognizing the existence of Yuria with her divine eyes, were getting closer to attempting to kidnap her.

It's a problem that would resolve itself if left alone, but I felt a bit worried.

For a moment, I stared blankly out the window.

The lady, brushing away the hair stuck to her face with irritation, pointed at the mansion's front gate with a small question.

"Ricardo. Someone is coming."

"Huh? There's no one supposed to come."

"No, there's a broom walking our way."

"A broom?"

I looked up to see the mansion's yard.

Oh. Really.

Someone was coming.

From outside the window, I could see the familiar figure of a man walking towards us.

Green hair.

The broom-like secondary male lead.

Ruin was walking with a dark expression.

-Growl!!!

Of course, being dragged by a bear.

"Let go! You bear bastard!"

-Growl!

It seemed it wasn't a fake.