The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

Since her younger days, the young lady was prone to catching colds.

-Why are you in the lake, young lady?

-Sniff….

-Looking at how you’re not upset, it seems you entered of your own accord rather than being forced.

-Snort…!

-I hope it’s not because a butterfly was fluttering annoyingly in front of you….

-Eek…!

-I see, that’s the reason.

During her runny nose days, the young lady caught colds for the most bizarre reasons.

Getting irritated by a butterfly and falling into the lake.

-That carp won’t eat just any food I give!

-It’s a rightful noble discrimination.

-I’m going to feed it!

-Oh…. Young lady!

Throwing herself into the lake due to the carp’s picky eating habits and ending up like Sim Cheong.

-Ricardo. I’m going to make a blanket out of snow.

-That’s quite the novel nonsense.

-It’s not nonsense.

Somehts, catching cold as a result of her antics.

As she aged, these eccentricities faded, but the young lady remained susceptible to colds, being somewhat frail in various ways.

*

Today, too, the Desmond mansion was peaceful.

The approaching tickle in her nostrils made the young lady’s nose twitch unpleasantly, and she frowned.

“Eek… Eeeek”

The young lady was trying to suppress a sneeze.

For some reason, dissatisfied with something, the young lady clenched her fists and furrowed her brows, determined to overcome the sneeze.

“Eeeek!”

I sat quietly, observing the young lady. To see how long she could hold it in.

a good butler, so I clenched my fists, rooting for her to triumph.

“Eek… Sniff.”

“Oh…!”

“Heeek… Hoo-ah.”

“Ooh…”

“Uuugh!”

The young lady kept bobbing her head like a Weeble without any substantial resolution.

Foreseeing more fever due to stress if this continued, I stopped cheering and suggested she give up.

Sometimes, giving up is a wise choice.

“Just let it out comfortably, young lady.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“It’s a hassle to wipe my nose.”

Of course, there was always a reasonable explanation for the young lady’s actions. Having a face smeared with nasal discharge is definitely unpleasant.

To solve the young lady’s problem, I quietly offered an innovative solution.

“I’ll take care of it, so it’s okay.”

“Oh…”

The young lady nodded at my words.

Reflecting on it, she realized there was no need to handle the hassle herself. The young lady let the wind carry her and opened her nostrils.

“Hee… Heeetchoo…”

When the lost sneeze vanished, she looked at me with a world-lost expression.

“It won’t come out.”

“It seems like you missed the timing. Sneezes tend to be shy; if rejected once, they rarely come back.”

With a disappointed expression, the young lady puckered her lips as she stared at the tissue in her hand.

“Feels empty. It’s like all the sugar in my body is gone.”

“It can’t be helped.”

“Eeek…”

I wiped the running snot from the young lady’s nose with a handkerchief and checked her forehead with the back of my hand.

The warm temperature from the young lady.

It seemed she certainly had a fever.

Her face was red.

Nasal discharge flowing like water.

If this continued, it seemed I could fry an egg on her forehead, so I carefully placed my hand on her shoulder and said.

“Let’s lie down.”

The young lady shook her head stubbornly.

The young lady, unwilling to listen when unwell, stared at me obstinately, asserting her will.

“I don’t want to lie down.”

Though she’s usually fond of lying down, hearing this made me cast a bitter smile as I looked at her.

“Why not? You seem to have a fever; lying down and taking a good rest will help you recover quickly, won’t it?”

“We have plans to go out today with Ricardo. I’ll take medicine and then go out with Ricardo.”

“We can go the next time.”

“I want to go today….”

The young lady looked at me with forlorn eyes. Appearing as if disappointment outweighed her cold and threatened to knock her down, she expressed her sadness.

Placing my hand on her forehead, I answered gently.

“We can go another time. Today isn’t the only day.”

“Today is the day.”

“What day is that?”

“The day I’m not bored.”

“Puhaha. What kind of thing is that?”

“Ricardo’s been busy. He hasn’t played with me lately…. What if he’s busy again tomorrow?”

“He said he has plenty of time starting today.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

The young lady, with a serious expression, asked again.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Then okay.”

Peering ah at her idle gesture and gently supported her weight as I placed my hand on her shoulder.

“We’re going down.”

“Mhm.”

“Third floor.”

“Oh…”

“Second floor.”

“Ooooh…”

“First floor. We’ve arrived.”

“Aren’t we going down to the basement?”

“The basement is still under construction.”

“Hehe…”

Lying snugly on the bed, the young lady let out a contented sigh in a pleasant smile.

“See? It’s comfortable.”

“Mhm. It is.”

“How nice it would have been to lie down earlier and feel so comfortable.”

“Yeah. I should have lied down earlier.”

With her eyes twinkling brightly, the young lady stared at me.

Seeing her mischievous eyes hinting at a desire, I quietly smiled while soaking a towel in cold water.

“Why are you staring like that?”

“Because Ricardo is ugly.”

“…”

“From below, he looks super ugly.”

Wahed slightly and retrieved the towel from the basin, placing it over her face.

Naturally, unfurling it all the way.

-Thud.

“Eeeek! Cold!”

“It can’t be helped. Life is inherently cold.”

“My life is warm!”

“Let’s live coldly today.”

“No way…!”

How much had I laughed at her struggling reaction before I removed the towel, placing a calm, cool one on her forehead?

Now, the young lady wore a relaxed expression.

Sitting carefully by her bedside, I focused on the errands she would ask of me.

Of course, not intending to fetch chocolate.

Perhaps staring at the ceiling absentmindedly for a while.

The young lady, previously sulking with a pout, carefully turned to me and spoke.

“You know, Ricardo.”

“Yes.”

The young lady faced me.

Her bright eyes kept fixed on me, and it felt somewhat overwhelming.

In a cheerful tone, the young lady told me.

“Tell me an interesting story.”

“Shall I read you a fairy tale? I’ve written a new one recently, and I think you’d like it.”

“What genre?”

“It’s a love-betrayal-romance story where it turns out my dad isn’t wealthy but a homeless man.”

“Puhaha… What is that?”

The young lady chuckled softly and shook her head.

“Not that one, something else.”

“I don’t think there’s anything else that’s interesting.”

“I’d like to hear something else today.”

“Hmm. What’s there?”

“Just tell me anything interesting that Ricardo experienced. Like what happened outside.”

I quietly brushed the young lady’s hair aside and smiled.

“Shall I?”

An interesting story, indeed.

Honestly, I wasn’t confident.

As my life wasn’ht feel somewhat gloomy.

Even if I discussed interesting tales, they’d all be about experiences related to the young lady, and bringing up Yuria or Michail might dampen her mood.

I especially didn’t want to boast of myself anymore.

Seeing me pondering for a while, the young lady smiled lightly and said.

“Why does it feel burdensome?”

“I’m wondering what kind of story would make you laugh, young lady. Bringing laughter to a patient is part of a butler’s duty, after all.”

“Hehe. Just tell me anything. Any experience Ricardo had.”

“Um…. I don’t think it would be interesting.”

“It’s okay. Ricardo’s face is interesting, so don’t feel pressured.”

“…Is that a compliment?”

“Mhm.”

Motivated by the young lady’s enthusiastic encouragement, I hesitantly opened my mouth.

“When I was wandering around the slums, I had a friend.”

“Ricardo had a friend?”

“I had many. I even played the role of a leader.”

“How interesting. I thought you had no friends.”

“That hurts.”

“It’s okay. I don’t have friends either.”

“That hurts even more.”

A story from the slums.

Perhaps a tale only I knew.

I told the young lady only the funny parts, excluding the depressing aspects.

-I wasn’t bad at begging.

-Right. I even gave Ricardo money.

-Yes. Back then, you were one of my VIP clients, young lady.

-Right.

-I thought I caught a decent sucker….

-Eeeek!

-I kid.

The young lady laughed.

And I laughed too.

-So there was a time I made my friend beg.

-Yeah.

-He cried. Said he didn’t want to because it was embarrassing. Do you know what I told him?

-What did you say?

-To snag a sucker.

-Was that me?

-Yes.

-Oh…!

“Ricardo is smart.”

“I know.”

Listening to tales that would amuse a villainess brought her joy.

Stimulating.

Realistic.

Humanistic stories.

Because the young lady liked those things.

Of course.

Purely from a standpoint of interesting tales.

An old story.

The story of when I first met the young lady.

Stories related to Michail, really….

A very….

Old story.

End of Chapter

Note: Sim Cheong is a Character in Korean folklore story