The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

Olaf’s head fell to the ground.

The pillar of evil, strong and unyielding, who had killed Yuria’s father in the novel, met his end by the hands of the villainess’s butler.

‘Haa…’

I could hardly believe it.

The idea that I, personally, had killed someone like an Apostle was unbelievable. A being so powerful, who never lost to anyone, had died at my hands…. To be honest, I was prepared to die along with him, but things had turned out well, and for that, I was relieved.

As I pushed Olaf’s decapitated head to a place where My Lady couldn’t see it, I whispered softly.

“It’s over.”

After all, My Lady should only see beautiful things—this wasn’t something she needed to witness.

Having hidden the Apostle’s body behind the rubble, I confirmed that Olaf’s corpse no longer moved and looked down at my clenched fist.

It might have been my usual fist, but it felt different now—fortified and overflowing with power. I felt like I had a new body altogether.

Is this what a Sword Master is?

It didn’t seem like my body had transformed significantly, but I felt like I could do anything now. Even standing in front of the Empire’s finest swords wouldn’t intimidate me.

I almost shouted for my status window, but I hesitated for a moment, focusing instead on My Lady’s wellbeing. Gaining longer life was great, but My Lady’s health was the priority.

There was no way her body had escaped unscathed after unleashing that level of dark magic, powerful enough to overwhelm an Apostle.

Severe internal injuries.

Or perhaps lasting aftereffects.

With a rising sense of dread, I quickly turned my gaze toward My Lady.

“My Lady!”

“Wuungnya.”

Propped against the wall, My Lady had a dazed expression and was slumped over. Fortunately, it seemed like she hadn’t sustained any serious internal injuries. Though she looked a bit worn out, she smiled softly as she waved a tiny hand at me.

“My Lady!?”

The one distinct thing, though…

“Chhiiiphal.”

Was that her body had changed.

Taken aback, I looked at My Lady with a bewildered voice. I stared down at her, her figure now shrunken to that of a child—much shorter and smaller than before.

Nothing drastic like growing four arms or shrinking into just a torso like a dwarf.

But still.

Her cheeks had puffed up adorably, and her eyes now gave off a more mischievous gleam.

More importantly, no matter what expression she made, she no longer looked intimidating at all.

“Pfft…”

“Don’t laugh!”

Seeing her in this state for the first time in a while, I couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

“What exactly is going on with you!?”

My Lady wasn’t the same as before. She had reverted to the appearance of a 7-year-old child, the age she was when I had first met her.

“Puhaha! Ah, no… stop… oh dear…”

“I said don’t laugh!”

My Lady’s cheeks puffed up even more, blowing out her frustration as she clenched her tiny fists, glaring at me with fierce annoyance.

“Stop laughing!”

“But how can I not laugh? Your body has—Hahaha…”

“I already told you… stop laughing…!”

“…Haa.”

If I teased her any longer, she’d probably start crying, so I decided to stop. Trying to suppress my chuckles, I approached her.

“What happened to your body?”

My Lady shook her head and answered in a childishly innocent voice.

“Dunno.”

“That’s… not good.”

“It’s fine.”

“How so?”

My Lady looked at her shortened arms and nodded confidently.

“It’ll probably go back to normal after a day.”

“Oh…”

“It’s just because I’m low on dark magic, so I’ll be fine soon.”

“…Huh?”

“Don’t worry. I can replenish it quickly.”

“How?”

With a devilish grin, My Lady said it was a secret.

“It’s a secret.”

She certainly seemed more like a villainess now, dabbling in dark magic.

I wanted to scold the now truly devilish-looking My Lady, but her current cute, shrunken form made it impossible to scold her seriously. I sighed softly and shook my head.

My Lady spread her arms wide, looking at me expectantly with bright, eager eyes, as if asking to be held. I blinked slowly and shook my head.

“Hug me…”

“My Lady.”

“Hm?”

I looked down at her legs.

“My Lady, right now…”

I gazed with teary eyes at her tiny, but functional, legs.

Even though it was only temporary, even though it was caused by the aftereffects of dark magic, seeing her standing on both legs again after such a long time made my heart swell with emotion. Tears welled up in my eyes.

In a trembling voice, I spoke.

“My Lady… you’re standing.”

“Hm?”

She looked down, noticing her legs for the first time.

Wiggling her little toes, her mouth dropped open in astonishment, then shifted rapidly to wide-eyed realization, and she let out a string of noises.

“Hiiiik?! Eeeek?!”

“My Lady…”

Overwhelmed with emotion, she turned to look at me, her eyes brimming with tears.

“Ricardo…”

“My Lady.”

“Still… hug me.”

“…”

She truly was someone who wasn’t moved by sentiment.

I sighed deeply and picked her up, gently holding her small body in my arms like a princess. Her tiny figure made the task effortless, as I carefully shifted her to a spot where she wouldn’t have to see any of the unpleasant carnage.

As My Lady wiggled her small fingers, she gently patted my cheek.

Checking if I was hurt anywhere, stretching my cheeks, she smiled brightly, though with a touch of worry still etched in her furrowed brows.

“Are you okay?”

Looking down warmly at her, I answered.

“Yes.”

“For real?”

“For real, I wasn’t hurt.”

“Heehee.”

Seemingly satisfied with my confident answer, she smiled once more. Yet her hands didn’t stop moving, checking me over again and again.

I couldn’t help but smile. Her constant attention, even when I reassured her that I was fine, certainly wasn’t something I disliked.

“By the way, are you really sure you’ll return to normal?”

“Yeah. Why, do I look too weird?”

“No, it’s not that. I like you like this too, but personally, I prefer My Lady with her ‘treasure pouch.’”

“Treasure…”

Hearing the word ‘treasure pouch,’ My Lady glanced down at her chest, her eyes growing wide with horror as her face filled with the look of someone who’d just lost everything.

“Hiiiik!!!”

She really was a funny person.

“My treasure…!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to ‘recover’ it for you later.”

“Yeah, but don’t you dare stuff it into your pocket, Ricardo.”

“…Did you figure that out?”

“Yup.”

Smiling at My Lady’s playful reprimand, I continued walking.

Cradled in my arms, My Lady pouted her lips before asking softly.

“Ricardo, am I not too heavy?”

“You’re light. Very light, as always. But right now, you’re as light as cotton fluff.”

“Hehe… Hey, Ricardo.”

“Yes?”

“Did it hurt when that man beat you up?”

“…”

The villainess had the audacity to ask the types of bone-piercing questions I didn’t want her to ask. Not a single compliment for how stunningly I had performed, and instead, she noticed the parts I most wanted to forget.

Did it hurt from getting beaten up? That hit me straight in the heart.

I flicked her forehead lightly and smiled at her.

“I hit him more than he hit me.”

“That’s a lie.”

“It’s true.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Even though I stood right on the edge of becoming a Sword Master—or rather, I’d already crossed that threshold—she still saw me as the same weak butler. Without stopping, she continued to stroke my cheek, unwilling to believe how much I had changed. It was really hard to stay upset at her.

Seated in a wheelchair with a blanket draped over her, My Lady looked around at the collapsed inn and asked.

“But Ricardo, where are we going to sleep now?”

“Good question.”

There certainly was a lot to take care of.

I glanced at the inn, which had effectively vanished, and smiled wryly.

‘I wonder if this world has home insurance.’

It would be nice if it did.

But anyway, I’d figure something out.

For now, I set aside the minor details and focused on wrapping up unfinished business. Olaf might be dead, but we still had one more enemy to deal with.

“Daddy…”

I cautiously walked over to the writhing black figure, watching it with conflicted eyes.

Even as it struggled, the creature was still searching for its father, and witnessing that tugged at something deep in my heart.

In the novel, this monster had perished alongside Olaf, slain by Yuria’s hand. To be more precise, it had been purified by Divine Power. Either way, it was a being that shouldn’t be allowed to live….

With Tirbing in hand, I pondered deeply.

“My Lady.”

“Hm?”

I pointed my sword at the creature and asked for guidance. Although my head told me it needed to die, my heart hesitated at the thought of killing something born from such a tragic story.

My Lady looked at the blackened creature, shrugged, and answered indifferently.

“Dunno.”

“I see.”

“Mhm.”

I didn’t know either.

But it felt as though the creature was on the verge of death anyhow.

Sheathing Tirbing, I cautiously approached the dying monster and spoke softly.

“I’m sorry.”

“…”

“I’m sorry that you suffered because of me.”

The creature reached out toward me slowly.

Though its form was hard to describe, the gesture felt warm. Its touch, surprisingly gentle, patted my shoulder, almost as if to console me, softly pulling me into an embrace.

-Thank you.

A faint voice reached my ears.

How ironic. Yet, I couldn’t laugh.

To hear a ‘thank you’ from the daughter of the man I had just killed, from the creature I was about to let die, didn’t feel like something deserving of laughter.

I bowed my head deeply.

“Thank you.”

And just like that.

Olaf’s daughter breathed her last.

Where she would go now, I didn’t know.

Hell or heaven, I couldn’t say. I wasn’t someone who even believed in an afterlife, so wishing for her to go somewhere good felt a bit silly.

I gently nodded, placing a hand on the remains of the girl’s vanishing body.

“You’ve done well.”

Where her body disappeared, a small piece of paper emerged from the black ashes.

I bent down, lifting the single sheet that had come from her as the sunlight caught it. A melancholic smile crept across my face.

‘…’

On the paper was a photo of a young Olaf and a little girl, both smiling brightly.

I turned to My Lady, who, upon meeting my gaze, hastily hid her hand behind her back, having been caught picking her nose. Laughing lightly, I asked her.

“Would it be alright if I made a grave for them?”

It was the last bit of respect I could offer.

*

In the division of the Mage Tower in the capital.

Standing before the teleportation circle, Yuria was reading the letter she’d received from Chartia.

-Yuria!

It had been delivered to her in a rush at dawn, knocking frantically at her dormitory.

The letter contained something Yuria could never have imagined.

A photograph.

A picture of a red-haired man fighting a heretic. In the background was her devastated home, a place reduced to rubble. Her father’s figure was nowhere to be seen.

Yuria couldn’t shake the ominous feeling that gripped her.

No one, after seeing their home burn, would think everything was ‘fine.’

Yuria was scared.

Terrified that the worst possible scenario, the one she feared most, had already unfolded.

Chartia placed a comforting hand on Yuria’s shoulder.

“It’s ready.”

“Yes.”

“It’ll be okay.”

Chartia’s reassuring pat on her back did nothing to ease Yuria’s anxieties.

Thus.

Yuria entrusted herself to the portal, heading toward the North.

End of Chapter.

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