The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

To the Original Form (5)

***

“What do you think?”

Michail’s eyes were staring straight at me. With an expression waiting for the truth, Michail added one more condition.

“Please speak with sincerity.”

“…”

“Without any lies, honestly.”

Sincerity, huh.

‘I don’t really know.’

I couldn’t guess what kind of answer Michail wanted to hear. Whether he wanted to hear something nice or something cold, there was no way for me to know.

Two answers came to mind.

One was the negative truth filled with resentment toward the Academy, and the other was the sorrow from the past.

I emptied my glass and avoided answering. It seemed like whatever I said wouldn’t be anything good. I didn’t want to ruin the pleasant atmosphere.

“Why are you asking me that?”

I tapped the table and asked Michail. I honestly couldn’t understand why someone who said they wanted to learn the sword from me would ask such a personal question.

Normally, people would ask what you think of them, not something like this.

“Today’s date has nothing to do with Michail, so I don’t understand why you’re suddenly asking about him.”

“…”

“I’m a little hurt. I worked hard thinking this was a date. I even opened my wallet quite a bit…”

“That’s not it. I’m just curious.”

“Hmm…”

I let out a deep sigh and nodded toward her. Since she said she wanted to hear it, I thought I should tell her.

Honestly.

And with a bit of a lie that she could understand, I told her.

“It’s unrequited love.”

“What… love?”

“Unrequited love. A one-sided love where only one person likes the other.”

Michail furrowed her brow and leaned closer. As if she wasn’t sure she’d heard correctly, she tilted her head with a puzzled expression.

I waved my hand toward her, trying to clear up the misunderstanding. Even though I was the one who said ‘unrequited love,’ I knew it could easily be misunderstood. Ꞧ

“I’m not saying I truly like him. It’s more like love-hate.”

“…Love-hate?”

“Yes. As an Academy peer, I think Michail is impressive and admirable, but we had very different perspectives.”

“…”

“I’m the type of person who believes in not losing out, even if it means others suffer, while Michail is someone who insists on taking a loss to uphold justice.”

“That’s the right thing to do.”

I nodded in agreement with her rebuttal.

“You’re right.”

I, too, once dreamed of being a hero when I was young. I could fully understand the desire to cling to and pursue justice.

But still.

“There has to be a limit.”

Michail clenched her fist and stared at me intently. Whether it was the alcohol kicking in or my answer touching a nerve, I wasn’t sure, but Michail once again asked a question, her gaze unwavering.

“What do you mean by ‘limit’?”

“Pardon?”

“What’s the right balance, then?”

“…”

“You asked me, right? If I’d heard the rumors about you at the Academy.”

“…”

“Yes, I heard them. In great detail.”

“What did you hear?”

I quietly asked Michail in a low voice. I had a rough idea of what she’d heard and what she was thinking.

“You were…!”

“Yes.”

At my steady gaze, Michail’s lips paused. After a brief silence, she took a deep breath, suppressing the anger rising within her, and cautiously opened her mouth.

“They said you were a delinquent at the Academy.”

“…”

“That you destroyed all the Academy’s property, used violence against students… and even instigated bullying.”

“That’s correct.”

“Pardon?”

“Please, go on.”

Michail bit her lip and stopped speaking, seemingly taken aback by my shameless request to continue the insults. Her hand, gripping the glass, trembled.

I nodded toward Michail. There was no excuse for it. If she asked me to name the victims, I might stutter, but I could certainly list them.

However.

“Miss Secret Girl.”

I had my own limits, too.

“What do you think justice is?”

“…”

“Living kindly, even if it means taking a loss?”

“…”

“Forgiving the wicked?”

“…”

“Perhaps those actions are right and lead to good outcomes, but even villains have their stories. Especially Michail, who always held me to a strict standard.”

“That’s because you never changed….”

“Exactly. Because I wasn’t someone who could easily change, he disliked me.”

I let out a short breath and posed another question to her. How did she, who defended Michail, want to live?

“Then, do you want to live like Michail, forgiving your enemies and being betrayed? Or do you want to live selfishly, like me?”

“I wasn’t betrayed. Everyone changed and started living kindly.”

“Hmm… But why do I keep getting betrayed, then? Even at the Academy, I was stabbed in the back by people I showed kindness to and got caught up in things I didn’t even do, receiving punishment.”

“…”

“I think I showed quite a bit of kindness, just like Michail, but since I didn’t get any reward for it, does that mean I’m not righteous?”

Michail pressed her lips together tightly.

I gave a small smile, trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere. I hadn’t brought this up to start a fight.

“I’m just saying I don’t want to live like a fool, always getting taken advantage of. That’s why I’m like this. Prickly like a hedgehog, biting like a mad dog. I’m not saying Michail is wrong.”

“…But you’re the one who did wrong.”

“That’s right.”

I nodded cheerfully, affirming Michail’s accusation.

“It was my fault.”

But.

“Even though there are people who cry and feel sad because of me, there are also people somewhere who smile because of me. Isn’t that a form of justice in its own way? Like how the lady I serve became a better person because of me.”

“You’re selfish.”

“I know. That’s why I was kicked out of the Academy.”

I laughed softly, trying to ease the heavy mood again.

“It’s probably because I come from a lowly background.”

“A lowly background?”

“Yes.”

I smiled faintly and looked at Michail.

“I may look refined, but I’ve had a rough life. Believe it or not, I come from the slums.”

At the word ‘slums,’ Michail’s eyes widened, and she clenched her fists like a child wanting to ask more questions.

Michail looked at me and spoke in a voice heavy with emotion.

“Which slum are you from?”

I smiled slightly and answered the woman full of secrets.

“That’s a secret.”

“…Then.”

Michail’s lips quivered as she spoke to me in a trembling voice.

“Do you know someone named Lee Minhyuk?”

“…”

[There is a restriction in place.]

I gave a bitter smile and shook my head at Michail.

“I don’t know.”

“…Then at least tell me when you started living there.”

“That’s a secret, too. I have many secrets, you see.”

I downed my drink and spoke a little more honestly. The drink was good, the snacks were good, and there were old memories in front of me. The fact that her face was pretty was just a bonus.

“You asked me what I think of Michail, right?”

“…”

“Just like you, Miss Secret Girl.”

I think he’s a good person.

“I don’t dislike him.”

Michail lowered her head and walked down the street.

1. Show Ricardo your true self. (1/1)

2. Go on a date with Ricardo. (1/1)

3. Hear Ricardo’s true feelings. (0/1)

Nothing was gained.

Wearing a white dress, Michail walked weakly toward the alley where her uniform was hidden.

‘Sincerity.’

She hadn’t heard it.

She thought Ricardo’s true feelings were what he thought of her, but Michail realized that the answer she had in mind was wrong, and she clenched her fists.

‘I tried not to laugh.’

She thought showing her true self to the man she disliked was enough, but while walking with Ricardo, she found herself laughing.

As if he knew her bucket list, Ricardo had given her experiences she hadn’t been able to have before.

She wasn’t someone who laughed easily, but today, she found herself laughing again and again, and Michail hated herself for it.

[Affection level of ‘Michail’ toward Ricardo: 71 > 80]

[Time remaining: 3 hours.]

‘I can’t give up like this.’

Michail clenched her fists and swallowed her frustration in the dark alley.

‘There won’t be another chance.’

Once a missed opportunity is gone, it doesn’t come back easily. As she walked through the dark alley, Michail slowly disappeared into a place where there were few people.

And when she reached an alley devoid of any human presence.

“Hey, kid.”

A man’s unforgettable voice echoed chillingly from the darkness.

Goosebumps rose on Michail’s back.

It was the voice of the man she hated the most, the one she wanted to erase from this world immediately.

Michail froze and slowly turned her head.

And she saw the man standing before her.

A man with one arm.

A man with a scar over his eye and a chilling smile.

The High Priest of Oblivion.

‘Jung.’

He emerged quietly from the darkness and gave Michail a small greeting, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“We still have unfinished business, don’t we?”

Michail quickly reached for her waist. But as her hand grasped at empty air, she clenched her teeth.

‘It’s not there.’

Her sword was gone.

She had come without her sword to deceive Ricardo, and only now did she realize it.

Michail gritted her teeth and swallowed her frustration.

Jung pulled out a dagger from his coat and slowly approached Michail.

And then.

-Stab.

Without any resistance, the dagger pierced Michail’s abdomen.

Blood flowed.

The unbearable pain in her shoulder painted a grim picture of the future.

As Michail’s eyes slowly began to close, a ‘ding’ sound rang out, and her eyes snapped open.

“I was ‘worried’ about leaving you alone, but you found your way back.”

-The quest has been completed.

Ricardo’s voice shattered the nightmare.

“I was worried.”

End of Chapter