The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

Another peaceful day in the young lady’s room.

In the lazy afternoon, with warm spring breezes blowing in, I brought snacks to Olivia’s room and saw her sitting at her desk, focused on something.

“Fold it to the left once.”

Mumbling to herself, Olivia fidgeted with a large piece of paper, nodding her head as she moved her hands again.

“Again to the left…”

Pouting her lips in concentration, Olivia seemed deeply absorbed in something profound, prompting me to approach quietly without making a sound.

It must be that package from last time.

-Ricardo, if a package arrives, do not open it.

-Why not?

I had thought about opening it out of curiosity but managed to resist. Teaching her how to order things through mail seemed like just yesterday, and seeing her handle it herself now filled me with pride.

With her small, delicate fingers pressing down on the cardboard, Olivia stayed focused.

I asked while watching her engrossed in folding paper.

“Young lady.”

“Mmm.”

She answered without even looking up.

I waved my hand in front of her and made a silly face, but it failed to break her concentration. She remained deeply absorbed in her task.

Is this what they call a workaholic?

I admired her dedication but felt a twinge of disappointment that she ignored the world’s most handsome butler.

With a melancholic expression, I asked why she was suddenly folding cardboard.

“What are you doing?”

“Folding boxes.”

“Why are you folding boxes all of a sudden?”

“It’s…”

-Press.

She folded the cardboard in half again and pressed it down firmly.

As the cardboard took shape, her words dwindled.

Feeling her focus wane, Olivia let out a huff and nodded, leaving me to sigh in disappointment at her unfinished explanation.

“Young lady!”

“Ahh…!”

Startled by my loud call, Olivia’s shoulders twitched as she looked at me. Her face was filled with innocent tears, and I spoke with a smile.

“Why are you folding boxes?”

“Ah. Where did I leave off…?”

“From ‘It’s…’”

“Ah, yes. It’s…”

Olivia resumed folding the box while speaking.

I today, I snatched the paper box from her hands and clasped my hands behind my back.

“Oh…!”

Olivia’s eyes widened as the cardboard disappeared. She looked at me, puzzled, and tilted her head.

“Do you want to fold paper too, Ricardo?”

“No.”

“Join me. It’s fun.”

She grabbed another cardboard sheet from the desk and held it out to me.

“It doesn’t seem like fun.”

“…”

A hit to her pride, Olivia laughed awkwardly.

“No, it’s really fun! Look!”

With an enthusiastic expression, Olivia began to fold a new cardboard sheet. Watching her lively face, I was certain.

“Eek…”

Olivia didn’t really want to fold boxes; she wanted to lie down. With a small smile, I sat in front of her and propped my chin on my hands.

“So, why are you folding this?”

Olivia answered with a faint smile.

“I’m doing a part-time job.”

“Part-time job?”

“Yeah, folding pizza boxes.”

“Oh…”

Looking at the box she was folding, I thought.

‘Box…?’

Could this philosophical and artistic piece truly be called a ‘pizza box’? Staring at Olivia’s project, which resembled a grotesque Medusa, I voiced my honest opinion.

“You’re likely to get fired for this.”

With a serious expression, Olivia nodded.

“I think so too.”

Olivia had a fast self-awareness. She handed me another pile of cardboard sheets with a determined look.

“Want to join?”

“No.”

“Why not?!”

“It doesn’t seem like fun.”

“Join me!”

“No.”

“Eek!”

From that day on, Olivia took a great interest in side jobs. Whenever she saw part-time job ads in newspapers, she promptly sent a letter.

Initially, I opposed seeing Olivia struggle, but her stubborn desire to earn her own money eventually broke my resistance.

-Eek! I want to earn money!

-But I’m earning it.

-No, I want to earn money too.

-I can earn twice as much, can’t I?

-You’ll become a bad man if you overwork yourself. No.

-Hasn’t it always been that way? I’ve been a bad person all along. I even extorted someone today.

-…Come to think of it, you did.

-Indeed.

Earning her own money was good for her, so, aiming to foster her social skills, I allowed her to take on part-time jobs.

She would learn the value of money this way.

Any time Olivia pointed to a job ad in the newspaper and asked, “This one?” I nodded. Finally, Olivia could break free from being jobless.

And she made many mistakes along the way.

She got fired from the teddy bear eye-attachment job for making a female bear.

She gave artsy twists to folding cardboard boxes, causing more expenses than earnings.

She started embroidering handkerchiefs but quit in frustration. Regardless, seeing her persistently try new things filled me with pride.

Had Darbav seen this, he would probably have shed tears. I wanted to take a photo and send it to him, but alas, we had no camera.

Now, Olivia was on her bed engaged in a new part-time job.

With clumsy stitching, she was making dolls and spoke to me with pouted lips.

“Ricardo.”

“Yes.”

“Don’t grow your hair, Ricardo.”

“My hair?”

I glanced in the mirror and asked.

“Why is that?”

“You look ugly.”

“I have such a handsome face that any hairstyle suits me.”

“No, you look best as you are now.”

Smiling, I decided to playfully tease her as I made a doll beside her.

“So, young lady. Do I look handsome now?”

Like petals blown gently by the spring breeze, Olivia paused briefly, then responded with a smile.

“Yes, you look handsome.”

Suddenly, I felt my face flush with warmth.

Noticing something odd, Olivia froze with her needle and thread.

“Huh?”

Realizing she had been her head, she corrected herself.

“No!”

“What isn’t correct?”

“I misspoke. You’re ugly, Ricardo.”

“It’s too late. You’ve already fallen for my charm…”

“Eek!”

“Hehe!”

“Eek…”

With pursed lips, Olivia expressed her discontent, letting out a long sigh.

“You’re not handsome, but you’re tolerable.”

Her huffy tone made me laugh, nodding in agreement.

“Better than nothing.”

Even that was enough for me.

A brief silence fell, and just as Olivia’s doll was about to take its first steps into the world.

-Ouch.

“Eek!!!”

Pricking herself with the needle, Olivia yelled noisily, bidding farewell to the doll.

“I’m not doing this anymore!”

Such simple days are what I cherish.

*****

A somber atmosphere shrouded Histania.

Sitting in his dark office, Rowen looked at the letter on the desk with a sigh.

[Short-term Invitation to Teach at the Academy]

Mumbling with a grim expression, Rowen fiddled with the letter.

“Professor at the Academy…”

The Academy.

A place filled with over twenty years of memories.

A place where he had met his rival and first love.

And where he formed bonds that brought him two daughters and a son.

To Rowen, the Academy was where his life truly began. It was the only place he could escape the suffocating demands of his father and the family that choked him with its insistence on swordsmanship.

“….”

Lost in memories, Rowen let out a bitter smile.

‘Did Hanna feel the same?’

He never considered himself a good parent. The family came before his children, upholding Histania’s lineage and future was his duty.

To ensure a better future, he had to cultivate a talented successor, even if that meant being harsh and sacrificing his children.

Rowen acknowledged he wasn’t a warm father and accepted his strictness towards his children because of the family’s demands.

His stubborn belief that he had endured worse was his sole justification.

It was this justification that likely led to his daughter’s death.

Rowen pondered deeply while sitting in the chair.

Should he go to the Academy?

Or should he, as usual, ignore the invitation?

What was certain was that right now,

Rowen missed his youngest daughter.

End of Chapter

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