The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen – Chapter 133

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 133

Under the dim lighting.

Sitting at the desk, I was organizing my thoughts under the soft moonlight.

‘What should I do to live without doing anything?’

From the moment I possessed the novel, my goal was set. To enjoy a peaceful and happy unemployed life. I wanted to fully indulge in the things I couldn’t enjoy in my previous life.

That’s just how human beings are.

They want to avoid conflict.

But they also want to watch fights from the sidelines.

Because people want to earn a lot of money and enjoy luxury.

And.

As the novel progressed into its later parts, there were more and more events I couldn’t just laugh off, so I didn’t want to get involved.

The incidents surrounding Yuria became incomparably more brutal than before, and the bullying at the Academy also intensified because of the Thief.

While watching the events of the novel unfold from the sidelines might have been entertaining, I had absolutely no intention of giving up my happy unemployed life just for that.

As time passed, the growth of the Protagonists would accelerate steeply, and it was doubtful whether an ordinary Possessor like me could keep up with that.

If I wanted to observe the Protagonists’ stories from the sidelines, I needed to be prepared with enough defensive power to avoid sudden death. That was another concern.

Of course, I currently had an overwhelming power gap compared to the Sub Male Leads, but it was still within a range where they could catch up.

So, my dream was to be unemployed.

I didn’t want to do anything.

However, this wasn’t an easy task.

Considering the slow growth of the Sub Male Leads and the time when the Heretics started to stretch in the underbelly, I had to maintain at least a minimal level of courtesy as a Possessor.

Providing minor assistance without hindering their growth was a way to repay the Fortuitous Encounter I had enjoyed, so I couldn’t just turn my back like an unemployed person.

Since the growth of the Protagonists in the story didn’t heavily rely on Fortuitous Encounters and was focused on enlightenment, it wasn’t a problem, but I still had to show minimal courtesy to the rolling Snowball.

And.

I had to protect the Young Lady.

I realized this through Hans’ Matter.

Unless I became overwhelmingly strong, I wouldn’t be able to prevent my people from falling into danger.

So, what should I do from now on?

I needed to think once again about the things I had been forgetting.

About what would happen when the Heretics hiding in the underbelly began to reveal themselves openly.

And about my stagnant power, I thought it was time to reflect.

At this point, I could classify myself as a strong individual to some extent. If I were to assign a fantasy-like rank, it would be around A+.

Even if I wasn’t on the level of Rowen or Darbav, who were S+, I had enough power to face the Archbishop of the Heretics alone. Ruin and Mikhail were far below that, around B rank. Yuria was probably around C rank.

The Archbishop was roughly similar to me, at A rank.

The Heretics had various ranks.

Broadly speaking, there were five categories.

The most numerous were the ‘Fanatics.’

Then there were the ‘Inquisitors,’ who were recognized for their faith and the power of their beliefs and learned Dark Magic, and the monsters called ‘Archbishops’ and ‘Apostles,’ who were a small, elite group with exceptional power.

Lastly, their leader, the ‘Pope.’

I think that sums it up.

If I were to pick opponents I could handle…

I cautiously opened my notebook and scribbled down some notes.

With a red pen, I marked each opponent I could rationally handle with a circle.

‘Fanatics.’

‘Inquisitors.’

‘Archbishop.’

And…

‘This one would be impossible.’

‘Apostle.’

If I were to summarize the Apostles in one line, the only word that comes to mind is ‘monsters.’

With overwhelming power.

They were part of the Empire’s leadership.

Sometimes, they spread the teachings of the Goddess Cult.

Other times, they hid deep in the mountains.

Or they were known to everyone as Renowned Healers.

The Apostles’ power was regarded as slightly below Rowen or on par with him, and they each had unique abilities suited to their characteristics. If I had to rank them, they would be around S rank.

‘I still have a long way to go.’

I thought I had grown strong enough, but I was once again reminded of how arrogant that thought was.

Lost in deep thought, I scribbled with my pen once more.

This time, I decided to write about the Antagonists.

○Archbishop of Madness: Pascal.

●Abilities: Body Manipulation · Swordsmanship (C).

●Personality: Crazy Bastard.

●Compatibility: Medium.

‘Hmm…’

Soaking the notebook with ink, I fell into thought.

Pascal.

A creature resembling an insect, he was an Antagonist who left a fairly strong impression in the novel and was called Mikhail’s nemesis.

He was a lunatic who manipulated innocent civilians and Young Children to commit massacres.

●Location: Prison.

Of course, since he was currently bringing joy to many people in prison, he wasn’t someone I needed to worry about.

‘Next is… Hans, I suppose.’

○Archbishop of Greed: Hans.

●Abilities: Plunder · Disguise · Magic (B).

●Personality: Gentle · Inferiority Complex · Hates Comparisons · Greedy.

●Compatibility: Overwhelmingly Dominant.

Ruin’s Friend and Disciple of the Tower Master.

Considering his ability to steal the powers of those he fully understood, he wasn’t someone to be overly concerned about, but it wasn’t as easy as it sounded.

As time passed, he had enough potential to create numerous variables and threats, and in the original work, he was the second most troublesome Archbishop to deal with after the Apostles. Moreover, true to his name ‘Greed,’ he was a difficult opponent with no limit to his growth as he stole abilities wherever he went.

He could even steal the abilities of the Fanatics under his command, and as shown in the novel, he had taken the Unique Ability of the Master of the Magic Tower.

Thinking about how he once visited the estate disguised as Ruin, it seemed his Ability Hunting had officially begun…

‘Should I have killed him…?’

I must have been crazy to trust the Magic Tower.

So far, I had identified three of Hans’ abilities.

The first was magic he studied before his darkening.

The second was Dark Magic that allowed him to steal Unique Abilities.

The third was magic that let him copy a person’s appearance.

Honestly, Hans was manageable.

From the moment I obtained Tirbing, Hans couldn’t beat me, and even if the late-stage Hans from the novel came for me, I could crush him. My compatibility with Hans was notoriously unfavorable for him.

However.

For our Protagonists, he would be no less than a catastrophe. Especially for Ruin, Hans would become a monster capable of leaving him with the worst memories.

By the time I had filled the notebook with more notes, I wrote in bold letters about what was to come.

-Next Story: [The Man Who Lost His Face.]

Subtitle: Frog Prince.

‘This is going to be a disaster.’

I don’t know.

I decided not to care anymore, but as a Possessor, it was an occupational habit to be bothered by the novel’s story.

As someone who loved the novel, it was quite regrettable to miss out on the interesting parts.

Well, they’ll manage somehow.

I believe in you. Vermin.

With a faint smile, I began to methodically jot down ways to increase my power.

First of all, let’s start by learning magic.

***

Today, the peaceful Young Lady’s Room.

The Young Lady, wearing glasses without lenses, furrowed her brows and wore a serious expression. Adjusting her glasses gracefully, she let out a deep sigh and said.

“Fool.”

“…”

“Idiot.”

“…”

“Mutt.”

“Aren’t your words too harsh? How can you compare a person to an animal?”

At the indignant response, the Young Lady covered her mouth and let out a small chuckle, “Hihit.”

“But what can I do if Ricardo is a fool?”

“It’s not that I’m a fool, it’s just difficult.”

“That’s what makes you a fool.”

The Young Lady’s judgment was merciless.

Today was the day I had magic lessons with the Young Lady.

After thinking of various methods to improve my stagnant power, I concluded that magic was the fastest way to achieve significant results in a short period. I had to ask the Young Lady with great difficulty.

To teach me magic.

-No.

-Please, just this once.

-How can I teach you magic when I can’t even use it?

-Young Lady, your very existence is magic.

-Hihit… Well, that’s true.

The Young Lady, swayed by flattery.

Of course, I had to hand over a large amount of chocolate, but fortunately, I was able to hire a competent magic teacher.

Learning magic from the Young Lady, who was certified by the author as having The Greatest Magical Talent in the Story, couldn’t be compared to any other teacher.

I attended the lesson with excitement, and the result was this mess.

The Young Lady looked at a sheet of paper on the desk and continued her lengthy explanation.

“Alright, I’ll explain it again.”

“Yes.”

“Magic has five main attributes. Fire, water, wind, earth, and nature. These five can be used as soon as you learn them.”

Suddenly, the Young Lady appeared intellectual.

As expected… Is she a genius?

I had thought she was just a fool who only liked chocolate, but the Young Lady speaking intelligently in her area of expertise looked different.

Impressed by the Young Lady’s eloquence, I raised my hand to ask a question I had been holding in my heart. Since I had hired this Teacher with a mountain of chocolate, I could at least ask this much.

“What about Sparkling Lightning Magic? I want to use something like that.”

“That’s something Ricardo can’t use.”

“Does magic discriminate against nobles too? What a dirty world.”

“Hmm… That’s not it. It’s called a Rare Attribute. Attributes like ‘Lightning,’ White Magic, Space Magic, Summoning Magic, or Light Magic only appear in special individuals. My specialty is Summoning Magic.”

“Oh… Was the Headless Knight you showed at the Academy a summoned creature? I thought it was a devil and was startled.”

“…Yes.”

“I knew it.”

“What do you mean, you knew it!”

“Nothing. Just talking to myself.”

She was an arrogant Wizard embarrassed about her summoned creature.

In truth, I had known about the Young Lady’s Rare Attributes for a while, but I mentioned it just to tease her.

Still, it hurt my feelings a little that she dismissed the possibility of me having Hidden Magical Talent so casually.

Feeling indignant, I raised my hand again to ask the Young Lady another question.

“What if I turn out to have an incredible attribute? Like White Magic or Space Magic?”

“Hmm…”

The Young Lady pursed her lips and sighed deeply before shaking her head.

“You’re too ugly for that.”

“…?”

“Yep.”

“Do you know that’s racist?”

“No, it’s Ricardo discrimination.”

“That hurts even more.”

“Hihit…”

Annoyed by the Young Lady trying to brush it off with laughter, I wanted to pinch her cheek, but as a Student, I decided not to infringe on her authority as a Teacher.

Instead, I resolved to torment her mercilessly after the lesson.

Ahem. Clearing her throat, the Young Lady composed herself to focus on the lesson. It seemed she didn’t want to justify her Butler discrimination any further.

Feeling wronged, I openly displayed my sullen mood, pouting my lips.

“Don’t sulk.”

“I’m not sulking.”

“Liar.”

“There’s no reason for a Butler without any special traits to sulk.”

“No, Ricardo, you…”

The Young Lady, seemingly embarrassed, fiddled with the pen in her hand and blushed.

“…are good at cooking.”

“…Pfft. How is that a special trait?”

“Ricardo’s cooking is delicious, so it’s fine even if you don’t have anything flashy.”

“Well… Hmph! Alright. Since you put it that way, I feel better.”

As always, the Young Lady, shy when giving Praise, shook her head and tapped the desk.

-Clap!

“S-so, next, we’ll try the easiest magic to learn.”

The Young Lady pointed to a sheet of paper on the desk.

A Red Magic Circle was drawn on the paper.

It was a magic circle I had seen often.

The most basic magic.

98% of the Empire’s citizens could use this common magic. Fireball.

I smirked, mocking the sheet of paper lying on the desk.

Did she think I was an idiot? Was she seriously making me practice something as trivial as Fireball?

No matter how untalented I was in magic, I wasn’t such a fool that I couldn’t use Fireball.

“Come on, what do you take me for? I can do this much.”

The Young Lady stared at me intently.

-Broadly…

“You probably can. Maybe.”

“So, I can’t.”

“…”

As a Student, it was my duty to follow the Teacher’s instructions, so I swallowed the retort that almost escaped my lips and focused on the Young Lady’s teaching.

“Alright… Imagine the drawing on this paper in your mind…”

“And then?”

“Yes. Like this.”

“Wait, you’re saying ‘like this’ without showing me anything. How am I supposed to know what to do?”

The Young Lady furrowed her brows and pressed her fingers to her temples, as if she were sending Telepathy to an alien. Her mysterious gestures made me want to burst out laughing.

“Eeeek… Hiiiik! Imagine it like this…!”

Even though there was a notebook and pen on the desk, seeing her press her temples and perform the magic circle was… Pfft… It was really hard to hold back my laughter.

“Copy me!”

“Pfft… Okay.”

“Put your hand on your head and go eeeek…!”

“Eeeek…”

“That’s right! And pow!”

“Pow!”

With a resounding Shout of Spirit, a Red Magic Circle was drawn in the Empty Space, and flames began to burst forth.

Red flames, like the Sun.

-Piyooong…

They didn’t last even a second before fizzling out.

I looked at the Young Lady with a proud expression. Though it was just a tiny spark, I stared straight into her eyes with the pride of having achieved Success.

“Pfft…”

“…”

“Pfft…”

The Young Lady was holding back a Smile that looked ready to burst.

Her cheeks puffed up, and her shoulders trembled slightly.

The burning passion for learning within me fizzled out completely.

“Please don’t laugh. To me, it was like a Meteor.”

“Meteors aren’t that small.”

“…”

“And Meteor is…”

“Please stop.”

“Alright.”

Hmm. I had thought it through perfectly, so what went wrong? Simple Magic like Fireball doesn’t require constructing a Spell Formula or racking your brain, so I couldn’t figure out where I had made a mistake.

The Young Lady, now my Teacher, seemed to have difficulty identifying the problem of her Inferior Student. She stared at my face with a puzzled expression.

“Ricardo.”

“Yes.”

“Are you an Idiot?”

“…?”

“Ricardo, you lack imagination.”

“When it comes to imagination, I could rival a Meteor.”

“…Then.”

The Young Lady furrowed her brows seriously and asked.

“What’s the problem?”

“I don’t know either.”

“I don’t know either. This is the first time I’ve seen someone so clueless.”

“Didn’t you also have a time when you couldn’t do it, Young Lady?”

“Me?”

The Young Lady smirked arrogantly and scoffed.

“I’ve never had such a time.”

“Ugh. You’re insufferable.”

“I know.”

As expected, learning from someone so talented was a foolish endeavor.