The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen – Chapter 226

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 226

Silence filled the estate.

Sitting on the sofa, Darbav took a sip of tea and nodded.

“So….”

With sharp eyes, Darbav slowly opened his mouth. He looked at me with a gaze that demanded I stop lying and tell the truth, then asked.

“Where is Olivia?”

“Father.”

“You said Olivia had turned younger, so where did she go?”

Darbav was deliberately ignoring the Young Lady sitting right in front of him. Waving her hand enthusiastically in front of Darbav’s eyes while exclaiming, “Oh…! To the Renowned Healer!” the Young Lady was being blatantly disregarded.

“Ricardo, Father can’t see me.”

“Young Lady, please stay still. That will improve your Stealth Ability.”

“Gasp!”

Seeing the Young Lady holding her breath to enhance her Stealth Technique, Darbav clenched his fist.

“Bring Olivia here.”

“Ohhh…!”

“I said, bring Olivia, who promised she wouldn’t marry anyone but her father.”

“Father, I never said that.”

‘Ugh…!’ At the Young Lady’s response, which left no room for negotiation, Darbav slammed his fist on the desk and vented his resentment.

“Why….”

“…”

“Why, I ask you. I thought I would surely see the pure Olivia.”

“The Young Lady has always been dark-hearted from the beginning.”

“Ughhh…!”

With a sorrowful expression that looked on the verge of tears, Darbav stared at me with eyes full of grudge, as if to say, “You saw her, so why can’t I?”

“It’s true, so I can’t make any excuses.”

“But she was somewhat pure, in various ways.”

-Nod, nod.

Looking at Darbav, I thought, ‘He’s definitely a very busy man, so why is he here?’ Surely, the Young Lady’s younger appearance was rare, but it wasn’t enough to abandon his work and come here. Although, if it were me, I’d probably drop everything and come too.

I gave Darbav a bitter smile of resignation and offered him some mild consolation.

And then.

“Enough.”

“Don’t you feel wronged? That you can’t see Olivia’s innocent self again….”

“This isn’t a joke. Don’t you agree, Kyle?”

The Young Lady’s mother, Rosanna, pinched Darbav’s thigh lightly, giving him a look to stop as he vented his injustice with a clenched fist.

Then, looking at Kyle, who was calmly sipping tea, Rosanna gave him a small eye smile, seeking a positive response from her dependable eldest son.

“Kyle…?”

“Yes, that’s right. It’s not a joke, truly.”

-Shiver, shiver.

“Kyle?”

Kyle’s teacup was trembling noisily. Casting a glance at me with eyes full of envy, he muttered, “Is there no photograph?” Kyle, as the reliable Next Head of the Family of Desmond, was showing a dependable demeanor.

“When will I get to see her?”

“Haha…”

“Let me know in advance so I can clear my schedule.”

“That’s something only the Young Lady knows.”

The Desmond Household had gathered in full to catch a glimpse of Little Olivia. The busiest people in the Empire had made a rare visit, but the Young Lady, having recovered her Dark Mana, was nonchalantly exhaling through her nose while munching on jerky.

“Father.”

“Yes.”

“Want some jerky?”

The Young Lady offered Darbav the jerky she was chewing on, demonstrating her lack of filial piety. Although the bag in her hand was full of fresh jerky, she insisted on handing over the one she was eating. Seeing this, I gave a bitter smile, thinking, ‘What should I do?’

No matter how much of an Overprotective Father he was, he still held a noble title….

“Thank you.”

Apparently not.

Underestimating the resilience of the Desmond Household, I admitted my mistake and nodded. It was unreasonable to expect common sense to apply here.

Refilling Darbav’s empty teacup, I cautiously shifted the topic of conversation. After all, these were not people who had the leisure to come all this way just to see Little Olivia.

“So, what brings you to Hamel?”

“I came to see Olivia.”

“…”

Kyle, too, nodded as if it were an obvious question, and Rosanna, who I had trusted, also gave a satisfied smile and nodded.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“What about your work?”

“Tomorrow’s me will handle it.”

Truly, the Head of the Desmond Household had a remarkably novel conviction.

In the novel, he was portrayed as a cold and ruthless figure rather than someone this carefree. At what point did things go wrong? I let out a small laugh and quietly blended into their world.

The teacups continued to empty.

Perhaps because I served them expensive black tea, our conversation took on a sophisticated tone as we discussed our recent lives and politics.

-I feel like dropping a meteor on the Imperial Castle.

-Do you have a reason?

-Just because.

-That’s fair enough.

While calculating the coordinates of the Imperial Castle, Darbav began to take an interest in a black creature that ambled over, sat down, and stuck its head in.

“What is this…?”

Looking at Gomtangi, Darbav had a Question Mark on the Head.

Although Kyle was already aware of Gomtangi’s existence, Darbav, who had only seen Gomtangi during its younger days, reached out cautiously to touch its head.

-Gooooom.

“Oh.”

Gomtangi, seemingly pleased with Darbav’s touch, closed its eyes softly and entrusted itself to his hand.

“Impressive….”

At Darbav’s curiosity, I gave a small smile and repeated the Virtuous Lie I had told countless times before. While I had come to accept it to some extent, it would be hard for Darbav to do the same. So, I spoke with a touch of benevolent deceit.

“It’s a dog.”

“I see.”

“It’s a dog the Young Lady is raising.”

“I don’t think I’ve seen this breed before.”

“Neither have I.”

“Hmm…”

With a Subtle Smile, Darbav stroked Gomtangi’s head and commented.

“A remarkable bear.”

As expected, a clumsy lie didn’t work. Thinking I could deceive him was foolish of me.

-Gomgom.

With eyes reminiscent of old memories, Darbav looked at Gomtangi and said.

“It reminds me of the past.”

“The past?”

“Yes.”

Glancing at Rosanna, who was looking at Gomtangi with pity, Darbav gave a bitter smile.

“Rosanna used to raise a bear too.”

“…Pardon?”

“I still remember it vividly, that fellow named Sagol running around.”

“Uh…”

“It bit me occasionally, but without it, we wouldn’t be where we are today.”

“You must have adored it a lot.”

“No. We fought every day.”

“Pardon?”

“If you didn’t want to get eaten, you had to fight. It growled so fiercely while wagging its tail at its Master that I almost sent a Meteor crashing down on its head.”

I wasn’t sure how to process this.

Lost in the poignant memories of Desmond, which I could never quite adapt to, I wore an awkward smile.

“Still, since it was the Angel who brought love together, isn’t that a good thing?”

Darbav nodded with a Subtle Smile, his expression tinged with nostalgia.

“That’s true.”

Gomtangi, as if understanding Darbav’s bittersweet emotions, let out a ‘Gom’ sound and acted coyly.

“We’ll raise it well…”

-Gom!

“…”

I stopped mid-sentence as I watched Darbav’s hand disappear into Gomtangi’s mouth. Gomtangi was nibbling on it playfully, just as it often did with the Young Lady, ensuring it didn’t hurt.

“Haha.”

Darbav let out a hearty laugh and nodded.

“This one’s no different.”

Darbav disliked bears.

And yet.

“It feels like seeing our Baby from the old days.”

Rosanna, on the other hand, liked bears.

*

In the estate, where Darkness had descended.

After putting the Young Lady to bed, I descended to the estate’s living room and met the gazes of three people waiting for me.

Staying overnight at the estate due to the late hour, Darbav, Kyle, and Rosanna greeted me with gentle smiles.

Rosanna, looking at the impeccably cleaned ceiling of the estate, spoke in a Gentle Voice.

“You’ve maintained the estate well.”

“It’s nothing.”

“No, really. Managing the estate alone is no small feat. As expected, Ricardo is great at household management.”

“You flatter me.”

With a faint smile, I placed a bottle of Whiskey and liquor glasses on the table.

Darbav, wearing a heavy expression, watched as the liquor was slowly poured into the glass. Unlike the earlier lighthearted conversation, his face grew serious as he swirled the glass and tapped his brow with his fingers, letting out a Deep Sigh.

“You’ve worked hard on your own.”

“It’s nothing.”

“It’s not nothing…”

Darbav let out a small chuckle and raised his glass. Late at night, with the Young Lady asleep, we sat here with drinks in hand.

It felt like the right time to have a serious discussion.

Not a grand story, but because of a single line written in a Letter, Darbav had fallen into deep contemplation.

“Hoo…”

Setting down his glass, Darbav spoke.

“Ricardo.”

“Yes.”

“The contents of the Letter—are they all true?”

“Yes.”

Darbav tapped the Table with his fingers and lowered his head.

[The Young Lady used Dark Magic.]

“This has become complicated. Were there any witnesses?”

“No. The survivors were unconscious at the time and have no memory of it.”

“That’s a relief. The Letter’s contents require an Interpreter of Rosanna’s caliber to decipher, so there’s no need to worry about that.”

“…”

“So, aside from us here, no one else knows about this.”

We couldn’t come to a definitive Outcome. Reflecting on what had happened that day, Darbav let out a sigh filled with worry while tapping his brow, troubled by the Young Lady’s unexpected use of Dark Magic.

Kyle emptied his liquor glass and spoke.

“Can Olivia’s legs be healed using Dark Magic? In a way that doesn’t burden you.”

Shaking One’s Head, I replied to Kyle.

“It’s impossible. However, I’ll be able to resolve that issue soon and will contact you separately.”

“…”

Kyle stared at me with trembling eyes. While he didn’t know everything, his gaze, aware of the deeper implications, remained fixed on me.

“You’re part of Desmond too. Don’t recklessly get yourself hurt.”

“Thank you.”

Silence fell over the room.

Time passed heavily as we contemplated how to handle this issue. Though the conclusion of ‘tacit approval’ had already been reached, the time to accept and decide upon it weighed heavily.

Breaking the long silence, Darbav cautiously spoke.

“This is a big problem.”

“…”

“I’m planning to hold a Ball under Olivia’s name soon.”

“…”

“It’s a big problem.”

Our only concern.

We feared the Young Lady might cause trouble out of anger.