The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 17

The Summit of the Hamel Mountain Range.

When I came to my senses, the Knights of the Histania Family were restraining a Human-like Insect.

“Let go────! I’ll kill that bastard no matter what! What does my face look like? A mantis? Don’t underestimate art!”

“Oh…. Even insects can curse, huh.”

“Aaaaaaahhh!!”

The villain who killed hundreds in the novel exited the stage so pitifully.

Not a good person, but an Adventurer Hunter who ended up doing a good deed in the end. Was it a repayment for making me realize the meaning of a Virtuous Lie?

He left, gifting me the 300,000 gold bounty that had been placed on his head. It was the moment I understood why a swordsman using the Three-Sword Style became a bounty hunter.

Unlike me, who sent the Adventurer Hunter off with a bright smile, Hanna’s expression was stern.

“…”

She had no time to feel the exhilaration of having defeated an Elite Orc alone because the protagonists who had driven her here were standing in front of her.

Hanna was looking at the ground with a stern expression.

“Histania Hanna.”

A middle-aged man’s voice approached my ears. A voice heavy and profound like a lion’s.

I thought it was impossible to judge martial arts through voice alone. But the man before me made it possible.

Histania Rowen.

The Sword of the Empire and, at this point in the novel, the strongest person.

I looked at him directly.

Unwavering eyes.

Light brown hair and the National Treasure of the Empire strapped to his waist. He was exactly as the Knight Commander was described in the novel.

“Your father is calling you. Aren’t you going to answer?”

An irritated woman’s voice was heard. Standing beside Rowen with her arms crossed was a woman with heavy makeup and cat-like, sharp eyes, alternating her gaze between Hanna and me.

It seemed she was looking at us with unpleasant emotions.

Of course, I didn’t like her either.

She was one of the reasons Hanna died in the original work.

“Hey. Answer him.”

Hanna couldn’t respond to the woman’s question. Or rather, it might be more accurate to say she wasn’t able to respond, as her shoulders flinched at the woman’s small shout, and she subtly moved her body closer to me.

The woman, arms crossed, waited for an answer. Thinking she might just keep staring at us until sunset, I kindly answered in her stead.

“Yes.”

“Not you.”

“Wasn’t he calling me? I thought I should give him my bank account details.”

“Are you joking?”

“No, I’m serious.”

“Are you crazy?”

“I’m perfectly sane.”

A sharp exchange ensued.

A battle between a rude woman and a money-obsessed man. It was hard to determine the winner, but having been educated by a villainess for 13 years, I was starting to gain the upper hand.

“Who are you to pick a fight?”

“Then who are you?”

“Hey…. Histania Hanna. Do you hang out with this kind of man because you don’t have any friends? You idiots sure get along well.”

“Ah~ So you’re her older sister. You were so frivolous I thought you weren’t a noble. My apologies.”

“You son of a b*.”

“Woof.”

As the atmosphere grew somewhat heated.

Hanna urgently opened her mouth.

“Both of you, stop it.”

It was a shame.

If they had fought a little longer, I could’ve squeezed more out of it.

I glared at Hanna’s sister, vowing to settle things next time.

The conversation between the father and daughter began with Hanna’s response.

“What brings you here?”

“…I came for work.”

“Then take care of your work and leave. I’ll take care of mine.”

Hanna spoke coldly to her father.

Normally, she wouldn’t have acted this way toward him. She would’ve been twisting her body in anticipation, hoping he’d praise her for defeating an Elite Orc alone. But today, her father was not welcome. In fact, he was annoying.

Rowen was taken aback by Hanna’s rebellion, which he was seeing for the first time, but he didn’t take it seriously.

After all, he knew Hanna well.

She feared her father.

A docile youngest daughter who always obeyed his commands. She was probably just venting anger about her last birthday. He knew she’d back down with just one word from him.

Rowen thought.

This was the perfect opportunity to completely break Hanna’s sword. After witnessing the hallucination, he decided he couldn’t indulge her wandering any longer.

Hanna’s opinions weren’t his concern.

“As your father, I think there’s nothing more unpleasant than someone without talent wielding a sword.”

His words, filled with worry, pierced Hanna’s heart. They were direct and came from a mind convinced that his choices were the best, but there was no way they could be taken positively by Hanna.

“You have no talent.”

“…”

“Wielding a sword itself is meaningless for you. I know what drove you to climb this mountain and pick up a sword. But deep down, you also know you can never reach the same level as them. You’re neither Mikhail, who made a name for himself at the Academy, nor are you like your older brother or sister.”

“…”

“Even though you’re my child, you’re pathetic.”

Hanna didn’t seem inclined to open her mouth.

Was it because of disappointment?

Or had she entered a late adolescence, ignoring her father’s words? Personally, I hoped it was the latter, but the sight of Hanna clenching her fists and bowing her head seemed closer to the former.

Rowen snatched Hanna’s Sword.

“If you want my recognition, give up the sword. No matter how much you swing it, you’ll never measure up in my eyes.”

Is it okay to say something like that to your daughter?

My favorability toward the Knight Commander kept dropping.

Of course, his favorability toward me was already rock bottom.

[Histania Rowen Lv. 100]

[Job: Imperial Knight Commander]

[Favorability: -42]

[Favorite Conversation Topics: Histania’s Honor/Talented Swordsmen/Praise for His Children]

[Disliked Conversation Topics: Incompetent Father/Untalented Swordsmen/Histania Hanna]

It seems our mutual dislike is something we have in common. That’s a relief. At least it doesn’t overlap.

Rowen’s selfish mouth showed no signs of stopping.

“There’s a reason I’ve ignored and discriminated against you all this time. I thought you were smart enough to understand.”

“But I still want to—”

“Silence.”

Clang. Hanna’s Sword fell to the ground. The sword her father had gifted her was thrown aside, and Hanna’s eyes reddened.

Talent.

What’s so great about that damn talent?

The butler had told her she had talent, so why couldn’t her father say the same? Hanna wanted to argue.

She had known for a long time that she lacked talent. Her father had said it, and her older siblings had repeated it to the point of exhaustion.

But what had they ever done for her? They hadn’t suggested another path, nor had they comforted her with kind words. Did they think they had the right to say such things to her?

Hanna clenched her fists as her only form of resistance. It was the only rebellion she could manage.

“When you return home, start by withdrawing from the Academy.”

“Father!”

“I’ll make sure you can’t even think about swords again. Not only will you be banned from the training grounds, but I’ll destroy every sword registered under your name.”

Rowen steeled his resolve.

He decided not to leave any room for compromise.

“If you still can’t give up, I’ll even arrange a political marriage for you.”

“I will never do it.”

“If you use Aura, I might acknowledge it, but isn’t that impossible?”

“That’s nonsense….”

“That’s how I feel. You’re doing something that doesn’t make sense. It’s quite unpleasant, you know.”

“Have I ever asked much from you, Father? Every single time! Have I ever asked for something big from a father who only ever says no?”

Tears were already streaming down Hanna’s face. Why is this woman so prone to tears? It seemed like she cried more often than she smiled.

“I won’t ask you to teach me anymore.”

“…”

“I won’t presumptuously wield a sword under the Family Name anymore. Fine… fine! Just disown me already. You never thought of me as your daughter anyway, so this works out, doesn’t it?”

“Didn’t I tell you to shut up?”

Thud. Hanna dropped to her knees.

She clasped her hands together, begging her father.

“Please… please… just leave me alone. Just keep doing what you’ve always done.”

If it were me, I’d have left the house out of disgust and humiliation, but maybe because she’s an orphan without parents, the family in front of her didn’t seem enviable at all. In fact, my relationship with the Young Lady seemed more harmonious in comparison.

I wanted to intervene.

But I had learned that family matters should be resolved by family, so I couldn’t step in.

However.

The mood was so foul that I couldn’t just stand by.

“Excuse me for interrupting, but on what grounds have you judged Miss Hanna to lack talent?”

I scanned everyone before me with sharp eyes. My tone was polite, but the implication was clear: if you have complaints, speak now, but be prepared for the consequences.

“Are you perhaps blind? If you have eyes, you wouldn’t be able to say such things. Isn’t that right, Miss Hanna?”

“Yes…?”

“Isn’t that so?”

Hanna, kneeling on the ground, looked up at me. Her dirty knees only made my irritation grow.

I tried to help Hanna stand, but her legs seemed too weak to support her.

Hanna looked at me with an expression that seemed to say I shouldn’t, but my anger had long since passed the point of calming down.

My reputation was already in the gutter anyway.

Even if I got more criticism here, it wouldn’t matter. I had nothing to lose.

“Head of Histania, have you ever defeated an Elite Orc at this age?”

“…Who are you?”

“I’m Miss Hanna’s friend.”

“State your Family Name and name.”

“I refuse.”

I cut off Rowen’s words.

What could you possibly do if you knew who I was? Mock me? That’s all you’d do.

I had no intention of answering the Knight Commander’s questions. I didn’t want to converse with a crazy bastard who judged his children based on talent.

“Judging by your silence, it seems you’ve never defeated one. Of course not. At this age, the only people who would challenge an Elite Orc…”

I looked at Rowen softly.

“…are people who are determined to die.”

Suppressing the malice of nearly killing you, I spoke directly to him.

“Only someone crazy enough to know they’ll die in battle would do something like that.”

Rowen glared at me.

So did his children.

And so did his knights.

But what can they do about it?

You’re the bad ones here, aren’t you?

I had no intention of treating people who bullied the Young Lady’s friend as guests. Be grateful I didn’t curse you out.

I raised Hanna up.

Even if no one else acknowledged her.

I had to be the one to do so.

Otherwise, all the time she had spent trying wouldn’t have been worth it.

“Miss Hanna made it possible. Isn’t that amazing? Why aren’t you clapping? I think it’s incredible.”

I said, filled with irritation.

“Have any of you ever done something like that?”

I looked at Hanna as I spoke.

“Miss Hanna, you know, has a talent for learning. But because of someone who ran away from teaching, she couldn’t fully showcase that talent.”

Hanna, who was curled up, looked up at me. She looked at me as if I were a Prince on a White Horse. It seemed she had been waiting for someone to stand by her side and fight for her.

[Hanna’s Favorability +30 increases.]

I gave Hanna a small smile as I spoke.

“I told you, you have talent.”

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[The Tragic Short-Lived Extra ‘Hanna’ has been completed.]

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At that moment, golden Aura bloomed from Hanna’s hands, and she suddenly embraced me tightly.

“Happy birthday.”

The gift I had prepared belatedly had finally reached Hanna.