The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 51

Mikhail.

Silver hair.

A small height of 168cm.

A beautiful boy with milky white skin.

A righteous personality.

Handsome appearance.

A boyish voice.

Mikhail, the epitome of everything female readers love, was a character who showcased a charm opposite to the Crown Prince with his broad frame and Ruin.

Unlike the Crown Prince with his domineering charm and Ruin, who was like a thug, Mikhail was a character with a righteous conviction that “strength exists for the weak” and couldn’t stand injustice, making him both a refreshing turn of events and a frustrating situation in the novel.

An irritating character who forgave the antagonist who tried to kill him, caused a friend to darken wrongly in the latter part of the novel, and recklessly interfered, putting the heroine in danger—all because he knew nothing but honesty and justice.

That was the Mikhail I remembered and the evaluation of him.

Mikhail may not know what we think of him, but one thing is certain: I don’t like Mikhail, and Mikhail doesn’t like me either.

The Young Lady and I ruined half of Mikhail’s first year, and Mikhail ruined the Young Lady.

I hated him too.

A mutual relationship of dislike.

That was the relationship between Mikhail and me.

*

A man with silver hair, bathed in moonlight, approaches me, exuding killing intent.

Once at the fleeing vagabond.

Twice as he looks at me, awkwardly standing still.

And thrice as he frowns at the bloodstains on the sword.

Mikhail blinked his sharp, piercing eyes.

“Bastard…”

Mikhail spat out a curse.

Would he want to say something like that to an old friend he hadn’t seen in a while? Let alone a proper greeting.

Sighing at his cold attitude, I sent a wave of sword energy toward the fleeing vagabond. I had to make sure the job was done.

‘Aagh…’ A scream echoed from beyond the alley, and Mikhail gripped the sword hilt. It was clear he was preparing to charge at me any moment.

Mikhail shouted at me as I swung my sword without emotion.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“Be quiet.”

“I asked, what the hell are you doing…!”

“Isn’t it late at night?”

An awkward atmosphere lingered.

Why Mikhail had come here.

What Mikhail was thinking.

I had a guess, but to be sure, I decided to ask him directly. Hearing it from him would be more accurate than speculating alone.

Shaking off the blood from my sword, I spoke to Mikhail.

“Mr. Mikhail, calm down.”

“After seeing this mess, you’re telling me to calm down…?”

“I could be the victim here.”

“Say something that makes sense.”

“I’m deeply hurt. Do you know how fragile I am?”

Cold gazes were exchanged. “I hate you.” “I hate you too.” Those unspoken sentiments filled the silent alleyway.

I asked Mikhail.

“What brings you here? Is it appropriate for the Empire’s busiest celebrity to visit such a shabby place?”

“I didn’t want to come to where you live either… but I heard a scream for help. So, what are you doing here?”

“Hmm… cleanup?”

At the word “cleanup,” Mikhail unsheathed his Sreung Sword. It seemed he didn’t like the implication of comparing people to trash. I had tried to phrase it delicately, but Mikhail’s reaction made me feel a bit disappointed.

I warned Mikhail.

“Can you handle it?”

He hesitated.

Mikhail stopped drawing his sword and looked at me. He understood what my words implied.

There were no people here, no Young Lady to mediate. This wasn’t the Academy, which cherished peace and order.

Only Mikhail and I stood in the silent alleyway.

My question carried many meanings.

A provocation about whether he could win and a threat that this wouldn’t end with a simple duel were embedded in that short sentence.

If I, in a foul mood, accidentally injured Mikhail severely, it wouldn’t be surprising.

Using all my strength against someone who couldn’t use aura wasn’t the behavior of a proper swordsman, but in my current foul mood, it was something I could easily do.

Because seeing Mikhail reminded me of the Young Lady.

Thinking of the Young Lady lying in bed, and the image of Mikhail coldly treating her back then, made it impossible to suppress my anger.

Contrary to appearances, I have a fragile mentality.

I can endure savage insults.

I can brush off insults directed at me with some magnanimity, but if Mikhail utters the Young Lady’s name, I feel like I could smash him, Supporting Male Lead or not.

So I asked.

Can you handle it?

Because if we fought now, I felt like I wouldn’t hold back and would beat him mercilessly. Honestly, just seeing his face disgusted me, and I wanted to leave this place immediately, but if I ran away now, Mikhail might report me to the guards or misunderstand the situation further, so I held back my anger and asked.

As someone who already received all the hatred possible from the person destined to become the strongest in this world, I feared provoking him unnecessarily and facing his grudge when the story concluded.

That’s why I was here, holding back my anger, entertaining Mikhail’s clumsy provocation.

Mikhail drew his sword.

“Can you handle it?”

It seemed my genuine concern didn’t reach him.

Mikhail, with his glowing blue blade, slowly approached me. His murmuring voice vividly reached my ears. “Body Acceleration. Physical Strength Enhancement. Shield.” Watching Mikhail prepare combat support magic, I gripped my sword tightly.

‘I wish he’d just leave quietly…’

Mikhail’s body faintly glowed.

His hair fluttered due to the surrounding mana, and his rough breathing, as he exhaled deeply, felt ridiculous to me.

Should I say I was disappointed?

I was most disappointed in Mikhail’s martial arts, which hadn’t grown as much as I had expected. By now, I thought he’d be able to use chantless casting for enhancement magic, but he couldn’t even do that and was nervously looking around.

At this rate…

He probably won’t succeed in this event.

Mikhail pointed the tip of the sword at me and said.

“You haven’t changed. Bullying the weak and killing as if it’s nothing…”

“People don’t change easily. And one must live with principles.”

“That kind of principle is unnecessary. Stubbornness that bullies others and refuses to forgive is evil.”

“If someone heard you, they’d think you were a priest. Always talking about forgiveness. Then, have you forgiven us?”

Grinding. I could hear Mikhail grinding his teeth.

“You crossed the line.”

“Even if we crossed the line, isn’t Mikhail the one who forgives? It’s not like we’re committing racial discrimination.”

“Don’t play word games.”

“I’m not in the mood for jokes either.”

Mikhail spoke to me accusingly.

“You said cleanup… You called tormenting those poor people cleanup, didn’t you?”

I nodded.

“Yes.”

“Crazy bastard,” Mikhail muttered. He glared at me with eyes full of hatred. The same eyes I had seen back at the Academy.

He was looking at me with the same eyes as that day when our relationship began to fall apart. Disappointment filled them, and memories of him saying, “I didn’t think you’d do this,” came to mind.

-Did you kill them?

-…I had no choice.

-I’m asking if you killed them!

-…I’m sorry.

It was a bad memory.

Mikhail questioned me accusingly. His tone remained cold, filled only with hatred and resentment toward me.

“You’ve always been like this… If something displeased you, you’d kill it, crush it so thoroughly it could never rise again.”

“Wasn’t there a reason for it?”

“No, you’re different. You lack restraint and always cross the line.”

Smiling faintly at Mikhail’s definitive statement, I spoke with a mix of sincerity and provocation. Standing still and waiting for him to approach felt like a waste of time.

“Then, have you ever listened to my side of the story, Mikhail?”

“What?”

“Even back at the Academy and now, you’re the same. You never ask why I did what I did. If something looks bad, you just call it bad. If I’m going to be seen as evil anyway, wouldn’t it be better to live wickedly?”

“Again…”

I glanced toward the deep alleyway where the vagabonds had disappeared and spoke.

“Do those guys look like good people to you?”

“They may not be good, but they’re certainly pitiable.”

“They might have killed someone. Perhaps they’ve done even worse.”

“There might have been circumstances that justified it.”

I let out a laugh, as if I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

“Pitiable? You don’t even know them, so how can you say that?”

“At the very least, they seem more pitiable than someone like you, who bullies the weak.”

“If Yuria had been harmed by one of those guys, would you still say that?”

“What?”

“Didn’t Yuria tell you?”

Mikhail gripped his sword. Watching him spout nonsense, telling me to stop talking, made me laugh. A fool who only sees what he wants to see, as always.

I picked up my sword and approached.

It seems clearing up this misunderstanding is impossible.

No matter what I say, he won’t listen. If I keep talking to someone so full of justice, sympathy, and forgiveness, I feel like I’ll end up crossing the line.

Looking at Mikhail, who was shouting at me, I said.

“Shut up. You’re noisy.”

The moment the red aura enveloped my sword and the suffocating pressure descended upon Mikhail—

Mikhail’s vision went black.