The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 56

“Grrr…!”

-Screeeech…

“Grrr!! Woof! Woof!”

Today, the Young Lady’s room was peaceful as usual.

Sitting on the bed, the Young Lady was engaged in a battle of wills with her puppy.

Claiming that the hierarchy needed to be established, the Young Lady was on all fours on the bed in a cat-like pose, facing off against the puppy.

She stared at the puppy with sharp eyes, while the black puppy hid behind me, trembling and whining, “Kkiiing.”

The Young Lady’s battle of wills showed no mercy.

After all, the reason she could reign as a queen in the high society filled with schemes and deceit was her ability to dominate in the initial battle of wills.

The Young Lady always told me,

First impressions must leave a strong impact.

She once declared this philosophy while pulling a handful of hair from a Noble Lady, saying that if you’re remembered as someone fluffy like cotton candy, they’ll try to climb over you later, so it’s better to crush their spirit early on to avoid lingering issues.

The Young Lady was showing the puppy exactly what kind of person she was.

The crazy… no, slightly unhinged person of this area.

“Grrrr! Bark!”

The Young Lady, speaking in the language of animals, only looked adorable.

When the Young Lady first saw the puppy, she didn’t seem pleased. She muttered about how animals that shed fur couldn’t possibly be cute, glancing at it while fidgeting her fingers. But having served her for 13 years, I could instantly tell she was lying.

-Growl!

-It’s a puppy.

-…What is that?

-Yes.

-Isn’t it a bear?

-It has four legs, so wouldn’t it be a puppy?

-I see.

When I mentioned raising it as a cockroach vacuum cleaner, the Young Lady quickly agreed.

After all, she needed something that could surpass a robot vacuum cleaner in dealing with cockroaches.

Before accepting a new family member, the Young Lady expressed her concern to me.

-But what if it takes my job?

-Your job?

-Yes. I have a job too.

I couldn’t understand why the unemployed Young Lady was talking about jobs, but her objective evaluation that followed made me nod in agreement.

-Guarding the house. That’s my job.

-Congratulations. You’ve successfully found employment.

-Of course. I can’t live as an unemployed person forever.

To think the Young Lady, whom I thought was unemployed, was actually working. I inadvertently became a cruel employer who didn’t pay her wages.

Anyway, the Young Lady was now bonding with her new family member. It was a classic method, but sometimes the classics are the best.

Even the Dog President said so.

-The hierarchy between the owner and the pet is extremely important. If you appear weak, you might get bitten.

I hoped the Young Lady would reach a peaceful agreement with the puppy.

“Grrrr…”

The Young Lady glared at the puppy with eyes that seemed ready to deliver a cat punch at any moment. The puppy whimpered, “Kkiiing,” and lowered its tail, which was shorter than a pinky finger, to the ground.

Seeing the puppy submit to the survival-of-the-fittest world, the Young Lady smiled a satisfied smile.

Having won the long battle, the Young Lady straightened her shoulders confidently.

She proudly thrust out her ample chest. It was refreshing to the eyes and lifted my mood.

“Ricardo. I won.”

“Well done.”

“It was a tough fight. It felt like battling a bear.”

“It’s a puppy.”

“…”

The Young Lady let out a deep sigh and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

Though she had been sulking about not being able to take a bath, her refreshed expression after having a rare battle showed that her anger had subsided.

I thought she’d sulk all day. Thankfully, the puppy sitting dejectedly on the floor made me feel grateful.

I crouched down, patted the puppy’s head, and secretly tossed it some jerky.

Watching the puppy wag its fluffy tail as it moved toward the jerky lifted my spirits.

It ate well.

The treatment seemed to have worked too.

Though it limped slightly, it was a significant improvement compared to when it couldn’t use its hind legs at all.

Perhaps the effect was more pronounced because it was an animal, or maybe I had failed to control my power.

What was certain was that the effect was undeniable.

I felt strangely proud.

But at the same time, a wave of melancholy swept over me.

The “Hand of Rehabilitation” was not a power I could use often.

I could only use it once a month.

And the burden it placed on my body was far too great compared to the healing effect.

Dizzying headaches and nosebleeds.

A decrease in stamina stats.

And even a chilling sensation that indicated my health was deteriorating.

Though it wasn’t definitive, I could clearly tell it wasn’t good for my body.

I wondered if using my power on a mere puppy was the best choice, but on the other hand, I felt relieved.

Because I had discovered the side effects.

If I had recklessly used it on the Young Lady, I might have collapsed right in front of her.

Knowing my personality, I would’ve used a Limit Break to pour all my strength into the Young Lady’s rehabilitation.

If I ended up coughing up blood in front of her while using my power, she might never allow me to touch her body again.

I resolved to control my power gradually.

Though I was impatient, I had to think about myself too.

I decided to use my power sparingly for the Young Lady’s rehabilitation and then seal it away. Watching the puppy happily munch on the jerky, I felt proud.

A puppy abandoned by its mother due to its disability.

I waited in that spot for an hour, but neither the mother nor even a single mouse passed by.

Why is it that both the butler and the puppy are orphans? The sense of kinship made my heart ache.

The Young Lady reached out her hand toward the puppy, which had finished the jerky and was sniffing the floor.

“Give it to me.”

Following the command of the estate’s number one in the hierarchy, I grabbed the puppy by its side to check its condition.

Though I had bathed it once, I meticulously checked its hygiene, wondering if there might still be ticks, and finally, I examined the most important detail—its gender.

Even if it was an animal that couldn’t speak, the thought of a male with male reproductive organs panting in the Young Lady’s arms made me think she’d throw it out into the yard. For the sake of this puppy’s life, this was a crucial matter.

A clean belly covered in black fur.

Female.

“Approved.”

The worry of raising it outside disappeared.

Now that it perfectly met the qualifications of a pet, I placed the puppy in the Young Lady’s arms.

“Hee.”

The Young Lady let out a girlish giggle as the fluffy fur touched her arms.

Seeing the Young Lady’s pure smile for the first time in a while, I couldn’t help but smile along with her.

It seemed like bringing it here was the right decision.

The Young Lady held the puppy tightly in her arms. Watching her gaze at the puppy as if she’d never let it go, I felt a twinge of jealousy.

I wondered if my priority was being pushed to the back.

After all, women can’t resist cute things.

Though I looked at the Young Lady with a bitter heart,

She said something completely unexpected.

“From today, your name is Sagol.”

Did I hear that wrong?

I cleaned my ear and focused on the Young Lady’s words once again.

“Now, repeat after me. Sagol.”

It didn’t seem like I had misheard.

I cautiously asked the Young Lady about the origin of the name, wondering if it could possibly be for the reason I was thinking.

“Young Lady?”

“Yes?”

“Why did you name it Sagol? You could have chosen a pretty name like Elizabeth I or Kkotbuni…”

The Young Lady frowned.

“That’s tacky.”

I must not have any talent for naming. Even so, I asked the Young Lady once more about the origin of the name.

Because the name Sagol seemed to foretell this little one’s future.

“Sagol doesn’t seem right, does it?”

The Young Lady nodded as if it were obvious and replied.

“Ricardo is sick, so I need to make a nourishing meal.”

Gulp. The Young Lady swallowed her saliva.

“Pardon?”

It was only now that the clueless butler understood the Young Lady’s affectionate gaze.

I wanted to applaud the Young Lady’s intention to raise the puppy as a health supplement, but unfortunately, this friend wasn’t meant to be eaten.

A pet is family, not food.

I calmly explained the usefulness of a puppy to the Young Lady.

“We’re not eating it.”

“What?”

“That’s for ornamental purposes.”

The Young Lady’s eyes turned cold.

“We’re not eating it?”

“Yes.”

“Didn’t I bring it here to fatten it up and eat it?”

“This is a puppy.”

“No matter how you look at it, it doesn’t seem like a puppy.”

“It is.”

The Young Lady showed me the puppy’s massive front paw to make her point.

“Look at this, the paw is enormous.”

“It must be a breed that grows big.”

“…Is that so?”

Indeed, the paw was quite large.

It looked like it could tear a person apart when it grew up.

The black paw with its sharp claws was striking, but couldn’t that be normal for a puppy too?

That was the opinion of someone who, in their previous life, had only ever fed stray cats canned food and avidly watched animal YouTube channels.

The Young Lady accepted it. She, too, had never raised an animal before.

Even so, she stared suspiciously at the puppy and asked, “You’re not a dog, are you?” But the puppy only responded with a playful whimper and affectionate eyes.

“Ugh.”

Losing interest, the Young Lady set the puppy down from her arms.

She lost interest because it wasn’t emergency food or something to eat.

Brushing off the fur that had clung to her, the Young Lady proposed coming up with a proper name.

“Then how about Tangsuyuk?”

As expected of a master with a hopeless sense of naming.

We stared at the black puppy crouched in the corner, lost in thought. We shared the same sentiment: what name would suit the dignity of Villainess Olivia?

We focused and focused again.

“How about Maximus?”

“Tacky.”

“Then, Ramxrgini.”

“What’s that?”

“For pulling a sled later…”

“Dismissed.”

After about ten minutes of brainstorming together.

In between suggestions like “Hosigi,” “Mangugeo,” and “Gwang-eo,” which were utterly ridiculous, the Young Lady finally came up with a decent name. The puppy, hiding in the corner, perked up its ears and looked at us.

“Gomtang.”

Of all the names suggested so far, it was the most ferocious, but the puppy seemed to like it, wagging its tiny tail like a pinky finger.

The Young Lady and I exchanged smiles.

“That seems like a good one.”

“Indeed.”

The Young Lady tapped the bed.

“Sagol, come here.”

“Not Sagol, Gomtang.”

“…”

Well, they’re essentially the same, but Gomtang sounds a bit more valiant.

Reluctantly, the Young Lady called the puppy’s name again.

“Gomtang, come here.”

-Gooooom!

Gomtang leapt into the Young Lady’s arms with a resounding cry. It seemed the puppy liked its name.

I smiled softly as I watched Gomtang nestled in the Young Lady’s embrace.

“How rustic.”

It seemed like bringing it here was the right decision.

*

“You little son of a b*! Your food is on the floor, isn’t it?!”

The Young Lady was playing well with Gomtang.

Gomtang, plotting rebellion by eyeing each other’s snacks, engaged in a bloody battle with the Young Lady. The Young Lady, lying on the bed, shoved Gomtang’s head away as it desperately tried to steal her snack, spitting out harsh curses.

-Gooooom!!

“Eeeek!! Get lost!”

-Gooooooom!

“Eeeek!! I said get lost! I’ll smear you with soybean paste!”

Faced with the Young Lady’s fierce threats, Gomtang tucked its tail and climbed down from the bed, burying its face in the bowl of dog food.

Pant… Pant. Occasionally catching its breath, Gomtang sighed in relief, having secured its snack. The Young Lady, with trembling eyes, looked at Gomtang and spoke.

“Ricardo. No matter how I look at it, that doesn’t seem like a puppy.”

“It is a puppy.”

“Look at that.”

Crunch!

Pointing at Gomtang, who was enthusiastically munching on its food, the Young Lady exclaimed.

“What kind of puppy eats like that?!”

“It’s possible. That’s puppy discrimination.”

“…Is that so?”

The Young Lady nodded in reluctant agreement.

“Please make sure it doesn’t climb onto the bed again.”

“Understood.”

In truth, the Young Lady didn’t care whether it was a bear or anything else. She was just annoyed that it tried to steal her snack.

I mentally organized the things I needed to teach Gomtang while feeding the Young Lady a piece of steak.

“Yum… It’s delicious.”

The dark night was slowly approaching.

It had been a busy day.

A tumultuous day when a new family member was added.

And.

A day when the most necessary ability was acquired.

I left Gomtangi in an empty room and quietly started a conversation with the Young Lady.

“Young Lady.”

“Yes?”

“Ta-da!”

I pulled out a small ointment from my pocket.

A cheap ointment that could easily be found in the marketplace. It was a natural way to make contact with the Young Lady’s legs.

Holding the ointment, I spoke with an awkward smile.

“I’ve discovered a panacea….”

The Young Lady firmly replied.

“That’s a pyramid scheme.”

She was a Young Lady well-versed in the ways of the world.