The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 58

“You son of a b*! Stop right there!!!”

-Gooooom!

“I said stop right there!”

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

The Young Lady was playing tag with Gomtangi.

Even though it had been a month since Gomtangi arrived, the two showed no signs of getting along and were busy growling at each other.

Gomtangi, with an unopened chocolate in her mouth, was wildly jumping on the bed, while the Young Lady was desperately reaching out to catch her.

Gomtangi had snatched the chocolate that had been prepared as a snack.

The Young Lady stared at Gomtangi with an expression as if the world had ended.

“You stupid dog! Bring it here now!”

The Young Lady spat out harsh words as she struggled to catch Gomtangi. When she tried to catch her, Gomtangi would leap off the bed to the floor, and when she gave up, Gomtangi would climb back onto the bed, wagging her tail.

Perhaps she resembled the person who picked her up, as her teasing skills were top-notch.

“You stupid dog! I said give it to me!”

-Gooooom…!

Gomtangi was mocking the Young Lady.

Like a Turkish Ice Cream Man in a previous life, she kept teasing with “You want to catch me? You can’t catch me!” right in front of the Young Lady’s eyes, to the point that even I got angry watching it.

-Huff… Huff…

Gomtangi let out heavy breaths.

Perhaps from being fed meat excessively over the past month, the once-skinny Gomtangi, now successfully fattened, plopped down on the floor with a wobbly body.

The Young Lady pointed a finger at Gomtangi.

“Ricardo, this won’t do! Let’s spread soybean paste on her!”

The Young Lady uttered a chilling remark in front of her pet. I covered Gomtangi’s ears and said to the Young Lady.

“How could you say soybean paste for the lovely Gomtangi? Hearing that will hurt her feelings.”

“Whether it’s Gomtangi or whatever, she’s annoying!”

The Young Lady, whose eyes had turned wild, was serious.

The Young Lady glared at Gomtangi, who scratched her head with a murderous gaze, as if she might actually turn her into gomtang soup if teased any further.

To calm the Young Lady’s anger on behalf of the clueless Gomtangi, I took out some chocolate from my pocket.

The Young Lady, seeing the chocolate in my hand, spoke with a murderous gaze.

“One piece isn’t enough!”

At the Young Lady’s greedy and honest negotiation in this situation, I reluctantly took out two more chocolates from my pocket.

Since I was the one who brought her here, I had to take responsibility.

When two chocolates were placed in the arms of the angry Young Lady, she flashed a bright smile and gave a thumbs-up.

“Hehe!”

‘Why is she praising that over there?’

I was the one who gave it to her. The Young Lady, who was giving undeserved praise, patted the side of the bed and said.

“Meat! Come here!”

-Goom!

“Huh?”

Gomtangi naturally wagged her tail, climbed onto the bed, and placed the stolen chocolate next to the Young Lady.

“Good job!”

The Young Lady vigorously petted Gomtangi. Gomtangi, wearing the expression of a con artist who had just reeled in a sucker, and the Young Lady.

Watching the two of them share their wicked smiles, I thought.

‘Did I just get played…?’

The Young Lady casually took out jerky from her pocket and fed it to Gomtangi, one piece at a time.

‘That pig.’

A sense of betrayal washed over me.

As expected, like master, like dog; their teasing skills were top-notch.

“Sigh… I got tricked again.”

The Young Lady, looking prim, spoke to me as I held my throbbing forehead.

“Getting tricked is your fault.”

“…You’re not wrong.”

The Young Lady imparted a truth about life.

A month had passed since the final evaluation ended.

A month in which we gained a new family member and I punched Mikhail.

During that time, people from the Academy visited, and the Young Lady, seeing her healed arm, cried her eyes out—a memorable month passed us by.

-I’m so glad… Really… I’m so glad!

-This is the power of the All-Purpose Ointment.

-Sniff… Don’t get scammed!

For a month, we didn’t live busily.

There was nothing to do, and we didn’t feel like doing anything.

If you have money saved up, spending it is the truth of life. Retirement funds were a problem for my future self to deal with, so for a month, the Young Lady and I enjoyed a life of unemployment.

With all debts paid off, having lived diligently until now, a bit of idleness was something even a thin wallet could forgive.

With the mindset of an unemployed person who hates working, I threw myself toward the Young Lady’s lap as she sat on the bed.

-Squish.

It was a bit firm but still pleasant—the sensation of her thighs against the back of my head. The Young Lady’s lap pillow was unrivaled, even in this world.

Two years ago, her thighs were softer and squishier than now, but the Young Lady’s legs, which couldn’t walk back then, were nothing but skin and bones.

Worried about putting strain on her frail legs, I awkwardly rested my head with some tension.

The Young Lady’s legs were delicate.

‘So thin… There’s nothing but bones.’

Before the Young Lady could see my bitter expression, I buried my face beneath her ample chest. I didn’t want her to see me looking sad.

I silently vowed that one day, I would help the Young Lady stand tall again, as I looked at the bandages wrapped around my palm.

‘Rehabilitation’s Touch.’

It was the only method I could rely on for now.

While I held hope, I couldn’t be certain of its effectiveness, which left me feeling uneasy.

I didn’t know how much my body would deteriorate.

And I couldn’t be sure I could heal the Young Lady.

Unlike my somber thoughts, the Young Lady, who was now my pillow, looked at me with a bored expression.

“You’re heavy.”

“There’s nothing in my head, so I’m light.”

“You have more than me…!”

“I’m just a commoner, so my head is light.”

The Young Lady grumbled and tried to push my head away, but my stubbornness in holding onto the prime spot forced her to give up.

Though the Young Lady couldn’t feel her lower body, it seemed she still didn’t like me lying on her thighs.

I rubbed my face against the fabric of her skirt and let out a small laugh.

“Just a little longer.”

“Ugh…!”

“I’ll only lie here for a little while.”

The Young Lady let out a deep sigh and focused on her chocolate.

A month had passed.

Though it was a time of leisure, quite a lot had happened.

[The Swordsmanship Department’s Pride, Mikhail, Awakens Aura!]

A newspaper article about Mikhail awakening his aura made the front page, and the rewards for what happened that day caused a stir throughout the Empire.

I wasn’t jealous.

I didn’t want to be famous.

I didn’t want the hassle of going to the capital, and traveling all the way there just to receive an award wasn’t efficient.

Unless they offered a lot of money, I had no desire to go to the capital just to shake hands with the Academy’s dean and receive a small medal.

I’d rather spend that time viewing autumn leaves with the Young Lady.

I thought this as I watched the Young Lady, who had chocolate smeared on the corners of her mouth.

‘Come to think of it, we didn’t go see the autumn leaves.’

Because of Mikhail’s situation and the arrival of Gomtangi as a new family member, I had completely forgotten.

The autumn leaves were especially beautiful this year.

I turned my head to look out the window. Although some leaves had already fallen, it seemed there was still enough scenery left to enjoy the autumn foliage.

I straightened up and looked at the Young Lady.

“Eat plenty and grow up well…”

The Young Lady was feeding jerky to Gomtangi. Unaware of the Young Lady’s mischievous intentions, Gomtangi happily accepted the jerky and lay on the bed, belly up.

“Young Lady.”

When I suddenly called out to her, the Young Lady flinched her shoulders.

In an awkward voice, the Young Lady spoke to me.

“I didn’t give her anything!”

The Young Lady quickly hid the jerky behind her back. Although the jerky’s wrapping paper was sticking out, I pretended not to notice and cautiously asked while looking out the window.

“Could you spare some time today?”

“Time? I’m busy.”

The Young Lady, who claimed to be busy despite being unemployed, made me laugh with her evasive expression.

“I also need to take a nap today.”

“Cockroaches will come out.”

“No, it’s fine. She eats them all.”

“…”

I nodded slightly, acknowledging Gomtangi’s suspiciously voracious appetite for everything.

“She certainly does catch them well.”

“Yes. That’s why I can nap in peace.”

“Oh, come on. Just spare a little time for one day.”

I pointed to the sunny view outside the window and said to the Young Lady.

“It seems like the perfect day for a hike.”

“A hike?”

“Yes.”

The Young Lady stared out the window for a long time.

When the red and yellow leaves of Hamel’s mountains came into her view, her eyes widened.

“Bothersome.”

The Young Lady was honest with her feelings.

“Why not? Let’s go out, get some fresh air, and eat something delicious.”

“No. If we go all the way up there, Ricardo will have a hard time.”

Feeling pleased by the Young Lady’s thoughtfulness toward the butler, I smiled faintly and rolled up my right sleeve to show her.

My pale forearm was revealed.

Although there were some dark scars here and there, it no longer hurt, and it wasn’t deteriorating from dark magic anymore—it looked normal.

The Young Lady poked it lightly with her finger.

“Is it all healed?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm…”

Even though it had been a month since I showed her my arm, the Young Lady still worried about it.

She still didn’t believe me, applying ointment and wrapping bandages on my perfectly fine arm. Given my track record, I couldn’t blame her for not trusting me.

To reassure her, I flexed my arm to make it firm, but the Young Lady, poking at it repeatedly, looked at me with a worried expression and said.

“It still seems like it hurts.”

“It’s completely healed.”

“Ricardo is a liar. I can’t trust you.”

I felt a pang of conscience in many ways.

After a brief moment of deliberation, I lifted the Young Lady into a princess carry, despite her polite refusal.

A butler’s job is to disregard the master’s opinions sometimes.

Watching the Young Lady struggle, I said.

“Let’s go. To see the autumn leaves.”

The Young Lady looked at me and asked.

“Do we have a lot of money?”

I answered her with a reassuring look.

“Hiking is free.”

“Oh…!”

The Young Lady smiled brightly.

It seemed like I had her permission.

Before we left, the Young Lady gave a small smile and said.

“Then let’s drink!”

“What?”

“I’ve never had alcohol before… Let’s drink. Alcohol!”

The Young Lady tugged at my collar with a mischievous grin.

Alcohol, huh.

It would be her first time drinking here….

I was worried that the Young Lady might get drunk, but her innocent smile left me no choice but to answer her.

“Then just one bottle.”

“Okay!”

I spoke to the Young Lady with concern in my voice.

“For the record, I’m a whale.”

“A whale?”

“I mean, I can drink a lot.”

“Oh…”

The Young Lady straightened her shoulders confidently and replied.

“I’m a whale too!”

I had a bad feeling about this.