The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen-Chapter 250: Confronting the Past and Present Tensions (2)

As soon as his feet touched the ground, Darvab lifted the young lady by her side, playfully spinning her like an airplane.

The young lady flew quite high.

"Heeek..."

She seemed to be in a good mood. Honestly, I also wanted to ask for a ride, but considering my age, I decided to keep that inappropriate request to myself. Besides, I’m taller anyway.

The Wolfgang family’s servants bowed their heads the moment they saw Darvab’s face. Even though the Desmont family had fallen into disrepute due to their use of dark magic, their authority hadn’t diminished in the slightest. Of course, this wasn't a positive development, but rather, their infamy had only grown.

The Desmont family was the only one able to use dark magic and still maintain their household. In fact, the Emperor himself had been criticized for giving them merely a slap on the wrist.

"We greet the loyal servant of the Empire."

"..."

Darvab didn’t seem to recognize the elderly butler who had bowed to him. It was as if he neither remembered the butler’s family nor cared to recall them. In fact, he wasn’t even sure if the word "loyal" was meant for him.

"Did you just address me?"

"Yes, Lord."

"I see."

Darvab nodded, then carefully set the young lady down on the ground.

"Dad!"

"Yes, what’s the matter?"

"Those jerks killed my ice cream!"

"Hmm..."

Darvab nodded with a grin. True to the nature of a family where no one has a fully functioning head, Darvab agreed to the task as if it were the simplest thing in the world, making me stand tall with pride.

These are the people I serve.

Everyone in the Wolfgang household bowed their heads.

"That’s not what I..."

Darvab stroked his chin, eyeing the eagle badge on the elderly butler’s chest, and then smiled coldly.

"Wolfgang, is it?"

"Yes, it is."

"The owners of the western canal, Wolfgang."

"..."

"Seems like the canal business is profitable, even making the capital smell like the sea."

"...I believe the Desmont family also uses our canal. If you overlook this incident, I could speak with the Lord and—"

"What nonsense are you spouting?"

Darvab’s smile faded as he spoke in a low voice.

"Your family was the first to sever contracts when the dark magic scandal broke out. Is it possible the butler of such a household was unaware?"

"I misspoke. My apologies."

"A servant of a noble misspeaking... Is that a common trait among the western nobility?"

Darvab’s sharp words revealed his natural disdain for those he considered inferior, and I mentally noted down his comments in my "provocation notebook." It seemed clear that this was how one properly dealt with nobles.

As expected, educated people are different. For the first time, I felt regret over my own lack of higher education.

The young lady spread her fingers and pointed at the child from the Wolfgang family. The kid, slowly realizing the gravity of the situation, retracted his tongue and lowered his head.

Since it’s often best for adults to step in when children fight, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride in the Desmont family.

"Let’s handle this family to family."

"...Please reconsider."

"This will serve as a good example that the Desmont family is still very much alive."

"Lord...!"

The price of ice cream turned out to be heavier than expected.

In a dark room where no light entered,

A young mage who had lost his magic was trembling in fear.

"Aaargh!!""I’m no help at all."

"Do something...!""I..."

"You claim to see the inner self....""I’m a liar."

Luine was a broken man.

A mage who had nothing left to boast of but his pride had lost his power and was drowning in fear. It wasn’t the overwhelming difference in magic that frightened him. Differences like that could be overcome with effort.

The real reason Luine was trembling was simple.

He couldn’t stand that, among the very people he had looked down upon and despised, he had been the first to flee.

Mikhail had fought with his sword. Hanna had fought with her sword too. Even Yuria had rolled up her sleeves and thrown herself into the fray, treating the wounded amid the bloodshed.

But as for me...

"Huff... Huff... I’m alive."Seeing the Tower Master join the fray, I had felt relieved, thinking I had been saved.

"What kind of prodigy of the Magic Tower am I?"

"What kind of fire mage am I?"

"A fool who did nothing but run away... What kind of top student of the magic department is that?"

I felt stupid and pathetic. If there had been a rat hole, I would’ve hidden in it, embarrassed and furious.

"I’m..."

Once again, Luine closed his eyes.

Even though it was the middle of a sunny afternoon, Luine had closed the curtains and tried to sleep, but all that came were the mental kicks delivered by his swirling thoughts.

"Sigh..."

Luine slowly got up and headed outside. He needed some fresh air to clear his head.

People would likely curse him out, but he still had to keep living. Luine forced himself up and walked towards the door.

Hesitate.His reflection caught in the mirror.

The sharp jawline was gone, replaced by a face that had become rounder, the once-lean muscles now a thing of the past.

"Haha... damn."

Luine let out a hollow laugh, sweeping back his long, unkempt hair as he looked at the unattractive man in the mirror.

"I look awful."

With this appearance, I doubt anyone would treat me like a human being...

Despite the negative thoughts, Luine, driven by hunger, opened the dormitory door. And then.

Sniffle."What the..."

From the next room, he heard the sound of someone sobbing. A voice choked with grief, occasionally interrupted by a cough, echoed down the hallway.

"What’s with that guy?"

Room 902 was Mikhail’s room.

Realizing the identity of the ghost haunting the hallway, Luine let out a small laugh and shook his head.

"So, that guy’s losing it too, huh? Skipping class to cry his eyes out... What’s he doing?"

Not that I have room to talk.

Luine scratched the back of his head and gave an awkward smile. This academy really is falling apart.

Heretics. Crazy butlers. And a villainess who uses dark magic.

The academy was filled with this fantastic combination, and Luine let out a cough and shook his head. He didn’t even know what to think anymore.

"Maybe those guys are the real winners."

He considered that maybe the ones who had left the academy early were the true victors. If only I had left the academy early and gone to study in the Magic Tower, maybe I wouldn’t be in this state.

"Idiot."

There was no point in regretting things now; nothing would change. Luine patted his large, swollen belly and sighed.

"Let’s just eat. I’m hungry."

The powerless mage continued to fall apart.

Night fell over the mansion.

The young lady, now back to her childlike state, had finally fallen asleep beside the Lord after a long time.

"Heeek! Let go! I want to sleep with Ricardo!""Come on, Olivia, ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) let’s sleep together, just this once.""Eek!! You smell like an old man!""I didn’t think about that.""I can’t lie. If I lie, I’ll die of a disease.""Isn’t that a lie?""I’m dead.""I see."Meanwhile, Kyle and Rosanna were sitting at the table in the living room, deep in conversation.

Coming downstairs to get a drink of water, I bowed to Kyle and Rosanna, both still in their pajamas. It had been a while since I had seen this combination, and I was glad to see them together. I grabbed a cup and walked slowly toward them.

"It’s late. What deep conversation are you having at this hour?"

"Just catching up with my son... It’s been a while."

"..."

Kyle remained silent, staring down at his teacup. It seemed he wasn’t too pleased to have an uninvited guest interrupting their mother-son chat. His sharp gaze, the look of the future Lord, made me smile awkwardly.

"Would you like to join us, Ricardo? Have a seat here."

Rosanna gestured toward an empty chair beside her with a smile, lightly tapping it. Smiling back, I walked over. Rosanna was, after all, the true backbone of the family—more important than even the future Lord.

"Shall I prepare some tea?"

"No need."

"How about a light snack?"

"Oh my... Such good manners. Already trying to score points with the mother-in-law."

"Haha..."

"I only ask that you love our daughter more than anyone. I’ll even understand if you take other wives, so don’t feel pressured."

Rosanna’s words left me speechless. I marveled at the art of noble conversation—though I kept that admiration to myself. Of course, my daughter’s marriage would still be monogamous.

Even if it was a bit hypocritical, there was no helping it. I planned to live as a selfish father.

Rosanna smiled softly and began speaking to me as I sat down.

"Just in time. We were talking about you."

"About me?"

"Yes~ We were talking about our capable butler."

"Were you bad-mouthing me? I don’t think I’ve taken enough from the family to be let go just yet."

"Hahaha! What’s there left to take? Take it all! Even take our daughter."

"Haha..."

Kyle remained silent, his gaze fixed on his teacup. Though he didn’t show it openly, his lack of response to Rosanna’s teasing was unusual.

'Were they discussing something serious?'

Kyle, usually so stoic, wasn’t the type to ignore jokes like this.

The mood grew a bit awkward for a moment. Rosanna, still smiling, turned to me and spoke again, her tone lighter than the weight of her words.

Foll𝑜w current novels on fɾēewebnσveℓ.com.

"So, Ricardo."

"Yes."

"Don’t you think it’s time to stop?"

Her sudden suggestion that I step down made me freeze for a moment.

"Excuse me? I’m not sure I understand."

Rosanna’s smile faded as she continued.

"Kyle told me."

She gripped her teacup tightly.

"About how you’re trying to heal Olivia’s legs at the cost of your own health."

"..."

"How you’ve been coughing up blood."

"..."

"And how you could barely walk."

I responded to Rosanna in a calm voice, relieved that she wasn’t suggesting I leave my position as the butler.

"I’m fine. It’s not dark magic, and it won’t harm the family..."

"Do you think I’m asking you to stop because of that?"

"..."

"If the family falls, we’ll rebuild. If it crumbles, we can leave the country."

"..."

"You’ll die if you keep this up."

I made it clear to Rosanna that I had no intention of backing down.

"I’m almost there."

Truly.

"I have no intention of giving up."

Rosanna’s expression hardened, becoming icy.