The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen-Chapter 381-382
[The Rebel Sword for You]
In a story you don't know.
In a story unknown to anyone, there was a loyal sword.
That sword brandished its blade in the dark shadow of its master.
It stained its hands with the blood of hundreds.
It thrust its sword alone against countless enemies.
The sword's master used him.
Because a sword that desired no reward was nothing more than a perfect tool to be used at will.
The sword was no fool.
Even knowing his master was using him, he nodded, comforted the master's sorrow, and at the same time, struggled to move towards a better path.
When the master faced trials and fell, he became a cushion to help them up, and when an inescapable situation arose, he became a shield to protect the master.
Pointing the tip of his sword at the forces hostile to the master, at those the master hated.
Thus, 'your' sword became a villain, hated by the people of the world.
Rotten eggs were thrown where he passed, and he was filled with so much criticism and contempt that he could not lift his head.
Still, your sword was smiling.
Uttering the words, 'I'm glad I can remain as your sword.'
'You', stained with vengeance for losing your mother, used the sword, and the sword danced to grant your wish.
Of course, the end of that sword was not a good one.
(!) Find the man who was your 'loyal sword'.
Go to the place where you made a pact with the 'loyal sword'. (0/1)
Go to the place where the 'loyal sword' died. (0/1)
Discover the existence of the 'loyal sword'. (0/1)
Reward: A story containing the 'Tyrant's' eternal sorrow. You can now view the 15th side story, 'The Rebel Sword for You'.
The cold-looking blue window was spewing incomprehensible words. Because she couldn't understand what 'rebellion' was, or why it was saying such things.
'...Mental magic?!'
It didn't seem like magic.
Because the guild master next to her didn't seem to feel anything.
If the guild master, a high-level mage in the empire, hadn't noticed, it was highly likely a personal problem.
"..."
Flustered by the appearance of the blue window that brought a tail of questions, Shartia rubbed her eyes and tried to come to her senses.
'Have I been overworking myself lately?'
She thought she was seeing things due to overwork.
It was nonsense from the start. The information the blue window was giving, that is.
She had never even met a 'loyal sword' who desired no reward, so it was absurd for it to suddenly talk about one.
A 'sword' that desires no reward, not a fool? It was almost laughable.
Even the guild master before her eyes desired the guild's prosperity and a title if he were to seize power.
Shartia, who knew better than anyone that the selfless 'existence' the blue window spoke of did not exist in this world, squeezed her eyes shut and let out a sigh.
"Is something the matter?"
Flustered by the silent Shartia, the guild master looked at her with worried eyes and spoke.
"You don't look well."
Shartia shook her head and replied.
"It's nothing. I think I'm just tired."
"...You certainly have been pushing yourself lately."
"Guild Master..."
"Yes?"
"Do you happen to see anything strange? Like a blue document..."
At Shartia's question, the guild master shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.
"No."
"Haa..."
"It would be good to take some breaks while you work. Seeing things means you're very tired."
"...I understand."
"When I was busy, I've even seen documents floating in mid-air. It wouldn't be a bad idea to get a good night's sleep before you collapse."
Shartia's gaze was fixed on the blue window floating in the air. Even if she tried to console herself that it was nothing, she couldn't easily calm down from this first-time experience.
The moment she wished in her heart for the blue window to disappear.
'...Huh?'
The blue window that had appeared before her vanished as if it had never been there.
"I guess I really am tired."
Shartia let out a hollow laugh and shook her head, then ended the meeting with the guild master with a weary sigh.
"Shall we call it a day?"
"That would be best. Don't do anything else, just get a good night's sleep today."
"I will."
"We're happy to see you working so hard, Your Highness, but it would be a bigger problem if you were to collapse."
At the guild master's worried words, Shartia nodded and promised to rest.
"I will."
With the Crown Prince's incident, things were about to get busier, and now I'm seeing things.
At such a crucial time, her rapidly deteriorating physical condition only made her sigh more.
"...I'll try to get some sleep today."
Her heart was pounding.
Like a frightened child.
-You're early, Your Highness.
-...Ah... Aaaah... No!!!
It's an unfamiliar space.
-Don't cry.
-Don't speak...! Don't say anything, just rest.
-Haha...! For the Emperor of the Empire to worry about me like this, it's an honor.
-...I told you not to say anything!!!
-I'd like my name to be in the history books. As one of the great figures who brought glory to the empire... Is that impossible because of my conduct?
-I'll do everything for you, so please, just be quiet...
-Haha...! Haa... You're right. I have a mouth, so I want to say something, but it's hard to speak today.
In that unfamiliar space, I was holding someone and weeping sorrowfully.
-I feel strangely sleepy.
-...
-I'm so sleepy I want to sleep, could you permit me?
-I can't permit it... It's an imperial order... You must obey.
-Haha... This is troublesome.
The wind was blowing.
The sun was setting, and a spring breeze blew as if a beautiful embroidery had been stitched across the sky.
But.
-Your Highness.
-Don't die... Please... Don't leave my side...
-...For the first time, I intend to disobey an order.
-No... Please...
Holding the man whose face was hidden in shadow, I was crying as if I had lost the world.
I looked like a lover who had lost their beloved.
My form, crying out for him not to leave, stroking his face endlessly while praying for him to live, looked like a girl losing the most precious person in the world.
Wretched.
Miserable.
And.
-Please...!
Seemed to be filled with irreversible regret.
The me in the dream was crying out to the gods she had never sought. Pleading to save him, threatening to take revenge if they let this person die.
The small me in the dream, crying out to the gods, was trembling.
-Please...!
The sunset faded.
"..."
The hot sun was calling forth the darkness, as if to say it was now going to rest.
It's just a dream.
-Wake up...
Just a memory that will disappear when I wake up.
-What am I supposed to do without you.
My heart ached like crazy.
-We promised to see it together.
My chest...
-You said you'd stay by my side!!!!
Ached as if it would tear apart.
"Gasp... gasp...!"
Shartia shot up in bed, breathing heavily.
"Haa... haa...."
Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Shartia looked at her hand, and after wiping her eyes, her pupils trembled at the tears that stained it.
'I cried?'
It was a strange dream.
A dream she had never experienced, never seen.
The tears staining her eyes, like on the day she dreamt of her mother's death as a child, created the illusion that they held a terrible sorrow.
Her younger self had found her mother's embrace and felt relief that she was alive, but her current self had no idea how to resolve this anxiety.
"..."
Her thoughts were becoming complicated.
She didn't know how to describe this feeling. She couldn't call it a 'memory' because it was something she'd never experienced, and the tears left on her eyes told her it wasn't just a 'nightmare'.
What in the world is this?
Shartia couldn't understand who the man in her dream was, or why her heart ached so much.
"Haa..."
Just as she was getting irritated by the inexplicable emotion.
[The Rebel Sword for You.]
As if to announce it was the cause of all this, Shartia clenched her fist at the blue window that appeared before her eyes.
"What in the world are you doing?"
Who are you, to show me something like this.
What do you want, to be doing this.
She didn't think it was someone's sorcery. No one would do such a thing without something to gain.
It's not for money.
Not for her life.
She couldn't possibly understand the intention of the blue window, which seemed to be trying to make her feel regret for something that had never happened.
"..."
Just as her head began to ache from the complicated thoughts.
Shartia sighed, grabbed an outer garment, and went outside. She felt she would have the same dream if she went back to sleep.
Thinking a walk would make her feel a little better, Shartia slowly started to move.
When she passed by the front of the Imperial Palace.
-Ding.
It began to appear with a chilling alarm.
-Quest Complete.
Go to the place where the 'loyal sword' died. (1/1)
The cold words of the blue window.
"Huh...?"
Her heart began to pound like crazy.
It was nothing.
Nothing had even happened.
Her heart began to sink as if filled with a terrible sorrow.
And.
-Drip.
Inexplicable tears were flowing from Shartia's eyes.
Tears flowed for a reason she didn't know, dropping with a splat onto the floor.
"...Huh?"
Shartia stared at the tear that had fallen on the floor, standing blankly in her spot.
"...This is."
Because she didn't know why she was crying.
Nothing bad had happened.
In fact, she couldn't be happier that the Crown Prince's position was wavering.
But the tears running down her cheeks showed no signs of stopping, falling as if she were reminiscing about an old memory.
"...Haa, why am I like this?"
Shartia wiped her tears with the back of her hand and swallowed. I shouldn't be like this where people can pass by.
"...I have to get a grip."
Even if her chest hurt.
Even if her heart felt like it was being squeezed and torn apart by someone, she chided herself to stop, but the tears, which wouldn't easily subside, continued to fall repeatedly.
Overwhelmed by the recurring sadness, Shartia clutched her aching chest and exhaled. She wondered why on earth she was suddenly feeling this way.
It felt like her heart was being squeezed.
A feeling of tightness in her chest, unable to speak.
Just as someone had once said the hardest sadness in life is when unspoken pain remains, this inexplicable sorrow was running rampant, giving her no time to think.
This feeling, right now.
"Hic..."
She thought it was that kind of feeling.
As her numbly aching chest gradually began to calm down, Shartia took a deep breath and quieted her trembling heart.
And then, at the text in the blue window that appeared before her eyes, she felt as if her heart had just stopped.
-Quest Completed.
It's just one.
I've only just found one, and yet I feel this way.
Shartia felt as if she wouldn't be able to handle this trial that had come upon her for no reason.
It's nothing.
"The problem is I have too many tears..."
She thought she could just ignore it.
Otherwise.
"..."
Because it felt like her emotions would sink, just like the tears that fell to the floor. Shartia tried hard to turn away from this feeling and walked towards her office.
To write a letter to someone.
At the same time.
"Ricardo."
"Yes."
"My nose is stuffy."
"Try blowing it."
"Sniffle!"
"...You should cover your nose with a handkerchief when you blow it."
The young lady, with snot dangling from her nose, and I were sitting on a bench with a good view of the setting sun and the beautiful sea.
"What a magnificent view."
"Yup."
The young lady, who had caught a cold from playing so hard in the sea, let her snot run long and then blew her nose with a sniffle.
"Hieeeek?"
The young lady's snot, flying on the wind.
"..."
In a typical work of fiction, a lover's handkerchief or the feather of a dove symbolizing peace might fly away poetically, but unfortunately, the young lady next to me was one with whom you couldn't dream of such a romantic picture, so it ended up being a pity.
Watching the snot drop to the ground with a splat, I wiped the young lady's nose with a handkerchief and said.
"Blow your nose."
"Eeeeeek...!"
"Not 'Eeeeeek,' 'Sniffle'."
"Hweeeeeeeng!!!"
"That's right."
The young lady wiped her nose with a refreshed expression.
"Should I blow your nose too, Ricardo?"
"No."
"Oh..."
A cool breeze was blowing.
The sunset shone beautifully, as if bringing a close to our busy schedule, signaling the end of our time in the West.
Putting the snot-stained handkerchief in my inner pocket, I looked at the sunset and said to the young lady.
"I guess our sea-gazing is over now."
"Yup."
"Did you have fun?"
"Yup. The sea was pretty, and it was fun playing with Dad. And I'm glad I got a new pet. What about you, Ricardo?"
"I was happy to see you in your swimsuit, my lady."
"Hieeeeeeek?!"
"I can't lie, after all."
"I am pretty amazing."
The young lady nodded, expressing her thoughts on the honest review. She was, after all, someone who had built a wall against humility.
A lot of things happened.
We picked a fight with the Crown Prince.
We caught the demonic beast of the West.
And I saw the young lady's swimsuit.
I couldn't predict what changes this would bring to the novel, but whatever happened, it was fun, so I guess that's all that matters.
"Hwee... blow it again."
"Yes."
It seemed things would change for the better.
The demonic beast that was supposed to fall into the hands of the heretics fell into mine instead, and Wolfgang's power was weakened by this incident.
In the original story, he pretended to join hands with the Crown Prince only to betray him, coveting the throne and plotting a rebellion, but now he probably doesn't have the strength for that.
From the moment Mikhail obtained the holy sword, I no longer had to worry about the main characters, who were as fragile as sunfish, dying an unnatural death.
The martial prowess of the main characters from the novel was also following the original, so I thought the time to worry about the flow of the story had passed. Of course, if there's anything to take, I'll scrape it all up without hesitation.
If there was one concern, it would be the Crown Prince.
"Nom."
"My lady. You shouldn't eat chocolate in secret."
"Heek? How did you know?"
Because the Crown Prince, who would already be distressed at this point, was now even more troubled than in the original.
Wolfgang, whose power he tried to build up, was sinking like crazy, so he must be panicking. The situation where Wolfgang, who had been powerful at least in the West, was instead losing his influence to the Bellian family would not be a welcome development for him.
That's why I told him not to join hands with Wolfgang.
'Idiot...'
The slave traders, too. He'll have to deal with the damage from the period the canal was frozen, so perhaps there's nothing left for him but to fall further.
'...I should probably tell him soon.'
I should also probably talk about Mikhail and his mother's problem before it's too late... It might be good to subtly mention who his real father is, too.
In any case, just as a satisfied smile formed on my face at the successful conclusion of our schedule in the West.
"Ricardo."
The young lady, who was secretly eating chocolate, spoke to me.
"Yes."
The young lady blankly stared at the sea and crunched on her chocolate.
"Ricardo..."
"Yes."
"If I hadn't picked you up from the slums, what would you be doing?"
"Why do you suddenly ask something like that?"
"Just curious."
What brought her to bring up such a future-oriented topic? Just as I wanted to applaud her for asking a more dignified question than I'd expected, the young lady answered with a resolute expression.
"You'd probably be begging."
"...?"
"By now, Ricardo would have become the king of beggars."
"...That's a bit much."
"Since you're good at cooking, you might have opened a restaurant."
"That's possible."
The young lady nodded and said.
"Then I would have become a regular at Ricardo's restaurant."
"I suppose so?"
"Maybe you could even get a job in our family. I might take a liking to you and pull some strings."
"I would have been on the path to success, then."
"Yup, that's right. Because it's good to be on my good side."
A restaurant... That might have happened. If my life as a transmigrator hadn't worked out, I planned to open a restaurant with the money I begged for.
I smiled slightly and spoke to the young lady playfully.
"But, you'd need a lot of money to hire me. Just look at the 'Friend of the Forest', personal chefs don't change jobs."
"Hmm..."
"At the very least, I think I'd need ten thousand gold a month to work as a personal chef..."
"Hieeeeeeek?! Are you a thief, Ricardo?"
"Am I not that capable?"
"Eeeeeek..."
I burst out laughing at the young lady's reaction, taking my meaningless joke seriously. Because I was doing better than the me in my fantasy who owned a restaurant.
The young lady, who was biting her lip and contemplating seriously, stared at me and then squeezed out a difficult answer.
"Being able to see my face all the time is enough... so I don't have to pay you much."
"...Isn't that a bit harsh?"
"It's fine because I'm pretty."
"Puhaha!!! That's true, too."
After letting out a big laugh at the young lady's bold words, I looked at the setting sun and placed my hand on her head.
"Eek?!"
"Still, I think I'm happiest living as your butler, my lady. Who else could place a hand on a duchess's head? A personal chef who only holds a frying pan couldn't even dream of it."
"..."
"Besides, I get to watch over the most entertaining and beautiful person in the world from her side. The benefits are incomparably good."
"Uuuuh..."
The young lady fidgeted with her fingers and lowered her head.
"..."
Just as I started to wonder about the young lady's reaction, as she didn't seem very happy, she spoke to me in a dejected voice. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂
"Because you're with me... it's hard for you, Ricardo."
"...Pardon?"
"You get hurt... you can't go out and have fun... and you don't have any friends."
"I have lots of friends."
"Name ten."
"..."
"...Uuuuh..."
So that's why she brought this up.
I didn't know because she's the type who doesn't show it on the outside. The thought that she usually thinks about such things.
I thought she was a young lady who lived without a care in the world, but to think she could say something like this. A sense of pride welled up inside me.
I looked at the sea, which seemed to be embracing the sun, and said.
"I'm happy because I can see your smile by your side. There's nothing more entertaining than that."
"...Uuuuh."
"If you feel really sorry, then please eat your bell peppers more often."
"I don't want to..."
"Then broccoli."
"I'll die if I eat that."
"Puhahahahat!"
The young lady and I talked for a long time while looking at the sea.
And then.
YVlkZG9rK2RzZkF4NGpaUUhCUEhwUW4rZlVqdGlEM1VXOS9qaGZKZ1psQUs3QnFLL0swTHJjdDVvT2k2Q2FTQg
The next day, I gave a bitter smile as I looked at a letter that had flown in from the capital.
[Leogard Shartia]
-When you come to the capital, stop by my office.
"Is this... work."
I desperately wanted to be unemployed.
