The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen - Chapter 149:

The lady’s mansion was peaceful today as well.

“What comes next… Oh, what was it again.”

Because of the lady’s complaints about being hungry, I found myself in the kitchen, wearing an apron and cooking.

“It’s confusing since I haven’t made it in a while.”

Tonight’s dinner menu was a bit special.

It was a dish not found in this world.

A dish that must be eaten on New Year’s.

Though it was long past New Year’s, I chose this menu to bring about a festive mood.

Hurrying around the kitchen, I poured oil into the frying pan and read the recipe in my notebook with my finger.

“Separate the egg whites and yolks, cut the rice cakes diagonally, and soak them…”

Cooking alone made me stumble a lot. Even though I was a professional butler who often cooked, making unfamiliar dishes was challenging.

Tonight’s dinner menu was rice cake soup.

A dish I ate every New Year in my previous life, and one of the lady’s favorite foods.

Of course, it had to contain more meat than rice cakes.

While making the rice cake soup, I turned off the stove and fell into thought.

Because of the ominous vision I had just seen.

Seeing the lady’s cute face calmed me down, but it was still hard to fully relax.

A vision of the lady falling into darkness.

The status window, which had only displayed stories in text, showed me a vision for the first time, making me feel the emotion of fear.

In the vision titled ‘The True Meaning of Vitality,’ I was dying.

The more I used Vitality, the shorter my lifespan grew, and my face lost its vitality.

Yet, I continued to use Vitality, overworking my body, seeing the lady gradually recover, and smiling foolishly.

Seeing myself from a third-person perspective was more novel than I expected.

Maybe iuy could exist, yet I understood that guy’s feelings.

I, too, smiled as I watched the lady regain her strength.

-Oh…!

-You finally took a step, my lady.

-Hmph! I can walk more!

-As expected of the world’s greatest villainess!

-Don’t insult me!

-It’s a compliment… No, sorry.

Watching the lady take steps with trembling legs made me happy. The troubled heart and the fear of Vitality disappeared when I saw the lady’s lively face.

On one hand, a bitter feeling washed over me, realizing I wouldn’t be able to see the lady’s face for long, but whenever I saw the lady wiggling her toes and smiling, those feelings disappeared as if they were never there.

Really. I think I’m a fool.

In the vision, I seemed to have a rough idea of what Vitality was. I could instinctively feel what it meant.

Looking out the window with empty eyes, or smiling blankly while watching the lady, I looked genuinely happy in the vision. Really.

As time passed, when the lady could walk on her own strength.

-Thud…!

I saw the scene I feared the most.

I saw the lady hugging me tightly, crying sadly, while I smiled contentedly.

-Ricardo…?

Up to this point, it was still fine.

The strong lady would get up soon. That was the lady I believed in and had seen so far, so I smiled bitterly as I watched the lady cry sadly.

‘At least you’re crying for me.’ I thought.

But the lady stayed by my side, not leaving for a long time.

Even after a day.

Even after two days.

She stood there, calling my name.

-…

On the third day, when the lady accepted my death, she began to erase my delusion that she would overcome it soon.

-Are you very tired?

-…

-Right? Ricardo.

When the lady’s tears stopped, I realized something was terribly wrong.

The lady’s tears.

The dark magic overflowing from her surpassed my imagination.

-Rumble…

It was a power I had never felt before.

Maybe even stronger than Rowen’s, no, even darker and more intense than the apostles introduced later in the novel, it was the powerful aura of black magic emanating from the lady.

-I will save you.

From the trembling voice of the lady, filled with the emotion of ‘grudge,’ I realized the ending I had in mind was not the best.

‘This is not a happy ending.’

I had no idea what would happen next, what the lady would do.

There was no such content in the novel, no information about the lady using black magic. That made it even scarier and more terrifying.

At the same time, I found a new goal.

I rereater heights.

Sword Master. Let’s start with that goal first.

I decided to aim higher and reach the distant heights. That would be the best I could do.

Why didn’t I realize it sooner? There was a better way.

Creating a way if there isn’t one is what a reincarnator does, making it possible is what a reincarnator does.

As hts from the past.

I am a greedy person.

Having more and obtaining the happiness I didn’t enjoy is my rightful claim, so I could say it.

Let’s run toward a happy ending.

Resolving this, I came back to my senses when I heard a familiar voice behind me.

“Ricardo! Meat! Meat! Meat!”

I smiled at the lady sitting in the dining room and thought to myself.

‘Happiness is right here, so where would I run to?’

I answered the lady in a light-hearted tone.

“Don’t you feel sorry for the cows that became dinner?”

“Ricardo. The world is inherently cruel.”

“That’s true. Then to teach you the importance of health, I’ll put only half the usual amount of meat.”

“You’re a devil!”

“A devil? Where else can you find a kind butler like me in the world?”

“Nowhere!”

The lady grumbled and picked up her fork.

Her violent stance, indicating she would throw the fork in her hand if I resisted any more, made me smile as I spoke.

“Meat is the main cause of obesity.”

“I’m not fat!”

“Liar.”

“Aargh…!!!”

The lady’s fork flew at me. Certainly, her proficiency had improved, and the speed and accuracy of her throw had gotten better than before, but it was still far from hitting me at that pitiful speed.

I dodged the fork by quickly turning my head.

-Zap.

With a small smile, I created a tiny static shock with my fingers and aimed it at the lady’s forehead.

“Ouch!”

The lady’s hair stood up from the static shock.

The startled lady looked at me and spoke.

“Eek…!”

“What’s wrong?”

“Something zapped me.”

“That’s a sign you’ve met your soulmate.”

“Really?”

“Do you believe that?”

“Don’t tease me!!!”

Teasing the lady is indeed the most fun thing in the world.

*

The lady was glaring at me with a pouty face.

“What was that earlier?”

“What do you mean?”

“That zap. Didn’t you do that, Ricardo?”

Handing me the empty rice cake soup bowl, the lady’s expression was inconsistent.

Seeing her ask about the magic after handing over the empty bowl was amusing. Usually, such questions should be asked seriously. Unable to hold back her curiosity, the lady asked me about the static shock she felt earlier.

I whistled and pretended not to know.

“It wasn’t me.”

“Liar.”

“How can you be so sure?”

The lady pressed down her frizzy hair and answered irritably.

“You laughed, Ricardo.”

“I didn’t laugh.”

“Don’t lie. I saw you.”

Maybe it’s true that those who’ve experienced magic know it best.

The villainess who had wielded violence through magic was more perceptive than I thought.

Perhaps because she was the author-approved person with the greatest talent, the lady, fuming and burning with academic enthusiasm, focused her gaze on the moving ladle and spoke to me.

I shook the ladle up and down and looked at the lady.

“Hmph…”

When I scooped a li the empty bowl than the magic.

I smiled slightly and spoke to the lady.

“It’s a secret.”

“Aargh…!”

I handed her a bowl full of meat.

“Good!”

Indeed, I like this kind of daily life.

So.

I need to become stronger.

End of Chapter