The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

[The perspective shifts.]

The Blue Window whispered in Olivia's ear with a voice devoid of emotion.

-At that time, you were unaware.

-You knew nothing about why your butler had left. You thought he had submitted his resignation because he was in a bad mood and believed he would return someday.

-You never once considered that Ricardo left your side because of the aftereffects of black magic. The you from that time…

-Was a foolish person.

-Both you and your butler.

The voice of the Blue Window contained no emotion. Despite the cold voice of a woman, it seemed laden with the sentiment of sorrow.

Strangely enough.

-You attended the Academy as before, still infatuated with Michail. You continued your foolish, unrequited love for his appearance.

-You would give Michail expensive gifts you never gave your butler, and without Ricardo's interference, you shamelessly wreaked havoc.

-Of course, as time passed, your interpersonal relationships deteriorated.

-The absence of your always present butler did not approach you as a danger.

-On the contrary, you were glad to be liberated. The presence of the butler who had always been your restraint was nothing but a hindrance to you.

-Even your parents didn't stop you, thinking ‘Who are you to tell me what to do?'

-Sometimes you missed him. When Michail would speak harshly to you, or when everyone turned their backs and spouted ill words, you missed the comforting presence of your butler.

-Your honest heart believed that Ricardo would return. You didn't think he would cast aside the time and friendship you shared, or your money.

-Contrary to your thoughts, Ricardo's absence only grew longer.

-And your life began to weigh heavily upon you.

-No one remained by your side. Although there had never been anyone to begin with, the absence of your butler made your loneliness intensify.

-You were precarious.

-Tempted to once again look into the black magic book.

-The perspective shifts.

-You will get a glimpse into the life that Ricardo led after he left you.

-After six months of Ricardo's resignation, you shall observe the life Ricardo led after he left you, Olivia.

-You…

The Blue Window said with a quivering voice.

For the first time, the voice of the Blue Window, not cold but laden with a deep-seated lump in the throat, spoke.

-You regret it.

*

-Cough!

As soon as she opened her eyes, what Olivia saw was the bright red blood oozing from Ricardo's mouth.

The violent cough scattered the red blood throughout the room, staining the white pillows and sheets with a spreading crimson hue.

-Cough… Cough..! Haa… Haa…

The coughing wouldn't stop.

Even after a long enough time that it should have subsided, the harsh breath felt like it was tearing his skin and did not cease.

Clutching his chest and gasping for breath, Ricardo's groans intensified, and his face began to contort in pain.

-Painkillers… Where are the painkillers?

What greeted Olivia's awoken state was Ricardo lying in an old bed.

The sight of Ricardo lying in a place more squalid than the small room of the mansion where he lived was pitifully reflected in Olivia's eyes.

‘You said you were living well…'

Olivia spoke to Ricardo with a trembling voice.

‘You said you'd live well with the money you saved…!'

Nowhere could be seen the Ricardo who had said he would open a shop in a quiet neighborhood on the frontier. Far from peace and barricaded from happiness, Ricardo's appearance was not what she had imagined.

‘What is this, you idiot…!'

Olivia looked at Ricardo with quivering eyes.

Even after hearing he couldn't overcome the black magic, Olivia's heart had been steadfast.

She wavered slightly, but she believed Ricardo would overcome it. She thought that after six months, he would triumphantly prevail.

But now, the sight of him before her contradicted her beliefs.

A fierce wind blew through Olivia's heart. The fleeting hope, the faith she had held, now undulated like rolling waves.

-Ricardo did not overcome the black magic.

The Blue Window reminded her once more of her mistake.

‘I know. I know that too.'

Her heart burned down to the voice of the woman speaking dispassionately.

-Originally, the aftereffects of black magic you should have experienced were wholly taken on by Ricardo. He used his ability called ‘Breakthrough' to absorb them from you, hoping you'd suffer less.

‘But Ricardo is healthy now…'

The Blue Window countered Olivia's murmurs with a cold voice as if asking back.

-It's no different.

-If Ricardo hadn't been fortunate back then, the state of Ricardo you're seeing now would have become reality.

-Should I say he was unlucky?

-Ricardo's life is now less than four months remaining.

-That's why Ricardo presented his resignation to you as a farewell.

The Blue Window narrated calmly.

He was lucky.

The dispassionate voice of the Blue Window pierced Olivia's heart with an awl, and she could only stare blankly at Ricardo.

‘Don't talk nonsense… Ricardo is strong! He wouldn't lose to something like this…"

Olivia spat out her frustration at the Blue Window once again. She challenged the Blue Window with anger, insisting that Ricardo was not weak.

But the Blue Window, as always, ignored her.

Four months.

That was the time Ricardo had left.

Even if it was a fantasy, a space that could not happen in reality, the voice of the Blue Window announcing his time limit sounded more terrifying to Olivia than the cry of a deer in the middle of the night.

‘It won't happen.'

Olivia shook her head.

She wanted to deny it.

But the face of Ricardo flashed through her mind like a zoetrope.

Never before, in any vision, had she seen a future where Ricardo died.

She had seen visions of her mourning her death and getting hurt. But she had never seen a vision where she would never see his face again.

Always smiling brightly.

Always by her side, Ricardo's bright smile never left her mind.

Even though she could see him again after the illusion ended.

Olivia was afraid.

Her mind was flooded with the negative thought ‘you'll never see him again,' and she felt tears welling up.

Just a world within an illusion, but the words ‘you'll never see Ricardo again' terrorized Olivia more than any other.

The sight of Ricardo lying in bed began to appear in her gradually clearing eyes.

The figure of Ricardo in bed looked emaciated.

Dark circles filled his eyes, and his breathing was rough. Although the muscles that filled his body remained, they lacked their former grandeur.

Ricardo, sitting on the bed, looked tiredly at the ceiling.

Struggling to breathe with a heaving chest, Ricardo's eyelids fluttered as if a terrible pain had struck.

Olivia reached out to him with trembling hands.

[You are the observer.]

Regrettably, the Blue Window did not allow her touch.

-Haa… Haa… Now this medicine isn't effective either. Bought it so expensively… f*ck.

Ricardo threw the bottle of medicine under the bed and shook his head slowly.

His weary actions of swallowing the white pills weighed heavily on Olivia's heart.

-I wonder if she's doing well.

Swallowing the medicine, Ricardo furrowed his brows and uttered as if his words were drifting away.

Olivia could tell without much thought that the person he was worried about was herself.

-My body is like this; I can't even go see her.

Ricardo's body, which was slightly visible from under the blanket. Olivia gasped at the sight of his scars, not covered by a shirt.

-Even I think it looks disgusting.

The scars starting from Ricardo's right hand were more terrible than when she had peeked in the wardrobe.

His necrotic skin spread over his body, swallowing his torso and reaching his neck, suffocating his life.

The bedsheet, stained with the pus and blood flowing from his body, now filthy. Olivia could not lift her head.

‘Is it because of me that he's like this?'

While staring blankly at Ricardo.

Ricardo, who had spilled water into a cup, began to move to get out of bed.

Leaning on the bed.

He let out a pained sigh as he slowly reached for the wooden wheelchair next to the bed.

Without cushions.

Just a plain wooden wheelchair. Olivia reached out with trembling steps to push the wheelchair for him, but…

[You are the observer.]

The cold Blue Window, as always, did not permit her meager touch.

-One. Two. Three…! Heave-ho.

-Thud!

-Haha…

Ricardo was laughing.

His unresponsive legs gazed at numbly and even as he sighed deeply towards the ceiling, the smile did not leave his lips.

Olivia's face contorted at his laughter.

‘You idiot…'

Because he looked so foolish, alone in the lonely room, unlike herself who had always been by his side.

The sight of Ricardo alone was so pitiful.

At the same time, a feeling of guilt surfaced.

While her eyes were cloaked in sorrow, Ricardo's low voice pierced Olivia's heart coldly.

-Well, this is fortunate, too. At least I don't have to show this state to anyone.

Without lamenting his plight, just.

-But… I do miss her. Miss the young lady.

He just kept smiling.

-I'm fortunate to be ill.

-The perspective shifts.

[〈The Third Side Story〉 ‘The Sad Love Story of a Villainess', Chapter Two, ‘I Am Ashamed of You', begins.]

-In this story, Yuria will come to hate you.