The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

Today, the Desmond family estate is peaceful as ever.

Darbav, having returned home earlier than usual, stopped untying his scarf upon noticing an unfamiliar guest's arrival.

-A tense atmosphere prevailed.

Without any prior notice of a guest's visit, Darbav engaged in a silent standoff with the visitor, who confidently stood at the entrance, locking eyes with him.

The expressionless guest sat there, gazing at Darbav with a bland look.

"Father."

With that insolent greeting, the woman initiated the conversation. Darbav responded with a stiff expression.

"Yes, Olivia."

"Mhm."

Without further words, the father and daughter continued to stare at each other, their intense gaze as if understanding each other's hearts without speaking.

Darbav, loosening his scarf, asked Olivia.

"Did you come to see your father?"

"No. Ricardo abandoned me."

"Is that so?"

"No. Ricardo is on vacation. I came for a visit."

"I see."

A smile formed on Darbav's lips.

He was delighted at the thought of spending time with his daughter after a long while.

But, what's that?

Darbav's gaze turned to the black furry mass sitting decorously beside Olivia. He didn't recall such a thing the last time she visited.

-A bear.

It didn’t seem like the kind of animal one would keep as a pet. There were too many issues with keeping such a beast as a pet. Its eating habits alone would be considerable, not to mention whether one could survive when it got hungry.

Pointing at the black furry mass beside Olivia, Darbav asked.

"Olivia, what's that?"

"A bear."

"I see it's a bear, but why is it beside you?"

"Emergency food."

The bluntly named Gomtangi, who had been looking at Darbav with a calm expression, turned its gaze towards Olivia.

-Bear?

Though unable to understand animal speech, the sound it made seemed like a fierce curse. Olivia, locking eyes with Gomtangi, put a finger to her lips, deep in thought.

-Bear.

"Hmm…"

-Groan.

"Hmm…"

Darbav, intrigued by his daughter's seemingly communicative interactions, inquired.

"Are you talking to it?"

"No. I have no idea what it’s saying."

"Then why respond?"

"It'd feel bad if ignored, right?"

"…"

Darbav thought his daughter was quite considerate. She even showed consideration for animals, despite being notoriously cold towards people.

He was proud of Olivia becoming an animal lover.

After finding a mutual understanding through a mysterious staring contest with Gomtangi, Olivia began stroking its head, adding to her previous statement.

"I need to correct that. It’s not emergency food; it’s medicinal."

-Bear?

"What."

-Groan?

"It can't be helped."

Gomtangi disliked Olivia.

And Darbav.

"Bears, huh…"

Suddenly, he wanted a bear.

"I want one too."

*

I pondered a lot.

About this episode.

Whether I should intervene as a possessor to smoothly conclude the episode or trust in the protagonists to resolve it with their own strength.

There were many complications with my direct involvement, and the penalty for failure was far too great for the protagonists to bear alone.

Yuria's corruption.

It was a plot twist not even hinted at in side stories. The very thought of Yuria, known for her purity, succumbing to corruption was unforeseen.

Moreover, Yuria's corruption implied a significant deviation from the novel's core narrative.

With such penalties at stake, leaving the fate of the world in the hands of such foolish protagonists was unthinkable. Sigh…

And the three rewards.

Vitality Information, Hidden Magic Talent, and a Magic Power stat increase of +100 were too alluring to ignore.

Especially the information about vitality.

The more I used vitality, the greater the toll on my body, and the ensuing pain and susceptibility to colds suggested a link to vitality usage.

Without knowing what vitality consumes as its cost, recklessly using it wasn't an option.

So far, I knew two things about vitality: it doesn't recover over time, and its reduction doesn't affect stats.

Beyond that, everything about vitality was unknown and had to be discerned through experience.

So, I had to search.

The immense penalty for failure and the rewarding success made ignoring the quest impossible.

And having made my decision, I stood before Yuria.

"Ricardo?"

Yuria's eyes widened in surprise. She hadn't expected me to be at a second-hand clothing store, let alone in the capital city.

I smiled gently at her astonishment.

"Yes, it's me. How have you been?"

"How did you get here?"

"I needed clothes," I explained, turning my pockets inside out to show Yuria.

"As you know, I'm not exactly flush with cash. When I heard about this event in the empire, I made my way here immediately."

Yuria looked at me dumbfounded. Surely, no one else would run to the empire just to buy a single article of clothing from Hamel.

I tapped Yuria's forehead lightly with a finger, still smiling at her bewildered gaze.

"What? Never seen a flower beggar before?"

"No, it's just that…"

"Let's hurry and choose. The good clothes are getting snapped up."

A slight blush appeared on Yuria's face.

[Yuria Lv. 32]

[Profession: Academy Student/Saintess Candidate]

[Affinity: 10]

[Topics she likes: Friends/Volunteer Work/Justice/Handsome Men/First Love/Life Saver/Father/Ricardo/Pieror is the First Love/Ball]

[Topics she dislikes: Olivia/Financial Struggles/Heretics/Her Own Ineptitude/(New!)Embarrassed…]

It was clear that Yuria felt embarrassed about selecting a dress from the swap meet.

The affinity window communicated this, and the novel had described Yuria's embarrassment when choosing a second-hand dress.

While other students selected new dresses, Yuria probably felt ridiculous for choosing a used one.

So, I approached Yuria with as much care as possible, aligning with her mood to kickstart the episode.

Digging deep into the pile of clothes, I rummaged around while fixing my gaze on the heap of garments, speaking in a composed voice to Yuria.

"Second-hand can be quite nice."

"Is that so?"

"With the cost of living being so brutal, I often bought and wore second-hand clothes when I attended the academy."

"The academy had uniforms…"

"I only wear butler uniforms."

"Oh…"

"There are many good finds if you look carefully."

I dove my hand into the pile again, searching for something specific.

‘Where did I put it… around here somewhere.'

As Yuria spent more time with me, her tense expression gradually softened.

While rummaging through the clothes, Yuria spoke up in a low voice.

"I thought you would dislike this kind of thing, Ricardo."

"Seems like you don't know me well. I go crazy for bargains."

"I thought you only wore expensive clothes because you're always with Olivia."

"Ah… certainly."

I nodded, affirming Yuria's perception.

Until our fall, the lady was like a generous tree, providing more than enough in terms of salary, clothing, and even food, exceeding what most nobles received.

Since Yuria wasn't wrong, I continued to sift through the clothes without reaction, while she slowly opened up about her concerns.

"My friends would hate this. I couldn't even suggest coming here with them."

"Indeed, sharing such a treasure trove can be awkward."

"Huh?"

"The best strategy here is to monopolize the good finds. Eliminating competition and securing the best clothes is the goal of this market."

After a few more dives into the pile,

I started to pull something with a soft texture towards me.

‘…Found it.'

Yuria's face was more flushed than usual.

"Doesn't it embarrass you, Ricardo? To wear clothes others have worn, to laugh and search for good ones? Aren't you ashamed?"

"Not at all."

Slowly drawing the soft fabric towards me, I beamed at Yuria and unfolded it.

"Isn't there something like this?"

"Uh…?"

A pure white dress.

The dress Yuria had been eyeing

Emerged from the pile of clothes, causing her to cover her mouth in surprise.

"No… why is this dress…"

"This is what they call luck."

Let me clarify, this dress was a new purchase with my own money.

It wasn’t as expensive as the lady's dresses and was an affordable luxury for a newly wealthy individual like myself.

So,

"Please accept it."

This was a gift for Yuria.

Wearing a known dress, even if her face changed, she could still be identified.

Just in case.

The affinity window could malfunction.

So, this was akin to a locator.

In this event, Yuria was set to lose her beauty temporarily due to Hans’s actions.

TL/N: Gomtang is now Gomtangi