The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

Chapter 39: The Woman Who Sees His Secret (2)

[You have 10 minutes before viewing begins.]

It's a familiar room.

Not her own room, adorned with photos of Michail on all walls, but a room filled with plain furniture.

A year ago. It used to be Ricardo's room.

Olivia, awakening on the cold floor, let out a sigh.

"I really came…"

Back again to the past.

At first, she thought she was going mad, but now she was coming to accept it. That she had come to the past.

She didn't know whether it was punishment for living badly or a godsend telling her to live kindly from now on, but acceptance came before denial.

Her hands trembled. The scene she was about to witness played in her head, causing her hands to sweat.

Olivia wiped the sweat off her hands on her dress.

‘I want to run away.'

With eyes full of worry, she looked down at her feet.

Clean and tidy legs.

Olivia wiggled her toes.

"…"

They were not welcome.

Had this been real, she would've jumped about joyfully, just like she did the first time she arrived, bouncing on the bed. But now, the movement of her legs felt unwelcome.

She wished they'd just stay still.

If she closed her eyes and turned over, everything would be over. But…

"I have to see it. I can't just keep running away."

It was her choice.

A bold decision made because she didn’t want to hide and pretend not to know. Watching her restless toes, Olivia mustered the courage and slowly got up.

The current time was 4:50 in the morning.

Ricardo was lying in bed, breathing evenly in his sky-blue pajamas adorned with teddy bear patterns, the butler asleep.

At the sight of the peacefully sleeping Ricardo, Olivia smiled wistfully.

"Sleep well."

Ricardo, sleeping so peacefully it felt wrong to wake him, Olivia reached out her hand to stroke his red hair.

[You are viewing from the observer's perspective. You cannot interfere with the subject.]

"Right."

Back then and even now, it was the same blue barrier preventing her from touching anything.

"Haa…"

Olivia sighed deeply.

The quiet mansion.

On this day, it was just Ricardo and I in the mansion.

The servants had all resigned.

I had driven them away.

Amidst the silence enveloping the room, Olivia looked up at the upper floors.

At this time, her past self was probably deploying black magic. Laughing like a madman while casting the spell.

And then…

Within 10 more minutes, she would realize it had failed.

Olivia took a deep breath.

Her hand kept trembling from tension.

Still, there were 10 minutes left.

If she just sat there, she would sink even further into despair, so Olivia stood up and surveyed the butler's room.

"It’s been really long. That closet, the table and all…"

The butler's room was ordinary.

Not her current room, a repurposed dress warehouse, but the second best room in the mansion, used by the butler.

The butler's room, past or present, remained the same.

Still clean.

Well-organized.

And the sweet fragrance of lilacs.

Typical of Ricardo. The room was neat.

During the period when she was expelled from the Royal Academy and was distant from Ricardo, she had not visited his room, and she discovered this was how he'd arranged it.

The sight of Ricardo's room she saw for the first time in a long while brought back memories.

She touched the golden butler insignia he'd shown off when he became a real butler and brushed a finger over the uniform from the Academy of old memories.

Caught in the nostalgia, Olivia found herself unable to step away.

Especially, that table.

On the table in the center of the room was a chocolate cake from the dessert shop she frequented.

An untouched chocolate cake.

Just a fork placed beside it, waiting for its owner.

Olivia’s steps halted.

It seemed like he had prepared it, expecting me to come to the room after cooling off….

Olivia clenched her fist.

"Idiot."

Olivia sat down next to the peacefully sleeping Ricardo. She lifted the blanket covering him to check, driven by a faint hope.

Hoping for a bad thought.

If his hand had been injured since then, perhaps the past she would soon witness would feel a little less painful. Despite the wicked thought, she wanted to relieve some of the guilt built up inside her.

Otherwise, she truly felt she couldn’t bear to look at Ricardo’s face.

Ricardo's injuries seemed so painful, and just thinking about them made it hard to breathe.

Swoosh. Olivia lifted the blanket.

Slowly, Ricardo's body came into Olivia’s view.

A body without scars.

And clean arms.

Olivia's strength left her, and she bowed her head.

It was too clean.

Like an unmarked canvas.

"What do I do, seriously?"

She felt like she was going crazy.

Someone should come and tell her it’s just a dream.

That she is, in fact, having a nightmare.

That she should wake up quickly.

However, her wildly beating heart was telling her it was not a dream.

Olivia murmured.

"Is it because of me?"

As she stroked Ricardo’s head.

"…then what do I do?"

Tick tock, as time went by, Olivia's heartbeat thumped fiercely. As the minute hand moved steadily toward the appointed time, Olivia’s heart raced even more.

The time was 4:59.

The moment had come.

[The viewing begins.]

***

Tick.

-Yawn… Did I sleep… well?

Shaking off his drowsiness with a yawn, Ricardo, who had just woken up, was looking for the glass of water on his nightstand. Then, with trembling eyes, he muttered to himself.

-What is this?

Ricardo, looking into thin air, tilted his head.

-Uh…?

Ricardo cursed out loud.

-Damn it!

Bang. Without hesitation, Ricardo leaped out of bed, flung the door open, and despite everything he proclaimed about a butler’s decorum, he dashed up to the second floor.

-Damn…damn…!

The butler hurried up the stairs, swearing and breathless.

Olivia gasped for breath as she followed Ricardo. Her constitution was rather poor, and she wasn’t used to walking. Ricardo quickly disappeared from her view.

*OLIVIA POV*

"Huff..puff…! Wait for me.."

-Thud, bang..!

The sound of someone tumbling down the stairs echoed.

Thump… Thud—the sound of Ricardo rolling down the stairs. A dull sound like breaking bones was heard, but Ricardo bit down hard on his teeth and grabbed the railing to pull himself up.

Even as he fell, Ricardo, looking up at the second floor, hurried towards a single door, his eyes shaking.

-Please. Please… please, Miss!

He couldn’t catch up.

Not emotionally.

Not physically.

Ricardo was rushing like a child who had just heard fatal news about his parents.

I clutched my heart, which felt like it was about to burst, and chased after Ricardo.

Ricardo stood in front of the door, panting for breath.

[No Entry.]

[Especially. Ricardo, no knocking.]

-Sigh…

Ricardo let out a deep sigh and knocked on the door.

-Miss. It’s Ricardo.

There was no answer.

Of course.

The room was enchanted with a silence spell.

No sound from inside the room could escape, and no sound from outside could come in.

Ricardo banged on the door violently.

-Miss.

There was no answer.

Ricardo pounded on the door with his fist.

Desperate for a response, Ricardo’s breath quickened, and he ground his teeth at the silence.

-I’ll just open it.

The door creaked open.

Frozen in time, Ricardo stood still in front of the now-opened door, unable to enter or scream; he just stood trembling, his complexion pale, stuttering.

-M.. Miss?

Ricardo spoke with a shaky voice.

While watching the black smoke rising in the room.

With trembling eyes, he called for her past self.

I held my nose.

A strange odor filled the air.

The smell of a decaying corpse.

My stomach churned.

Ricardo spoke again.

-Olivia, Miss?

His hand shaking, Ricardo looked beyond the door with a voice about to cry, calling out her own name.

I squeezed past Ricardo and peered into the room.

And just like Ricardo, my body stiffened in shock.

-Oh…?

The floor was charred black.

White ash fluttered in the air.

The moonlight leaking through the curtains pathetically illuminated a woman crouching in the center of the room.

Her entire body was stained black, blood flowing from various parts.

It was herself.

The villainess from a year ago.

Her figure was so mangled it was unrecognizable as a noble lady.

Her body had turned black.

A vile stench wafted around her.

‘Is that me?'

Tears streaked her face.

Blood flowed from her lips that she had bitten to endure the pain.

The past me, moaning in pain and curled up, when she saw Ricardo at the door, spoke with a voice barely alive.

She reached out her hand and wheezed.

-It’s Michail.

-I’m sorry… you must be busy.

-But Michail.. I’m in so much pain…

-I’m really, really in pain… it really hurts…

Ricardo’s expression turned cold.

From the moment the name Michail left my lips, his face hardened, and he began striding into the room.

Looking at myself collapsed on the floor, I thought.

‘Crazy woman.'

Really..

‘She’s gone mad.'

What is love, anyway?

What’s so important about love?

Why is she calling out Michail’s name in this situation?

And then.

Ricardo, why do you have that look on your face?

Biting my lip hard, I watched Ricardo, who was quickly approaching, and clenched my fist.

Ricardo spoke to the me lying on the floor.

-Yes…

In a gentler voice than ever.

-It’s Michail.

He deceived himself into being Michail while cradling the fallen me.

Ricardo knew how much he hated Michail. He hated being with him and even detested saying his name.

Because of Michail, I was ruined.

I knew Ricardo well.

I knew how much Ricardo hated Michail.

Yet, he held me tight with a relieved expression and lied, calling himself Michail.

-Huh… No… it’s not Michail…

My heart ached painfully.

Ricardo cradled me in his arms and gently patted my back.

The past me clung to Ricardo and smiled brightly, saying foolishly.

-It’s Michail…

-It’s really Michail…

Ricardo, embracing the broken me, spoke.

-Yes… Did I keep you waiting too long?

With careful handling, as if touching a fragile piece of glass art, he whispered.

-I’ll take your pain away now, Miss.

Ricardo’s nightwear began to stain red.