The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

Chapter 290

It’s an old story.

If you call it a scary story, that could be true, and if you call it a sad story, that could also be accepted.

Since it was a story I had never told anyone, I wasn’t confident I could tell it in an entertaining way, but I thought that with a little embellishment, it might turn into an interesting tale.

After all, it was a story you could hear anywhere.

With a small smile, I carefully parted my heavy, downturned lips.

A trivial story.

Hoping you’ll enjoy listening to it.

***

Once upon a time, there was a boy who was hated by everyone.

-A boy?

-Yes, a boy.

-Oh...

The boy’s name was 'Nameless.'

There was no one to give him a name.

And no parents to name him either.

-How pitiful.

-I think so too.

-Ricardo is less pitiful.

-...

-Because you have me.

-Pfft! That’s true.

The world was cruel to the boy. There was no one to play the role of parents who should have been there for him.

-Ricardo didn’t have anyone either.

-I also had an unhappy childhood.

-But you’re doing well now, aren’t you?

-That’s because I met you, Young Lady.

-Hehe! That’s right!

There was no one to protect him.

Living in a world without anyone to lean on was far from easy. Though it’s a common experience for orphans.

Still, the boy was happy.

Even though his life wasn’t abundant.

He had friends at the orphanage.

And teachers who, though they grumbled, took care of him. Since he didn’t know his parents’ faces, he didn’t have to feel the longing to see them.

-Oh...

The boy liked children.

And he liked the orphanage where he lived with them.

If he behaved well, he got food.

Sometimes he was scolded with a rod, but it wasn’t too much of a hardship.

Of course, the other children disliked the boy.

-Huh? Why did they dislike him?

-Because he was too mature compared to the other children.

-Huh?

-Hmm... How can I explain this? Ah! Let’s say, for example, Young Lady, you took a kid’s ice cream while passing by.

-Was it chocolate flavor?

-Does the flavor matter?

-Yes.

-Then let’s say it was chocolate flavor.

-Hehe... Sounds delicious.

'...'

-What do you think the kid whose ice cream was taken would do?

-They’d cry, right? I’ve taken enough to know.

-But what if that boy said, "Hmm... Isn’t that something only older people would do?" How would you feel?

-Creepy.

-That’s exactly what the boy was like.

-Ew.

No one welcomed the boy who was more mature than his peers. To the point where people said he could see ghosts. At that age, even I was scared of ghosts.

-He’s optimistic.

-That’s true.

-He’s dumb.

-He is dumb too.

Then one day.

On a day like today, when it was pouring rain, the boy went out to the street to beg.

-Huh? Why would he suddenly beg? Didn’t he live in an orphanage?

-The orphanage director embezzled a lot of money.

-Ugh... That’s awful.

-Isn’t it?

-Yeah.

-Well, there was no other choice if they wanted to survive. It wasn’t an orphanage built with good intentions anyway.

-Huh?

-It’s a fairy tale, so even if the story seems strange, just go with it. You’re not listening to it to have fun but to feel scared, right?

-That’s true.

-I’ll continue.

-Okay.

Slipping out to a place where there were no people, the boy, as always, took out a begging tin and began to beg. After all, harming someone to make money wasn’t something a young boy could do.

Watching passersby, he went 'Clang!' as he tapped the tin.

Seeing someone running with an umbrella, he tapped the tin again, 'Clang.'

The boy kept tapping the begging tin until someone noticed him.

As time passed, the rain grew heavier.

And even when the streets emptied as it got late, the boy’s begging continued.

That day was truly cold.

Night fell.

There were no people around.

The wind was blowing hard.

Shivering in his soaked clothes, the boy muttered that begging was hopeless that day and thought he’d at least earn enough for the kids’ snacks as he stayed up through the night.

About an hour passed like that.

"Hey!" came the sharp voice of a girl.

A girl slightly shorter than him.

Wearing a big hat that obscured her face, she seemed to be about three years younger than the boy.

The girl said this to the boy.

"Found you."

-Huh?

-I don’t know either. That’s just what the friend who told me this story said.

-Scary...

The story of the boy and the girl began that day.

Giving the begging girl a large sum of money, she begged him to talk to her.

-Talk to me.

-No. I need to earn money.

'Clang.'

-I gave you money, so now talk to me.

-Huh...? Are you rich?

-Heheh...

She enjoyed having trivial conversations.

How’s the weather today? Where do you live? Things like that. Even though the topics weren’t particularly interesting, the girl beamed with a radiant smile as if she found them amusing.

-I like talking to you.

-What’s there to like? I smell and I’m dirty.

-Heheh. I still like it.

-Was she pretty?

-Uh... Well, I’m not sure. I can’t really remember, but I think she was.

-Oh... But she couldn’t have been prettier than me.

I smiled faintly at the girl’s grumbling and continued the story.

-From now on, it’s going to be a scary story.

-Huh?

-Even I... or rather, even that friend didn’t know what was happening from this point on.

The encounters between the girl and the boy continued.

Even when the boy became a student and started attending school.

-It’s been a while, hasn’t it?

-Yeah, it has.

-Why haven’t you been coming around to beg lately?

-I have to go to school now. Besides, I’m starting to feel self-conscious…. Don’t you go to school?

-I can’t.

-Why not?

-Heheh... It’s a secret!

Even when the boy grew up and started working.

-Ta-da.

-What’s this? When did you get here?

-I came to see you.

-I have to go to work.

-Don’t say that. Come play with me. I’ll give you money.

-No, I’m busy.

-Hmph...

The girl always appeared in front of the boy at the spot where he used to beg, wearing a large hat and flashing a radiant smile.

-But do you know what’s strange?

-What is it?

No one else seemed to recognize the girl.

-Huh?

Even though the boy was clearly talking to the girl, people looked at him as if he were a lunatic talking to himself.

One day, a passerby called out to the boy and asked, “Why do you keep talking to yourself?”

-What?

-Apparently, even his friend was startled by this.

He thought it was absurd since he had been living well with the money the girl had given him. But to others, it looked different.

They said he had been talking to himself all along.

-Was she a ghost?

-Hmm... I don’t know. The money she gave him was real, after all.

-Ugh, that’s scary.

-Isn’t it?

Even so, the boy didn’t think badly of the girl. She hadn’t harmed him, and perhaps, thanks to her, he had been able to endure his difficult childhood a little more easily.

After learning the truth.

The boy met the girl again on the street.

As always, the girl greeted him with a bright, innocent smile, but the boy could no longer accept it as he used to.

What should I say?

Because it hurt.

He wondered how she had died or what circumstances had led her to wander like this.

Rather than feeling betrayed by the fact that she was a ghost, he felt a deep, poignant sadness. At least, that’s how it was back then.

-Huh...

So the boy asked the girl.

"...Are you okay?"

For the first time, the girl, who had always shown a smiling face, started to look distressed. The person recounting the story said they didn’t know why.

She simply looked at him with eyes full of sorrow.

-What? Did she like him?

-Who knows?

-That’s boring.

-Pfft...! Isn’t this level of fear just right if you’re planning to sleep alone?

-Ugh...! That’s not even scary!

-It might get a little scarier from here on out, though.

-Huh?

I finished the story with a gentle smile.

The girl said to the boy.

-Yeah. I’m okay.

-Really?

-Yeah.

And in a trembling voice, the girl asked.

-What about you?

-Me?

-Yeah, are you happy with your life now?

-Uh... That’s sudden.

-I’m just curious.

-I...

The girl never came to see the boy again.

She left behind only one last message.

-See you again. And I’m sorry.

*

"That’s it. The end!"

The Young Lady looked at me with a pouty expression.

"That was boring."

"...Hey, I worked hard to come up with that story."

"Boring is boring. It would’ve been better if a ghost had actually appeared…!"

-Rumble!

"Eek!!!"

The Young Lady jumped in fright at the sudden thunder and clung tightly to me. Then, with tear-filled eyes, she bit her lip and looked at me.

"Ricardo, make it stop."

"Make what stop?"

"The thunder."

"...?"

"Ugh..."

The Young Lady buried her head against my chest, trembling at the sound of the rain. Then, she lifted her head and asked me one more thing.

"But Ricardo... Aren’t you cold?"

"Pardon?"

"You didn’t bring a coat, did you?"

"Ah..."

I gave an awkward smile and shrugged.

"It's fine."

"You look cold."

"Oh, compared to the North, this is nothing."

"No, when you talk about ghosts, it makes you feel even colder. So you must be cold."

The Young Lady shivered, her shoulders trembling from the chill, then scolded me in a firm voice.

"Ricardo, you mustn’t catch a cold."

"Oh my. Are you worried about me?"

"If you get sick, you can’t cook for me."

"Well, that was short-lived."

I smiled and tousled the Young Lady's damp hair at her trivial reasoning.

"Eek! Stop it!"

"I can’t help it."

"Ughhh!"

The Young Lady's head swayed along with my playful hand, and with a pouty expression, she said to me,

"Just wait. I’ll turn you into Gomtang..."

-Gom?

"Never mind."

The Young Lady turned her gaze away from the yawning Gomtangi and stared intently at me, delivering her concise command.

"Take it off!"

"Pardon?"

"I said, take it off!"

"...?"

The Young Lady reached out toward me with a rough gesture.