The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

Chapter 64: My Father Who Dislikes Me (3)

-Peek.

Olivia, lying on the bed and clutching Gomtang to her chest, sneakily glanced out the window.

Ricardo had gone to catch the thief.

The tall man standing confidently in front of the gate despite being a thief.

-Please leave.

-…

-Go away, I mean it!

The atmosphere flowing between the two men was far from ordinary.

It looked like they were having a serious conversation, but at her position on the second floor, Olivia could only make out their shouting.

Ricardo, clenching his fist and raising his voice at the thief, heaved a deep sigh, evidently angry, while the thief stood still, calmly observing Ricardo.

‘It looks interesting…'

Surmising they were engaged in an interesting narrative and feeling left out, Olivia murmured to herself, hugging the wriggling Gomtang in her arms.

‘I want to join in…'

Ricardo gestured insistently for the thief to leave. The thief, however, remained quiet and steadfast.

Pushing, resisting, the two of them went back and forth.

Unable to participate in the intriguing scene unfolding before her, Olivia grew restless.

"Yikes… can't see…"

She cautiously stuck her face out the window a little more.

‘It looks familiar.'

Brown hair.

A preference for black formal attire.

A sword with a golden hilt.

It was the attire she had often seen when she was active in social circles.

Someone who seemed to be always at the emperor's side…

Who could that be…

Olivia plunged into deep thought.

‘I can't remember…'

Ricardo and the man were having a conversation.

The stranger, wearing a stern expression, looked fixedly at Ricardo, who was running his hand through his hair with a forced laugh.

-Are you suggesting that I do that?

-…

-Is it something a man who's become a father should do?

-That’s none of your concern.

-…Hah.

Ricardo shook his head and let out a deep sigh.

It was a familiar expression.

Like the time back at the academy when Olivia had said she liked Michail, and he had made that face because they just couldn’t see eye to eye.

‘Please don't do that.'

-Why won’t you listen to me…

-Why stop me? I have the right to like someone too!

-I'm doing this because it might hurt the lady. That’s why.

-Shut up. Just shut up… You're just like everyone else. If you're not going to support me…

-Miss… Please. Just listen to me this time.

-I said be quiet!

The way Ricardo swept up his hair with exasperation was a habit he often resorted to when angry.

Unable to say cruel words,

Frustrated and unable to take it out,

Ricardo’s habit was his only outlet.

Olivia, who had often made Ricardo angry back at the academy, knew all too well about his habits.

The conversation seemed to be going poorly.

Ricardo was glaring at the man.

The man was giving Ricardo a menacing look.

An edgy aura began to emanate from the two of them.

Clutching her fists, Olivia felt an urge to intervene.

‘Oh, this isn’t right.'

Ricardo was talking about his arms being sore.

Olivia, who still worried about Ricardo, watched the confrontation with something akin to concern.

A brief moment passed.

-Swoosh…

Both men drew their swords.

Olivia shouted out the window.

"Gomtang, bite… Go bite him!"

-Goom…

Gomtang buried himself deeper into Olivia's embrace.

"Eek…"

Gomtang, too, was concerned for his own life.

***

Before me stood an insurmountable mountain.

Histania Rowen.

The strongest man in the empire was standing right before my eyes.

[Histania Rowen Lv. 100]

[Job: Commander of the Royal Knights]

[Affinity: -61]

[Preferred Conversation Topics: The honor of Histania/Talented swordsmen/Praise for his children/The safety of his children]

[Disliked Conversation Topics: Incompetent fathers/Untalented swordsmen/Evaluations about himself/Arrogant people/One-sided disregard]

The mere presence of Histania Rowen brought with it a strong aura of intimidation, and I couldn’t imagine winning against him.

Rowen turned towards me, standing awkwardly, and spoke.

"It's been a while."

His deep voice reached my ears.

The voice of a swordsman who had survived countless battles.

My hands were slick with cold sweat from nervousness.

Even without exchanging words, the sheer force emanating from him was overwhelming.

‘Why did he come here?'

I spoke to Rowen with a serious countenance.

"We don't accept peddlers."

It was a sort of survival instinct.

It was the essence of countless experiences of the butler who had driven away peddlers and beggars mistaking the manor for an abandoned house.

Being efficient in a crisis was a butler's merit; therefore, I stared back directly at Rowen's seemingly evicted face and said firmly,

"We are not buying electric heating pads, no Germanium bracelets, and we don't take out loans, so please leave."

I desperately pretended not to recognize the man before me.

Acknowledging him might disrupt my blissful life of idle leisure. Even if a powerful being capable of destroying the world were before me, any entity posing a threat to my blissful loafing existence was rated lower than Gomtang.

This was the survival instinct of one possessing another.

Rowen wore a look of confusion.

It was a rare sight to see the commander of the Empire's knights taken aback by a few mere words, but I withheld the budding laughter and reiterated with conviction,

"Please leave."

"Do you not know who I am?"

"I plan to get through this winter without heating, so just go away."

"…"

At the blunt rejection, Rowen clasped his throbbing forehead.

I shouted inside my own head.

‘Please just leave.'

‘Please just go away.'

‘Just go back home and wash your feet or something.'

With the world being such a dangerous place, why would he come to such a run-down location? Wishing he would just return from where he came, I spoke to Rowen. However, Rowen sighed deeply before responding to me.

"It's my first time being treated as a peddler."

Rowen found this treatment amusing.

In the original story, Rowen was a character who disliked introducing himself. His face was his business card, and his sword was the symbol of the Empire.

To not know him was to be a person not worth speaking to; he was that proud of a knight.

When Rowen and Yuria first met in the novel.

-Who is this person?

-I am from Histania…

-You just look like a peddler to me.

-…

After being dismissed as a simple peddler by Yuria, Rowen had left without looking back. It was only later that Michail introduced him as his master, clearing up the confusion. But it revealed Rowen's sensitivity to having his reputation disregarded.

His own name.

The influence of Histania.

Rowen's fame in the Empire was so great that he had such confidence.

‘Maybe it's like saying if you don't know me, you should go study some more.'

That's why I'm using all the knowledge from the original story to wish for Rowen to just go back.

Rowen let out a deep sigh.

"I am Histania Rowen."

Apparently, my tactics haven't worked.

"The Knight Commander of the Empire. The man known as the Empire's Sword."

"…"

"I have something to say to you."

Rowen spoke, looking at me with a face suggesting that there was an indispensable response that I had to hear. I felt overwhelmingly trapped.

I helplessly bowed my head politely, maintaining decorum.

"I am Ricardo, the butler to Lady Desmond Olivia."

As I bowed slowly, greeting him, I raised my eyes to meet Rowen's face and spoke.

"It is an honor to meet the Empire's Sword. May I ask your forgiveness for the earlier rudeness?"

I showed Rowen a clumsy attempt at courtesy.

An implied message in my words that it was his fault for not informing us of his visit. I said,

"We would not have shown you such disgrace had you informed us beforehand. My apologies."

"It's fine."

Rowen dismissed my mistakes with a wave of his hand.

In order to lead Rowen into the mansion, I spoke politely, ‘While it may be a humble abode, please do come in.' Rowen lightly waved it off, refusing to enter. ‘I will just state my business and leave. No need to enter.'

That was a relief.

The mansion was a mess because we'd neglected cleaning it. Moreover, if Olivia were to see Rowen, she would undoubtedly call him a ‘brainless oaf who only thinks about swords.' To protect her reputation, it was wise of Rowen to make such a decision. I thanked him internally.

-Clomp.

Rowen looked me over.

From my shoes.

To the sword at my waist.

To my red hair.

After examining me thoroughly, he spoke.

"Do you know of Histania Hanna?"

"Yes, she's a friend I've made recently."

"Friend…"

"Yes."

Rowen nodded slightly and began to get to the main point.

"I've heard about you from Malik. They say you're a brave and talented swordsman."

"That's an overstatement."

A thankful patron indeed.

Though I didn't particularly enjoy flattery nor the praise coming from an unwelcome mouth, it didn't feel bad to be commended.

After all, it was praise from the Empire's Sword.

The last time Malik had visited the mansion, he entrusted me with a request.

-Hey, Ricardo.

-Yes?

-May I ask you a favor…?

A request to help Hanna and her father reconcile.

Malik thought that since he himself had reconciled with help from me, perhaps with my help, Hanna might open her heart to her father. With that in mind, Malik cautiously made his request, but…

-I refuse.

I rejected Malik's plea without hesitation.

Personally, I believe it's wrong for outsiders to meddle in family matters.

Knowing that indifference could lead to a future where Hanna dies, I was even less inclined to get involved.

I didn’t want to make the cruel suggestion that she open her heart to a father who had tormented her all her life.

Frankly, even if I told Hanna to get along with her father, it didn't seem likely that she would listen anyway.

What mattered most was that it wasn't Hanna's own will to do so.

Hence, I turned down Malik's request.

I did not want to interfere with someone else's family matters.

I have always believed that getting involved in other people's family issues is something that should be avoided at all costs.

I waited with a chill in my gaze for the words to come out of Rowen's mouth.

"I came here with a favor to ask."

"I thought you could handle it, since you're the one who handed Hanna the sword."

A sense of foreboding came over me.

"Find a way to make Hanna release her sword… or rather, make her give up the sword altogether."

I clenched my fist.

"Is that something a father should say?"

"You're overstepping."

"I don't understand rank because I'm an orphan."

A blue aura began to explosively flow from Rowen's body.

A powerful aura that made my skin tingle.

Contrary to him, I started to release a faint aura of my own. Though I couldn’t win against him, I was cunningly preparing to bite at his nape. I gathered aura at my fingertips.

Even bears feel pain from a sting.

As Rowen drew his sword.

I drew mine as well.

As our auras converged at the tips of our swords.

A booming voice came from the second floor.

"Guards! You tax thieves who only eat and play! There's a thief here!!!"

Olivia was lifting Gomtang up, hiding her face.

"Do…Don't fight!"

Olivia closed her eyes and trembled.

She must be really worried about me.

"Phew! Understood."

I grinned slightly and sheathed my sword. Then, I turned to Rowen, who looked baffled, and spoke,

"Please leave. It seems that you and Miss Hanna aren't meant to get along after all."

I heard Rowen muttering ‘Impudent wretch' behind me, but I dismissed it lightly and made my way back up to the mansion.