The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

Chapter 72: Paper Crane

A month had passed since Hanna left the mansion.

Hanna had adapted to life at the Royal Academy.

She even sent a letter saying she would not return to her family anymore.

-December's already here.

It feels like just yesterday when I met the butler, yet now the end of the year is approaching.

The weather has gotten chillier, have you taken out your winter clothes? I'm all right because I have a uniform. It's warmer than I expected, made by the Royal Academy… maybe you know what they're like, haha…

I don't think I'll be able to visit this winter break. I have personal matters to attend to.

It's nothing dangerous, so don't worry!

I'll write again next time.

Thank you… always, butler.

Oh, and please say hello to the lady for me!

────────────

Hanna sent a heartfelt handwritten letter along with words that she might not be able to make it for this winter break.

"She has matters to attend to…"

I wasn’t sure what she was involved with, but it didn’t seem like she’d be returning to her family. She hadn’t mentioned them at all, not the last time nor now.

Besides.

Malik had spoken about it himself.

-I’m sorry for the disgraceful behavior.

-That’s alright. I also had an unpleasant affair…

-I’m glad you know.

-Do I look like such a shameless person to you?

-It appears so.

-…

-Anyway, I have spoken to father regarding the ownership of Tirbing. I sort of bluffed that you owe him a life debt from capturing Pascal, so you should be able to use it without issues moving forward. And as for Hanna… she's decided to leave the family.

-I see.

-I plan to leave the family register as it is. It's what father wants, as well as what I want. Who knows when the name Histania might become necessary.

-That’s something Miss Hanna will have to figure out for herself.

Malik had come to the mansion personally, about a week after Hanna departed for the academy.

With a purse full of gold coins.

He talked about Hanna.

He talked about the Tirbing that I had stolen.

It was a conversation full of substance.

Rowen must have received a great shock, he said. It wasn’t my problem, but the idea of Rowen, who had tormented Hanna, suffering brought me quite a bit of joy.

Before Malik left, he tossed a small word of caution my way.

-But why Tirbing, of all swords? There were plenty of good ones.

-It just seemed appealing to the touch.

-You're crazy. Just be careful, since Tirbing is a demonic sword.

He showed concern until the end, the chic patron. Although he excused it by saying he didn’t want to be bothered if the demonic sword took over my mind, I vaguely sensed his actual worry hidden underneath.

Indeed, my patron.

I must serve him as my brother for the rest of my life.

And so, the matters concerning Hanna and Tirbing drew to a close. All that remained for me now was to cheer for Hanna's wallet to grow fuller.

Thinking about the future patroness Hanna's finances, I unfolded a piece of stationery on the desk.

"I wish you the best on your journey ahead."

I said quietly to the lady seated at the desk.

"I wish you. The best. On. Your. Journey. Ahead."

The lady, holding a pen, followed along as she wrote, lifting her bored-looking head.

She frowned, dissatisfied with something, setting the pen down.

"Hey Ricardo. Your comment is too cliché. Don't you have something more exciting to say?"

The lady, who worked for the lawful reward of chocolates, cast a vigorous objection to her employer's opinion.

Peeved that the comment felt outdated, she asked if there wasn’t something a bit more refined.

Feeling a bit slighted, I provided a conservative response.

"It can't be helped. Sometimes the most cliché lines are the best after all."

"Boring. What if she falls asleep reading the letter?"

"Letters aren't meant to be read for entertainment."

"Boring."

The lady yawned long and stretched her tense shoulders. Seemed she was stiff from writing after a long hiatus. I cautiously approached the lady from behind and began to massage her shoulders.

"I’ll give you another chocolate if you do a good job."

"…Two."

"Yes. Two."

The lady giggled with a pleased smile.

"The content of the letter seems fun. Using words that kids these days don't say makes it sound kind of arrogant…"

"It's too late for changes."

"…Tch."

The lady had no talent for flattery.

She was writing a letter to be sent to Hanna, in my stead, due to my dreadful handwriting.

I had hoped that my handwriting might improve after my injury healed, but the dreadful penmanship remained consistently dreadful.

As terrible as ever, to the extent that it would require an ancient language translator as Malik put it.

After a brief moment of frantic writing as though she'd pierce the paper with her passion, the lady stretched her drained body and declared.

"I'm done."

"Oh…"

Neat handwriting caught my eye.

Font-like, uniform handwriting.

Her writing seemed to transcend talent and bordered on mechanical precision, and I couldn't help but be astounded.

"Do all nobles write like this?"

"No. I'm just special."

"Of course…!"

"It’s because Ricardo writes so terribly."

"…I'll keep it to one chocolate."

"Whyyyy!!"

The lady protested vehemently, seemingly consolidating her heinous bosom. I suspected there might be a reasonable correlation between the size of a bosom and the talent for writing.

Satisfied by the excellent view, I pulled two chocolates from my pocket and placed them on the desk.

"Here is your commission fee."

"Heh heh!"

Ignoring the disrespect in her gaze, the lady stowed the chocolates on the desk into her pocket.

Feeling good about another fine day's observation, I sat across from the lady with a pleased smile.

The weather had turned rather cold.

The fur jackets stashed in the wardrobe for a year were back in the light of day, as a frigid chill had enveloped the mansion.

The wood stove in the room was diligently performing its duty, filling the room with a warm heat.

I didn’t want to go outside.

Neither did the lady.

And Gomtang, with his thick fur, didn't either.

It seems that both animals and people alike are prone to laziness in the cold.

What could be done indoors?

Didn’t want to go out.

Didn’t want to idle away time doing nothing.

Wanted to do something. I’d already made bath additives recently, so that was out…

Maybe I could make figures out of straw.

For a moment, the intriguing idea of creating the Voodoo Dolls to torment those I didn't like with black magic crossed my mind, but it looked to be a somewhat complicated task for me, who lacked magical talent, and for the lady who had failed at black magic before.

‘Hmm…'

After about ten minutes of sitting blankly at the desk pondering,

I had a good idea and went to the mansion's storeroom to fetch a box of paper.

A box covered thickly in dust.

On the box, a pure depiction of the lady’s past drawings was illustrated.

A young lady standing on a red-haired boy's head. It was a drawing filled with the lady's subtle revenge after she had continually lost to me in our fistfights of the past.

Upon seeing the box, the lady's eyes went wide.

"Oh… an ancient relic!"

"It's from a decade ago."

"That’s what we call an ancient relic."

The lady coldly dismissed the nostalgia.

With a small smile, I opened the box.

Although it had a musty smell, the contents inside the box had retained their original form.

Toys from childhood playtimes.

An album filled with photos from the past.

And.

"I found it."

There were colored papers inside.

Olivia looked at me with curiosity in her eyes as I took out a sheet of paper from the box.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm planning to do some origami."

"That sounds boring."

The lady's interest had waned.

With a nostalgic smile towards the lady, I offered her a white piece of colored paper.

"It might be fun if you haven't done it in a while."

"I think it will be boring."

"If you make it interesting, you get a chocolate."

"It sounds fun!"

The lady quick in her calculations.

I placed a cup of tea on the desk, and both Olivia and I began folding the papers.

Olivia was creating some strange objects, while I, relying on memories from my past life, meticulously folded the paper.

A calm atmosphere was settling in.

Listening to the sound of firewood crackling, we started to concentrate on our tasks.

*

There was a famous anecdote from my previous life.

That if you fold a thousand cranes, a wish will come true…

With time on my hands now, I was enjoying an excellent unemployed life by folding paper cranes.

They could be used for decoration.

And a simple pastime for making modest wishes.

Seeing the shape of a crane come to life at my fingertips, Olivia showed an intrigued expression.

"What do you think?"

Olivia furrowed her brow.

"What did you fold?"

"It's a crane."

"…That's a crane?"

The paper crane was folded all wrinkly.

Maybe it was because I hadn't done it in a while, but the shape was a bit awkward to be called a crane.

Olivia then said seriously.

"It looks more like an orc."

"No, it's a crane."

"Firewood?"

"Please, don't disregard the soul of my art."

"Hmm… no matter how I look at it, it's not a crane."

Olivia trampled on the dream of the paper crane I had focused on for 30 minutes.

"It looks like gum that's been chewed and spit out."

"Gum can turn into a crane if you chew it enough."

"That's impossible."

"…"

It turned out I was as untalented in origami as I was in handwriting.

Olivia picked up a red piece of paper from the desk and began to concentrate with a furrowed brow.

"I'll show you."

She started folding the red paper with gusto.

"EEK…"

She folded it in half.

"EEEEK!!!"

Again in half.

"EEEEK!!!!!"

And folded it in half another time.

I asked Olivia, who was focusing on her task with furrowed brows, what on earth she was making.

"What are you creating?"

"A paper crane."

"…?"

"Well made, isn't it?"

"…..?"

Olivia was insisting that the rectangular piece of paper she had folded was a crane.

It was amusing.

The creation, which looked more like a fried wonton than a crane, made me question.

"Are you hungry?"

"…Yeah."

The lady was honest with her emotions.

"Is there anything you want for dinner tonight?"

"Meat."

"Denied."

"Then why did you ask?"

"….."

It was my fault for asking when I knew her answer would be meat.

A thousand cranes.

They say it's a warm tradition that if you fold a thousand, your first love will come true.

A nonsensical tale, really.

Quite childish.

I hadn't lived my life richly enough to believe in such superstitions. If I could make money and succeed in the time it took to fold a thousand cranes, that would be time far better spent than any number of paper cranes.

It could also be a means to appeal to a woman with heartfelt intent…

"Ricardo, you're folding them so diligently."

Olivia said, looking down at the desk as she focused on the origami, watching me.

I smiled towards Olivia and replied.

"It is said that if you fold a thousand cranes, your wish will come true."

"A wish?"

"Yes. If they're folded neatly and beautifully, it's said they'll fly to the sky and deliver your wish."

"Who grants it?"

"Uh… the Goddess?"

"…"

After pondering deeply, Olivia nodded and picked up a fresh red colored paper from the desk.

"A Goddess seems trustworthy."

Olivia was generous in her praise for the Goddess. The sacredness that could warm the irreverent heart of a lady who lacked faith was truly belonging to the empire's state religion.

As I placed the folded paper crane into a glass bottle, I asked Olivia.

"What wish would you like to make, lady?"

"A chocolate palace."

"That's a wish I can fulfill."

I resolved to earn a lot of money.

Olivia, too, placed her awkwardly folded paper crane into the glass bottle and asked.

"And you, Ricardo?"

"Me?"

Indeed.

What wish should I make?

With a foolish grin, I continued to fold the pristine white paper.

"It's a secret."

It was a wish too embarrassing to say aloud.