The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

Chapter 88: Our Family (1)

In the bright morning of the capital.

Having woken up earlier than usual, I dressed in my familiar butler attire and headed to the kitchen.

-Tap tap tap.

As I descended the stairs, the sound of a chopping board being struck in the kitchen reached my ears, along with the humming of a woman and the sight of her cutting skillfully. I hurried my steps.

"Good morning, Lady Rosanna. But… why are you cooking?"

Tying an apron around her waist and cooking in the kitchen, Rosanna looked at me and chuckled.

"Why are you up so early? Go back to bed."

"I usually wake up at this time."

"Do you? You live diligently."

Rosanna spoke as she poured finely chopped shiitake mushrooms into the oiled frying pan.

"I wanted to cook for a change."

"Why don't you order the servants to do it? It must be tiring for you…"

"It’s home-cooked. Ricardo."

Rosanna smiled again as she refocused on cooking, and I quietly washed my hands to assist her.

I could guess what Rosanna was planning to make for breakfast from the aroma of the mushrooms and finely chopped meat. It seemed we were having risotto this morning. I found a spot in the kitchen and took charge of washing the rice.

"My, are you helping?"

"Actually, I was going to prepare breakfast myself. I didn't expect you to be up before me, Lady Rosanna."

"Lady Rosanna… Just call me mother-in-law comfortably."

"You jest too much."

Rosanna laughed in a way unique to nobility and playfully punched my shoulder. Responding to her affectionate jest, I gave a small smile back.

In the kitchen, where only the sounds of rice being washed and chopping could be heard, a moment of silence passed, and I cautiously opened my mouth.

"Lady Rosanna…"

"What is it?"

"Do you not resent us?"

Thud. The sound of Rosanna's chopping that had filled my ears suddenly stopped.

The question wasn't asked lightly. Although last night passed in a warm and cheerful manner, I believed that the parties involved might feel differently.

The position she should have enjoyed.

The incidents that occurred because of us.

It was not a problem that could be solved with a simple apology that she, who should have been a fierce beast in high society, was now having to watch her step.

My curiosity was more about her inner thoughts regarding matters that were deep and perhaps unforgivable.

Having no family of my own, I couldn't understand her decision.

When the atmosphere became so tense it could dry the mouth,

Rosanna opened her mouth with a somewhat heavy voice.

"I resent you."

"…"

"Of course, I resent you a lot."

"At that time, I didn't even think of seeing your faces. I wondered if the family would be ruined, and I even considered restarting my adventuring."

Rosanna resumed her chopping as she spoke.

"But, seeing your faces, those thoughts disappeared. Especially seeing Olivia unable to walk, how my heart ached."

Through Rosanna's bittersweet smile, focused on her cooking, I could read a word of tenderness.

Staring blankly, I spoke to her, my voice calm, yet filled with the question of whether this was all that needed to be said.

"Even so… we are…"

"Ricardo."

Rosanna gestured with a benevolent smile.

"Could you bring me some onions?"

Rosanna's action, hinting not to ask any further, made me bow my head. Although I've lived a life without a family, I felt I was beginning to understand something precious about it.

"Understood."

And as the cooking was about to be completed.

-Air raid warning!!!

-Imperial emergency!!!

The serene echoes spread smiles across our lips.

"Pfft!"

"Miss!! Sigh…"

It seemed that Rosanna and I were in sync.

*

"Hmmnya."

"Humnya."

The father and daughter, rubbing their sleepy eyes, were sitting at the dining table. They faced the mushroom risotto and hot soup, still rubbing their sleepy eyes.

I placed a knife and fork in front of Miss Olivia and Lord Darbav and greeted them with a bright smile.

"Good morning, Miss and Lord."

"…It's not morning."

Miss Olivia yawned while looking at the dawn-filled sky. To her, having woken up an hour earlier than usual, the world must have seemed like the middle of the night.

"The world has ended."

"No, it's just sleepiness."

Miss Olivia greeted sleepily, nodding off.

"Olivia!"

"Hmmnya!"

"Stop dozing off at the table. And you too!"

Lord Darbav was sleeping with his head on the dining table. Like father, like daughter, it seemed. The behaviors of the two were strikingly similar.

Rosanna sighed deeply and shook Darbav's cheek. It may have seemed rough, given that Darbav was the head of the family, but since it was appropriate, I said nothing and did the same, shaking the dozing Miss Olivia's cheek.

"Yeeeek! I'm tearing up!"

"Wake up, please."

"Ah…I get it. Yawn!"

Lord Darbav and Miss Olivia began their morning shaking their heads back and forth.

The two, with cheeks puffed from being shaken, took up their spoons and put the hot risotto into their mouths.

"Oh!"

"Tasty indeed."

Their eyes widened in surprise, and their pupils sparkled. Rosanna and I nodded with small smiles.

"I'm glad it's delicious."

"Must be tastier because Ricardo helped me on the side."

"No, it's because you have such good skills, Mother."

"Ho ho ho. Did you just say ‘Mother'? You sure are something."

"…"

Rosanna was playfully mischievous.

After a lively meal,

with full bellies, Miss Olivia and Lord Darbav sipped the prepared cocoa for dessert, opening their eyes seriously.

"Father."

"What is it?"

"What will you do today?"

"Play, of course."

Miss Olivia's eyes widened.

"…Is Father unemployed?"

Lord Darbav gave a childlike expression and nodded. His face bore a bittersweet smile, like a man who had lost eight billion.

"That's right. You made me unemployed, didn't you?"

"Sorry…"

"No, it's okay. I'm happy to have a break. I want to live like this forever."

Listening to their conversation, Rosanna sighed deeply and spoke to Darbav.

"Darling."

"Why are you calling me, the wife of an unemployed man?"

"You should have told me you took a vacation today."

"…That's no fun."

Lord Darbav, with a disappointed expression, turned to his daughter, who was welling up with guilt for making her father unemployed, and reassured her with a mix of denial and affection in his eyes.

"Father doesn't need to work because he is rich."

"But I can't work because I'm unemployed…"

"That's… enviable."

For a moment, Darbav inadvertently revealed his true feelings.

Contrary to what Darbav said, the Desmond family was quickly recovering from their collapse. Darbav's eldest son, Kyle, who inherited all of his father's talents, was expanding the family’s businesses at a remarkable pace, and Darbav himself was regaining influence within the empire.

Although it wasn't quite the golden age the Desmond family once enjoyed two years ago, financially, they had recovered as much as they had before.

That meant.

Busy Darbav had taken a day off just for his daughter.

The relieved Miss Olivia exhaled deeply and looked at Darbav with shining eyes.

"Father… you're not unemployed?"

"That's right. The world wouldn't leave me alone, being the greatest head the family has ever had."

"Oh…"

Olivia's respect for her father grew. Darbav smiled contentedly and said to his daughter.

"In that sense, how about we go out and have fun for a change? Your rich father wants to buy you the birthday present he couldn't give you before."

The hesitant Miss Olivia shook her head ambiguously and said.

"Ugh… No, I already promised Ricardo we'd go to the tteokbokki restaurant today."

Darbav's face turned to shock. Stunned by the thought of not being able to play with his daughter, the extreme doting father looked at me.

"Can't we go another time?"

"We can."

"Then today you'll have fun with me, Olivia."

Miss Olivia looked at me.

"Is it okay not to go?"

"We can go tomorrow."

"Oh…"

Miss Olivia nodded and then turned to Darbav with a bright smile.

"Father… let's go!"

Darbav quickly got ready to leave. He dressed in a fine uniform and strapped a black cane, typically carried by nobles, to his waist.

Holding onto the handle of the “Ferrari No.1,” Darbav looked excited. I could sense Darbav's anticipation from the twitching corners of his mouth.

Rosanna sighed at the sight.

"Can't you leave that cane behind?"

Seeing the perfect fashion ensemble marred only by the cane, Darbav firmly shook his head at Rosanna's sighing comment.

"I can't leave behind the symbol of nobility."

"Ha…"

Rosanna's sighs only grew more frequent.

Despite Rosanna's advice, Darbav looked at Olivia's wheelchair with bright eyes and asked.

"Say, Olivia."

"Huh?"

"Can I ride it too?"

"…No."

Darbav looked crestfallen.

"That's a shame."

***

And so, the next morning arrived.

The house staff began bustling around the mansion.

The servants busied themselves with cleaning and preparing grand meals, and Rosanna, with a tense expression, watched the mansion's front gate.

"Olivia."

"Yeah."

"Regardless of what your brother says, don't mind him."

"…"

Miss Olivia, who had come out to meet him at the front gate, couldn't hide her nervous expression.

Even Darbav, who always smiled at his daughter, was staring at the gate with a stern face.

"What to eat for dinner tonight."

It seemed I had thought wrong.

After a brief moment,

The firmly closed gate of the mansion swung open, revealing the face of a man with a cold demeanor.

With blue eyes,

sharp features, and dressed in a black uniform, the man’s cold impression was unmistakable.

The man with tired eyes, standing in front of the gate, sighed deeply upon seeing me and Miss Olivia.

"Ha…"

Desmond Kyle.

An outstanding magician of the empire.

The next head of the Desmond family.

And Olivia's brother.

Kyle stood before me and spoke with a grim voice.

"Leave right now."

Grinding his teeth and clenching his fist, Kyle's words caused Miss Olivia's pupils to tremble violently.

"Leave… our mansion right now, Olivia. Before you're thrown out."

Kyle's use of ‘our' did not include Olivia.

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