The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen-Chapter 323-324

-Clink.

At the sight of the pocket watch falling with the harsh sound of a metal chain, Elysia's pupils trembled violently.

"How..."

A worn-out pocket watch.

The watch she had given as a gift to commemorate her child's birthday. How could that man possess her leash?

I smiled, showing Elysia the watch hanging from my finger.

"We've met before, haven't we?"

Elysia's eyes quivered coldly. So much so that the air inside the cathedral seemed to turn frigid.

Her thoughts must be in a tangle.

How I came to possess her leash.

Or whether I might be a mole colluding with the Apostle of Temperance. She probably couldn't settle on an answer.

As if to prove it, Elysia's eyes were trembling.

Watching her trembling eyes, I gave a reassuring smile. The reason I came here was to make a sort of deal.

"Relax."

"..."

"Take a deep breath."

"How do you have that watch..."

Beads of cold sweat formed on Elysia's forehead. And I gave her the answer she most wanted to hear. She, too, must have been hoping for her questions to be resolved.

"You're asking how I have this?"

-Flinch...!

"Hmm... good question."

"Speak."

"Would you believe me if I said I was lucky? That I happened to find it on the road."

"Were you a mole for Temperance?"

"That's not it."

I shook my head with a small smile.

"I'm not a mole. I'm not that close with them... To be honest, I don't even know who the Apostle of Temperance is."

"Then...!"

"It's complicated, isn't it?"

How could I know the use of that object without being a mole for Temperance?

It must be confusing.

Because she wouldn't be able to find a reason.

An outsider revealing a secret known only to a select few within the order. An outsider she had never even met.

But I had no intention of explaining this fact. I had no way to explain it, and no reason to.

It was literally a stroke of fortune.

If I said I learned it from a book, who in the world would believe me? The lady wouldn't believe it either.

I had a much simpler method in mind, so I shook my head and said to Elysia.

"Don't overthink it. I've simply come to return a lost item."

Elysia's aura was turning ferocious.

"It would be wise not to tell such paltry lies."

"Am I lying right now?"

"..."

"Can't you see that much with your eyes?"

'Blue.'

Seeing the color of emotion, Elysia shut her eyes tight. It was blue, the color of truth.

Elysia couldn't find the right answer, unsure of how to react.

Whether to believe his words.

Or see through his lies. She just couldn't tell.

There were too many holes to simply take the word of the man who had brought her most coveted treasure.

I looked at the wary Elysia with a faint smile. It seemed I held the upper hand. I thought things would end on a good note.

"I am not lying."

I told her the truth.

That I had no intention of harming her.

I had to be on guard.

Because she was an Apostle.

Her specialty, the ability to manifest emotions, couldn't be used on me—perhaps due to the protection of the status window—but she was still an Apostle, a monster who played a major role in the heretical order.

A dangerous individual who could take my head for a single mistake, or trick me with a cunning lie and turn me into a puppet.

But what was certain was that Elysia feared me, and this alone gave me a greater advantage in this conversation. Even without the watch.

Elysia, looking at me with trembling eyes, moved her lips and spoke.

"What is it you want from me."

I said to her.

"Nothing at all."

"...A lie."

"Truly, nothing."

'Blue...'

-Squeeze.

"Whether you take back this stolen item and become an avenger."

"..."

"Or turn over a new leaf and return to being a cleric. I don't hope for or want anything."

I dangled the chain on my finger and said.

"Do you want it?"

-...Gulp.

"I can give it to you if you want. You would know better than anyone that this is not a fake, Apostle."

"..."

In that case.

"Let's talk for a bit first."

"..."

"I've brought quite a significant gift, after all. Wouldn't it be a shame if we didn't even know each other's names?"

"..."

I gave a small laugh towards the silent Elysia and spoke.

"My name is Ricardo."

"Ricardo... I've never heard that name before."

"Of course. I'm not that famous."

"..."

"I am a servant of the Desmunt family, a butler serving the only daughter, Lady Olivia Desmunt."

"Desmunt..."

"Do you have bad memories of the Desmunts?"

Elysia shook her head in denial.

"I remember them as a family that consistently sends relief supplies. Their reputation is notorious, but I have had no personal dealings with them."

"That's a relief."

"..."

"If you had ill feelings towards the Desmunts, that would have been regrettable in its own way."

-Swoosh...

The atmosphere suddenly turned cold, and Elysia's shoulders trembled. As if the current conversation would have been different if she were someone with negative feelings towards the Desmunts.

"..."

For the first time, she felt the emotion of fear.

I waved a hand at the frozen Elysia and said.

"Relax."

"..."

"Didn't I tell you? I've only come to return a lost item."

"...I understand. However."

Elysia looked at me with clear eyes and said.

"If you're thinking of using that item to manipulate me, you'd better give up."

"..."

"I'd rather it fall into the hands of Temperance. There'd be fewer loose ends."

"Ahem."

"..."

"You seem quite on edge."

I gave a small shrug and took another step towards her.

-Swoosh!

In that moment, a black spear rapidly approached from behind me. Faced with Elysia's mana, which approached with the intent to kill me at a moment's notice, I smiled cryptically and said.

"This watch."

"..."

"Don't you want it back?"

"..."

"If I were you, I wouldn't do something so foolish."

-Halt.

"I am a fickle person."

"..."

"I came here with good intentions, and I'd like to avoid seeing blood."

"..."

"If you can kill me, then try. But in return, you will surely die here."

Elysia emitted a chilling mana and spoke to me. As if she judged my sincerity to be a ploy.

"Do you think I..."

"Yes."

"Do you think I would fall for such a lie?"

"Haaah..."

"Before I became an Apostle, countless people reached out to me. They said they would help. That they wanted nothing in return... They extended their hands to me."

"..."

"Do you know what they said when crisis struck?"

"..."

"Stupid bitch. It's your fault for being deceived."

Elysia's mana grew even thicker. To the point of being suffocating.

"No matter how much you extend a hand of goodwill to me, I cannot believe you."

"..."

"Just as they abandoned me when there was nothing left to take. ...Like my husband..."

I let out a long sigh at the bristling Elysia and said.

"Still, wouldn't it be better to believe? Believing even a lie like this would be beneficial for you, Apostle."

-Grip.

"You're cornered, aren't you?"

"..."

"By Temperance."

"..."

"And by your mission with no progress."

Feeling Elysia's unusual mana slowly receding, I smiled.

"Good."

"..."

"Very good."

I said to Elysia. Thinking that this wasn't the mood for conversation, I decided to get to the point.

"Let's make one promise."

"A promise? Are you suggesting we make a contract now...?"

Elysia's words, spoken through gritted teeth, were like an arrow. It was an unwelcome word for Elysia, whose freedom had been stolen by a contract.

"In exchange for freeing me from Temperance's leash... are you saying you'll put a new one on me?"

I shrugged at Elysia's sharp retort and answered.

"No. I wouldn't do that. Not after what you went through with Temperance."

"What do you think you know...?"

I smiled slightly and quoted the words she had once said to me.

Calmly.

And.

Viciously.

"Didn't you say to me?"

"..."

"How many times have you died?"

-Swoooosh...

In that instant, the emotion that appeared huge in Elysia's eyes ran wild, forming the shape of a giant demon.

Ferociously, as if saying, 'The god you believe in is me.'

"If you can't believe me, then don't."

"..."

"If you don't want to believe, you can just pray to your god like you always have."

"..."

"However."

I shook the jingling watch once more and looked at Elysia coldly.

"Wouldn't I be better than your unresponsive god?"

It was a cruel smile.

A smile sweeter than that of a beckoning demon.

"You said your son died."

"..."

"You said your husband, who ruined the peace of your home by getting drunk every night, died."

"I never told you anything. My story... I never told anyone about my family...!"

As if responding to Elysia's trembling voice, I shook my head lightly and said.

"How would I know?"

"..."

-Smirk.

At my growing smile, Elysia's hands trembled.

"You die."

"..."

"Abandoned by the Pope and the Apostles, you meet a miserable end."

"..."

"You'll end your life on a cold street, mission unfulfilled, watching your life flash before your eyes."

Elysia's pupils quaked violently. Because her emotion-seeing eyes were telling her it was the truth with their color.

"You, who gave up on saving your child, belatedly betrayed the order, but."

"...Stop."

"You couldn't do anything because of this watch."

"..."

"You pleaded and prayed to an unresponsive god, but..."

"..."

"You know, don't you? That god is one who never answers."

I smiled at the trembling Elysia and changed the mood.

"I'm saying that's what happened in another timeline. In another story that no one knows... that no one can know."

"Blue..."

"It seems we're on the same page now."

I swung my arm towards Elysia, who was watching me with trembling eyes. The old pocket watch flew through the air and landed perfectly in her arms.

"Take it."

Elysia's pupils were trembling.

"I have no use for it anyway."

"..."

"Trust is a two-way street, you know. I have now proven my trust in you."

"..."

"Now it's your turn to show me."

Elysia stared endlessly at the watch in her hand, speechless.

She had prayed so fervently to her god.

The god had remained silent.

And she hadn't resented the lack of an answer.

But the fact that a single man had ended it all left her at a loss for words.

Trust.

She could run away right now if she wanted to, but she stood there, unable to say anything, blocked by the trust he had shown.

He looked different.

The color of that man's emotions, which had looked so terrifying, now shone brilliantly like a scar earned from overcoming countless hardships.

"There is one thing I want."

"...Ah..."

"Do not be hostile to me."

"Ahh..."

He looked holy.

Feeling moved by him, a saint who had saved a life and asked for nothing in return.

"Ah..."

As if a demon had blinded her.

"My Lord."

He seemed to shine brilliantly.

"...?"

Elysia fell to her knees.

She knelt on the floor without hesitation, as if it didn't matter if her white linen robes got dirty, and looked up at me.

"Apostle Elysia."

Elysia placed a hand on her chest and spoke.

"I will follow you."

"..."

"I will become your Apostle."

"..."

"I will betray the god who does not answer."

"Wait a minute..."

"And establish myself as an Apostle solely for you."

"I am."

"Your Apostle."

Gom(古音) Calendar, Year 3, June 3rd.

Gomtang's Day.

Gomtang, the Desmunt family's second glutton, started his morning today as well with the loud voice of the mistress coming from the mansion.

-Air raid siren!!!!!

"Gom?!"

-Eeeeeek!!!

"Gom..."

At the mistress's always energetic voice, Gomtang stretched and lifted his hindquarters. With the resolution that he too would one day grow into such a fine glutton.

"Gom."

He started his day.

Gomtang looked at the dark ceiling and moved forward. Because the place he was in was under the doghouse his master had built. To give his morning greetings to the master, he had to go up in advance and wait.

"Gooom,"

-Thud.

"Gom?"

Something was stepped on by Gomtang's paw as he moved forward. Judging by the sensation on his paw, the squishy thing didn't seem to be a stone.

It felt like a person's face.

"Gom."

Gomtang carefully lifted his paw and looked at what he was stepping on. And his eyes widened as he saw a man with a huge bear paw print left on his forehead.

"Gom?"

"Ah, good morning, Divine Beast."

"Gom?"

"It's a good morning."

"Gom."

What kind of fellow was this, to still be sleeping? Gomtang was curious about the identity of the black-haired man.

He was suspiciously good at digging.

-Please rest up there, Divine Beast! I'll let you know when the construction is finished!

-Gom?

-If I just dig another 10m here....

-Gom...!?

He had his own house, but he insisted on coming to my house to sleep.

-As expected, this place is the most comfortable. The Saint told me to go home for at least a day. Haha...!

-Gom...?

-I will live as quietly as possible so as not to disturb the Divine Beast's life. First, this is my bribe....

-Gogogogom!!!

-I'm glad you like it.

He was a fellow who knew the heart of a bear suspiciously well.

Gomtang thought that living with Hans wasn't so bad. Sometimes it was scary when he was grinning to himself, but he didn't seem like a bad person.

"Are you on your way to eat?"

"Gom."

"I went to bed late yesterday because of the additional construction, so I'll try to sleep a little more...."

"Gom gom."

He knew that at least his heart was kind. Because in this mansion, there were no bad people like poachers or hunters who coveted bear gallbladders.

Ah.

-Ricardo. Let's boil the bear cub and eat it in a stew.

There was one person.

Gomtang stepped on Hans's head once more and climbed the stairs leading to the surface.

"Ugh...!"

"Gom."

"Enjoy your meal...!"

"Gom gom."

The view of the mansion from the doghouse was beautiful.

"Open your eyes, milady."

"Eek?"

"You have to brush your teeth with your eyes open."

"Heek? Hmm-nya... Zzz."

"Milady!"

Because the scene of the master and mistress fighting was beautiful and the birds flying in the air looked delicious, Gomtang liked the mansion.

"Eeeeeek! I hate brushing my teeth!"

"Tsk... Say ah."

"Eeeeeek!"

Gomtang looked at the mansion window from which the loud noises were coming with a serious expression and thought.

'Gom. (Mating.)'

They must be mating.

"Gom."

The original mission of a living creature is reproduction. Preserving the species is the most important thing. He could generously understand the fight between the master and mistress.

Gomtang nodded his head and ambled around the yard. Waving his thumb-sized tail.

Hungry Gomtang's stomach was rumbling and churning, but since the commotion between the master and mistress didn't seem likely to end soon, Gomtang decided to take a longer walk.

"Gom. (Butterfly.)"

"Gom. (Nom.)"

"Gom. (Gulp.)"

It didn't taste good.

As expected, insects are not food befitting a proud bear. Indeed, at times like this, digging is the best.

Gomtang stuck his nose to the ground and moved his heavy body to find the snack he had buried.

"Gom. (Here.)"

-Dig dig dig dig!

Gomtang dug the ground with his front paws, put the hidden snack in his mouth, and waited for his master to come out to feed him.

Time passed.

It was time for the mistress and master to finish eating and come out.

The master was coming with feed in his hand, and the mistress was coming down to the yard in a chair with wheels.

-Flinch.

The moment Gomtang saw the white-haired mistress's head, he started running.

"Gom!"

It's a rice cake.

A sticky rice cake.

"Gom gom...!"

The mistress's head tastes like a sticky rice cake.

Because it was chewy and her reaction was good.

Olivia's eyes widened at the huge shadow spreading over her head.

"Eek?"

-Whoooooosh.

"Eek!?"

-Whoooooooosh...!

"Eeeeeek!? Ricardo, a meteor."

"Gom gom."

"Eeeeeek! This bear cub!!!!"

"Gom gom gom."

"Ricardo!!!!"

Gomtang liked Olivia.

Because even though her words were rough, she was a grateful person who didn't cast him out. Sometimes, she would share snacks she had secretly taken from the master.

-Hehet. Want some?

-Gom?

-It's a secret from Ricardo.

-Gom.

The fun mistress who sometimes got sulky, Gomtang liked her. He hadn't met many other animals so he didn't know, but surely they must feel this way. That their master is the best in the world.

"Ricardo, put doenjang paste on this bear cub!"

"Milady, where did you learn such words?"

"In my dreams."

"Haha..."

"Eek...! It's breaking...! My head is breaking...! I think I'm bleeding..!"

"It's Gomtang's drool."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Hm-nya."

"...Gom."

Gomtang, covering Olivia's head with drool, smiled and bit her head even harder.

"Eeeeeek!"

And the master.

"Pfft."

was laughing.

If you looked closely, this master seemed to be the meanest person. He just laughed when the mistress was suffering. Sometimes, he showed a tough side by not giving snacks, saying he was too fat.

When he first came here, he was surprised to be called a dog.

-Now, listen carefully. From today on, you're a dog.

-Gom?

-Since you're a dog, you have to bark 'meong'.

-Gom.

Now it seemed the master had given up and no longer forced him to do other things.

If you asked Gomtang who he liked the most in this mansion.

It was, of course, the master.

He was kind.

"Gomtang. Come here."

"Gom?"

"Milady doesn't have much in her head, so you need to eat something else."

"Eeeeeek!"

"Look."

"Gom."

He also gave him food.

"It's top-grade feed, so savor it."

"Gom."

And because he had saved him.

He was just a mere creature. The master had saved him when his leg was hurt and brought him here. He wasn't even cute, but he called him cute.

Seeing that the number of pets in the mansion hadn't increased, maybe he felt even more moved by the fact that the master was satisfied with just him. Everyone was precious, but among them, the master was the best.

Gomtang smiled as he ate the food his master handed him.

"Gom."

He was happy.

Being together in the mansion.

It was nice and he felt drowsy.

-Gom.-

End of Gomtang's daily life.

"What are you doing?"

Hans had a question mark appear over his head as he looked at Gomtang holding a pen between his front paws. Because he couldn't help but bow his head at the spiritually potent sight of Gomtang writing something on the floor.

"..."

Hans, having seen Gomtang's diary, nodded his head.

"You are certainly spiritually potent."

"Gom."

"A mere human head like mine cannot read it. The language of bears... it makes me want to study it."

"Gom."

Gomtang looked at Hans and bit his head.

The dry taste of siru-tteok.

Come to think of it, he had never bitten the master's head before. Surely, the master's head would have the most exquisite taste.

-Kwagagagagagaga!!!!

"Hmm... it seems the Saint is training again today."

"Gom."

Gomtang decided to save it for next time.

Elisia's Sanctuary, where a cold air flowed.

Elisia, sitting on the throne, looked down at the visitor with a languid gaze.

"What brings you here?"

Elisia said to the visitor who had come to see her. Perhaps being looked down upon was unpleasant. At the man's poor expression, a smile blossomed on Elisia's lips.

The name of the man who had come to see her was Temperance.

"What brings you to such a humble place, Apostle of Temperance."

He was the Apostle of Temperance from the heretical sect.

The Apostle of Temperance frowned at Elisia's cold gaze. Because her unusual appearance displeased him.

Many thoughts crossed Temperance's mind. Starting with 'what if losing the watch was the work of Meekness,' to the hypothesis that the Apostle of Meekness possessed the Watch of Prohibition.

'Impossible.'

It was an impossible thing.

Because he couldn't imagine the Apostle of Meekness, who never left the sanctuary, plotting something.

Temperance suppressed his uneasy feeling and spoke to the Apostle of Meekness.

"I came because I have something to say."

"You have something to say to me? You say 'say' and not 'order,' so it feels different."

"...Prohibition."

At the sight of Elisia's eyebrow twitching at the word 'Prohibition,' Temperance felt a thrill.

Thinking that his worries until now had been baseless, Temperance spoke to Elisia in an authoritative voice.

"It seems you don't want the watch back."

"...Show me."

"What?"

Temperance frowned at Elisia's softly muttered voice.

"Show it to me."

"...!"

"I need to confirm that you have it safely."

-Grit.

Temperance frowned.

'The feeling is different.'

It was ominous.

Unlike the Apostle of Meekness who only prostrated herself before the statue and prayed every day, her authoritative and down-looking gaze felt full of hostility today.

'It's a needless worry.'

"Show it to me."

"..."

"It's because I don't like it being handed over to someone else. Show me that you have it."

'...Don't waver, Temperance.'

The Apostle of Temperance gave a small smile and took a fake watch from his inner pocket, holding it out in front of Elisia.

"Are you talking about this?"

"..."

"Why are you so suspicious?"

"..."

Temperance smiled.

And he began to tell Elisia the purpose of his visit.

"I have located the Holy Sword."

"...The Holy Sword?"

"Yes. My order to you is to retrieve the Holy Sword with me. If you complete this task well, the watch..."

"Pfft..."

"What are you doing."

"Pwahahahahaha!!!!"

"...Meekness."

The Apostle of Temperance glared at Elisia, the watch in his hand trembling.

"Do you want to die."

"Aha.. Ahaha!!!"

The Apostle of Meekness, with a fresh smile, gave a crescent-eyed smile and shook her head.

"I'm sorry. I must have gone mad from being tormented so much."

"..."

"The Holy Sword, you say? I understand."

Watching Temperance's departing back, Elisia smiled.

"Liar."

In Elisia's hand was the Watch of Prohibition.