The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen-Chapter 402: The Suspicious Woman Who Broke Into the House on a Rainy Day - 2
A few days ago:
"This won’t do!"
Shuen, working part-time at a convenience store, clenched her fist and slammed the desk.
"I, Shuen, must confront the villainess!"
She had overheard Ricardo saying that the villainess’ estate was better than the grand mansions in the capital.
"This is an unexpected variable!"
Shuen, who thought Hannah was her only rival, was caught off guard by this new competitor.
"A duchess..."
Even with her perfect support system and appearance, competing with a duchess was no small feat.
She needed a drastic plan—something to boost her standing before the villainess’ reputation rose any higher.
"I need to find a way!"
Determined, Shuen decided to act before Hannah could.
"The romance expert said so!"
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“You Can Do It: 100 Ways to Capture a Man’s Heart.”
-"More dangerous than childhood friends are master-servant relationships. If you can’t beat the forbidden allure of such a bond...”
"I need to figure it out before I lose my place. Surely Hannah Histania already knows about the relationship between the villainess and a commoner..."
-Bang!
"It feels like I’m the only one who doesn’t know. Those two... in that estate...!!"
Lost in a spiral of wild imagination, Shuen banged her head against the desk and shook it vigorously.
"Scandalous! Even I, who often reads improper books, cannot let this stand!"
Shuen couldn’t give up. Letting go of her ideal type now was simply unacceptable.
With her forehead still on the desk, she muttered in a determined voice:
"At least the third..."
"No... the fourth!"
"I won’t give up any further! I can tolerate concubines above me... but being pushed back behind a commoner? Never!"
Her resolve was firm.
And so, now:
-Beeeeeep!
-Beeeeeep!
Shuen had succeeded in arranging her first meeting with the villainess.
*****
Today, as peaceful as ever, at the Hamel estate:
Shuen and the lady stood facing each other, locked in a silent battle of wills. They say similar people recognize each other, and I was starting to believe it.
"Hoooohmmmm."
Watching them both, I realized how true that saying was. Wearing an awkward smile, I silently prayed for one of them to say something—anything. This was a first for me.
Not even with Hannah had this happened.
-"Who is she?"
Nor with Yuria.
-"..."
But now...
"Hoooohmmmm."
"Hrrrmmmm."
I had no idea why they weren’t speaking.
For ten minutes now, they’d been standing there, staring at each other, water dripping from their wet hair. Neither spoke, as though they understood one another perfectly without words.
‘Is this some kind of wizard’s telepathy...?’
"Hrrrmmm."
"Hoiiiiik?"
‘No, the lady can’t use magic. She shouldn’t be able to use telepathy either...’
Watching their wordless exchange of glances, I couldn’t stop an awkward chuckle from escaping.
If the lady tilted her head, Shuen would do the same.
"Eeeek..."
"Hoiiiik...?"
When one made a strange noise, the other responded in kind, creating an ambiguous and bizarre atmosphere.
What was this situation?
It felt strangely familiar.
-Grrrrowl.
-Grrrrrowl.
‘Why...’
Why did this remind me of my part-time job at the pet café? Specifically, when a Maltese and a Chihuahua met.
I’d once thought it might be interesting if two similar people met, but now that I was witnessing it, their unorthodox reactions left me more than a little stunned. These two...
"Excuse me, you two..."
"Hoooohmmmm."
"Hiiiik."
-Scratch, scratch.
They were genuinely like dogs.
"Knock, knock...?"
"Hrrrmmm."
"Eek...?"
‘Wait, is the lady losing ground here?’
"Eeeek?"
"Hiiik...?!"
‘Of course not.’
The silent standoff finally tipped in the lady’s favor, and she broke the silence with a victorious nod before speaking.
"Ricardo..."
"Yes?"
"Who is she?"
"Isn’t it too early to ask that?"
"A weird person showed up."
"You seem to resemble that weird person quite a bit yourself, my lady."
"Eek?"
Shuen, who had been watching the lady, turned to me and asked, freёnovelkiss.com
"Commoner."
"Yes?"
"Who is this person?"
"You didn’t know, yet kept staring at her?"
"She was staring at me first, so I stared back!"
"..."
What on earth was wrong with these people?
Finding their bizarre behavior both amusing and exasperating, I decided it was time to introduce them properly.
"Alright, let’s end the standoff here."
"Eek?"
"Me?"
If I left them to their own devices, they’d probably just keep staring forever.
-Beeeeeep!
-Beeeeeep!
As their intense gazes clashed once more, I cleared my throat and began my introductions.
"This is the owner of this estate, the eldest daughter of the Desmont duchy, Lady Olivia Desmont."
"Oh! I thought as much."
"..."
"Only high-ranking nobles dare meet my gaze."
"That’s probably because you kept staring at them first, Shuen."
"Commoners are too foolish to understand such matters."
"..."
Ignoring her self-proclaimed "high-ranking noble detector" remarks, I continued the introduction.
"My lady."
"Mm."
"This is Shuen Tetra, the eldest daughter of the Tetra family."
"Tetra...?"
"Do you know of them?"
The lady, momentarily intrigued, brightened her eyes and answered,
"Nope."
"...?"
"They’re a family of philosophers, right?"
"Yes."
"Boring."
"You shouldn’t say such things. The family’s eldest daughter is standing right here."
I glanced cautiously at Shuen’s reaction.
"Hooooh..."
But Shuen simply stared at the lady without reacting at all.
"Shuen, I must apologize for the rudeness earlier—"
"It’s fine."
"Pardon?"
"Our family is fine with being insulted! We’re high-ranking nobles, after all!"
"Oh..."
"Of course, you can’t insult me, but it’s true our family is boring!"
Why was she agreeing?
The lady seemed amused by Shuen’s reaction, nodding approvingly with a faint smile.
"Ricardo, she’s smart."
"Thank you!"
"Keep it that way."
"Yes!"
Shuen’s unexpectedly obedient response left me stunned and laughing helplessly. To understand these two, it seemed one would first need to be a noble.
Among all the nobles I’ve met, the most "normal" one would be...
-"That seems profitable."
-"That looks like it could make money too."
-"Good. Let’s proceed immediately."
Why does this remind me of a suspiciously skilled entrepreneur?
Sighing at my woeful network of acquaintances, I shook my head and decided to leave. Staying here any longer felt like it might make me as strange as them.
"I’ll... go make some tea."
"Mm."
"Thank you, commoner."
I could hear odd noises from behind me.
"Eeeek..."
"Hoooohmm."
I resolved to steep the tea very, very slowly.
*****
In the now Ricardo-less office of the Hamel estate:
The room was thick with awkward tension.
Between Shuen, with her noble supremacy mindset, and Olivia, who only thought deeply during a fight, the atmosphere was icy.
"You."
Olivia broke the silence first, addressing Shuen.
"What’s your relationship with Ricardo?"
Shuen, who had been staring intently at Olivia, hesitated before answering in a small voice.
"Beautiful..."
"Mm?"
"You’re far more beautiful than I’d heard."
"..."
"Truly remarkable... from your face to your figure."
"Mm?"
"I take pride in my appearance, but compared to yours, I’m just a pitiful fool."
A small smile began to creep onto Olivia’s lips. However, having once reigned as a queen in high society, she wasn’t so easily swayed by flattery.
Though, inwardly...
‘I like her.’
She was pleased.
"Flattery won’t work. Just answer the question."
Shuen shook her head and replied earnestly,
"Nobles don’t lie!"
"Excuse me?"
"I, Shuen, have never learned to lie!"
Olivia scoffed, shaking her head.
"You came to ask Ricardo for a favor, didn’t you?"
"What?"
"You’re here to ask for help, aren’t you?"
"..."
"You must have a problem you can’t solve on your own, so you came to that pushover Ricardo for assistance. Go back. Ricardo’s busy and can’t help you."
Shuen, who had been quietly listening, raised her head, her eyes sharp, and spoke.
"What kind of woman are you?"
"Mm?"
"I, Shuen, am not a noble who turns to commoners for help. True, a commoner disguised as Cupid did help me at the academy, but... ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) the newly reborn Shuen-gel won’t do that again!"
"You..."
"And even though commoners are poor...! What kind of woman!!!"
Olivia watched Shuen with a satisfied smile and said,
"Smart."
"What?"
"I like you."
"W-What?"
"Polite, pretty..."
"Eeeek?!"
"And you seem to treat Ricardo well."
A smile spread across Shuen’s face.
[If the seat of your beloved is already taken... get on the good side of the legitimate partner. That is the way of the concubine.]
‘As expected, the author wasn’t wrong.’
Watching Olivia and Ricardo together had already convinced Shuen to revise her plans.
‘I can’t beat that monster.’
She instinctively knew.
-Poing... Poing...
There was no defeating that treasure trove.
Seeing that Shuen posed no threat to Ricardo, Olivia remarked,
"So, what’s your relationship with Ricardo?"
Shuen nodded and replied,
"The commoner is my benefactor."
"Your benefactor?"
"That’s right."
"Ricardo’s my benefactor too."
An uneasy silence filled the room.
They stared at each other, gauging their opponent.
And then...
"Hoooohmm."
"Eeeek..."
"Hoooohmm..."
"Uhihihi..."
Once again, they started silently "communicating."
*
When I returned after making tea:
"Fufufufuf..."
"Heheheh."
Things had taken a very strange turn.
