The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen - Chapter 394



394 – The Final Moments of the Knight Who Knew Everything -3-

It was an ordinary day.

“…Shall we call it a day?”

“…”

“Lady Shalltear?”

That day too, I spent buried in paperwork with Ricardo, and it was only when the sun began to set that Ricardo suggested we call it a day.

Seeing Ricardo’s cautious gaze, I stretched lazily and shook my head.

“You go ahead and leave first today. I’ll finish this up and then go.”

There was still work to be done.

“Hmm…”

Ricardo, who was delayed in leaving work, began to spread out the documents he had organized on the desk with a wry smile.

“You can go ahead.”

“…I don’t want to. You tyrant employer.”

“I’m fine, so go home early today. You must be tired from staying up all night.”

“How can I leave you alone? I have a sense of loyalty.”

“Really…”

“Boss, you’re mean…”

“Where did you learn to say things like that?”

As the work neared its end, there was no time to relax. Even trivial documents had to be checked meticulously, and the movements of the crown prince had to be monitored.

Ricardo yawned long and stretched, speaking softly.

“You’ll collapse again at this rate.”

“It’s okay. If I collapse, you’ll save me.”

“Oh my…”

“Don’t make that face.”

“Hehe…!”

That day, I worked as usual.

Ricardo stayed by my side, keeping me from feeling lonely.

In the room, only the sound of our pens quietly echoed, and the occasional sound of yawning was our only conversation.

-…

-…

It was boring.

About 30 minutes had passed since I had been looking at the documents, and Ricardo, rubbing his eyes, asked me in a drifting voice.

“Your Highness?”

“Yes?”

“Would you like some tea?”

“Sure. I’ll have coffee, please.”

“Denied. Your sugar levels must be low by now, so I’ll bring you a sweet choco latte.”

“Then why did you ask?”

“Because I wanted to hear you say you wanted a choco latte.”

“Ha.”

Funny guy.

I let out a small chuckle at Ricardo’s joke and closed my eyes, taking in the sweet smell.

“…”

Nice.

I really liked this kind of daily life.

Everything went smoothly, and this peaceful routine without any worries seemed sweeter than any drink.

Even though it was a boring routine of just looking at documents…

“…Nice.”

The scales of the imperial throne were heavily tilted in my favor.

The crown prince, unable to stop Wolfgang’s forces, had ultimately sought the emperor’s help.

It was almost a foregone conclusion. It was nearly impossible for the crown prince to stop Wolfgang, who had harnessed the power of the beast.

There were no allies with the formidable strength of the imperial knight commander, and the unpredictable heretics were an insurmountable wall.

“Hmm… Shall we warm up some milk?”

If that fool had fallen into the crown prince’s hands, the story would be different, but unfortunately, the goddess of fortune was on my side. The scales had no choice but to tilt in my favor.

Ricardo, who was brewing tea while humming, began to nag without realizing he was being praised in my heart.

“If you drink too much coffee, you’ll end up unable to sleep even if you want to.”

“…”

“You don’t even know how dangerous caffeine addiction is.”

“Sigh…”

“You’re lucky I’m here. If you were alone, your dark circles would reach your legs.”

Though it was annoying to hear, I felt I could gladly accept his nagging. Genuine concern from someone is not something you can hear just because you want to.

Especially if it was concern from someone like ‘Ricardo,’ even his nagging felt like pleasant music.

With a sigh, I opened the documents and changed the subject to politics. I wanted to end Ricardo’s nagging before it reached the third verse.

“So, when do you think Wolfgang will be arrested?”

“Hmm… If things proceed quickly, I estimate about three weeks. But it’s more likely to take longer than that.”

“Three weeks is longer than I thought. It will take a long time to stabilize the west.”

“Indeed.”

“But we’ve dispatched the knight commander. No matter how strong the beast is, it won’t be able to exert its full power outside of water.”

“…What?”

“The beast originally lives in the water. So….”

Ricardo lifted his trembling eyes to look at me. He added a question, asking what I had just said.

“Who did you say you sent?”

“Didn’t I tell you?”

“…No. I thought Mikhail went to help the crown prince.”

“No. Mikhail is busy with something else right now… And that guy doesn’t follow the royal family’s orders anyway. He’s just a wandering hero.”

“…Then.”

“That’s right. I sent Histania Rowen to the west. Why…?”

Ricardo spoke.

“Who is protecting the emperor right now?”

It was such an obvious question.

“If the commander of the empire’s greatest force, the knights, is vacant….”

“…”

“That means there’s no one in the palace.”

Ricardo’s eyes began to widen.

“Your Highness… It seems dangerous.”

What a foolish story.

Ricardo’s question was about worrying over the person who needed the least amount of worry in the world.

I let out a hollow laugh and scolded Ricardo, implying that Histania wasn’t the only knight in the empire.

“There are many capable knights in the empire.”

“…No.”

“You know it too. How strong Rowen’s disciples are. And the vice-captain is a monster comparable to a sword master.”

“That’s not it.”

“Don’t worry too much. Your father is a man who possesses a national treasure… And Rowen has been absent several times. If he were going to do something, he would have done it already, wouldn’t he?”

“…No.”

Ricardo, who was dissolving cocoa powder in boiled milk, hurriedly approached and said.

“With Lord Desmond gone, there is no one who can handle an apostle-level strongman except Rowen.”

“What are you talking about?”

It was then.

-Bang!!

A huge explosion was heard from the place where the imperial palace was.

Startled by the deafening sound, I looked up and ran towards the window. And I widened my eyes as I saw the place engulfed in flames.

“What…?”

Fire.

A huge flame that could blow away the pillars of the imperial castle was devouring the place where it had grown.

“The imperial palace…”

Before I could even organize my chaotic thoughts, I heard a strange sound from beyond the window.

-It’s a rebellion! The 2nd prince has started a rebellion!

-All knights gather at the imperial palace. All knights except the sentinels, follow me…!

I, too, had tried to run to the imperial palace.

No matter how much I hated my father, he was still my parent. I had tried to run, leaving my pounding heart behind.

“Ricardo, we too…!”

But.

“Bow your head.”

-BoooM!!!!!!

The moment I felt Ricardo’s touch on my head, flames approached with a scorching heat.

It was hot.

The intense heat that could be felt on my cheeks suddenly engulfed me.

-BEEEEEEEEEP….!!

-Eeeee…

-Eee…

“Haah…”

What I saw along with the ringing in my ears was a scene of utter chaos. The debris of collapsed buildings indicated the severity of the situation, and the fragments of buildings on the ground showed what had happened.

“…Ugh.”

As I regained my senses amidst the pain that felt like every part of my body was screaming, I urgently searched for Ricardo, recalling the recent memory.

“Ricardo…!”

When the explosion occurred, he had embraced me. Ricardo must have sustained more severe injuries than I did.

“Ricardo..!”

“Here I am.”

“You…!”

“Whew… Are you alright?”

Fortunately, it seemed he wasn’t seriously injured. Ricardo, who was looking out through the broken window, turned to me and gave a small smile.

No.

-Drip…

“You…!”

It seemed he was pretending not to be hurt.

“Your arm is bleeding…”

Ricardo shrugged his shoulders and smiled nonchalantly at my alarmed expression. He reassured me that it was nothing to worry about and instead showed concern for me.

“I’m fine. But you, Your Highness…”

“But…!”

“It’s just a scratch.”

“Don’t lie!”

Just a scratch, he says.

As if a Sword Master’s body could be hurt by something so trivial.

The aftermath of the explosion still lingered in my body, my whole body felt like it was going to break and it hurt… But! Seeing Ricardo, who had protected me from the explosion, pretending to be calm made my heart ache like crazy.

Because I knew why he was doing this. It hurt even more.

“…!”

As I reached out to check his injured arm, Ricardo smiled lightly and didn’t let me touch it.

“I’m fine. But more importantly…”

Ricardo looked out through the broken window with a bitter smile.

“It seems we’re in big trouble.”

People were coming in.

Fanatics of the heretic cult, wearing black hoods, were quickly entering the hideout.

“Why… heretics.”

Startled by the unexpected ambush, I looked at Ricardo with trembling eyes, seeking an answer. He seemed to know the answer.

“…!”

Ricardo, with a bitter smile, began to push me behind the debris.

“It seems there was a heretic spy within the royal family.”

“Wait a moment….”

“Probably, it’s that person.”

“…”

“It’s complicated…”

Ricardo, with a bitter smile, whispered with a faint smile.

“Don’t worry. I’ll… protect you.”

Red blood began to scatter.