The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

Chapter 54

54 – Irresistible Reward -1-

On the path leading down to the dungeon, Yuria and Mikhail, teamed up as a pair, illuminated the dark dungeon with magic as they moved forward.

Moss-covered surroundings and walls bearing traces of past battles created an eerie atmosphere. Despite the professor’s assurance of safety personnel scattered throughout the dungeon, the weightiness inherent to such places couldn’t be easily shaken off.

Yuria, feeling the eerie atmosphere, wrapped her shoulders, proceeding deeper into the abyss.

This exam deviated from the norm, emphasizing practical experience. Students were required to defeat numerous monsters, including high-grade ones, to earn high scores by inserting appendages of orc-like creatures into bead-shaped artifacts distributed beforehand.

The ease of lower-tier monsters, such as skeletons, attracted many students due to their accessibility, while Mikhail and I ventured into deeper dungeons to tackle more challenging foes for higher scores.

Yuria showed the artifact in her hand to Mikhail.

“Did you secure the artifact?”

“Yeah, it’s safely tucked in my pocket.”

Mikhail nodded.

The bead-like artifact played a crucial role, serving both as a scoring mechanism and an emergency communication network to summon safety personnel. It had to be kept safe.

With Mikhail and Yuria aspiring for the top of their class, they descended further into the dungeon.

From Noble mtl dot com

Descending the stairs leading to the depths.

Mikhail, walking alongside, quietly spoke up.

“Yuria.”

“Yeah?”

Mikhail hesitated for a moment.

Concerned about what he was about to say, Yuria wondered about the gloomy mood he had displayed for the past week. Was it related to that?

After some contemplation, Mikhail, now illuminating the path with the ‘Light’ magic even brighter, spoke.

“Actually, I met Ricardo a week ago.”

“What?”

Pause.

A familiar name escaped Mikhail’s lips.

A name he never uttered casually.

A name he never casually mentioned even at the academy.

Yuria was taken aback seeing Mikhail, but there was little change in Mikhail’s expression. While descending the stairs silently, Mikhail spoke the name nonchalantly once again. Intrigued, Yuria asked once more.

“You met Ricardo?”

Mikhail nodded.

“Yeah. I ran into him during a dawn stroll.”

“Dawn stroll?”

“Yeah, he was bothering people in the slums on the alley.”

“Alley…?”

At the mention of the alley, Yuria froze in her place.

Thunk. A drop of moisture from the damp ceiling fell on her face, but Yuria, unstartled, stood there.

Yuria delved into her thoughts.

“He said alley?”

Alley.

Could it be referring to that place she almost got dragged to by the thug…?

A strange thought crossed her mind.

The absurd idea that Ricardo went to the alley for a reason other than her.

Yuria foolishly felt her heart pounding.

“Why am I thinking like this?”

Yuria clenched the chest where her heart resided with her hand. The dungeon, where the cool wind blew, strangely felt warm.

“It can’t be, right?”

Mikhail, with a deep sigh, snapped Yuria out of her contemplation.

“He’s still the same, that bastard.”

Mikhail expressed disgust.

His aversion towards Ricardo seemed to be as strong as ever.

“He’s still ruthlessly ruthless and brutal, just like before.”

“…Is that so?”

Mikhail’s words didn’t register in Yuria’s mind.

‘Ah… Surely not,’ the misconception filled his mind.

Certainly, he disliked Ricardo.

Strangely, his face turned red at the thought of Ricardo.

When they meet, he’s bound to get angry and say unpleasant things. It’s certain. It feels crazy to think about him like a fool, remembering those moments that make him feel insane.

The time when Ricardo saved him in the mountains.

“Close your eyes.”

The moment he received help in the alley.

“Don’t breathe, the air is getting stuffy.”

Those moments kept flickering in his mind.

He still dislikes him.

For no reason, he torments him.

He’s there for every incident.

Even though he was the one who tormented him, locking him in the wardrobe, he keeps coming to mind.

Mikhail glimpsed that side of Yuriya and said,

“Yuriya. Your face is red, is something wrong?”

“Oh… no! I’m fine.”

Yuriya fanned herself with her hand, cooling the heat on her face.

‘Am I going crazy…’

A brief silence followed.

The awkward name Ricardo became the topic of conversation, making both react awkwardly.

Mikhail spoke to me,

“What do you think about Ricardo, Yuriya?”

It was a strange question from Mikhail.

“Me?”

I looked at Mikhail in surprise, but Mikhail’s honest eyes were waiting for an answer.

Without hesitation, I told Mikhail,

“It’s uncomfortable, but I still dislike Ricardo. He’s the most detestable person in the world.”

“Thank goodness.”

Mikhail’s hardened expression softened.

We walked towards a deeper dungeon.

Skeletons and ghouls.

We encountered undead-like monsters, but due to our advantageous position, we were able to easily defeat them.

The artifact that keeps track of points started to make a ‘beep’ sound and increased. We had accumulated a high score, but it was still far from enough.

Because Lune and the Prince’s team was formidable.

In order to buy lunch for the winning team, Yuriya was filled with competitive spirit.

As we descended further, the air that touched our skin became heavy. It was cold and dense.

Growls of monsters echoed throughout, and as we went deeper, the traces of battles were prominently displayed on the walls.

Deeply excavated walls.

The dried bloodstains in brown were also noticeable.

Yuriya wrapped her shoulders, overwhelmed by a creepy feeling. Even if there were artifacts responsible for our safety, it seemed inevitable to be afraid.

But at least we were accumulating points…!

If we continued like this, we would be in first place.

I was confident that we could win a scholarship at the Academy.

In the moment when I was starting to feel happy, thinking about a thickened bank account after a long time.

“Please save me…!”

A man’s voice could be heard from a corner of the dungeon.

Mikhail and Yuriya stopped hunting monsters and looked towards the direction of the sound.

We felt the same. Let’s go see.

We didn’t hesitate and tried to go, but Ricardo’s words from a little while ago flashed through my mind.

-Don’t overstep your boundaries.

Yuriya lowered her head, entangled in conflicting thoughts.

Even if I remembered what Ricardo said, what’s the use? He was a man who always lied, so even if I remembered such advice, I knew it would only hurt myself. However, I still stopped in my tracks.

I was anxious. It felt like something was there.

Most of Ricardo’s warnings were related to frightening events.

“Let’s go.”

Mikhail said to me, who was hesitating.

“…”

“Yuria?”

“Uh…uh!”

Yuria shook off her daydream and headed towards the direction where the sound came from. After passing through two alleys…next to the stairs leading deeper into the depths, there was a man wearing familiar clothes, lying on the ground.

A long black coat.

A man wearing a white shirt.

The man was sprawled on the floor, bleeding.

The ground was filled with the marks of a fierce battle, and along with various small and large injuries, there was a palm-sized dagger embedded in his chest.

“Huh…?”

She had seen this clothing somewhere before.

The man’s attire she saw when she was in the Hamel Mountain Range, working on a mission with Lui.

It was the priest’s robe of the Ecclesiastic sect.

Yuria trembled.

She didn’t know what to do.

Her heart was telling her to save him quickly.

But her instincts were refusing.

The thought of treating this man made her heart race like crazy.

The man lying on the floor groaned in pain and urged.

“Please… save me… I can’t breathe well…”

The man, grabbing the dagger embedded in his chest, let out a painful groan. Mixed feelings surged within Yuria while watching the man struggle, drenched in cold sweat.

The thought of saving him and the thought of not saving him paralyzed her.

As I foolishly stood there contemplating, Mihail grabbed my shoulder and shook me.

“Yuria! Snap out of it!”

“Huh? Uh…”

“What are you doing! Use healing magic quickly!”

-Don’t act pretentious.

Those words from back then kept flashing in my mind.

Normally, I wouldn’t hesitate and just perform the healing, but today it felt as if I could vividly hear the words Riccardo had said.

Yuria spoke with a trembling voice.

“But… he’s a member of the Ecclesiastic sect.”

Mikhail responded urgently.

“We can’t let even a heretic live!”

Silently standing, unable to do anything, Mikhail supported the man’s shoulders as if resigned, and began sprinkling the potion.

Two treatment potions given per person at the Academy.

An expensive potion boasting its high value, it was a potion that left nothing lacking for emergency treatment.

Mikhail supported the man.

Seeming to give up on the test and trying to go upstairs.

The moment he tried to lift his shoulders and stand up.

A chilling voice echoed in Mikhail’s ears.

“Yes. You should save him.”

-Swish.

The man plunged the dagger that was stuck in his own chest into Mikhail’s abdomen. Deeply.. Once. Twice. Three times.

Thunk. Mikhail’s pupils trembled with the sound.

The man took the potion from Mikhail’s pocket and sprinkled it on the wound on his chest.

The wound disappeared.

The torn wound, thanks to the potion, was rapidly healing.

Exhaling a long breath and straightening his waist, the man, with a eerie laughter, said to Mikhail who was vomiting blood.

“Kya~ I really thought I was going to die. You sell this? Thank you so much. Holy ones…!”

Gasp.. Mikhail grabbed the dagger stuck in his abdomen, dragging his leg, trying to step back. Trying to avoid it, but the dagger stuck deeply, causing Mikhail to kneel.

Yuria rushed to the fallen Mikhail.

“Mikhail!”

Mikhail spoke to Yuria.

“Run, Yuria…”

Yuria began pouring healing magic on Mikhail’s abdomen. As the bright green light engulfed Mikhail’s body, he breathed out a stable breath.

From Noble mtl dot com

A sigh of relief, but.

“Healer.”

The man standing behind raised his hand.

The blood-soaked hand began to reach out. In the swallowing fear, the man’s hand looked giant, and the thick flowing blood dropped on the face.

“Ah… Ah….!”

Yuria was paralyzed with fear, unable to do anything. She just stood there like a fool until the man grabbed her.

“Stop!”

Mikhail shouted.

Mikhail swung his sword at the heretic.

Despite the graceful strike, a dull thud echoed, and Mikhail bowed his head when he heard the sound.

“Well, that worked. We needed a healer or two, and here you are.”

The man looked at himself and grinned with a sly smile.

“Don’t say you don’t like it. I hate cutting pretty fingers.”

The heretic spat out creepy words as he dragged me deep into the dungeon.

I shattered the artifact hidden in my arms with trembling hands.

The bead that called the Knights.

However,

“Agh!”

On the stairs leading deeper, knights gasped for breath, lying in pools of blood. Under the foot of the knight urging me to flee, the escape scroll lay torn and ineffective.

Uria’s body trembled like a bamboo in the wind.

What to do…

What to do….

It was overwhelming.

Even the means of escape.

The thought of experiencing something horrifying made my vision darken.

“Let go!!”

Uria struggled.

“Let gooo!”

She writhed to break free from the man’s grip, but he raised his hand threateningly.

“Don’t you dare?”

Swish.