The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

Chapter 9: Good Money Making (1)

Alone in the room after Ricardo left.

Olivia sat on the bed, blankly staring out the window.

"Hmm."

The sunlight was intense.

The sand glistening.

It was silent. There was no Ricardo to chat noisily, nor the annoying Ricardo who would call her a pig.

On days like these, the best thing to do was lie in bed and sleep, but Olivia had been woken up by Ricardo, ruining her chance for a nap.

-Chirp chirp…

"Haah…"

Olivia stretched and leaned against the window.

"I'm bored. I'm hungry."

Whenever Ricardo went out to work, she would end up alone in the mansion like this. Like a house dog gazing out the window to check if anyone was coming or going, and then dozing off when sleepy. That was her routine.

She could call a maid to play with, but she didn't want to.

It was awkward since they weren't close. Maybe everyone disliked her? She had this strange delusion that she didn't really want to talk to anyone when Ricardo was not around.

‘It's bothersome.'

The person who understood her best was definitely Ricardo. A true butler who would feed her when she was hungry and knew exactly what she wanted to eat.

Olivia found this Ricardo convenient.

She had her pride, but her butler was competent.

A capable butler who had served her for 13 years despite her troublesome nature. She thought it would be hard to find a butler like Ricardo anywhere across the continent.

She knew herself.

How much of a handful she was.

Her personality had become unpredictable from birth. Even the dog she had raised for ten years liked Ricardo more, despite the amount of treats she gave it.

Olivia was good at self-reflection. Rather than ‘haha-hehe,' she preferred ‘shit!' It was more endearing to her.

Fakeness was far from Olivia's nature.

Ricardo sugar-coated her personality by calling her ‘frank,' but she knew it was not really a compliment. Still, it was pleasant to hear, so she didn't tell him to stop.

She had tried to change her personality before.

She even bought a book on kind words and studied it.

-‘100 Ways to Change Yourself?' My lady, why are you looking at such a boring book?

-Because I want to give up on it.

-Good thinking.

When that didn't work, she tried hiring a governess.

-My lady, this is the new governess.

-She looks like she has a bad personality.

-Excuse me?

-Leave.

She even tried meditation.

-My lady?

-Snooore…

-A good deep sleep.

But still, her prickly character wasn't easily fixed.

She wanted to speak kindly to people.

Especially to Ricardo.

She felt pathetic for always getting angry and demanding toward the person who took care of her and said bad things to him. Furthermore, the reason he had gone to earn money was all because of her mistakes.

She had wanted to set up a job for him that would let him live comfortably for life, but she had messed everything up.

Was it then wrong to fall in love?

Or was it the Academy that was mistaken?

Or was she the one at fault?

Where did it all go wrong?

No, it was all her fault.

After waking up in the morning for the first time in ages, she had had many thoughts.

Especially after the strange dream last time. Since seeing that too-vivid hallucination, she began to reflect on herself more.

Thinking she would have been dead if it weren't for Ricardo, she spent a lot of time looking back at her past.

"My head hurts."

Maybe she and the butler couldn't live together forever.

Ricardo would someday have to get married.

And she would have to live in bed forever.

"I feel depressed."

Thinking of such a gloomy future made her feel down.

At times like these, she wished Ricardo would suddenly open the door and comfort her. His everyday foolish smile was nice to see, and she felt at ease with Ricardo.

Now, without Ricardo, she couldn’t see what her future would be.

"A benefactor… perhaps."

What was the nature of her relationship with Ricardo? Their relationship as employer and employee lay in ruins.

Olivia just hoped that Ricardo didn't hate her.

Lost in thought, Olivia looked out the window.

The guards were diligently patrolling.

The birds were busily chirping.

The children were actively playing.

Everyone was busy in their places.

Olivia felt even worse about her useless self.

It was then.

She saw a kid, a hat pulled down low, carrying red paint, skulking around. It was bothersome—the way the kid darted around as if intending to make mischief.

‘A thief?'

The movements were too suspicious for a mere painter. Olivia stared intently.

Even though there was nothing to steal in the house.

Still, the idea of someone taking something was really annoying.

Olivia tightly gripped the bell to call a maid and kept her eyes on the child.

Thunk. The child stood by the house’s wall, picking up a brush.

Seeing this, Olivia took a deep breath. Then, without filter, she yelled out.

"Hey you little shit!!!"

Upon reflection, she realized she wasn't unemployed.

She was diligently guarding the house.

Seeing the kid run away, Olivia felt a bit better.

"Hehehe."

***

After checking the address on the business card and walking for about 30 minutes, I could easily find my destination.

"Is this the right place?"

I was pleasantly surprised that it was closer than I thought, but then fell into contemplation at the unexpected sight before me.

"This is strange."

Hanna had definitely said this.

-Our family operates a small order of knights; if you come, you’ll be able to make some pocket money.

-Really?

-The green tea. It was too bland. You're in need of ‘money,' correct?

Her eye for detail, discerning the house's financial situation from just a cup of green tea. Truly noble, right? Thanks to her, I got a good part-time job recommendation.

But while she said it was an order of knights.

On my way here, I had envisioned a knightly order in impressive armor.

Because that's what ordinary orders of knights looked like.

The duties of a knightly order included slaying monsters that appeared in their own territories or resolving issues requested by outside families.

But this was not a knightly order.

[Adventurers' Guild ‘Popo']

"Huh?"

Already informed, Hanna was waving at me from afar.

"Over here!"

Buzzing. Hanna waved her hand.

Hanna lived up to expectations in her familiar attire.

Brown leather pants with boots, a typical adventurer's outfit.

I was quite annoyed.

I walked towards her quickly, and in a hushed voice that others couldn't hear, I whispered.

"Didn't you say it was a knightly order?"

"Yes. A knightly order."

Hanna proudly presented her party.

A tiny dwarf,

An elf wielding a bow,

A healer in a nun's habit—was not the party in question, it was just her by herself, standing alone.

This is a knightly order?

Despite seeming like a reasonable person, she now appeared to have a serious headache. Are you sure this is fine?

"It's the knightly order I operate."

"What?"

"Well… it's just me. But since I'm a knight, it counts as a knightly order, right?"

A multitude of question marks arose in my mind, but Hanna didn't mind them. She seemed rather pleased that I had come so quickly.

She took my hand and led me inside the guild.

"You can earn pocket money and hide your identity too."

"Is that what being an adventurer is?"

"Yes."

Hanna smiled awkwardly.

Was I swindled?

It felt like I was conned by a child, but she said that once I heard her out, I might change my mind. I nodded.

"I may look like this, but I'm actually a B-rank adventurer."

"B-ranked or not, it seems you've lied to me."

Hanna brushed off my opinion lightly and went straight to the point, knowing what I was most curious about.

"Do you know how much I earned during a one-week vacation break?"

Hanna held up a single finger.

"10 gold?"

My voice raised involuntarily.

Indeed, 10 gold was a substantial amount of money. A commoner's monthly living cost was around 30 gold, so it was a sufficient paycheck for a short-term job.

However, there was no denying the inherent danger. Jobs stained with blood were far from safe.

That’s why I avoided adventuring and rather had worked as a laborer on construction sites instead.

‘Making money on your own, that's impressive.'

I had thought she was a noble out of touch with the ways of the world, but she seemed to have more common sense than I expected. My internal admiration for her rose.

Still, I had to refuse.

It was too dangerous.

I thought of a polite way to reject her offer without hurting her feelings.

Instead of risking blood on my hands for just 10 gold, it would be better to work on a construction site.

And besides, adventuring took up too much time.

Hunting missions mean you have to climb mountains for a day to three days just to find monsters. With my duty to serve the lady, it was impossible for me.

Hanna's eyes widened.

She flapped her hands, clearly disgusted.

"No way? Who would want such a tiny amount."

"What?"

"100 gold."

I nearly called her ‘sister' out of shock. Quite a frightening woman to make me almost refer to a younger person as ‘sister.'

Despite my loud assumption, my eyes opened widely. After a long time, it felt like I was seeing the light.

I earnestly wished she would elaborate further.

Hanna let out a small chuckle, "Pfft," upon seeing my expression.

"If you only take on big jobs, quite a bit of money comes in. And since I work alone, there's no need to split it with anyone."

"Aren't all the high-earning quests already taken?"

Hanna showed me her silver badge.

"I'm B-ranked."

"Ah…"

"Difficult jobs can be primarily chosen by higher-ranked adventurers. Sometimes I get personal commissions too."

While looking at her bright smile, I cursed my past. Why hadn't I known about such a sweet side-job?

Memories of being a bricklayer at a construction site filled my eyes with tears. Why hadn't the novel informed me about the lucrative job of being an adventurer?

Perhaps because it's a romantic fantasy full of dreams and hope. They didn't want to promote a violent and unethical job.

Hanna held my hand with an apologetic smile.

"Sorry. But you wouldn't come if I didn't say it that way."

That's true.

I would've immediately refused if she'd just asked me to go on an adventure together. I didn't know much about being an adventurer, and it seemed laughable that a noble lady would do adventuring work, let alone on her own.

But what puzzled me was.

"Why are you asking me?"

After all that transpired at the mansion, it didn't seem like it left a good impression.

From our first meeting, where I crushed a senior's face, to serving as the villainess's conversation partner, I had several embarrassing incidents, and it seemed odd that she nonchalantly invited me.

So, before starting the job, I asked.

"I don't think what happened at our mansion would be considered good memories."

One can never be too cautious; for all I knew, she could be setting a trap to torment me over past grudges.

Hanna looked down.

"Um… that's true."

She stared pensively at my hand.

"You were the first one I've seen use aura like that."

"What?"

"I've never seen a young person use aura, and to adjust the power of aura so finely was also a first for me. My father can't even do that. He only knows how to smash things."

Thanks to the Limit Break skill.

I chose not to say it.

Hanna continued with a small smile.

"I don't adventure just for money. I was wondering if I could grow more."

"Is that so?"

That was her point.

If you want to earn a lot of money, you have to take on dangerous tasks, and she preferred the verified skill of working with me over mediocre comrades.

She also wished to improve her own abilities.

That was the main reason.

Hanna bowed respectfully.

Her demeanor differed significantly from the one I had seen at the mansion.

"That's why I asked you."

I looked at her and said.

"Are skills enough?"

"What?"

"If priority is given to skills over money, is that enough?"

If the answer was yes, I could give her the response she was looking for.

I asked out of goodwill, but Hanna’s face showed cracks.

She must have assumed I was dismissing her for overlooking money. Just as she was about to tell me not to underestimate her,

Before she could misunderstand me further, I blurted out a more materialistic answer.

"Then let's do 8:2."

"What?"

Hanna's startled response.

"The split, I mean."

"What are you…!"

"However. In four weeks, I will have made you capable of defeating Michail."

I was the one who had raised Michail and the supporting male leads. In ways they didn’t know about.