The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

**Chapter 211 – Northern Trip (4)**

The potion’s effects barely lasted until they left.

If they had stayed here for just ten more minutes, we would’ve been caught. If a monster had appeared in the middle, or if we had gotten distracted by small talk, we would have certainly come into conflict with them.

‘That was close.’

With a sense of relief, I turned to look at the lady, my heart still pounding.

“My lady?”

“Mhm?”

The lady was calmly gnawing on a piece of jerky. She chewed with her usual blank expression, glancing at me with mild curiosity, clearly wondering why I looked so tense.

Was she just oblivious?

An Apostle was a dangerous being, one whose mere presence was a threat. I thought that just seeing one would have startled her considerably.

The Apostles were the pillars of the heretical cult.

A disaster in human form.

Possessing overwhelming power.

Each with a wildly unpredictable personality.

If I were strong enough to deal with them, there would be no issue, but the current me could barely manage to bite off one of their limbs.

And winning while protecting the lady? It would’ve been nearly impossible. No wonder I was more on edge than usual.

Sighing in relief, I continued to observe the lady.

“Hrrmph.”

“…”

“Ugh… so tough.”

The lady groaned in a low voice, her jaw working hard to tear through a large chunk of jerky. She glanced at me and spoke through her bites.

“Ricardo.”

“Yes?”

“Are those people from earlier bad?”

“Pardon?”

Was this her instincts as a villainess kicking in? The way one villain could recognize another? I nodded slightly at her curious question.

“Well, yes… but how did you know?”

“They’re ugly.”

“…What?”

“If they look ugly, they’re bad people.”

The lady nodded to herself, convinced by her own absurd reasoning. It was laughable—a comment so random that if *Jungcho* had heard it, she’d likely be rushing toward her with a clenched fist. A small smile tugged at the corners of my mouth.

While judging someone by their appearance was wrong, I had to admit there were moments when the lady’s exaggerated biases somehow hit the mark. With that thought, I patted her head, brushing off the heavy air around us.

“You’re quite smart.”

“Mhm. I am pretty smart.”

As expected, humility wasn’t in the lady’s vocabulary.

I stared blankly at the spot where the group had vanished.

The back of the man walking away remained fixed in my thoughts, a reminder of the insurmountable gap between our levels of power.

‘An Apostle… things just got complicated.’

Honestly, I wasn’t sure how to handle this.

The Apostles were terrifying in their own right, but the bigger issue was the ripple effect—for the story’s trajectory itself was now in danger of being skewed.

Olaf, the Apostle who had just appeared, was the villain responsible for killing Yuria’s father. It was his actions that sparked Yuria’s awakening as a Saintess, leading her to gain enormous power.

If the story were a car, Yuria’s father’s death was like a crucial cog in its mechanism. Without it, there was no way she would have awakened.

There was simply no other event that could evoke the same level of shock and loss.

But if I ended up preventing something that was meant to happen, would I be able to handle the consequences? The mere thought of derailing such a major turning point in the story left me feeling uneasy.

If only I hadn’t seen that Apostle today, I could have pretended it wasn’t my problem…

In the original story, Yuria relied heavily on her father. Even here, in reality, she leaned on him more than anything.

Whenever she got the chance, she would talk about her father back in the North or clutch the letters he sent, reading them over and over whenever she felt down.

That’s why she was so devastated by his death in the novel. She had learned of it from a solitary letter that flew in from the North.

Yuria’s sorrow was indescribable. She had been so distraught that she became nearly mute for a time, losing the ability to speak. Her normally compassionate nature was overtaken by an all-consuming desire for vengeance.

This is what made me think so much.

Should I get involved?

Or should I leave it to the original flow of the story and preserve my peaceful life?

The dilemma weighed heavily on me.

As I was lost in thought, the lady’s voice broke through my introspection.

“Ricardo.”

The lady, staring out at the snow-covered landscape, gently tugged on the sleeve of my coat.

Her pitiful gaze, one that seemed to ask, *Can we go now?*, drew a smile from me as I brushed off the lingering thoughts from my mind.

“I need to use the restroom…”

“A restroom, you say.”

“Mhm.”

Honestly, she was such a carefree person.

*

After the brief excursion, we returned to the inn. I escorted the lady to her room before heading downstairs.

I needed a drink.

With all these complicated thoughts in my head, I just felt like drinking. Maybe if I let go of these swirling ideas, I could actually enjoy the trip as I intended.

This was supposed to be a relaxing vacation, but now it felt like it was filled with anxiety.

“Haah…”

As I reached the first floor, I was met by James, who greeted me with a bright grin, holding a cold beer in one hand as if he had been waiting for me.

“Ahhh, I’m so relieved to see you made it back!”

He cracked a joke as he wagged the frosty mug in the air.

Despite my heavy mood, his antics helped me shake off the weight I had been carrying. I smiled softly and replied.

“You wound me, saying it like that.”

“Hehe…! During this time of year? And climbing the snowy mountains just to watch wolves mate? Who does that?”

“I’ll admit it was pretty fun.”

I let out a small chuckle as I sat down across from James, exhaling a long breath.

Right now, I just wanted a break from the worries.

Why they were here.

Whether I should stop them or leave them alone.

I wanted to set those complicated thoughts aside for now.

James, with his usual bright smile, raised his beer mug and toasted my safe return with a jubilant “Cheers!”

As our glasses clinked, the amber liquid sloshed inside, and for some reason, tonight the beer looked especially appetizing.

Smiling slightly, I clinked my mug against his and quietly muttered, “Cheers.”

“Thank you.”

“For what? I’m putting this on your bill, you know.”

“…”

“Just kidding! Hahaha!”

James laughed heartily, his shoulders shaking as he watched me sip my beer.

“So, how was it?”

“Hmm? You mean up North?”

“Yes, wasn’t it beautiful?”

James’s eyes were filled with sincere curiosity. Wasn’t the Northern mountain range beautiful? Weren’t you amazed by the scenery? Didn’t the Northern monsters leave a strong impression? His innocent questions made me smile.

Amused by his enthusiasm, I decided to play along. I gave a vague answer that might surprise him.

“It was more exciting than I expected.”

“That’s only because you had low expectations.”

At his indignant reply, I smiled again, raising my glass to him.

“Haha! I’m only kidding. Thanks to you, Mr. James, it ended up being quite fun.”

“Well, I’m glad you enjoyed it. You had me worried there for a moment. When you said you had fun, I thought you really had no expectations at all.”

“Haha…”

Behind my awkward laughter, a small thought lingered.

At least I can keep *him* alive.

In the novel, there wasn’t much detail about the attack by the cultists. All it mentioned was that people in the North were killed during an Apostle’s rampage. The exact objectives or reasons behind it were never fully explained.

“Sir…?”

James’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts. His warm, gentle face looked at me with concern.

“Did something happen up there? Your expression looks a bit… gloomy.”

“No, nothing happened.”

“Is that so… Hmm.”

James continued to scrutinize my face, as if trying to read my mind. His expression said, *I wonder what this young man is worrying about.*

Clearing his throat audibly, James opened his mouth to offer his wisdom.

“Sir, running this inn for over ten years has given me a unique ability. Want to know what it is?”

“Is it intuition?”

“Exactly. Just from the first impression of a guest walking through the front door, I can tell whether they’re troublemakers or high-class customers who tip well.”

“…I don’t think that’s true.”

“…”

Seeing my reaction, James fell silent for a moment.

“Of course! I’m wrong sometimes, but still, my intuition is usually spot on. Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that I’ve seen a lot of customers, and when people bottle up their worries, it often leads to trouble. They act out after a few drinks, or in extreme cases, break windows and wreak havoc.”

James chuckled softly before his tone grew more serious.

“Sometimes, you’ve just got to talk about what’s on your mind, even if it means complaining or badmouthing someone. It helps to relieve the stress.”

I let out a quiet laugh and emptied my glass, appreciating his lighthearted advice.

‘If only my worries were that simple.’

I wondered if he could understand.

That the decision I was facing involved weighing someone’s life…

I lowered my head and asked James a question.

“You said you have a daughter, right?”

“Yes. Want to see her picture? She’s incredibly beautiful.”

“No thanks. Our lady is prettier.”

“Heh…”

James clenched his fist, glaring at me with open hostility—the classic overprotective father. I shook my head, a small laugh slipping out.

“How much do you miss her?”

“I miss her every single day.”

“What if… you could never see her again? How would that feel?”

“…Pardon? Why the sudden question?”

“I’m just curious.”

“Wait a minute… Are you planning to elope with the lady upstairs?”

“…No.”

“Really?”

“No, I’m not.”

I lowered my voice and spoke to James, my tone more serious this time.

“It’s not anything like that. I’m asking because of something I have to do. It feels like I’m about to forsake something important.”

“…”

James, possibly misunderstanding the situation, seemed to be imagining some kind of scandalous love story—a butler and a noblewoman, caught in a forbidden romance. His crude assumption made him rub the bridge of his nose with a grin.

“A daughter… She’s the kind of person you’d give your heart and soul to—the one you’d even gladly offer your organs to, if she needed them.”

James trailed off, his tone softening.

“If I could never see her again… well…”

He sighed deeply.

“It would be incredibly sad.”

A dark shadow passed over my face at his words.

But James didn’t seem to notice, continuing to talk, a small smile playing on his face. He went on about how much a father’s love meant, just how far one would go for their daughter, completely unaware of the storm brewing inside me.

“…But, if she was happy, I think that might be enough. Even if I never got to see her again, knowing she was out there living happily? That’s enough for me.”

“…I see.”

“Yes, that’s just how it is for parents. I’m sure any parent would feel the same.”

My mind became more muddled by the second.

Would Yuria’s father feel the same?

The more I thought about it, the more complicated everything seemed.

What should I choose?

Yuria’s awakening?

Or a harmonious family?

No matter what I chose, the guilt of the decision would linger. The emotional weight would crush me, and the responsibility that came with it would be a burden that might never fade.

In truth, I had already made my decision.

I wasn’t confident enough to face an Apostle alone—a being that even a Sword Master would struggle against. I had too much to protect, and I didn’t want to risk my life for some noble sacrifice.

But…

Looking at James, filled with excitement as he rambled on about his daughter, my selfish thoughts felt shameful.

Honestly, I was tempted to just run away.

I nodded to James, pushing those troubling thoughts to the back of my mind.

“I understand. That’s been really helpful.”

James smiled warmly and patted me on the shoulder.

“Sir.”

“Yes?”

“Haaah… Normally, I don’t share advice like this with people, but you seem really troubled so I’ll make an exception.”

“What is it?”

With a sly grin, James pulled out a small, folded piece of paper from his pocket and held it up to me.

[Northern Hot Springs.

└ Mixed Gender Bathing Allowed.]

With an impish smile, James leaned in and whispered in my ear.

“It’s a bit pricey, but it’s one of the North’s treasures.”

I shook my head at James’s mischievous expression, but still took the ticket from him.

“Honestly. You’re quite the sleazy innkeeper.”

“This is all part of the business.”

“Ha… Really.”

Honestly, I didn’t know anymore.

*

Three days later.

On a late night while Ricardo was off at the hot springs.

-Tap. Tap. Tap.

A knocking sound echoed through James’s inn.

End of Chapter.