The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

Time flows quickly.

The time spent agonizing between friendship and love wasn’t waiting for Shuen’s decision; it was racing ahead, following the ticking of the second hand.

Of course, Shuen…

-No way!

-Ah…

-I can’t hate him!

-What…?

-If love could happen just by listening to a commoner’s words, it would have happened long ago!

-Wow…

-Why are you laughing? I’m being serious here!

-I was just caught off guard. I didn’t expect you to say that.

-Anyway, I don’t have any friends! It’s fine!

Shuen kicked away the solution I suggested. She said that love offered by a commoner isn’t real love and that love is something you achieve on your own, stubbornly insisting on sticking to her own way.

Though she did agree with a few points.

-Still, I won’t do a public confession like the commoner suggested. I don’t want to make Senior Mikhail uncomfortable…! This seems to be the one thing the commoner got right. Ohoho!

She was a bold woman.

Much bolder than I had imagined.

Since that day, Shuen started coming to the convenience store even when there were people around. Normally, she avoided coming when others were present to steer clear of strange rumors, but it seemed like her limit had been lifted. With no friends anyway, she stopped caring about others’ opinions and began visiting openly.

-Commoner!

-Are you not even going to call me by my name anymore?

-I never called you by your name in the first place!

-That’s true.

The rumors continued to grow, and people passing by the convenience store called me a thief. But Shuen, who was used to such stares, brushed off most of their words.

Though she was slightly conscious of them.

“Ugh… Commoner, is it that my popularity is soaring again today?”

“What?”

“No one’s coming into the convenience store. They’re blocked by the aura of a noble…!”

“Pfft! Shuen, do you know what that’s called?”

“Conqueror’s Haki?!”

“No. It’s called delusions of grandeur.”

“Hmph!!!”

Today, too, Shuen sat across from the convenience store, eating a discarded bento while scanning the students passing by with sharp eyes.

Even for someone as accustomed to scrutiny as Shuen, that level of attention must have been hard to endure.

“Ohoho… This girl. It seems her popularity is at its peak. At this rate, becoming a big star at the academy is just a matter of time!”

“Shuen, your hands are trembling.”

“It’s just your imagination.”

I couldn’t help but admire Shuen’s ability to think positively in every way.

“By the way, what is this ‘big star at the academy’ thing?”

“Ohoho~ It’s this girl’s dream, planned since high academy days. Want to see it?”

Shuen rummaged through her bag and pulled out a worn leather notebook. The tattered leather, bearing the marks of time, seemed to hold a lot of sentimental value. Smiling, I opened the notebook she proudly handed me.

-✩Making Shuen the Empire’s Big Star✩

‘…’

-Thud.

Feeling secondhand embarrassment from the contents that screamed middle-school syndrome, I closed the notebook and handed it back to Shuen.

“Ohoho… Surprised, commoner?”

“It’s… not easy.”

“This is the plan I made when I was 15. Someday, I’ll sing at the academy talent show and make lots of friends….”

“Stop…!”

I covered Shuen’s mouth as she proudly rambled on, my face crumpling. If she kept going, I might actually burst into laughter.

“I get it, so please stop. If you keep talking, it feels like I’m reliving a forgotten dark past….”

“So, commoner, you also dreamed of being a popular star like me, huh?!”

In many ways, she was a girl with big dreams.

The academy thief didn’t seem inclined to get caught anytime soon. I knew who the culprit was, but I didn’t want to get involved since it wasn’t a major incident.

What intrigued me more was the current state of Mikhail and Shuen.

As per the novel, Shuen had chosen the same project as Mikhail and was now patrolling the academy with him every evening.

Curious about Shuen’s progress, I asked her about it with a glint of interest in my eyes. Shouldn’t “Shuen the Universal Superstar” take a backseat to her “heart-fluttering love story” for now?

“More importantly, Shuen, how’s the grand operation to win over Mikhail going?”

“Ah… Senior Mikhail?!”

Shuen, looking slightly disappointed, put the notebook back in her bag and answered curtly.

“It’s going well. But more importantly, my grand dream…!”

“We’ll talk about that next time…”

Seeing Shuen stubbornly trying to steer the conversation back to her dream, I shook my head and redirected the topic.

“You’re working on a project with Mikhail these days, aren’t you?”

“That’s right.”

“Doesn’t your heart race like crazy….”

“Commoner. That’s arrhythmia!”

“What?”

Shuen said this to me with a serious expression.

“If your heart feels like it’s about to burst, that’s arrhythmia! It means you could collapse at any moment.”

“Doesn’t that happen to you when you see Mikhail?”

“What?”

“Like, your heart racing when you look at Mikhail.”

“Hmm…”

Shuen looked at me with a giant question mark hovering over her head.

“I don’t feel anything, though?”

“What?”

“From any angle, I think he’s handsome. I can’t even speak properly because I’m nervous.”

“If that’s not your heart racing, then what is it?”

“My heart doesn’t race. It beats perfectly normally.”

She was a woman I couldn’t quite figure out.

I placed another discarded bento on the table to silence Shuen. I couldn’t help but think that maybe she didn’t like Mikhail but rather found him visually appealing.

“Ohoho! Commoner, I think I have arrhythmia!”

“…Okay.”

“When I see discarded bentos, my heart just…! Thump thump!”

“Oh, for goodness’ sake….”

“Is this love?!”

“No. Just eat.”

I muttered softly as I looked at Shuen.

‘Well, as long as she’s kind, that’s what matters.’

Thinking of her as someone with a vast cosmos in her mind made it easier to accept.

***

Another night at the academy had arrived.

Having changed out of her school uniform and into a dress, Shuen exhaled deeply and strode confidently toward the promised location.

“Let’s do well today.”

The dress trailing along the ground followed her steps.

In the distance, the silhouettes of students gathered for their project came into view. These were the students who had gathered to catch the thief stealing items from the academy.

Members of Misamo were present.

Students from the Magic Department were there too.

And then.

“Oh, Shuen, it’s been a while.”

There was also a senior who was difficult to deal with.

A freckled female student waved lightly at Shuen while looking at her. Then, she scanned her from her legs to her neck and let out a small laugh.

“Oh… You dressed up nicely?”

“Thank you.”

“Did you dress up because Mikhail is coming?”

“…”

Shuen didn’t respond to the female student’s words. Just from her tone, it didn’t seem like she meant it in a good way.

‘I’m not an idiot.’

Vienna.

A third-year senior who had publicly humiliated Shuen during the ranking match in her first year, second semester.

She had deliberately taken hits from avoidable magic, yawned, and said, “This year’s freshmen are hopeless,” to embarrass her.

‘Her name sounds like half-eaten sausage… How arrogant.’

She was a girl Shuen didn’t like.

Of course, she had been thoroughly crushed by Histania Hanna, but Shuen, who believed nobles should handle their own revenge, was still holding a grudge against the half-eaten sausage.

Vienna ground her teeth as she looked at Shuen ignoring her. Being disregarded in front of others was humiliating. Vienna, who had a sensitive personality, opened her mouth again to restore her crumbled authority.

“Hey, when a senior speaks…”

She clamped her mouth shut like a mute who had swallowed honey at the sudden arrival of a male student.

“Sorry! Am I late?!”

Shining silver hair.

A youthful voice.

Mikhail greeted them with an awkward smile.

“The professor asked me to help with something, so I’m late. Sorry about that.”

The students gathered in the fifth-floor corridor held their breath as soon as they saw Mikhail. After all, the reason they had gathered was none other than him.

Vienna, who had been creating a tense atmosphere, suddenly brightened up and greeted Mikhail cheerfully.

“It’s fine~ We just got here too.”

“Oh, really? That’s a relief. I was running, thinking you’d been waiting for a long time.”

“Hahaha! Why would you run? Everyone here is your junior, and you’re only ten minutes late.”

“Still, a promise is a promise…”

Listening to their conversation, Shuen muttered softly to herself, ‘A commoner kept a noble waiting for ten minutes… If it weren’t Senior Mikhail, they should’ve been severely punished.’ She realized how dangerous it would’ve been if Ricardo hadn’t warned her to watch her words.

Shuen covered her mouth with her hand to stop herself from saying anything and nodded silently.

-Nod.

“Shall we start the patrol for today?”

Mikhail stretched and began dividing up the areas for the patrol. He assigned who would cover the first floor and who would take the fifth floor.

Everyone grew tense as they played rock-paper-scissors to determine their partners.

And then.

-Rock!

-Rock.

Shuen and Mikhail ended up in the same group.

“Oh ho ho… Senior Mikhail and I are partners!”

“That’s right. Just like last time, we’re partners again. Let’s work well together today too.”

“Oh ho ho… Yes.”

Shuen was in a good mood.

Because she was partnered with Mikhail.

She thought today was her lucky day, with everything going smoothly from the start.

-Ugh, so annoying.

-Again? Why is it never me?

Shuen couldn’t show how pleased she was under the sharp gazes of those dissatisfied with the outcome they didn’t want.

‘A match is a match.’

The grumbling group members hesitated, wearing annoyed expressions, hoping someone might agree to switch partners with them.

The worst among them was Vienna.

Vienna blatantly ignored Shuen and spoke to Mikhail.

“Mikhail, can’t you partner with me today?”

“Huh…?”

“I had something difficult in swordsmanship class that I wanted to ask you about.”

“Oh… Really?”

“Yeah. Can’t you just partner with me?”

“Well…”

Vienna, seeing Mikhail hesitate, began coaxing him as she slowly revealed her thoughts.

“Honestly, Mikhail, you know who the culprit is, don’t you?”

“What are you talking about? Did a witness come forward?”

“There you go pretending not to know again. Mikhail, your kindness is your problem.”

“…No, that’s not it.”

“You can’t catch them because there’s no evidence, but you roughly know who the culprit is, right?”

“…”

Vienna looked down at the lower floors and spoke curtly.

“Someone who stays at the academy late into the night.”

“…”

“Someone who doesn’t feel a sense of belonging to the academy.”

“…”

“Someone desperate for even a small amount of money because of fines. See? The culprit is practically shouting, ‘I’m right here.’ Don’t you think?”

Vienna smirked as she spoke.

“All we need to do is catch some evidence. Then we can pin the blame on Ricardo as the culprit.”

Mikhail’s expression hardened.

And then.

“You damn b*tch!”

Shuen’s hand moved faster.