The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen - Chapter 145

Chapter 145 – Protecting Yuria (2)

The chandelier spun round and round.

A faint vibration could be felt from the floor.

Only those with keen senses could feel the ominous signs beginning to emerge in the ballroom.

I raised my head and looked at the ceiling.

‘Is it starting soon?’

-The chandelier spun round and round.

The chandelier swayed slightly.

As if there was an earthquake, the chandelier’s shadow moved in circles, and I swallowed dryly, lost in thought.

‘What should I prioritize?’

The growth of the protagonists?

Or ensuring Yuria’s safety?

Whichever I chose, the outcome would affect the success of the quest. I would protect Yuria while fighting, and the protagonists would also fight with Yuria’s safety in mind.

I had to decide whether to actively intervene and participate in eradicating the heretics, or take a passive stance and focus on observation.

If I wanted to ensure a thorough conclusion, taking action myself was the best option. If I wished for the protagonists’ growth, silently observing was the correct choice.

‘This is tricky.’

I wanted to play with the lady quickly.

A raid implies an unexpected attack at an unforeseen time. That is the ultimate goal and reason behind such a method.

This was the nature of the current heretic invasion.

Two archbishops.

Twenty inquisitors.

A separate unit of thirty fanatics was formed to quickly kidnap Yuria.

They were all more experienced than the Academy students and, most importantly, possessed a willingness to risk death.

Secrecy and impact.

Speed and precision.

The greatest weapon of the heretics, who focused more on speed than explosive force, was their conviction.

Fanatics who were willing to lay down their lives for a greater cause were not opponents that Academy students, who grew up in a sheltered environment, could handle.

Each of them individually had slightly less combat power than the Academy students, but their overwhelming conviction gave them a significant advantage.

Especially the archbishops, whose power far surpassed that of the Academy students. I could face them, but Michail and Ruin would struggle just to hold their ground.

If they were caught off guard, they wouldn’t be able to use their full strength.

The elite group of heretics, targeting only Yuria, was like a swarm of locusts.

The heretics were also in desperate need of someone with divine eyes.

Given the nature of the ball, only a few people carried weapons. Unless they were part of the disciplinary committee or the student council’s security team, carrying weapons was not allowed.

This rule applied to me as well.

Tirving was not in my hand. To be precise, I didn’t have it with me at the moment. Though I wanted to bring it into the ballroom, it wasn’t a good choice to risk being thrown out.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. To attend the ball, I had to follow the Academy’s rules, so I hid Tirving in a corner of the ballroom and attended the ball.

I hid it in a place where I could easily retrieve it if needed.

The sword Tirving itself had the downside of captivating opponents, so handing it over to the security team was not an option. I didn’t want to cause unnecessary trouble.

Lost in thought, I sighed deeply, looking at the chandelier in frustration.

‘This is frustrating.’

I had two weapons.

One was a sword, and the other was the newly acquired unique magic, Raining Thunder.

-Snap.

I flicked my fingers, creating a small static charge in my hand.

‘Crack.’ Red electricity sparked, consuming mana. I had a rough idea of how to use it.

Magic that could be cast immediately without forming spell structures. Though it consumed a lot of mana, Raining Thunder seemed unrestricted in its form.

‘Maybe that’s a good thing.’

Imagining the techniques that could move like my body and be applied to the sword, I gathered my mana.

‘I’ll know once I try.’

Better to have something than nothing.

As I pondered the applications of magic.

“Sir Butler…!”

A girl eagerly waving at me from a corner of the ballroom caught my eye.

A girl with light brown hair, wearing a yellow dress, was waving at me.

Hanna of Histania was waving cheerfully, standing on tiptoes to see my face, making me smile slightly.

‘She seems to be doing well.’

Hopping up and down, Hanna looked healthy.

I didn’t know what she had been up to during the vacation, but I could tell right away that there was something different about her.

The once aimless flow of her mana had become steady, and her movements were now filled with confidence. Just like Rowen of Histania.

I had read in the status window that she had talent comparable to Rowen, but I didn’t realize it would be to this extent.

Hiding my pride, I waved back at Hanna.

“Long time no see, Miss Hanna.”

“Yes! Wait a moment…!”

Hanna was making her way toward me through the crowd.

‘I was going to look for her anyway, so this is good.’

This was the first time I had seen Hanna since the Histania mansion.

I had wondered where she had disappeared to, but seeing her lively now, I felt relieved.

If not for Hanna, I wouldn’t have been able to enter the ball.

-Hey.

-Yes, boss.

-Not boss, Malik.

-Yes, bro.

-…Sigh. Are you free three days from now?

-If you need me to be, I can be free anytime.

-That’s not necessary. Ugh… I received an invitation to a ball from Hanna, but I have work that day.

-Oh…

-If you’re available, could you go in my place? I’ll make sure to pay you extra.

-Of course.

-Can you stop with the flattery?

-Stop breathing, you mean?

-Sigh…

Right after arriving at the ball, I had tried to find Hanna, but with the sudden situation involving Yuria, I hadn’t been able to. I was grateful to Hanna for appearing in front of me like this.

Though not part of the quest, Hanna was someone I needed to protect as well.

Hanna, who had come right up to me, bowed to Yuria and looked up at me with sparkling eyes.

“Sir Butler! Long time no see.”

“Yes, have you been well?”

“Yes…! I saw it earlier.”

“What did you see?”

Feeling embarrassed about showing an unseemly side of myself, I awkwardly scratched my chin with a smile.

Possibly not knowing what I was thinking, Hanna continued with a wistful expression.

“You cursing at that green-haired guy. It was so cool! Someday I also want to…”

Saying she was glad it was me who came instead of her brother, Hanna’s compliment made me blush.

With a small smile, I patted Hanna on the head.

“I’m glad to see you’re healthy.”

“Thanks to you, Sir Butler, I’ve been doing well.”

“No, I haven’t done anything.”

I’m glad.

With everyone I needed to protect gathered in one place, the burden was reduced. If they had been scattered, I would have had to find them one by one. I spoke with Hanna with a satisfied smile.

Though there was an awkward atmosphere between Yuria and Hanna, the conversation flowed naturally.

Just as the topic of the lady’s recent activities came up.

-Boom.

Silence began to fall.

Student Council President Chartia’s urgent muttering began to echo in the ballroom.

“Security…! Why aren’t they responding…!”

Chartia’s ominous muttering predicted the impending disaster.

Hanna looked up at the ballroom ceiling with trembling eyes. She looked at me, mumbling if I felt it too.

Feeling proud as a teacher, I saw Hanna’s growth.

Dumb Michail and Ruin were too busy enjoying the ball to notice anything.

With a small smile, I spoke to Hanna.

“It seems we have guests.”

“…”

“Hmm… what should we do?”

-Boom.

As Hanna watched the violently shaking chandelier, she gathered aura in her hands. I also emitted a faint aura and waited.

-Zzzt…

The ballroom ceiling fractured, and many fragments began to fall to the floor.

The collapsing ceiling revealed the bright moon above.

The chandelier crashed down.

Amidst the falling debris from the ceiling.

Figures in black hoods swiftly knelt down in the center of the ballroom one by one.

In their midst, a man in a white priest’s robe descended gracefully.

The priest opened his arms and smiled.

Though his face was hidden by the hood, the aura he emitted signified that he was an archbishop.

“Good evening, everyone.”

The minor villain in the novel, ‘Archbishop of Slander Mirvael,’ smiled at the sky. He began to walk toward the kneeling heretics.

A noble young man with an ordinary face roughly ran his hand through his hair and walked toward the heretics.

Seeing his face distort along with the distortion of space, Ruin’s expression began to twist.

“Hans…!”

“Long time no see, Archbishop of Greed.”

“Long time no see, Archbishop of Slander.”

The main story began.

And.

Hans awkwardly smiled at the Archbishop of Slander.

“Let’s retreat.”

“What do you mean?”

“The plan has failed. That monster is…”

-Flash…!

Suddenly, red lightning began to strike above Hans’ head.

-Boom!!!

As I pierced through the rising black smoke from the relentless red lightning, I smiled slightly.

“No, you can’t.”

I couldn’t let them leave before it even started.

*

A long time had passed.

Ricardo was furiously shooting lightning, gradually disrupting the heretics’ retreat.

It was subtle.

Michail felt a strange sensation seeing the lightning avoiding the archbishop but striking when the Academy students were in danger.

‘Why.’

He began to question.

Though seeing Ricardo use magic was surprising, Michail was more shocked by the fact that Ricardo was helping others.

Seeing the lightning fall whenever he was in danger made Michail grit his teeth, feeling more confused about the sudden situations caused by the heretics.

As Michail’s hand clenched with another ‘why’ in his mind.

-Swish…!

A priest’s sword in white robes grazed his cheek.

Michail looked at the priest with trembling eyes.

“Haha… what’s going on.”

“…”

“I’ve never heard of such a monster before?”

An unprecedented strength.

Gripped by a terrible killing intent, Michail adjusted his grip on his sword.

-Zzap!

Once again, red lightning struck, aiding Michail.

End of Chapter