The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen-Chapter 284: Apostle of Arrogance (1)

Not long after the blue window appeared,

Hannah, sitting alone on a bench, began to see strange writing in front of her. It wasn’t the usual clean text displayed by the blue window; instead, it was crooked and uneven, as if handwritten by someone.

The words appeared before her:

[During the quest, you may temporarily use the power of ??? once.]

Hannah bit her lip as she read the message.

There was nowhere left to run.

So, even knowing it was the worst decision, she went to her father. Even if the choice she made would lead to the worst possible outcome, she had no regrets.

Loen’s eyelids trembled as the unexpected visitor arrived in his study. The person who had vowed never to return now stood before him.

He couldn’t help but be surprised.

The visitor in front of him greeted him with a cold voice, saying it had been a long time.

“It’s been a while, Dad.”

Histania Hannah. She had left her family, not because she hated them, but because she hated herself.

Loen, looking at the sword in Hannah’s hand, spoke. He had so many questions, but the first thing he wanted was to call her by name.

“Yes, it has been a while, Histania Hannah.” “Yes, Dad, it’s me.”

Hannah forced a smile as she looked at Loen. The reluctant smile on his daughter’s face made Loen’s hand tremble slightly. He knew there was no good meaning behind that smile. Loen let out a bitter sigh.

‘Why now, of all times?’ The thought raced through his mind. He wasn’t prepared for this moment.

He stubbornly clung to the belief that he wasn’t ready to face her, thinking that he was still too immature and ignorant to handle the situation properly.

He realized that something was wrong, but not being emotionally prepared, the only version of himself he could show his daughter was his true, unfiltered self.

All ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) he could do was sigh.

Loen gripped his glass and looked at Hannah.

Her sunken eyes. Her pale complexion. The blue-glowing sword in her hand.

She didn’t look like the timid and fearful daughter he remembered. The daughter before him seemed resolute, yet also on the verge of breaking down, as if she might collapse at any moment.

Loen struggled to part his lips, but eventually spoke to Hannah.

“There’s much I’d like to say, but first, I need to point something out.” “Is this how you greet the daughter who finally came to see you? By pointing something out?” “Right and wrong must be made clear.”

Loen sighed deeply and spoke to Hannah.

“Who told you to bring a sword into the study? I don’t recall teaching you such manners.”

Hannah, who had been standing still for a while, glanced at the sword, letting it catch the moonlight, and let out a sarcastic laugh.

“If you had taught me anything, I would have followed it.” “What...?” “Never mind. Today, I just wanted to rebel a little.” “Histania Hannah, you must realize that if I were to invoke the law, you wouldn’t escape severe punishment.” “That’s disappointing. I’m your daughter, after all... No, never mind.”

Hannah spoke to Loen, her face showing no change in expression.

“I’m sorry. I made another foolish mistake.”

“...Be more cautious next time.”

“But.”

Hannah muttered quietly as she looked at Loen.

“In the end, it doesn’t matter if I hold a sacred sword or a cursed one, right? Because you can always just throw me away.” “...Histania Hannah.” “I’m right, aren’t I?”

Hannah sneered as she spoke to Loen.

“What can I possibly do?”

Loen clenched his fists. He wanted to ask why she was speaking so aggressively. He was trying to maintain his best manners in this conversation, yet Hannah’s sharp tone almost made him snap, wanting to shout, ‘Shut that mouth.’

“Hah...”

Loen let out a long breath and finally expressed his true feelings to her.

“I didn’t mean it like that. You’re still my daughter...” “And what am I?” “You...!”

Hannah looked directly at Loen and asked.

“What am I? In this family, to you? What am I, that I can’t even be treated like a human being?” “You are my daughter.” “...I’ve thought about it over and over. Who am I? Why do I have to be treated this way? Even when I displayed the talent you so desperately wanted, why couldn’t I receive recognition?” “...” “Do you know why I had to be treated this way, Dad?” “All of it was for your...” “For my sake? What was for my sake, and why do you act like you understand everything?”

Loen had been happy when his estranged daughter came to visit, thinking she would never come back.

But now.

Seeing Hannah shaking with anger, spitting out venomous words, Loen had no choice but to lower his head.

He still hadn’t changed. Even knowing that he had been wrong, he couldn’t bring himself to say the words his daughter needed to hear.

His stubbornness hadn’t broken. His heart still wouldn’t yield easily.

Hannah continued to hurl harsh words at him, as if she wanted to put an end to it all right here and now.

“Why...” “...” “Why did I have to be treated like this? Did I commit some grave sin against you? Did I bring shame to the family name? No, that’s not it! That’s not it!!! All I’ve done is bleed and sweat to make sure I don’t tarnish this family, or your name! So why did you treat me this way?!”

Hannah bit her lips hard, her words dripping with contempt. She said the one thing a child should never say to their parent.

“You should have just abandoned me.”

“...”

“If you had abandoned me, I could have met him sooner. Why did you bother raising me?”

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“Histania Hannah!!”

Without realizing it, Loen shot up from his seat, shouting. No matter how much a parent and child were at odds, there were things a child should never say.

“You’ve crossed the line.”

Hannah clenched her fists.

“Then what about you?”

At her words, Loen stopped in his tracks and looked at his reflection in the mirror.

‘Ah...’

A youthful body. A physique that defied the passage of time. The face of a man who appeared to have everything was now showing traces of ‘ugliness.’

The same ‘rationalizations’ he had always despised in those without talent were now glaringly apparent on his own face.

Faced with the reality of his selfishness and greed, Loen’s voice trembled as he tried to explain himself to Hannah.

“For... For your sake...”

Hannah furrowed her brow at his stuttering.

“What did you ever do for me...?” “I...” “You taught my brother the sword, and you provided my sister with the means to train. But what did you ever do for me?”

Hannah’s voice was filled with frustration as she questioned Loen. Why, in this situation, was there nothing he had done for her?

“My memories of you are of indifference, nothing more. What exactly did you do for me?” “I was hard on you because I didn’t want you to waste your time. Like any parent, I wanted you to walk a good path, and...!” “Then you should have told me that, just once.”

“...What?”

“Instead of telling me to give up every day, instead of saying I had no talent, instead of saying I was a disgrace to Histania for wielding a sword! You could have spent just 10 minutes with me, you could have said something kind to me, even just once.”

Hannah, her voice trembling, spoke directly to Loen.

“If you had spent just 10 minutes with me! If you had said one warm thing to me... I wouldn’t hate you as much as I do now.”

“...No. I... I...”

“Do you have any memories of us sitting down and having a conversation, just the two of us?”

Hannah let out a bitter laugh and shook her head. She wiped her eyes with trembling hands, trying to hide her tears as she turned away from him, her voice filled with a fragile sadness.

“I don’t have any... Isn’t that funny? But you know what’s even funnier? I can’t remember a single moment of laughing in this family.”

“...”

“Pfft... It’s really...”

-Haa...

“Funny, isn’t it?”

A blue window flickered before Hannah’s eyes.

[You can project 'your image' from the 72nd side story for a certain amount of time.]

It wasn’t funny at all.

‘How despairing.’

That’s how it felt. The words the blue window confidently spewed. It felt like the emotional wall she had built so painstakingly was crumbling.

There was no excuse left.

Because of him, she had fallen again. Because of him, she was hurt again. Stuck in this repetitive cycle, unable to break free from their toxic relationship... and feeling like she had caused him even more pain because of it, Hannah couldn’t bring herself to smile.

She was afraid of the choices she had made in the side story. She didn’t want to repeat those mistakes again.

So.

She wanted to break this vicious cycle once and for all.

For the father she never wanted to see again, she wanted to give him one last chance.

And with the hope that he would take it, she spoke to him.

“Draw your sword.”

“...”

“This time, I’ll prove it to you.”

Emotions seeped into the tip of her sword.

Not the emotion of murderous intent, but something different. As if all the pent-up emotions that had built over time were finally spilling over, the energy swirling at the tip of the sword radiated wildly.

Fierce. Violent.

A black aura, darker than the sky itself, began to envelop Hannah’s sword.

[The Curse of Arrogance begins to stir.]

In that moment, Loen saw something different in Hannah. The image of a woman, drenched in blood and wielding a sword, overlapped with Hannah in his eyes.

Though she looked identical to Hannah, this woman had walked a different path.

Suppressing her emotions, Hannah spoke to the trembling Loen.

“I tried so hard for you.” -I sacrificed so much for you.

“I sacrificed the comfort of a warm home.” -I gave up my place by the side of the one I loved.

“I wished I had died.” -In that cave, I wished I had died.

“I despaired and cried countless times.” -I cursed you countless times.

“Hannah...?”

Hannah lowered her head and spoke to Loen.

“Draw your sword. Now.”

-Ding.

[The image of 'Apostle of Arrogance' from the 72nd side story is projected onto Histania Hannah.]

And so, for Loen,

a deep darkness fell.