The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen-Chapter 301: Approaching steps (2)

After putting the lady to bed, I returned to my room.

I heard a knock at my ear, though naturally, it wasn’t from the door, but from the window.

“...Sir, are you there?”

“One moment.”

I didn’t understand why he knocked on the window when there was a perfectly good door, but since my tenant preferred the window, I didn’t question it. I just nodded.

“Come in.”

With a creak, Hans climbed through the window, looking around as if unsure where to sit before settling his gaze on me.

“Take a seat on the bed.” “...I could never dare sit on °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° the saint’s bed. It would be more fitting for me to kneel...!” “...Sigh.”

I shook my head, offering him the chair while I sat on the bed myself. I knew he would probably kneel otherwise.

As Hans sat in the chair, smiling innocently, I asked him if he had finally decided on my title.

“So, you’ve settled on calling me ‘saint’?”

“Yes!”

“Why ‘saint’? You could have called me ‘butler,’ ‘master of the house,’ or simply ‘Ricardo.’”

“Those are too ordinary, so I wanted to choose something more meaningful.”

Hans uttered his nonsense with such a serious face that I could only sigh. I had given up on trying to understand him by now.

After a brief silence, I asked Hans what he had wanted to talk about earlier.

“So, what happened during your leave?”

Hans, who had been tight-lipped, finally opened his mouth.

“Yung is committing blasphemy.”

“...?”

“Yung is—”

“I get that part, but what do you mean by ‘blasphemy’?”

“I mean exactly what I said.”

I was dumbfounded by Hans’s completely serious nonsense. I knew Yung, the Archbishop of Oblivion, was up to something, but I hadn’t expected to hear the word "blasphemy" come up.

“Uh... by ‘blasphemy,’ who exactly is the ‘god’ in question?”

“It’s you, Saint.”

“And ‘blasphemy’ means...?”

“Actions taken to oppose you, Saint.”

“Aha!”

Hans was truly someone I couldn’t make sense of.

I chuckled, deciding not to argue any further. Trying to reason with him would only give me a headache.

But still, the name ‘Yung’...

That was not a pleasant name to hear.

It had been a long time since I last heard Yung’s name, not since I first met Mikhail under the name ‘Misa.’

He hadn’t been wearing a mask back then. I had expected him to come eventually, but to hear about him from Hans now...

The conversation had taken a heavier turn, so I nodded and focused.

“In any case, why bring up the Archbishop of Oblivion out of the blue?”

“Well, during my leave...”

Hans began to speak in a low voice, recounting the events that had taken place.

“I recently sensed something strange, so I started investigating the Archbishop of Oblivion.”

“...”

“There are reports of people in the capital losing all their memories overnight. I suspected he was behind it and started looking into it.”

“So, that’s why you took time off?”

“Yes.”

“It was your break. You should have rested.”

“Haha... What else do I have to do? I’m content just being your footstool, Saint.”

“Sigh...”

Hans, still smiling, continued his story.

“My position within the cult is essentially at rock bottom now.”

“That makes sense, considering you haven’t been active.”

Hans nodded.

“Since I failed the Yuriah abduction mission and skipped the official meetings and the Archbishop’s council, they probably think I’m dead.”

“True... Hmm, now that I think about it, why did you try to kidnap Yuriah in the first place? I’ve been meaning to ask, but it slipped my mind until now.”

Hans awkwardly scratched his head before answering.

“It’s an embarrassing part of my past, but since you’re asking, I’ll swallow my shame and explain.”

“That’s alright. You’re one of my people now. Besides, it’s not like you succeeded.”

I gave Hans a small smile as I spoke.

“You would’ve failed even if I hadn’t interfered... Wouldn’t you?”

“Haha... The Saint sees through everything.”

Hans had been soft-hearted in the early parts of the story. I knew he would’ve given up quickly.

It was only after getting involved with the cult that he began to change.

With a grateful bow, Hans slowly started to explain the unexpected reason behind it all.

“Actually...”

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“One of the apostles was gravely injured.”

“What?”

“I’m not entirely sure of the details, but apparently, he sustained a critical wound after a confrontation with the Empress of another country.”

“The Empress...”

The Empress. A character who appeared in the later parts of the story. A woman with blue hair and a long spear. There weren’t many details about her, so I hadn’t given her much thought, but to think something like that had happened...

I nodded slightly, storing the new information in my mind.

“I don’t know why they fought. The details were kept secret...”

“Maybe she caught on.”

“Pardon?”

“The Empress is highly suspicious by nature. Ah... never mind. Please continue. It’s not important.”

Hans nodded.

“Ahem... Anyway, I was told the apostle was gravely injured. As you know, the cult lacks healers and is vulnerable to injuries.”

“...”

“And you’re also aware that once someone practices black magic, they lose the ability to be healed by divine power.”

“Ah, so that’s why...”

“Yes, black magic users replace healing with life absorption, but this was no ordinary injury.”

“Hmm...”

A new question popped into my mind. If that were the case, why target Yuriah specifically? It didn’t make sense to me.

Perhaps sensing my confusion, Hans continued without pause.

“Yuriah was different.”

“Different, how?”

“She...”

Hans’s expression grew heavier as he spoke.

“She has the Eye of God.”

The Eye of God. A divine gift that allows one to see the true nature of illness. Hans’s voice was somber as he spoke about Yuriah, who could see through and understand every part of the body with her eyes.

“It seems they intended to use her in an experiment.”

“...”

“They thought that if they could make her change the god she served, she might be able to heal the apostle. And with the Eye of God, she could at least identify the root of the problem.”

“Brainwashing...”

“I can’t say for certain, but that seems to have been the plan. The apostle’s existence was kept secret, even from the Archbishop. I was simply given the task of kidnapping Yuriah because of her Eye of God. I wasn’t privy to more information.”

Hans’s words raised another question. If the apostle’s injury was so significant, why were they keeping it so quiet?

“Is the mission to kidnap Yuriah still ongoing?”

“No, it’s been abandoned.”

“What?”

Hans glanced at me and then shut his eyes tightly before answering.

“Because of you, Saint.”

“...?”

“While they don’t know the full extent of your abilities, the cult is aware of you. They believe Yuriah’s ally is someone with divine power.”

“Still, it’s the apostle we’re talking about...”

“Even so, the cult is cautious of the smallest changes.”

“...”

“For the greater good, they hide their strength. If they were to cause a meaningless incident and unite the emperor and the nobles against them, they would quickly crumble.”

“A union between Desmont and Histania would indeed be frightening.”

“That’s not all. If the Blue King, the Mercenary King, and the Empress joined forces to crush the cult, it would be difficult for them to handle the combined power. If they recklessly targeted someone under the Saint’s protection, the cult would have to deal with the consequences. That’s why they want to avoid unnecessary casualties.”

Hans finished his explanation with a sigh, murmuring, “This is just my personal opinion.”

It seemed we were finally approaching the main topic.

Now that I had somewhat understood the situation with Yuriah, it was time to address the matter at hand.

I nodded and shifted the conversation.

“So, what happened with Yung?”

“I apologize for the long-winded explanation.”

“No need. I asked, so it’s my fault.”

With that, Hans rolled up his sleeve, revealing a wound on his arm. It looked like a deep cut from a blade, severe enough to be concerning.

“A puncture wound. Judging by the size, it was probably a dagger.”

“Correct.”

“And Yung is the one who did this?”

“Yes.”

Hans began recounting what had happened to him.

On a dark night, while gathering information, he had tracked Yung to his hideout and overheard his mutterings. He discovered Yung’s plans and attempted to put an end to them at the root.

“Hmm...”

Among the archbishops, Yung was the strongest. It was an undeniable fact.

He was also the oldest, having been a notorious criminal long before becoming an archbishop.

For him to have wounded Hans...

“You must have been caught off guard.”

Hans nodded.

“With your current abilities, I would have expected you to defeat the Archbishop of Oblivion easily.”

Hans bowed his head, apologetic.

“I’m sorry. I was overconfident and didn’t notice the ambush.”

“That can happen. Still... it’s a bit disappointing that you let your guard down against an opponent missing an arm.”

“I have no excuse.”

Rather than scold Hans for his wound, I focused on the experience he had gained from it. The fact that Yung harbored ill intentions toward me was information I valued greatly.

“So, what happened to Yung?”

“He’s still alive.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I pierced him through the abdomen with a shaping spell. He’s probably hiding somewhere, bandaging himself up as we speak.”

“Hmm... so he’s not dead.”

“No.”

“That’s troublesome.”

Knowing Yung’s personality, he wasn’t the type to let things go. He was the kind of person who always sought revenge when wronged.

So then...

“His next target would be our lady, wouldn’t it?”

Hans shook his head vehemently.

“No one can touch the young lady.”

“What?”

“As you’ve seen, the lady’s...”

Hans looked around cautiously, confirming there was no one else nearby before whispering.

“The lady’s black magic is powerful enough that even the apostle wouldn’t dare approach her.”

“It’s that strong?”

“She’s a monster. A monster beyond imagination.”

“...”

Hans, trying to reassure me, continued.

“The mansion’s barriers are also reinforced to a point where even an apostle couldn’t breach them. Even if the barrier were somehow broken, the Archbishop of Oblivion would disappear with just a flick of the lady’s finger.”

“To think the power of chocolate could be that strong.”

Hans nodded earnestly, finally releasing a long-held breath.

“That concludes my report.”

“Understood. I’ll keep it in mind.”

As Hans prepared to jump out the window, I stopped him with one last question.

“By the way, Hans.”

“Yes?”

“What exactly are you building in the mansion’s basement? It seems like quite an extensive project.”

“Oh.”

Hans smiled faintly and answered.

“That’s a secret.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’ll show you later.”

He really was an enigma.