The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

As the unexpected blue window popped up, Olivia nearly lost her grip on reality, but Ricardo's faint, strained moans managed to anchor her consciousness.

"Hah… Hah…"

His breathing was ragged, signaling he was in considerable pain, and the sound faintly reached Olivia's ears.

She was at a loss, floundering about helplessly.

In her panic, she shook her head and alternated her gaze between her trembling hands.

"That's…"

Olivia was scared.

Ricardo, who always seemed to be in robust health, was suffering. The chilling words of the blue window were frightening, but more terrifying was the fact that Ricardo was ill.

He was always the one with a lively laugh.

The one who, even when he stumbled and fell, would right himself with a calm smile and jest, "Hmm, indeed, the ground is harder than my head." So, seeing him bedridden was unfamiliar territory for Olivia.

It wasn't a delusion caused by the blue window; this was the first time she had seen Ricardo truly in pain.

Ricardo was always smiling, disliking any show of weakness. That's why she was more flustered and afraid.

What to do?

How to begin to ease Ricardo's pain when she knew nothing of such matters?

Olivia had always been the one to receive care, and as a noble, she had never even thought about tending to someone else. Thus, her mind felt as blank as a pristine sheet of paper.

"How… What should I do?"

The realm of nursing was as foreign to Olivia as an unexplored world. That’s why it was so frightening, and her mind felt scorched white.

With shaky hands, Olivia struggled to climb onto the bed where Ricardo lay.

It seemed insurmountably high on her own, but she felt the need to see Ricardo's face to calm her nerves.

She knew she could do little, but the thought of seeing his face seemed to steady her quivering emotions, so she clutched at the bedsheet with all her might.

"Eeeek…! Climb up!"

The sheet was slippery.

Despite her gritted teeth and exerted effort, the slick sheet easily slipped from Olivia's grasp.

A worn-out sheet that couldn't bear her weight tore, and once Olivia fell due to her insufficient strength.

The repeated failures led to small scrapes on Olivia's hands. They weren't deep enough to bleed, but they would sting if touched by water.

The usual Olivia might have fussed over "ruining her pretty fingers" and become annoyed, but now, such trivial wounds didn't matter.

"Climb up…!"

After about five minutes of attempting to climb, Olivia's body slowly began to ascend the bed where Ricardo lay.

She was sweating.

It was hot and irritating.

But the thought of finally seeing Ricardo's face brought a small smile to Olivia's lips.

"Hah… Hah… I made it."

Wiping the beads of sweat from her forehead with her sleeve, Olivia looked at Ricardo, who was lying on the bed.

"Ricardo… asleep?"

"Hisss… Hisss…"

"Eek…"

Ricardo looked to be in pain.

His usually flawless white skin was flushed, and his breaths were as harsh as if he held hot metal beads in his mouth.

When his sharp breathing echoed in Olivia's ears, she hunched her shoulders and whispered into Ricardo's ear.

"Ricardo, does it hurt?"

"…"

"You shouldn't be hurting…"

Olivia racked her brain.

‘What now…?'

She had managed to climb up, but she hadn’t thought of a concrete plan for what to do next.

Olivia furrowed her brow and reminisced. She repeated to herself ‘What would Ricardo do when I was sick?' as she reflected on her past.

"When I was sick…"

Olivia timidly reached out to place her hand on Ricardo's forehead.

When she had the cold, the first thing Ricardo did was place his hand on her forehead. Drawing from the clumsy memories that lingered, Olivia murmured,

"I will check for a fever."

Slowly… as Olivia's small, delicate palm touched Ricardo's forehead.

"Ouch… It's hot."

Olivia withdrew her hand quickly.

It was too hot.

Terrified by Ricardo's feverishly burning forehead, as if touching the handle of a hot pot, Olivia involuntarily pulled her hand away.

An awkward silence ensued.

Even though she was the only one in the room, Olivia's clumsy actions filled her with embarrassment, and she hung her head, whining,

"Uh… uh… sorry?"

She uttered a timid apology to Ricardo, who offered no reply. She asked for understanding since it was her first time caring for someone.

Since she had no experience nursing anyone.

And because Ricardo was also to blame for being sick.

So, she murmured softly.

"Please understand."

Olivia, ashamed of her own helplessness, smiled bitterly and stroked Ricardo's hair.

His hair was incredibly soft.

It wasn’t specially cared for, yet it felt so smooth she wanted to keep running her fingers through it.

Ricardo had always been the one to do the stroking. The experience of stroking his hair for the first time wasn’t as bad as she expected.

In fact, it felt as satisfying as petting a fluffy teddy bear.

The warmth from Ricardo's body against her fingertips.

And Ricardo's labored breathing was constricting Olivia's heart.

"Why… are you sick?"

You promised to tell if you were sick.

Enraged by her foolish butler who broke his promise, Olivia clenched her fist.

She had always been grumbling and angry, but Ricardo was her one and only butler, a precious friend who had always been by her side. So, Olivia was infuriated by Ricardo's foolishness in not keeping his promise.

"Why are you so foolish…"

She hadn't given anything in return.

She had only taken.

She had done nothing but scold.

Her voice kept shaking.

Whether it was due to her emotional sensitivity.

Or the sorrow of seeing Ricardo in pain, her voice kept trembling like a fool.

She didn't understand why Ricardo was always so kind to her foolish self, and she was annoyed at herself for thinking it was her due.

She had never once questioned the reason behind Ricardo's devotion.

She had always taken his devotion for granted since childhood, and now she felt pitiable for it.

Having given nothing.

Having only received.

Having been nothing but a nuisance.

So, she was angry with herself.

And…

She was afraid of the story the blue window had shown.

Unsure how she would be portrayed.

If it had been the past…

If it was the Olivia who had always taken Ricardo's devotion for granted…

Even now, she shamelessly expected his dedication, but back then, she had been colder to him. So, she was afraid of what terrible things she might have done to the sick Ricardo.

The most fearful future.

The most regrettable mistake.

If it had been her past self…

She would have undoubtedly abandoned Ricardo horrifically.

She knew her past self wouldn't even lay a hand on the forehead of someone who was sick; that's why Olivia was afraid.

"Ricardo…"

Olivia looked at Ricardo.

"Don't be sick. We planned to play today."

Ricardo's face, which always bore a bright smile for her, seemed particularly fragile today.

His frail breathing.

His sweat-drenched body.

Thus, Olivia decided to do what had always made her happiest when she was ill.

Since nursing was difficult and unfamiliar, she decided to gift Ricardo with the happy memories she cherished.

Tears welled up in Olivia's eyes as she spoke with a trembling voice,

"I will…"

Olivia embraced Ricardo.

She held him as tightly as her heart could bear.

"I'll hold you."

Because when her heart ached from being rejected by Michail, Ricardo's warm embrace had comforted her.

Shamelessly, Olivia returned the affection she had received from Ricardo with a bashful embrace.

"Get better soon…"

-Thump… Thump…

About ten minutes passed with the sound of a beating heart filling the quiet room.

Olivia, who had dozed off, felt a familiar touch on her hair.

Whoosh. The kind hand gently combed through her tousled locks. Olivia rubbed her eyes and looked up at the familiar touch.

It echoed.

The always gentle voice she knew.

"Miss. This kind of flirting can hurt a butler's heart, you know."

Ricardo, with a weak smile, teased her.

"Are you trying to cause a heart attack?"

As their eyes met, a clear notification rang in Olivia's ear.

-Ding!

[Nurse Ricardo to his satisfaction. (1/1)]

Olivia could not lift her head.

Out of disbelief.

And out of shame.

She could not raise her head.

"Really…"

He's such a fool.