The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

Chapter 81: The Unqualified Person (5)

[Part 2 ‘The Unqualified Person' commences.]

Once again, Yuria's vision faded to black.

The air of dawn she had just breathed changed to the musty atmosphere of the dungeon, and Yuria slowly opened her eyes, exhaling a deep sigh.

‘I was wrong about Ricardo…'

Yuria's mind was a turmoil.

‘I thought it was all Ricardo's doing. I…'

The thought that she had hated and despised an innocent person darkened her expression.

‘I should apologize, right?'

Yuria took a deep breath and lifted her head.

The ceiling made of stone.

In the moss-filled corridor of the dungeon, Yuria stood.

And in one corner of the dungeon.

A pink-haired girl was standing alone, covering her eyes with her hands and crying.

Looking at the collapsed entrance and weeping, the past Yuria clenched her fists.

[The reading will begin in 10 minutes.]

Her own crying figure.

The sight of her past self, head bowed and weeping sadly, overwhelmed her with a mix of complex emotions and surging thoughts.

The blue window began to narrate the story she had experienced.

[That day, you were abandoned by your friends.]

It was content she knew well.

The blue window needlessly spoke of the heartbreaking memory of being abandoned and weeping in despair.

‘I know.'

Yuria glared at the blue window with resentment in her eyes, but the blue window continued only to tell the story of her past.

[It was a suspicious proposal. The friend who had only exchanged casual greetings with you came to the dormitory at dawn, and despite the dubious nature of the sudden visit and invitation to explore the dungeon together, you nodded in agreement.

At that time, you were being ostracized and were lonely.

Ricardo, who had become awkward.

Your friends, who had been close to you, had started to avoid you, so the invitation from your friends was a welcome change.

You were so lonely that you agreed to the strange request to explore the dungeon at such an early hour of dawn.]

Yuria muttered with a voice filled with anger. Normally distant from anger, she was disturbed by the blue window's bitter words.

‘I know that.'

Yuria inwardly shouted. She was full of fury, questioning why they had to dredge up painful memories.

‘I know, so be quiet…'

She was already troubled… Yuria resented the blue window for continuously provoking her.

I know, so…

Please…

Shut up..

Yuria crouched down, covering her ears, not wanting to hear any more, but the blue window's relentless narration began to chill her blood.

[That day, the students who went to the dungeon with you were gathered at the request of your ‘friend' Kayla.

They accepted the alluring offer of a large sum of money and covering the Royal Academy tuition in exchange for abandoning you in the dungeon.

The friends who harbored negative feelings toward you agreed to the proposal and conspired to leave you in a deeper part of the dungeon than they originally planned.]

[When they left you, they said this.

-Why are you acting so high and mighty? Do you like men that much?

-Because of you, all commoners are getting a bad reputation. Act like a commoner if you are one.

-I never liked you from the start. Flirting with all the men…]

It was a harsh blow to receive verbal abuse instead of gratitude for kindness. You were bound to be hurt.

Now you are in despair, in front of the collapsed exit.

No way back. Your hurt heart.

Your shredded spirit feared returning to the Royal Academy.

You couldn't face them, and the wounds in your heart wouldn't easily heal.

And at that moment.

A lethal voice began to whisper in the ears of your weakened self.

-Come here.

-I'll avenge you.

-Don't you want to kill them? I'll grant any wish you have.

A dark wizard named ‘Calypso,' defeated by the Empire's knights a hundred years ago, was enticing you with his words.]

The blue window's story began to reveal truths that Yuria had not known.

Yuria, who had repeatedly blocked her ears and tried to avoid it, stopped and lifted her head at the blue window's sudden words.

With moist eyes, Yuria slowly raised her head and looked at the blue window with trembling gaze.

‘What did you say…?'

The blue window swiftly answered Yuria's question.

[Calypso is preparing for his revival.

He is scheming to replenish his dark power by enticing people like you, recovering his body wounded in a battle a hundred years ago.]

[You walked towards that place.]

[And.]

[A man following behind you grabbed your hand, leading you away from death.]

The last paragraph struck Yuria's ears powerfully. It told her that she was nearly dead, but Ricardo had saved her.

Clutching her bursting heart, Yuria glared at the blue window.

‘That's absurd… how could…'

-Tick…

-Tick…

-Tick…

As the timer on the blue window hit '00:00,' Yuria's break ended.

[The reading begins.]

As the blue window disappeared, a sorrowful sobbing reached her ears.

-Sob… Hic… Ahah…

The weeping voice of her past self echoed in Yuria's ears.

‘I… hic… What did I do wrong? I just wanted to be friends with everyone… hic..'

Looking at her past self rubbing her eyes and shedding tears, Yuria watched with wavering eyes.

-Wahhh… Why does everyone hate me… I tried so hard.

Watching herself cry was not a pleasant feeling.

‘Don't cry.'

-I just…

‘Don't cry even if nothing changes because you cried. Yuria.'

-I want to get along with everyone…

‘Don't cry…'

Her past self walked with weak steps toward the deeper parts of the dungeon.

The blue window was right. She was afraid to go back to the Royal Academy, and the thought of seeing those people again darkened her vision.

She truly felt scared.

Even if she got along with a few professors and friends, the atmosphere in the classroom turned ice cold, and it was hard to endure.

She felt like filth. Like something people disliked touching and didn't want to come near.

So.

Her past self had fled deeper into the dungeon. She thought it would be more comfortable to hide.

Yuria murmured as she watched her past self's slumped shoulders.

‘It's enough now.'

She didn't know why this was shown to her, but having realized her mistake, she wished it would end.

Now that she understood it wasn't Ricardo's doing, Yuria clenched her fists and yelled at the blue window, realizing her misunderstanding.

But the blue window offered no response.

Yuria shouted with frustration.

‘It was just one time… one time…! I may have misunderstood once, but Ricardo tormented me far more!'

Acknowledging it didn't erase her mistake.

But

Compared to what Ricardo had done to her at the Royal Academy, her misunderstanding was minor.

Yes, it was just one time.

The time she was left behind in the dungeon. Once.

She had suffered worse things at Ricardo's hands, and those things made her cry more.

If the blue window appeared hoping to make her realize her wrongdoing, then Yuria thought it had severely missed the mark.

This wasn't something to show her, but rather Ricardo.

How tough it had been because of him.

How much she had suffered because of unreciprocated love. Ricardo couldn't even imagine it.

So…

She wished it would stop.

Otherwise.

-Sob…

She felt it would make her past self seem too pitiful.

About 10 minutes had passed.

The corridor she walked down became increasingly blurry. Her past self, with unfocused eyes, as if enchanted, began to walk deeper into the dungeon.

-Be quiet…!

-I never thought of killing my friends!

-Shut up…!

Yuria felt a chill as she watched her past self muttering to herself, covering her head.

-No…

Shaking her head.

-I'm not alone.

She saw her past self beginning to utter negative words.

After a while, repeating words like a mad person, her past self, who had been blocking her ears and staggering, gradually found stability and began to murmur.

-Right, I can just start over from the beginning. If I get rid of friends and make new ones, I won't be alone.

-Yeah, they're the bad ones. Then it's right to punish them.

With unfocused eyes, her past self stood in front of the dungeon wall, knocking.

Her past self, who had been confronting Hans in the corridor leading to the Greedy Altar just moments ago, began knocking.

Knock knock. As her knocks echoed behind the wall, it crumbled with a rumble, and an ominous aura began to emanate from it.