120 – The Sad Love Story of a Certain Villainess – Part 4 –
[The last chapter of the third side story, “The Sad Love Story of a Certain Villainess,” begins.]
The place where she opened her eyes was dawn. It was the square of the capital. In the dawn square where rain was falling, Olivia slowly opened her tightly shut eyes.
The clock tower standing tall on the fountain indicated 5 in the morning.
“Sigh… take it easy a bit…”
Olivia swept her face with trembling hands, surveying her surroundings.
“Now… that’s enough.”
“You’ve gone far enough.”
It was a scene not unlike the present. Except for the early morning and dawn, it was an endlessly peaceful square. The square in the capital city, frequented by Ricardo and Olivia, with numerous shops.
Olivia looked around with anxious eyes. She didn’t know what fantasy would torment her this time, or how much Ricardo would be hurt by the misdeeds she had committed.
She suppressed her trembling heart with fearful emotions.
“I didn’t do it.”
And then.
“I did it.”
The familiar blue window appeared in Olivia’s eyes, crossing with conflicting emotions in a low voice.
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– Two months have passed.
– Your misdeeds have diminished the little virtue you had, and your reputation is so damaged that the power background can’t save it.
– In Ricardo’s absence, Uria’s human relationships began to widen. The forces that once harassed her and the forces that protected her now see you as a common enemy.
– Poisoning, falling, bullying, arson, and more.
– All the misdeeds Ricardo had prevented have now become your own, and misdeeds you didn’t commit are also buried in your wrongdoing.
– Among the students, it’s said, “This time, it must be Olivia’s doing again.”
– You’re broken.
– In a lonely place with nowhere to turn, you were fighting a battle without allies. Even if you uttered the unfair plea, “I didn’t do it,” there was no one to listen.
– Now, there’s nowhere to retreat.
– Your desperate final chapter begins.
[The prelude begins.]
After the pounding echoes of your heart seemed ready to burst, a tumultuous noise could be heard from behind.
– Thud… Squeak… Thud…!
Along with the creaking noise that grated on Olivia’s eyes as she turned around, the figure of a red-haired man began to appear.
In a dark alley, a man pushing a wheelchair, despite the heavy rain, proceeded forward without using an umbrella, engaging in a struggle.
Upon seeing the man, Olivia lunged forward.
“Ricardo…!”
Naturally, Olivia’s helping hand was blocked by the cold words of the blue window.
[Observer’s perspective.]
*
– Is the pharmacy open…?
Ricardo, waking up early in the morning, energetically rolled the wheels. Despite the rain, he walked confidently through the deserted downtown, not minding the slippery wheels.
Ricardo’s ungloved hands were full of small wrinkles, and his clothes, unprotected by gloves, were getting soaked in the falling rain.
Olivia lowered her head.
“He must be at home… fool.”
Because there was nothing she could do.
Bowing to the resolute words of the blue window that rejected any action, Olivia could only hope that Ricardo wouldn’t get wet in the rain, raising her hand over his head.
Of course, it was nothing more than a futile gesture.
The blue window began to explain Ricardo’s wanderings.
-Ricardo came out to find medicine. As life approached its end, the pain that squeezed his heart became stronger. Now Ricardo, who had reached the point where he couldn’t endure without medicine, decided to embark on an adventure with his aching body.
-He had a body that wouldn’t be strange to die at any time. That’s Ricardo’s physical condition.
Ricardo, rolling the wheel energetically, moved his hands with a bright smile.
-I’m feeling good today.
The smile hanging on Ricardo’s lips as he foolishly rolled the wheel was a dry smile, like that of a person who has attained enlightenment.
His lips were cracked, and his skin was dry.
Olivia felt that the smile on his lips was a lie. Ricardo’s smile, which seemed to have given up everything rather than a kind smile towards herself, squeezed Olivia’s heart with pain.
-Thud…!
-Squeeeak!! Clank!
-Ugh… Just a moment…!
There were times when he was so exhausted that he fell to the ground, but even then, Ricardo tried his best to get up with a bright smile.
Since it was early dawn with no one around, there was no one to see his miserable appearance. He relaxed and slowly lifted his body up.
-When there’s no one around, you have to move quickly.
Ricardo muttered in a small voice.
-Because I don’t want to show a pathetic appearance to the lady…
‘…Not pathetic.’
Recalling the words he had said before, Ricardo moved his body to lift the fallen wheelchair with great effort.
Like a chased person, Ricardo paced around and used his trembling hands to lift the wheelchair, exerting himself to raise his immobile legs.
If asked what had made him like this, Olivia felt she wouldn’t be able to answer.
What made him like this was neither another person nor an unjust accident; it was solely his own responsibility.
As time passed, Ricardo stopped at a shabby pharmacy on a corner of the capital’s streets.
Wearing a hood pressed deep over his head, standing in the quiet street where no one would come, Ricardo, like a rain-soaked mouse, endlessly watched the clock while soothing his melancholy with a dry wash.
“Sigh… darn it…”
Once again, a faint tremor began to shake Ricardo’s body.
“It’s not really appropriate to act like this after coming all this way.”
A drop of bright red blood started to fall from Ricardo’s hand, wet from the dry wash.
Ricardo’s blood, flowing in the rain-soaked street, mixed with rainwater, disappearing without a trace.
Ricardo’s face began to soak in blood.
It was a bizarre sight.
Ricardo’s face, bleeding, was utterly pitiful, while the rainwater washing away the blood continuously created a strange scene that seemed to make it impossible for anyone to find Ricardo.
So, 10 minutes passed.
And 20 minutes went by.
Ricardo, soaked in rainwater, lowered his head and murmured quietly.
“Let’s go back.”
Staring at the closed door of the pharmacy, Ricardo turned his body with a bitter smile.
“If I collapse here… it’s not good.”
Ricardo shook his head.
“It’s embarrassing to be seen like this.”
Struggling through the rain-soaked street, Ricardo, with a sigh, brought his hand to the wheelchair wheel to turn away from the pharmacy.
And.
-What are you doing here?
The moment the unfamiliar woman’s touch reached Ricardo’s shoulder, his body froze like ice.
Simultaneously, Olivia’s eyes also froze. A faint hope that it might be herself, just in case.
She slowly lowered her head, which she had raised slowly.
And.
-Oh… hahahaha.
Olivia blamed herself for being oblivious, bowing her head.
-You…
It was not Olivia but Uriah who had grabbed Ricardo’s shoulder, making Olivia gloomy.
Throwing the umbrella on the ground, Uriah, who had rushed over, was looking at Ricardo with rough breath.
-Heuk… Heuk…
‘Why…’
Olivia sighed, bowing her head at the figure in the illusion that did not follow her wishes.
‘It’s not me, right?’
It would have been good if it was herself.
Thinking that she might have been better off if she had noticed now, Olivia slowly lowered her head.
‘Why…’
‘Can’t you be on my side at least once? If you show me something like this…. Can’t you be on my side just once! It’s always too late…!’
Olivia tried shouting at the blue window, but the blue window, which had no answer, just repeated the same words.
[Observer’s Perspective]
-I cannot interfere with the subject.
Uriah’s voice cuts through the sound of falling rain.
-What are you doing here?
Uriah’s eyes, filled with anger, glare at Ricardo as her voice reverberates. Her golden eye flashes.
“Divine Eye.”
As Uriah’s talent blesses Ricardo’s body, her pupils begin to tremble.
-What… is happening?
A foolish question spreads through the rain. Uriah is unable to exhale as she witnesses the horrifying state of Ricardo’s body, a sight she has never seen before.
A small voice reaches the silent Uriah. Ricardo’s gentle voice, not forcing an answer, softly soothes her rigid body.
-Shh.
Ricardo awkwardly smiles and gives a timid wink. Despite not being a suitable action, with blood smeared on his lips, he winks at Uriah repeatedly.
-I tripped on the way here…
-Say something that makes sense!!!
Uriah shouts amidst her rough trembling.
-What is it…! Why are you doing this again?
Uriah’s hands, unsure of what to do, tremble. She already knows that there is no way to fix her body. It’s beyond repair.
Nevertheless, Ricardo smiles the same smile and brings his finger to his lips once more.
-You didn’t see anything, Miss Uriah.
Uriah doesn’t hear Ricardo’s words. She is simply unable to recover from the unbearable shock, her hands trembling uncontrollably.
Unable to do anything, just staring blankly at Ricardo, Uriah didn’t know what to do. Ricardo gave her a small smile and said the words he always said to Uriah.
“I’ve just received the punishment because I did something bad.”
“Don’t you know? I’m a bad person.”
“So… sob…”
“That’s why I’m being punished like this.”
Blood flowed from Uriah’s trembling hand.
Uriah lowered her head and spoke to Ricardo.
“It’s because of Olivia, isn’t it?”
“hahahaha… No, it’s not.”
“It’s because of that woman that it turned out like this.”
“No, it’s not. Really.”
Uriah spoke to Ricardo in a cold voice.
“One week.”
“…”
“The Olivia Discipline Committee will be held in a week.”
“I see.”
“I…”
Uriah looked at Ricardo with cold eyes and said.
“I can’t forgive Olivia. And neither can you.”
“Yes.”
– So…!
Yuria blinked her eyes with her sleeves.
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– So…!
She gazed relentlessly into the rain-soaked eyes.
– Don’t be in pain! Apologize to me…! I… I…!
-I’m sorry.
Ricardo nodded with an innocent smile towards Yuria.
And with a bitter smile, Ricardo spoke to Yuria.
-I did my best, but couldn’t reach. I’m sorry.
Wiping her tears, Yuria firmly grasped Ricardo’s wheelchair handle.
-Go.
-Where?
-To the hospital, get treatment now.
-No, I know my body best.
After the continued dispute, the defeated Yuria looked at Ricardo with mixed emotions.
-Go… please.
-No.
-Please… just… let’s go.
-You know.
Ricardo quietly asked Yuria, who couldn’t leave.
– Why are you going to such lengths?
– That’s just how it is.
Ricardo replied to Uria with a frivolous smile.
– ‘Justice,’ isn’t it? Losing to the lady with an unpayable debt.
[Final Chapter. The climax begins.]
*
Upon opening his eyes again…
– Why! Why are you only nagging at me! You’re all the same!
A wicked woman with bloodshot eyes was sitting huddled.
Looking at herself, raising her hand with a frightened look, she appeared pitiful and miserable.
Facing a large crowd, a judgment platform where harsh words and curses rained down on her.
The moment her own figure was hit by rotten eggs and tomatoes.
– Ta-da.
A dark shadow gracefully descended.
– Touched, aren’t you?
As always, Ricardo in a servant’s attire became his own shadow.
– It would be inconvenient if you fell for me. In many ways.
Dang no matter how I tried, I can’t really like Olivia. I’m hoping for Uriah tbh, but looking at how Ricardo being a simp, welp let’s just hope for the best..
Damn cliff. Thanks for the chapters, more are expected
Why a Cliffhanger….
Wow, It took quite the turn! Its really getting well now, but it should be much more intense and heartbreaking for Olivia. Like when her favorability goes up after the current arc and she falls for him more and more, the system would show a side story where Ricardo abandoned her and ended up with Uriah bathing in the glory of a successful life and she is left alone abandoned in the same village.
Finally, the story is getting a bit more comfortable to me. After all, the last few arcs were too frustrating to my taste.
P.S:- This is completely my opinion. No need to show your maturity, writing a long essay about the faults in my writing. I am not an author, but an avid reader with sharp and simple tastes, where the protagonist doesn’t engage in fruitless endeavors.
It’s pretty insulting to call Ricardo’s dedication to Olivia a fruitless endeavor. For better or worse people assign value to everything whether it be ideals, dreams, opinions, people etc and in his eyes Olivia is priceless. To Ricardo Olivia is worth the effort and sacrifice yes it may seem foolish to most people but to him her happiness means everything. While I can understand why some people would find it unpleasant, pointless, or stupid to support such an awful person personally I find such love and devotion beautiful to truly care for someone and want to do everyone you can to make them happy is something and that they are well even at the determinant to themselves is something you rarely see.
Thx for the ten chapters noble (BUT WHY A CLIFFHANGER!!!!!!!!!????) looking forward to the next 10 chapters 😁😁😁
I really don’t know what’s up with the system. It is REALLY adamant on making everyone know how awesome he is through forcefully making them see the what ifs and the past. What if the system is on some time loop and it sees how hard Ricardo has been working behind the scenes.
Also reading this with Scarborough Fair on loop. I’m not Daijoubu.
Estoy 90% seguro que el sistema es la propia Olivia, recuerdan cuando el “sistema” le estaba susurrando a Olivia? Se sintió como si fuera ella misma diciéndose eso
Ahhhhhh, the cliff is killing me
System is making her not forget a single bit of the damage she did to Ricardo,system didn’t even bother putting some positive things in Ricardo suffering the system showed the negative things just to not make her forget and daaammm that is one of the best writing I’ve seen here and I’m all for it
I’ve been thinking that maybe the system is the heroes themselves from a different route, so to speak. And these quests are made to change their fate (for example, Ricardo’s quests that look like they exist so that he doesn’t die and suffer).
It would make sense if the source was the heroes, however I remember one of these flashback quest receivers died fighting an ork in her “what if” scenario so it is hard to know how that would work as she would have no regrets regarding Ricardo in that specific timeline, but a lot of misgivings regarding her father.
This was too sad… I need more. And i like Yuriah as a heroine. So if harem, i hope she would be there. If not, obviously it’s Olivia.
Thanks for the chapters! More!
I mean it’s a harem novel Hannah got a lot of chapters dedicated to her and her relationship with the mc. Despite being the literal protagonist of a reverse harem novel and having several romantic interests she fell for Ricardo and the author has been building up their relationship. Hell Olivia has slowly been realizing her feelings for Ricardo over time and changing to be a better person to and for him. That being said ya there are really only two paths this novel can go assuming Ricardo survives his self destructive path the first being a path where he ends up with Olivia who he has had feelings for over 13 years and who is the main heroine of the series. The second is a path where Ricardo ends up with all three heroines. Personally I’m kinda mixed on Yuria and Olivia ending up with Ricardo. Olivia has been abusive and toxic towards Ricardo and treated him like dirt while taking his love and loyalty for granted. Ricardo on behalf of Olivia made Yuria’s life at the academy hard and inflicted some serious emotional damage towards her but at the same time he also did a lot for her in the shadows. And it’s not like Yuria is innocent either as we have seen when she literally stabbed Ricardo and left him to die it’s probable that she’s done some other stuff to him that are equally as bad. In addition they don’t really have comparable personalities Yuria is a naive idealist while Ricardo has a tendency to dip into the dark side if she is truly to end up with him she’ll have to mature more and start looking at things from his perspective more.
Good post – lots of good points.
I guess Noble forgot to upload the chapter after this it was posted yesterday. That being said I gotta agree with Olivia the system seems to be going above and beyond to torment her. Granted the previous version of her before the growth did deserve this. It seems the story is heading towards another path where Ricardo just self destructs again wether it be from dark magic or his loss of vitality I think the system may be trying to get Olivia to pay more attention to Ricardo so she stops him before it escalates to that point.
You’re onto something. After this Olivia will be more attentive and maybe even discover what Ricardo has been doing while shes sleeping.
Damiiit, I need more
Bruhhhhhh, cliffhanger.