The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen chapter 152

152 – The Surprisingly Kind Dark Mage

-Crack.

A red light fell from the sky with a thunderous sound.

In a fleeting moment, the flashing light tore through the dark night, cutting the sky, leaving a deep mark on the ground.

Watching me shoot magic expressionlessly, Hans let out a deep sigh and said.

“Did I just get hit by this?”

Since receiving the grimoire, Hans started to act grandiose. It was awkward, but in response to Hans’ stubborn insistence that grandiose was comfortable, I nodded my head.

“That’s the adjustment… hahahaha.”

Hans started filling the floor with soil, creating a garden bed. Holding a shovel, the passionate sight of Hans filling the yard in a primitive way allowed me to deduce how hard Hans had lived from the tower.

“You’re good at shoveling.”

“I had experience working at a construction site when I was young.”

“Don’t you get an allowance from the tower?”

“It’s not my money, how could I spend it? Also, when I was young, I couldn’t use magic, so I had to be careful.”

Hans grew more satisfactorily than I had thought. Unlike the stubborn head of the Nokjo family from the same tower, Hans had a strong character.

I pointed to a corner of the yard with a content smile.

“Could you fill that side too?”

“Of course.”

“And over there.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Hans followed my words better than expected. Tied to a contract, there was room for complaint, but I was puzzled by Hans’s polite demeanor.

It wasn’t like this in the original. He had a rebellious, darkened model student feel, but the Hans in front of me was unfailingly polite, like a model student who had received a summary of the exam.

I put my hand in my pocket and asked Hans. I felt more comfortable asking directly at times like this. If he suddenly changed and said, “It’s so hard to keep up with you,” it would be awkward for both of us, so I decided to stop here.

“Why are you coming out like that?”

Hans responded to my question with a question.

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“Why are you being so kind to me?”

“Pardon?”

“The ancient grimoire you gave me.”

Hans said with a touched expression, placing his hand on his chest.

“It’s an ancient grimoire, isn’t it? You gave me the relic of the Grand Magician who protected the empire in the ancient war… Why are you treating me so well?”

“Is that so?”

“Seeing a grimoire that I’ve only read about in textbooks in person is an honor, and you let me read it directly… Ah.”

Hans spoke to me with a touched expression, like a boy who had found a treasure. Knowing there were more grimoires to hand over, I swallowed my words, nodding silently.

“It’s not such an exceptional grimoire.”

The grimoire handed over to Hans, “Black Barrier.”

Although it was a grimoire written by an ancient magician, it contained many falsehoods than expected.

It was true that a great feat was achieved in the ancient war, but the enemy did not invade the empire, and the Grand Magician with the title ‘Iron Wall’ was not that remarkable.

I, too, was not overly impressed with the limitations of that grimoire since I did not know much about it.

Better grimoires were plentiful.

Moreover, in the novel, Hans did not use the magic of ‘Black Barrier’ much. He mainly used stolen magic, not focusing on ‘Black Barrier,’ as far as I remembered.

So, I handed it to Hans, but…

“Sir.”

Well, as long as he is satisfied, that’s fortunate.

Whatever it is, good is good, so I started making a rough garden bed, rolling up my sleeves.

“Shall we start slowly then?”

“Gulp.”

Hans looked at me with nervous eyes. He was tense due to the daily sparring that took place every evening.

I put the tervin down on one side and spoke to Hans.

“I will use a wooden sword again this time and refrain from using magic. Hans, you can do well on your own.”

“Just a moment to prepare…!”

Without giving him a chance to hesitate, I dashed towards Hans, kicking the ground.

-Thud.

With a piercing sound cutting through the air, Hans hurriedly began chanting a spell.

“[Area]”

A black magic barrier emanating from Hans’ body. Slowly corroding the space, it soon reached my feet.

I swiftly rotated my view and stepped out of Hans’ territory.

“Such an ability…?”

Watching Hans demonstrate magic I had never seen in novels, I felt puzzled and raised a question.

“It seems like an unfamiliar magic.”

“I developed it newly.”

“?”

“Harmony of dark magic and magic… By reviving the enthusiasm for magic that had been forgotten for a while…!”

As Hans stopped speaking, he began casting spells. Black hands extending from the shadows. Dodging the gestures of hands wriggling to pull me into his territory, I smiled lightly, feeling intrigued.

“Interesting.”

Watching Hans evolve as time passed, I smiled with joy. It wasn’t as overwhelming as the novel’s protagonists, but it was strong enough compared to the characters now.

It was satisfying.

“I’m curious.”

“What do you mean…!”

“What you’ll show next.”

“What…?”

Red aura started flowing from his hands. With trembling pupils, Hans lowered his posture as I prepared for the impending attack.

Taking a breath, I said to Hans, “There are many limitations to using a wooden sword.”

“…”

“It’s hard to inflict fatal wounds, and it just ends with breaking no matter where you strike.”

“So.”

-Swish!

Twisting in pain, Hans let out a silent groan.

With a perplexed look, Hans raised his head to see me preparing for the next move.

Hans’ territory crumbling.

His eyes started trembling greatly as he watched the wooden sword swinging with a red gleam.

“Take the hit for now.”

I swung the sword towards Hans.

*

After finishing the light sparring.

I looked at the fallen Hans with a small smile.

“It seems you’re good enough to be a bodyguard.”

“…Cough… Cough. Why are you belittling the security guard like this!”

“That’s how you earn trust and get work done.”

Hans looked at me with a face soaked in emotion. He seemed touched by the mention of being useful.

Seeing Hans, who was more morally upright than I had thought, I smiled kindly and handed him a water bottle.

Hans gulped down the water.

In a voice that flowed like a warning to not misunderstand him, I said to Hans, “By the way, when you came to our mansion, why did you mention the habitat of a Cockatrice?”

“…”

As Hans stiffened like a robot at the mention of Cockatrice, I looked at him with a cool smile.

With a ‘cough’ interrupting him, Hans lowered his head and said to me, “How did you know?”

“There’s nothing I don’t know.”

“…”

“It would be good if you could tell me subtly.”

Hans’ eyes couldn’t find their focus, wandering in confusion. What he had thought was a perfect crime turned out to be a situation where the victim knew what was going on.

To prevent any misunderstandings, I decided to make one clarification to Hans. I couldn’t be too harsh on Hans, who had worked so hard.

“I know you’re trying to ask me something. It’s not about what you want to say, just out of curiosity.”

“…Tsk.”

“Was I that transparent?”

“Cough…!”

“I was being considerate. I felt hurt.”

“I’m sorry. The truth is…”

Hans began to spill a lot of information to me.

After revealing his true identity to me and making a joke about being a monster, Hans slowly whispered about the plan he had set up. I nodded my head in response, saying, ‘Hmm, I see.’

When he mentioned his plan to lead me to the Cockatrice’s nest and interrogate the heretics, Hans’ trembling voice was exceptional.

Especially when he honestly admitted his inner thoughts of ‘trying to kidnap Olivia’ in response to the question of whether he had done anything wrong, I found it surprising.

If he had tried to hide it until the end, I would have pushed him until he confessed.

I could have brought up past events to talk about the narrow-mindedness within, but I was no different.

I thought it would be easier for both of us to address and move on from the problem at hand.

After hearing Hans apologize for thinking about kidnapping the lady, I nodded my head.

And then,

I asked Hans the most important question.

“Is there a plan among the heretics that concerns the lady’s safety?”

Because there might be something I didn’t know.

In the midst of an unintentional collision in our relationship, I asked Hans about the possible involvement of the heretics.

“None…”

Hans, who stopped talking, opened his mouth and pointed to the roof of his mouth with his finger. I nodded as he indicated that he was under a gag order as a member of the heretics, taking my hand out of my pocket and flicking my finger.

With a ‘snap’ sound, Hans looked perplexed, his blunt face staring at me.

“It’s impossible,” muttered Hans.

“How did you solve it?”

“It’s a secret.”

Hans nodded at my words, clasping his hands together. A small smile crept across his face as he uttered meaning-laden words, “Certainly…”

“Thanks to Terving, but we must keep it a secret.”

Setting aside the bothersome explanations, I looked at Hans. He, who had been wearing a disappointed smile, composed himself and spat out a response to my question.

“None.”

“Really? I thought there would be.”

“So far, within this sect, there is no information about you or Olivia. You are exceptionally good at covering your tracks, and I haven’t spoken either. That’s the way it is.”

“Your lips are sealed more than I thought?”

“Even though I may seem like this, I hold a somewhat high position within this sect… It was a bit difficult to report a failure.”

“Indeed.”

Nodding, I understood Hans’s perspective.

After a brief silence.

As if a belated thought struck him, Hans exclaimed, “Ah!” and said,

“By the way, there was one thing we were planning within this sect.”

“Planning?”

“Yes.”

Hans swallowed and continued, “Mikhail.”

“We are planning to deal with Mikhail within this sect.”

Showing a nonchalant reaction as if it were nothing, I put my hand in my pocket.

“Oh, I am aware of that.”

“You are?”

“Just had a feeling.”

Leaving Hans with a puzzled expression behind, I walked towards the mansion.

An episode in the novel.

‘Murder.’

It was the episode where Mikhail’s mercy towards the sect was vanishing.