The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen chapter 62

62 – Father Who Hates Me – Part 1 –

Lunchtime at the Academy Training Grounds.

After finishing classes, students walked to the cafeteria, discussing what happened in today’s lessons.

The class content is difficult.

The professor always talks nonsense.

Students grumble about the professor having too high expectations.

Among them, a group of female students was chatting with bright smiles, sharing girlish stories.

– Senior Mikhail was amazing today, wasn’t he?

– I mean, when he was sparring with the professor, it was intense, and then that moment! How sexy was it when he took a deep breath and wiped off the sweat…. Staring blankly and then getting scolded by the professor.

– You were staring too obviously.

– But still, Mikhail fulfilled his quota today!

-Hahaha!

Mikhail’s quota.

It was the girls’ code for purifying their tired eyes with handsome martial arts undergraduate male students.

“Ugh…”

Hannah sighed at such girls.

‘Not studying as I’m told to…’

Hanna was someone who couldn’t blend in with the crowd.

Passing by the female students, Hanna walked towards the training grounds. She wanted to swing her sword more, even if it meant saving time for meals.

She wanted to develop her swordsmanship even further and didn’t want to waste any meaningless time, so Hanna was obsessed with practicing.

“I have to impress Master…”

Hanna’s goal had changed in a strange way.

Hanna’s sociability was low. She was more focused on swordsmanship than social relationships.

Even before meeting Ricardo, Hanna prioritized swordsmanship over friendships. Moreover, because she awakened as the youngest Ora and gained attention from her peers, they didn’t view her favorably.

It was always the same.

Being jealous of successful people.

Hanna didn’t pay much attention to those gazes.

Instead, she encountered other problems.

“It’s driving me crazy. It keeps lingering in my mind…!”

Lately, Hanna’s mind was filled with images of her red-haired master. Whenever she swung her sword or attended classes, she couldn’t concentrate because she kept thinking of the master she had met not long ago.

“Why do you think you can’t defeat Mihail?”

“Hanna, you can do it.”

Hanna kept thinking of the master who looked at her with firm belief.

“Sigh…! Ah~ I want to see Senior Mihail again.”

The female students were excited.

They seemed to be strangely enthusiastic after hearing the news that Mihail had awakened Ora and saved them in the dungeon.

Seeing their reaction, Hanna let out a deep sigh.

“Was I like that too…”

As someone who used to like Mihail in the past, Hanna didn’t feel warmly towards their demeanor.

She didn’t have a racing heart like the other female students when seeing Senior Mihail, or feel the urge to keep and cherish a towel he dropped, but she had watched Mihail from the sidelines in a similar way.

It wasn’t a feeling of wanting to continue from there.

She looked at him with admiration, but she felt like she wasn’t any different from them.

“Ugh…”

Hanna’s shoulders trembled, and she was reminded of her past self, giving her goosebumps.

“I should practice.”

To get rid of her distracting thoughts, she had only been practicing.

Hanna silently grasped her sword and swung it in the empty training grounds after everyone had left.

“If the Master were to see, what would they say?

‘What are you doing without even eating? Hurting yourself… This isn’t trying to live by eating that. Hurry and come. If you don’t, the Miss will scold.’

‘They would probably say something like this.’

Hanna let out a small laugh but then lowered her head, realizing something.

“I must be crazy, the thought just struck me again…!”

Continuously in her mind was the annoying Hanna, living recklessly.

Holding the sword, Hanna fell deep into thought.

“It’s not… love.”

Because something feels incomplete to call it love.

The person who rescued her from the cage, wanting to repay the kindness even physically but unable to call it love.

The one who awakened her to the truth, the first person she stood up to against her father, the only commander of the empire’s knights.

‘The term ‘benefactor’ might be more fitting.’

Her doting father.

Her dismissive brother.

Her absent sister.

The person who freed her from the tightly sealed cage of no escape wasn’t Professor Mikhail but a seemingly insignificant Master.

That’s why it felt even more significant.

Love seemed to approach differently, apart from emotions.

Love… it’s an emotion that hinders swordsmanship.

In books, the emotion of love made hearts tremble and bodies yearn upon meeting.

Wanting to see constantly, wanting to be by their side.

For Hanna, it was a difficult emotion.

Wanting to see every day was driven by a desire to repay kindness, wanting to stick by them for life felt like another aspect of repaying a great favor.

For Hanna, who had no experience in romance, the emotion of love was too difficult.

While friends enjoyed their pink-academy life with fiancés or boyfriends, she was solely devoted to swordsmanship.

Approaching people warmly didn’t match her personality.

Being rough and enjoying wielding a sword more than playing made Hanna uninterested in things like romance.

Lost in meaningless thoughts, standing quietly in the training grounds.

“…Hanna.”

A familiar face appeared before her.

A man with silver hair.

The most popular person at the academy stood in front of her, wielding a training sword.

Hanna, taken aback by the unexpected entrance, exclaimed, “Senior Mikhail.”

Mikhail held his sword, blocking her way.

He lightly raised the sword and politely asked Hanna, “Care for a sparring match?”

A sparring match with Mikhail.

In the past, she would have been thrilled, stammering, “Me? With you?” But now, a match with Mikhail didn’t bring the same joy.

Whether it was receiving awards other than from her master, showing her presence during student council meetings, or facing seniors, she had no regrets about her actions. It was just awkward to see his face now.

Hanna awkwardly smiled and raised her sword. “Yes, I’m up for it.”

Mikhail nodded and pounded the ground.

With a ‘clang,’ their training swords fiercely clashed.

Hanna’s focus was on speed, her sword moving swiftly.

Mikhail, even if slower, exhibited precise form, releasing his full strength.

Despite the rapid clashes, Hanna’s sword reached Mikhail’s side first.

“Oof…”

Mikhail furrowed his brow, twisting his body. Hanna’s sword narrowly missed.

She didn’t give Mikhail any openings.

A strike towards the neck.

Another towards the thigh.

And once more, towards the side.

Mikhail’s flaws were glaring in Hanna’s eyes—indifferent to defense, yet not entirely committed to offense—a vague sword technique.

Hanna clicked her tongue.

“It used to look cool, this kind of swordplay.”

It was a style lacking lethality.

A technique focused not on victory but on domination.

Hanna felt a sense of emptiness in Mikhail’s considerate and clearly expressed martial arts style.

“You’re only thinking about the basics. Down. Up. Sideways. Just align the ten combinations, and even my grandmother could anticipate your next move.”

“Isn’t it important to build up from the basics?”

“Basics are just basics, nothing more.”

Her past self, who had taken pride in her martial arts skills, had been fiercely encouraged by her master.

He treated her like a woman, gently knocking her down without hitting hard, lifting her back up, and repeating the process until she found a martial art style that suited her.

And then,

“As long as I’m by your side, you won’t die.”

She had experienced a battle where she exerted all her strength.

But the Mikhail in front of Hanna didn’t exude any of those emotions. Using a mediocre martial arts style as if waiting for a hero, Mikhail seemed passive, using only defensive moves and making Hanna feel tired.

Mikhail pulled out his aura.

Mikhail’s aura, shining like gold, looked like a thorn.

“…”

It was awkward.

Although her past self must have been like that too, Mikhail’s aura didn’t seem frightening or powerful.

Hanna, feeling that Mikhail wasn’t trying to kill her but rather observing, spoke with an impression.

“Senior, can’t you take this seriously?”

She didn’t want to deal with this anymore. She thought awakening his aura would make him a good practice partner, but…

This wasn’t some act of love.

Disappointed by Mikhail’s lackluster appearance, Hanna lowered her sword and said,

“I won’t do it.”

“What…?”

“What do you want to do? There’s no will to win, no sharp attacks… Are you a traffic officer patrolling the streets? What kind of inspector only seeks to suppress.”

Disappointed by the dull martial arts with no vitality, Hanna turned away and left.

Mikhail stood dumbfounded, looking at the sword in his hand.

***

The class ended, and the sky darkened with the sunset.

Hanna sighed deeply while absentmindedly gazing at the red sunset.

“It’s a birthday present.”

‘It won’t leave my mind.’

“When I see the sunset, memories of that day flood back.

The crimson-stained sunset.

Defeating my first adversary in life lightly and standing against my father, who urged me to lay down my sword, the warmth of the steward’s embrace still lingered warmly within me.

“Ah…”

I should have taken a leave of absence, perhaps.

I missed the steward.

From Noble mtl dot com

Hanna glanced at the letter in her hand.

[Hystania Rowen]

It was a letter from her father.

She didn’t need to read it.

It was obvious.

It said it was dangerous, so she should sheathe her sword.

It was the same letter every time.

Despite proving herself, even awakening faster than her father to the looming danger, instead of acknowledgment, her father’s insistent indifference brought a sigh from Hanna.

“So irritating.”

At times like these, it was inevitable to think of the steward.

While others think of their parents in difficult times… I, on the other hand…

Hanna wiped her dry face, exhaling a deep sigh and rose from her seat.

As she rose from her seat, gazing at the crimson sunset.

-Ding.

-A quest has been initiated.

[Q. What if he weren’t there…]

A strange azure window appeared before her.