The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 257

A round table where the executives are seated.

Around twenty student council members filled the seats with stern expressions.

Student Council President Chartia.

“You’ve all heard by now. First-year students are going missing.”

Mikhail.

“I’ve heard about it, but I’m not sure. Were they kidnapped, or did they leave on their own?”

Yuria.

“I’ve heard too. There’s even a student from our department who suddenly can’t be reached….”

Hanna.

“Why does this academy never have a quiet day?”

Ruin.

“Why was I even called here? I’m useless anyway.”

In addition to these, about twenty student council members sat listening intently to Chartia.

An agenda brought up by the student council two months ago.

-The disappearance of first-year cadets.

At first, they concluded it was individual whims leading to unexcused absences and issued disciplinary actions, but as the numbers grew—one, two, three—the student council began to sense something unusual.

Not unexcused absences, but disappearances.

The student council believed the scale of the incidents had surpassed the realm of youthful rebellion stemming from the freedom of adulthood.

“Over the past three months, more than twenty students have been absent. As of today, it’s twenty-two.”

Hanna nodded at Chartia’s words and spoke in a heavy voice.

“This is serious.”

“Exactly.”

“Isn’t this beyond what we can handle? I think we should request help from the Imperial Family this time.”

The Crown Prince, who had been quietly listening, shook his head and let out a deep sigh.

“Impossible.”

Hanna raised an eyebrow at the Crown Prince’s defeated tone and retorted.

“What do you mean, impossible? There are two members of the royal family in the student council.”

“That’s why it’s impossible.”

“How can you say it’s impossible without even trying? You’ve heard it too, haven’t you? This is beyond what we can handle.”

“The rule against seeking external help was established by the academy’s founding chancellor. Anything that happens within the academy must be resolved internally. If the professors and the chancellor determine that the matter is beyond what students can handle, then….”

“Bullshit.”

Hanna clicked her tongue and glared at the Crown Prince.

“What?”

“It’s because of your position, isn’t it? You’re holding back because of your image—’The Crown Prince resolved the incident without the Imperial Family’s help.’ Isn’t that it?”

“Histania Hanna.”

“What? Isn’t this academy supposed to be equal for everyone? Are you going to suppress me with your authority?”

“You’re crossing the line. Just because you’re from Histania doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want.”

“Oh, how terrifying. Should I just drop out then?”

“…”

-Bang!

As the atmosphere grew colder, Chartia slammed her fist on the desk, shooting a sharp glare.

“Both of you, stop it! What are you doing, acting like three-year-olds?”

Hanna, undeterred by Chartia’s reprimand, fired back.

“President, think about it. We haven’t been able to handle anything that’s happened at the academy so far.”

“I said stop.”

“The incident during the ranking match, Hans using dark magic—we could barely manage those. And the ball? If it weren’t for the butler, we wouldn’t have resolved that either.”

Hanna glanced at Ruin, Mikhail, and the Crown Prince as she spoke.

“Honestly, we haven’t solved a single thing on our own, have we? At the very least, we should ask the butler for help…!”

-Bang!

“Ricardo is on leave. To be blunt, he’s practically expelled, an outsider. Are you suggesting we call him and ask for help, saying, ‘This is our situation’? What do you think people would say?”

“…”

“This batch is the worst.”

“…”

“Back in my time, we handled everything ourselves. The academy is doomed. Is this all kids these days can say? What do you think your peers would say?”

Chartia spoke to Hanna with a voice tinged with frustration.

“I know. I know our situation isn’t good right now. But what can we do? We need to seize this opportunity to restore public trust.”

“Still…!”

“This isn’t just tarnishing our reputation; it’s tarnishing the academy’s as a whole.”

As the student council president, Chartia said what she had to. She knew as well as anyone that the current issues were too much for the student council to handle alone.

But this time was different.

Chartia gestured lightly to the student standing beside her, signaling to distribute what they were holding.

The student next to Chartia nodded slightly and began placing the papers they were carrying in front of the seated executives.

“We can handle this one ourselves.”

The executives unfolded the papers and looked at them.

And they let out gasps of surprise.

“What is this? How long have you been investigating this?”

The unfolded papers contained testimonies from witnesses who had last seen the missing students, as well as a map marked with circles indicating the presumed locations where the students had disappeared.

Hanna, her eyes wide, stared at Chartia in disbelief at the detailed map, which couldn’t have been created without visiting the locations in person.

“Weren’t you busy?”

“I am. I feel like I’m going to die under the mountain of work, but we have to extinguish the most urgent fire first, don’t we?”

“Wow….”

Chartia spread out the map and spoke in a slightly confident tone.

“Let me say it again: we can handle this one ourselves. There’s no trace of heretics, and the disciplinary committee has even confirmed the locations.”

Chartia looked toward Rohan, the disciplinary committee head seated at the far right of the round table, nodding in acknowledgment of his efforts.

Perhaps sensing Chartia’s gratitude, Rohan nodded lightly and cautiously stood up.

“That’s right. I verified it myself.”

“Really?”

-Nod.

Rohan unfolded the map and began speaking calmly, explaining the information he had gathered with certainty.

“It’s a three-hour carriage ride away. The distance is considerable, but not too far, and it’s not too far from the capital either. Requesting support should be relatively easy….”

Rohan’s words elicited mixed reactions from the executives. The hot-blooded members of the disciplinary committee nodded, eager to restore their tarnished honor from the last incident, while Yuria and Hanna remained silent, their attitudes pessimistic.

“Excuse me.”

Amid the sharp silence, Hanna raised her hand and posed a question to Rohan. After all, he hadn’t mentioned the most crucial detail.

“So, where exactly is the circled location? Judging by the map, it looks like a cave or a forest. Honestly, I think it’s a heretic’s den. Don’t you?”

Rohan, who had been wearing a hesitant expression, firmly shook his head at Hanna’s question and replied.

“It’s not that. There’s a cabin there.”

“A cabin?”

“A bandit hideout, to be precise. The missing students all had one thing in common—they were involved in gambling. I don’t need to spell it out to explain why they disappeared.”

“You’re saying they were taken because they couldn’t pay their debts?”

-Nod.

Hanna clicked her tongue and shook her head slightly.

“No matter how I look at it, something feels off.”

Hanna swallowed her words as the room’s opinion didn’t sway and lowered her head.

“Fine. Senior Mikhail, don’t you have anything to say?”

Mikhail, who had been quietly listening, flinched at Hanna’s question and cautiously opened his mouth.

“Student Council President, may I share one opinion?”

“Go ahead.”

“Thank you.”

‘Phew.’ Mikhail let out a deep sigh, stood up, and carefully voiced his thoughts.

“I think Hanna’s earlier suggestion has merit.”

Hanna’s lips curved upward slightly as she gained support. Having Mikhail agree with her opinion gave her significant strength. Feeling assured that she wouldn’t have to partake in anything unpleasant, Hanna’s mood improved.

After all, Mikhail was the kind of person who would oppose hiring the butler.

But Mikhail said something no one expected.

“I am in favor of hiring Ricardo for this matter.”

Mikhail’s words instantly chilled the atmosphere in the room. It was Mikhail, of all people, who had uttered Ricardo’s name.

The one who despised and hated Ricardo the most, the one who had suffered the most at his hands after Yuria, had now spoken Ricardo’s name aloud, leaving the room filled with confusion.

Chartia, wearing a grim expression, couldn’t give a positive response to Mikhail’s opinion. Saying it was easy, but bringing him here involved numerous constraints. They would have to travel to Hamel to confirm his willingness, and there were too many eyes watching. Chartia exhaled heavily and spoke calmly.

“That’s impossible.”

“…”

“I already told you. Bringing Ricardo here would draw too much attention. And there’s one thing you’ve all been misunderstanding until now.”

Chartia rubbed her throbbing forehead and briefly shared her opinion.

“Ricardo has never once come at our request. Every time, he came on his own and caused havoc. He’s not someone we can summon at will.”

Havoc. Though she used the word “havoc” in front of others, in truth, Chartia meant it as a kind of salvation.

Chartia let out a heavy sigh and said.

“We’ll leave tomorrow morning.”

“…”

“Those in favor, raise your hands now.”

Everyone except Hanna and Yuria raised their hands. Some raised their hands out of concern for the juniors who were still trembling even at this moment, while others raised their hands with the desire to restore their honor as quickly as possible.

Chartia gave a small nod and posed another question. This time, she asked those opposed to raise their hands.

“Two people… Ruin, what about you?”

Chartia glared at Ruin, who had propped his legs up on the round table as if they were about to burst.

“What do you want to do?”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Ruin replied.

“I don’t want to go.”

“What?”

“What good would it do if I went? I’d just be a burden. I’ll just stay in the dormitory and rest. Punish me or kick me out of the Student Council, do whatever you want.”

‘Haah.’ Chartia’s sigh deepened.

And so, the meeting, filled with so many people’s anxieties and expectations, came to an end late at night.

Early the next morning.

The Student Council members gathered in front of the Academy.

The destination was the outskirts of the capital.

A cabin located on the mid-slope of the mountain.

***

At that time.

I let out a languid breath, stroking the hair of the Young Lady who was knitting, and greeted her.

“Young Lady.”

“Mm.”

“What are you making?”

The Young Lady raised her hand to show me a chimera made of yarn and smiled brightly.

“A scarf!”

“…”

“How is it?”

The design was rather bizarre.

Though I couldn’t understand how a scarf could have legs and a neck, I stroked the Young Lady’s hair and spoke in a low voice.

“Do you remember when I mentioned that I might need to step away for a bit?”

“Mm.”

“I think I’ll be gone for about a day or two. Will that be alright?”

The Young Lady looked at Darbav, who was playing with Gomtangi in the estate yard, and nodded energetically.

“Yes. I’ll play with Father.”

“Understood.”

“But bring back something tasty when you return!”

“Alright.”

I chuckled softly and stroked the Young Lady’s hair.

My destination was the outskirts mountain.

The Apostle’s nest.