The Villain Family’s Strongest Butler - Chapter 1The Villain Family’s Strongest ButlerChapter 1
Chapter 1
When I opened my eyes again, a whole year had passed.
And.
“Where… did you say this was?”
“I told you, my lady, this is the territory of the Valot Grand Duchy in the Cadea Empire.”
“……”
“First, as outsiders are not permitted on this shore, if you would accompany us to the Grand Duke’s Residence for a brief inquiry…”
“……”
For a while, my jaw hung open as I stood there dazed.
“It won’t be an interrogation or anything, but they may ask a few simple questions regarding your identity… Ah, and…”
“……”
Blah, blah. The knight who found me kept rambling on, but his words went entirely in one ear and out the other.
‘Waking up in a new body?’
Fine, whatever. I can accept that.
Having been swallowed by a pit of black magic, my original body couldn’t possibly be in one piece.
‘And a whole year slipping by isn’t completely beyond comprehension either.’
God, looking down from somewhere up in heaven, must have taken some time to craft or find a new body.
I was never one to split hairs. For the most part, I tended to just accept things and move on rather than question them.
But.
‘Not my homeland, the Tenasis Empire, but what?’
The land where I happened to open my eyes…
The Cadea Empire, and of all places, the Grand Duke of Valot’s domain?!
The knights of the Cadea Empire treated me like fragile glass.
All throughout the carriage ride, the knights continually tapped on the window to check on me.
Was anything uncomfortable? Was I thirsty? Please hold on just a bit longer; nothing bad will happen, so please don’t worry too much; hang in there.
They showered me with an equal mix of concern, comfort, and encouragement.
For someone like me, whose daily life consisted of rolling across dirt and bearing wounds and scars all over my body, it was a truly novel experience.
The knight riding inside the carriage with me was no different.
Rattle, clatter—.
When the carriage jostled heavily from the speed, the knight sitting across from me, Allen, spoke up.
“A-Are you alright?!”
“Yes.”
“Ah, well, this is a dirt road, so the carriage might shake a bit.”
“I see.”
“Ahem, cough. Once we pass this road, we’ll be there in no time. Please bear with it a little longer.”
“Yes.”
Blushing, unable to meet my eyes, and stuttering over his words, he looked like an adolescent boy in the throes of his first crush.
‘Well, why wouldn’t he?’
I turned my gaze toward the carriage window.
And quietly looked at my reflection in the glass.
‘It’s no wonder the knights are reacting this way.’
Even the moment I first woke up, this body felt strangely unfamiliar.
Soft muscles, stiff joints, hands without a single callus, and skin unmarred by any wound.
It didn’t take long to realize this wasn’t my body.
Once the knights moved me into the carriage, I was able to examine the reflection of my face in greater detail.
The familiar grayish-brown eyes and the reddish-brown hair bluntly chopped below my ears were nowhere to be found.
Perhaps because I had been found on a beach, sand was smeared all over my face, and hair that had soaked in seawater and dried was tangled and matted into a wretched mess.
The clothes I wore were in a similar state. Soiled with sand and drenched in seawater, their original shape was barely recognizable.
Even so, this woman shone. Even that couldn’t conceal the beauty of this body.
‘How can a person…’
…look like this?
Once again, I marveled at the Creator’s handiwork.
Blue eyes resembling an emerald sea and platinum-blonde hair as dazzling as a white sandy beach.
Smooth skin without a single scar or burn mark, making the crimson lips stand out all the more.
‘Even the burn scar that covered more than half my face is gone.’
It felt a bit awkward to say it myself, but she was unmistakably a rare beauty.
I could fully understand why the enemy knights were blushing, even though I was an unidentified woman.
‘Who could she be?’
I traced a fingertip down the glass.
Why did I wake up in this person’s body?
It’s not like this body fell straight out of the sky…
‘If only I could recall this body’s memories.’
Far from the owner’s memories, only my own self and consciousness were distinct.
Meeting the eyes of the unfamiliar face in the window, I spoke quietly in my mind.
‘I’m sorry. Not a single memory of you comes to mind. So I don’t think it’ll be easy to figure out who you are, either.’
But having lost my childhood memories, I, too, was someone with no way to find my true identity.
‘Isn’t this, too, our fate?’
Well, with any luck, someone who recognizes this face will show up.
‘Unlike me, you might still have hope.’
Because no matter how hard I searched, I couldn’t find anyone who remembered me…
Not a single person…
‘At any rate, I don’t think I can promise to reclaim your identity for you.’
I looked at the uniform of the knight sitting across from me.
The crest of the Cadea Empire boldly stamped on the left breast. Once again, it hit home that this was enemy territory.
‘Because it seems I’ve ended up in a very bad place.’
Of all places, waking up in an enemy nation.
‘If the place I’m being taken to really is the Grand Duke’s Residence…’
And if I come face-to-face with that Grand Duke Cadrian Valot…
‘This is no time to worry about others. My own life is in jeopardy.’
Haa. A sigh slipped out on its own.
‘My life really is… cruel.’
I suppose my destiny won’t let me have peace even after death.
—“Sir Sia.”
A flinch. Was it because I was thinking about heading to the Grand Duke’s Residence?
My shoulders trembled at the sudden memory of the Grand Duke’s gaze and voice.
‘Yeah, Grand Duke. Shockingly enough, I’m headed straight to your house.’
He won’t kill me on sight, will he?
‘No. I’m not Sia of the enemy empire right now.’
Besides, this body currently looked terribly frail and helpless.
‘And a tremendous beauty, at that.’
So he wouldn’t kill me immediately…
Suddenly, I recalled the rumors and heinous deeds of the Grand Duke that I had read in reports.
‘Didn’t they say he immediately beheads anyone he deems a threat, regardless of age or gender?’
In fact, I had heard tales of him mercilessly lopping off the head of a child found in enemy lines.
They even said he toasted with the blood of enemy captives instead of wine at victory banquets.
‘Even the people of the Cadea Empire click their tongues at his viciousness, don’t they?’
Ugh.
I rubbed my suddenly chilled neck.
Ah… this could be dangerous.
‘Then I need to run away. I can’t die like this…’
But even the means to escape seemed a distant dream.
I parted the window curtain slightly and checked outside. At least five armed knights were following behind.
‘Maybe with my old body, but there’s no way I can take on all those knights with this one.’
In other words, outrunning them and escaping was impossible.
Even if, by some miracle, I managed to flee, returning to the Tenasis Empire right away was near impossible.
‘There are too many practical problems.’
To board a ship, I would need identification. Even if I somehow forged one, without gold coins, I couldn’t get on board.
‘And right now, I have nothing.’
Other than this unfamiliar body.
Furthermore, there was another problem.
Even if all of that were arranged, returning to the Tenasis Empire and reaching Crown Prince Serhin wouldn’t be easy either.
‘Above all, if I appear before Serhin with this face, a sword will fly at me long before any word of welcome.’
Because Serhin’s paranoia was bordering on pathological.
He would never believe that I was his knight, the very ‘Sia’ who had met her end swallowed by a pit of black magic.
If so, there really was only one way.
‘For now, let my goal be surviving before the Grand Duke.’
Right. To return to my homeland, surviving comes first.
‘I can think about finding Serhin after I get back to the Tenasis Empire.’
But.
Survive… how?
‘Ha…!’
Just thinking about surviving made my head throb again.
How on earth was I supposed to do that with a body that knew neither swordsmanship nor aura?
Dignity be damned, I wanted to clutch my head and weep right this second.
‘How long will it take to hone this body back to my previous level?’
To reach the level I had when I died, another nine years…?
No.
‘If I’ve already done it once and it still takes nine years, I’d be an idiot.’
Seven years.
‘…No. Seven years is too long.’
Then… five years?
I shook my head vigorously.
Stay in an enemy nation for five years?
Snap out of it!
‘Two years!’
Right, I’ll finish it in two years.
By all means, I’ll bring it back to my previous level within two years.
‘Alright. The ultimate goal is to hone this body back to its peak as much as possible and return home.’
With a goal set, the will to live surged within me.
Looking at the unfamiliar woman in the window, I gave a brief nod.
‘Since things have come to this, I plan to live well, my own way.’
In return, I will live a life without regrets so you won’t feel your body was wasted.
As if holding a conversation, I held the gaze of the woman in the window for a long while.
That’s enough.
Though I hadn’t spoken with the body’s owner directly, my heart felt considerably lighter, as if I had received her permission.
Nodding to myself, I gathered my thoughts.
It was then.
The carriage came to a halt. The knight across from me pulled back the curtain and spoke.
“We have arrived at the entrance. Once the main gate opens, the carriage will take us up to the front of the Grand Duke’s Residence’s Main Building.”
Listening to the knight’s explanation, I turned my eyes out the window.
‘Whoa… Insane.’
That’s a mansion?
Calling the Grand Duke’s Residence visible through the window a mere mansion was quite a stretch.
It was a castle.
Huge and magnificent enough to rival the Imperial Palace of the Tenasis Empire.
‘A Grand Duke who isn’t even royalty… is he even allowed to have an estate like this?’
Creeeeak—.
The massive iron gates opened slowly with a metallic screech.
In response to that sound, my heart began to pound.
‘Of all things in life… I actually end up visiting the Grand Duke’s house.’
Unconsciously, I squeezed my eyes tightly shut.
Oblivious to my turmoil, the clatter of the horses’ hooves pulling the carriage was nothing but brisk.
—“Sir Sia.”
Once more, the Grand Duke from my past memories called out to me.
Ah, piss off. I hear you, so stop calling me.
…Damn it.
