The Villain Family’s Strongest Butler
Chapter 28
At Ed’s words, Kadrian’s smooth brow furrowed slightly.
“……Why.”
Kadrian asked back tersely.
“Why of all people the butler? It’s not as though you don’t know what a butler’s duties are.”
At that, Ed replied with a matter-of-fact look.
“It’s not entirely unheard of for nobles to bring along their butlers as attendants.”
“That’s only when their aide is unavailable or they have no escort knights.”
“Come now, Your Highness. You can simply say everyone else is unavailable.”
Kadrian turned a sharp glare upon Ed.
Gulp. Ed averted his gaze slightly and hurried on.
“I-I mean, to put it plainly, is our Grand Duke’s Residence’s butler just an ordinary butler? What other household’s butler kills assassins?”
“…….”
“She’s adept at my duties, and she’s as skilled as an escort knight.”
“…….”
And she certainly doesn’t lose in an argument, either.
With his eyes safely turned away, the words flowed without a hitch. Kadrian listened in silence before letting out a dry, incredulous chuckle at Ed’s sheer brazenness.
At Kadrian’s laugh, Ed looked back at him.
Relieved by Kadrian’s noticeably softened expression, Ed continued cautiously.
“More than anything… having locked her away for two years weighs on your mind, doesn’t it? Isn’t that why you took her to the Temple?”
“That was merely to show the butler to the High Priest.”
“Even after hearing from the High Priest that black magic tainted her soul, you didn’t kill her.”
“…….”
Ed was certain.
Even if it became undeniable that another soul inhabited the butler’s body due to the schemes of a black magician.
He won’t kill her. No—he can’t.
Whose body was that? What did that body mean to him……?
Was she not the fiancée His Highness had protected for ten long years against everyone’s objections?
To others, she might be the last survivor and successor of the family protecting the World Tree, but to Kadrian, she was simply the fiancée to whom he had given his whole heart.
Kadrian rose to his feet.
“Stop talking nonsense and get out.”
“Ah, yes. But before that…….”
With deft fingers, Ed snatched up a pen and swiftly wrote Freya’s name on the letter to be sent to the Imperial Palace.
“Ed!”
Kadrian called Ed’s name in urgency, but Ed was impossibly swift and nimble. He was already slipping out the office door.
“I’ll have this sent right away, Your Highness!”
Waving the letter with a cheerful parting bow, Ed looked thoroughly delighted with himself.
Haah.
Kadrian let out a short sigh.
Yet he did not chase after Ed to stop him—even though he easily possessed the skill to do so.
[Meat! Meat!]
“…….”
The furball dashed toward me at terrifying speed.
[Meat! Meat!]
I set the plate down on the floor as if fleeing for my life and took a step back.
Chomp, chomp, chomp, chomp.
The moment the dish touched the ground, the furball pounced, scarfing it down as if it hadn’t eaten in days.
[Mmm! The rich aroma of the meat is—!]
Nom, nom, nom.
[The flavor of the juices……!]
Chomp, chomp, chomp, chomp.
“Either focus on eating or do a critique. Pick one.”
[…….]
The furball went quiet. It seemed to have chosen to focus on eating.
It sure can eat.
I sat back in my chair, resting my chin on my hand as I looked down at the furball.
Just then.
—“You really eat well.”
The words the Grand Duke had said to me came to mind.
Don’t tell me… is that how I looked to the Grand Duke back then?
Damn it. I couldn’t even remember how I’d eaten in front of him.
That was just how delicious it had been. That whole roasted pig.
[It’s cooked just right. Tender, yet with a satisfying chew.]
[The chef in this house knows what he’s doing!]
The furball began chattering again.
This little guy…….
From demanding meat the moment it was hungry, to its exact preference for how meat should be cooked.
……Its tastes are weirdly similar to mine.
For some reason, that realization came as quite a shock.
This won’t do. I need to restrain myself as much as possible from eating in front of the Grand Duke.
At least the furball is cute.
Well, this body is pretty too, I suppose.
But there’s no guarantee she looks pretty in the Grand Duke’s eyes.
Considering he’s as cold and unyielding as a boulder.
Pfft. Hugging the backrest of my chair, I watched the furball.
Having licked the plate clean, the furball looked busy grooming its fur.
“Hey, furball.”
[…….]
The furball paused mid-lick, then shot me a side-eye and spoke.
[Byul! How many times do I have to tell you? My name is Byul.]
“Yeah, yeah. That half-baked name.”
I chuckled, asking how that was any different from walking around with a name tag stuck to its forehead.
The furball snapped back angrily.
[Don’t talk about it so carelessly! This name is……!]
“…….”
Suddenly cutting itself off, the furball continued with a look as if it were about to burst into tears.
[This name……. was given to me by the human who buried my mom.]
“…….”
The furball continued.
[When my mom died, that person cried even more than I did and hurt even more than I did.]
Ah, it must be talking about its previous master.
I looked at the furball for a moment before asking.
“If you had a master like that, why were you getting beaten up on the streets?”
[She vanished. I couldn’t even say thank you.]
Good grief. Every single thing had a tragic story behind it.
I can’t even open my mouth without stepping on a landmine.
I felt guilty for no good reason.
Ahem. Where was that chicken breast jerky again?
There was nothing better than food to cheer up a sulking furball.
I rummaged through my pockets. Just then, knock, knock—a knock sounded from beyond the door.
Still digging through my back pocket, I called toward the door.
“Yes, come in.”
The door opened. It was the aide, Ed.
Huh?
This was the first time Ed had come to my room in person.
“What… brings you here?”
“Haha,” Ed gave an awkward laugh.
I have a bad feeling about this.
And such premonitions were almost always spot-on. Just like now.
“……Enter the palace? Me? I thought you said it was the Grand Aristocrats Council.”
“I’ll explain later, but… I cannot stand before the other nobles.”
“…….”
“So in my stead—”
“You want me to fill in as a substitute?”
Cough. Perhaps because of my blunt phrasing, Ed wore a rare look of fluster.
“A-A substitute… Well, in the end, that is what it amounts to, but…….”
“Hmm.”
When I pretended to mull it over, Ed lowered his voice conspiratorially.
“Usually, those who go along as attendants have plenty of free time.”
Oh? Now that was something that piqued my interest.
“Once His Highness enters the meeting, the council goes on for ten hours at the shortest, and a full week at the longest.”
“Wouldn’t there be meal times in between?”
“No need to worry about that either. The Imperial Palace prepares all the meals.”
“Then why is an attendant even needed?”
“Networking, of course. Networking.”
“Networking?”
“Yes. You gather intelligence by interacting with attendants from other noble houses.”
Ed explained that one would chat with them, discreetly leaking false information while filtering the truth from the rumors they let slip.
“And you want me to do that?”
“Ah. No, not that. This time, you only need to stay in your quarters.”
“……Why? Do you think I can’t do it?”
Ah, that actually stung my pride a bit.
When I showed my displeasure, Ed waved both hands in fluster.
“Pardon?! Ah, no, not at all! How could I ever—no, that is……. S-Since it’s your first visit, it’s just to get a feel for the atmosphere…….”
“…….”
He’s definitely hiding something.
Flustered, Ed hurriedly pressed on as if a brilliant idea had just struck him.
“The Imperial Palace food!”
“……?!”
“Aren’t you curious about the dishes served by the Head Chef of the Imperial Palace?”
“…….”
I narrowed my eyes and glared at Ed.
This aide…
He definitely heard from the Grand Duke that I have a weakness for food.
Even knowing that, I wavered.
Ah, seriously, if I keep acting like this, how am I any different from that furball?
Swallowing hard several times, I asked cautiously.
“Is it more delicious than the whole roasted pig at that restaurant in Esmenta?”
At that, Ed’s eyes widened in surprise.
“You’ve tried that?”
“His Highness bought it for me on the way to the Temple.”
“His Highness did?!”
“Yes.”
Ed’s eyes grew even wider.
“……What’s with that look?”
“Ah, it’s nothing.”
“…….”
Despite saying it was nothing, the corners of Ed’s mouth twitched uncontrollably.
Is he crying? Or laughing?
When I eyed him with suspicion, Ed let out a loud cough. Ahem!
“At any rate… it was ten times—no, at least twenty times more delicious than that roasted pig.”
“!”
This time, my eyes widened.
Twenty times? Could such a flavor even exist in this world?
Looking at Ed with a suspicious glare, I let out a hmpf, snorting before lifting my chin haughtily.
“I’ll go!”
At that, Ed nodded with a solemn, resolute expression.
“You won’t regret it.”
