Villain Family’s Strongest Butler

I wasn’t sure how my words had been received, but the faint furrow on the Grand Duke’s brow deepened noticeably.

He clearly didn’t find it amusing.

With his eyelids half closed, he seemed to be contemplating something.

Is he debating whether to kill me now or to ask his final question first and then kill me?

Frankly, I wouldn’t blame him. If I were in his position, I’d be thinking the same thing. Someone like me, whose identity remains a mystery and who keeps making cryptic remarks, isn’t exactly the type you want to keep around.

His violet eyes wandered briefly over the table before returning to me.

‘Here it comes.

The Grand Duke asked his third and final question.

“Have you come here to kill me?”

“…”

To kill him…?

I had expected this question. However, it forced me to think deeply.

After all, we are enemies.

As enemies, it was inevitable that our swords would clash again one day.

But that was between Sia and the Grand Duke, when we faced each other on the battlefield.

But now…

Can this body, which lacks both swordsmanship and aura, even kill him?

Sure, I’d imagined returning home with his head as a prize, but not now.

If anything, I’m more curious.

Curious about the Grand Duke outside of the battlefield.

This question was more complicated than a simple yes or no. It wasn’t something I could simply answer.

And just like before, my lips moved on their own.

“I…”

***

Count Norbert Millard carefully laid the unconscious woman down before returning to the Grand Duke’s office.

“The doctor says her condition isn’t serious. She should regain consciousness tomorrow.”

By the Grand Duke’s order, the woman had been given a clean room instead of being locked in the dungeons, and a doctor had been called to attend to her.

“So it really was three questions.”

“Indeed.”

Norbert nodded in agreement, then glanced cautiously at Cardian before asking, “Did you get the answers you were looking for?”

The Grand Duke sat at his desk, staring quietly at the sofa where the woman had been.

Her face and the look in her eyes replayed in his mind.

“I was.”

Norbert pursed his lips, a hint of disappointment flashing across his face.

“I didn’t expect you to dismiss me so quickly.”

“There was no need for you to be there.”

“You’re so cold, as always.”

The Grand Duke chuckled softly and picked up a pile of documents, a clear signal for Norbert to leave.

But instead of leaving, Norbert continued to study the Grand Duke intently.

Lately, the Grand Duke had not been in good shape. His eyes often looked tired, and sometimes he would stare blankly out of the window.

It can’t just be because of the attack on Trensha Village…

There seemed to be something else on his mind, something beyond the village incident.

Although Cardian was not one to wear his emotions on his sleeve, Norbert, who had served him for many years, could sense even the smallest changes in his demeanor.

He remembered a week ago when the Grand Duke had abruptly left with his aide, Ed, in a hurry, leaving him in charge of the village attack.

Even though he had tried to keep his composure, there had been a fleeting moment of unease on the Grand Duke’s face.

Which meant…

‘If something is bothering him so much, could it be related to…’

Norbert asked cautiously, with genuine concern, “Your Grace, could it be… something happened to the ‘Master of the Fifth Floor’?”

“…”

The Master of the Fifth Floor.

The main building of the Grand Duke’s estate had a total of five floors, but only the first four were accessible to the staff.

And the fifth floor…

That was the problem.

No one knew the exact identity of the entity that resided on the fifth floor, except for the Grand Duke himself.

Although there was a staircase leading to the mysterious floor, only the Grand Duke could climb it.

Well, Ed knows about it too.

The Grand Duke’s aide, Ed, also had access to the fifth floor and often managed it when the Grand Duke was away.

The previous Grand Duke and Duchess had also known about the fifth floor resident, but after their deaths and Cardian’s inheritance of the title, the old Duchess had moved off the estate.

So now the only two people who had access to the fifth floor were the Grand Duke and Ed.

Norbert pictured the heavy black iron door that blocked the staircase to the fifth floor – a door that concealed a forbidden room, a secret not to be questioned or even glimpsed.

“Your Grace, your complexion has worsened considerably since last week. You handed over the Trensha Village incident to me, so it can’t be that. Could it be the Master of the Fifth Floor?”

“Norbert Millard.”

The moment Norbert mentioned the fifth floor again, Cardian’s calm but threatening voice cut him off.

“I believe I told you not to talk about the fifth floor.”

“…”

The Grand Duke’s gaze was cold – distant rather than angry.

But standing before those piercing violet eyes, Norbert couldn’t help but freeze.

He bowed his head.

“Forgive me, Your Grace. I overstepped.”

When it came to matters of the fifth floor, Cardian never made exceptions or compromises.

Without looking up, the Grand Duke continued to review his papers as he spoke, almost as an afterthought.

“And as for the woman…”

“Yes, Your Grace? Please, continue.”

“You will be in charge of her.”

“…Pardon?”

Norbert’s head snapped up in surprise.

*In charge* of her? What did that even mean?

“Ah!

So I’m supposed to take her to my estate and interrogate her some more?

Norbert nodded, thinking he finally understood.

“Of course, I will take her to my estate and question her thoroughly-”

“No.”

Cardian frowned and put the documents aside.

“Let her work as a maid on the Grand Duke’s estate.”

“What?”

“I’m telling you to train her properly and make her useful.”

Norbert stuttered in disbelief.

“Your Grace! Why would you allow such a suspicious, potentially dangerous person to stay here?”

“A suspicious and dangerous person, you say?”

The Grand Duke chuckled as if he had just heard something amusing.

“Norbert, you should not say things you will regret later.”

“Your Grace, this is no laughing matter. It could be dangerous! Wouldn’t it be easier to just kill her?”

Besides, haven’t you already told me to retire? Why are you suddenly giving me more work now?

Norbert looked at him with pleading eyes.

But the Grand Duke ignored his protests.

“Give her a room in the west wing and start her training immediately.”

“Your Grace, please reconsider! She could be a spy sent by the noble faction, or even by another realm!”

That’s why I’m telling you, it’s safer to just…

“No, Count.”

Cardian interrupted Norbert’s reasoning once more.

“The more dangerous she is, the closer she should be kept.”

“…”

The Grand Duke remembered the woman’s answer to his last question.

-“Have you come here to kill me?”

-“I…”

She had sighed deeply before continuing.

-“Honestly, Grand Duke, I don’t even know why I was on that beach. I have no idea why I’m in this realm…”

At first, it seemed like she was about to answer directly, but instead, she had begun to lament her situation as if it were a personal grievance.

-“Tell me, Grand Duke, did I come here of my own free will? No! Your knights dragged me here from the beach. Do you think I wanted to come here?”

The sap should force simple, direct answers-just “yes” or “no.”

And yet this woman rambled on with unnecessary details that no one had asked for.

Was there alcohol in the juice?

-Look at me, Grand Duke. Do I look like someone who could harm you? This body? Are your eyes just for show?”

-“…”

With every sentence she had addressed him informally, casually throwing out “Grand Duke, Grand Duke”.

And then, with another long sigh, her voice had softened, almost pitiful.

-“Fine. Maybe I *could* hurt you someday. But not now. Definitely not now. Understand…?”

Her expression had been one of frustration, and she had bowed her head, as if the weight of her own words were too much to bear.

After a moment of silence, she had spoken again.

-“Two years.”

-“Two years?”

-“Yes, … watch me for two years, Grand Duke. Who knows? In that time I might grow strong enough to be a real threat to you. Doesn’t that intrigue you?”

-“…”

-“So, Grand Duke…”

Her voice had trailed off as she reached the limits of her body’s endurance after answering three questions.

Her eyelids had fluttered, her body had swayed, but even then she had managed to ask one last question.

-“So, just… let me live, for now.”

-“…”

Even as she lost consciousness, she had begged for her life.

The Grand Duke had laughed in spite of himself.

She is certainly different from the black magicians who wanted to die with me or the assassins who begged for death.

Her will to live – her desire to survive – was far stronger than anything he had ever encountered.

Should I be relieved…?

And yet… her way of speaking was strangely familiar.

Where have I heard that tone before?