Villain Family’s Strongest Butler - Chapter 1

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 4

Whether my pleas to spare my life had struck a chord, Grandfather summoned the High Priest for a private conversation.
‘What on earth are they discussing?’
Surely they weren’t pricing me like goods in a market stall?
I sat on the sofa, concealing my anxiety while studying the two of them.
Both men glanced at me periodically, their expressions grave. Grandfather’s gaze in particular made me feel like a piece of merchandise on display.
‘The High Priest makes me nervous enough, but why is the Grand Duke acting this way?’
The Grand Duke sat across from me, staring so intently I could feel the weight of his eyes.
His gaze burned with such intensity that meeting it directly felt impossible.
The table between us might as well have been nothing.
It was like that moment on the battlefield, when only a thin sword blade separated us and our breaths tangled together.
‘Is he really calculating how many gold coins I’m worth, Your Highness?’
Then the High Priest slipped his hand into his coat pocket and spoke.
“The sap you requested, sir.”
Sap? What sap?
My eyes naturally turned toward the glass bottle.
What the High Priest withdrew was a small wooden box. When he lifted its lid, a transparent glass bottle came into view.
Inside that bottle lay water that emitted a faint, luminous glow—clearly the sap he had mentioned.
“At the Grand Duke’s request, the High Priest has graciously withdrawn this. However…….”
The High Priest handed it to Grandfather, then glanced warily at the Grand Duke sitting on the sofa.
“As you know, this sap comes from the World Tree, of which little remains. The Temple has forbidden its removal. I mention this because…….”
As the High Priest revealed his concern, Grandfather nodded in understanding.
“I understand. What happens today will not leak beyond this room, I assure you.”
Only then did the High Priest’s expression ease, and he offered a relieved smile.
“Then I am grateful. Ah, and one more thing—you may ask three questions at most. Beyond that, the body will not withstand the World Tree’s power and consciousness will be lost.”
“Three questions…….”
Grandfather’s expression darkened. At that moment, the Grand Duke answered in his stead, his eyes still fixed firmly on me.
“Three is sufficient.”
Wait—what……?
Overhearing their exchange, I could only feel shock.
‘World Tree Sap……?’
World Tree Sap is no ordinary sap. The World Tree itself is as remarkable as its name suggests, and its sap is renowned for its ability to reveal truth.
‘They mean to extract the truth from me.’
I looked up at Grandfather, who had stepped close to me.
He extended the glass bottle toward me.
“Drink.”
I shot him a poisonous glare and spoke.
“Do you know what this is?”
Though I knew exactly what sap this was, I had to feign ignorance. Few people possessed knowledge of it.
There was nothing to gain by arousing further suspicion here.
Then the Grand Duke spoke.
“Do you truly believe you have a choice in this matter?”
“…….”
I shifted my gaze to the Grand Duke and met eyes that were utterly cold and impassive.
He tilted his head slowly to one side and spoke.
“Well……, there is the option of refusing and dying on the spot.”
This damnable demon.
I clenched my teeth and took the glass bottle, unscrewing its cap.
Whoosh—a cool fragrance rose from the bottle’s narrow opening. It felt like standing in the heart of a forest.
‘Fine. I’ll drink it…….’
The Grand Duke was right. There was no real choice.
Without further hesitation, I brought the bottle to my lips and tilted my head back. The sap flowed swiftly from the inverted opening.
Gulp.
The World Tree, called the Divine Tree, bestowed a refreshing sensation as it went down. My thirst vanished instantly. I felt as though I were becoming healthier by the moment.
Smack, smack. I savored the lingering taste with evident regret.
My body showed no immediate change. But the sap’s true power would manifest soon enough.
‘The moment the Grand Duke asks his question.’
In truth, I had drunk World Tree Sap once before.
‘It was the day I first met Serhin.’
At that time, I had lost all my childhood memories and been left abandoned in ruins reduced to ash.
It so happened that Serhin, the Crown Prince of the Tenasis Empire, who was suppressing a rebellion and passing through the area, rescued me.
I remembered nothing of my birth, my station, or even my age.
“You remember nothing at all?”
“That’s correct.”
“Not your name, not your age, not your family’s name or where you lived?”
The Crown Prince’s questioning was relentless, but since I truly remembered nothing, I answered as honestly as I could.
The name “Sia” was one Serhin had given me then.
“From now on, your name is Sia. You will guard my side as my shadow and my sword.”
And so I began to learn Swordsmanship.
But in truth, I remembered my real name.
The reason I did not reveal it to Serhin was that I judged my true identity could become a liability for me.
An empire in chaos from the Rebel Forces, a child abandoned alone in ruins.
To anyone’s eye, my existence was suspicious.
Exactly as it is now.
If I had revealed my true name and my name were connected even minutely to the Rebel Forces?
‘I might have died right there.’
On that first day I met Serhin, he had me drink World Tree Sap.
The World Tree was once a guardian of the Cadea Empire, but for some reason, it began to wither without cause.
As the World Tree withered and the Cadea Empire fell into confusion, World Tree Sap was secretly sold off. Serhin must have obtained it the same way.
Looking back, I found it presumptuous that he tried to make me drink the sap to extract the truth.
‘To bring an unknown person to the Imperial Palace, he had no choice.’
Yet for some reason, the sap Serhin gave me had no effect on me.
Whether the sap he obtained was flawed or whether I possessed some special resistance to it, I could not say.
Thanks to that, even after drinking the sap, I was able to lie before Serhin.
That was how I kept my true name hidden.
‘So what I’m saying is.’
I looked directly at the Grand Duke.
‘If you’ve brought the same World Tree Sap, you won’t easily extract the truth from me, Grand Duke.’
It was then that the Grand Duke finally posed his first question.
“Is it true that you’ve lost your memory?”
…….
I smiled wryly to myself.
Whether he intended to go easy because it was the first question, I couldn’t say, but the question itself favored me.
‘If he wanted to extract a proper answer, he should have asked something more precise and thorough.’
In reality, there were many holes in his question through which I could slip.
‘After all, I truly have lost both the childhood memories of my former body and all memories of this new body.’
Since he hadn’t asked specifically when I lost my memory, I had all the more reason to feel untroubled by the question.
‘Yes, I have lost my memory!’
“It could be said that I’ve lost my memory, but then again, it could also be said that I haven’t!”
…….
…….
What?
What?
‘Just now… what on earth did I just say?’
Words that contradicted my own thoughts had spilled from my lips.
Something was wrong. It was different from when Serhin had made me drink the sap.
‘The sap the Grand Duke gave me must be different somehow….’
No, it was possible that the sap Serhin brought had been defective too.
‘Either way.’
This situation… it seems I’m in trouble.
Then my mouth moved again, entirely against my will.
“The truth is, I’m.”
…….
“A terribly complicated person, Grand Duke.”
…….
“So the question itself was flawed from the start, you understand? Do you comprehend what I’m saying, Grand Duke?”
The light in the Grand Duke’s eyes turned cold.
‘Oh…….’
I marveled inwardly.
It wasn’t an answer incriminating enough to expose my status as an enemy knight, but I was answering the Grand Duke’s question faithfully enough.
‘But why am I talking so much?’
Normally, after drinking the World Tree Sap and receiving questions, one answers only yes or no.
‘And in casual speech, no less.’
The irrelevant parts dragged on, while the important ones were cut short.
Then it happened.
The Grand Duke, who had been watching me quietly, turned his gaze toward the High Priest.
“Has it been mixed with alcohol, perhaps?”
The High Priest started in alarm and waved his hands frantically.
“No, absolutely not, Your Highness!”
“…….”
Hmm. Somewhat embarrassing.
I shared the Grand Duke’s suspicion.
What I’d consumed was clearly nothing but sap from a tree, yet my behavior resembled someone drunk and spouting nonsense.
‘Me, acting like a drunk…….’
And in front of the Grand Duke, no less……!
I bit down hard on my lower lip.
‘From now on, I’ll keep my mouth shut by sheer force if necessary.’
No more rambling.
When the Grand Duke’s gaze returned to me, it grew sharper still.
‘My identity wasn’t exposed, but my answer had been suspicious enough to deepen his doubts.’
After a moment’s thought, the Grand Duke suddenly ordered the Grandfather and High Priest to leave.
“Wait outside.”
“But Your Highness…….”
“Count. See that the High Priest is shown to the offerings prepared for the Temple.”
“……Yes, Your Highness.”
The Grandfather looked at me and the Grand Duke with an anxious expression, then left the office with a resigned air.
Now only the Grand Duke and I remained in the office.
‘Something big is coming.’
From my first answer, the Grand Duke would have easily inferred that I hadn’t lost all my memories.
‘The second question will be to confirm that suspicion once more.’
This was where it mattered.
I looked up at the Grand Duke, tense with anticipation.
The lip I’d been biting trembled slightly.
After a moment of silence, the Grand Duke posed his second question.
“I’ll ask the second question now.”
I stared at the Grand Duke with my teeth clenched firmly.
Very well. Come at me, Grand Duke.
The Grand Duke’s question came.
“Do you……”
“…….”
“……remember me?”
“…….”
……What?
I had braced for a stunning blow, but this was a question I hadn’t anticipated at all.
‘My mind’s already tangled enough—what could his intention be?’
Could it be……he recognized me?
No. That’s impossible.
I’m wearing a completely different shell right now. We haven’t even had enough conversation for him to deduce my identity.
‘Then what is this question……?’
Then it struck me.
Ah…….
‘That question isn’t directed at me at all.’
In other words, the Grand Duke was asking the original owner of this body.
‘Surely……’
Does the Grand Duke know who this body’s true owner is? Is that why he looked so startled when I entered his office?! Is that it, Grand Duke?!
I wanted to demand answers immediately.
Then my firmly clenched lip began to quiver.
Heat.
The moment had come to answer the question.
No, this won’t do.
If I’m just going to ramble on like this, I’d rather not speak at all!
‘That question wasn’t even directed at me!’
Yet my lips moved of their own accord, as though my mouth had a mind entirely separate from my brain.
“I remember. ……Very well, in fact.”
“…….”
Damn it.
“Heartless……. A cruel slaughterer. A blood-drunk demon, a murderer of the age, a madman on the battlefield, merciless and vicious…….”
“Enough. ……That’s all.”
The Grand Duke pressed his fingers to his brow, trying to silence me, but my mouth showed no sign of stopping.
“And.”
“I said that’s enough.”
“Let me finish. This is the most important part.”
“…….”
Ah……. This sap really does work wonders.
I found myself marveling at the World Tree Sap’s potency once more.
Even as the Grand Duke told me to stop, my mouth—emboldened by the sap’s effects—seemed determined to keep talking.
‘Fine. Go ahead and run wild with it.’
As long as nothing about being a knight of the enemy nation slips out, nothing else matters.
I gave up all pretense of restraint and simply let my lips do as they pleased.
And so my lips curled into a smile, drawing up one corner as I gazed at the Grand Duke.
“You’re.”
“…….”
The Grand Duke’s eyes narrowed as he fixed them on my mouth. Emboldened by his gaze, my lips finished what they had begun.
“……the only one I’ve ever truly acknowledged.”
“…….”
Wow…….
I gasped in amazement. I’ve uttered more expressions of wonder here, in this single moment, than in all my years of living before this.
I told myself to do as I pleased, and now I really am doing it.
‘Isn’t this practically a confession?’
Please, I hope this will end soon…….

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————