Villain Family’s Strongest Butler - Chapter 12

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 15

I stepped out of formation and approached the Grand Duke, offering the greeting I had prepared in advance.
“I offer my sincere congratulations on your safe return, Your Highness, and on the safe return of the Mars Knights. Every employee of the Grand Duke’s Residence has awaited your homecoming with one heart and one purpose.”
I added words about how all this honor and glory would illuminate the bright future of House of Ballot Grand Duke.
The pitch of my voice remained steady, my pace neither rushed nor sluggish, my pronunciation precise and clear.
‘Not a flaw to be found.’
Maintaining my courteous demeanor, I silently offered myself praise.
The fruit of effort tastes so sweet!
I straightened my back and gazed steadily at the Grand Duke. Behind him stood the Mars Knights.
Perhaps because I had stepped forward as representative of the employees to offer my welcome, the tense atmosphere of the knights’ formation began to stir.
Some of the knights might have heard the news of my appointment as the Grand Duke’s Steward through the grapevine, but there were surely others who had no inkling.
I could understand their bewilderment.
In that moment, the Grand Duke standing before me regarded me quietly for some time. Only after the murmur of the knights had died down did he open his mouth slowly.
“……Our first meeting, Steward.”
“…….”
His pleasing, deep voice addressed me as Steward.
That alone felt like receiving his recognition, and an emotion difficult to put into words thrummed against my chest.
How long I had waited for this moment.
‘But I mustn’t let my guard down.’
This is only the beginning. I need to stay sharp.
I hurriedly gathered my thoughts, then offered the smile I had practiced so many times before the mirror.
“I have endeavored to keep the promise I made to Your Highness.”
At that, the Grand Duke let out a soft laugh.
“We’ll see about that soon enough.”
It was a pointed remark. His intention to unsettle me and gauge my reaction was obvious.
But I was not one to be shaken by a mere word.
Maintaining my smile, I turned and cleared the way.
“Do come in, Your Highness. A bath and a meal await you.”
The Grand Duke nodded and turned to face the knights.
Still tense, he slowly swept his gaze over the knights in formation.
As though making eye contact with each knight one by one, deliberate and unhurried.
Then he uttered just a single word.
“Dismissed.”
“…….”
In that instant, a roar erupted from the knights who had been standing in silence—a sound like the sea itself crying out with joy.
The Grand Duke turned and made his way toward the Grand Duke’s Residence, leaving that clamor in his wake.
It was not a remark about their hardship, nor thanks for their suffering.
Somehow, I felt I understood what that single word meant.
‘A word that only those who have returned alive can speak, and only those who have returned alive can truly hear.’
The way his gaze had swept over the knights before uttering those words—it had meant much.
I understood.
Behind my back, the cheers of the knights rolled in like waves, endless and relentless.

***

The Knights’ Quarters Building buzzed with activity for some time afterward.
The returning knights and the employees who welcomed them exchanged warm greetings back and forth.
On the ground floor of the Knights’ Quarters Building, a generous spread of food and barrels of liquor stacked like towers awaited them.
When someone cried out, “Let’s drink until we’re dead!” another voice shot back, “We’ve only just lived this long—don’t talk about dying!”
At the trivial jest, everyone laughed with one heart.
Now that the knights had finally released their tension, this moment felt nothing but joyful.
As the mood warmed, tales of valor began to spill out from every corner.
How many necks one had taken in a day, what feats someone had performed on the night of an ambush.
The time of knights and employees, of speakers and listeners, stretched late into the night.
I splashed my hand through the bathwater I had prepared in advance—clink.
‘Perfect.’
Not hot enough to strip the skin, but warm enough to melt the muscles beneath with a drowsy ease.
It was exactly the temperature I preferred.
After spending long stretches on the battlefield, one inevitably craves a bathtub brimming with hot water.
‘The Grand Duke is probably no different.’
Let me see—I think I’ve prepared everything needed.
‘A towel for drying, soap with a subtle scent, a sponge and bath brush.’
I arranged the items the Grand Duke would use for his bath neatly atop the side table.
Then my gaze lingered on the soap I’d placed beside the bath brush.
I hesitated only briefly before picking it up.
Sniff—, exhale—. Inhale, exhale—.
I brought my nose to the soap and drew in several deep breaths.
‘Hmm. That’s not it either.’
Strange. I tilted my head in confusion. The scent rising from the soap differed entirely from the body scent I’d noticed on the Grand Duke.
‘He doesn’t use perfume or oils separately.’
How could such a fragrance emanate from a man who lives soaked in blood and sweat on the battlefield?
‘It’s like the cool air of early dawn deep within an ancient forest.’
A forest thick with earth-scent, the kind that clears your mind with the life-force held within towering pines.
‘Definitely not this soap’s fragrance.’
I set the soap down and turned.
That was when our eyes met—his violet gaze and mine.
A sharp intake of breath escaped me.
I startled so violently I gasped.
It was the Grand Duke.
‘When did he arrive?!’
I hadn’t sensed his presence at all. It seemed he’d deliberately concealed his aura.
‘The cunning bastard……’
Masking his presence as he enters his own bath chamber? This was unmistakably a setup to catch me off guard.
Fury blazed through me in an instant, but I suppressed it completely and offered a smile that reached my eyes.
“You’ve arrived, Your Highness.”
“…….”
The Grand Duke said nothing. He merely tilted his head at a slight angle and produced a soft hum from his throat.
I swallowed hard without thinking.
‘Why. Why is he looking at me like that?’
Then the Grand Duke’s gaze shifted to something behind me.
I could tell exactly where his eyes had landed.
‘The soap……?’
Yes, unmistakably. He was staring at the soap—the very one I’d just held to my nose to inhale its fragrance.
Surely not.
‘Surely he didn’t see that! Did he?!’
A silent groan escaped my inner thoughts. Of all the scenes to be caught in!
‘How many times did I breathe it in? Three? Four?’
Flustered, the details refused to come into focus.
My carefully maintained smile began to tremble at the corners.
“…….”
“…….”
A suffocating silence stretched between us.
The Grand Duke’s gaze returned to me. Violet eyes narrowed with an intensity that pierced like a dart.
One of his eyebrows rose subtly, and a moment later, the corner of his mouth lifted just as slightly.
With that, it became abundantly clear he had witnessed everything.
Damn it.
Shame flooded through me. The way heat blazed at my ears suggested my face had turned crimson by now.
I decided I had to escape this bath chamber immediately. If I didn’t, I felt certain that either my embarrassment or my heartbeat would bring about my complete undoing.
I forced tension into my raised lips as I spoke.
“I was not quick enough and failed to time your arrival properly. This won’t happen again.”
“…….”
I offered a formal apology, averted my gaze from his, and began edging quietly toward the door.
“Then, if you’ll excuse me. Should you need anything, please ring the bell on the side table—”
That was when he began undressing.
I gasped, my breath catching sharply. My steps toward the door froze along with it.
He must have discarded his armor elsewhere, for he wore only a thin linen tunic.
A beige tunic and the black leather belt cinched at his waist, holding the fabric close to his body.
The Grand Duke’s hand moved twice, and the black leather belt fell to the floor with a soft thud.
Naturally, the linen tunic that had depended on that belt came crashing down with it.
‘That madman……!’
My heart seemed to plummet along with the fabric.
Through the clouds of billowing white steam, I watched the Grand Duke step into the bath wearing nothing at all.
The vapor obscured the details of his form, but what little I could make out was staggering.
The shock of it left me frozen in place, mouth hanging open, utterly unable to flee.
‘That’s…….’
That’s the Grand Duke’s body.
Of all the things I’ve seen in my life……. Now I’ve seen even this.
Splash—
As the Grand Duke sank into the bath, clear water cascaded over the rim like a waterfall.
The sound jolted me back to my senses.
‘This ends now. I’m getting out of here.’
Whether from the scalding steam or from my heart hammering against my ribs, the room seemed to spin around me.
‘At this rate, my heart will give out before my mind does!’
This was my chance—the Grand Duke had turned away. I launched myself toward the bathroom door and reached for the golden handle when—
Two years’ worth of memories flickered through my mind like a lantern show.
‘……Wait.’
Run away? Just because I caught a whiff of the Grand Duke’s soap and caught a glimpse of him naked?
No—I couldn’t throw away my position as Steward over something so absurd.
‘I’m the one and only Steward of this House now.’
I lowered my hand from the door handle and turned quietly back. The Grand Duke’s silhouette in the bath came into view.
‘That’s right. I’ve seen plenty of men without their clothes.’
With an impassive expression, I glanced briefly at the back of the Grand Duke’s head, then bent down and began collecting his discarded garments from the floor one by one, as though nothing had happened.
Having lived most of my life on the battlefield, I’d grown weary of glimpsing the unclothed forms of the knights long ago.
So there was nothing to be flustered about, nothing new about it…….
‘There shouldn’t be.’
After gathering all the clothes from the floor, I straightened and stole a glance at the Grand Duke in the bath.
Certainly, it was the largest and most ornate bath I’d ever seen.
Yet the moment the Grand Duke settled into it, the bath seemed to shrink.
His broad arms draped over the rim, and the sculpted musculature of his body became starkly defined.
Without meaning to, my eyes traced the curves of his frame.
‘Stop.’
What exactly am I admiring right now?
I tore myself away from the unwelcome distraction, shaking my head firmly as I turned from the Grand Duke.
‘Time to leave. For real this time.’
No more surprises. This was enough—more than enough.
Clutching his clothes to my chest, I crept toward the entrance with the softest possible footsteps.
Then.
“Steward.”
The Grand Duke’s voice, heavy as a shackle, caught hold of my ankle.

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