Villain Family’s Strongest Butler - Chapter 19

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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 22

“Easy now, easy.”
I chuckled softly as I watched the fierce creature thrash about.
Oh my, how terrifying.
The furry bundle shrieked indignantly in response.
[That’s right! I’m still young, but just wait—once I grow a bit more, a puny human like you will go down in one strike! Hack-hack! One strike…!]
Well, well—it understands my words too?
Cough, cough-cough.
…….
The furry ball, which had been raging moments before, heaved as if about to retch.
I clicked my tongue and stepped closer.
“Hold still. I won’t hurt you.”
[No, no—stay back…!]
Screech! Screee-eech! Screech-screech!
‘Well, this creature’s got spirit.’
I grabbed the resisting beast by the scruff of its neck.
“Stay calm, you hear?”
[Human! How dare you…!]
Whimper—the moment I had its neck, the creature’s fierce resistance melted away.
I used the chance to examine its condition.
Where in the world had it gotten so badly beaten?
Clumps of fur were missing in patches. Where the fur had fallen away, the raw skin beneath was split and bleeding, and some of the wounds looked old enough that the blood had crusted over into hard scabs.
Even around the mouth, dried blood seemed to be matted in the fur.
‘The state it’s in is dire.’
As I examined it for a long moment, a defeated voice reached my ears.
[Kill me quickly, then…. Don’t humiliate me any further….]
…….
[Damn it…. There’s no way a human would understand my words anyway. So why are you tormenting me like this…?]
Stop tormenting it. Just leave it alone….
…….
The creature’s resigned whimper rang out pitifully.
“Woe-ooogh….”
“Quiet, furry one. On my name and honor I swear—I mean you no harm. I’ve killed many people, but I’ve never once killed an animal.”
[…….]
Well, except when I’ve cooked them to eat.
In any case, whether it grasped the meaning of my words or not, the furry bundle soon fell silent.
‘So it definitely understands human speech.’
I seized the moment and quickly scooped the creature into my arms. To my surprise, the beast that had been baring its claws moments before went docile and snuggled against me.
‘Yes. You know who will save your life.’
That was when it happened.
“A cat, I see.”
I turned at the voice from behind me.
It was the High Priest.
‘Wait—where’s the Grand Duke?’
I glanced behind the High Priest as he entered alone. But there was no sign of the Grand Duke.
Hmm, being alone with him is awkward.
As my gaze flickered toward the entrance behind him, the High Priest, noticing I was searching for the Grand Duke, spoke first.
“He’s in the Prayer Room. Each family has a private prayer chamber within the Temple.”
Ah, I nodded as if I understood.
Still.
‘This is ridiculous. The Grand Duke really isn’t worried at all?’
What was he thinking, leaving me unguarded like this? If I actually decided to run, what would he do then?
Maybe I should light a fire under his complacency—test his vigilance.
I was entertaining such thoughts when—
The High Priest, looking at the furry bundle in my arms, spoke.
“It’s injured.”
“Yes, well—it seems it fled here to escape a group that was tormenting it. Apparently some of the Priesthood were involved in the abuse.”
“……the Priesthood?”
At the mention of the Priesthood, the ball of fur that had been buried in my arms poked its head out cautiously.
Perhaps intimidated by the High Priest’s gaze, the creature bristled and let out a sharp cry.
“Meow!”
“…….”
“…….”
The High Priest had likely never received such treatment before.
It was then that he turned to me with a casual air and asked.
“What is it saying?”
“……I’m sorry?”
Was he asking as though I should naturally understand?
I could only shrug helplessly.
“I haven’t the faintest idea.”
Even if I had understood, there was no reason to explain this strange phenomenon to the High Priest, whom I was meeting for the first time today.
The High Priest nodded.
“I see.”
And with that, he smiled in a way that revealed nothing of his thoughts.
I cleared my throat and spoke.
“Right. In any case, if this creature isn’t one you’re raising here, I’d like to take it and treat its wounds. Would that be acceptable?”
“……Of course. Though. ……hmm.”
At my words, the High Priest fell silent, his hand resting on his chin. Then, as if reaching a decision, he extended his hand toward the ball of fur in my arms.
“Meow—?!”
A terrified feline cry escaped, but only briefly.
A low hum emanated as golden light sparkled from the High Priest’s fingertips, and the wounds covering the creature’s body began to close.
“What?!”
I gasped in shock. The High Priest laughed.
“It’s a secret, yes?”
“……A secret?”
“Yes.”
Hush. The High Priest raised a finger to his lips with a playful gesture.
I nodded. I’d had no intention of spreading word of it anyway.
What fascinated me was simply witnessing firsthand the High Priest’s abilities, which had been the subject of so much rumor.
‘He must be quite fond of cats.’
Fair enough. He was only human, after all. How could anyone not love such an endearing little creature?
[What have you done to me! How dare you lay your hands upon my body! Try it again! Next time I’ll leave my bite marks all over the back of that hand!]
The creature’s language was rather coarse, but it hardly mattered—no one else would hear it anyway.
“Meow! Meoww!”
Goodness, what a racket.
The ball of fur, now revitalized by the treatment, continued its incessant yowling without pause.
The High Priest observed the creature with satisfaction and asked.
“That’s its way of saying thank you, isn’t it?”
“……Yes, I suppose it must be.”
The High Priest chuckled.
I looked down at the fur ball squirming indignantly in my arms and spoke.
“I told you to be quiet. Unless you want to be the first animal I personally put down.”
[…….]
The creature fell silent at once. The High Priest’s eyebrows lifted with evident surprise.
He observed the now-quiet cat for a time, his gaze distinctly different from when he had first seen it.
I asked him.
“You seem quite fond of cats.”
Given that you healed it and all.
The High Priest then lifted his gaze to meet mine.
“In ages past, there were two Divine Beasts that guarded the World Tree. One was an eagle called the Sovereign of the Heavens, and the other was a black cat said to possess multiple lives.”
I had heard something about the World Tree, though vaguely. But I had never heard anything of Divine Beasts that guarded it.
As I listened to the High Priest’s account, I gazed down at the fur ball with newfound interest.
“Are you saying this cat is a Divine Beast?”
The High Priest smiled.
“That is what the ancient texts record.”
“…….”
“And so the Priesthood has long held cats to be sacred.”
The moment the High Priest spoke with such weight, I found myself seeing the fluffy creature—this talking ball of fur—in a new light. It seemed almost special.
‘But earlier, the furball said the Priesthood had tormented it.’
I stroked the creature gently, speaking in a way the High Priest couldn’t miss.
“Not everyone in the Temple holds it sacred, then?”
“……Pardon?”
As the High Priest echoed my question, I flicked my eyes toward the furball.
Look—it’s hurt like this, and inside the Temple no less. Don’t you sense anything?
Of course, I had no way of knowing how the High Priest received this silent accusation.
At that moment, the Grand Duke entered through the garden gate.
“So you’re here.”
He approached me and gazed at the fluffy creature nestled in my arms.
“Is it lost, like a butler?”
“…….”
When I fixed him with a sharp glare, he laughed as if amused and turned on his heel.
“We should return.”
“……Yes, Your Highness.”
The Grand Duke and I exchanged a silent farewell with the High Priest, then departed the garden.

***

The furball had fallen asleep in my arms.
Unbothered by the carriage’s swaying.
‘You’ve never ridden in a carriage like this before, have you.’
I gazed quietly down at the sleeping creature.
The High Priest’s ability had been impressive. The crusted blood matted in its fur had vanished entirely, and the wounds where fur had been torn away had healed without a trace of scarring.
‘But it couldn’t regrow the missing fur.’
It’s the same with people. You can slow hair loss with medicine and salves, but regrowing hair that’s already fallen out is remarkably difficult.
‘Divine Power isn’t all-powerful, then.’
I looked at the furball again.
Its jet-black fur had become fluffy and lustrous under the High Priest’s Divine Power.
And the star marking on its forehead.
‘How is it drawn so precisely?’
It looked exactly as if someone had traced it with a brush dipped in white paint.
I placed a finger atop that clear star marking and traced its outline.
“Star.”
Then the creature, which I’d thought was asleep, snapped its eyes open. It lifted its head and looked up at me, letting out a sound like “Mya-myap?!”
[……How does this human know my name?!]
“…….”

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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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