Villain Family’s Strongest Butler - Chapter 39

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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 42

We made our way through the vendor stalls and into the shop-lined alley, stopping here and there to purchase small bites along the way.
Between browsing and picking up this and that, my hands had grown quite full and heavy.
‘And my belly’s satisfied too.’
I hurried back to the carriage to set down my purchases, then returned to where Cardrian was waiting.
When I came back to the alley where Cardrian stood, the atmosphere was markedly different from the bustling vendor square.
It felt somewhat more upscale.
‘In other words, everything here probably costs a fortune.’
As I walked alongside Cardrian, I stopped in front of a shop.
‘That is….’
When I halted, Cardrian turned back and stood beside me.
“Are you thinking of buying that as a gift?”
Cardrian didn’t seem to think it a good idea.
“In the mansion, only the steward or I would ever use something like that.”
I nodded in agreement.
“Yes. I wanted to give it to you, sir.”
“…To me?”
Cardrian looked at me once, then at the Pocket Watch displayed beyond the glass window.
“I know you regard the Pocket Watch you’re currently carrying with great importance.”
Speaking with the sincere heart of a devoted steward attending to her master, I continued gravely.
“But I noticed the Watch Chain has been repaired many times. I thought it might be good to replace it before that part breaks again.”
“….”
Cardrian stared silently at the Pocket Watch inside the window. I glanced at his expression.
Still expressionless. That unreadable face made my heart race with anxiety for some reason.
‘…Will it not work?’
In truth, I had intended to examine Cardrian’s Pocket Watch with this opportunity.
I had confirmed that the boy who appears in my dreams uses the name ‘Cardrian’.
But with just that name alone, I could not be certain that Cardrian and that boy were the same person.
While the name was not common, neither was it particularly rare.
‘So I need to see it with my own eyes.’
The initials inside the Pocket Watch. And the heart between those initials.
Concealing such thoughts, I waited for his response with a composed expression.
Then Cardrian walked forward without a word and, with a soft chime, opened the shop door.
Cardrian gestured toward the shop interior and spoke.
“Let’s go in.”
“….”
I looked at him for a moment before responding.
“Yes!”

***

At that same moment, in the Empress Palace of the Kadea Empire.
“Artier.”
“…You wanted to see me, Mother?”
“Yes, my son.”
Artier entered the Gloria Garden, the largest and most opulent space in the Empress Palace.
At the heart of the Gloria Garden, the Empress sat with dignified bearing among the blooming flowers, appearing more magnificent than any flower around her.
The Empress set down her teacup with grace, then at last lifted her gaze to look at Artier.
“Sit, Artier.”
“Yes….”
Artier took the seat opposite Empress Silbia.
Silbia said nothing for some time. Artier clenched his fists hidden beneath the table.
The Empress Silbia was an extraordinarily difficult presence.
If there were Imperial Family above the Imperial Family, would she be like that?
More formidable and uncomfortable even than the Emperor himself, his own father.
Every time Artier found himself before such an Empress, he felt as though he could not breathe.
“Artier.”
“Please, Mother.”
“Ellaris has been crying all day.”
……
Ah. Artier sighed inwardly.
‘So word of it reached Mother after all.’
Cardrian and his attendant Freya—the Empress had summoned him on account of those two.
Silbia’s love for the Third Princess was singular.
From the auspicious Prophetic Dream to the Divine Oracle that descended upon the temple on the day of her birth—the Third Princess’s arrival was sacred in every regard.
It had silenced the empire’s distrust of the Imperial Family, a mistrust that had grown as the World Tree began to wither.
That the Emperor and Empress showed such exceptional favor to the Third Princess was hardly a matter of speculation.
‘Which is precisely why the child turned out like that…….’
Artier cleared his throat before speaking.
“I have failed in my careful watch. Forgive me, Mother.”
“No. That is not it, Artier.”
Silbia’s gaze drifted toward the garden, remote and wistful, yet the words that fell from her lips were chilling.
“Do you wish for Ellaris to simply die?”
Artier answered in startled haste.
“No, no, Mother. How could I wish for my sister’s death? That is not so!”
His lowered eyes and glistening gaze made him appear as one genuinely concerned for a sibling’s welfare.
Silbia responded to his words with a faint smile.
“Drop the theatrics, Artier.”
“Theatrics? I am wounded, Your Majesty.”
Artier’s laugh was artlessly beautiful.
Silbia’s smile then faded, and she spoke with sudden authority.
“See that you arrange regular meetings with the Duke. Surely if my son does not dawdle, there need be no affection where none exists? And while my son hesitates, what if filth were to splash upon the Duke?”
Though, admittedly, it seems one small insect has already taken to him. Silbia murmured softly to herself.
“Artier.”
“Yes, Mother.”
“My son is the Crown Prince. In this empire, he wields the second-greatest power after His Imperial Majesty. That my son cannot do as he pleases with a mere Duke—how can this be?”
……
“I have never cultivated weeds in my garden.”
It was a demand that he prove his worth.
‘Weeds. Weeds, she says…….’
How many in this empire could dare call me, the Crown Prince, a weed?
Artier, who had been listening in silence, let out a soft laugh and rose from his seat. He cast off the mask of the doting older brother and painted his public smile across his lips as he spoke.
“Your Majesty the Empress, worthy of my respect. That command alone I shall pretend not to have heard.”
“What did you say?”
Artier shrugged his shoulders and smiled beautifully.
“Such a thing the Duke would not wish for, nor is it my desire. Your Majesty, I trust you will maintain your dignity.”
“Artier!”
Even at the Empress’s rebuke, Artier met her gaze directly.
“You cannot compel me to anything, Your Majesty. Nor, of course, can you compel my dear friend.”
……
“It is the role of parents to correct the Third Princess’s misguided desires. It is not the task of myself or the Duke. It is something Your Majesty must attend to directly.”
“Artier!”
“Then I shall take my leave.”
……
Silbia’s gaze grew cold as she watched Artier depart the garden.
The specter of the deceased First Empress flickered before her eyes.
‘It is unfortunate that he resembles his mother in precisely such ways.’
Silbia clicked her tongue and lifted her teacup once more.
Unaware that she was hastening her own fate.

***

I never knew there were so many varieties of chains used for Pocket Watch chains.
Copper chains, silver chains, gold chains, and beyond that, chains with every manner of metal mixed carelessly together.
Then my gaze snagged on yet another chain.
‘So that’s why it felt so grand on its own…….’
Each link that formed the chain bore strange, indecipherable markings etched into its surface.
Every small ring had been crafted with such care — I could feel it. And there was one more reason why it had to be this Chain in particular.
‘This Purple Gemstone looks just like the Archduke’s eyes.’
A small gem was set into the part where the Chain connected to the Pocket Watch, and its color resembled the Archduke’s eye shade.
It seemed like amethyst, or perhaps a mana stone that had captured the Archduke’s very aura — something that stirred a sense of mystery.
“What do you think of this?”
…….
The Archduke glanced down at the Chain I was pointing to. Then, with a lukewarm expression, he spoke.
“Do as you wish.”
…….
Hah. I barely suppressed an expletive that threatened to burst forth, forcing out a smile instead. My jaw clenched so hard my teeth ached.
Seeing my reaction, the Archduke let out a small chuckle, then turned and ascended to the second floor.
A shop attendant quickly hurried after him.
“Oh, honored customer! The second floor is precisely where we keep the gentlemen’s accessories you’re looking for—.”
This attendant clearly knew how to sell.
In the meantime, the shop owner standing before me took the Chain from the glass display case and held it up.
“What exquisite taste you have! You’re planning to gift this to that gentleman, aren’t you?”
The perceptive proprietor spoke in a low murmur. I nodded, and immediately the owner launched into a lengthy explanation.
“This Chain, you see, was crafted at the Eastern End of the Continent—.”
I let the owner’s words go in one ear and out the other, keeping my attention on whether the Archduke would come back down from the second floor.
Just as I thought I’d nearly tuned him out entirely, the owner held up his index finger with an air of certainty.
“One hundred twenty Gold. One hundred twenty Gold and sixty-two Silver normally, but I’ll drop the remainder and give it to you for exactly one hundred twenty Gold.”
“……What?”
My mouth fell open.
One hundred twenty Gold?!
I swallowed hard without meaning to.
One hundred twenty Gold meant…….
‘That’s my entire annual salary……!’

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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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