Villain Family’s Strongest Butler - Chapter 50

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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 53

When the sun rose and morning came, Anette made her way to Cardrian’s room.
“You’ve been injured.”
“Merely a scratch.”
“I’ve told you before—sometimes poison clings to their claws. Even a scratch requires caution.”
“I’ll be more careful going forward.”
Anette regarded him with a worried gaze.
“Now that the girl has returned, there’s no need to maintain the fifth floor, is there? I think it would be best to break the contract with the Magic Tower. The Monsters grow stronger by the day, and it troubles me.”
At that, Cardrian walked to the window. Beyond the glass, hired hands moved about in bustling activity.
Freya was among them.
“Move that fertilizer over here! Just two sacks!”
“I’ll take this section!”
“Oh! The sack split!”
Bright laughter rang out from the workers.
Cardrian, watching the scene in silence, spoke.
“There’s still much to be done.”
…….
Anette shook her head as she regarded her stubborn son.
Cardrian gazed out the window, his mind turning to last night’s hunt.
Last night, Cardrian had ventured to the Hertia Mountain Range, which lay to the north.
More precisely, to the northern boundary of the Duchy Territory, where it bordered the Hertia Mountain Range.
The World Tree sleeps in the Hertia Mountain Range. Or rather, it would be more accurate to say it is dying.
To protect the dying World Tree, the Kadea Empire had constructed a Temple around it.
Yet at some point, Monsters began spawning ceaselessly in that vicinity.
Because of this, travelers stopped coming to visit the Temple, and it eventually had to be closed.
The Duchy periodically sent the Knight Order to cull the Monster population, and Cardrian had ventured there alone last night for the same purpose—to dispose of Monsters.
Not merely to deal with ordinary Monsters.
But to capture alive those especially powerful and dangerous Mutant Monsters among them.
Perhaps it was as the High Priest had said—the World Tree was gradually awakening.
Of late, the Monster population had noticeably dwindled from its usual numbers. Along with it, the Mutant Monsters had grown fewer, and it had taken considerable time to locate them.
“Damn that Tower Master.”
Cardrian smiled faintly at Anette’s harsh words.
It had been twelve years ago, on the day Freya collapsed.
The Emperor, the High Priest, and the Tower Master had all convened to deliberate at length on the fate of the Flanker Family’s last remaining heir.
In the end, the conference concluded with a decision that the Flanker heir would be protected by the Ballot Duchy.
“The Imperial Court will erase the Flanker Family’s traces as much as possible until they can rise again, preventing them from becoming a target of enemies. We shall shield the Flanker Family from any internal threats and ensure no obstruction arises in the reconstruction of the house.”
“Then our Temple shall manage the World Tree’s corridors. We will regularly dispatch priests to purify the land around the World Tree and observe its condition, sharing our findings.”
And lastly, the Tower Master spoke.
“Well then, I shall prepare a special space for the heir to dwell in during that time. However, there is one condition: you must capture Mutant Monsters alive. We need their cores to construct and maintain the space. Surely the Duchy can manage that? It must be alive, without question.”
From that day forward, Cardrian hunted Mutant Monsters alongside Estan, the previous Duke.
Anette’s jaw clenched as she recalled the Tower Master. Then Cardrian opened the window and spoke.
“Magic has no effect on them, so the Tower Master had no choice.”
Cardrian’s words rang true.
Mutant Monsters could not be affected by magic—only physical attacks and Aura Attacks could bring them down.
Being Mutants, they were stronger than ordinary Monsters, and the necessity of capturing them alive and transporting them meant Cardrian often bore wounds from such encounters.
Anette examined Cardrian’s left arm and asked.
“Was it treated properly?”
“…Yes. Quite thoroughly, in fact.”
A cool morning breeze drifted through the open window.
With the window open, the sounds from outside carried more clearly inside.
“You said the ground is still too frozen, didn’t you?”
“Where should we move this, Freya?”
“Just wait a moment.”
Cardrian quietly watched Freya bickering with the workers in the garden.
“She barely slept, yet she seems to overflow with energy.”
…….
Anette, who sat on the sofa, must have heard Freya’s voice as well.
“Cardrian. I like that child.”
“…….”
Cardrian’s gaze turned toward Anette. She spoke with a conflicted expression.
“I simply can’t believe that another soul might be inhabiting her body. ……To my eyes, she’s just Freya. Just poor Freya who’s lost her memories.”
“…….”
Cardrian shifted his attention back to Freya beyond the window.
He gazed at her for a long moment before speaking.
“Mother, ……to my eyes, it’s the same.”
“……What?”
“As I told you, the moment that person awakened, leaves began growing on the dying World Tree. Why wouldn’t I want to believe it? I too would wish to declare right now that she has returned to us alive.”
“Then do it!”
“But Mother.”
Cardrian’s eyes, fixed on Freya, grew calm and measured.
“As I mentioned before, she currently has no family to protect her.”
“We are her family.”
“Those hostile to the Flanker Family will attack her.”
Powers from rival empires had long harbored enmity toward the Flanker Family, watching for any opening.
They believed that with the World Tree gone, they could easily bring down the Kadea Empire.
That was why, when Freya’s soul vanished, Cardrian’s first suspicion had fallen on hostile neighboring nations.
‘Though I found no proof of their involvement.’
Once word spread that Freya had returned alive, the Ballot Duchy would naturally move to protect her actively.
Yet there were limits to how completely they could defend against the flood of intrigues and schemes that would surely follow.
‘Even if our Family repels the coming attacks, they will only strike at her with greater cunning and malice.’
When that happened, it would be she alone who bore the wounds.
‘And I still haven’t grasped the hidden intentions of the Tenasis Empire, which proposed the alliance.’
Not to mention the Dark Mages still occupying the Lemart Conflict Zone.
‘There are still too many reasons to keep her hidden.’
A quiet sigh escaped between Cardrian’s lips.
“Moreover, this successor has lost her memories. To announce her return as things stand now would be no different from suicide.”
At minimum, she would have to recover her memories.
That was why Cardrian had been taking Freya from place to place.
“Until then, it may be better if she remains ignorant of her own identity. So please, Mother, pretend you know nothing.”
“Cardrian…….”
“I’ll do my best to hasten matters…….”
“…….”
Anette stood at the window, watching her son’s back, and swallowed her tears in silence.
She knew well his anguish and effort, and could not oppose his will.
“Very well. Let us wait a little longer.”
Anette withdrew from the room quietly.

***

“Rain’s coming.”
I murmured, gazing up at the sky. A heavy silver-gray cloud blanketed half the blue expanse above.
Just then, Selly, who had been overturning the frozen soil of the garden some distance away, came scampering over and asked eagerly.
“How did you know that?!”
Her bright eyes sparkled with curiosity.
I smiled quietly, like one who had attained enlightenment beyond all the world’s concerns, and replied.
“You hear it, and you feel it.”
Selly widened her eyes and glared up at the sky. After a moment, as if something wasn’t working as she’d hoped, she let out a small groan.
“I don’t hear anything at all!”
“You’re not a butler yet.”
Then Selly asked in surprise.
“You can sense things like that once you become a butler?”
I answered with a knowing smile, “Of course, naturally,” and ruffled her hair.
“If you train long enough to perceive and hear the sound condensed in the air, you can feel it just by looking at the sky.”
“Wow!”
Unlike the purely amazed fifteen-year-old Selly, her older brother Jon, who had just come of age, fixed me with an expression that screamed nonsense.
‘That brat.’
Sharp instincts, though.
Truth be told, that’s complete nonsense.
Since there’s no proper way to express this sensation, I might as well dress up my words in something that sounds plausible.
Among those who possess Aura, only those who have reached an extreme level of mastery can sense it.
The moisture mixed into the air, the scent of water hidden within the wind, the direction and force of that breeze—feeling each of these in turn brings sudden understanding: rain is coming.
It’s a subtle perception that ordinary people could never hope to notice.
‘How in the world am I supposed to explain something so profound to these children?’
Then again, who knows? They might take my nonsense at face value and, through concentrating hard on finding the condensed sound floating in the air, arrive at some genuine insight of their own.
I reached into my inner pocket and withdrew a glass vial containing Pill. Then—pop—I uncorked it and slipped one tablet into my mouth.
Crunch, crunch. Ever since I’d learned to chew pills dry, I’d never had one catch in my throat.
Thanks to this medicine, I hadn’t felt a headache in days.
‘The efficacy is excellent.’
The bitter, astringent taste and aroma spreading across my tongue felt quite refreshing.
Just then, Selly spoke up quietly.
“Wait… sir, isn’t that… isn’t that a nosebleed?!”
Nosebleed?
At that moment, something warm began trickling from my nose.

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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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