Villain Family’s Strongest Butler

“What is this… Ah!”

Suddenly, I felt all the strength draining from my body.

The weight of the shackles was considerable, and with my body’s lack of strength, I collapsed to the ground.

I lifted my head and glared at the Grand Duke.

“What is the meaning of this? Is this how the Grand Duke treats defenseless guests?”

I gritted my teeth and lashed out, but the old man standing nearby rebuked me sharply.

“How dare you speak to him like that? He is not someone you can address so casually!”

Not someone I can address? He’s the one who always started the conversation first!

I couldn’t hold back and shouted.

“Stay out of this, old man!”

What?!

“O-Old man?!”

Old man?!

The white-haired man was so shocked by the term that he grabbed his neck and staggered back. The knights moved quickly to support him.

But I didn’t care.

Already seething, I glared at the Grand Duke once more.

“The maids who bathed me can confirm that I have no weapons. If I had the ability to escape from the knights, I would have done so before I arrived here.”

Anyone could see that I was in no condition to hurt anyone – a frail body that looked like it would topple over at the slightest push.

I didn’t say that because it was my body. I said it because it wasn’t my body.

If I were still the “Sia” I was before, I wouldn’t have complained about this treatment. The bonds would have been easy to break, and I wouldn’t have worried.

But this body was different.

It was so weak that it barely had enough power to walk and breathe, let alone wield a sword.

If I could feel it, then the Grand Duke could feel it as well.

“Just like the rumors say,” I thought bitterly.

A heartless butcher, a bloodthirsty madman!

I glared at the Grand Duke, wanting to tear him apart.

“And you put me in chains without explanation? At least tell me the reason.”

The Grand Duke, who had been silent, slowly opened his mouth.

“These shackles are not ordinary.”

“What then? Are they some kind of divine relic?”

Even my sarcastic tone didn’t change his expression. He replied in a deep, calm voice.

“That’s right. These shackles are a divine relic that forcefully suppresses supernatural abilities.”

“…”

Oh, he’s serious.

I hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“So what does that mean? Why would you…”

“The fact that you collapsed under the weight of these bonds,” the Grand Duke’s deep voice resonated, “means that the supernatural power within you reacted.”

Supernatural force could refer to magic, aura, divine power, or black magic – all of the above.

His sharp gaze bored into me as if he could see through my very soul.

“For example, black magic.”

What? Black magic?

I stared up at the Grand Duke, my eyes wide with disbelief at his ridiculous assumption.

—

In the end, I was thrown into the dungeon of the Grand Duke’s estate.

I was to remain there, bound, until it was confirmed that the supernatural power within me wasn’t black magic.

A week passed in the dungeon.

During that time, Norbert, the old man, came regularly to interrogate me.

“How many times must I tell you? I don’t remember.”

“So… you don’t know your name, why did you wake up on Teridana Beach?”

“That’s right.”

“And you don’t remember how you ended up on the beach?”

“No.”

“Then where were you born?”

“I don’t remember that either.”

“Are you saying you really don’t remember anything?”

“Not a single thing.”

“Ha…”

He didn’t seem to believe me, but I had no choice.

“I can’t tell him that I was an enemy knight.”

Even though my lies were blatant, the old man came back every day.

Fortunately, there was no harsh interrogation except for the questions.

“If you could call it an interrogation. It was more like a few questions thrown at me before he left.

So soft. They’re all so gentle.

“Is it the people of the Kadea Empire who are soft? Or is it that the Grand Duke is so soft that even his subordinates are?”

Hmm. No, that can’t be it.

The Grand Duke has a notorious reputation for being cold and ruthless.

“Let’s just say that this old man is the soft one.”

Tsk, tsk. How is he going to get the truth out of me?

I shook my head.

Clatter. I picked up the bowl of soup from the floor.

While I had been lying down, lost in thought, the soup had grown cold.

“Thin soup, every day…”

The Grand Duke’s chef clearly lacked imagination when it came to menu planning.

But annoyingly, despite how bland it looked, the soup was actually quite tasty.

I ate every drop, and sometimes the passing guard would give me an extra piece of bread.

Even the guards were soft.

After my stomach was full, I dragged the heavy shackles and chains back to the bed and lay down.

“This is not the time to do nothing…”

I had to build up my strength, practice my swordsmanship, and develop my aura.

Only then could I return to the Tenassis Empire.

“Oh, right. Aura.”

“The fact that you collapsed under the weight of these shackles means that the supernatural power within you reacted.”

The Grand Duke’s words echoed in my head.

“So there’s something inside me.”

I stared at the chains.

Clank–

As I struggled to lift my wrists, the solid shackles clattered together.

“These shackles…”

He said they were divine relics that violently suppressed supernatural powers.

That must be why I couldn’t feel the power inside me.

“It must be an aura.”

If there was an aura within me, it wouldn’t be difficult to strengthen it.

I had done it before, and my mind still remembered how.

The problem was…

“If it’s black magic, I’m finished.”

I couldn’t completely rule out the possibility that the previous owner of this body had dabbled in black magic.

Surviving and returning to the Tenassis Empire, meeting Serhin, and regaining my position all depended on the power within me not being black magic.

“So it must be aura.”

If not aura, it should at least be magic.

“No, considering the appearance of this body, divine power would also be appropriate.”

As long as it wasn’t black magic, I could work with it.

Just then, the door to the dungeon opened and someone entered. The footsteps stopped in front of my cell.

“Lady.”

“…?”

I looked up at the man standing behind the bars.

I recognized him.

He was one of the knights who had brought me from the beach to the Grand Duke’s estate.

“That’s right, he rode in the carriage with me. His name was… Allen, I think.”

He was the one who had introduced himself politely in the brief moment we had shared.

Allen was just as polite today.

Polite Allen. With a nice voice, too.

“I should remember that.”

After all, I’m not ungrateful.

While I was thinking about his name, the iron door creaked open.

“The priests from the temple have arrived.”

“Ah.”

They had mentioned that a priest would be needed to determine the nature of the power within me.

They said it could take anywhere from a week to a month for a priest to be sent from the temple…

“They must have been in a hurry. If they only came in a week.”

Well, it’s for the best. I was sick of this dungeon life anyway. Whatever the outcome, it would soon be settled.

I gathered my shackles and chains and slowly stood up.

“Let’s go.”

Allen nodded and led the way.

—

Determining the nature of the power was easier than I had imagined.

A round crystal sphere was floating on holy water, and I was instructed to place my hand on the sphere.

After a while, the holy water would react in a certain way, indicating the nature of the power.

“If it’s magic, flowers will bloom. If it’s divine power, golden light will emanate. And if it’s black magic…”

At that moment.

Before the priest could finish speaking, the holy water began to ripple and red smoke billowed out.

The Grand Duke’s brow furrowed as he watched the smoke.

“So this is black magic?”

I glared at the Grand Duke, my hand still on the orb.

“What do you mean, ‘so’?”

Are you hoping it’s black magic or something?

But fortunately the priest shook his head.

He took my hand off the orb and spoke.

“It’s not black magic. It’s aura.”

Oh, thank the gods. I let out a huge sigh of relief.

“Looks like I’m safe for now.”

Since it wasn’t black magic, I would live another day, and my chances of returning to the Tenassis Empire seemed a little more realistic.

“And now I’ve confirmed that I have an aura within me.”

But how could this body manifest aura?

“Is it even possible with an untrained body?”

No, it’s possible because it’s me.

“My strong will must have triggered the aura in this body that’s only beautiful on the outside.

Despite my self-confidence, the Grand Duke seemed unconvinced. He turned to the priest and asked.

“Do you know the conditions under which the aura manifests?”

“Yes, I’m well aware. Aura is a power that appears only after the body and mind have been trained to their limits, and even then only in a few. Isn’t that correct?”

“Correct

.”

I nodded.

“Yes, like the strength of my mind, trained to its limits.”

This priest knows his stuff.

Even with the priest’s clear explanation, the Grand Duke remained skeptical.

With his arms crossed, he gestured to me with his chin.

“Do you think she’s in the physical and mental condition necessary to manifest an aura?”

The priest studied me carefully.

Hmm, he tilted his head as he examined me closely, then spoke.

“I was wondering about that myself. There are no signs that she’s ever held a sword or trained her body.”

I’m not sure about her mental state, though.

The priest’s eyes gleamed as he turned to Cardian and asked.

“If Your Grace finds it difficult to deal with her, I could take her to the temple for further study…”

What? Study?

I quickly turned to the Grand Duke, alarmed.

“No way…”

The Grand Duke’s expression was indifferent as he watched me.

“There’s nothing stopping him from turning me in, is there?”

From his point of view, getting rid of me would be the easiest solution.

“But…”

I am a knight. A knight who lives and dies by honor.

I wouldn’t mind dying in an honorable duel.

It would be a glorious death. I could die with a smile.

But to live and die as a test subject – that was humiliating beyond words.

“They would bind my hands and feet, inject me with strange drugs, dissect me, and who knows what else?”

No, I don’t want that… I really don’t want that!

“I don’t want to be taken to the temple and die as a test subject!”

No!

My clenched jaw hurt and my fists trembled.

I looked at the Grand Duke and spoke with all the sincerity I could muster.

“Please, spare me…?”

“…”

“…”

All eyes turned to me.