Villain Family’s Strongest Butler

**Prologue**

**April 10, 408 in the Imperial Calendar, Remart Conflict Zone.**

“Waaaaaah!”

The cries rose high, and the forces on both sides clashed like a storm.

As usual, today, I drew my sword against Grand Duke Vallot of the Kadea Empire.

Cardian Vallot, the only Grand Duke of the Kadea Empire, and the Supreme Commander responsible for the battles in the Remart Conflict Zone.

It’s been five years since I first faced the Grand Duke in Remart.

He was always at the front, drawing his sword before anyone else, and finding me first, like now.

“He’s coming!”

“Everyone fall back! We’ll be swept away!”

“Move!”

With a leap, the Grand Duke struck his massive sword towards my head.

“Ugh…!”

My hands trembled as I blocked the heavy sword.

“He’s crazy.”

He’s gotten stronger in the few months I haven’t seen him.

As I blocked his sword, he quickly retreated and then lunged at my neck with his sword again.

He was fast, despite his large build.

“God is really unfair.”

I deflected his attack and aimed my sword at his neck in return.

Clang!

He easily deflected my sword too.

Through the narrow slit of his helmet, his sharp purple eyes followed my every move, like a predator watching its prey.

It was impressive, in a way. His arrogance was palpable through just a glance.

“Focus, Sir Sia.”

“…”

His tone was like a teacher scolding a student, which made me frown.

“Here we go again.”

My relationship with the Grand Duke was strange. We met as enemies and fought to kill each other.

“So, we are definitely enemies.”

But we never had a decisive victory. Our battles always ended in a draw.

Maybe it was because of the special circumstances of the war that prevented a clear winner.

Did I develop a fondness for him?

One day, the Grand Duke started talking to me.

“Sir Sia, you seem distracted today. Do you have the luxury of daydreaming in front of me?”

“…”

“You can only afford such thoughts after taking my head.”

His provocation worked well to annoy me.

“Arrogant jerk.”

It made me more determined. I was driven by the desire to defeat him and see his face without that helmet.

When Prince Serhin heard my thoughts, he scolded me.

-“You’re crazy, Sia.”

-“Is it wrong to think like this?”

-“It’s not normal. The Grand Duke is our enemy. He’s strong enough to kill you if you show any weakness. Fight to kill, …don’t think, don’t doubt.”

I agreed to follow Prince Serhin’s advice.

But still.

“I must see it.”

Not the dull face from his portrait.

“I want to see his furrowed brows when the battle doesn’t go his way, or his shocked expression when I catch him off guard.”

I had seen a portrait of the Grand Duke in a document from the prince.

His black hair was neatly arranged, and his deep purple eyes were intense.

Each strand of hair and every detail of his face was meticulously drawn.

His long eyes were sharp as if they could see through you, and his closed lips were ambiguous, neither smiling nor expressionless.

It seemed like the painter had poured his heart and soul into capturing the Grand Duke’s face.

Even just the portrait made my heart pound.

“He was handsome.”

I had never seen a man like that before.

“Maybe the painter was threatened to make him look better.”

Considering the Grand Duke’s fierce reputation, it was plausible.

Then, I met his gaze through the helmet.

The eyes in the portrait matched the Grand Duke’s perfectly. The painting wasn’t a lie.

“So, that face is under that helmet?”

I scoffed.

“Well, it’s just a picture.”

Seeing it in person would be different.

Yes…

I wanted to see his face without any composure.

At that moment, a sword came at me in a predictable trajectory.

Clang!

I deflected it and jumped back.

“Are you daydreaming in front of me? Do you want to die, Sir Sia?”

He kept calling me Sir Sia, Sir Sia.

“I never gave you permission to use my name, Grand Duke.”

When I responded curtly, his eyes behind the helmet gleamed with amusement.

“Ridiculous.”

I gathered the aura within me and wrapped it around my sword. The Grand Duke did the same.

Our auras clashed, creating a fierce wind around us.

“He is strong.”

It felt like I was striking a huge rock pointlessly.

Even so, I didn’t feel overwhelmed.

The Grand Duke had the advantage in physical strength, but my aura was superior.

Every clash of our swords resonated, the vibration traveling from my hands to my entire body.

The tip of his sword grazed my neck, and the clangs of our swords echoed.

The aura-filled breaths mixed, the cold sound of metal against armor sent chills down my spine.

All of it made my reason disappear. My heart raced.

We truly fought to kill each other.

“Has anyone else ever excited me like this?”

Since mastering swordsmanship and aura, no one had pushed me this far.

The Grand Duke was different. He was the only one who could drive me to my limits.

“If I defeat him…”

If I see his head fall.

Would I be happy?

“Or would I feel empty because my greatest rival is gone?”

My mind cooled.

Then it happened.

Boom, boom, boom!

Suddenly, thunder roared from the sky.

Sensing something strange, everyone stopped fighting and looked up.

The Grand Duke and I also stepped back and observed.

At that moment.

Flash, swoosh.

Countless black lightning bolts rained down with the rain.

“Aaargh!”

“Everyone, get away! Don’t step on the blackened ground!”

The ground where the lightning struck turned black and started swallowing people.

“Is that… black magic?”

The Grand Duke murmured.

We exchanged glances.

In the face of black magic, our battle was meaningless. Another draw.

“Retreat!”

“Ugh!”

“Save me—!”

The power of black magic was immense. I realized the stories I had heard were just the tip of the iceberg.

“I understand why people risked their lives to eradicate black magic.”

If there was a hell, it would look like this.

The Grand Duke called his horse and mounted it. He looked down at me.

“Sir Sia.”

“…”

I looked at him silently. He tightened the reins and spoke.

“Let’s postpone our battle for another day. …So, survive.”

“…”

“My neck.”

He tapped the spot under his helmet where his neck was.

“You need to take it.”

“…”

Then he turned and rode towards his troops.

“Soldiers of Kadea, retreat! It’s black magic! Don’t resist! Retreat to the Remart border and regroup!”

His order made the Kadea soldiers retreat in an organized manner.

I watched the Grand Duke’s back as he rode away from the black lightning and pits.

Then I ran towards the Tenassis Empire’s camp.

“He’s really…”

Telling your enemy to survive on the battlefield.

“And telling me to take his neck, he must be crazy.”

It’s not just me, Serhin.

Somehow, I laughed.

Yes, it must be a strange fondness. I also wanted him to survive.

Then, boom!

A lightning bolt struck in front of me as I headed to Prince Serhin’s tent.

The ground turned black, and I was sucked in without time to react.

Crunch!

“Ugh!”

The lower half of my body was swallowed by the pit, and pain surged through me. It felt like being chewed alive.

The more I struggled, the faster I was pulled in. My vision started to blur.

“Sir Sia!”

I turned towards the voice and saw the Grand Duke running towards me. He had turned his horse around.

“Is he crazy?”

Go back!

Everything was hazy, but his purple eyes were clear.

Wide eyes, trembling pupils.

Like someone witnessing a dear friend’s death, his eyes shook with anguish.

Why…

“Why those eyes…?”

Damn…

“Go back… go, …back!”

With my last cry, my vision went dark.

I didn’t know if he reached me or if he was also caught by the black magic.

But I died before finding out.