I Raised the Villain's Daughter Too Well-Chapter 52: Didn’t Know! -

"Your face—what's with that expression?"

"...It's nothing. Thanks for today."

"Yeah. Me too."

There was still time before nightfall, so I shoved a bunch of pre-made cookies into Arin’s mouth and headed toward Firnea’s dormitory.

Even as I walked, my heart pounded like crazy.

Who was it?

And—how did they know?

Did I do something that gave away I was Korean?

...No, that wasn’t it. If I were a different Korean and saw a butler named Virdem, I would’ve concluded, “At the very least, it’s definitely not this guy.”

My imitation—though by now it’s become second nature, to the point I’m not even sure it’s still an imitation—was flawless.

Then that left only one possibility.

I pressed my temples and let out a sigh.

“...Was it a different genre?”

For nearly nine years, I had no idea.

Up until now, I’d just thought it was a normal isekai transfer.

Apparently not. The one who realized my identity likely did so because they knew how the story unfolds—that is, the future. That possibility was overwhelmingly likely.

In other words—it’s one of those: stories where someone gets thrown into a novel, or a game, or a comic. Possession? Dimensional travel? Whatever you call it.

That must be what this is.

They probably noticed I wasn’t supposed to be part of that future development, found me suspicious, tested me a few times, and became convinced during this latest exam.

At this point, I could guess who it was.

They’d dropped enough hints—it would be strange not to know.

‘...It’s 100% Olvesia.’

Well, come to think of it, it’s not that hard to figure out.

She’s a noble lady, yet has absurd strength.

Even taking Senfenesia’s traits into account, she’s far too powerful.

She’s not cadet level. If Firnea hadn’t been around, there wouldn’t have been a single cadet who could match her.

And her actions make no sense.

Seriously, why skip the designated strongholds and go around eliminating cadets?

With her level of power, just breaking strongholds would’ve guaranteed her first place. It’s incomprehensible...

“...Ah!”

Suddenly, the pieces clicked together.

The future she thought she knew had changed, so she was trying to figure out who altered it by knocking people out one by one!

And somewhere in that process, she noticed something strange about me.

If I assume that, everything makes sense.

Given that, I now had two options:

I rested my chin on my hand and thought hard.

The question was: how would the opponent—probably Olvesia—approach this?

Does she harbor hostility toward me, or is she proposing cooperation?

If I assume Olvesia is a possessor, and trace her behavior: she identified me as another reincarnator, confirmed my abilities, suppressed her initial aggression, helped me, tried to build rapport—

And then left the letter. So it's safe to interpret it as a gesture of cooperation.

However—the imbalance of information is too severe.

If the game or novel Olvesia experienced dictated that I must die—

Or worse, that Firnea must die—

It’s unlikely, but in the worst-case scenario...

Senfenesia might be the enemy of Seriratus.

"..."

I could feel my heartbeats settling down.

A bitter laugh escaped me. I must’ve gotten foolishly excited at the thought of meeting someone from the same country.

“Phew...”

I ran a hand through my hair.

I am—Virdem of the Serbus family, butler of Seriratus.

I was once a man of South Korea, and what I’ll become in the future—I don’t yet know.

What matters is the present.

I can’t tell whether Olvesia is friend or foe. As I said, there’s too little information.

In that case, I need to prepare for the worst.

That is—

I need allies.

****

“You finished in fifth place?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

I placed the tea I had brought down on the refreshment table as I answered.

I had a lot on my mind, but my top priority was reporting to My Lady.

There were too many people around for a simple briefing, so I’d postponed it to now.

“Ah, thank you.”

At the table sat Firnea, Lariel—and Psyche.

Psyche took a hesitant sip of tea, her eyes widening just slightly.

“...It’s good.”

“Thank you.”

“Virdem’s tea-making skills are practically an art.”

Firnea, a little smug, proceeded to introduce Psyche.

“We met in our squad this time—do you know her?”

“Yes. I’ve heard of the Gale Sword.”

I gave Psyche a small bow as I introduced myself.

“I am Virdem of the Serbus family, butler of Seriratus.”

“...Ah, r-right.”

Psyche nodded stiffly, like a wooden puppet, then looked back at Firnea.

At that, Lariel—who’d been silently glaring at Psyche—seized her chance to snap.

“Wait a second. What kind of attitude is that?”

“Hm? I’m not sure what you mean.”

“Even if he’s Firnea’s butler, he’s still a fellow cadet. Speaking so informally—show some respect, will you??”

Lariel clearly didn’t like Psyche.

Probably worried about losing her place at Firnea’s side.

I’d heard Psyche had a rough personality, so I was worried things might escalate...

“Is that so... My apologies. I must’ve mistaken him for just a butler because of the uniform.”

“Oh no, you can treat me as a regular butler. I am one, after all.”

“I’ve also decided to follow Firnea. There’s no reason to draw lines of superiority between those in the same position, is there?”

She accepted the situation more gracefully than I expected and gave me a bow.

Elegant, precise movements. A well-handled response on all fronts.

“Grkk...”

Lariel ground her teeth.

From what she said, it seemed Psyche had made up her mind to join Firnea’s faction during this last exam.

Not that surprising. Anyone with the bare minimum of intelligence would’ve made the same decision.

Firnea, unfazed, picked up a cookie.

“Hmm, well anyway—good work. Looks like you were holding back a bit.”

“No, I gave it my all. That’s probably why we landed in fifth place.”

“C’mon, what are you saying?”

Firnea smiled and stuffed a cookie into my mouth while I bowed.

“If you’d gone all out, you would’ve taken second place.”

“...Hiccup.”

Psyche, who had been watching, cleared her throat and, after a short pause, asked a question.

"Um, you two seem to be... very close."

"Hm? What do you mean by that?"

Under Firnea’s curious gaze, Psyche hurriedly scrambled to redirect her words. freёweɓnovel.com

"Ahem, of course, I don't personally think that or anything. Just, well, there was this completely unreasonable cadet who spread a rumor that your relationship is more than just master and butler, and naturally, I didn't believe it at all, but anyway—I’ve heard that sort of thing."

"Ah... that’s true, though?"

"Kuh—cough, cough cough...!"

At Firnea’s matter-of-fact reply, Psyche sputtered her tea in shock and looked at me in disbelief.

I wasn’t sure why she was so surprised, but I added an explanation.

"It may be more than I deserve, but I’ve spent a long time with My Lady, so unlike a typical butler, I’m entrusted with a great deal of discretion. For example, I jointly oversee most formal events alongside the Head Butler. I always do my utmost not to make mistakes."

"...Ah, I see. So that’s what you meant."

I handed her a handkerchief and asked:

"That’s what? What exactly did you think I meant..."

"Of course! Of course, that’s what I meant. Yes."

Psyche was visibly flustered.

I’d heard the Gale Sword was always composed, but she’s more of a goofball than expected.

Firnea sighed softly and fiddled with her ring.

"Actually, I was going to help you during the exam... but something weird happened on the way and I ended up late."

"Something weird?"

"Yeah. But don’t worry about it. It wasn’t anything important. What about you—anything unusual? Anything that happened during the test?"

"..."

I hesitated for just a moment.

Should I tell her? Ask for help?

No matter how powerful Olvesia might be, she’s just a puppy in front of Firnea.

"There was nothing unusual. Lady Emily handled things surprisingly well."

"Really? That’s good to hear."

...But no, not yet.

Seeking Firnea’s help should truly be my last resort.

There’s nothing more pitiful than a butler who relies on his master’s strength.

For now, I can handle this myself.

"So, um..."

This time, Firnea was the one stammering.

For some reason, she was glancing at me nervously—and usually when she did that, it meant something absurd was coming, so I frowned slightly and asked:

"Do you have an order for me?"

"It’s not that, it’s, um, Emily? I ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) mean—there was someone else in your squad, right? A commoner, I think..."

"Ah... Are you referring to Arin?"

"Yeah, that one."

Firnea asked offhandedly, sipping her tea as though it didn’t matter.

"With her, um... there wasn’t anything, right?"

...Her tone suddenly sounded a bit like Psyche.

Is that kind of thing contagious?

"Anything...? What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, since you were in the same team, you must’ve had some, like... interactions, conversations, that kind of stuff."

"Hmm..."

I thought back to Arin.

"She certainly left an impression."

"I- Impressive...? Why?"

"She has an irrational talent for swordsmanship. If we handle her right, she could be a tremendous asset to us in the future."

"Ahem, but even so, if we bring in a commoner, it could affect our reputation and all. Isn’t that a bit..."

"Ah, that’s not a problem."

"...Why not?"

I answered, seeing the nervous expression on Firnea’s face.

"She seems to have a fondness for me. Even if she’s not officially part of the faction, she’d probably listen to me if I asked her to..."

"Khff—!"

"Are you alright?"

Firnea bowed her head suddenly, then nodded.

"I-I’m fine... I just... swallowed wrong..."

"...Is it really possible to choke while drinking tea?"

"Anyway, I’m fine..."

Well, it didn’t seem like anything serious.

I wasn’t sure what that was about, but there are plenty of things about My Lady’s behavior that are beyond understanding, so I quietly bowed and took my leave. There are conversations that can’t happen while the butler’s present.

"...Ah."

Right, there was something I meant to ask.

"Now that I think of it—do you know where Lady Leah from your squad is?"

"Hmm, she’s probably at the little afterparty going on downstairs."

Psyche answered in her place.

I tilted my head slightly and asked:

"Then why didn’t she attend this gathering?"

"Well..."

Psyche folded her arms, mulled it over, and then simply said:

"She seems to struggle with dealing with people, so I just didn’t invite her."

"...Thank you."

What a devilish woman.

I silently vowed never to pass this comment along for Leah’s mental well-being and stepped out of the room.