I Raised the Villain's Daughter Too Well-Chapter 43: Didn’t Know! -

Of course, I did try to resist.

“I am a butler of the Seriratus family. Are you sure you can handle what that means?”

“Hm? Ahaha... What are you even talking about?”

Cysphia giggled into her hand—then looked down at me from the hilltop like I was some kind of insect.

“Yes, yes, you’re a butler. Have you gone mad, thinking you’re more than that? Do you seriously believe Lady Firnea is so foolish that she’d turn against House Manerid and House Lohulun over the elimination of a mere butler?”

“You’ve got a wild imagination. It’s hilarious... kihihi...”

Mm.

This sort of threat worked well enough on bottom-feeder cadets—just invoking the Seriratus name was enough.

But noble ladies with actual influence like these two clearly saw it differently.

At least as long as they saw me as nothing more than a "mere" butler, that view wouldn’t change.

“Don’t be so tense. It’s not like we’ll disqualify you for no reason.”

“Honestly, we think we can work together. What do you say?”

The circle of cadets closed in, bit by bit.

“And what kind of cooperation are you proposing?”

“The Seriratus family isn’t exactly fond of Laurencia, right?”

“Right. And having one of their butlers serve Laurencia? That’s got to feel disgusting.”

“...I won’t deny it.”

I rested my sword on my shoulder in a natural motion—subtle enough to avoid suspicion.

Every movement I made became a stroke for spellcasting.

That was stroke one.

“Honestly, you don’t even need to attend those lectures anymore...”

“You’d be better off making the right choice for your master. Don’t you think?”

“Hmm...”

Feigning contemplation, I slowly lowered the sword again.

Stroke two.

“What is it you want from me?”

“Tell us Emily’s location.”

I don’t even know it myself.

“She’s bound to be somewhere nearby, right? We’ll find her eventually. Why waste our energy when you could just be helpful?”

“What do you say?”

“I see. I know this isn’t really the time to ask questions, but may I ask just one?”

I returned the sword to its sheath with the air of someone who had given up.

Stroke three.

Cysphia tilted her head slightly, a bit confused, but permitted it.

“Well, I don’t think there’s much to explain... what is it?”

“Why are you trying to find Emily?”

“Why would you ask that?”

“It’s not that I’m curious. I just thought I should report it to Lady Firnea.”

“Ah, if that’s all—”

This time it was Elija who smiled and explained.

“It’s nothing major. Just a little gathering of the powerless, that’s all.”

“Hmm.”

“You probably wouldn’t understand, but if you just pass that along to Lady Firnea, she’ll—”

“No. I understand perfectly.”

“...What?”

I drew my sword again.

Stroke four.

“So two powerful houses want to use Laurencia as a puppet leader. Because as long as her name is at the forefront, anything you do will fall on Lady Emily’s shoulders. Then you disband before the consequences reach you, replace her, and move on to the next. Vile. It’s the same outdated, petty scheme House Luind used seventy years ago.”

“...”

The expressions of the two young ladies turned ice-cold in an instant.

“...Seems Firnea’s taught you politics, too?”

“Wrong. I taught her.”

“...?”

“In any case, I’ll have to decline. If I supported a plan like that, I’d earn my lady’s wrath.”

“You seem pretty favored... But relying on that one thing might get you killed, you know~?”

At those words, a giant of a man began approaching silently, carrying a greatsword as tall as he was.

Takraphision, was it?

In terms of sheer strength, he was easily among the top cadets in the academy.

“It’s not like I’m refusing for no reason. First of all, I have no intention of serving Laurencia. I’m only with her by sheer coincidence, not loyalty. So there’s no issue. I’m sure Lady Firnea will understand.”

“And?”

“Second, I have a very specific reason I need to pass this exam. I can’t afford for Emily, my team leader, to be disqualified. If that weren’t the case, I would’ve handed her over without hesitation. Too bad, really.”

“Haa...”

Before they could respond, I shot back all at once. Cysphia sighed, then gave a lazy thumbs-down.

“Fine. We’ll find her ourselves.”

“Orders are orders—so don’t hold a grudge.”

His build was like a yeti’s, and his speed... incomparable.

I dropped low to lift my blade—

That was the fifth stroke.

Was I really about to go through all this bullshit just because I had bad luck? I sighed, then triggered the spell.

“—Hmm?!”

—Boom!

Our blades collided.

I didn’t have the strength to match his. In just three seconds, I’d be crushed.

So—I’d remove the need for strength entirely.

“Kgh...!”

The magic I triggered was Fifth-Tier: Thunder Fang (Jeon-a).

The moment our swords clashed, Takraphision’s entire body flinched.

From the outside, my blade looked completely ordinary, giving no visual cue of the magic embedded within.

Especially not to someone who didn’t even realize I could cast magic mid-combat.

One exchange.

As Takraphision staggered back, Cysphia’s eyes widened.

“...What the hell? Why’s he pushing him back?”

“He’s a magic swordsman!”

“Ah... I see. But he didn’t chant anything. He didn’t even cast—how did he...?”

I didn’t give them time to think.

Aside from Takraphision, stunned from the clash, no one else was reacting.

So I lunged straight for Cysphia.

“Kyaa! Wh-What are you doing?!”

Just as I thought.

From the way they hadn’t laid hands on their swords, I’d already suspected—

These two? Their sword skills were below average, even for cadets.

Is this really how Manerid and Lohulun operate...?

Not my problem, though.

The other cadets finally snapped out of it and charged to protect them.

“Stop him!”

“No—too late!”

They didn’t need to block me that hard—I had no time to stick around and actually eliminate anyone.

“You...! How dare you, you’re just a butler!”

“...”

Now that they’d taken that tone, I’d ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) need to teach them a lesson.

“Forgive me. I have my reasons too.”

“Wha—?!”

No need to turn this into a bigger incident than necessary.

As gently as possible—like handling delicate glass—

“...Huh?”

I grabbed both of their shoulders and pushed them aside.

“KyaaAAAA!!”

...Theatrics.

I looked down in exasperation at the noble ladies rolling across the dirt, then dashed off following the carriage wheel tracks.

****

“Found him.”

Fiddling with her ring, Firnea smiled softly.

Only she could see it—a thread of blue light stretching out into the distance, connected to somewhere unseen by ordinary eyes.

That act alone—tracing such a thread—was enough to make anyone who dared call themselves a magician fall to their knees in shock.

It was like handing someone a single seashell and saying, “Somewhere in this entire ocean, there’s an identical one—go find it.” And then actually pulling it off.

Even for her, it wasn’t something she had done in a short span of time.

She had begun working on it the very moment Virdem handed her the ring.

Without letting him notice.

If he found out what she had done...

“...No. That’s not it.”

Virdem would never despise her for it. He would sigh, gently scold her with something like was that really necessary?—and then praise her for accomplishing something so extraordinary.

But inside, he’d worry.

He’d dwell on it, trying to figure out why she’d done it—what had caused it.

He might even reach the conclusion that Firnea didn’t trust him.

She didn’t want that.

So, this would be a secret.

She’d pretend it was a coincidence. Say she’d temporarily separated from her team to scout the area.

No—that didn’t make sense for the team leader to be the one scouting. She’d say she sent someone to scout instead...

Firnea, smiling to herself as she imagined her conversation with Virdem, suddenly frowned.

There was something she had to take care of before they reunited.

She couldn’t afford to be dragging around excess baggage.

“Come out.”

Her voice, cold like something that had just emerged from the ocean floor—

Yet the surroundings remained quiet.

The trees swayed slightly in the breeze, and smoke curled up from a destroyed outpost she’d personally obliterated on her way here.

It looked like no one was around. freewёbnoνel.com

“Haa...”

Sighing, Firnea drew her sword and pointed it directly at a single tree.

“Do I look like a fool to you? Did you really think I wouldn’t notice?”

“...Yes, I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I took you lightly! I’ll reflect on it, really...”

“...?”

The cadet hiding behind the tree came out with both hands raised in the air, admitting it so readily that it left Firnea dumbfounded.

Green hair—she remembered it.

“...Paltis?”

“Oh, you recognized me even after the color change?”

“You think I wouldn’t recognize someone just because they dyed their hair? And also...”

She had seen her before.

Firnea’s brow furrowed slightly as the memory returned.

‘Why...’

It was a pointless question.

She already knew the answer.

She didn’t want it—so it became an order.

Orders become chains. And chains tightened around him.

...That was all.

It was so painfully simple that even attempting to misunderstand it felt impossible.

It made her want to laugh. She had seen everything with her own eyes. She knew it had all happened during the gifted cadets’ evaluation. She knew that Virdem had acted out of affection for someone else. She knew that she was the one who’d been saved most because of his nature.

And yet, seeing that side of him directed toward someone else... it didn’t bring relief that his kindness wasn’t a special favor to her.

It only filled her with unease.

‘No wonder I can’t bring myself to trust him...’

Firnea smiled again.

She really didn’t trust Virdem. So what was the problem with thinking he might notice that?

The fact that he wouldn’t even want an apology, and that even if he did, their relationship meant she could never offer one—that was what tormented her the most.

She almost wished—

“No, but seriously, really! I really really loved my hair more than gold, and my devil of a little sister—while I was sleeping—just doused it with stuff! Ugh, it’s so cruel! Anyone would agree this is grounds for cutting ties!!”

...Her thoughts were cut short by rambling nonsense.

Firnea looked at Armeria not with hostility, but with complete bafflement.

If it were any other cadet, she’d have assumed they were here to assassinate her or something.

But the Paltis Family was like a disowned elder council—no power, only honor. And despite their pride, they would never bow to other noble houses.

Which meant: she wasn’t here under orders to kill, and she didn’t come seeking anything in return.

Honestly, if Firnea had to pick the house least connected to the Seriratus, Paltis would make the top of the list. They barely knew each other.

“So what are you doing, abandoning your team?”

“Ah, ahaha... Well, I, um... I had a question I really wanted to ask, so I pretended to go to the bathroom and ran away...”

“A question?”

“It’s just that...”

Scratching her head awkwardly, Armeria suddenly took a deep breath and then—

“@@@@@@@@~!”

Began singing something bizarre.

It was a melody and a language Firnea had never heard before.

She stood there stunned, waiting it out. When Armeria finished a verse, she looked Firnea up and down.

“Ah, I thought maybe... but I guess not.”

She said it like it explained everything.

Firnea, thoroughly baffled, asked:

“...What did you just do?”

“Oh, that’s our hometown’s national anthem! I figured if you kept a poker face through that, then yeah—you’re not one of us.”

“...What?”

“I thought maybe Lady Firnea was from my homeland, just maybe... Anyway, sorry!”

With a swift bow, Armeria vanished in an instant.

Firnea stared in the direction she disappeared—

Then thought of her former teammate, Leah.

She had seemed a bit timid...

“If that’s her older sister, no wonder.”

Maybe she’d take a little care of her when she got back.

She made the decision with a tinge of pity in her heart.