Head Butler of the Fallen Villainess

And with everything unfolded—finally revealed for everyone to bear witness...

The only thing that was left... was silence.

Not a single breath, not a single word.

Not from the lord of the land, not from the two loyal aides, not from the guest of honor, and not even from the nonchalant butler.

The weight of the truth bore down on them... suffocating them in its oppressive grasp.

They had all been caught in a great scandal of Florentia—one unlike anything the 'original' residents of this world had ever seen.

One that had already unfolded right under everyone's nose...

And at the center of it all… was Anastasia.

Unknowingly or not, she had played the most crucial role—the first move in a grand game of treachery...

And that revelation was weighing down heavily on the fallen noblewoman already burdened by disgrace.

But... a voice cut through the silence.

"Lady Anastasia," the butler, Sebas, called out. His voice cut through the stillness—steady, unshaken... yet firm.

His voice broke her out of her reverie... and she managed to lift her head, allowing her to see his calm expression.

"Remember what I told you before all of this?" he inquired, maintaining his usual composed demeanor.

Anastasia blinked for a moment, trying to grasp his meaning. Her thoughts were still a tangled mess, but his words... struck something deep in her mind.

"...To prepare, right?"

"That's right..."

"But... what do you mean that? What exactly should I... prepare for?"

For a moment... Sebas did not utter a word. But... eventually, he smiled.

Not his usual smirk of confidence, nor even his mischievous one either...

But instead... it was a smile of reassurance.

"My lady, your exile to this land," he began, his voice unwavering, "...may have been the best possible outcome."

"B-best…?" she echoed, her voice laced with disbelief. "Y-you're saying... this is the best outcome...?"

"A rather fortunate one, actually," Sebas corrected, his tone as composed as always. "You are alive, my lady. And more than that… you have been given an opportunity."

"O-opportunity...?!" The fallen noblewoman stammered, struggling to comprehend his words.

Her butler... simply tilted his head slightly, a knowing look etched onto his face.

"Tell me, my lady… what do you see when you look at this land of yours?"

"H-huh?"

Anastasia hesitated; his question caught her off guard.

Her mind was still clouded with the weight of everything she had just learned, but... at his prompting, she forced herself to consider it.

She looked around at the vast walled region that was now hers. Though shrouded in the darkness of night, she could still see her own region that was faintly illuminated by the dim light of the moon...

However, that was not what her butler wished for her to see. No...

What he meant... was the land itself in its entirety.

The Garden of Hell.

A forsaken land, known only for its harsh environment and the swarms of monsters that called it home... the very birthing nest of these creatures.

It was a land untamed, unclaimed—left to fester beyond the kingdom's borders... as nothing could have been done to tame it...

Until now—!

Anastasia's eyes widened in realization! And she quickly turned back to the smiling butler of hers—!

"This place—this land... is a foundation," Sebas answered before she could speak, "a chance to build something from nothing. This land, as wretched as it may seem, is still part of Florentia. If you were to cultivate it—if you could turn this dangerous frontier into something prosperous…"

Anastasia's breath hitched as the answer began to form in her mind.

"...It would prove my merit as a lord," she answered, her voice barely above a whisper.

Sebas nodded approvingly, his smile shifting into one filled with unmistakable pride toward the young noblewoman.

"Indeed so, but... not just as a lord, my lady," he added, his gaze unwavering. "A testament that you are, without a doubt, a noble of Florentia."

Anastasia drew in a sharp breath in realization. However, she was not the only one.

Her knight and her maid both gasped quietly, eyes widening as they too began to see the same vision that both Anastasia and Sebas now shared.

Even Vivian looked intrigued, her sharp eyes glinting with interest.

This land—one that so many had tried to tame and failed miserably...

Where so many so-called "traitorous" nobles had their lives cruelly cut short, given the doomed 'Grand Task' of conquering this hellish domain...

And yet here, Anastasia and her subjects sat comfortably within this wretched land.

They had not only proved that this land was habitable for mankind...

But they had already begun to build what could be considered the foundation of a frontier civilization—within the very depths of this forsaken territory...!

"But that is not the only opportunity at your disposal," Sebas continued smoothly. "The Garden of Hell is more than a mere untamed wilderness. It is said to be the very cradle of Florentia's monsters—a land where beasts breed and multiply without restraint."

A chilling truth. It was still a mystery why this land spawned a multitude of powerful monsters, each one bringing chaos throughout Florentia.

"The kingdom has long struggled to contain its influence," Sebas went on, his voice carrying the weight of undeniable truth. "Should you, in your exile, succeed in handling this threat…"

The realization clicked within the minds of everyone present around the flickering firepit.

But none felt it more profoundly than the young noblewoman—the one who had been cast into this land and had now been made to rule over it...!

"You mean… I could also prove my worth by subduing the monster problem," Anastasia murmured, the words slipping from her lips as the weight of it settled upon her.

"Yup," Sebas confirmed cheerfully, his pride evident in his tone as he watched her grasp the full scope of his plan. "If you accomplish that, no one will be able to deny your legitimacy as the ruler of this region… nor your right to stand among the nobility of Florentia once more."

Anastasia's mind reeled, struggling to grasp the weight of Sebas's words.

All this time, she had believed her exile was the end. A cruel punishment. A silent execution.

But now…

Now, it was something else entirely—the very thing that her butler had said—!

An opportunity.

And she turned to silence... as more and more of the possibility began to take shape in her mind.

Sebas let the silence linger for a moment longer before he spoke again, his voice laced with rare amusement.

"Truth be told… I commend this entire coup," he admitted.

"W-what...?"

Anastasia's gaze snapped to him.

"Y-you commend it?" she repeated in disbelief.

Sebas chuckled with a low knowing sound.

"Why wouldn't I? The Crown is preoccupied with its own internal struggles. No one is watching you. No one is interfering. You, my lady, have been given a rare luxury that almost no noble in Florentia has… and that is freedom."

Anastasia felt a chill run down her spine.

Freedom.

She had never considered it that way.

And yet, when she thought about it…

The Crown wasn't watching her. The kingdom wasn't expecting anything from her other than her demise.

For the first time in her life—

She was free to do as she pleased.

No expectations. No obligations.

Nothing but an empty land and a future she had yet to shape.

"...I see," she murmured, more to herself than anyone else, her thoughts swirling in newfound realization.

But... the butler wasn't done.

"However," he continued, his voice dipping slightly, "we must tread carefully. The Crown may not be paying attention now… but they will eventually. If nothing else, they will want to ensure you and your people are truly dead."

Anastasia stiffened, her expression hardening, while her subjects reacted in their own ways—Martha cursed under her breath, and Bella clenched her fists in dread.

"Whistle~, way to crush a gal's hope, Sebastian~," Vivian teased with a wry smirk.

Sebas ignored her quip and instead focused on Anastasia.

"They'll send a scout to confirm our demise, and if they find us alive and well... well, they may decide to correct that mistake~."

It was a sobering thought… a cruel reality that washed over their already fragile sense of hope.

"Then... what should we do?" Anastasia finally asked.

"For now," Sebas said, "we continue as planned. We build. We prepare. If the Crown's agents come, we will deal with them when the time comes."

"...And if they don't?" Anastasia asked.

Sebas's lips curled slightly, a mischievous smile playing on his face.

"Then, my lady... we use their own system against them~."

The others exchanged wary glances.

"What do you mean?"

"We lobby them," Sebas answered simply. "If you turn this land into something valuable—something Florentia cannot ignore—you will have a bargaining chip far greater than mere survival. You will have leverage."

Anastasia's eyes widened.

"If this land prospers, if it becomes something the Crown sees as beneficial to the kingdom… they may have no choice but to acknowledge you once more," Sebas continued. "Not as an exile, not as a disgrace… but as a noble worthy of their recognition."

Silence fell once more, but this time, it was different.

Not weighed down by dread.

But something else.

Something like possibility—

Hope.

Anastasia took a slow, steady breath before turning to her butler, her face filled with a determination she had thought she had lost.

"...Then we should get to work."

A small smile played on Sebas's lips.

"As you wish, my lady."