Chapter 16: A morning

First time in my new life, I slept like a sloth. A cozy bed and cold but fresh air greeted me with a genuine smile. No, it wasn't fresh air or anything pleasant. It was the face of a dark-haired maid called Kasumi.

"Kasumi, what the hell are you doing in my room?" I asked with dried eyes. I refused to call her 'Onee-sama' as she had asked.

My eyes were still dried with stress from yesterday, and seeing a stranger, even though she was a cute girl, first thing in the morning convinced me that my new life had been selected to be tragic.

"To wake you up."

"To wake me up?"

"To wake you up."

"I am awake now."

"I see…"

I palmed my face. Kasumi had a charming look but unpredictable habits. I think she was brought to this world specifically to torture me.

"I am asking you to move a little. Do you want me to head-butt someone first thing in the morning?" I said, and this time, she obliged.

"…Fair enough." She said and retracted her closed face. I sat on the bed and stretched my arms.

It was not a bad morning since I wasn't losing HP with just stress. Unlike the room I woke up in after being saved, my room was small since I had become an employee. But since I had to become Anastasia's, the villainess, exclusive butler, my room was decent and quite close to her quarter of the castle.

"Now get ready, ototo-chan. Come to the kitchen on the ground floor for breakfast. I have already prepared warm water, which I will never do again, so fresh up. If you need to take a crap, there is a 10-minute walk from here, and you will reach the stables. Dig a hole and finish there."

A vein popped on my forehead when I heard her last comment, "I will complain villa- Lady Anastasia if you keep talking like that."

"Well, it was for your good. Shitholes are on the ground floor."

"They are called toilets!"

Kasumi just shrugged her shoulders. As she was about to walk out, I asked something.

"Don't you want to change my clothes?" I smirked as I pointed at the new three-piece suit on a chair.

"Perhaps in the future, when the disappoint down there would grow in a new light."

"I am still growing!" I yelled, but she had already disappeared.

I took a deep breath and calmed myself.

I then went to the bucket of hot water and rinsed my face.

Ahem.

Greetings, whoever is reading my tragic life, I am Ivan, but now I have a new name Ivanov Grayravens and a new identity as villainess' butler.

That's right. Anastasia was a villainess from otome game that I had been reincarnated into. She would soon die and bring the rest of her people with her. Ah, I couldn't care less about others since whether or not others die, she will kill me, her butler, in the future.

Ah, my dreams of living a peaceful, quiet life started to crumble before me. I got engaged with the main characters of the original plot and turned into one of the main cast.

I thought I would live as Ivan, but the possibility of me turning into the butler never occurred.

[Vivi: I don't think this is that bad…]

"' I don't think this is that bad!' I used to write wiki, which is like an encyclopedia, of this world, so I know what type of sh*t this land will face being doomed in the future no matter what choice anyone might take." I replied to the floating screen in front of me.

[Vivi: Now that you mention it, I can't see this land surviving more than a specific period. You are screwed.]

"I know. Don't need to say that." I muttered as I wiped my face.

[Vivi: Still, you can become strong while being here. Just think about it, Ivan. You don't have to worry about food or money while trained by strong knights.]

She was right. What I mentioned were just cons. There are some pros connected to me too.

For example, I now didn't need to worry about food or money. Since coming here, I didn't have time to plan about the future or the whereabouts of dungeons and Treasures since I had to search for food and look out for thieves constantly.

I can also obtain vital information related to capital affairs and other kingdoms. The main reason why Herculean Empire was in a tight spot was that neither of her neighboring countries had a good relationship with the empire. Even in a safe scenario, at least one big war is confirmed.

I can also train here since Flareottems produce one of the fine knights for the empire. They are trained in the harsh cold weather of Flareottems.

For now, as a 12 years old child, it was an ideal condition for me to survive till I turned 15 or 16 to start my adventure.

Anyway, my morning would start at 6 am. I had to finish everything before 10 am because that's when Anastasia would wake from her slumber.

After getting refreshed, I went to the kitchen on the ground floor. There I saw many maids and other workers eating their breakfast.

Seeing a new face, I saw glitters in most females' eyes, but none approached me to ask my name. They just greeted me lightly before I took my meal and sat with some castle gardeners. They weren't very chatty, but they did introduce me to their names. There were some maids of my age too.

Surprisingly their treatment was good. Employees were given clothes, money, and a place to shelter. Some can even get minimal education here, where nobility holds the most significant power over literacy.

However, there was one problem, the young lady Anastasia. None of them said aloud, but it seemed their lives and jobs depended on Anastasia. If she wanted someone dead, they would disappear the next day. She also throws a lot of tantrums like any typical spoiled rich brat. I was expecting such nature from the villainess since she was designed like that. Even without knowing the story, it was a distinct nature of spoiled, wealthy nobles of the empire.

And lastly, to finish the last part of the morning, I went to the toilet, but I made a big mistake. I think Kasumi was right. I should have gone to the stables to take care of my business. The toilet was akin to a monster dungeon. Just the smell was severe enough to kill your nose. Even my thing refused to come out.

Luckily, I sneaked into the woman's toilet, which was cleaner. The next task; was to install a toilet in my room, noted.

I then returned to my room and wore my three-piece dark suit. It consisted of dark pants of think wool to keep legs warm in winter, a thin grey waistcoat with a similar grey tie, and a dark jacket. Overall it was not bad except color choice. I preferred matching navy colors.

I wore my dress and looked in the mirror. Since I had become one of the game's main cast, I seemed unnaturally cute. I never wore anything like this in my previous life as a child. To not sleep with an empty stomach was used to be my only dream in the orphanage.

As I got dressed, I found Kasumi standing in front of my room.

"Good. Let's go." She said and started walking. I also followed her.

We then headed to the library, where I found Shin reading a book. Just like me, he was also dressed in a three-piece suit.

But was he sleeping?

"Oh, my new son is here," Shin said as he opened his eyes and looked at me. I thought he was sleeping, but his eyes were just squinted like any typical Asian. His eyes were also red as his daughter, although not much deeper like Anastasia or duke.

And yeah, he started calling me his son even though I never agreed to call him my father. I was not fond of calling any person of my parents a person who remained parentless thought out his whole life. Besides, I also didn't want to be associated with this sadistic Japanese family.

"Good morning, Sir Shin. I will be in your care." I tapped my hand lightly on my breast pocket and bowed slightly.

"Hmm, hmm~! Full marks for the greeting, but I am a little sad. Call me daddy from now on."

See why I didn't want to call him father? It was the reason.

"Never."

"Aw, that's sad. Anyway, since you are here, it is time for your studies." He said and then showed me my table where a building of books forming a skyscraper stood tall. I sweatdropped and looked at Shin and Kasumi. The grin on their faces told me everything.

"You need to memorize these books within this year, son."

"A-are you kidding? How can I memorize them within just a year? Besides, aren't they supposed to be taught to nobles? I am just a commoner."

It was just impossible to memorize them. I wasn't a nerd who could study like a maniac! I failed in two majors before joining the army in my previous life!!

Most of the books were about the history of the empire and nobles and some languages spoken in different parts of the empire. Ethics and manners are also included.

"Correct, but you have to assist Lady Anastasia in the future. She would be learning the same, but if she got stuck somewhere or needed help, you should be there to provide such as her exclusive butler."

It does make sense.

"Still, wasn't Lady Anastasia supposed to attend the academy once she turns 17? If she is going to study now, then what's the point of going there?"

"There is no point, but the academy in the capital is only for commoners or nobles of a lower class to study. Connections matter most in the academy besides learning about magic and treasures. She won't have time to study such basic knowledge. After all, she would become a grand duchess."

So it was all about pride. In short, Anastasia wouldn't need to worry about her studies and could focus on getting stronger.

I remembered that in the game, studying hardly mattered since all the main characters had exceptional academics. Still, the heroine stood out a lot since she came from a commoner background and could memorize any book in minutes.

I also had no choice but to take a dip in the books. I didn't know how a failure like me would ever survive as a future villainess' exclusive butler.

For now, I obliged as Shin said and started to study. I knew that I didn't need to memorize everything from their grin, so I decided to take things slowly.

---

"Is that it?" I asked as I wiped the sweat on my forehead.

"Impressive. I didn't know ototo-chan could clean so thoroughly. 10 out of 10." Kasumi praised me with a clap.

I smiled and rubbed my nose with my head high. One skill that I could take my pride in was cleaning.

After reading those books, Shin taught me how to walk and act like a proper butler-like, greeting noble of different classes and whom to prioritize. Aside from his sadistic nature, he was an excellent teacher. Kasumi also didn't throw any sarcastic marks and helped me adjust to my routine. Her last task for me was to show her my cleaning skills.

So she showed me an old music instrument room covered in dust to clean it like dust never existed.

It was then the door of the room flung open, and a girl entered

"Milady?" Karasumi called as the girl was Anastasia. I was also confused, but I knew what was coming.

"The butler was supposed to serve me. Kasumi, what the hell you were doing to him?!" Anastasia came and yelled at Kasumi.

"I have to see his cleaning skill, so he was just performing his task."

"Look at this commoner now. He is now covered in filth! Is this how butler of grand duchess should look?!"

"…I apologize."

I was stuck in awe. I didn't expect Kasumi to be so passive. It was not her mistake since I agreed to clean the room. Besides, there was still time before my duty would begin.

I walked towards Anastasia and spoke, "Milady Anastasia, it is not filth. It is just dust." I said and tapped my uniform, cleaning the dust. "See, I am all good. And why did you wake up so early? There is still time, no?"

"I-I don't need to sleep that late, okay!? I am the heir of Grand Duke Flareottems and fiancée of Prince Arthur!" She put her hand on her chest and declared.

"…" Kasumi and I were stuck in a dilemma whether to clap for her or laugh out ass out. Seeing her face getting flustered, we just clapped silently.

"Anyway, since you are done, you now belong to me!" She said and grabbed my hand, but a ray of sunlight came out of nowhere and hid our hands.

"Lewd"

I glared at Kasumi, who looked away while trying to whistle. I don't think I could remain alive if she were around.

"Anyway, let's go~!"

"Wait!"

She didn't listen and dragged me. I didn't want to be bossed around by 12 years old brat, but her smile like a blooming flower deterged my anger. Even if a rose has a spiky stem, it still smells beautiful.

---

A smile grew wider on the face of the maid as she saw two children leaving.

"Look at them now. Just like the story of bad girl and a hypocrite boy~."

Kasumi then put her hand on her cheek and sighed, "I should start to find suitors soon. Hmm, I should take the responsibility of dressing Ivan."

With rosy cheeks, she also followed the couple that will decide the future of this world.