Head Butler of the Fallen Villainess

A heavy silence stretched between them.

Anastasia could barely register—let alone hear—the last question her butler had thrown at her. Her mind was still struggling to process the weight of what he had uttered before that.

She didn't understand.

She didn't know why.

Had the Kingdom failed to announce her exile...?

Or had they never announced it in the first place...?

But that was not all.

The sheer notion that no one even knew where she had gone...

"W-what are you saying, Sir Sebas...?" Her voice wavered, barely above a whisper, as her throat tightened. "A-are you saying that—That no one knows...?"

It was as if her existence had been erased.

She turned to face him, eyes wide with disbelief.

It didn't make sense.

Nothing made sense.

Even if the Crown had chosen to keep her exile a secret—

Her crime—

Her sin—

It should have been known by everyone in the kingdom...!

Her sin should have been a public disgrace, something etched into history books for generations to come.

Everyone should have known how her hands had been bathed in blood.

And it should have only been a matter of time before the entire kingdom sought her death in retribution for her crime.

And yet—

"Sir Sebas—!"

Bella's voice broke through Anastasia's spiraling thoughts.

The maid's face was pale, her hands wringing nervously—almost as if trying to grasp onto something solid, something that made sense. But even so, she stepped forward toward the butler.

"That...! ...That can't be right, can it...? H-How could no one know? The 'Grand Task' is a matter of public record, isn't it? Lady Anastasia being sent here—to the Garden of Hell—should have been known by everyone—!"

She stopped, hesitation flickering in her eyes. Her mind raced, fumbling for some kind of logical reasoning behind this—anything that could explain it.

But then, a certain memory surfaced in her mind—!

"That's it...! S-Sir Sebas! There must be something wrong! I know that—! W-w-when we crossed the border from Florentia to the Garden of Hell, the guards—"

But she faltered.

The mere recollection of that moment—the sheer weight of the dread and malice she had felt—stopped her dead in her tracks.

However, when she looked at her mistress's face—she could see it.

The same realization was evident in Lady Anastasia's expression.

"Those guards... they called my lady a traitor... they spat curses at her... and they told her to die..." The maid's voice grew quieter, as if speaking the words aloud made them more real. More cruel words had been thrown at her mistress—words that she had tried to push away in her mind.

But now...

She clenched her fists, her gaze sharpening as she turned back to the butler.

"If—! ...If no one knew, t-then how did they...?"

Anastasia herself stiffened slightly, recalling that memory with vivid detail.

At the time, she had expected the venomous words from the border guards. They had hardly fazed her.

But now...

Sebas sighed, as if anticipating the question.

"That is how it has always been." His voice was steady—matter-of-fact, even. "The so-called 'Grand Task'—I've told you before. It's an old 'tradition' of the Crown, one that has lasted for decades... and it has always been synonymous with treason."

His gaze swept over them—calm yet unwavering, carrying an unspoken expectation that they would finally accept this bitter truth of his.

"Guilt or innocence never really mattered to them. Once someone was sent to partake in the 'Grand Task,' they were branded as traitors."

His eyes flickered toward the distance—toward the towering border wall that loomed over Anastasia's lands, a grim reminder of her exile.

"The border guards didn't know the details of our mistress's case. But to them, it didn't matter. They saw an exile—one they assumed had committed some great crime against the Crown. And that was enough."

His voice dipped, carrying a somber weight. "Enough to curse her name. Enough to see her as someone who was no longer welcome in the kingdom."

Hearing this, Bella's expression wavered.

"But... but that means..."

"It means their words held no true knowledge—only assumption," Sebas finished for her.

A heavy silence followed.

Bella pressed her lips together, uncertain.

The head butler's explanation finally made sense to her. And to a certain extent, even to the others...

But it did not ease the tension.

Nor did it dispel the lingering confusion gnawing at everyone present.

And now...

Martha—the ever-loyal knight—furrowed her brows, her expression dark with something caught between unease, frustration, and... denial.

"No... that still doesn't make sense," she muttered, voice tight. "This isn't just some simple treason...! This is different! The entire kingdom should have known! After all—!"

Her breath hitched.

"This is about how Lady Anastasia—killed the Crown Prince—"

The words fell like a blade between them.

Martha's eyes widened in horror, realization crashing into her the moment it left her lips—!

Bella gasped, hands flying to her mouth—not because she hadn't known, but because Martha had dared to say it aloud.

The unspoken taboo.

The weight of Anastasia's true crime.

And as that taboo was shattered, the air around them grew thick—heavy with an unnamable pressure, a suffocating stillness that threatened to swallow them whole—

And, of course, all eyes naturally shifted to Anastasia.

She felt them.

The stares pressing against her skin, like daggers poised to carve her apart.

Her own crime—her own sin—had been laid bare.

Her gaze dropped to the floor, her expression darkening. She didn't speak, but the way her hands clenched, the way her shoulders tensed, spoke volumes.

And her knight—her ever-loyal knight—regretted it.

Deeply.

"I—M-my lady—!" Martha choked out, her voice a desperate whisper. "I... forgive me. I spoke out of turn—"

"EH?! SHE KILLED THE CROWN PRINCE?!"

Vivian's voice rang out, shattering the tension like glass!

The Sonic Thief stared at the redhead, slack-jawed!

Her shock was pure—genuine!

Her eyes darted between everyone present around the fire pit, searching for some kind of confirmation! And finally, they landed on the butler with an unreadable expression.

"You're telling me this brat actually killed royalty?!" Vivian blurted out, her voice laced with disbelief. "And not to mention, it's her own fiancé to boot?! The DAMN Crown Prince himself?!?"

Sebas... could only let out a sigh—another headache threatening to split his head apart.

"Yeah... she did," the butler admitted, his tone carrying both exhaustion and finality. "She killed the Crown Prince, and that's why she got into this whole mess to begin with."

And then his gaze shifted toward the other three, who were still frozen in their stunned state.

"Well, as you can see..." He gestured toward the surprised Vivian. "Even our guest of honor here had no knowledge of this crime. And given her... 'second profession' in the underground society, one would expect her to have caught wind of such a scandal."

"Oi~! Sebastian~! Don't go around telling a woman's secret so casually~!" Vivian threw a pout at him, but Sebas chose to ignore it.

But what was more important was the implication behind this 'second profession' of the Sonic Thief... the Sonic Assassin.

Which meant—

Even the underworld hadn't heard of it.

The realization sent a chill through everyone.

They had been so focused on Anastasia's exile, her crime, her punishment—but they had never questioned the lack of information surrounding it.

Even now, Anastasia could barely process it.

She had assumed—no, accepted—that the kingdom saw her as a fallen noble.

A sinner sent to atone.

But if no one even knew she had been exiled...

If no one even knew what her sin was...

Then the truth had been buried so deeply that not even rumors had escaped...!

But... that brought another question...

A crucial question—

What had the Crown been trying to hide?

And why...?

Anastasia's fingers tightened, clutching the fabric of her work clothes, still stained from the cleanup earlier this morning.

She... and her two aides... they had known nothing.

Especially Martha—the knight was scowling, frustration welling inside her as more questions plagued her mind.

"Oi... Sir Butler, what is the meaning of all this...?" She demanded, her tone sharp with impatience. "If you know the answer already, then spit it out—"

"Nope, I will not reveal it," he interrupted smoothly, not even sparing her a glance. "This is something Lady Anastasia must come to understand on her own."

Martha grit her teeth, but she fell silent.

And everyone followed suit.

All eyes turned back to Anastasia.

She swallowed hard, turning her gaze to the flickering flames in the fireplace. Her mind raced, piecing together everything she had heard, everything she had learned.

No announcement. No exile. No crime. No rumors.

Why? Just... why?

The answer gnawed at the edges of her thoughts, slipping just out of reach.

But then—

Her breath hitched. Realization finally hit her—!

But... it was a single, dreadful thought that had slithered into her mind.

"A coup."

Silence.

Sebas's gaze didn't waver.

Then, with quiet certainty, he nodded.

"Correct." His voice was solemn. "A coup transpired within the Crown."