Dear Heroes, I really am a Villain-Chapter 102: The Trap

Within the old European hall, where a long table stood at the center, three guests were seated.

Two of them wore black tuxedos, resembling old British nobles. At the same time, the third was a silver-haired woman dressed in a Victorian-style gown.

The last one was none other than Atherna, seated at the head of the table, awaiting her meal.

Maximilian, now dressed in a black tuxedo, wore a solemn expression as he carried a tray of food in his hands.

He walked briskly toward the guests and began serving the food, starting at the head of the table, the seat reserved for the most influential person.

Maximilian gently placed the tray down and removed the cover with elegance.

"Why are you here?" he whispered.

"I’m one of the three judges!" Atherna replied with a wide grin. She couldn’t outright say that she was there to help him.

Maximilian sighed but said nothing more. He moved on to the other two guests and served the food he had prepared, then stepped to the side to await his competitor.

Next, a middle-aged man with a slight mustache entered, dressed in a butler’s tuxedo. He walked with perfect posture, exuding the air of a true professional.

The man served the guests with subtle interactions, eye contact, and measured gestures, making each guest feel valued and respected while maintaining the proper distance.

At this moment, Maximilian sighed again.

He knew he was going to lose this round. Even with Atherna’s help, there were three judges, and her support likely wouldn’t be enough.

It was clear that the trial master, the Hundred-Faced Butler, had outperformed him.

To understand how this all happened, we must rewind to about three days ago.

—

After a rather busy day at the café, mostly spent answering questions about training from Gu Yichen and serving the crowd that Ricardo brought in as his own gang to support the business. Maximilian finally has time to rest.

In his bedroom, in the middle of the night, Maximilian noticed that the cooldown time for the second round of the trial had finished. He decided to check the contents of the next stage.

Round: 2nd Round

Type: Trial by Competition

Trial Master’s Special Rule: Butler Competition

Status: Second Round – Awaiting Participant

– Trial Master –

Name: ???

Villain Name: The Hundred Face

EF (Evolution Factor): Inorganic Animation

Skills/Abilities:

- Master of Disguise

- Master of Acting

- Master of Fencing (Rapier/Saber)

- Butler Mastery (Coffee/Tea brewing and all skills related to butler duties)

- Master of Etiquette

The moment he saw the trial content, Maximilian frowned.

"Butler? What the hell is this? Why did the second trial turn into something like this?"

He remembered Atherna had told him that the trial master couldn’t impose special rules outside of what the system allows.

{Athel...} Maximilian called out.

{Athel!}

[Yes! I’m here, I’m here, you don’t need to shout!] Atherna responded after the second call.

{Are you seeing this?} Maximilian asked, pointing at the trial content.

[Yes... I’m also wondering how this even passed the system check,] Atherna said in a grave tone.

Hearing that, Maximilian closed his eyes, a creeping suspicion forming in his mind. He began reviewing the skills he had gained so far:

CQC, melee combat, stealing, hacking... None of them had anything to do with being a butler. He didn’t know high-class etiquette nor how to properly serve. But... wait.

His eyes fell on one of the newly acquired skills, something he’d been using almost instinctively:

– Master of Acting

Maximilian closed his eyes and tried to imitate the movement and mannerisms of butlers he’d seen on TV shows.

He stood up and moved elegantly around the room, his posture straight, his mindset shifting into that of a professional butler. As he moved, he instinctively noticed areas that should be cleaned or reorganized.

But he knew all of this came from the Acting skill. What he was doing was far from what a trained butler could do. It might be enough to fool amateurs, but when it came to real competition... he wasn’t even close.

{Shit... I can’t do it.} Maximilian muttered in his mind, then collapsed onto his bed.

[Oh my...] Atherna was speechless. She now realized they were at a serious disadvantage in the upcoming trial.

The system only required that participants be capable of performing the trial’s task, but "capable" didn’t mean "skilled."

For example, right now, Maximilian’s Acting skills allow him to barely pass as a butler, but not enough to win.

{Can we delay the trial? I’ll try to find somewhere to learn proper skills first,} Maximilian asked.

[We can only postpone the second round for about three days. After that, the system will automatically force you into the trial, regardless of your current condition,] Atherna replied.

Maximilian let out a resigned sigh. It seemed he couldn’t avoid losing this round.

[But...] Atherna’s voice drew his attention to the system screen.

[If you lose this round, the third trial will be postponed for about two months. With your Acting skills, I think you could use the time to mimic and even learn a lot of the knowledge you currently lack, especially compared to the Hundred-Faced Butler.]

Maximilian nodded as he analyzed the situation.

He understood that no matter what, he would lose to the Hundred-Faced Butler in this round. The competition had blindsided him.

The Acting skill, which he thought was an edge, turned out to be a trap.

It enabled him to qualify for the trial, but only at a shallow level. He could mimic but not master and certainly not outperform someone truly skilled.

In the previous trial, which involved stealing, he was able to succeed even without skill, just by ambushing the Shadow Thief and stealing the objective before his opponent could reach it.

But this time, there was no room for shortcuts. It was a Butler Competition, judged, scored, and conducted publicly. There would be at least three judges. No gimmicks. No stealth.

But that didn’t mean he’d go in unprepared.

{Athel, we’ll postpone the trial for three days. I’m going to learn as much as I can from the net.} Maximilian declared.

[Are you serious? (＾﹏＾;) ]

{Of course. Giving up without trying my best isn’t my style.}

With that, Maximilian decided to close the café for three days and dedicate himself to learning everything he could about being a butler online.

Of course, there were some distractions. He stumbled upon a baking channel and ended up wasting half a day learning how to bake pastries.

Rebecca was surprised at first, but Maximilian told her he wanted to improve the shop’s pastries and bake them himself, which is why he closed the shop.

During this time, Maximilian also checked the system shop to see if there were any butler-related skills available, but there were none.

Atherna also tried her best to help, checking all categories every time the shop refreshed, but nothing came up.

And so, the day of the trial arrived, and Maximilian had no choice but to participate.

Which brings us back to the present, where Maximilian could only sigh in resignation.

—

Within the grand European castle hall, the judges began giving their scores.

"Mr. Graham," one of the judges said, drawing Maximilian’s attention.

The judge, who looked like an old British noble, had long hair tied into a ponytail at the nape of his neck.

"You are not a professional butler, are you? What you did was mimicking, but high-level mimicking, I’ll give you that.

Still, you don’t yet have what it truly takes to be a butler," the first judge began, and Maximilian could only nod and smile wryly.

"Your posture and the way you walk are good enough to pass as a butler. Your movements are nearly identical to that of a trained one. But from what I saw, you didn’t show respect through your eyes, as a butler should to the ones they serve.

What I saw was just a polite smile. Your eyes held no genuine respect, only politeness. That might be acceptable if you were a waiter in a restaurant.

But here, this is a butler competition..." the judge continued, offering more and more criticism, and Maximilian listened to all of it.

The judge wasn’t wrong. Maximilian wasn’t a real butler, at best, he was a very good imitation, someone who had learned everything from watching videos online.

Subtle, intricate matters, like the respectful expression a butler should carry in their eyes, these were things he was completely unaware of.

After some time spent receiving critique, the scores were finally announced.

He received only 4 out of 10. The score magically appeared in the air above the hall.

It was within Maximilian’s expectations.

Now, it was Atherna’s turn.

"I love you! I’ll give you 10 out of 10!" Atherna declared loudly with a smile, startling the two judges and even the Hundred Face.

Maximilian stared blankly at Atherna, his eyes silently saying, What kind of BS are you spouting? Be more serious!

"Ahem... Lady Atherna, I don’t think this is appropriate. I know you like him, but..." one of the judges, a bald man, tried to interject.

Atherna’s gaze suddenly turned ice cold as she looked down at the bald judge as if he were some crawling maggot.