The Lady's Butler: I Reincarnated To Serve The Villainess

Adrian had a small frown on his face as he returned to the Mansion with the Grand Duke and Cedric.

There was a carriage and some other guards around, but that was not the cause of his frown; instead, his frown was due to the familiar mana he sensed.

From the Grand Duke and Cedric’s expression, Adrian knew that he had sensed it too.

Calmly, the three walked into the mansion, and Sebastian directed them towards the pavilion at the back of the building.

Sitting there were four ladies...or rather, five if the child along with them was to be counted.

The women were calmly having tea whilst discussing something, only for them to pause as they sensed the presence of the three men.

The Grand Duchess was the first to turn around, and she immediately smiled the moment she spotted the three.

With her was Renelle, Isla, the Headmistress, whose mana the three had sensed earlier, and a lady who was unfamiliar to even Adrian.

He turned to look at the two, and the moment he saw Cedric’s expression, he immediately understood who she was.

The lady had short dark hair that almost seemed to have a blue hue, and blue eyes.

Her cheeks immediately heated up as she locked eyes with Cedric, basically confirming Adrian’s thoughts,

She was Cedric’s fiancée.

The three approached the Pavilion, and she immediately stood up before respectfully saying, "I greet the Grand Duke."

"Lea," Grand Duke Boreas said with a smile, "It’s a pleasure to have you over. How is your father?"

"He’s doing well, thank you for asking," Lea answered with a slight bow, "he asked me to apologize on his behalf for not being here."

"Tell him not to worry," Boreas shook his head with a smile before he turned towards Cedric and said, "Would you like to take your fiancée for a walk?"

In other words, they were supposed to catch up.

Without hesitation, Cedric extended his hand towards her, and with a blush still on her cheeks, she accepted it.

As much as Cedric wanted to inform his mother that he was now at S-Rank, one look at the hopeful smile on Lea’s face made him swallow the words.

There would be time for that later.

Right now, he had made someone wait long enough.

"Shall we?" Cedric asked.

Lea nodded, gently wrapping her fingers around his arm.

"I’d like that."

The two quietly walked away from the pavilion, disappearing into one of the estate’s many gardens.

The Grand Duchess watched them leave before covering a smile behind her teacup.

"It’s good to see them together again."

Renelle nodded in agreement before her eyes rested on her butler.

He was also looking at her, and she finally realized that she had been ignoring him all this time.

Yet, he hadn’t complained once.

[He probably deserves a reward for that,] Adrian’s voice was heard in his head, causing her to chuckle.

[I wonder,] she also said mentally.

Adrian just smiled before turning to the Headmistress, who was calmly sipping her tea.

Isla was also eating some snacks when she noticed Adrian’s presence.

Since she had also been taught etiquette by Evelina, she didn’t run towards the butler, but it was obvious enough that she was actively fighting herself not to.

Adrian noticed this too before smiling and walking towards her.

Adrian stopped in front of the little girl before crouching down to her eye level.

"Hello, Isla."

"Hello," Isla answered with a smile before he stood back up and patted her.

"Adrian," The Grand Duchess looked at him with a smile, "have a seat."

She gestures towards an empty seat by Renelle before she stands up, "This old lady will go stretch her legs in the garden."

With that, she turned towards Boreas and said, "Come on."

Boreas was a bit confused, but seeing the Headmistress there, he figured that the woman had something to discuss with the kids, so he just nodded and walked with his wife to the garden.

Adrian calmly took a seat beside Renelle, and the two continued looking at the Headmistress, who gently set her cup down.

She then looked at the two before asking, "I take it, you two have properly enjoyed your break?"

Evelina was mostly referring to Renelle since she was the only one who needed more time with her recently revived mother.

"And from the looks of things," she continued with a gentle smile, "I’d say the answer is yes."

Renelle was silent for a while before nodding, "Hm."

"I see," the Headmistress said with a nod, "then I take it you two are ready?"

The two knew exactly what she was referring to, and although they had been ready, Renelle wasn’t so certain anymore.

Or at least, if it was a week ago, she wouldn’t have been, after all, she had just gotten her mother back, and her family was complete again.

She could just live in that bubble forever and forget about everything else.

But she quickly realized that choosing that option possibly meant that she would lose Adrian.

Not because her butler would leave her because of such a selfish decision.

Rather, it was because she knew that he’d do anything to keep that bubble safe, and that meant searching for the founder’s dungeon alone.

She wouldn’t allow that to happen, and since he was basically doing this to keep her safe, she’d go with him.

"We are," Renelle answered, looking at her butler.

Although he hadn’t said anything, it was obvious enough that he was aware of her internal dilemma, and he had been completely willing to leave without her, as long as her safety was ensured.

Evelina looked at the two for a while before letting out a sigh and saying, "I have no idea where my father currently is."

Before the two could say anything, she quickly added, "But he did leave me a way to find him."

She then pulled out what seemed like a ring and poured some of her mana within, an indication that it was a magic tool.

From within the ring came two objects: a piece of folded paper and a circular, stone-like object with a hole in the center.

She then slid it towards Adrian and said, "That should help you find him."

Adrian placed a hand on the piece of paper before lifting and opening it, only to end up looking at it with a blank expression, "...."

Renelle also leaned in and glanced at the paper, only to suppress her chuckle.

The Headmistress calmly picked up her cup again, took a sip before setting it back down and looking back at Adrian, "Well, my father wasn’t exactly known for his drawing skills."

On the top of the sheet of paper was the word, Map, and just below it was something that could hardly be called a map.

It was just a bunch of lines that the Founder had helpfully labelled, ’borders’.

There was a dot at the far end of the map, showing where his dungeon was supposed to be located, and all the description Adrian got was,

West.

At least it was helpful to know that his dungeon was located somewhere in the West, but like the North and Capital, the West was quite large, and it’d take a long while to search the entire dukedom.

With an exhausted sigh, the butler folded the paper and picked up the circular stone-like object.

He noticed that it had some type of runes on it, and the Headmistress immediately explained, "That’s supposed to lead you to him when you’re close enough."

Adrian continued observing the rock for a while before nodding and saying, "Thank you."

"I’m just fulfilling my end of our deal, no?" She then calmly picked up the teacup before her.

Isla, who had been silent all this while, suddenly asked, "Are you leaving?"

Adrian looked at her for a while before nodding, "Yeah, I’ll be leaving for a while, so make sure you’re stronger when I return, alright?"

"Alright!" Isla nodded before going silent again.

Adrian then turned towards Renelle and asked, "Are you certain that you want to come with me?"

"I am," Renelle nodded without the slightest bit of hesitation, "how else would I ensure that you were safe?"

Adrian looked at her for a while before saying, "Alright then, we’ll leave tomorrow."