The Top-Tier Butler of the Marquis Family

Chapter 005

I wanted to ask, Whose opinion was that?

But I held myself back.

There was no point in saying it.

The original owner of this body had been a hopeless man. So much so that I found myself wondering how he had ever managed to qualify as a Butler Apprentice in the first place. He had been timid, and not especially bright either.

But things were different now.

I did not know what had become of the original owner, but now the owner of this body was me.

I might have been reborn in a pathetic body, but I was still an engineering geek who had studied hard in his own way. If I made use of that knowledge, I could at least show them something better than what had come before.

More than anything, I did not want to leave the mansion already.

For now, this was the time to gather information and quietly build up my strength.

“I respect your decision, Head Butler.”

“Do you mean to say you will obey it? It does not seem that way.”

“I know very well that I have no right to protest. But I cannot leave like this.”

I kept my tone as polite as possible.

But I could not soften the substance of what I was saying. Yanrof’s eyes grew sharp.

“Then what do you want?”

“Please allow me to work here for just one month. It would be a great honor to serve the Adeline Marquis House.”

I deliberately brought up the family and clung to the principle of honor. Yanrof could not help but consider it. I was only an apprentice anyway. All they had to do was feed me and give me a place to sleep.

A short silence passed, and Yanrof stroked his chin.

“One month....”

Yanrof tapped the armrest with his fingers and sank into deep thought. I lowered my head slightly and pretended to wait obediently for his answer, but inwardly, I was already drawing up Plan B.

If I had to leave the mansion, where was I supposed to go?

My memories were still incomplete, so I did not even know where my hometown was. It was not as though I could simply become homeless, and with no real foundation to stand on, there was little I could do.

Just as I was failing to come up with a suitable answer, Yanrof spoke.

“The truth is, your apprenticeship went wrong from the very beginning.”

“What do you mean?”

“Your score on the Butler Apprentice exam should have been a failing one, but due to a clerical error, you were processed as having passed. We conducted another review this time, and a grading error was discovered.”

So that was it.

I had wondered how someone with neither ability nor talent had managed to become an apprentice.

“But that was not my fault.”

“Even so, it is more than enough reason for this matter to have been raised.”

“Please reconsider.”

Yanrof let out a sigh and stared at me.

I did not hide the steadiness in my gaze.

Perhaps that was what worked. Yanrof’s expression softened.

“Hah, it can not be helped. Very well. One month should not matter. I will grant your request. Do your utmost during the month you have left.”

“Thank you, Head Butler.”

I bowed to him politely and left the office.

I had been given a one-month reprieve.

But I no longer bothered thinking about Plan B.

It was not because I had plenty of time.

It was because I now possessed abilities I had never had before. All I had to do was show them what I was truly capable of.

The way to survive in an organization was simple.

Become someone they could not replace.

What kind of expressions would the people who knew the old me make when they saw the new me?

The more I imagined it, the more amusing it became.

***

Since I was not a full butler yet, there was not much to my work. All I had to do was wash up in the quarters, dress neatly, and report to the duty office.

Because I was still an apprentice, I did not have a fixed assignment. The job of a Butler Apprentice was to go wherever help was needed that day, support the work there, and learn in the process.

After spending a year as an apprentice, you took the Promotion Exam, and if you passed, you became a full butler.

Over the past few days, I had been sent out to assist with various tasks, so I had already learned everything I needed to do.

At the very least, I was not going to stand there looking clueless.

As I walked down the corridor, I spotted a familiar face in the distance.

It was Beron and his lackeys.

The moment I smiled at him, Beron flinched and looked away.

“Beron.”

“Y-yes?”

He stared at me in surprise. I smiled at him warmly.

“You cute little thing. At least say hello, would you? Are we not being a little too cold with each other?”

I mixed a little mockery into it.

The lackeys behind him looked at me as though wondering what in the world was wrong with me, but judging from the mood, they clearly had not heard that he had been thoroughly beaten by me.

Then again, if I were him, I would not have told anyone either.

“Hahaha... G-good morning!”

“Make sure you eat properly.”

I gave him a broad grin and left.

I heard a bit of a commotion behind me. That bastard lost his mind after getting hurt. Are we really just going to let him act like that?

Of course, he would not dare pick a fight with me for a while. The pain from that day would still be lingering in his body.

My relationship with him had now sunk to that of sworn enemies.

Perhaps there was no relationship worse than that.

He might try to harm me someday, but I was not especially worried. With ability at that level, I could more than handle him.

And as I thought about that, I came to a natural conclusion.

“Is there no way to learn martial arts properly?”

I could move my body exactly as I wanted, and I had gained tremendous strength, but that was all. If I wanted to use that power properly, I needed structured martial training.

That said, becoming a soldier or taking the knight’s examination did not appeal to me.

One trip through the military had been more than enough.

I had no desire to do it twice.

“For now, settling myself here comes first.”

I thought it would be better to wait for the right opportunity after becoming a full butler. There were several possible methods. I could, for example, strike up a connection with some approachable knight and learn swordsmanship from him.

But to do that, I first had to break free of this wretched apprenticeship.

When I arrived at the office, I opened the door.

“Good morning.”

The Training Officer inside looked at me sharply. I had come here every day for the past few days to receive work assignments, but he had never once looked pleased to see me.

That might simply have been his personality, but another way of putting it was that he did not trust me that much.

Well, it did not matter.

The man called Dilen had changed completely.

Time would resolve that problem on its own.

“I have come to receive today’s work assignment, Training Officer.”

“I see.”

The Training Officer began flipping through the papers before him.

They were today’s assignment sheets. According to Rohan, there was always more work than people to do it.

“Today, you are to go to Rosetta. Handle the delivery duties and other support work there. Starting today, for three days.”

Rosetta.

I searched my memory.

Rosetta was the nickname of the Second Dining Hall. The mansion was so vast that there were more than ten dining halls operating regularly.

If there were already more than a hundred full butlers alone, how many other workers had to be here?

The scale of this mansion was beyond imagination.

I had also heard that there were many places one could not enter. As a rule, any place guarded by knights or soldiers was off-limits.

“Understood. Are there any other instructions?”

“Nothing in particular. But Dilen.”

“Yes, sir.”

The Training Officer tilted his head.

“Were you always this sharp? Ever since your injury, it feels as though you have become a completely different person.”

“While I was lying in bed, I had time to sort out my thoughts. It made me realize that I needed to work harder.”

“It is a shame you did not get hurt sooner.”

The Training Officer clicked his tongue. He knew it too, no doubt—that I only had one month of work left.

“I have heard you have been working hard lately. Up through yesterday, your attendance evaluation was quite good.”

“That is only because you have looked kindly on me. I will work even harder.”

“Good. You may go.”

I bowed and left the office at once.

By the time I arrived at Rosetta, the ingredient deliveries were in full swing. Judging from the vegetables, meat, and even the rare spices being brought in, it looked like a rather large shipment.

“You there. Are you the one assigned here today?”

A man in a chef’s uniform called out to me.

“My name is Dilen. I look forward to working with you.”

“I am Ramsay, the Head Chef here. Today is the day a large shipment of ingredients comes in. We need to inspect the produce, so come with me.”

He was a man with stubborn lines etched into his face. He looked as though he had a rather prickly temperament as well. His name was Ramsay. For all I knew, he might have been a master of poisonous criticism.

I followed him to the storeroom where the deliveries were being received.

All sorts of ingredients were scattered about. There were common items like onions, radishes, and garlic, but there were also strange ingredients I had never seen before.

It was the moment it truly hit home that I had fallen into another world.

“Tomorrow, Young Lady Sapiela will be meeting guests for a banquet here. That means we need to sort out the freshest ingredients separately.”

“I understand.”

Sapiela was the youngest daughter of the Adeline Marquis House. I had heard she was an extraordinary beauty, but since I had not seen her yet, I could not say for sure.

Ramsay began inspecting the ingredients.

Then, after looking over a few vegetables, he hurled them aside and scowled fiercely.

“Hey! Roy! You are calling this top-quality produce?”

The young merchant who appeared to be in charge of the delivery, Roy, gave a crooked smile. Then he picked up an onion rolling across the floor and walked over.

“Chef, I did the best I could. You know how things are. There has been flooding, so good produce has been hard to come by these days.”

“Even so, I cannot put garbage like this on the tables at Rosetta! Take it back at once.”

“I am afraid I cannot do that.”

“What?”

“I was told to bring it here, not to take it back. We already have a signature on the delivery contract, so how could I possibly do that?”

His manner of speaking was exactly like that of a street thug.

The man in charge of the delivery set the onion back on the crate. Ramsay looked furious enough to burst, but he could not protest too forcefully.

Was his standing lower than I had expected?

I remained silent and simply watched the scene unfold.

“In any case, the quantities are all correct, so we will be taking our leave now.”

“How long do you think you can keep pulling stunts like this?”

“I will report the quality issue to my superiors as well. Please do not be too angry. Then I shall take my leave.”

The people from the merchant company all departed.

Naturally, the people left behind could only remain silent. Even to me, the ingredients did not look very good.

Wait a moment. I was the butler assigned here, was I not?

Get yourself together.

This was not the time to stand here doing nothing.

“Chef. Which merchant company do those men belong to?”

“The Arkain Merchant Company.”

Arkain?

I had heard that name somewhere before.

Ah, that was it.

Arwen had told me once. Beron’s father was supposed to be a high-ranking executive in that company.

Something smelled suspicious.

“Chef. Has this happened before?”

“From time to time. I can understand the flooding, but they should never be bringing goods of such poor quality. I am worried about the Young Lady’s banquet tomorrow.”

“Can we not receive supplies from another merchant company?”

“Not immediately. Rosetta receives most of its supplies from the Arkain Merchant Company.”

“In that case, I would like to help you.”

“You?”

He looked at me with open suspicion. Fair enough. In one sense, the name Dilen was quite famous in this mansion.

If I wanted to change that reputation, I had to step forward myself.

“From what I can see, those men are skimming profits in the middle. It is a classic case of petty graft. If we investigate the reality of the situation and press them on it, there is more than enough chance of success.”

“Surely you are not suggesting we mobilize the knights? That would be troublesome. Each merchant company has powerful backing.”

“There will be no need for that. I do not have that kind of authority anyway. Instead, if I solve this problem, please grant me one favor.”

“A favor? Something I could actually grant?”

“More than easily.”

After thinking it over for a moment, Ramsay nodded. He looked as though he figured he had nothing to lose either way, but I paid it no mind and left the dining hall.