The Top-Tier Butler of the Marquis Family

Chapter 023

Having changed into the tailcoat, I entered the party hall with confidence. Fortunately, very few of the newly appointed Training Officer or the butlers who might remember my face were around. And even if they were, everyone was too busy with their duties to recognize me.

Because of that, I was able to act with even greater confidence.

“Hey!”

My heart dropped in an instant. Had I been found out? Damn it, I should have been more careful. When I turned my head, I saw a butler I had never seen before looking at me. He strode over.

“We are so busy we could die, so why are your hands empty? Hurry up and carry some drinks!”

No one could raise their voice here. He spoke to me in a forceful whisper. If that was the reason, then I could carry drinks all day. At least it did not seem as though he suspected my identity.

“Give them to me. I will take them.”

“You are quick on the uptake.”

Was he a butler of fairly high rank? Even if he did not know me, not just anyone would speak like that so freely. I would have to dig into his identity later.

For the moment, I took the tray filled with drinks from him. Then I wandered through the party hall, handing glasses to the distinguished guests who needed them.

Right then, my gaze drifted to one side. The master of this mansion, the head of the Adeline family himself, Marquis Chronos, was speaking with someone.

I had seen Marquis Chronos once before.

At the time, he had looked every bit the lofty noble, and it had been Rohan beside me who told me that he was the head of the Adeline family.

But who was the noble standing next to him?

“What a truly lively party! Your Excellency’s parties are always a delight. Hahaha.”

He seemed to be around the same age as Marquis Chronos, but he was speaking respectfully. Marquis Chronos lifted his glass with a benevolent smile.

“With you here, it is all the more lively. Come now, today is a day to drink to our hearts’ content. A toast.”

“To His Excellency the Marquis!”

They really do know how to enjoy themselves.

Given the occasion, the man standing beside him was probably Count Astria, the guest of honor today. He looked about the right age as well.

I would have liked to listen longer, but finding Young Lady Sapiela was more important now.

Where in the world was she?

I could not exactly look around too openly, so I kept serving while scanning the room as naturally as I could.

“There she is.”

At last, I found Young Lady Sapiela.

She was standing on the stage set up at one side of the hall. She was dancing with a young man who looked like some noble heir.

Were they lovers?

But if that were the case, then the eyes with which Sapiela looked at him were far too cold.

I continued serving and waited for her dance to end.

Some time later, the magnificent music of the string quartet came to an end, and Sapiela stepped down from the stage. Countless nobles applauded and lavished praise upon her dancing.

“As expected, the Young Lady’s steps are marvelous! Splendid!”

“You look so well-matched with Young Master Otto!”

“I do hope the two of you are brought together.”

Those were exactly the sorts of reactions one would expect. Judging by that, the one called Young Master Otto seemed to be the son who had come today with Count Astria.

For quite a while, Sapiela remained surrounded by the crowd.

And then, at last, an opportunity came for me to approach her.

“...You?”

As expected, she recognized me. I bent my arm and offered the formal courtesy used in the party hall.

“Your dance was magnificent, my lady.”

“And why are you here? You are clearly an appren—”

“My lady.”

I cut her off at once. It was an enormous discourtesy, but there was no helping it. Even though she was momentarily apart from the others, it would only last for a short time. And too many people were passing by us.

I could feel that the time given to me was very short.

“There is something urgent I must tell you. Once you hear it, you will understand why I am here.”

“Is it truly that important?”

“It is both very important and very urgent.”

I put force even into my low voice. She watched me as though on guard for a moment, then gave a small nod.

“Follow me.”

She moved first.

This party hall was enormous. Even with hundreds of people gathered inside, there were still plenty of empty spaces. Young Lady Sapiela chose a balcony where no one was present.

After opening the glass door and stepping outside, she looked up at the sky for a moment. For some reason, she looked lonely.

There were probably many reasons for that. It was possible marriage talks were already being exchanged with Young Master Otto. Did she dislike him? He seemed handsome enough.

“What a quiet and lonely night.”

My lady, this is not the time to get lost in sentiment.

But because it was the first time I had ever seen her reveal emotion in anything unrelated to duty, her words struck me strangely hard. To begin with, I had scarcely ever had the chance to speak with her at all.

Could one still feel loneliness while living in such luxury?

Then she turned back toward me.

“That was an unnecessary thing for me to say. What is it?”

I handed her the secret document that had been sleeping inside my clothes.

“There is a certain force plotting to kidnap you, my lady.”

She flinched in surprise. Frowning, Sapiela began examining the secret document I had given her.

Since I had been standing with the light behind me, I shifted slightly so that she could see it more clearly.

Even after reading through the document, she still wore an expression that said she could hardly understand it.

“In one week, they mean to take me...?”

“I had no way of knowing your schedule, so I brought this to you as quickly as possible. There is also the possibility that something may happen even before then. Please forgive what happened earlier today.”

“That... is all right. It was an act of loyalty on your part. But where in the world did you obtain this document?”

“I happened upon it while investigating the course of Training Officer Cornel’s corruption earlier. It was stored inside the Arkain Merchant Company’s warehouse. It was kept in a very sturdy box.”

“The Arkain Merchant Company.”

I did not mention that it had been built with some special structure that made it extremely hard to open. If I did, the natural question would be how someone of my standing had managed to open it.

Right now, what mattered was making sure Young Lady Sapiela could accept the situation as objectively as possible, without being distracted by other suspicions.

After falling silent in thought for a moment, Sapiela returned the papers to me.

“The Arkain Merchant Company has no reason to kidnap me.”

“To be precise, it may not be the Arkain Merchant Company itself. The secret document was merely stored in their warehouse. It never explicitly states who intends to carry it out.”

“It must be a frame-up. Or a trap.”

“It is difficult to conclude that so easily. They had investigated your movements in detail. I have seen similar documents before. And they also knew that you were due to attend the village festival in a few days. Is that not true? If so...”

I cut myself off hurriedly.

I had clearly felt displeasure in Young Lady Sapiela’s expression. But rather than lash out with that displeasure, she turned it into a question.

“Why would they do this?”

“I do not know that either. Behind the Arkain Merchant Company stands an organization called the Scorpion Gang. There may be yet another power behind them as well. In any case, one thing is certain. You must not take this matter lightly.”

“But...”

She started to say something, then stopped. I remained standing there respectfully, waiting for her to continue.

“I cannot choose not to attend that event. It is the only occasion on which I can meet the people of the territory. They are waiting for me.”

“I see.”

So it was a festival that held memories for her in its own way.

If the Young Lady insisted on this, then there was nothing I could do. I had given a clear warning through the document, and she had chosen not to accept it. My responsibility ended there.

No, wait a moment.

I hate to say it this way about the Young Lady, but was this not actually an excellent opportunity for me?

If that secret document was real, then some force would target Young Lady Sapiela at the appointed time, and since I knew that, I might be able to turn the situation to my advantage.

If I were the one to rescue Young Lady Sapiela from danger, then I might become not merely a full butler, but the foremost contributor to the affair.

Of course, the best outcome would be for such a crisis never to occur at all. But if an opportunity came, I intended to seize it.

To enjoy the sweetness a little longer.

“Sapiela, what are you doing out here?”

An unfamiliar voice sounded from behind us. Instinctively, I knew an unwelcome guest had arrived.

“I was getting a little fresh air.”

“And who is this?”

The voice was openly wary. I lowered my head without even meeting his eyes, and lightly shook the tray I held in my hand.

“Would you care for a drink?”

Only then did the suddenly arrived Young Master Otto laugh aloud.

“You are working late. There is no need for the drink, so you may go back.”

“Understood, Young Master.”

I bowed once more and withdrew from the balcony. For some reason, I did not like the feel of that man at all. I should have brushed against him and checked his Status Window.

In any case, I had done what I came to do.

Now all that remained was to wait.

***

The next morning, I woke early. Starting today, the training from hell would begin.

For a certain period, the Butler Apprentices would undergo physical conditioning, practice martial arts, and spar with one another. Since they had to attend important figures at close range, martial skill was an indispensable virtue.

Naturally, I saw this as an opportunity. I had read martial arts books in the family library, practiced those movements in the Training Ground, and built up the fundamentals.

In other words, I had finally gained a chance to accumulate experience close to real combat.

And there was one more reason I had been waiting for this chance.

Lately, I really had not liked the way Beron kept looking at me. The same went for the bastards in his gang. It seemed they had already tossed the memory of getting beaten by me straight into the incinerator.

That could not be helped. Fools only remembered through their bodies, and so far I had only truly educated him once.

In any case, I had heard that every time there was a sparring opportunity, Beron volunteered and beat his opponents black and blue. If so, he would raise his hand eagerly this time too.

All I had to do was respond when he did.

“Is everyone here!”

The newly appointed Training Officer Vesper raised his voice. Unlike his predecessor Cornel, he lacked any intellectual charm, but he had a solid build and gave the impression of a man of action.

“Starting today, you will enter the physical conditioning and martial training course. Evaluation will be conducted strictly according to performance ranking. Strive to produce the best results possible!”

The first stage of physical conditioning began.

It was a run, fitting for a morning exercise. The new Training Officer had called it a light run, but the course went over the mountain behind the mansion and was absurdly grueling.

Of course, to someone like me, who had obtained special abilities, it was easier than lying down and eating rice cakes. But the fact that even Rohan, who had always been confident in his stamina, was reduced to a miserable wreck was enough to show how hard it really was.

“Dilen!”

“Yes, sir.”

“That is an excellent time. You took first place. Were you always this fit? Looking at your previous records, they were not especially good.”

“I have never neglected my training. I am confident in my stamina.”

“Good! That is the right attitude.”

It was exactly the sort of line a company commander would like to hear, and sure enough, the corners of his mouth lifted.

I had only exchanged a few words with the new Training Officer Vesper, but he clearly grasped the apprentices’ individual qualities properly, just as befitted his position. That was also proof that the butler apprenticeship process in this house was being run systematically.

Several more conditioning exercises followed, and then we were given a short break.

But it lasted not even ten minutes.

Vesper appeared again out of nowhere, planted his hands on his hips, and shouted sternly,

“To be tired already after so little? The Training Officer is disappointed in you! Straighten your backs!”

The Training Officer’s lecture went on for quite a while. I let it go in one ear and out the other.

And then the moment I had been waiting for finally arrived.

“Next is sparring! Prove the results of your personal training so far. Now then, who will step forward first?”