The Top-Tier Butler of the Marquis Family

Chapter 039

I carried several heavy pieces of furniture outside all by myself. Thanks to that, I managed to leave a good impression on the butler supervising the worksite.

“Isn’t that Dilen?”

“That’s incredible. He carried that bookshelf by himself....”

“I heard he goes to the Training Ground every night to train. He really is impressive.”

I could hear the murmurs around me. Without turning back, I simply carried the furniture and went on my way.

Getting this much attention did not feel bad at all.

In the middle of it, I could feel Rohan glaring at me with obvious jealousy, but I did not care. He was the one who had asked me to help in the first place.

I was, quite literally, handling the work of ten able-bodied men on my own.

“This is easy enough. If I volunteer for physical labor too, I could probably earn a good evaluation. Maybe even a reward leave.”

After properly loading an elegant desk onto a large handcart, I wiped away the sweat trickling down and headed back toward the annex.

There was still a mountain of work left. At this rate, it looked as though they would be moving things all through half the day. It did not matter to me, but the other apprentices’ stamina seemed likely to give out.

At that moment, the butler directing the work called for me.

“You there, Dilen.”

“Yes, sir.”

I approached him at once and respectfully folded both hands in front of me.

“Did you have some special instruction for me?”

I asked in a friendly tone. Because of that, the corners of the senior butler’s mouth rose slightly.

The way to make a good impression on one’s superiors was simple. Anyone who had done military service would know this, but rather than merely answering when called, it was much better to show that one was ready to receive and carry out work. Just like this.

Resting a hand on his waist, he said arrogantly,

“It looks as though you have been carrying furniture on your own. Is it not heavy? Even that bookshelf earlier should have taken at least two men.”

“I have been training in my spare time, so I am fine. If nothing else, I am confident when it comes to lifting heavy things.”

I could probably lift an elephant.

The supervising butler nodded in satisfaction.

“You are a fine talent. Confidence is good, but even so, the furniture must not be damaged, so whenever possible, carry things together with the other apprentices. One never knows what may happen in life, after all.”

“I understand. Thank you for your concern.”

Naturally, the supervising butler had no idea that I was lifting the furniture with the help of mana, so he must have been uneasy inside.

But I soon realized why he had said that.

I turned my head absentmindedly and saw three apprentices carrying an enormous desk together. Then a well-dressed young man strolled up to them in a casual way.

“What?”

No sooner had I muttered the word than the young man hooked a leg around the apprentice in front.

“W-whoa!”

“Aaaagh!”

CRASH!

The rest of what followed was completely predictable.

The three apprentices carrying the desk went sprawling across the ground. It did not seem as though they had been badly injured, but the desk, struck by the impact, broke apart.

At once, the young man who had tripped them stepped forward and began jabbing a finger at the apprentices.

“You incompetent wretches! You dared smash the property of our House?”

“Ughhh....”

They did not seem seriously injured, but it clearly hurt badly. Even so, the apprentices did not dare lift their heads.

“You bastards! Do you have any idea how expensive the desk you broke was? It is something precious, something you could never buy even if you gathered your earnings for your entire lives!”

“M-my apologies! Please forgive us!”

“Forgive you? Hardly! I ought to have your heads cut off this very moment and punish you severely! Guards! At once, take these wretches—”

It was a scene I had seen many times before.

The sort where members of the royal family threw their weight around against the servants. It was then that Rohan, who had come up beside me, played the role of prior explanation.

“He is at it again.”

“You know who he is?”

“He’s the Third Young Master of House Adeline. His name is Hamel. There’d be no one more fitting for the title of hellion.”

Rohan let out a sigh and shook his head. Apparently this sort of thing had happened more than once or twice before.

“How old is he?”

“Eighteen.”

“He’s one year older than Young Lady Sapiela, and yet people can be this different?”

“The Young Lady has always had a mature side, even though she is young. That is not a fair comparison. That thing is not really a person. It is just a hellion.”

“Watch your mouth, idiot.”

I let out a sigh and looked at the shattered desk and the apprentices sprawled on the ground begging for mercy. Young Master Hamel was raving that their heads should be cut off, while the supervising butler had rushed over and was bowing deeply before him.

“You bastards! I am asking what you are going to do about this! How will you compensate for it?”

“Young Master, please show mercy and forgive them.”

“So you are the butler in charge here, are you? Then I will hold you responsible as well. Does this not happen because you use weak little wretches like these?”

No one dared say that he himself had tripped the apprentice and caused this whole disaster. The supervising butler had surely seen the same thing I did, and yet even he remained silent.

Then again, this was a society built on status.

And not just anyone was involved here, but the direct son of the head of the House. If he chose to behave like this, then even Yanrof would probably find it difficult to intervene.

It looked as though it was time for this exceptional apprentice to step in.

“Dilen! Where are you going?”

“Just stand there and watch.”

The desk had been broken by the impact, but not beyond all use. Two of its legs had snapped, and the underside had cracked. That was all.

Passing by the supervising butler, who still had his head bowed, I went to the desk and examined it.

Naturally, the gaze of Young Master Hamel, who had been busy tormenting the butler and the apprentices, turned toward me.

“And what are you?”

“I am Dilen, a Butler Apprentice. I serve Young Lady Sapiela.”

“You serve Sapiela?”

He showed interest. Then, as if remembering something, he let out a quiet exclamation.

“So you are that Butler Apprentice who saved my younger sister.”

“Thank you for remembering me.”

“And why are you here?”

“I came because it looked as though my fellows were hurt. I have studied a little medicine.”

“You insolent wretch!”

Just as I expected, Young Master Hamel’s temples bulged. Honestly, lunatics were always the same. A head was not attached to one’s neck merely for decoration.

Hamel strode right up to me and thrust his face close to mine.

“So these vulgar apprentices matter more to you than the precious property of our House?”

He was even crazier than I had expected.

Still, I could understand part of it. This was a world where the idea of human rights did not yet exist, so a haughty noble would very likely fail to see people as people. He would probably see them as property.

I bowed my head slightly.

“Of course, Your Young Master’s words are correct. However, we apprentices all passed difficult examinations in order to enter House Adeline and serve it with loyalty. None among us would wish to commit disrespect. More importantly, among these three who were hurt today, no one can say whether one of them might one day grow into a butler as fine as Head Butler Yanrof.”

“Are you talking back to me now?”

“I am not talking back. I am offering loyal counsel. I believe that a wise young master such as yourself will surely understand the sincerity of what I have said.”

And with that, I lowered my head once more.

At this rate I was going to end up with a herniated disc. I was bowing my head so often. I needed to become a full butler soon, or else.

“Ahem. It is not that I do not understand, but....”

“I will see that this piece of furniture is repaired perfectly. The master craftsman Smith should be more than capable of restoring it.”

“That is for you people to handle.”

“Then would it be all right if I moved the desk to the forge for the time being?”

Young Master Hamel glared at me resentfully, then jerked his chin once. First I checked that the fallen apprentices were not seriously hurt, and after confirming there was nothing badly wrong, I lifted the broken desk together with the others.

Even then, I kept my eye on Young Master Hamel’s feet.

There was no way he would retreat that easily. Most likely, he would try to sabotage things in order to break the desk even further.

As expected, he did not miss the moment when I was about to walk past him and subtly stuck out his right foot.

I infused just a little mana into the foot I was stepping forward with.

CRUNCH!

“Eeeeeek!”

My heel, weighted with mana, came down squarely on the right foot the Young Master had slyly extended. Naturally, I did not forget to control my strength. If I gave the Young Master even a hairline fracture, my own life would be in danger.

But it was going to hurt like hell. He had never imagined that I would step on him instead.

“Aaaaaaagh!”

As expected, the Young Master began rolling around on the ground.

His splendid, luxurious formal attire was soon smeared with dirt. It seemed he was in too much pain to care about his dignity.

“Young Master!”

Pretending to be startled, I set down the desk I had been carrying and hurried to inspect him.

“Oh dear, my apologies, Young Master. Are you all right?”

“You, you bastard! You dare step on my foot? Grrrgh!”

“Pardon? Step on you? I was merely trying to carry the desk to the forge....”

“Silence! Seize this wretch at once and throw him into the Underground Dungeon!”

The guard knight hesitated. This was plainly the Young Master’s fault. He was the one who had picked a fight with apprentices working diligently.

“Sir Paramela! What are you doing? I said throw this bastard into a cell at once!”

Sir Paramela let out a sigh and looked at me. There was something mournful in his eyes. The look seemed to say, Please understand this once. So I gave him a nod.

Only then did Sir Paramela give the order.

“Take him away.”

“Yes, sir!”

And thus I was thrown into the Underground Dungeon. Of course, because I had something to rely on, I did not resist in the slightest.

If my prediction was right, I would be released from this dungeon before sunrise.

I had the justification on my side, and if someone stepped forward to investigate what had happened, that person would end up standing on my side.

And there was one hidden card besides that.

If Young Lady Sapiela woke from her sleep and found that I was nowhere to be seen, she would surely think it strange.

***

The Underground Dungeon, where not a single ray of light entered, was damp and filthy. The stench was no joke either. If I were kept there much longer, it felt as though I might lose my mind.

At least I had someone to talk to. Otherwise, I might have ended up regretting my choice.

“How in the world did you end up getting dragged into a dungeon?”

It was none other than Arthas, the Apprentice Knight I had met earlier at the Training Ground. It seemed they rotated duties on that side as well, because today he was standing watch in the Underground Dungeon.

I needed to spar with this fellow sometime too, but lately official duties had kept us both busy, so we had done little more than exchange short messages.

He was probably much stronger than I expected. As befitted a four-star talent, he had been establishing his position among the Apprentice Knights at a rapid pace.

Lying slanted inside the cell, I answered,

“It was nothing much. I stepped on Young Master Hamel’s foot while moving some furniture.”

“You stepped on Young Master Hamel’s foot? My condolences, my friend.”

“It wasn’t my fault, I’m telling you. This is unjust. I was only trying to move the furniture, but the Young Master stuck his leg out to trip me, so I stepped on him instead.”

“Even if it is unjust, there is nothing to be done. You harmed the body of a Young Master, so you could lose your head and still have it be reasonable.”

“Do not make jokes with such a serious face.”

“I am not joking.”

“Ha.”

Now that I had grown close to him, I realized this fellow had a bit of Rohan in him too. Still, I did not dislike it. It was better than the sort of man who hid his feelings and kept his distance. I liked this kind of honesty.

“When will I be questioned?”

“I heard they are preparing for it now. They will probably call for you soon. I’m here precisely because I’m supposed to bring you when the summons comes.”

“Really?”

Clank!

At that moment, the iron door opened and someone stepped inside.