Chapter 40 : Chapter 40
Chapter 040
It was too dark to see clearly, but it was not a soldier or a knight.
The figure was wearing a glittering dress.
I had been looking over there absentmindedly when I flinched and shot to my feet.
The one who had appeared was none other than Young Lady Sapiela herself.
“My lady?”
It truly was the last thing I had expected. Young Lady Sapiela, famous for being so precious, had come to a wretched place like this herself? At most, I had expected her to send a messenger with orders that I be released.
When she opened the door and appeared, I thought for a moment that I must have mistaken her for someone else.
But she kept walking closer and closer to the cell where I was locked up, and in the end, she came to stand right in front of me. Beside her stood my friend Arwen, looking deeply worried.
Rohan had probably heard the news too, and was probably worrying just as much somewhere else.
“Gah!”
Startled out of his wits, Arthas hurriedly snapped into a military salute. He should have saluted with his right arm, but absurdly enough, he used his left instead. Under normal circumstances, that alone would have earned a disciplinary mark.
“I-I greet the noble Young Lady.”
“Release Butler Apprentice Dilen at once.”
Young Lady Sapiela’s command was simple. But for Arthas, who was guarding this place, it was not something he could easily obey.
Unable to hide his troubled expression, he bowed his head.
“I... I beg your pardon, my lady, but without orders from Headquarters, I cannot release a prisoner.”
“So Headquarters holds greater importance than I do in this House?”
“My lady.”
“What are you doing? Will you not release him at once?”
Quite forceful, wasn’t she?
Clank!
In the end, Arthas had no choice but to open the cell door. I regained my freedom more easily than I had expected. I offered my thanks to the Young Lady.
“Thank you for showing me such grace, my lady.”
“You may go nowhere without my permission. The dungeon is no exception. From now on, do not leave my side.”
My heart thumped. Of course, she meant it in an entirely different sense, but it was exactly the sort of thing that could make a man misunderstand.
“I will keep it in mind. But, my lady.”
Young Lady Sapiela, who had just turned away, looked back at me with a frown. It was not because she disliked me. She simply disliked the stench and the unsanitary atmosphere of this place.
Smiling, I offered her a bit of advice.
“I hope you will not come to such a wretched place again, my lady. It leaves my heart uneasy.”
“......”
As always, I still could not read her expression. Without giving any answer, Young Lady Sapiela simply turned and began leading the way out.
I chose to take that silence in a positive light.
To be honest, she had not come here herself because she felt some special affection for me.
Most likely, there was another matter involving the Third Young Master behind this.
Still, one thing was certain. If Young Lady Sapiela had not held even the slightest interest in me, she would never have come here in person.
In other words, my era of success was still going strong.
If someone like Young Lady Sapiela stood on my side, that would be tremendously reassuring.
Of course, if she ended up marrying Young Master Otto and leaving for Astria, that would all become meaningless.
***
Once I had regained my freedom, I went straight back to Young Lady Sapiela’s residence. Inside, the maids were making preparations so that she could enjoy some tea.
It seemed the Young Lady still had something to say to me. My duties were already finished, and yet she did not tell me to go.
That gave me a clue. Most likely, Young Lady Sapiela had not spoken to Young Master Hamel beforehand and arranged for my release.
“Bring the tea.”
“Yes, my lady.”
Once Young Lady Sapiela had seated herself comfortably on the sofa, the maids set down a teacup and refreshments beside her. The fragrance was exquisite. It made me want a sip myself.
“All of you, leave. Dilen stays.”
“Yes, my lady.”
At that stern command, the maids, including Arwen, bowed their heads and hurried from the room. I remained standing quietly before her.
“Did you have some special order for me?”
“There are a few things I wish to confirm.”
“Please ask.”
“I heard that you stepped on Brother Hamel’s foot. Is that true?”
“It is.”
Young Lady Sapiela frowned and let out a sigh. As I thought, this matter had been entirely her own doing. Otherwise, she would never have been investigating something involving Young Master Hamel.
“How did you come to step on his foot?”
“I was moving some furniture when Young Master Hamel hooked his foot around mine. As I tried to avoid it......”
“You must not tell it that way.”
“What do you mean, my lady?”
“It means that you must not shift the blame onto Brother. You are to say that it was your fault, no matter what.”
A classic way of handling things in a hierarchical society.
Credit belonged to the higher-ups. Mistakes and blame belonged to those beneath them.
Then again, the society where I used to live had not been all that different.
I understood perfectly well. Bowing my head, I accepted her order.
“I will keep that in mind, my lady.”
“Sit.”
“Pardon?”
“I commanded you to sit.”
She had said commanded, not merely said. It felt slightly forceful. But now that I knew this too was one way she expressed favor, I did not refuse.
And so, before I knew it, I had come to sit facing the Young Lady.
A moment later, she rose from her seat, took an empty cup, and began pouring tea into it.
Do not tell me that is for me.
“Haah, you truly are rather pitiful too. To get dragged into something like that......”
She was younger than I was, at least in age, but perhaps because she had been raised from childhood in noble decorum, she seemed astonishingly mature. One might almost mistake her for an older sister.
Just as I had thought, she held the cup out to me.
If enjoying this sort of luxury was possible, I might have to consider visiting the Underground Dungeon one more time in the future. If I bragged about this to Rohan, he would probably collapse rolling on the floor in envy.
“I will be more careful from now on.”
“You should.”
Even so, a small part of me felt that this kind of treatment was only natural. I was a man who had rendered service to House Adeline, and more than that, I had saved the life of Young Lady Sapiela sitting before me.
That premise would not change no matter what happened.
“Brother Hamel is not likely to let this rest. By now, he has surely heard that you’ve been released, and in his anger, he will probably come straight here.”
Do not worry, little one. This older brother will handle it.
“What would you have me do?”
“You are to beg, no matter what. I will handle the rest.”
“I understand. I am sorry that I seem to have caused trouble for you, my lady.”
“It is all right.”
At the very least, Young Lady Sapiela seemed to be someone who could distinguish things properly.
Of course, I had deliberately stepped on her brother’s foot where no one would know it, but she clearly knew that her own brother had been acting like a hellion and sabotaging the worksite.
And her prediction came true at once. A disturbance arose outside, and then the door flew open with a bang.
It was an enormous breach of manners.
But that became a different matter when the one doing it stood above even Young Lady Sapiela in rank. With fury blazing in his eyes, Young Master Hamel strode straight into the room.
“Ella, what exactly do you think you’re doing?”
So her nickname was Ella. Her name was beautiful, and even her nickname was lovely. One day, perhaps, I too would get to call her by that nickname.
“Brother. For what reason are you behaving like this?”
“That wretch! That wretch right there! I heard you pulled him out of the Underground Dungeon! Are you out of your mind? Why are you taking out a man who committed a crime as you please? Are you ignoring the law of the territory?”
Compared to Young Master Hamel, who raged like a volcano in full eruption, Sapiela was cold as a glacier.
“That Butler Apprentice belongs to me. In other words, he is not someone Brother may dispose of as he pleases. And what crime did he commit that he was shut away in the Underground Dungeon, where only the gravest criminals are placed?”
“He stepped on my foot! He dared lay hands on the body of a noble. He ought to be punished heavily!”
“I heard instead that Brother was causing trouble at the worksite. If you interfered rather than helping, was this not simply an unavoidable result?”
At once, the air in the room turned cold. Young Master Hamel’s expression twisted. Behind him, his Guard Knight, Sir Paramela, looked as though he had no idea what to do.
Meanwhile, Sir Lorenz, who was temporarily guarding the Young Lady’s residence, stood sternly at her side. It was a silent declaration that he would not let this matter pass lightly.
If Young Master Hamel was clashing with his younger sister Sapiela, then Sir Lorenz was clashing with Sir Paramela.
No matter that she was his younger sister, noble decorum still existed. Entering the Young Lady’s residence without even knocking had been wrong.
Sapiela spoke coldly.
“If you wish to make this matter larger, then I will tell Father directly myself. After all, that apprentice is the benefactor who saved my life.”
“Ella, you......”
“Brother, should it not be about time you grew up?”
At that single sentence, Hamel’s face turned scarlet. Letting out a contemptuous snort, he stormed out of the room. But not before leaving behind one shocking remark.
“You’ve still got plenty of spirit in that mouth for someone who’s about to be sold off to Astria!”
Even my own heart dropped at the brutality of those words. Sir Paramela offered a respectful apology, then hurried after Young Master Hamel.
It felt as though a storm had just swept through the room. The things he had said as he left were so outrageous that no one even knew how to comfort Sapiela afterward.
So I stepped in.
“My lady, are you all right?”
“I am fine.”
Lorenz let out a sigh and glared at me sharply. He seemed to think all of this was my fault. I paid him no mind.
“I am sorry that you had to suffer such humiliation because of me, my lady. I feel deeply ashamed.”
“This is hardly the first or second time, so do not concern yourself with it. Behave exactly as I instructed you earlier. Brother is not the sort to let the matter drop here.”
“I understand.”
Getting dragged into something unexpected had become a bit troublesome, but at the same time, I felt it had turned out rather well.
What a hellion needed was proper correction. If the chance arose, I ought to fix Young Master Hamel’s twisted personality a little.
If I won over the youngest and the third, and then went on to win over the second and the first, my standing inside House Adeline would become much firmer still.
The day I was reborn as the ace of House Adeline did not seem all that far away.
“Oh, my lady. There is one favor I would like to ask.”
“What is it?”
“I have some business in the village, so I will need to go out. If possible, please allow me an overnight leave.”
In a few days, the deadline I had agreed on with Kalmond and the other gang members would arrive. That would be the moment when I learned whether they had run off with my money, or whether they had instead shown unexpected loyalty.
Sapiela showed interest.
“For what reason?”
“I want to investigate the Arkain Merchant Company a little further.”
“Has that matter not already ended?”
I shook my head firmly.
“They have merely cut off their tail. I believe there is a much greater organization behind them.”
“That is reckless. Even if it were true, it is not something you should investigate.”
“I cannot forgive those bastards for laying hands on you, my lady. I will chase them to the very end of the continent and drag them back. And there is always the possibility that they may attempt to harm you again.”
As I spoke with force, Sapiela merely kept her lips tightly closed and stared at me.
“Very well. You did help me with my studies the other day.”
At last, she nodded and personally wrote out a document for me.
“Those of House Adeline must never appear ridiculous wherever they go. Always keep the honor and standing of the House engraved in your heart.”
“I understand, my lady.”
“Take it.”
The Young Lady handed me the document. I glanced over its contents and could not help but be startled.
“My lady, this is......”
“I cannot write you an outing pass every single time. Use this from now on.”
“Thank you very much.”
The document she had handed me was a token allowing me to go out freely at any time. I did not know whether it would extend so far as overnight leave, but a few days at least did not seem likely to be a problem.
“It is still not enough to repay the value of my life, but......”
The Young Lady trailed off and lifted her teacup, savoring its fragrance. At the sight of such elegance, I found myself unable to take my eyes off her for quite some time.