The Top-Tier Butler of the Marquis Family

Chapter 048

“How do you feel?”

“What do you mean, all of a sudden?”

“You have become popular. They say this is the first time a Butler Apprentice has ever defeated an Apprentice Knight.”

Arwen asked me that as we walked down the corridor. I shrugged and answered,

“I am happy to have gained another day of leave. How has Rohan been reacting?”

“He has been busy spreading rumors all over the place. A lot more people have started asking about your childhood.”

“My childhood? Why?”

“Does that not simply mean there are that many more people who have taken an interest in you?”

Arwen said it meaningfully, but I merely let out a small laugh and turned my head away. It made no difference to me who was interested in me.

“The maids I work with also told me to introduce you to them.”

“Tell them I have no time for that. Where would I find the leisure for romance? I am already busy enough attending Young Master Hamel.”

“I will tell them you are busy. But if you happen to change your mind later......”

“That will not happen.”

When I answered firmly, Arwen simply smiled and nodded. Wait a moment. I feel as though this young lady may be misunderstanding something. It is probably my imagination, right? That would be troublesome.

Well, whatever. People are free to misunderstand, and drinking the kimchi broth early is always optional. I do not turn away women who come to me.

As we shared our thoughts on everything that had happened recently, Arwen and I arrived at the Young Lady’s residence.

Today as well, Sir Lorenz was standing guard in front of it. More boldly than ever, I stood before him and offered a proper greeting. He must have hated the sight of me.

“I have come to see the Young Lady.”

“Yes. Go in.”

Sir Lorenz gave me a displeased look, then stepped aside. Smiling, I entered like a triumphant general.

Click.

The door opened, and I saw Young Lady Sapiela seated comfortably on a sofa, drinking tea.

“I greet the noble Young Lady.”

She really does love tea. Later, I ought to ask what kind of tea she likes.

Besides Arwen, there were other maids attending her as well, but the moment I entered, Sapiela ordered all of them to leave.

I do not know exactly when it started, but at some point, the amount of time I spent alone with the Young Lady began to increase.

When I first met her, I never imagined our relationship would progress this far. She was such a difficult figure to approach, and the force she gave off was no joke.

“I heard that you summoned me, my lady. Is there some command you wish to give?”

Young Lady Sapiela looked at me without speaking. No matter how cold and composed she usually was, she could not hide the emotion shining in her eyes.

“My lady?”

“I am truly glad that you are safe.”

From that single sentence, I could feel her sincerity.

“Thanks to your concern, everything turned out well. It may have been unfortunate for Arthas, but I was lucky. Later, I would ask that you offer words of praise to Master Smith. Thanks to him, I have been using a fine weapon.”

“I understand. I am simply glad that, even though the match reached a conclusion, no one was injured.”

“You truly seem to have a warm heart.”

A faint blush touched Sapiela’s face.

But I pretended not to notice.

“Sit.”

“There are many eyes watching from outside, my lady.”

I offered her that advice carefully. Being alone with her like this was certainly nice, but it might not be good for her if she kept meeting me in private.

“I know that much myself. But this is a matter that would be troublesome if others overheard.”

“Then please tell me.”

“What exactly is the reason Brother Hamel has been approaching you?”

I hesitated for a moment. But in the end, I judged that it would be better to speak honestly. Young Lady Sapiela stood apart from the struggle over political interests anyway.

“It seems that Young Master Hamel wants to make me one of his subordinates. I think that is why he pushed forward with this duel as well.”

“So I was right.”

“Does it trouble you? Once the remaining period passes, I will return to your side, my lady. Please do not worry too much.”

“That is not what troubles me. I only have the feeling that this mansion is going to become noisy from now on......”

That could not be helped. Excluding Sapiela, all three people with Succession Rights had now come of age, and I had heard that each of them had built up his own faction. Until the succession was decided, a bloody contest would inevitably begin.

“I think that is a matter for the Young Masters themselves. I still have work of my own left to do, so I intend to focus my attention there.”

“You mean the matter of the Arkain Merchant Company?”

“Yes.”

Lifting her teacup and taking a sip, Young Lady Sapiela stared directly at me.

“I still do not fully understand. Is it truly something that must be investigated, even if it means you have to sacrifice yourself so much?”

“That incident was not something the Arkain Merchant Company could have orchestrated alone. Even viewed objectively, a plan to kidnap the Young Lady of House Adeline is not something just anyone could devise. There is no proof yet that they were directly involved, but no matter what, this must be investigated to the very end. If we do not want to leave trouble behind us.”

“......”

“My lady.”

I decided to share a little of what I had been thinking on my own. Because the end of my suspicion was also tied to the cause of her sorrow.

“Every crime or scheme requires the interests of a specific group. To put it simply, the side that intends to profit is the one that devises the plan.”

“And?”

“If so, who exactly stands to benefit from your being kidnapped, my lady? Have you ever thought about that?”

As expected, the Young Lady shook her head. It was not that she had never thought about it at all. More likely, since the incident had remained behind like a trauma, she had not wanted to think too deeply about it.

But my thoughts were different.

This kidnapping case reeked so badly that the stench was impossible to ignore.

“Personally, the party I suspect as the power behind it is House Count Astria. I do not know whether the Count moved directly, or whether some other force moved instead, but there is a strong possibility they are entangled in it.”

“......What?”

At my guess, Sapiela’s eyes widened like lanterns. She was so startled that she nearly dropped the teacup in her hand.

I continued calmly.

“There is no other group that stands to gain from your being kidnapped, my lady.”

“But Young Master Otto of House Astria...... he proposed marriage to me.”

“That is a somewhat different matter. There are issues mixed into this that would be difficult for me to explain to you directly, so I will stop here. Please leave the rest to me.”

They were words too painful to say to her directly.

This marriage, in a word, was a Political Marriage. A marriage formed to maximize the interests of one house and another. The Young Lady herself was nothing more than the medium through which that was done.

But if some unexpected problem arose with that medium, then it would be House Adeline that suffered. Young Lady Sapiela was the medium, and in a sense, a kind of valuable good.

Naturally, House Count Astria would lament the failure of the marriage to go through. There was every possibility that they might try to apply pressure by means of some other card.

Or perhaps another house, one that wished to entangle itself with House Count Astria, might have been the one to instigate the matter.

That was why, in the end, I judged that this was something tied to House Count Astria one way or another.

This part would require further investigation. The matter could grow larger than expected. That was why I needed to put the organization I had created in order as quickly as possible.

After a brief silence, Young Lady Sapiela carefully opened her mouth.

“Be careful.”

“I will, my lady.”

“And this.”

Sapiela unclasped the necklace hanging around her neck and held it out to me.

“I would like you to keep this with you.”

“Why would you give me something so precious......”

“It is a protective charm my mother gave me when I was young. You are going to be doing dangerous things from now on, so I think I can only feel at ease if I do at least this much.”

I could feel the warmth of the Young Lady’s heart. It was difficult to refuse such goodwill, so I accepted the necklace and put it on around my neck.

“Thank you. I feel much more reassured now.”

“It bears the insignia of the House, so you may use it if the need arises.”

“I should make sure that no such need ever arises.”

And so I had gained an unlimited outing pass and, from Young Lady Sapiela herself, an insignia of the House. What would come next? Somehow it felt as though I were farming loot in a max-level dungeon.

Then Sapiela raised her voice.

“Is no one outside?”

The door opened at once, and Arwen, who had been waiting outside, hurried in. Bowing her head, she said,

“Did you call for me, my lady?”

“Bring us a cup of tea. The one I always drink. It is for Dilen.”

“Yes, my lady.”

A little later, Arwen prepared the tea for us. It was fragrant tea with a faint pale-blue tint. To think that a mere Butler Apprentice could enjoy this sort of luxury. It moved me to tears.

“Thank you, my lady. I will drink it gratefully. But may I ask the name of this tea? I have been curious about it for some time.”

“Starleaf Tea. From Port Bellium.”

“I see. I will remember that.”

Port Bellium, was it? It sounded like a port city. Perhaps I would have a chance to visit it someday.

And so the Young Lady and I quietly enjoyed tea together.

***

After finishing tea time and returning to my quarters, I found an utterly unexpected person waiting for me there.

It was Young Master Hamel.

He had not even brought his lackey, Sir Paramela, and had taken over my room all by himself.

He was toying with a red, perfectly ripened apple. At times, he even tossed it up and caught it again.

“Where have you been wandering off to so busily? If you are an apprentice, then act like one and remain on standby for your next duty.”

“I was granted leave today.”

“Are you talking back to me?”

“Of course not. Was it not Young Master Hamel himself who granted me that leave?”

I faced him boldly. He was an ambitious man. He did not seem like the type to enjoy people who only bowed their heads and tried to flatter him.

As expected, he gave a hearty laugh and abruptly tossed the apple in his hand toward me. I caught it lightly.

“Eat. It is your reward.”

“Thank you, Young Master.”

Surely he had not poisoned it? Still, I took a bite in front of him just in case. It tasted good.

“I expected you to wonder whether I had poisoned it.”

“There was no need.”

“And why are you so certain?”

Taking another bite, I answered,

“Because Young Master Hamel has taken a liking to me. At the very least, I am not a card you mean to throw away.”

“Huhuhu. A clever bastard. I heard the Knight Order sent out its ace, and yet you managed to defeat him. To be honest, I had not expected very much.”

He rose from his seat.

Then he grabbed my shoulder tightly.

“Sir Paramela told you the rough outline, did he not?”

“He did.”

It hurt badly. At this point, he was not simply gripping my shoulder. He seemed to be pressing it like a threat.

“So, have you made up your mind?”

“Yes.”

In that instant, the force tormenting my shoulder released with a thud. Stepping back, Young Master Hamel sat down comfortably on the bed and looked up at me.

“Then let me hear your answer. Well? Will you work under me? There is nothing complicated about it. You need only wait for the right time and remain diligent in the work that is yours.”

“I have decided not to assist you, Young Master.”

“What?”

The atmosphere turned vicious. Young Master Hamel sprang up and strode toward me.

“Are you saying that you reject me?”

“I became a Butler Apprentice in order to work for House Adeline. I serve the House itself, not any one particular person.”

“You impudent bastard!”

Hamel showed his anger. He looked as though he might draw his sword and cut off my head at any moment, but I tossed him a piece of bait so that he would not grow any more agitated.

“Of course, if the day should come when Young Master Hamel becomes the House itself, then I may offer you my loyalty. Though I do not know when that day will come.”

“That means......”

“I will leave the interpretation to you, Young Master.”

Young Master Hamel sank into thought for a moment, then grasped the implication in my words and burst into loud laughter. He did not stop laughing easily.

“Hahaha! Splendid, truly splendid! To think that a fellow like you entered this House as a Butler Apprentice. Hahahaha! Interesting. This is very interesting! Wahahaha!”

After laughing like a madman, the Young Master left exactly as he had entered—entirely on his own whim.

His personality was impossible to pin down, but through this incident, I learned one thing for certain.

Young Master Hamel’s ambition might be greater and more dangerous than I had imagined.

I would need to be careful not to get caught up in it. If a mad dog bit me, I would be the only one to suffer.

Now then, the sun was beginning to set.

Shall I leave the mansion?