Chapter 57 : Chapter 57
Chapter 057
As if he really was planning to go somewhere suspicious, the carriage prepared for the trip was an exceedingly modest one. At a glance, it was hard to tell whether this was even a carriage meant for nobles at all.
It felt more like the sort of carriage minor merchant companies used for relaying messages. There was not a single ornament on it, and the plain design made the exterior look utterly ordinary.
And instead of four horses, there were only two.
The escort had been assembled in the simplest possible way.
Four soldiers and one knight. The knight was, naturally, Sir Paramela, and the soldiers all wore robes as though to conceal the fact that they belonged to House Adeline.
“Sir Paramela.”
Everything was prepared, and all that remained was to wait for Young Master Hamel to come out. To pass the time, I struck up a conversation with Paramela.
“Where exactly is the Young Master going at this hour?”
“You will know once we arrive.”
“There is no harm in knowing before we get there, is there?”
Had I asked too boldly? Sir Paramela’s expression stiffened. I found myself moved by the man’s character. If I had been in his place, I would have smacked the back of my own head by now.
Letting out a sigh, he stepped closer to me.
“We are going to attend a secret gathering of young masters. I understand your curiosity, but I would prefer that you know no more than that.”
“I understand.”
A secret gathering of young masters.
Only now did I understand the source of that rotten smell from earlier. It looked as though this was going to be one of those parties where they drank and made merry without restraint.
Within the vast territory ruled by House Adeline, there were many retainers. And if there were retainers, naturally there would also be their heirs.
Most likely, the sons of powerful barons and viscounts would be present, and Young Master Hamel meant to act as their leader.
Compared with the First and Second Young Masters, he stood a little farther from the center of the succession struggle, but so long as he still retained even a possibility of inheritance, he remained one of the figures at the very summit of power within House Adeline’s domain.
Everything after that was easy enough to imagine.
At that moment, I heard the soldiers forming ranks. When I turned my head, I saw the Third Young Master walking out with his body wrapped in a robe, wearing a crooked grin.
“Hoo. The night air is good. Is everything ready?”
“We may depart at once, Young Master.”
“Good. Let us go.”
As Young Master Hamel stepped onto the carriage, he glanced at me and beckoned.
“Do you require something?”
“No, get on.”
“Pardon?”
“I said get in the carriage, you idiot. Why are you so slow to understand? And you think you are going to become a butler?”
So that was what he meant? I had assumed he was about to send me off on some errand. I had been wondering where exactly I ought to follow, so this worked out well.
Bowing my head, I climbed into the carriage. Young Master Hamel sat facing forward, and I took the seat opposite him. All I could do was pray that I would not get motion sickness.
Come to think of it, this was my first time riding in a carriage.
As a Butler Apprentice, I had almost no chance to ride a horse. A carriage, still less.
“It seems Brother Prah has taken an interest in you.”
A fastball jammed straight inside right from the start. I had no choice but to take it cleanly for a strike. Still, though my body twitched slightly, I was still far from being counted out.
“Why pretend not to know? Did not my brother summon you and question you about all sorts of things?”
“I have not yet had the honor of seeing Young Master Prah in person.”
“That is unexpected.”
With one leg thrown over the other, he folded his arms and stared at me intently.
Should I speak honestly or not? After turning it over in my head for a moment, I decided that a certain degree of honesty would be best. If I hid too much, it would only make him more suspicious.
“However......”
I let the words trail off for a moment.
RATTLE!
The carriage lurched violently, as though it had rolled over a large stone. Young Master Hamel kept watching me with the same impassive expression. Swallowing once, I continued.
“A butler who attends Young Master Prah asked my friend questions about me.”
“I thought you would hide it, yet you tell me. Unexpected.”
“How could I conceal the truth from you, Young Master?”
“You are exactly the kind of man who might do just that. You are not one of those Butler Apprentices so common they are no more than dust beneath one’s feet.”
His eyes flashed sharply. I did not meet his gaze. There was no need.
“If there is one thing I know, it is people. I pride myself on my eye for talent. Even Sir Paramela, who now serves as my right hand, was someone I personally selected.”
RATTLE!
The carriage lurched again. At last I was beginning to feel sick.
On a whim, I drew up a faint thread of mana and sent it to both sides of my ears. If used properly, mana could stabilize bodily functions. I was trying an application of that principle.
To my surprise, it worked.
The motion sickness faded.
As a result, my complexion brightened, and Young Master Hamel seemed to misunderstand that for something else.
“And you are included among those people. What ordinary apprentice wretch would ever sit across from me in the same carriage like this?”
“It is an honor.”
“Do not just keep saying honor, honor. Have you no intention of working for me?”
I remained silent. It was a firm expression of refusal. Letting out a sigh, the Young Master struck the carriage door with a bang and gave vent to his temper.
“Damn it, why is it that you are so loyal to Ella and not to me? Do you like Ella or something?”
“Surely not, Young Master. It is not that.”
“Then what is it?”
“As I told you before, I am loyal only to the House, not to any individual.”
“Bullshit! That only sounds good when said aloud. Is it not simply because you think I have no chance of inheriting the House?”
My, what a foul mouth for a young master of a marquis’s house. But I was not intimidated.
“If another young master asked me the same question, I would answer in exactly the same way. I ask only that you do not trouble yourself too much over it.”
“Tch.”
After that, Young Master Hamel seemed displeased and did not speak to me again. Frankly, that made things easier. I spent the time exploring how to use mana more effectively to counter motion sickness.
A short while later, the carriage began to slow to a stop.
Because the window had been covered with a dark curtain, I could not see outside. The destination was supposed to be Baron Gaston’s villa, was it not? Presumably somewhere remote within the territory.
Soon, I heard Sir Paramela’s voice from outside.
“We have arrived at the destination, Young Master.”
“I know.”
A moment later, the carriage door opened and a step was set in place. Young Master Hamel jumped down first.
I followed obediently after him. All around us stretched forest, dark and silent. By contrast, the villa blazed with torchlight.
From the distance came the shrill laughter of women. It seemed the gathering was already in full swing.
“Sir Paramela will remain here. Apprentice, you alone will follow me.”
“I understand, Young Master. But should I disarm myself?”
“It does not matter.”
That felt a little strange. If this was a place where young nobles had gathered, then even with guards present, would it not have been better to collect all weapons?
Well, I would understand the atmosphere soon enough once I went inside.
While Sir Paramela saw to the carriage and the soldiers, I followed Young Master Hamel into the villa.
“Oh, Hamel!”
“So the hero of the party arrives this late? We thought you were not coming!”
“Hahahat! A hero always appears last!”
With a boisterous laugh, Hamel took the seat of honor. I naturally moved behind him and stood quietly. The other young nobles each had a guard of their own as well.
There were six people filling the seats in all. Five of them, including Young Master Hamel, were men, and the remaining one was a woman. All of them looked to be around the same age.
So these were the people who had tied themselves to Hamel’s line, were they?
Of course, some of them might be bats with feet planted in several places at once, but most likely they were people in similar circumstances. Eldest sons with eldest sons, second sons with second sons.
At that moment, a broad-shouldered man pointed at me and asked,
“Who is that? I have not seen his face before.”
“An apprentice butler from our house.”
“A butler? Not even a full butler, but an apprentice?”
“Yes.”
Given Young Master Hamel’s usual conduct, it ought not to have been anything worth surprise, but the other five nobles looked rather taken aback.
“Well now! Has our friend picked up some strange taste? Then again, you must be tired of rolling around with women by now. Perhaps the time has finally come for you to start prodding at men’s back holes instead. Huhuhuh.”
“Shut up, Heinel. That is disgusting!”
The female noble snapped at him with fierce eyes. So the big man’s name was Heinel. Heinel shrugged and shot back,
“And why do you act so pure when you fool around with men yourself?”
“That is not what I meant!”
“Is it that time of the month? Why are you so sensitive? A hole is a hole wherever it is. Huhuh, huhuhuhu!”
The other male nobles burst out laughing as well. It seemed the female noble did not fit in especially well with this place. Her face was turning red.
She pressed the matter.
“Have a little dignity. Think of your family’s honor.”
“Oh? Did we gather here tonight for the sake of honor?”
“Hahahahaha!”
The female noble bit her lip shut. Then, with a sigh, she snatched up the glass in front of her and drank deeply.
At that point, Hamel stepped in to mediate.
“Now, now, enough squabbling. It has been a while since we all gathered, so should we not first have a drink?”
“Gladly!”
Bottles of wine so expensive I could not even guess at the price were brought out in a row. Once they had filled their glasses, the six nobles raised them in a toast.
“To our eternal friendship.”
“To our eternal friendship.”
There was something solemn about it. Almost like a rite.
I had mountains of questions.
Who exactly were the people gathered here, what was the name of this gathering, and for what purpose had it been formed? It was clearly some kind of secret assembly, and yet I had no way of knowing.
“How are things these days?”
At that moment, a gaunt noble asked Young Master Hamel. With the monocle over one eye, he gave off a slightly intellectual impression.
“The same as ever, more or less.”
“And your younger sister’s kidnapping incident? Was that handled cleanly in the end?”
“Hm. More or less. I cannot say I am satisfied. I had hoped to tie it to someone, but there was too little evidence.”
Tie it to someone? To whom?
My ears perked up. I had never expected Young Lady Sapiela’s kidnapping to come up here. Pretending to be distracted, I listened more carefully.
The gaunt noble continued.
“That is so. Well, I heard an interesting story about that recently. There is a rumor that House Count Astria stood behind the kidnapping.”
“What?”
Every hand at the table stopped moving. Young Master Hamel looked the most shocked, but I too was startled. I had harbored much the same suspicion myself.
My hearing sharpened even further.
“Is that not skipping over far too much in the middle?”
“Just listen, my friend. It is already established fact that the Scorpion Gang were the ones who carried out the incident. The Arkain Merchant Company also came under a degree of suspicion and were all but driven out. But there was another group that supported them in a way no one noticed. The Delfino Merchant Company.”
“Delfino, hm......”
“It is not something to dismiss lightly. The information is rather detailed.”
“But if there is no physical evidence, then it is useless, is it not?”
“That is true enough.”
“In any case, I have never liked those Astria bastards.”
One complaint after another began to spill out. The only one keeping his mouth shut was Young Master Hamel. He wore a grave expression wholly unsuited to a wastrel.
Then he suddenly whipped his head around.
Toward me.
I had been listening intently, and I flinched. Perhaps finding that amusing, Hamel grinned and asked,
“What do you think? About the rumor that House Astria is behind it, I mean.”