The Top-Tier Butler of the Marquis Family

Chapter 061

It was none other than the bookmark I had given the Young Lady not long ago.

So she had been using it with care.

Perhaps she felt my gaze on it, because Sapiela, who had been chewing softly on a grape, showed interest.

“That is my favorite book.”

“I see. Could you tell me what sort of book it is?”

“Adventures Across the Continent. It is a book written by the famous adventurer Sir Polt himself. It is based on real events, with a little fiction added in. It is very famous not only in our kingdom, but in others as well.”

“I see.”

She was a young lady who preferred to sit in quiet thought or stroll through the gardens of the mansion, so the fact that she liked books about adventure was unexpected. I lowered my gaze to the book again.

A gift placed in her favorite book.

That made me feel good. It meant she had truly liked the bookmark I had given her.

The next time I went down to the village, perhaps I should buy her a hairpin as a gift.

The bookmark I had given her was made of plain wood. Someone of Sapiela’s rank ought naturally to be using one set with jewels, and yet she had not thrown it away. She had kept it and used it with care.

In other words, she was not extravagant or vain, and she understood the true value of a gift.

That made choosing the next gift much easier. All I had to do was decide what she needed and choose something uncommon. Most of the people around her would surely be giving her precious objects.

That was probably why the plain wooden bookmark stood out all the more.

“Do you have to go back now?”

“No. This is a little unexpected, but my duties for today are already finished.”

“Then perhaps we could have a cup of tea......”

Smiling, I bowed my head.

An ordinary Butler Apprentice would have accepted that offer at once, but I was an apprentice who knew how to think. The important thing was not to row harder when the water came in, but to make sure the boat would not leak.

“Your words alone honor me more than enough. Still, there are many eyes watching. I shall be grateful simply for the warmth and fragrance of your heart, my lady, like Starleaf Tea.”

“Many eyes. Yes.”

Young Lady Sapiela looked as though she understood. Even so, she did not hide the disappointment in her expression. It felt as though, compared to before, she had opened her heart a great deal more.

That was only natural, perhaps, since I had become something very close to her personal butler.

“I do have one piece of good news instead.”

“And what might that be?”

“Starting tomorrow, I will be able to attend you again, my lady. Young Master Hamel himself gave the order, so I do not think there will be any trouble afterward.”

“Truly?”

“How could I possibly lie to you, my lady?”

The smile on Sapiela’s face deepened a little. It was still an ambiguous expression by most standards, but after observing the changes in her face so closely for so long, I could tell.

“Then help me study a little today. Sir Merlin has given me another difficult assignment.”

“He certainly is not an easy tutor. Very well. Though I think it would not be too late even if we began after you finish those grapes. We have plenty of time.”

“Yes.”

At my suggestion, Sapiela reached for the grapes once more. Then, as though recalling something, she gently pushed the bowl a little toward me and said cautiously,

“Dilen, you should eat some too. You do not get many chances to eat fruit, do you?”

That was true enough. I had the occasional chance in the dining hall, but I did not often have fruit brought out separately on its own plate like this.

I did not refuse. Preparing tea and plucking a few grapes from the bowl in front of me were clearly different matters.

I took one and ate it.

“These grapes are very sweet.”

“Are they not?”

“Yes. But is there some sort of story attached to these grapes? You look a little like Young Master Hamel did when he was eating them. And it was rather unexpected that he told me to bring them to you.”

“Did he really tell you to bring them?”

“Strictly speaking, he put it a little differently.”

Sapiela tilted her head. It was clearly a sign that she wanted me to continue. I hesitated for a moment, but somehow it felt as though she would laugh when she heard it, so I answered honestly.

“He told me to take them and dump them in the big room downstairs.”

“As I thought.”

Sapiela smiled and turned her gaze out the window. The sun was still high overhead, and the room was brightly filled with light. It was a day overflowing with the warmth of spring.

“Grapes are my favorite fruit. And......”

Sapiela plucked another grape and placed it in her mouth.

“They are also Brother Hamel’s favorite fruit. When we were young, the three of us ate them together often with Mother.”

“I see.”

So that was what she had been remembering. He was more sentimental than I had expected. With a single cluster of grapes, I became certain of something: Young Master Hamel was no ordinary wastrel.

For a moment, silence settled between us, and before I knew it, only the bare stem remained in the bowl.

“Now then, shall we begin the lesson?”

The Young Lady nodded, opened her book, and prepared for the lesson. And once again, I made full use of the knowledge from my previous life.

***

Once the lesson ended, I headed straight for Rosetta. It was nearly time for dinner.

Today as well, the Young Lady absorbed every bit of the knowledge I handed down to her.

This tutor named Merlin seemed to have a rather nasty disposition. Perhaps because she had done so well on the Pythagorean Theorem assignment last time, he had set something even more difficult this time.

Of course, there was no assignment he could give that I could not solve. Well, so long as he did not start tossing out ultimate mathematical problems like the Riemann Hypothesis.

CREEEAK.

I opened the door to Rosetta and stepped inside.

A delicious smell struck my nose. The hall was nearly empty. These days it was still a period of physical training, so not many apprentices could come eat dinner at the proper hour.

“Oh, Dilen. You came for dinner?”

“Yes.”

James, with whom I had recently begun getting a little closer, was on duty.

I did not know his exact age, but in this world there was no bleak custom of making a great deal out of being one or two years older. Since we were both apprentices, most of us got along as friends.

“Where is Chef Ramsay?”

“He is in the kitchen.”

“Nothing unusual happened today?”

“Nothing happens here. It is always Primera that gets the excitement. Chef Irene of Primera developed a new course, so it seems everyone has been dining over there.”

That little chef. She must really be something.

I had met Chef Irene once before. It was when Rosetta had trouble with its ingredients and I went to Primera to request supplies.

At the time, she had looked absurdly young, enough to make me doubt it, but she was a genius. There was quite an age gap between her and Chef Ramsay, yet her skill was actually a cut above his.

Which meant that as she grew older and gained more experience, her skill would only become more solid still.

“I suppose that is a relief, in a way. Though it would be good for Rosetta to receive important guests too. That would be a proper stimulus.”

“Is that really something we need to worry about?”

I nodded. Worrying over that could wait until after I had become a Full Butler.

Rosetta was, after all, only the Second Dining Hall. The flagship dining hall of House Adeline was Primera, the First Dining Hall. If something noteworthy happened there, it was only natural that this side would grow quieter.

Rosetta would mostly receive lower-ranking knights, butlers, and minor nobles anyway, so there would be no trouble managing things.

Thinking I ought at least to greet Chef Ramsay, I headed toward the kitchen.

“Chef Ramsay.”

“Dilen! There you are. You came for dinner, did you?”

“Yes. I will be in your care again today.”

“In my care? Nonsense. You have worked hard, so you have every right to eat good food. Sit and wait a moment. Dinner is almost ready.”

I nodded and let my gaze wander briefly around the room. In one corner, I spotted Arwen hard at work stirring a ladle.

Ever since she had begun learning to cook at Rosetta while also continuing her work as a maid, I had hardly had the chance to see her in private at all. She had simply had too much work.

Aside from helping prepare food, she was also learning cooking from Chef Ramsay, so even if she had two bodies it would still not be enough.

“Hahaha! It seems you are worried about your childhood friend. She is tired, certainly, but she is holding up well. If I were to add a bit of praise, I would say she is someone worth looking forward to.”

“That is a relief. It is no small thing to hear praise from you, Chef.”

“To tell the truth, she has already made herself one regular customer.”

“A regular? Who would that be?”

With a triumphant smile, Chef Ramsay pointed upward with one finger.

“Young Lady Sapiela.”

I could not help but laugh quietly. In the truest sense, that did not quite count as a regular customer. There was already a private relationship there.

Even so, the fact that Young Lady Sapiela, who was famous for being exacting and cold, sought the place out often meant that Arwen’s culinary skill had risen rapidly in a short time, so it made me feel good.

“I leave her in your care, Chef.”

“She will do well enough on her own. Unexpectedly, she has a stubborn streak. I scolded her harshly yesterday, and she still did not run away.”

“She may seem a little vague on the surface, but she is the sort who tries to handle her work perfectly. That is why she was able to remain at Young Lady Sapiela’s side for so long.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

Just then, the door to Rosetta burst open.

A butler came running in at full speed. The sweat pouring from him suggested that something urgent had happened.

“Chef Ramsay!”

He was not an apprentice, but a Full Butler. So, being only an apprentice myself, I stepped quietly to the side.

“You are......”

Chef Ramsay seemed to know the man. The butler steadied his breathing as best he could and spoke.

“It is serious! There has been trouble over at Primera!”

“Trouble? What do you mean by that?”

“Chef Irene has suffered a burn. The cooking station suddenly caught fire. Haa.”

“What?”

Chef Ramsay’s eyes narrowed. It did not seem to be Irene’s injury itself that troubled him most, but something else.

“Then what of His Excellency the Marquis’s banquet?”

“There has been word that he will dine at Rosetta tonight instead. And so, I have come.”

The butler wore a troubled expression as he tried to steady his breath again. Chef Ramsay’s eyes gleamed like those of a beast that had found prey.

“How many?”

“Twelve in all. Not only His Excellency and his lady, but several retainers as well.”

Twelve. That would not be easy.

Preparing food for three or four people and preparing food for twelve were matters of an entirely different scale. Everything had to be cooked so that the dishes could go out in proper order and at the proper time.

With Rosetta’s facilities, there was no way to send out twelve dishes all at once. The order of the courses, and even the cooking methods, would have to be adjusted.

And yet Chef Ramsay was smiling instead.

“A fine opportunity has come to us. I have been restless lately, with so few guests. Very well. Go and tell His Excellency the Marquis that we will prepare everything.”

“How much time will you need?”

“One hour will suffice.”

The butler nodded and ran back the way he had come, and Chef Ramsay strode into the kitchen.

“Everyone, stop!”

“Yes, Chef!”

“We begin preparations for His Excellency the Marquis’s banquet immediately! Every other dish is to be struck from the menu!”

With his usual booming voice, he took command of the kitchen. Strike them from the menu, was it? So this was how my dinner vanished. Where exactly was I supposed to eat now?

“Prepare twelve portions of Course A at once! I will cook the main dish myself. Bring out every ingredient! The finest ones, as much as possible!”

“Yes!”

His barked orders fell on James too, who had only recently been assigned here. Naturally, he became flustered and confused at once.

All he needed to do was prepare the table setting for twelve and see to the drinks. It was simple enough.

“Dilen! What do I do? What should I start with?”

Looking at him, I let out a sigh.

There was no time to explain in words. A table setting was not nearly as simple as it looked. Not when the guest of honor at the banquet was the master of House Adeline himself.

A famous line from one of my favorite footballers came back to me.

Yes. If it is frustrating, I should get moving myself. And it would not be bad to have one more chance to behold His Excellency the Marquis.

“First, gloves.”

James and I put on white gloves together. I could not wear a Full Butler’s uniform, but a true artisan did not blame his tools.

Then I walked toward the table in the center.