Chapter 20 : Revenge (4)

Sure. Let’s admit it.

I’m not very accustomed to group actions.

I’ve hardly ever commanded anyone.

That’s something the younger sibling who will succeed Marquis Sir should learn, not me.

If I learned it unnecessarily, it might only invite suspicion from those around me.

Of course, Marquis Sir told me to become a retainer.

He suggested I manage a place a bit removed from the main territory, a position where I wouldn’t have to directly follow my sibling, especially due to the titles between us.

However, as long as I exist, any work Marquis Sir assigns to me becomes a big deal.

If I were the younger sibling, there wouldn’t be a problem.

It’s not just Marquis Sir; there’s also the issue with Mother.

Although Mother treated me as a son from the moment she saw me, despite the lack of shared blood, it doesn’t mean the thought of a ‘biological son’ doesn’t cross her mind.

Even if she genuinely views me and my sibling equally, threatening my sibling’s position even slightly wouldn’t be right.

That’s why I thought it best to live as a carefree individual.

Coincidentally, it also aligned with my life goals.

Even if I were recognized as the Marquis’s son, I wouldn’t have been able to marry Ayla.

“…Everyone, I am genuinely pleased you’ve come this far.”

A deep night.

No, rather than calling it deep, it wasn’t so late for everyone here.

These were people capable of staying up all night on guard duty or in battle.

But that was the issue.

“I appreciate your hard work and the way you’ve put your specialties to use.

I can only apologize for being unable to properly repay your efforts.”

“There’s no need for such words.”

A step forward came the butler, a woman with a head of white hair dressed in a butler’s uniform.

“We are all people who’ve gathered here because of a debt owed.”

A debt, huh.

That’s far too similar to what I said to Ayla when I arrived here.

Considering their age, the debt would have been sufficiently repaid to Marquis Sir.

Marquis Sir isn’t such a narrow-minded person as to say something like, “Don’t you still owe me?”

He let them retire willingly after a lifetime of loyalty.

And yet, here I am, calling on them to work again.

On the other hand, people who get along well with Marquis Sir tend to have a straightforward nature.

They’re not ones to think decades of work could clear their debt completely.

My sibling, while not entirely identical to Marquis Sir, has inherited a similar personality.

Surely, no one was forced to come here.

The people gathered here must have come willingly after hearing that I needed hands for something.

So, I can’t speak to them as though issuing orders.

While most of the mansion’s hallway lights were turned off, the room we gathered in was bright.

Such mansions often needed a room for staff to gather, and this space on the first floor was big enough for that purpose.

There wasn’t much in it—barely more than an empty training room in a barracks.

“Thank you, truly.”

I bowed once more to the staff and continued.

“While you’ve all done great work, there’s something I didn’t have the chance to tell you in advance.”

Looking around, I saw that every single person was watching me.

Only the witch, who had become something like the lady’s personal maid, was absent.

She was probably in the forest or guarding the lady.

Like in fairy tales, the witch seemed fond of the young lady, who was still a child.

She might be planting every fruit tree the lady desired in the forest.

Not to fatten her up to eat her like in fairy tales, but with the heart of a grandmother eager to feed her granddaughter.

“This place, the Wellenborough County, isn’t particularly threatened.

It’s not close to the border.

To reach the Empire’s boundary, you’d have to pass through four vast territories.

It’s far from the Marquisate, too, so there’s no reason for monsters to appear suddenly.”

Before I could finish speaking, someone raised a hand.

A middle-aged woman.

She was slightly plump, with thin, drooping eyes, giving her a gentle impression that might suit a pastry shop.

But she had been a knight in her youth.

Even during my childhood, she had maintained a rather impressive physique.

“Didn’t you mention that thieves attempted to break into the mansion?”

Her leisurely tone lacked any tension.

“I single handedly cut down two of them.

Considering my physical condition isn’t what it used to be, I’d say the local thieves aren’t much of a threat.”

“Oh my.

Then, where are the bodies of those thieves?”

“They’ve been buried in the family graveyard of the count.”

“Should we continue to bury them there in the future?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

When I nodded, the woman also nodded.

“In that case, we can minimize the installations between the forest and the mansion.

I was really worried about that~ I wouldn’t have minded my salary, but where would we have gotten adamantium from?”

What’s the point of getting adamantium just to make traps?

It’s not like beasts would be falling into the traps.

“But what if an assassin infiltrates?”

A slightly stern-looking woman raised her hand.

She appeared to be in her early forties, with short brown hair and a somewhat slender figure.

“I heard the count was assassinated.

Wouldn’t they try to assassinate the family members of this household as well?

We don’t know how skilled they might be, but they wouldn’t compare to thieves breaking in just to grab a few coins.”

“I’ll form a patrol team to patrol the mansion, and I’ll be part of that team as well.

It’s not completed yet, but we’ll prepare so that all of us can engage in combat at a moment’s notice if necessary.

We should add traps to the roof where the lady cannot approach and prioritize traps that can capture enemies alive over those that simply cut them in two.”

Both women nodded at my suggestion.

“Next person?”

This time, quite a few maids raised their hands.

Among them was a maid dressed in a butler’s uniform.

When I pointed at her, she spoke with a slight smile on her lips.

“Is the Countess your first love, young master?”

“What?”

The question came so naturally that I reflexively asked again.

“It’s so clear how much you treasure Lady Ayla.”

“That’s true~”

Another maid clasped her hands together and said.

“It reminds me so much of my husband in his younger days.

He couldn’t be honest, so he never confessed first, just hovering nearby, saying things like he’d protect me or whatnot…

In the end, he waited until I confessed first.”

“Oh my, is that so, Helena?”

“Of course, Agnes.”

“…Excuse me, but.”

I pressed my hands around my eyes and said,

“What exactly are you talking about—”

“Now that I think of it, young master used to sneak into ballrooms sometimes.

Usually, you’d throw away invitations as if you weren’t interested, but for some events, you’d even disguise yourself if you didn’t receive an invitation.”

“How did you know that?”

I asked, looking at the blue-haired maid who said that.

“Oh my, so that’s really what happened?”

I froze with my mouth slightly open.

“If I’d denied it, it would have been a lie.”

“Exactly. Hehe.”

“But how did you know?”

“There’s no way we wouldn’t be where the future Marquis was.

You didn’t disguise yourself perfectly, as if you wanted to be recognized, did you?

Other nobles might have been fooled by your speech, but you couldn’t escape our eyes.”

“Oh, come to think of it, Lady Ayla was also on the list of nobles who always attended when you were there.”

They remembered all of that?

No, of course, if it’s them, that would be easy.

“Oh, poor young master.

How heartbroken you must have been when it was revealed that Lady Ayla would marry the count.”

“But it’s a relief.

At least you’ve met her again this way.

We’re all rooting for you, young master.”

“…”

I ran a hand down my face.

So… surely.

Of course, their sense of duty to repay the Marquis’s debt was there.

Yes, that must have been it.

But at the same time, these people had gathered here for another reason.

After hearing the information my sibling had taken and guessing exactly what I intended to do,

They couldn’t possibly leave such an amusing matter alone.

To repay their debt, yes, and since they’d retired and had time to kill, why not spend it in a moderately peaceful and beautiful place.

“Don’t worry, young master.”

The maid in the butler’s uniform spoke.

“We’ll always be on your side, even if the Marquis opposes this marriage.”

For a moment, I contemplated hitting my head somewhere and passing out.

If I erased this memory, at least I wouldn’t feel humiliated every time I saw the maids.