The Top-Tier Butler of the Marquis Family Chapter 106 : Chapter 106

Chapter 106

When the carriage reached the Royal Capital's entry checkpoint, it gradually slowed down. Thanks to that, we were able to take in the full view of the Royal Capital through the window.

"Whoaaa!"

Arwen let out a cry of amazent.

She had been rude enough to do it with the Young Lady right beside her, but for a while she could not even close her mouth. The majesty of the Royal Capital was simply that overwhelming.

The capital of the Alphrost Kingdom was also known by the na Saint Lucia. Apparently it ant sothing like Holy Light, though that was hardly my concern.

Even so, I could understand exactly how Arwen felt. Its sheer scale was astounding.

It could not even be compared to the castles of Europe. Rising proudly against the hills beyond the city, the castle seed to proclaim itself the very heart of the kingdom. In a word, it was the sort of sight one only expected to see in films.

The sa held true for the knights and soldiers of the Royal Capital Guard who stood watch over it.

As though they ant to boast of their freshly polished armor, they wore gleaming silver plate and carried weapons sharpened to a murderous edge.

The re sight of them made one instinctively behave.

"You said this is your first ti in the Royal Capital as well, Young Lady?"

"Yes."

Her answer was calm, but Sapiela was just as astonished as Arwen.

Her cold, sharp eyes, almost like a symbol of her very person, moved across the castle and city alike. Thanks to that, none of us could take our eyes from the view outside for quite so ti.

Outside, the soldiers at the entry checkpoint were bustling about.

The Adeline Marquis House was not a force one could afford to treat lightly. They were tense.

"It is an honor to receive such distinguished guests from the noble Adeline Marquis House. You may proceed now."

A knight who appeared to command the checkpoint in full ca out personally and gave a military salute. Seated proudly atop his horse, Arthas gave a dignified nod and motioned forward.

"Move out!"

The coachman snapped the reins, and after one rough jolt the carriage began to roll again.

The road off to the side was the ordinary public route, while the path we were taking now was the entrance reserved for distinguished guests. There was no need for us to waste ti on the general road.

Under everyone's gaze, we succeeded in entering the Royal Capital.

I made my report.

"Now that your na has been registered at the checkpoint, visitors will likely begin arriving as early as tomorrow. It would be best to prepare for that."

The Young Lady looked slightly annoyed.

Young noblen would no doubt co in droves. The Young Lady was famous enough to be called the Greatest Beauty in the Kingdom. It would be stranger if no one ca courting.

Of course, so central nobles established in the Royal Capital might co simply to pay their respects, but this was exactly where I would need to demonstrate my skill. We could not accept every request for an audience.

"Handle the schedule as you see fit."

"Yes, Young Lady."

The carriage slowed noticeably.

I opened the window and looked ahead. A vast mansion stood before us. Judging by the golden lion statue at one side, the emblem of House Adeline, this seed to be our destination.

"It appears we have arrived."

The carriage passed through the front gate and cut across the garden. A short while later, when it reached the mansion itself, dozens of butlers and maids were already lined up at the entrance.

This place was operated more or less as a villa. I had heard that Marquis Chronos stayed here temporarily whenever he had business in the Royal Capital.

It could not compare to the main house, but it was still large enough to rival the principal residence of most lesser nobles.

I leapt down at once and prepared the steps so the Young Lady could descend easily from the carriage.

"We greet the noble Young Lady."

The instant Sapiela stepped onto the red carpet, everyone bent at the waist. She swept her gaze across them once, then fixed her eyes on .

With nothing but her eyes, she told , Good work. Then she walked across the carpet and entered the mansion. From that point on, the rest was the maids' responsibility.

"Now I can finally breathe a little easier."

Letting out a sigh, I walked over to Arthas. He was issuing instructions to the soldiers, who saluted and scattered.

Soon the two of us were left alone.

"Good work."

"You too. I rode comfortably on horseback, but it couldn't have been easy attending the Young Lady inside."

"What would have been difficult about it? You know as well as I do that she does not speak much."

"I think that would make it even more suffocating. The mont the conversation cuts off, it gets awkward. Ngh!"

Arthas stretched out his stiff body. No matter how few dangers there appeared to be, guarding an important person always ca with extre tension.

Half the mission had already been accomplished. A ssenger had already departed for Adeline Territory to report that we had arrived safely.

The rest of our mission would begin when Young Lady Sapiela returned to Adeline Territory. While she remained here, she would be under the protection of the knights stationed at this mansion.

"Dilen?"

I turned toward the voice calling my na. A middle-aged man was approaching us.

He was thin and bony, with small, tightly set lips that made him look stubborn. Above all, he was wearing the tailcoat that symbolized a butler.

"You are the Attending Secretary Dilen, correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"So you completed the mission safely. Good work. I have heard quite a bit about you already. It seems a number of rather entertaining things happened at the main house while I was away."

"Rumors have a way of becoming exaggerated. I would be grateful if you did not pay them too much mind."

Perhaps because my ease was unusual for an apprentice, the middle-aged butler seed intrigued.

"I think I can see now why Head Butler Yanrof recomnded you. As you have likely heard, my na is Brituang."

"I have heard much about you. It is an honor to finally et a senior I have long respected."

Naturally, I already knew quite a bit about him. He was one of Yanrof's direct juniors and the man who oversaw this mansion. His rank was Senior Butler, a very high post indeed.

Within House Adeline, the ranks of butlers were divided into seven stages: Head Butler—Deputy Head Butler—Senior Butler—Supervising Butler—Assigned Butler—Regular Butler—Butler Apprentice.

Among them, Senior Butler stood just below Deputy Head Butler. In other words, it was the highest position an ordinary butler could hope to attain.

I had heard that Marquis Chronos, and Yanrof especially, trusted him deeply enough to leave the managent of the Royal Capital mansion in his hands.

He too was an Academy graduate, and I had heard that he possessed a remarkably sharp political sense. In that case, one would have expected him to seize so important post back in the territory, but apparently he had chosen the Royal Capital assignnt of his own accord.

One of his favorite hobbies, it was said, was reading books in the Academy library.

In the end, I supposed there were always one or two eccentrics wherever one went.

"While the Young Lady is resting, I think we ought to discuss your duties here. Now that you have arrived at this mansion, you are an apprentice again. All task assignnts will co to you through ."

"I am aware."

Perhaps because I answered too readily, Brituang tilted his head slightly.

In truth, I had little attachnt to the post of Attending Secretary. There were plenty of other, more important reasons for to have co to the Royal Capital.

First, I needed to learn how to use my Magical Power more efficiently. Seeking out a mage was difficult and dangerous, so I intended to teach myself from books as much as possible.

And I also needed to step into high society. Otherwise, how was I supposed to sell my fountain pens?

At a eting not long ago, it had been decided that for the ti being we would pour all our efforts into developing office supplies.

We ant to begin with simple but convenient items centered around fountain pens and ballpoint pens, then move on to staplers, docunt files, chanical pencils, erasers, and the like. For a butler, office supplies were every bit as important as weapons, so we needed to create truly excellent products and earn a fortune.

Once we had built up enough capital that way, we would naturally move on into industries that produced more complex machinery. As ti passed, the speed of our company's expansion would beco exponential.

"And you are?"

"Lieutenant Arthas."

"Ah, I see. Then you should report to the knight order building and receive your instructions there."

Arthas gave a military salute and headed off toward the knight order building. Watching his back for a mont, Brituang jerked his chin toward the mansion.

"You must be tired, but co with . Let us have a cup of tea while we talk."

"Yes."

I followed him inside.

The interior was almost identical to the main house. Even the taste in art was much the sa, to the point that it felt almost like a copy.

Once we went upstairs, there was an office used by Brituang. We went inside and talked over warm tea.

"Was there any trouble on the way here?"

"Nothing in particular. I was told that encountering a monster once or twice hardly counted as anything at all."

"That is true enough. These days there are not many truly dangerous monsters to be seen, unless one goes deep into the mountain ranges."

The tea tasted good. Still, compared to what was served at the main house, the quality of the leaves was inferior. The fragrance felt rather dull.

"I hear you are an Aura User."

"It is only a trivial talent."

"A trivial talent? Hahaha. Do you know how hard people strive to obtain that very thing? Still, do you intend to remain a butler?"

"I have no intention of joining the knight order. My dream is to beco an excellent butler like Lord Yanrof."

It stung a little to say sothing I did not actually an, but I played the part of the diligent apprentice well enough. Brituang set down his teacup and looked at with open approval.

"What do you think should be your first priority in this mansion right now?"

"Selecting which guests we choose to receive, I imagine."

"Selecting which guests to receive?"

His eyes flashed. An ordinary apprentice would never have been sent as far as this place to begin with, but most would probably have answered with sothing bland like, To obey your orders.

Pretending not to notice, I continued calmly.

"Naturally, we cannot refuse audiences with those who hold important posts in the Royal Capital. But I would like to keep a certain standard, so that nothing happens to diminish the Young Lady's dignity."

"And why would that diminish her dignity?"

"Anything precious possesses dignity precisely because it is precious. The mont she becos soone any person can et whenever they please, she becos ordinary, and that dignity disappears."

"You are eloquent."

I showed a modest attitude and set down my teacup. This ti Brituang lifted his own.

"We could begin by paying our respects to the royal house, as well as to the ducal houses established in the Royal Capital. Beyond that, I would like to screen visitors appropriately. What is your opinion, sir?"

"Now I finally understand what the Head Butler ant. I heard there was a reason you were made Attending Secretary, but it seems it was not simply because you are an Aura User."

"You flatter ."

"Too much modesty is a poison."

"I know. That is why I an to remain humble, at least while I am still an apprentice."

Brituang let out a brief laugh and took another sip of tea. Then he set his cup down again and leaned back comfortably on the sofa. His sharp eyes turned toward .

"It seems the Head Butler had good reason after all. I did hear the story concerning Count Astria. Insolent wretches. The age of peace lasts too long, and we are given no chance to display the prestige of our house."

"I agree. It would only be proper to trample such people at least once."

"Hahaha! So you can say things like that as well? Perhaps because you are an Aura User, there is sothing rather fierce about you."

"My apologies, but I am capable of saying far worse."

He really does laugh at the oddest things. I should rember that. Pleasing one's superiors is the very basis of being a subordinate, is it not?

"The spirit of young people these days is remarkable. In any case, tomorrow I will imdiately register the Young Lady for the Academy's short-term program. Keep that in mind."

"Understood."

"Your quarters have been prepared on the second floor. They are near the room where the Young Lady will be staying, so you should be able to move back and forth with ease. I will not be changing your post, so you will continue attending the Young Lady."

I could feel the consideration in that arrangent. Bowing my head, I rose from my seat.

"Would it be acceptable if I stepped out for a little while? There is sothing I need to do."

"That should be fine until dinner. Go and have a look around at your leisure."

"Thank you."

There was no ti to rest. Now that I had finally reached the Royal Capital, it was ti to start moving.