Chapter 111
To be the first always carried weight.
That was true of the succession to a throne or a house, and it held just as much aning in any eting. The very fact that people commorated the day of a first eting was proof enough.
The sa was true now.
Various noble houses had sent word to the Young Lady, and one of them had to be chosen as the first destination.
By conventional standards, Prince Morata ought to have been the first priority. He held the highest status among them.
Of course, even if he stood sowhat far from the line of succession, it was not entirely impossible for him either, considering that he still possessed the right to inherit the throne.
“Before that, may I confirm one thing?”
“By all ans.”
“Has the kingdom’s Crown Prince been decided?”
“The Crown Prince? The Crown Prince......”
Brituang fell silent in thought for a mont, then shrugged.
“Nothing has been officially announced yet. His Majesty the King remains in good health, after all. But there is little disagreent that the eldest, Prince Lloyd, will inherit the throne.”
“I see.”
In spare monts, I had been devouring history books from this world, and I had co to feel that its history was not all that different from the one I had once known.
At its core, primogeniture remained unchanged, but so long as the stage belonged to humans, the struggle for power never ceased. History held many cases in which the third son had defeated the first and second and taken the Seat of Authority.
More importantly, Prince Morata was not inviting the Young Lady to him. He was coming to visit the mansion himself. That alone ant he had a keen interest in the Young Lady.
But following the proper course to the letter would be no fun.
The fact that thirteen places had requested an audience ant there was no real difference between that and the whole kingdom knowing that Young Lady Sapiela, the jewel of the realm, had entered the Royal Capital.
There was an old saying that the thirsty person dug the well.
A little push and pull was good for a relationship.
This ti, I intended to hand Count Astria a proper humiliation.
By using Prince Morata, no less.
“I believe it would be most proper to et the head of the Bahamut Ducal House first.”
“If it is the Bahamut Ducal House you an......”
As if checking again, Brituang picked out the letter from the ducal house and drew it closer. It contained a polite invitation for the Young Lady, written in elegant script.
The duke himself was not coming in person. It rely said that he would be pleased if she had ti to co and share a cup of tea. Calmly written, without the slightest trace of desperation.
After setting the letter back down, Brituang narrowed his eyes and asked,
“Why did you choose the Bahamut Ducal House rather than Prince Morata’s side? Ah, I am not criticizing you. I am simply curious about your reasoning.”
“In a word, because it would not look good.”
“Hm.”
“Prince Morata is requesting a eting without any particular official purpose. The proof lies in the fact that he is not summoning her to the royal palace, but saying that he will co himself. Most likely, this is less the will of the royal family and more a personal intention on his part.”
Brituang nodded in agreent, and I continued.
“However, the Young Lady is currently in the midst of marriage talks with Young Master Otto of Count Astria’s House. It would be troubleso if unnecessary misunderstandings arose. This is the Royal Capital, the center of High Society. A tiny rumor could swell like a snowball in an instant.”
“There is reason in what you say, but even so, it would be difficult to refuse a request from the royal family.”
“To be precise, it is not a request from the royal family, but from Prince Morata.”
“How bold.”
I smiled and lowered my head in modest acknowledgnt. But I was not finished yet.
“I am not saying we should reject the prince’s request. I am saying we should delay it a little.”
“Delay it?”
“If we say that we will contact him again at a suitable ti, the prince’s side will reach out once more. It will not be too late to consider it again then.”
“It feels as though you are making the matter bigger than it needs to be. Did you handle affairs like this at your main house as well?”
“No. Everything depends on the Young Lady’s wishes. There is only so much that a re apprentice like can do.”
There was a saying about an awl in a sack.
Had I poked through a little too sharply?
Brituang’s gaze as he looked at seed complicated. It was only natural. An apprentice this young and green was handling matters with a suspicious amount of clarity.
“I generally agree with your opinion as well. It ended up looking as though I was testing you, but I did not an anything by it, so do not trouble yourself over that.”
“Thank you, Senior.”
“Good. Then we shall proceed according to your opinion. The rest are of no great significance, so I will discuss them with the Young Lady and handle them myself.”
“As you wish.”
With a sigh, Brituang began sorting the invitation letters. In the end, the one in his hand was the letter from the Bahamut Ducal House. He passed it to .
“I have a task for you. Draft a letter accepting the ducal house’s invitation. Write that if they would be so kind as to invite the Young Lady to tonight’s banquet, she would be delighted to accept. If it is in the evening, there will still be ti to return after completing the enrollnt procedure.”
“I shall obey.”
“I will explain it directly to the Young Lady. And I will be taking the Young Lady to the Academy myself at once, so keep that in mind.”
“Pardon?”
What was that supposed to an now?
I was the Young Lady’s Attending Secretary. Naturally, I had assud that I would accompany her to the Academy and help her through the enrollnt process.
The plan I had to sneak a look around the Academy library in the anti collapsed on the spot.
“Is there so problem?”
“No. None at all. I will carry out the task you have assigned without fail.”
Smiling, I left the Office.
I had been sleepy already, so this worked out well. I would draft the letter properly, then steal a nap. There would be plenty of chances to visit the Academy in the future.
***
When I returned to my quarters, I imdiately began preparing to draft the reply. But there were no writing materials ready.
“Arthas.”
I called for Arthas, my loyal lieutenant. He opened the door and stared at with a distinctly un-loyal expression.
“You called?”
“Prepare so writing materials for .”
“You’re turning into a proper Butler now.”
With a sigh, Arthas closed the door and left. A short while later, he returned to my room carrying a pen and paper on an elegant stand.
“I have brought them.”
“Prepare a carriage for later too. We are going out to the Bahamut House.”
“The Bahamut House?”
Instead of complaining, his eyes lit up with curiosity.
That was how famous the Bahamut Ducal House was, not only in the Alphrost Kingdom, but across the entire Continent. The Adeline Marquis House was certainly splendid in its own right, but the Bahamut House’s Azure Dragon Knight Order was a place everyone dread of.
Co to think of it, had Arthas once said that his original goal was the Bahamut House’s Azure Dragon Knight Order?
“Why there?”
“The Young Lady received an invitation and is scheduled to visit this evening. I asked you for writing materials because I’m drafting the letter that says so.”
“Then you’ll be going too.”
“Of course.”
Smiling in satisfaction, Arthas gave a military salute and left the room. Since he was my lieutenant, if I went, he would go as well. He was probably just happy at the thought of getting a good look around.
“What an innocent fellow.”
I let out a small laugh, spread the sheet of paper neatly across the desk, and fixed the top in place with a tal holder so it would not shift.
If I wanted a blissful nap, it was best to finish all my work first.
Before I put pen to paper, I read through the invitation sent from the Bahamut Ducal House in full.
There was nothing especially noteworthy in it.
I was a Butler, not a Knight. All the docunts exchanged between noble houses were already arranged inside my head, so I knew formats and etiquette like the back of my hand.
“I’ll dash this off and get so sleep.”
I dipped the pen in ink and began writing in earnest.
I had been writing with a yawn for so ti when the door opened. It was Senior Butler Brituang. Since a superior had entered, I naturally rose from my seat.
He looked over the table and asked,
“You are drafting the letter already?”
“Yes, sir.”
“You are diligent.”
He had not co just to offer a word of praise. What was this about?
“On second thought, it seems I may have assigned you too heavy a task. I considered that you are the Young Lady’s Attending Butler, but neglected the fact that you are still an apprentice.”
That explained why he had tossed the work at so casually.
It was absurd in the first place that he would entrust with a letter to the Bahamut Ducal House of all places, one of the two ducal houses that divided the kingdom in half.
Still, I was exceptional, so I let it slide.
“Is that so? Then shall the Senior Butler draft it himself? I believe it would be an excellent learning opportunity for .”
“You appear to be writing it already, so finish it. I will take a look once you are done.”
“It seed a waste of paper.”
“Then all you have to do is make sure it is not wasted.”
He was smiling as he pressured .
Fussy old man.
Still, I supposed I should et his expectations. I sat back down and took up the pen again.
If it were up to , I would have liked to pull the fountain pen from my pocket and write comfortably with that, but it was my hidden card. I had no intention of revealing it before eting truly important people.
The rough scratching of the pen nib continued, and before long I completed the letter. I could not call it a flawless masterpiece, but I was fairly satisfied with how it had turned out.
Carefully, I set the pen down and rose to my feet.
“It is finished. I would appreciate it if you would review it.”
“Let us see......”
Brituang’s narrowed eyes, sharp as a hawk’s, began staring holes through the letter.
A mont later, a soft exclamation escaped his lips.
“Oh...... Did you truly write this yourself?”
“Did you not watch write it with your own eyes?”
“That is only to say I find it that surprising.”
It seed my writing had astonished him.
I may have been an engineering student, but there was a ti when people called a literary boy. I liked books, and I even tried writing myself. I had entered writing contests and won prizes before.
In my previous life, so people assud that just because I was an engineering student, I could not write, but that depended on the individual. Plenty of humanities types were absurdly good at mathematics too.
On top of that, perhaps Dilen, the original owner of this body, had possessed fine handwriting, because the script itself looked pleasing to the eye. Where I once lived, everyone typed things out on computers, so neat handwriting did not draw much attention. Here, however, things were different.
If both the contents and the presentation were good, who would dislike it?
“You, just what sort of person were you?”
With those words, which were beginning to grow tireso, Brituang looked at with interest in his eyes.
“I rely did as I was taught at my main house.”
“Hahaha. Excellent. I think this may be sent exactly as it is. Will you deliver it yourself?”
“That is my intention. It is still rather early, so I plan to go later this afternoon.”
“Very well. Then I shall keep that in mind.”
Wearing a satisfied expression, Brituang left my room. I slipped the completed letter into a fine envelope, stretched, and lay down on the bed.
I fell fast asleep in an instant.
Even so, when I woke, I felt refreshed. I was almost grateful to Brituang for not sending to the Academy.
When I checked the clock, about two hours had passed. It was already lunchti by then, so I dressed properly and went downstairs to the dining hall with Arthas.
“Is Arwen not eating with us?”
“She went to the Academy with the Young Lady, I think. Hwaaam...... I’m sleepy.”
Arthas had been showing more and more interest in Arwen lately. Then again, she was only overshadowed by the enormous sun called Sapiela. Arwen herself was popular too.
“What were you doing instead of sleeping last night? Your light was on late.”
“I just couldn’t sleep.”
“Leaving a lover behind in Adelaina must make for many sleepless nights.”
“If you’re jealous, then say you’re jealous. Stop spreading strange rumors.”
Trading aningless chatter, we entered the dining hall.
Rosetta was not here. In other words, the Chef who catered to my convenience was not here either. I made do with a simple al of bread, soup, and a drink, then left the mansion.
Outside, a small carriage was already prepared.
With a light heart, I climbed aboard.
Now it was ti to head for the Bahamut Ducal House.
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