The Top-Tier Butler of the Marquis Family Chapter 28 : Chapter 28

Chapter 028

The trap they had prepared was simple, yet fatal.

The space behind the building was relatively deserted, and on that wall they had made a hidden door.

To be precise, it was a secret entrance disguised as part of the wall.

From the outside, there was absolutely no way to tell that a door existed there. My eyes, strengthened by mana, had only just barely managed to find it.

The soldiers and knights who would likely be assigned to guard this place probably did not even know that entrance existed.

“So the plan is to slip inside secretly and spirit the Young Lady away?”

They had clearly put so thought into it. Their sche was probably to infiltrate through that poorly guarded side and kidnap Young Lady Sapiela in an instant.

“But is that enough? Sothing is missing.”

My head tilted on its own.

Even if they entered through the secret entrance, it was certain that Sapiela would not be alone inside. Her escort knights would be with her as well. And in that situation, they ant to subdue the knights and abduct Sapiela?

If I had been the one drawing up this kidnapping plan, I would never have approved sothing so reckless.

They must have prepared a secondary asure as well. So sort of contingency plan.

To find it, I examined the temporary structure once more with great care. But aside from discovering the secret entrance, I gained nothing further.

“As expected, if I want a clear answer, there is no choice but to raid it once.”

It was not proven yet, but I had one plausible hypothesis.

That the forr Training Officer Cornel was not unrelated to this plan.

The docunts I had obtained with such difficulty contained detailed records of Young Lady Sapiela’s schedule and routes. In other words, there had to be an accomplice inside the mansion.

I did not know who it was, but since those materials had co from the Arkain rchant Company’s warehouse, the most likely suspect was forr Training Officer Cornel, who had colluded with them.

Even if he had not personally participated in writing that docunt, there was a high chance he knew who had.

And if that was the case, then the surest thod was simple.

Go find him and ask directly.

Cornel had been removed from every post under the charge of tarnishing the honor of the Adeline Marquis House. Even the Baronet title he had gained with such difficulty had been confiscated. I had heard that he was now living alone in an isolated house.

That was where his punishnt had ended. The special investigation team of House Adeline had not pursued an especially harsh follow-up inquiry. Taking into account the work he had once done for the House, they had investigated only the corruption charges and then let him go.

He had been shown leniency, and not in a good way.

When you strip a man, you ought to strip him down to the soul in one blow, otherwise trouble always remained.

Just then, a commotion broke out over there. A group of knights and soldiers ca rushing this way through a cloud of dust.

“Everyone halt! Take your assigned positions! From this mont onward, defend this place thoroughly! If you see anyone suspicious, arrest them at once!”

“Yes, sir!”

At the knight’s command, the soldiers began moving in perfect order.

They were the troops of House Adeline. Since there were several maids with them as well, it looked as though they had co out in advance to prepare the area.

Young Lady Sapiela herself was not yet in sight. I had heard she would appear around the afternoon, so there was still plenty of ti.

Then one of the soldiers began looking at suspiciously.

I imdiately turned my body and slipped out of the area. It was not as though I had no way of proving my identity, but I had no desire to be stopped and cause a needless disturbance.

Right now, I needed to move quietly toward my objective.

I pulled my hood low and headed straight for the residence of the forr Training Officer Cornel.

***

“They say power, like a flower, never stays red for ten days. That saying fits perfectly.”

When I arrived at the residence where Cornel was said to be living, that was the only judgnt I could make.

Part of the roof had caved in and looked ready to leak rain freely. More than half the fence had collapsed. Broken carts and plows were scattered around the place, making it look like an abandoned ruin.

Even in the best light, it was the kind of building one might use as a storage shed.

Was Cornel really living here?

BANG! BANG! BANG!

I hamred my fist against the door. There was no answer from inside. After taking a mont to feel for signs within, I opened the door.

It was not locked.

The inside was even worse than the outside. All sorts of furnishings, chairs, and tables lay scattered around. Off to one side, the bedding was in disarray.

“Is this really a place where soone lives? It is practically a ruin.”

There were clear traces of human presence, though. Dust had accumulated everywhere, but the area around the bedding and the table held almost none. That was proof that soone had used the place recently.

Had he stepped out for a while?

I was just about to turn and leave when I rembered the hidden compartnt in my own quarters and heightened my senses.

“He is a crafty bastard, so he may well be hiding sowhere.”

He had narrowly avoided imprisonnt thanks to his past service. But there was always a chance he might be seized and dragged back. And the Arkain rchant Company, now that he had lost his power, might also decide to remove him.

So I judged it entirely possible that he was living in concealnt.

I had already learned how to spread my awareness and detect things.

More precisely, I had not created the thod myself. I had rely adapted sothing I learned from a book. Mana was so versatile in the first place that altering its use posed no problem at all.

The thod itself was simple. Spread the mana slowly in all directions. Once that was done, most things within the area touched by the mana could be detected.

It was especially effective at sensing living creatures. And by pushing the thod a little further, I had learned how to detect the heat harbored within living beings.

“Hide all you like. I can still see your hair.”

I closed my eyes and began scattering mana.

And how much ti passed?

Hummm!

A faint warmth and vibration stirred beneath the soles of my feet. I focused on the point from which the mana ripple had co. It was sowhere in the floor a few steps away.

The corners of my mouth rose on their own.

Cute little bastard. So you were hiding in the basent?

I found the spot where the wave had begun and stamped my foot down.

CRACK!

Just as I expected, the floor split wide open, revealing a secret passage. At the sa ti, I heard sothing like a scream from below. I slipped inside at once.

“W-who are you!”

It was Cornel.

He backed away slowly, raising the dagger in his hand. But his hand was trembling badly. Proof enough that he was afraid.

I looked at him for a mont.

He had not shaved, and a thick beard covered his face. His eyes were unfocused, as though he had been drugged. His hair was a ss, which went without saying. Judging by the gri caked thickly on him, he did not seem to have washed in quite so ti.

A person really could fall into ruin in a single instant.

“It has been a while. No, there is no need for polite speech anymore, is there? You have been removed from office. Right now, you are nothing more than a forr butler who cast the honor of House Adeline into the dirt.”

With those words, I pulled off my hood. The mont my face was revealed, he recoiled in shock.

“What are you doing here, you bastard!”

“I will explain slowly, so first put down that thing in your hand and let us talk. It is flashing around and irritating my eyes.”

“Get out!”

“What exactly do you plan to do with a toy like that?”

I had already expected him to resist, so my hand was resting on the mana pistol. I drew it at once, set the mana-volu lever to “Low,” aid, and fired.

THUNK! THUNK!

CLATTER!

The bullet struck his hand. The dagger lost its master and went skittering across the floor. I kicked it away as hard as I could.

“Guh!”

Startled, he fell backward onto his rear. It was a truly pathetic sight.

“We do not have much ti, so I will get straight to it. Tell everything about the operation planned for the square today.”

“The operation? What nonsense are you talking about?”

“Hah, I thought that if you made it as far as Training Officer, your brain must work at least a little, but apparently not. Or are you still too slow to grasp the atmosphere?”

This ti, I drew my sword and placed it against his throat. Feeling the cold steel, he began to tremble all over.

“Do you think I ca here because I was bored? If you have a brain in that skull, why not try using it? You should not be less competent than so vulgar apprentice.”

“Urgh!”

He trembled with humiliation. The look in his eyes was almost enough to make it seem as though he might lunge at at any mont. Well, naturally. It must have been deeply unpleasant to be threatened by soone he had once used like a slave.

But that was impossible.

If he tried, his head would co off.

The one in control here was .

“I am not an ordinary apprentice.”

“Heh heh heh! And if you are not an ordinary apprentice, what exactly does that make you?”

“Do you still not understand why soone like you, who used to strut around and live comfortably, has ended up like this? You are more naive than you look.”

“What?”

He stared at blankly for a mont, then suddenly his eyes sharpened. So it had finally occurred to him? The level of the Adeline House’s butler instructors really was pathetic.

“Do not tell ... it was you?”

“Yes. That was my handiwork. I was the one who raided your office, and I was the one who raided the rchant company’s warehouse too.”

“You damned bastard!”

He tried to lunge at , but all he accomplished was opening a wound on his neck. Grimacing hideously, he began to bleed. Fortunately, the sword had not pierced through his throat.

“Calm down. If you want to keep breathing a little longer. In any case, I have been investigating the incidents you were involved in, as well as the Arkain rchant Company and the Scorpion Gang. You told that man Roy to find ‘that box,’ did you not?”

“I do not know what you are talking about.”

“Hah, this bastard really...”

THUD!

I kicked him.

The blow struck his chest directly, and he went sprawling backward, spitting saliva. The impact must have been considerable. He groaned for a while and could not get back up.

Even so, I seized him by the collar and dragged him upright by force.

“Listen, you bastard. I heard everything. I heard Roy call you Master. I heard you order him to find that box. And that box is with .”

For an instant, Cornel’s eyes widened.

At that mont, I beca certain. He was involved in this kidnapping sche.

“I have read every docunt inside it. So let us not waste each other’s ti. Speak quickly. I would rather not have to call in the Knight Order. And if they co, it will not end with your head being cut off.”

“......”

“Stop trying to be clever, you bastard. Tell how you intend to kidnap the Young Lady.”

But he refused to open his mouth.

There was no choice. I pressed the sword a little closer to his throat. It bit into his skin, drawing a thin red line of blood.

Feeling the pain, he began to shake. I increased the pressure little by little. The blade digging into his throat deepened the wound further and further.

“Do you feel like talking now?”

“I know nothing! I know nothing!”

“How does that make any sense at all? The educated ones are even worse, honestly.”

SMACK!

I slapped him hard across the face. His lip split, and blood sprayed out. Even then, I showed not the slightest rcy.

“This is truly your last chance. Tell before I count to three. One, two...”

“The temporary structure!”

At last, I had my opening.

Grinning, I asked again,

“I already know they plan to pull her out through the secret passage behind the temporary structure. What I do not know is how. The guard knights will be inside protecting her.”

“...They will use a knockout drug.”

“Explain everything.”

In a trembling voice, he confessed the entire plan.

They would use the knockout drug to put the outer guards to sleep and take only the Young Lady outside. And inside the temporary structure, there was a hidden space where n were already lying in ambush. The knights and soldiers inside would be subdued with paralysis needles.

That was the mont the riddle was truly solved.

But one personal question still remained unanswered.

So I asked it casually.

“But why are they trying to kidnap the Young Lady in the first place?”

“......”

“Why? Who is behind this?”

He remained silent to the end.

If anything, he looked as though he had resigned himself to everything.

Judging that I had nothing more to gain from him, I left that place. There was still much I had to do afterward. I could not waste ti here.

And so I had left the house and walked a good distance when—

“Fire! Fire!”

Startled, I spun around.

Far in the distance, the ruined-looking residence of forr Training Officer Cornel was already engulfed in flas.