The Top-Tier Butler of the Marquis Family Chapter 30 : Chapter 30

Chapter 030

I had succeeded, at least, in tying their feet down.

But the knights stationed at the front of the structure did not co. Was it because the roar of the festival was too loud?

Pathetic bastards. And they still dared call themselves the honorable soldiers of House Adeline?

At the sa ti, though, it also ant the Scorpion Gang bastards had planned this well. They had subdued the soldiers efficiently, and the noise had not been that great.

In other words, there was a high chance they simply had not realized what was happening back here.

This was a world without anything like CCTV, after all.

I quickly took stock of the situation.

The carriage that was supposed to carry the Young Lady away could no longer move. Its wheels and fra had been smashed, leaving it unusable. The n pinned beneath it had lost consciousness. Only the big man who looked like their leader and four others were still in fighting shape.

And once they noticed , they all drew their swords at once.

“Damn it! Who are you?”

I gave him a small wave of my right hand, as though greeting him.

“How does it feel to have your operation fail?”

“Fuck!”

The big man all but threw the Young Lady down onto the ground. He looked furious.

“You little rat bastard. You dare interfere with us? Who sent you?”

“That is none of your concern.”

I drew my sword from my waist and went on.

“A man ought to live by the law. Law exists to be obeyed. Kidnapping people is a cri. What kind of cowardly bastard kidnaps a woman? And not just any woman, but the noble daughter of a marquis house.”

At my provocation, the big man’s face twisted savagely. I loosened the Robe wrapped around .

The badge of House Adeline pinned to the left side of my chest flashed brilliantly in the sunlight.

The mont he saw it, his eyes widened.

“So you are one of House Adeline!”

“Correct.”

“We should have changed the plan after all! We should have acted the mont that box disappeared! Damn it, why did they not listen to !”

The n were shaken. Since I had ambushed them like this, it ant their information had leaked beforehand.

But that wording was odd.

Who exactly had not listened to him?

No matter how I thought about it, there was clearly soone else behind this. These bastards were probably only rcenaries.

In the end, there really was no answer but to wipe them out first and then go looking for the head.

“Since you have figured out who I am, how about quietly releasing the Young Lady?”

“Heh heh heh. Do you think I am mad? Getting rid of one bastard like you would be nothing. From the looks of it, you are so kind of butler.”

“Wrong. I am an apprentice.”

“Hah! Then that only makes this easier.”

“Idiot.”

Letting out a sigh, I looked at Young Lady Sapiela, who was sitting off to one side.

Her expression looked complicated. Well, naturally. I had practically thrust evidence in front of her face and warned her, yet things had still ended up like this, so she had every right to feel both furious and absurdly frustrated.

But there was no helping it. Once she ignored my warning, there was nothing more I could do. I had no authority to force her.

“Get rid of him!”

“Yes!”

The n with swords charged.

I almost reached for the mana pistol, then stopped. The n rushing did not seem particularly skilled, and that was still my trump card.

I judged that the fat bastard glaring at would most likely turn this into a hostage situation.

People were the sa everywhere. And the tricks dirty bastards pulled were always the sa too, were they not?

If so, then my pistol would beco a weapon I could play like a joker. This world had no knowledge of firearms whatsoever, and they had no idea that this little object could unleash such absurd firepower.

Perfect for a surprise attack.

“What are you standing there gaping at?”

One of the n grinned viciously and swung his ugly sword.

Clang!

I blocked his blade with ease. He flinched in surprise. What, did you think an apprentice would be easy prey?

“That is not how you use a sword. Watch carefully.”

I raised my sword properly and thrust forward sharply.

Whoosh!

The speed of the movent made him twitch. In a panic, he raised his own weapon to block the attack, but I withdrew my blade.

Surprised? It was a feint.

The mont I recovered the sword, I cut across sideways into the opening, and he could not stop the quick attack.

Slash!

“Urgh!”

His armor split open and blood poured out.

Then I gave the man, who had already folded inward, a kick. Unfortunately for him, it was not an ordinary kick, but one loaded with mana, so he was flung bodily into the air and crashed over there.

The next three attacks were nothing worth ntioning either. If I had not learned basic Swordsmanship in the library, there was no way I could have blocked them this cleanly.

All thanks to the Reincarnation Truck.

After reincarnating, many of my physical abilities—my dynamic vision among them—had improved by leaps and bounds. If I were allowed a slight exaggeration, their swords looked to like the movents of children swinging reeds.

That was why, even with only the basics of Swordsmanship under my belt, I could still produce movents that looked convincing.

“Guaaagh!”

The last man hit the ground rolling.

Thud!

I drove my sword deep into his side, then kicked him away. Every man who had rushed at had been dealt with just enough to keep him from dying.

They might still be useful later.

Now then, only the fat one remained.

“Young Lady Sapiela!”

“Protect the Young Lady!”

“Draw your weapons!”

Just then, a commotion broke out behind . The knights and soldiers of House Adeline, who had been stationed so distance away, ca rushing toward us.

You are absurdly late.

They probably would not survive this with their lives intact. Young Lady Sapiela, who had been raised like the most precious jewel, was lying there seized against the dirt.

If Marquis Chronos heard of this, he would probably have every last one of them beheaded.

In any case, once the House troops joined us, the tide turned sharply.

We had well over twenty n on this side. On the other side, besides the big man, there was no one left capable of taking up a weapon and fighting.

It was complete failure.

And yet the big man smiled in a foul way, as though he still held a joker in his hand.

“Heh heh heh. Do not co any closer! If any of you moves so much as a step...”

Flash!

A sharp dagger, catching the sunlight, ca to rest against the pale back of Young Lady Sapiela’s neck. It was the sort of position where a single movent would be enough to cut her.

“I will take this bitch’s life!”

Everything was proceeding exactly as I had expected.

Unlike , who remained at ease, the face of the guard knight Roland—who had treated so harshly before—had gone ashen.

Naturally. This was the worst possible situation for a guard knight.

“You bastard! Remove that filthy blade at once!”

“As if I am mad enough to do that!”

“I will kill you without fail! You bastard!”

No amount of shouting would help. Once the Young Lady had been taken hostage, it was our side that stood at a disadvantage.

Even if a skilled sniper were present, there was too great a chance things would go wrong. He would need to shoot the man in the head with a bow or crossbow, and if anything went awry, it might leave an ugly wound on the Young Lady’s noble skin.

“Good heavens! What is happening?”

“Oh my! Young Lady Sapiela!”

“The Young Lady has been taken!”

People began to gather one by one. Since the festival was already underway, the number of onlookers increased at an exponential rate.

I covered my face with the hood again. It was enough for people to know that I was here. There was no need to sell my face too. Not yet.

Ordinarily, a man in a situation like this ought to grow nervous, but that big bastard seed to be enjoying himself more and more, as though he had swallowed so drug. Then again, he was holding the most precious person in the territory hostage. He probably felt as though he owned the world.

Good.

This was a good atmosphere.

The feat I was about to display would only be better with as many spectators as possible.

Sir Roland, however, did not seem to feel the sa way.

“You pig of a bastard! I will catch you and flay the skin from your body!”

“Wahahaha! Then do it if you can! Before that, your Young Lady will be the one stripped bare! Heh heh heh!”

“H-how insolent!”

Now sexual harassnt had been added to his list of cris. At this point, even if he saved the nation, there would be no path left for him to survive.

Standing beside him, I stepped forward.

“Sir Roland. Please do not provoke him any further. It is not good for the Young Lady.”

“You.”

Judging by the way his brow twisted, he had recognized .

Naturally he had. I was, after all, the only Butler Apprentice in House Adeline who had ever been granted a private audience with the Young Lady.

I continued,

“Did I not clearly tell you? I asked you to protect the Young Lady well.”

“How dare an apprentice step forward so presumptuously? You are in the way. Get out of here!”

“And if I do get out of the way, can you resolve this situation yourself? I was the one who stopped the carriage, and I was the one who subdued the n who rushed us.”

“Ghk!”

Sir Roland bit down hard, looking deeply frustrated. Smiling easily, I said to him,

“Please stand back. This is a problem that will resolve itself with ti.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The man is already under the effects of the paralysis poison needle I shot him with. He is enduring only because he is large, but he will collapse soon enough.”

Turning away, I stepped forward two paces. Startled, the big man snatched the Young Lady by the hair and pressed the knife even tighter against her throat.

“Stop! Stop right there!”

“This is your last warning. Throw down your weapon and surrender even now. If you do, it may end with nothing worse than your head being cut off.”

“Heh heh heh! You mad bastard. Would you do that if it were you? Everyone, get back! I am taking this Young Lady with . If any of you tries to follow, then with this knife I will—”

Thump!

Just once.

The mana pistol hidden discreetly beneath my Robe fired a bullet. The gunshot was swallowed by the cries of the crowd. And my shooting skill shone.

“Guh...?”

The bullet flew out in an instant and struck the big man in the head. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed unconscious on the spot.

A headshot.

I ended the hostage situation cleanly with a single shot.

As I bound the fallen man’s arms, I quietly pricked him with a needle to leave behind evidence, then ran straight to the Young Lady.

“My lady.”

Supporting her, I removed the gag from her mouth and undid the bonds restraining her. Perhaps the tension had finally left her body, because she sagged against and collapsed into my arms.

An unexpected reward.

And yet the Status Window did not appear. I had secretly been hoping for it, but nothing showed itself.

Why?

“My lady. My lady? Are you all right?”

“......”

Even when I shook her gently to wake her, the Young Lady said nothing. I gestured to the knights and soldiers. Only then did the idiots, who had been standing there dazed, co rushing over. So of them began binding the attackers.

“The Young Lady is safe!”

“That man saved her! Who in the world is he?”

“A hero has appeared!”

“He looks like a butler of House Adeline! As expected, magnificent!”

To be precise, an apprentice, madam.

In any case, I truly did feel as though I had beco a hero. Amid the passionate cheers of the people of the territory, I carefully handed the limp Young Lady over to Sir Roland.

“The Young Lady is unhard. It seems she has rely lost consciousness for the mont. She has no injuries.”

“......”

“I leave the aftermath to you. I used that Overnight Leave Pass with great difficulty, so I think I will enjoy the festival a little longer.”

“You.”

I was about to turn away when Roland called out to stop .

“What was your na again?”

“Dilen.”

“At the very least... I suppose I ought to thank you.”

Is that really the attitude of a man expressing gratitude?

This one is rotten to the core.

Still, hearing words of thanks from a man as proud as Sir Roland did feel rather good. The dark dragon in my heart, the one that longed to lord it over others, stirred, but I restrained it well enough.

“Your Overnight Leave is canceled. You are to return to the mansion with us imdiately.”

“Why?”

Roland looked around at the cheering people of the territory, then let out a sigh.

“This matter must be reported to His Excellency. There is no way not to ntion your part in it, so I would like you to co and report alongside us. In other words, I am asking you to serve as a witness. In any case, you are the one who saved the Young Lady.”

If no one else were around, this bastard Roland would probably have tried to steal the credit for himself.

I nodded readily enough.

“Understood. As you wish.”

“Return to the mansion at once and await orders.”

“Yes, sir.”

A splendid carriage arrived a little later, and after loading the unconscious Young Lady inside, it departed with great dignity. Perhaps because word of the kidnapping had spread, the military presence had been tripled.

In the end, the Young Lady was unable to give her address, and the festival could not continue any further. Under the strict control of the troops, the people began to disperse one by one.

Sohow, I felt a little sorry. It seed I had ruined the mood.

Holding that scene in my eyes, I turned my steps back toward the mansion.

It was ti to receive a proper reward at last.