The Top-Tier Butler of the Marquis Family Chapter 47 : Chapter 47

Chapter 047

At the head of them stood Yanrof.

Once, he had been soone too lofty for even to look up at properly, yet now he felt as familiar as the middle-aged man next door. It was a sign that the day I beca the real thing was not far off.

“You worked hard, Butler Apprentice Dilen.”

“Thank you for cheering on, Head Butler. I trust you will keep the promise you made before.”

“A promise?”

“Did you not tell in the Head Butler’s Office? That one ti might be unavoidable, but that you would not stand idle if it happened twice.”

“Ah, that.”

Only then did Yanrof seem to understand. Smiling, he patted my shoulder.

“I give you my word on my na. I will make sure that this never happens again.”

“I will trust in you alone, Head Butler.”

“Go inside and rest well. You must be tired.”

After offering him a light bow, I returned to my quarters with the cheers of my companions behind .

And that day, the mont I lay down on the bed, I fell fast asleep.

While I slept, countless things happened, and countless stories were exchanged.

After my victory in the spar against Arthas, my fa rose as though it would pierce the heavens. With only a little exaggeration, I had beco more famous than most of the people in the mansion.

At this point, I almost began to wonder whether I even needed to beco a butler at all. My life already seed ready to open up for just from being an apprentice.

Then, when I opened my eyes, morning had already co.

Along with an uninvited guest.

“How about using this chance to switch over and beco a knight? Knights are treated far better than butlers, and if things go well, you might even be granted a territory.”

Rohan, who had barged into my quarters first thing in the morning, spoke in an excited tone.

I was the one who had won the spar, and yet he sounded more excited than if he had won it himself. I did not bother stopping him. Good news was good news.

I should have gone last night to check on Kalmond and my subordinates. Was it because the tension had finally left ? I had slept like the dead. Tonight, I would definitely go.

Still sprawled on the bed, I answered lazily,

“What would I do as a knight? I hate brawling.”

“Hate it? What are you talking about? You ought to be properly using that astonishing skill you showed yesterday. Clad in splendid armor, riding a white horse, swinging your sword through the air—eh?”

“Hey.”

“Hm?”

“Do you not need to get ready for morning roll call? Why are you skulking around another man’s room this early?”

“Tch.”

Wearing a crestfallen expression, Rohan went outside. Had I been too cold with him? His friend was doing well, so perhaps he was just happy about that.

Later, when I went into the village, I would buy him sothing good to eat.

I flung myself flat across the bed again.

Morning roll call was drawing near, but the closer it ca, the more violently I wanted to be lazy.

“A knight, though...... it is not a bad option, but it still does not really tempt .”

If anything, I had beco more interested in butler work now, and would probably continue life as an apprentice. Since I intended to live with a Double Identity anyway, it did not matter much either way.

In any case, I was welcod wherever I went, and stories about —more precisely, about my performance in the spar and that tale of how I saved the Young Lady—spread like a trend.

With how well things were going, I was almost at the point of wanting to bow deeply before Young Master Hal in gratitude.

Just then, a bell rang out with a shout.

“Everybody assemble! Hurry up! Anyone dragging his feet will lose points!”

One of the sounds apprentices hated most.

The bell announcing morning roll call.

Normally, it was not held every single day, but lately, since this was a period of concentrated physical training, we were gathering almost daily. They said it would continue this way for the next several months.

For soone like , whose physical ability was already outstanding, it simply ant one more annoying obligation.

“Still, I suppose I have to go out?”

After stretching, I stepped outside.

The apprentices passing by had begun to look at with admiration, while the maids had started looking at with wistful eyes.

“Is that apprentice Dilen?”

“So it is true? He really defeated an Apprentice Knight? Amazing!”

I could hear the girls whispering all the way over here. My shoulders straightened on their own.

So this was what it felt like to turn one’s life around.

It was a reaction more than satisfying enough for a man like , who had followed the model route of boys’ middle school, boys’ high school, the military, and engineering school.

With everyone’s eyes on , I headed out to the Parade Ground.

Many apprentices were already starting to gather one by one. Twice as many of them seed to be trying to talk to now.

Honestly, it was a bother.

But it was also enjoyable.

The fact that I could build new human relationships.

Without even realizing it, I seed to be adapting very well to this world.

The Training Officer Butler stood solemnly with his hands clasped behind his back.

“Is everyone here?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Today as well, we begin basic stamina training. Anyone who falls behind will lose points without exception. Understood? Run!”

“Waaaaah!”

anwhile, over on one side of the Parade Ground, the expressions of the Apprentice Knights running their own laps were not good.

My companions, who had always been subtly oppressed by the difference in strength between us, now swaggered brazenly in front of them.

At tis, they even passed by the Apprentice Knights on purpose and shouted.

It was childish, but sohow it reminded of military life, so I did not mind.

And in the midst of that, I stepped across the finish line first yet again.

“So once again, you take first place. Good. Dilen, I award you bonus points. Continue to strive even harder.”

“Thank you!”

I replied briskly with words I did not truly an.

The truth was, I had been earning bonus points every day, so more of them no longer seed to matter very much. Besides, after beating even Arthas, unless sothing extraordinary happened, it was only a matter of ti before I beca a Full Butler.

Rohan in particular was impressive. It seed my success had stimulated him, because he was working hard in earnest.

Not only for myself, but I hoped things would go well for him too, and that he would one day live proudly and in comfort. After all, he was one of the very few friends I could trust and rely on.

And if Arwen beca the Head Maid as well, then the three of us could seize control of the entire inner household of the Adeline Marquis House. That would be an entertaining picture too.

“Assemble! Next is sparring! Dilen, step forward!”

At the Training Officer’s call, I ran forward.

Then I waited for challengers.

“Raise your hand high if any of you have the courage to test yourselves against Dilen!”

“I will do it!”

“!”

“I was first!”

I had thought no one would volunteer, but unexpectedly, many hands shot up.

The situation was entirely different from when Beron had ruled this place.

That bastard used his sparring partners as outlets for rage and stress relief, beating them savagely, whereas I treated sparring strictly as a way to build skill and experience.

Which ant the other side could benefit greatly from it too, so anyone with a proper head on his shoulders would make good use of the opportunity.

Thus the sparring began, and with a Wooden Sword in hand, I displayed my skill to the fullest.

WHACK!

“Kgh!”

After easily putting away the first opponent, I rolled my neck and loosened the muscles there. A satisfying cracking sound followed. Then I addressed the Training Officer Butler.

“It is tedious to face them one at a ti. Please let face them all at once.”

The Training Officer flinched. This was the first ti such a thing had happened.

“Will that really be all right?”

“No problem. But let us do it with Hand-to-Hand Combat instead. No weapons.”

“Very well, then. All of you, co at him!”

The four volunteers surrounded and began throwing punches one after another.

Their spirit was admirable, but from the start, they were never going to be my match.

After sparring with Arthas, one thing had beco clear to : to challenge now, at the very least one had to be on the level of an Apprentice Knight.

The difference in movent itself was on an entirely different plane. Besides, I had been practicing how to wrap my body in Protective Aura through mana. At tis, my companions’ attacks struck squarely, but they did not hurt very much.

“Ghk!”

Even so, I made sure to act as though they did.

If a man was too perfect, he lost his charm.

THUD! THUD-THUD!

I threw my fists without rcy.

“Aagh!”

“Ugh!”

“Argh!”

Three of them dropped, and the spar ended when I suddenly drove my fist into the stomach of the last one standing.

THUMP!

All of them sprawled across the ground, and I calmly dusted off my hands and received my bonus points with complete confidence.

“Truly remarkable.”

The Training Officer Butler looked impressed.

But it was still too soon for him to be impressed.

Letting my eyes shine, I asked,

“May I have another round with so of the others?”

“What about injuries?”

“This much does not trouble at all.”

“Good.”

Thanks to that, I was able to pile up experience without pause.

And earn prestige among the Butler Apprentices as well.

One could truly call this killing two birds with one stone.

Thus my martial skill and my thods of using mana gradually began to settle into place.

***

Once morning roll call ended, I headed for Training Officer Vesper’s office. The door stood open, so after knocking for form’s sake, I went in.

“Good morning, Training Officer.”

“Oh, Dilen. How was physical training today? I assu you swept up the bonus points again?”

“It almost makes feel sorry for the others.”

“Hahaha! That cannot be helped. Apprentice butler life is competition in every sense. In any case, splendid. Truly splendid!”

“You flatter .”

I lowered my head slightly in modesty.

But then, an unexpected remark followed.

“Unfortunately, you have no duty today. Young Master Hal has granted you a special leave today in recognition of how splendidly you carried out your task.”

“Truly?”

“Yes. So go and rest well.”

“Thank you, Training Officer.”

Sothing about it felt a little strange, but I bowed deeply and left the office.

This match had caused a larger ripple than I had expected.

The butlers could now walk around with far straighter shoulders than before, while the knights were being forced to raise the intensity of their training far beyond what it had been.

The status of the Butler Corps had also risen another step.

Of course, so long as military authority remained in the hands of the Knight Order, the two could never truly be equals, but still, the perception had spread that the Butler Corps was no organization to be treated lightly.

And the plan I had laid worked perfectly.

It was accepted that Arthas had lost because of a problem with his weapon. Naturally, failing to maintain one’s weapon properly was a matter deserving criticism in its own right, but it would leave far fewer complications behind than if he had lost in skill alone.

These days, they said Arthas was pulling together his shattered state of mind and applying himself to martial training harder than ever before.

That was a good thing.

For the ti being, I returned to my quarters once more.

“And yet Young Master Hal himself is the one staying quiet. I cannot tell what he is plotting. He is a strange one.”

Through Training Officer Vesper, Young Master Hal had conveyed praise for my victory and an order that I could rest for the entire day, and that was all. I had expected at least one interview, so it was unexpected.

So I shut myself in my quarters all day and enjoyed the sweetness of idleness.

At one point I considered going outside because I felt stifled, but with the atmosphere still heated over the spar, it seed rather tireso to show my face.

I think I may understand a little of how celebrities feel.

Just then, there ca a knock.

“Dilen!”

The one who opened the door and stepped in was Arwen. She had been busy these days working at Rosetta as well, and yet sohow I felt I was seeing her more often than before.

“I am not disturbing your rest, am I?”

“It is all right. I was bored because I had nothing to do.”

“How enviable.”

I let out a small laugh and sat up on the bed.

“You did not co here just to show off how enviable that is. What is it?”

“The Young Lady told to bring you.”

“For what reason?”

“For a good one.”

Arwen smiled sweetly.

If the Young Lady was summoning for a good reason, then there was no need to refuse.

I stood before the mirror, straightened my clothes once more, and followed Arwen toward the Young Lady’s residence.