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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: The Butler's Intervention
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“How dare you talk back to me!”
*Whoosh—*
Clarissa's palm sliced through the air. But instead of reaching me, her hand stopped mid-air.
*Thwack.*
Someone's firm hand had seized Clarissa's wrist.
“Who is it?! Who dares to stop m—”
“What the Young Lady just said is correct, Madam.”
Clarissa, agitated, spun around. Standing there was a handsome man with dark blond hair and spectacles.
Clarissa's wrist was held captive in his elegant yet firm hand.
Watching him approach from a moment ago, the smile on my lips deepened.
“Theon!”
His ash-gray eyes, visible behind his spectacles, flickered to me before fixing on Clarissa again. His well-defined lips held no smile.
Theon Arpen. He was the youngest, and most capable, butler the Luperne Ducal Family had ever seen.
A genius accountant and legal scholar, he had claimed the position of butler within a year of starting work, single-handedly rectifying the ducal family's hemorrhaging finances.
He was the only commoner ever to enter and graduate at the top of the Imperial Academy.
Moreover, every business venture he undertook on his own since his teenage years was said to have met with success.
In my previous life, he served Callista as his liege and helped drain Calein's funds dry, only for his entire family to be annihilated by Calein.
“I was out in the corridor inspecting the mansion when I heard the Young Lady's voice.”
Listening to his flat, even tone, I recalled his nickname from my previous life.
Theon, the Cold-Blooded Man of Principle.
Regardless of whom he considered his true liege, he was the kind of person who would always side with the victim if an injustice occurred under his jurisdiction.
Even as Clarissa glared at him as if to devour him whole, there was not a flicker of emotion in his ash-gray eyes.
“I will oversee the search.”
“But—!”
“This falls within the scope of duties His Grace the Duke entrusted to me.”
Clarissa couldn't retort. His words were undeniable.
Clarissa, my father's third wife, hailed from an obscure, low-ranking noble family in the provinces.
Though nominally the mistress of the most powerful family in the empire, my father had not granted her full authority, as she had no children and no significant abilities.
While Clarissa managed the miscellaneous household affairs, it was Theon who held the decisive power in crucial moments.
‘That's why Clarissa brought in so many relatives, installing them as cooks, maids, and knights.’
Trying to seize actual power, somehow.
Seeing Theon's unruffled expression, Clarissa finally lowered the hand she had intended to strike me with. Of course, her face still openly displayed strong displeasure.
Theon pulled the bell cord beside him. It was meant to summon servants and was clearly working, yet no one came.
“They don't come when you call from this room.”
“...What did you say?”
Theon furrowed his brow, asking again after my explanation.
“When I call, the servants don't come. Jena has to go fetch them herself.”
In the busy ducal mansion, no servant considered my errands important. There was always something more urgent, so whenever I needed something, Jena had to personally go and request it.
Theon's ignorance of this fact was also due to my insignificant presence, and because I never dared to voice any complaints.
“...So that's how it was.”
Theon murmured meaningfully. Soon after, he stroked the magic stone brooch he was wearing, and four or five servants and two knights rushed to my room.
“Did you call, Lord Theon!”
“Search Jena Swan and Leroy Brown's rooms immediately. If any unexplained valuables or ledgers are found, bring them to me at once.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Knights, guard this place. Ensure those two cannot go anywhere while the search is underway.”
Sharp commands followed, contrasting with his fair, refined face. Theon's voice held a power that was difficult to defy.
Clarissa, realizing she no longer had a say, slumped into the chair opposite me. As her cold gaze fixed on me, as if to kill me, I offered an innocent smile.
“Nothing was found.”
After a short while, the servants returned empty-handed. A triumphant smile flickered across Leroy's face, as if he'd expected it.
Indeed, Leroy was good not just at cooking, but also at tidying up.
He could be considered quite talented in his own way.
That is, if you overlooked the fact that he was a hot-tempered gambler who neglected his duties as a chef, a child abuser, and an embezzler.
Of course, I knew there wouldn't be anything particular found in their rooms.
Poor Jena, who was clinging to the weakest vine in the ducal family—me—had no possessions to speak of, and Leroy had a separate place where he hid his valuables.
“Search every location within the mansion that those two frequent. Even the rooms of their close maids or kitchen assistants.”
Theon, equally unfazed, gave his instructions. Clarissa's face, which had almost brightened, clouded over again.
“Isn't, isn't this enough? This clearly happened because of the child's lie, so only the child and her attendant maid should be punished.”
Clarissa's slender finger pointed at me. Her eyes trembled slightly, as if she regretted making such a fuss over nothing.
“Keep searching, Uncle Theon. If you don't uncover the truth, I'll keep having to eat tasteless bread.”
When I interjected annoyingly, she glared at me with eyes that seemed capable of shooting fire.
“If it's a lie, then all the more reason to uncover the truth completely.”
Theon ignored her and turned his gaze to me.
His eyes were still cool, but the slight lift of his brows, barely perceptible, held a hint of interest, as if observing a curious creature he had never seen before.
Judging it the right moment, I spoke again.
“Uncle Theon, is the West Tower also considered part of the ducal mansion?”
“...The West Tower, you mean the old one at the edge of the estate? Strictly speaking, yes, it is.”
Theon said, sounding perplexed.
The West Tower was a building at one end of the mansion grounds. On top of it, there was nothing but a golden bell that no longer rang.
Currently, it was a Restricted Area for the preservation of artifacts.
“No one goes there, so a search won't be necessary. It's also a Restricted Area.”
“But Jena often goes for walks near there.”
When I said that, everyone in the room's eyes widened.
“Young Lady, when did I ever—”
“Young Lady, were you also suspecting Miss Jena? Not the Head Chef?”
Jena looked at me with a hurt expression, and the interest in Theon's eyes deepened further.
“What's important isn't what I think.”
“Then what is important?”
“What evidence is found. Those in a position to judge must suspect everyone.”
Upon hearing my answer, Theon's ash-gray eyes gleamed with a strong light. It seemed to be an answer that pleased him, as he was also a legal scholar.
Of course. This was a phrase Theon had written in his academy graduation thesis.
In my previous life, when I was confined by Calein and had nothing to do, all I did was bury myself in the library, searching for and reading all sorts of books. It was then that I came across books and theses written by Theon.
“...That's not an answer one would expect from a young lady.”
“W-we've never even been near the West Tower! This search is unreasonable!”
While he was staring at me for a long time, a booming voice interrupted.
It was Leroy. The tone in his voice, as he frantically tugged at his mustache, wasn't the same indignation as Jena's.
He was anxious. Theon's brow furrowed for a moment.
“Oh, ho... It seems the Young Lady had a specific target in mind.”
Theon murmured, barely audibly.
“Search the West Tower immediately.”
He commanded one of the knights standing nearby.
“Hold on, Butler!”
“Theon, no matter who you are, you don't have the authority to arbitrarily search a Restricted Area—”
“Young Lady Harper's statement that Miss Jena frequently takes walks nearby provides sufficient grounds for a search.”
Clarissa and Leroy protested loudly, but the knight had already left the room, following Theon's orders.
A smile appeared on my lips, and simultaneously, Clarissa, whose already pale face turned even whiter, bit her lip.
“We found it, Lord Theon!”
After a short time, what they brought was a small wooden box.
Beneath the lid, about ten gold bars glinted, and on top of them was a tattered ledger, worn from being looked at so many times.
“What is written in the ledger?”
Theon fixed his gaze on Leroy and asked. Leroy's shoulders trembled violently, and he averted his eyes from Theon.
“Under Leroy Brown's signature, the transaction history with food suppliers for the past three years is recorded.”
“Wasn't a ledger also found in the Head Chef's room?”
“That one appears to have been fake. The numbers don't match, and the difference in funds is stored in the form of gold bars.”
Bingo! Found it. Perfect evidence.
In my previous life, he had also hidden these documents in the West Tower. My discovery of this evidence, which even Callista couldn't find, was purely accidental.
Because months after Leroy disappeared, the place I fled to, escaping Callista's assassins, was the West Tower.
At the time, I even considered running away because I'd found those gold bars. Though later, Calein completely swallowed up those funds.
“...Do you have anything left to say?”
Theon took the documents, examined them, and then asked Leroy coldly.
While Leroy trembled, struggling to form words, a servant returned and whispered something into Theon's ear. Theon's brow furrowed once more.
“Th-the ledger... it's clearly fabricated...!”
“Fabricated, you say.”
A hint of disgust was added to Theon's expression as he looked at Leroy.
“Are you going to claim that what you said to Young Lady Harper in the kitchen was also fabricated?”
“W-what?”
“About the moldy bread being originally high-quality. One of the kitchen assistants gave a statement, you see. I told you to build up some goodwill, didn't I?”
Theon took off his spectacles and wiped them with a cloth as he spoke. It seemed the situation had already been resolved in his mind.
“...”
“If you're done speaking.”
As the lenses disappeared, the sharp, sword-like gaze hidden behind them was revealed.
“It's time for you to face the consequences, Leroy.”
The color drained from Leroy's greasy face. Theon usually seemed cool, but his current appearance was chilling.
