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Chapetr 25
Benjamin ignored his greeting.
He glanced at the former butler as if he were nothing more than a table or chair inside the shop, then grabbed Helena and swept past him.
Wesley, head bowed, closed his eyes with a devastated expression.
As expected… there was no way he would forgive me.
At that moment, Benjamin spoke.
“The key.”
“…?”
Without turning back, Benjamin said,
“The door you locked with that key—open it again.”
With those words, he opened the door to Plemen and left.
Wesley, who had remained standing there motionless, slowly raised his head.
The locked door… he told me to open it again.
Memories from five years ago came vividly to mind.
That day, the people of the count’s household paid the price for the terrible sins they had committed.
Those who had tried to take lives had to give up their own, and those who had turned a blind eye to injustice in order to protect themselves were forced to watch the very things they sought to protect disappear.
Wesley was no exception.
In order to become the butler of the House of Ishpern, Wesley had committed a sin, and with his own hands he had to shut down the count’s estate.
Yet he clung to one last hope: carrying the key ring that the family butler wore at his waist, he firmly locked the doors to the most important places in the castle.
That hope was that, even if an immense amount of time passed, should Benjamin one day wish to become the true master of the count’s house, Wesley wanted to help him.
It was hope—but at the same time, it was a punishment Wesley imposed upon himself.
As long as he held the keys, he could not leave Burwood.
Because of that, for the past five years he had been forced to watch, with his own eyes until the very end, the collapse of the House of Ishpern that he had loved.
And now, Benjamin was telling him to open the locked doors again.
Did he say her name was Herren?
Whether male or female, Benjamin’s change seemed to have come from that person.
“Myaaow.”
Wesley turned his gaze.
A black cat, having arrived without him noticing, was looking up at him and meowing.
Wesley stroked the cat’s head.
“Nero.”
As if pleased, the cat began to purr.
Nero was a cat Wesley had once taken in and entrusted to Plemen.
Born small, driven away by its mother and siblings, and abused by people who believed its black fur was ominous, the cat had come to dislike both other cats and humans alike.
Plemen’s madam approached him and asked,
“Mr. Wesley, are you returning to the count’s estate?”
She gently patted Nero’s head. Nero rubbed his head lightly against her hand as a sign of affection.
“Don’t worry about Nero. He’s grown a lot from meeting so many people.”
The madam was right.
Sometimes, simply meeting someone can change things.
Wesley, who had been silently looking down at the black cat, nodded and spoke.
“Yes. The door I closed… should be opened by me.”
The next day, the party left the trade city of Goha and returned to the count’s castle.
For Benjamin, Helena, and Aaron, it had only been a single day away, but for Wesley, it was his first time coming home in five years.
Looking at the castle, little more than a ruin, Wesley spoke with a faint smile on his bearded face.
“Magnificent.”
Benjamin turned his head as if he hadn’t heard him, and Helena stared at the former butler with a look that clearly asked whether he was in his right mind.
Wesley broke into a grin.
“It needs to be this broken to make rebuilding it worthwhile.”
Pulling his luggage toward the servants’ quarters, Wesley soon reappeared, looking neat and proper.
After shaving off his shaggy beard and slicking back his messy gray hair with wax, the once grimy-looking middle-aged man was astonishingly transformed into a refined, distinguished butler who suited the old-fashioned castle perfectly.
Helena realized it at once.
“The more dramatic the change, the more impressive it is.”
“Still not quite on the level of Lady Helen becoming Lady Helena, I imagine.”
Now dressed in a butler’s uniform, Wesley smoothly parried her comment as he prepared tea for her.
Helena shot him a displeased look, but said nothing more. She couldn’t very well ruin a proper tea time she was enjoying after so long.
Tea leaves brewed to the exact time by a butler holding a pocket watch, milk heated to the perfect temperature and poured in—how long had it been since she’d had tea like this?
After taking a sip, Helena spoke.
“Mr. Wesley… you’re a good butler.”
At her words, Wesley bowed politely.
“I am merely a servant. Still, I will do my utmost for the count’s house and for milady.”
Sipping her tea, Helena said in a gentle tone,
“With the former butler back, my heart feels much lighter. I married the count and came to Burwood, but when I saw the state of the castle, I was truly shocked—and at a loss.”
She blinked her half-lidded eyes lazily.
“I’m glad you came back, Mr. Wesley.”
Wesley narrowed his eyes slightly and smiled with practiced charm.
“It is all thanks to milady.”
“Which brings me to something…”
Helena swept her hair back and looked up at Wesley with eyes sparkling like stars as she asked,
“I truly have no other intentions—I’m just curious. Five years ago, when you left the castle… what happened?”
The butler, his gray-brown eyes gleaming, replied,
“Milady, sometimes it is better not to know.”
“Isn’t that for me to decide?”
Wesley answered softly.
“Milady, there may come a day when you learn the truth. But it likely won’t be from my lips.”
He unclasped an elegant ring heavy with keys from his waist and set it on the table.
“More importantly, I heard you were looking for this.”
Helena accepted the keys, shooting the butler a sidelong glance at his deft change of subject.
Well, maybe the details of what happened five years ago aren’t all that important.
She sank into thought as she savored the milk tea, where the fragrance of perfectly brewed tea leaves blended seamlessly with the richness of fresh milk.
What matters to me is the outcome.
In her mind, Helena organized the clues she had gathered so far.
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When he was younger, Benjamin hid his origins and lived as a mercenary.
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Five years ago, after gaining fame by defeating a squid monster in Arlia, he returned to the House of Ishpern.
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On that very day, “something” happened at the count’s estate; as a result, the household staff were killed or fled, and the castle was set ablaze.
-
After becoming count, Benjamin neither repaired the burned castle nor fulfilled his duties as lord, instead siphoning off money little by little—causing the house to sink further into decline.
Helena went blank.
But… isn’t all of this something I don’t even need to know?
What she needed to understand was the point of contact between Benjamin and the “subversive faction threatening the safety of the Empire.”
In truth, she had suspected that the subversive group had been involved in step three.
After all, it seemed reasonable that something had intervened for Benjamin to suddenly become count.
But judging by Wesley’s attitude, that didn’t seem to be the case.
If Benjamin had reclaimed the title with outside help and driven out the servants, Wesley should have fled far away along with the others.
Instead, Wesley seemed worried about Benjamin—and the moment Benjamin appeared to allow it, he returned to the estate as if he had been waiting all along.
Then this has nothing to do with the subversive faction…? Was there a problem related to the Ishpern family’s line of succession?
Thinking that way, everything made sense.
Benjamin, who held the right of succession, left the family, hid his origins, lived as a mercenary while building strength and influence, and then returned. There was no way his family would have welcomed him with flower petals.
Whatever happened in that process, Helena was confident she wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest.
She set down her empty teacup.
Then this has nothing to do with me. I’m not even a little curious about that lunatic’s past.
Irritably, she touched her upper lip.
Because that madman had forcibly ripped off her fake mustache yesterday, every bit of the fine hair had been torn out, and the area beneath her nose still stung.
Forget pointless things. I have far too much to do right now.
Helena’s first objective was to thoroughly put the fallen House of Ishpern back in order and restore everything to normal.
She had no idea how long it would take to track down the “subversive faction,” and she couldn’t continue living in ruins like this in the meantime.
She also needed to give at least a little hope to the innocent people of Burwood.
This is what noblesse oblige is, I suppose.
Once the count’s house was back on a proper footing, she would then focus entirely on tracking down the “subversive faction,” without any distractions.
Having made up her mind, Helena picked up the bundle of keys and rose from her seat.
