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Chapter: 20
Treon, unaware that someone had followed him, bowed his head and apologized to Tickle.
Tickle sneered at Treon’s apology.
“‘Sorry’?”
Then, with his foot, he kicked Treon in the chest. Treon collapsed to the floor from the blow.
“‘Sorry’? Do you even know what you’re apologizing for?”
Despite wincing in pain, Treon knelt again, just as he had at first.
Seeing Treon bow silently, Tickle grinned mockingly.
“Hey. Say it. What did you do wrong?”
“…I apologize for my improper words and actions toward you during mealtime, Tickle.”
“Is that so? Then you deserve a punishment, don’t you?”
Tickle poured alcohol over Treon’s head.
Treon’s hair and clothes were soaked in red liquid.
“Why did you do that?”
“….”
“I asked you. Are you ignoring me right now?”
“…No.”
Tickle struck Treon’s head with his hand.
It sounded like a watermelon splitting—thwack!
Treon slowly opened his mouth.
“…I was foolish, so I acted improperly.”
“Hahaha! Ah, this is fun. Just seeing your face makes it fun. If I knew you’d kneel so easily over a few measly coins, I would’ve just tossed you some money and played along from the start. Right?”
Treon clenched his fists.
A few measly coins.
But in the Valfruga Ducal family, it was a large sum.
He repeated to himself internally:
‘I just have to endure this. It’ll be over soon. It’s fine. I can bear it.’
After laughing to himself for a while, Tickle looked at Treon.
“Honestly, what could you have done wrong, huh?”
He picked up a sword he had leaned against the wall and spat on the floor.
Seeing the sword sheathed in a gem-studded scabbard, Treon’s face turned pale.
If he got hit with that, he wouldn’t be able to get up the next day.
Could he even fool the Mistress and Butcher as if nothing had happened?
Though he wanted to run immediately, he gritted his teeth and endured.
“The fact that you were born with a handsome face and seduced the girls I chose.”
Tickle jabbed Treon’s head with the sword.
“The fact that your head’s clever enough to catch the Emperor’s attention. That’s not your fault, right? Right? It’s all my failing, isn’t it?”
“…No. I’ve never thought that way even once.”
“Don’t ‘no’ me, you brat.”
Tickle slapped Treon’s cheek with his other hand.
Then, wiping the swelling on Treon’s cheek with his hand, he chuckled.
“I really want to know—why did you refuse when the Emperor scouted you? If you had gone, maybe things between us would’ve turned out differently. Tell me. You regret it, don’t you? Then I wouldn’t have to put up with my own tantrum here. Right?”
“…No.”
“Your master’s just throwing this fit because you want to earn a few coins, huh?”
“….”
“Why do you care about some lousy Ducal family? And that Duchess you came with was just as incompetent. You picked her up from an orphanage, didn’t you?”
For the first time, Treon lifted his head stiffly.
“Where is this brat looking?”
“…You may insult me, but do not insult the Valfruga family or the Mistress. They are honorable people.”
“…What?”
Tickle Matek’s eyes went wide.
“This brat dares…!”
The sword shot up into the air.
Treon shut his eyes tightly.
At the same time, a voice of a girl he shouldn’t have heard reached him.
“Treon!”
The door, which should have remained firmly closed, swung open, and a girl and a young man ran into the room.
“Butcher, stop him!”
At Felia’s command, Butcher grabbed Tickle’s arm.
“Damn it! What do you think you’re doing!”
Tickle, flustered by their sudden appearance, twisted his body violently, but he couldn’t overcome Butcher’s strength.
In an instant, Butcher struck Tickle’s thighs, bringing him to the ground, and slammed his shoulder into the floor.
“How dare you lay your filthy hands on our Mistress?”
While Butcher restrained Tickle, Felia checked on Treon.
“Butler. Are you okay? Can you get up?”
Treon looked at Felia dazedly, unable to process the situation.
Soft pink hair and blue eyes.
Her adorable, baby-rabbit-like appearance was indeed the face of the Mistress he served.
“This is…”
“Don’t you dare let go! Who do you think—”
“You, on the other hand, who has no title, who do you think you are shouting at the Duchess?”
Felia glared at Tickle.
Despite confronting a much larger adult, Felia’s spirit did not waver.
“How dare you bring someone from the Valfruga family and do this. You know what you’re getting into, right?”
“The ruined Ducal family! And you’re the ones I—”
Before Tickle could finish, Butcher grabbed the back of his head and smashed it into the floor.
Then, with a refreshed smile as if saying, “And just like that, the villain in the fairy tale was defeated by the hero”, he said:
“Speaking badly in front of the Mistress makes you a naughty adult, right?”
Raising Tickle’s head again, Butcher saw he had already passed out.
“Oh? Mistress, he’s already out.”
“What? Already? No guts, huh?”
“Exactly! I only hit him once!”
Apparently, he didn’t realize that one blow had the destructive force of a bear’s paw.
“Should we tie him up just in case he wakes up?”
“Yes!”
Butcher cheerfully pulled out a rope from his coat.
“Where did you even get that?”
“For a member of a secret organization, a rope or two is essential!”
Then, reaching into his coat with the other hand, he pulled out a gag.
“I have a gag too!”
“Your preparation is impeccable! Good! Let’s use them all!”
“Wow!”
Butcher tied Tickle tightly with the rope, grinning like a child.
Though usually gentle and smiling, making him look harmless, Butcher actually had bear-like strength and carried various tools for torture in his coat.
‘The terrifying thing is he genuinely enjoys this.’
Watching Butcher’s unusually bright smile, Treon thought to himself.
Felia, who could handle someone like him like a dog, was no ordinary person either.
After gagging Tickle, Butcher meticulously hid him in a closet where the servants wouldn’t easily find him.
Pretending to wipe off sweat he hadn’t even worked up, Butcher said:
“No one will find him until tomorrow evening at least.”
“Well done!”
“Being with the Mistress is fun every single day! What should we do? Should we take him to the Valfruga Ducal family and make him confess his first love?”
“Shall we?”
“W-wait! What is going on here!”
Treon, barely regaining his sense of reality, shouted.
“What do you mean, what’s going on? We’re defeating the villain and saving Treon!”
“You shouldn’t do this. If you do…”
“Why?”
“The Count Matek will definitely end our deal with the family. Then we won’t have income.”
Treon, unusually desperate, said:
“The Ducal family needs money. The largest income right now comes from the deal with Count Matek. I’ll stay behind and apologize; Mistress, you go back first.”
Felia’s expression turned solemn.
The lively atmosphere disappeared, replaced by calm as she gazed at Treon.
“So you want to sacrifice a butler and have us take the money for ourselves, huh?”
“…What?”
“Sorry, I can’t stand that. No, I won’t let it happen.”
Felia said firmly.
“This is the best choice for the Ducal family. Mistress. I… I’m fine.”
“Fine? Really?”
Felia took out a handkerchief and wiped Treon’s face.
Touching his wounds caused a sharp sting.
The dark red liquid, a mix of blood and alcohol, ran down Treon’s face.
He couldn’t speak.
She was worried about him.
He couldn’t understand it.
“….”
Seeing Treon’s pain-stricken face, Felia asked:
“Doesn’t it hurt? I saw everything. You got hit, really badly.”
No matter how much she wiped, the liquid kept running down his cheeks.
“You’re a part of the Ducal family too. So how can you be the only one sacrificing yourself like this…”
Felia said painfully.
“…I’m sorry. I doubted you. That’s why I followed. But, but…”
I didn’t want this.
Her whispered words reached Treon clearly.
Felia grabbed Treon and pulled him.
“Let’s go. Let’s get out of here quickly. There’s no need for the butler to sacrifice himself.”
An indescribable feeling struck Treon.
For the first time, someone had stopped the violence aimed at him.
The first time he faced Tickle Matek’s brutality was ten years ago.
The reason was trivial.
A girl he fancied told him she liked Treon.
For that reason alone, Tickle broke Treon’s leg, who had come for business.
To the screaming Treon, Tickle casually said:
“Be quiet. You came because you needed our money anyway, right?”
Though his pride was hurt, it was true.
The Valfruga Ducal family needed money from Count Matek.
Ore was a common mineral.
Its quality wasn’t exceptional, and the distance made it expensive, so no one would buy Valfruga’s ore willingly.
But Count Matek always paid Treon well.
By enduring, he could bring temporary joy to the Duke and his father, whose income was dwindling, and feed starving children.
So Treon decided to remain silent.
Rationally, his sacrifice was the most beneficial, and telling anyone else wouldn’t help.
But sometimes, he felt suffocated.
He wanted to scream to someone how much it hurt, that he didn’t want to be beaten anymore.
Yet he always chose silence, repeatedly going to Count Matek’s family.
If he stopped sacrificing, the Ducal family would have money to last a year.
“Why? Why must I endure this?”
“Do you need a reason?”
“Sacrificing myself is the most beneficial. That way, the Ducal family…”
“Don’t talk about family or benefit. I know that well enough. I want to know what the butler really thinks. Did it not hurt when you got hit?”
Felia looked at him intently and asked.
He had always wanted to say it.
It hurts. I’m scared. Someone, please save me.
He remembered his father’s bright smile as he took the money he earned, unaware of how it was obtained.
Ten years ago, his broken leg started to ache again.
“…It hurt. It really hurt.”
Felia responded to his words.
“That’s my reason.”
