It was a relief that the food was delicious, but I couldn’t quite understand why so many people would give up this food and money and leave the Duke’s household.
Perhaps because of that, I was starting to worry about how difficult the work would actually be.
At my question, Peter spoke as though telling me not to worry.
“It’s because they’re young masters who have never even gotten their hands wet.”
“Young masters?”
“Yeah. The Akarut ducal family is the most prestigious and long-standing family in the kingdom, right? So when the current Duke inherited the title, a lot of young masters who had nothing but their empty noble titles applied for servant positions. They probably thought they could somehow establish a connection with the ducal family.”
“I see.”
“They’re probably drunk on their own arrogance, thinking they’re nobles and all that. But the Duke treats everyone equally without making that distinction. You experienced it yourself on your first day, didn’t you? Everyone leaves because they get fed up with the Duke’s personality.”
The Duke’s personality……
At Peter’s words, I unconsciously recalled the rumors about the Duke that had spread throughout the kingdom.
I wondered for a moment whether I should ask Peter about those rumors, but eventually, I opened my mouth.
“……But are those rumors really true?”
Peter paused for a moment at my question.
Even though I hadn’t specifically mentioned that I was talking about the rumors concerning the Duke, Peter looked as though he knew exactly what I meant.
“Well…… I suppose you’ll have to decide that for yourself from now on, won’t you?”
With that, Peter gave a small laugh.
There was something strangely ominous about his laughter.
Without thinking, I followed his lead and smiled before swallowing the fruit in my mouth.
The Akarut ducal family was the sword that protected the kingdom.
It had been that way in the past, it was that way now, and people had no doubt that it would remain that way in the future.
And the Goddess of Victory had always stood beside the Akarut family.
Even the previous Duke of Akarut had proudly secured victory in the most recent war.
But the subject of those rumors was Ridden Akarut.
Unlike his heroic father, the muzzle of his gun wasn’t pointed only at his enemies.
Perhaps the Duke considered everyone except himself an enemy, because he pointed his gun at everyone equally, and there was never any clear standard for when he would do it.
Some days, it was because he was in a bad mood.
Other days, it was because he didn’t like his meal.
And on other days, it was because the weather was particularly sunny.
He would fire his gun recklessly for all sorts of reasons.
I had heard that there were many people who had fallen victim to him.
Because of that, the people of the kingdom often said that he was crazy, since he was walking a completely different path from every previous head of the Akarut family.
Thinking back to the Ridden I had seen yesterday, I wondered if all those rumors might actually be true.
Perhaps he was also the reason Abel had died.
In retrospect, it was only natural that such a thought had crossed my mind.
“Chase, you’ll be serving the Duke. You can follow me around for a month and learn the work.”
Unexpectedly, luck was on my side.
I was going to serve the Duke instead of Abel.
Considering how worried I had been that the Duke might somehow hurt Abel, this was a huge relief.
“Um, senior, may I ask…… what kind of work will my brother be doing?”
“Abel has quite a good build, so he’ll be handling the more physically demanding work with Peter. He may also greet guests who visit the ducal household.”
Roel added reassuringly,
“His handsome face makes him perfect for attending to guests.”
Just as Roel said, Abel was handsome.
To summarize what Roel told me, I would follow him around and learn how to serve the Duke. Whenever there was a party or an important event, I would also help with the workload.
“Mr. Henry told me that you can read and write. Is that right?”
“Yes.”
“That’s good. It’ll make things much easier.”
Roel handed me the book he had been carrying.
I skimmed through the table of contents.
It was a book about basic etiquette, such as the order in which food should be served and how to greet the master.
“I’ll teach you the things you need to be careful about when personally serving the Duke one by one. For now, it would be best to memorize the etiquette in that book first. Even the position where you place each plate during meals is predetermined.”
I already had a rough idea of where the plates were supposed to go.
I had been treated as a noble while receiving the Marquess’s patronage, after all.
Well, because of that, some of the servants who looked down on Abel and me for being orphans yet receiving noble treatment had bullied us a little.
“And you’ll also need to know how to play some basic musical instruments…… You haven’t learned any instruments before, have you?”
At his question, I carefully shook my head.
Roel added reassuringly,
“Either way, keeping the master in a good mood is also part of our job. Of course, you’ll learn how to play instruments last. There are musicians for that, so there’s no rush.”
“Understood!”
At my enthusiastic answer, Roel gave a small smile and nodded for me to follow him.
The place Roel and I headed toward was the room in front of the Duke’s chambers.
“Today, just watch what I do.”
Before knocking on the Duke’s door, Roel whispered quietly.
Fortunately, it seemed I wouldn’t be put into practice just yet.
His warm words helped loosen my tense body a little.
I nodded to show that I understood, and only then did Roel seem reassured enough to knock on the door.
A voice from inside gave us permission to enter.
I straightened my posture just as Roel had taught me.
After that, I watched what Roel did from the corner of my eye and bowed deeply and respectfully.
The Duke was sitting on the sofa, reading a newspaper with his feet propped up on the table.
The sight of the Duke, dressed in fine outdoor clothes and wearing black boots while sitting in such an undisciplined position, felt incredibly out of place.
“You must be tired. Would you like to take a bath first?”
At Roel’s words, I paused.
Could he have just returned this morning?
Without realizing it, I glanced toward the window, where the bright morning sunlight was streaming in.
“No need. Get things ready from the morning.”
Come to think of it, he looked much more exhausted than yesterday.
Unlike yesterday, when he had been grinning mischievously despite his frightening words, today his face was completely expressionless.
In other words, he looked even more dangerous today than he had yesterday.
A red warning light went off in my head.
I adjusted my posture once again, making sure not to offend the Duke as much as possible.
But the Duke’s gaze immediately turned toward me.
Thinking he might have something to say, I cautiously glanced at him.
The Duke merely nodded toward his feet.
……What on earth was that supposed to mean?
Roel hadn’t taught me anything like that.
Fortunately, before I could make a mistake, Roel stepped in.
“Chase is still a trainee, so I’ll do it instead—”
“Are you an idiot? You can’t even take off a pair of boots?”
At the Duke’s fierce words, Roel’s mouth immediately snapped shut.
The Duke’s eyes were as dark as his hair, perhaps because he was so exhausted.
Honestly, I thought it would be better if he were grinning like yesterday.
As though there was no point in saying anything more, the Duke said,
“Go get breakfast.”
If all the world’s irritability were gathered together and made into a pair of eyes, they would look exactly like his.
“……Yes, Your Grace.”
A look of sheer panic appeared in Roel’s eyes.
With no choice but to bite the bullet, I cautiously approached the Duke.
As the Duke had said, taking off a pair of boots was something I could manage even without proper training.
Roel looked at me anxiously before reluctantly leaving the room.
I took a deep breath inwardly and approached the table where the Duke’s feet were resting, then crouched down beside him.
Fortunately, the Duke was reading his newspaper, so my figure sitting at his feet was hidden behind it.
The boots he was wearing had neither zippers nor laces.
They were simple, straight boots that had to be pulled on by forcing the foot inside.
‘Please don’t tell me they smell. What if I can’t stand the smell and accidentally gag?’
With that worry in mind, I placed my hands on the Duke’s boots.
Holding my breath in preparation for any possible odor, I grabbed both ends of the boot and pulled forward with all my strength.
But the smell wasn’t the problem.
No matter how hard I pulled, the boot, which fit snugly around the Duke’s foot, wouldn’t budge.
My hands felt sweaty, so I quickly rubbed them against my pants before trying to pull the boot off again.
After struggling back and forth for quite some time, I finally managed to remove the Duke’s right boot.
Fortunately, there was no smell.
No matter how much I sniffed, there was no unpleasant odor coming from his feet.
There was only the faint, clean scent of fresh air.
I was briefly fascinated by this discovery before moving to take off the remaining boot.
Just as I had done before, I tightened my grip around the boot and pulled with all my strength, trembling with the effort.
But the damn boot seemed to be stuck to the Duke’s foot even more firmly than before.
No matter how hard I pulled, nothing changed.
Then, the newspaper in the Duke’s hand fluttered and fell to the floor with a soft flap.
I instinctively flinched and turned my head.
The Duke’s sharp eyes were closed.
‘So that’s why he hasn’t said anything even though what I’m doing would normally be more than enough to get me scolded.’
I decided to finish everything before he woke up.
Knowing that the Duke wasn’t watching made me feel much better.
I gripped the Duke’s boot tightly and pulled with every bit of strength I had.
Strangely enough, it wasn’t the boot that moved.
The Duke’s entire body came along with it.
With a loud crash, I fell backward onto my bottom while still clutching the Duke’s boot, and the Duke tumbled off the sofa with one foot still caught in my hands.
It had all happened so quickly that I could only blink stupidly.
‘……What on earth did I just do?’
But the moment I understood what had happened, chills ran down my entire body.
I slowly rolled my eyes toward the Duke, who had fallen from the sofa.
His endlessly sharp, gray eyes were fixed directly on me.
