Chapter 11
“It seems your personality is lacking as well, but you’re still better than thieves, so we’ll stop at taking their eyes.”
“I didn’t realise my personality was that terrible…”
The Duke muttered as though he had been hurt.
Still, no matter how wounded he sounded, it was nothing compared to the pale faces of the thieves.
Soon, the man with the monocle gestured toward the knights.
“Shall we go, Miss Hanisha?”
“Y-Yes…”
As I held his hand and walked into the castle, the thieves’ desperate cries for mercy echoed behind us.
The man with the monocle was the butler of Duke Stykia’s castle.
“You may simply call me Butler.”
As he led me inside by the hand, I briefly explained why I had come here.
I left out the finer details and simply said that my family intended to abandon me, so I had chosen Stykia instead.
It was just a slightly expanded version of what I had told Duke Stykia earlier.
In case he misunderstood, I also added that the man who had been eaten by the monster was a terrible criminal.
“So, Miss Hanisha…”
After listening quietly, the butler spoke.
“You left your family, and to give your beloved maid her freedom, you had no choice but to take action.”
“Y-Yes.”
“So you lured our gatekeeper with food, safely entered the ducal castle without a single hair harmed on your adorable little head, and then bravely defeated a group of thieves as well. Is that what you’re saying?”
…I never said it quite like that.
Still, it wasn’t entirely wrong, so I found myself nodding.
“Oh, my.”
The butler let out a small sigh and pulled a handkerchief from his pocket.
Then he began wiping at the corners of his eyes.
“This is such a moving story. I could hardly listen without tears. I am truly touched.”
“Huh? A-Are you crying?”
“But I don’t cry so easily.”
In an instant, his expression became perfectly calm again.
Snap.
He shook out the handkerchief so sharply it made a crisp sound.
…
I’d thought it from the moment I met him.
He definitely wasn’t an ordinary person…
I unconsciously shrank back.
Suddenly, he looked into the distance and spoke.
“…So, this makes the second time.”
His voice had lost all traces of humour.
“The second person to open the gates of this castle by offering a human… and a particularly vile one at that.”
His gaze shifted to the monster nestled in my arms.
“And also the second person to hold that creature in their arms.”
There was an emotion in his eyes that I couldn’t understand.
The second time?
What did he mean?
Before I could ask, the butler stepped back and gave me a polite bow.
“Allow me to show you to a room where you may rest.”
As he spoke, he gently took the monster from my arms.
“W-Wait!”
When I hurriedly stopped him, the butler turned around.
The monster in his arms tilted its head as well.
Swallowing nervously, I asked,
“Aren’t… you going to ask me anything else?”
Even if he asked, I couldn’t really answer.
Still, he was Stykia’s butler.
Even if the Duke overlooked it, surely he’d be curious about who I really was.
“Why would I ask?”
His answer was completely unexpected.
“As you know, this place is a rubbish heap. We accept objects, beasts, monsters… and even people. It doesn’t matter what kind of person you are, Miss Hanisha.”
He smiled gently.
As though my origins truly meant nothing to them.
Then he gave a casual shrug.
“Well… perhaps you really are His Grace’s daughter.”
“That’s…”
Impossible.
House Agnito and House Stykia were enemies.
Long before my mother became pregnant with me, Stykia had already been known as a rubbish heap.
There was no reason my mother would ever have come here.
Since I couldn’t explain any of that, I stayed silent.
The butler watched me for a moment before clapping his hands brightly.
“Very well.”
“Now, please head inside. The maids will guide you.”
As if they had been waiting, several maids dressed in uniform appeared.
“This is Miss Hanisha, who will become His Grace’s daughter.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Hanisha. We look forward to serving you.”
Like the butler, none of the maids looked surprised at hearing I was the Duke’s daughter.
The people here really aren’t surprised by much.
Just as I released the butler’s hand and took one of the maids’…
Oh, right.
I remembered something.
Duke Stykia was always said to have a right-hand man.
The Duke himself was infamous for being insane…
But that man was said to be even worse.
Even Duke Agnito had once clicked his tongue before my regression and said that no ordinary madman could ever keep up with him.
Something this huge has happened… so where exactly is the Duke’s right-hand man?
I tilted my head in confusion.
“Ah, Miss Hanisha.”
I turned at the voice.
The butler was looking at me.
“Just so you’re aware… you may hear some strange sounds tonight.”
“…Huh?”
“They may sound like screams, and they can be rather unpleasant at first. But don’t be too frightened. Once you get used to them, they’re sweeter than the music of any bard.”
He smiled pleasantly.
A strange sense of unease crept over me.
I swallowed.
“Um… Mr Butler.”
“Yes, Miss Hanisha?”
“May I ask… what’s your name?”
“Oh, I forgot to tell you that.”
He let out a brief sigh before placing a hand over his chest and bowing politely.
“My apologies. I abandoned my past long ago, so I no longer possess something like a name. Simply call me Butler.”
In other words…
He had no intention of telling me.
So I changed my question.
“Then… those screams… are they human?”
Again, the butler answered without hesitation.
“Hmm… no.”
…
“They probably aren’t.”
…
“Most likely.”
I knew it.
This man had to be Charon.
The Duke’s right-hand man.
The Mad Hound of the Battlefield.
The greatest lunatic in all of Stykia, a man said to love blood more than water.
Perhaps thinking I was frightened, he kindly added,
“Just think of them as a lullaby. After all, what comes out of a mouth is much the same either way. If you listen long enough, they become quite soothing.”
How are those two things even remotely alike? And how could screams ever become soothing?
I swallowed those questions.
Leaving me behind, the butler walked away while humming cheerfully.
The two maids assigned to me were Anna, who had brown hair, and Hati, who had wheat-coloured hair.
Together, we headed straight to the bath.
I’d expected poor conditions, but the room was surprisingly clean, and plenty of hot water flowed.
“Is the water temperature alright?”
“Yes, it’s fine.”
“You may speak more casually. Since you’ll become His Grace’s daughter, it’s only natural that you speak as someone of your status.”
The wheat-haired maid, Hati, smiled.
“O-Okay… I understand.”
Even though I knew that, I wasn’t used to it yet, so I answered awkwardly.
Hati smiled warmly.
The atmosphere wasn’t nearly as cold or stiff as I had expected.
Watching them cautiously, I finally spoke.
“There’s… something I’d like to ask.”
“Please go ahead.”
“The butler beside the Duke… what kind of person is he?”
“The butler? Ah, you mean Lord Charon. Lord Charon fought alongside our current Duke of Stykia, Lord Pater, on the battlefield.”
“He later changed careers and became the butler.”
Hati added quietly.
“Hati.”
Anna spoke as if gently warning her.
Still, neither of them looked like they were forced to work here.
If anything… they seem deeply loyal.
That only made me more confused.
Stykia was infamous as one of the worst places in the Empire to live.
Not simply because the northern lands were harsh and difficult to survive in.
The real reason was…
Duke Stykia himself.
Fifteen years ago, the Duke of Stykia had been the eldest brother, Enril Stykia.
Back then, Stykia was merely known for its bitter cold and its countless monsters.
It had not yet earned the terrifying nickname:
The Rubbish Heap.
The wise and merciful eldest brother and Duke—
Enril Stykia.
And his younger brother—
Pater Stykia, a rough but easygoing man, the master swordsman known as the Knight of the Cold Sword.
Everyone believed that as long as the two brothers stood together, the North would remain unshakable forever.
Moreover, Enril was engaged to Princess Trisha Klein of the Principality of Klein.
A marriage between the Duke of Stykia and the princess of a prosperous principality.
On top of that, Enril loved Trisha so deeply that everyone expected House Stykia to enjoy an era of great prosperity.
But those expectations were shattered in an instant.
Trisha became pregnant with another man’s child.
With the child of her own fiancé’s younger brother.
In other words…
She was carrying Pater Stykia’s child.
