Chapter 32

“Watch your words.”

The butler spoke calmly while sipping tea in the kitchen.

“Speaking ill of the one you serve is something that cannot be forgiven.”

“But you know it too, sir!”

Bamel slammed his fist into his palm.

“It’s Lady Natalianne we’re talking about. The same lady who once talked back to His Grace himself. How can someone like her suddenly be this quiet?”

“…”

The butler pressed his lips together, deep wrinkles creasing around his mouth.

In truth, if anyone found the current situation stranger than Bamel did, it was him.

After all, he was one of the few who remembered when Lady Natalianne first left for the Magic Tower at the age of eight, back when the Grand Duke, Seres, had just begun to wield a sword.

“…The young lady,” he began slowly, choosing his words with care, “was not ill-natured to begin with.”

Bamel immediately frowned.

“I was an angel when I was a kid too, you know. All the old folks in town used to say they wanted to pinch my cheeks.”

The butler sighed deeply and shook his head.

“That’s not quite the same thing.”

“What’s different about it? Every child is an angel when they’re little. But every time Lady Natalianne returned home, didn’t the whole estate go on high alert? And for good reason!”

“…”

The silence stretched. Bamel folded his thick arms and said firmly,

“I don’t think she’s changed at all. Do you remember the first thing she did when she came back?”

“…Hmm.”

The butler made a low sound.

The first thing Natalianne did upon returning home had been to destroy the front gate.

A broken door wasn’t much compared to her past actions, but symbolically, it had been dangerous.

What she had destroyed was no ordinary door.

It was the entrance to the Eisenhart Grand Duchy, a symbol of the Empire’s power.

For one of the family’s own members to shatter the estate’s main gate could easily be seen as a direct insult to the house of Eisenhart, and even as an act of rebellion against the Empire itself.

The butler spoke quietly.

“Did you make sure the kitchen staff kept their mouths shut?”

“We did what we were supposed to do,” Bamel answered gruffly without unfolding his arms. “But how long can we keep that up? A leaky pot is bound to spill sooner or later.”

“I know.”

The butler brushed a finger along the lines at the corner of his lips and murmured again, “I know.”

He swallowed a sigh he couldn’t bring himself to release.

The people of the estate were loyal and discreet. None of them would spread rumors about Natalianne.

But what about others?

It had already been ten years since she left home for the Magic Tower at the age of eight.

At first, she had only stayed there for a few months each year, but with time, her visits to the Tower grew longer and her stays at home shorter.

In recent years, she hadn’t set foot in the estate at all.

What did the people of the Tower think of her, then?

“…Where did it all go wrong?”

“Sir?”

“Nothing.”

The butler shook his head and stood.

“Thank you for the tea.”

Bamel followed him to the door, pressing his lips together before adding quietly,

“I might’ve spoken harshly about the lady, but I only said it because I’m worried.”

“I know. I understand.”

The butler nodded and left the kitchen.

As he walked down the corridor, sunlight streamed through a nearby window and caught his eye.

The front hall.

The debris from the shattered gate had long since been cleared, and the doors replaced with new ones.

Yet those who had seen it would never forget what had happened.

“…Where did it all start to go wrong?”

He muttered under his breath, his voice tinged with regret.

When Natalianne first left for the Magic Tower at the age of eight, she had taken a servant with her.

At the time, they stayed in contact through regular letters. According to that servant, the young lady had lived normally most of the time but would grow unusually anxious when a certain period approached.

That period was when she had to return home.

When asked why, she never gave an answer.

She was only eight then, lips pressed tightly together, refusing to speak.

“…Haa.”

The butler let out a deep sigh and stared into the air.

It must have been when she was around fifteen.

At a family dinner attended by Seres and everyone else, Natalianne had suddenly risen from her seat and shouted,

‘I’ve had enough of this!’

Everyone had turned to her in shock as she stormed out of the dining hall alone.

The butler had quickly sought the Grand Duke’s permission to follow her.

When he knocked and stepped into her dark room, he found her curled up at the edge of the bed.

Setting the tray he carried down on the table, he said softly,

‘I’ll leave the tea and pastries here. Have some while they’re still warm.’

‘I don’t want any.’

Her voice had been a faint murmur, but the butler only smiled gently and turned toward the door.

That was when he heard her quiet voice from behind.

‘…Every time I come home, it feels like I can’t breathe.’

A voice barely louder than a whisper in the wind.

Back then, that might have been…

Might have been a cry for help.

The butler’s lips tightened, swallowing the groan that rose in his throat.

That day had been the last time Seres and Natalianne had shared a meal together.

If only he had done something then.

If only he had turned back to comfort her, or at least asked why.

He clenched his jaw, holding back another sigh.

‘…It’s too late now.’

What was done could not be undone.

The past could not be changed, no matter how deeply he regretted it.

Still, he wondered if things might have turned out differently if he had acted that day.

Maybe the relationship between the Grand Duke and his daughter would not have crumbled. Maybe her sharpness, her pain… none of it would have grown so deep.

Lost in that heavy mire of silence and regret, the butler nearly didn’t hear the bright voice calling out to him.

“Butler!”

He lifted his gaze from the shadowed floor.

At the top of the stairs, bathed in sunlight, stood a woman with wavy orange hair fluttering behind her.

“…Madam?”

“There you are! I’m so glad I found you.”

“Do you require something, Madam?”

He straightened, recovering his composure.

Melissa smiled brightly.

“Would you like to help with the party preparations?”

“…Pardon?”

The butler’s eyes widened at the sudden question, and Melissa continued with a cheerful grin.

“Lady Natalianne asked me to handle the welcome party for the subjugation team. I’ve drafted a plan, and I was wondering if you could review the budget for me.”

“Of course.”

He bowed immediately, though inwardly he was startled.

Lady Natalianne? Planning a welcome party?

For the subjugation team that included both His Grace and Lord Demius?

And she’d entrusted the arrangements to someone else?

That meant she trusted another person enough to handle it?

‘No. No, that can’t be.’

He quickly dismissed the thought.

False hope only led to disappointment.

Especially with someone like Madam Melissa, who had the tendency to interpret every casual word in the most optimistic way possible.

While he suppressed any lingering hope, Melissa pointed down the hall and said,

“Shall we talk in the drawing room?”

“Please go ahead first, Madam. I’ll prepare the tea and bring it in.”

“Oh, there’s no need. Oh, wait!”

Melissa clapped her hands as if a new idea struck her.

“Why don’t we have it with some of the snacks I made?”