Uncovering the Duke's Secret
The precious free time I'd earned by claiming fatigue from the investigation couldn't be squandered.
I slipped out of the banquet hall and headed straight for the maids' break room.
In this line of work, when it came to information networks, these women were nearly as sharp as butlers.
Whether it was their natural affability or the nature of their job—able to infiltrate the most private lives of nobles—they often knew the skeletons in closets that even butlers missed.
"Oh my, isn't that the butler from the Carmine Duke's household?"
"Hello. Pardon the intrusion."
The maids, sprawled on the sofas, jumped in surprise at the sudden appearance of a stranger and hastily straightened their uniforms.
The grand ball had dragged on for days now.
The nobles laughed and chatted under the dazzling lights, but we servants always bore the brunt of the cleanup.
I felt a twinge of guilt for interrupting their rest. Better wrap this up quickly and leave.
"What brings you here?"
The woman who seemed to be the head maid responded with a voice that was polite yet laced with caution.
Even though I'd barged in on their break time, she was still courteous.
Partly because she was a professional, sure—but there was a bigger reason.
"I was hoping you might help me out with something."
"Of course, anything."
She flashed a bright smile.
The younger maids around her started stealing glances at me and whispering among themselves.
Not to brag, but my looks were clearly helping a lot here.
Handsome is indeed the best.
I was the exclusive butler who accompanied the lady everywhere, after all. Looks were a key spec.
I'd realized that on the second day after possessing this body.
Walking the corridors, I'd been met with waves of goodwill—the kind I'd never experienced before—and it hit me.
Being handsome makes life so much easier.
"I need some information. Nothing major—it's just that our lady has a huge interest in the Northern Duke..."
"Oh my."
Kyah—
No sooner had the words left my mouth than the maids erupted in excited squeals, like they'd been waiting for it.
"Did you hear? Lady Carmine?"
"No surprise—seems like everyone's after the Duke."
"Hey, look at the butler's face. Doesn't he seem like he's holding back anger?"
"No way, with the lady...?"
"Kyah! So romantic!"
Could you all quiet down a bit?
They were making such a racket, like they wanted everyone to hear.
They were just young girls at heart, swept up in the romance of forbidden love between a butler and a noble. I could kind of understand.
"Quiet! Can't you all shut your mouths?"
The head maid's sharp command finally toned things down.
"Ahem, you lot. Don't you have work to get back to? And you, sir butler—asking for info on nobles? Do we look that loose-lipped to you?"
As expected of the head maid in a capital noble's mansion. Unlike the protesting young maids puffing their cheeks, she was all business.
But I had my ways.
Without hesitation, I stepped closer, grabbed both her hands, and leaned in.
"Please. I want to help our lady."
"W-wait a moment. Sir butler, you're too close..."
Kyah—
The room exploded in squeals again.
After that, it was smooth sailing.
With the head maid's flushed permission, prying info from gossip-hungry maids was easier than eating cake.
"Any info on the Duke's hobbies or favorite things?"
"Well, this is just between us..."
My casual question unleashed a torrent of details.
Unlike when I'd asked about anomalies at dawn, info on the Duke poured out nonstop.
Just one chatty maid can recite a noble's entire life story.
Here, there were over a dozen.
Before long, I'd even learned the color of the underwear the Northern Duke was wearing today.
"I don't need that kind of detail..."
"Kyahaha."
Even my awkward chuckle and head-scratch got an explosive reaction.
If it weren't for my lady waiting, I could've stayed here basking in my peak popularity.
With that, I wrapped up the intel gathering.
"Thank you for this favor—I'll repay it someday. Keep up the good work, everyone."
"We'll be waiting, Sebas~ Come again!"
As the chatty maids waved handkerchiefs in reluctant farewell, I bolted from the break room.
"Haa... So enviable."
Walking the corridor, a sigh slipped out unbidden.
Just a brief flex of my advantages, and this was the result.
What kind of lives did guys who enjoyed this daily even live?
I felt jealous of them.
Even though I was pretty much the same now.
'At least I'm not an anomaly.'
Relieved by my own petty, all-too-human selfishness, I sorted the intel I'd gathered.
Northern Duke Kairon von Eisenvelts.
The cold, charismatic hero of the battlefield.
But surprisingly, according to the maids, his perpetual stern expression and few words stemmed from extreme shyness.
'A classic hidden charm type, huh.'
The North's hero, the ice-cold general, was actually a timid guy.
That alone would make for a delicious setup in a romance fantasy.
But...
"Why does that guy have..."
A horrific secret he couldn't tell a soul.
Even the maids, who knew his tastes down to the details, were clueless about the Duke's hidden hobby.
'How does he keep this under wraps?'
No idea.
This wasn't enough. I needed a smoking gun.
Pacing the empty corridor, I pondered how to get closer to his secret.
The Duke was stuck in the banquet hall.
Treated like the star of the event, sneaking out was impossible.
Which meant his room was empty right now.
Even amid last night's atrocity, he hadn't posted guards.
Would he have added them now?
"Won't know till I check."
Next stop: decided.
His room. Time to continue the investigation.
There had to be a decisive clue there.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
I headed straight for Kairon's room without hesitation.
A path I'd taken before.
Fortunately, as expected, no guards stood before his door.
The eerie emptiness almost seemed to invite intruders.
'No way he left it completely undefended.'
His demeanor at the banquet said it all.
He was trembling with anxiety over someone witnessing last night's secret.
No visible guards? Probably some magic ward.
Going in the front door was a bad idea. Lingering in the hall wasn't much better.
"But I'm a butler."
I eyed the ceiling at the nearby corner.
These mansions always had one of those.
"Found it."
I slipped my fingers into the seam where wall met ceiling and pulled gently.
Click. The gap parted easily, revealing a hidden space.
Butler secret technique: faster than anyone.
You know, for when servants need to arrive before the nobles despite leaving later.
A secret passage.
The butler's shortcut spell, basically.
Suddenly, I recalled first hearing about it.
'Isn't this basically a shortcut for assassins?'
My senior butler had scolded me, calling it a devilish thought.
No assassinations via these passages in the empire's long history, apparently.
Knights more honorable than assassins—what a joke.
Anyway, I traversed the ceiling passage to the Duke's room.
Peering through the gap, his room looked impossibly pristine—nothing like last night's horror.
Blood had soaked everything, reeking of iron.
If anything, the cleanliness was more chilling.
"Here we go."
I landed lightly.
Holding my breath, I scanned the room.
No need to rummage through the mansion's original furniture or walls.
I was after the Duke's luggage from the North.
I searched slowly.
Time wasn't infinite.
He could return anytime.
Leave no stone unturned.
And soon enough...
I spotted a worn wooden box awkwardly tucked under the bed.
"Predictable spot."
He'd only arrived yesterday—how fancy a hiding place could he whip up overnight?
The box was already slightly ajar.
Something about it tugged at me, urging me to check inside.
'That'll reveal the Duke's secret.'
A strange certainty washed over me.
Carefully, I lifted the box to the table and eased it open.
A book lay within.
"Better not touch carelessly, just in case."
It was already open, but caution kicked in at the crucial moment.
Who knew what it was? Proceed carefully.
I flipped the box to drop the book out.
Two volumes: one with a black cover, the other white.
The black one's cover was etched with dense, grotesque patterns that sent shivers just looking at them. In stark contrast, the white one was a plain, undecorated blank.
A foreboding, sinister aura emanated especially from the black book.
Good call not touching it with my hands.
"This is it."
Kairon's secret.
Found.