The Rumor Walks In Wearing a Uniform
There's no way. Surely I won't walk in on the Grand Duke half-naked again—or, heaven forbid, catch the full view like last time?!
My thoughts, of course, followed the Law of 'Surely Not' to the letter.
And there he was, the Grand Duke, just stepping out of the bathroom.
Damn it……!
I swallowed the curse that had leapt to my lips, along with a dry mouthful of nothing.
So that's what the water sounds from beyond the door were—him finishing up his bath!
And here I'd assumed he was still in the middle of soaking!
The Grand Duke came walking out, toweling his hair dry with a white cloth.
But then.
I left two towels out there, didn't I, Your Grace…….
Then why are you walking out like that? What happened to the other towel?
Why—why are you like that AGAIN?!
The Grand Duke was, indeed, in the state I'd prayed he wouldn't be.
This time there wasn't even any steam to blur things, and of all things, he wasn't turned to show his back—he stood facing me dead-on.
That, ……what even is that.
I was staring straight at the Grand Duke's face, but this accursedly generous field of vision saw fit to render, in vivid clarity, everything I had no business seeing.
Channeling every ounce of my strength into keeping my eyes from drifting there, I walked toward the bed with the calmest expression and steadiest stride I could manage.
"I've brought a change of clothes, Your Highness."
Can't see it. Can't see it. I see nothing of the sort.
"Tomorrow I'd like to visit a clothing shop as soon as the sun comes up, so I wanted to mention it in advance."
Flawless movements, a swift and certain gait. I laid out the Grand Duke's clothes neatly on the bed and turned away.
Then I walked to the door and offered him a slight bow.
"If you require anything further, do call for me. I'll be waiting in the next room. Good night."
"……"
I opened the door and stepped out without a hitch.
There. Clean and flawless.
Completely different from the day I'd first collided with him in that bathroom. Every movement composed, my voice steady and unwavering.
Phew…….
If I was going to live as the Grand Duke's butler, incidents like this were bound to keep happening on the regular.
Thankfully, he didn't want assistance with his baths, so at least I'd be spared that.
See nothing even when you see it. Hear nothing even when you hear it.
I recited the butler's creed to myself once more, and tried to reclaim my inner peace……how the hell was I supposed to do that?!
AAAAAARGH!
I practically sprinted back to my room, slammed the door behind me, and hurled myself onto the bed. And of all the things my eyes could have landed on first, it had to be the pillow.
Bam! Pow! Thud!
I drove my fist down with every ounce of fury I possessed, straight into the center of that plump white pillow.
AAAAARGH! AAAH! GRRRAAAAH!
Of all the people in the world—HIM! And ME!
Swallowing the screams I couldn't voice aloud, my fist, laden with every frustration in my body, hammered the pillow again and again.
And then.
CRACK! Ratatatatat—.
The pillow split clean open. The stuffing burst into the air, then drifted down to the floor in little white tufts.
"……"
Not enough. Still not enough.
I flung the pillow's remains off the bed, seized the next one, and got to work.
Something told me I wasn't sleeping tonight.
Morning came.
The Grand Duke called for me the moment he rose, and we headed down to the dining room on the first floor.
Yesterday's events did flicker through my mind at random intervals—but I was hardly going to let it show.
I was no novice. I was a proper butler.
Recalling the dinner I'd been denied the night before, I ordered with something close to vengeance and ate my fill.
We set out for the imperial palace roughly two hours after my stomach was finally satisfied.
The clothes we've got should just about do.
I nodded slightly, picturing the luggage bag stowed in the carriage's compartment.
I'd worried that a man of his considerable build might be impossible to fit, but on the innkeeper's recommendation we'd found a fairly well-known tailor, and there we'd managed to get clothes made to the Grand Duke's proportions.
With our preparations complete, we settled in for yet another long stretch on the road.
Rattle, rattle—.
As the carriage left the dirt road and rolled onto well-kept cobblestones, even the sound of the wheels changed.
Back again.
The capital of the Cadea Empire, home to the imperial palace.
My first time here, I'd been so on edge I barely managed a look around.
This time, with just a little more ease in my heart, I gazed out the window.
People flicking past in a blur, shopkeepers lighting their lamps to prepare for the evening trade.
True to its reputation as the capital's bustling heart, every street teemed with noise and life.
Lost in people-watching, I hadn't noticed when we pulled up to the palace gates.
Then the Grand Duke, silent until now, finally spoke.
"Butler."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"The moment we enter the palace, you'll be facing more nobles than you can count."
I nodded. "Yes, I'm well aware."
"It means the rumor that the Grand Duke's house employs a female butler will no longer remain just a rumor."
Placing a hand over my heart, I answered in a firm, steady voice.
"Your Highness. That is, quite literally, everything I have ever wanted. It isn't something I could hide my whole life regardless. I will never—never—allow it to sully the honor of the Grand Duke's house."
At that, the Grand Duke simply studied me in silence. The slow rise and fall of his chest, and a piercing gaze that seemed to weigh me, measure me, take my full stock.
Determined not to lose, I stared right back.
Grand Duke. I am not some pushover, you know.
Give me your trust. Just once.
Perhaps my sincerity reached him, because he spoke at last, unhurried.
"Don't let them look down on you."
"……"
I thought I understood how much meaning was packed into that single line.
I met his eyes dead-on and nodded.
"I'll keep it in mind, Your Highness."
By then the carriage had come to a stop.
This time it wasn't the temple—this was truly the imperial palace of the Cadea Empire.
The palace ballroom.
The nobles gathered ahead of the council meeting were enjoying a light reception, attendants at their sides.
The attendants, clustered in twos and threes, exchanged brisk pleasantries.
"Did you see that? The woman beside Grand Duke Ballot!"
"He arrived at the palace with a woman, apparently?"
"That's what I'm telling you!"
And supposedly she's a stunning beauty, no less!
The eyes of the nobles and attendants who had arrived first swung toward the carriage of the Grand Duke's house.
The carriage of House Ballot rolled to a stop, and the door opened.
The first person to step down was not the Grand Duke at all, but the woman.
And not in a gown—in a tailored uniform.
She was dressed with impeccable neatness, yet her looks were so striking that she came across like a noble lady in her finest ball dress.
"The butler, supposedly?"
"Huh?! Wait—so that rumor is actually true?"
There had been such a rumor.
That a new butler had come to the Grand Duke's house, which had long gone without one.
And that, of all things, the new butler was a woman—that was the rumor.
But the Grand Duke's employees were famously tight-lipped, so the details about this female butler had never spread far. Even after half a year, nothing about her identity had surfaced beyond the bare fact that she was a woman.
Nor was the rumor of a female butler one that the Grand Duke's own household had ever let slip.
"There was a merchant house that used to trade with the Grand Duke's estate, you see. A man named Tony who worked there told me—ever since that female butler arrived, their contracts with House Ballot have been cut off."
At that, a chorus of groans rippled through the crowd.
"So that woman really is the butler!"
In a house that's supposed to prize tradition and honor—of all things!
Everyone was spitting venom with venomous eyes.
"She must have wormed her way into the butler's post by other talents, hmm? With a face like that, I can imagine exactly which talents."
"Oh, come now. It's still House Ballot we're talking about."
"Ahem."
At that moment, Marquis Greaven, a sworn vassal of House Ballot who had been listening to their chatter, cleared his throat.
"Mind your tongues. I happen to remember exactly which houses every one of you serves."
"M-my sincerest apologies."
"……"
Watching the attendants scatter and retreat, Marquis Greaven sighed inwardly.
This is going to be a disaster. Malicious talk like this, already?
Count Norbert—how on earth had the man let this come to pass…….
Word had it she was the very disciple that Count Norbert, founder of the Butler Academy, had personally taken under his wing.
Trained under that notoriously exacting Norbert, her competence at least was beyond question.
But the problem lay elsewhere.
A female butler…….
A young female butler, no less, serving an unmarried Grand Duke.
With her debut before the court today, the empire was certain to be in an uproar for months.
Marquis Greaven gazed toward the entrance of the ballroom with worried eyes.
Just then, the doors swung open and Kadrian walked in.
Every conversation cut off mid-sentence, and all eyes turned to the entrance.
He's here!
Marquis Greaven hurried across the floor.
"Your Highness, it has been far too long."
Kadrian, who had been surveying the ballroom, caught sight of the marquis and smiled faintly.
"Indeed it has, Marquis. I hear your lady wife's health has been poor."
The marquis's face brightened at once.
"Thanks to Your Highness's concern, she improves by the day. Once she has fully recovered, we shall pay you a visit together and offer our greetings in person."
Kadrian gave a light nod. "Good. I'll be waiting."
Having received his answer, the marquis glanced at the woman standing a step behind Kadrian and asked,
"By the way, the lady behind you……"
Kadrian turned to look at her.
"Ah. Forgive me—the introductions come late."
Marquis Greaven's eyes flicked between the Grand Duke and the woman as he waited for the answer.
And it wasn't only the marquis waiting. Everyone gathered in that ballroom was waiting for the very same thing.
Who is that woman? Is she truly the butler of the rumors? Or is she, in fact, the Grand Duke's mistress?
The answer to every unspoken question hung on the words the Grand Duke was about to speak.
Kadrian introduced Marquis Greaven to her first.
"Marquis Greaven, a sworn vassal of our house."
Now it was the woman's turn. Every gaze in the room converged on the mysterious woman at the Grand Duke's side.
"And this is……"
Kadrian looked at her with a faint smile.
"This is……the butler of our house."
A brief pause—and then his deep voice rang out across the entire ballroom.
"Freya."
In that instant, a murmur erupted through the silent crowd.