Chapter 540 – 540. The Plum Blossom Swordsman Reincarnated Into The Baek Family
540. The Plum Blossom Swordsman Reincarnated into the Baek Family
「Advice: Take out the butler’s uniform from the closet and go outside the building.」
“……”
I raised my right hand and stroked my neck.
The feeling of having my neck cut off was not good, not even as a joke. This world was fake, but the sensations were the same as reality, which made it even worse.
But the mental shock was greater than the pain in my neck.
‘Yuria ignored me!’
I thought that Yuria would treat me with utmost care anytime, anywhere, in any situation. I had never imagined that she would show me such a cold side.
“……”
I stood there blankly for a moment, then got up and headed to the closet.
I had to confirm what needed to be confirmed.
Even if Yuria didn’t remember me now, in the end, I just had to see the end of this world and return to my original world.
‘I need to be more serious.’
***
“I want to see the faces of the butlers who will become members of our family. Raise your heads.”
Duchess Philtania said.
I raised my head. Yuria was behind the duchess. She was different from before. I didn’t pretend to know Yuria. Pretending to know her would only get my and Kopan’s heads chopped off like in the previous round.
“Hmm. You are all talented. I hope you will grow up to support the family.”
The duchess looked around and then walked towards me.
“Number 21.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
“I heard you are the most outstanding. Indeed, your aura is different from the others. There is a sharpness in your eyes, and your mouth is firm, making you seem very weighty.”
For the record, I was just standing there blankly, staring at Yuria.
The duchess’s misunderstanding was similar to when I cooked.
“Thank you.”
“You might end up working in the main house. If you continue to grow like this, you could even be used as Yuria’s escort.”
“I will surely meet Your Grace’s expectations.”
The duchess looked over the prospective butlers once more and took a step back.
“Yuria, do you have anything to say to them?”
“…Perhaps these people will lead the family with me. I hope you will become capable butlers.”
That was all.
The duchess and Yuria left the room. However, the retainers remained and asked various questions. Most of them were about the history of Philtania.
“Number 21. The Philtania family has grown fiercely. There was a time when they were stripped of their ducal title and demoted. Do you know how far they were demoted?”
Normally, I wouldn’t have been able to answer this question.
I probably would have had to restart a few times. But the advice started to help me.
「Advice: Philtania was once demoted to the rank of Baron.」
“They were demoted to the rank of Baron.”
“Do you also know how long it took to regain the ducal title?”
「Advice: 64 years and 2 months.」
“64 years and 2 months.”
“You know it perfectly. You are indeed Number 21.”
“Hmm. Isn’t that history that everyone knows? I’ll ask a question this time.”
The retainers were very interested in me.
I later learned that there were quite a few cases where servants became retainers after making contributions. Of course, even then, the limit was a Baron.
***
“There’s no drinking water. You should always have water prepared just in case. Number 21, go to the kitchen and get some water.”
Kopan said, handing me a water bucket.
*Crack*
Every time I saw Kopan, I felt the urge to kill him.
“Number 21, what are you doing? Can’t you move faster? I told you not to space out.”
“Yes, I’m going. Yes, I’m going.”
“Wait! You’re not thinking of going out in that outfit, are you? Put on the proper clothes before you go out! Don’t forget your position! Number 21!!”
“……”
My murderous intent surged. But Kopan didn’t seem to feel my murderous intent at all, glaring at me with wide eyes.
‘Damn it. Killing him would only be a loss for me.’
I changed back into my butler’s uniform and left the room.
The hallway was dark. The small lamps hanging on the walls were too weak to illuminate the entire hallway. They barely provided enough light to see the way.
‘The castle is huge. Even the royal palace I went to last time wasn’t this big. And why is the path so twisted like a maze?’
Washing dishes in the kitchen last night helped. If it weren’t for that, I would have been wandering around looking for the kitchen.
“Hehehehehe.”
I heard a laughing sound from somewhere. It was a small sound that I wouldn’t have heard if the surroundings weren’t quiet.
I stopped walking for a moment. I was currently the lowest in status in this castle. If I encountered someone, I had to immediately step aside and bow deeply.
“Look at this. This is wine we got from the west 15 years ago. Look at the color. Isn’t it beautiful?”
“Hehe. You’re drunk. To bring out such a treasure.”
I recognized the voices.
They were the voices of the retainers of the Philtania ducal family who had bombarded me with questions a few hours ago.
“We should bring it out on a day like this. When else would we bring it out? We’ll be abstaining from alcohol for a while starting tomorrow, so we should drink it properly now, shouldn’t we?”
“…Tsk. You’re really drunk. Don’t you know that the work hasn’t even started yet?”
The conversation was ominous.
Curious, I suppressed my presence and approached the path where the voices were coming from. The door was tightly closed. But I could hear the voices through the crack in the door.
“Hehe. The work is as good as done. Tomorrow, Lady Yuria will die. Now, let’s raise a toast.”
“You’re crazy. You’re crazy. What if someone hears… Ahem, your glass is too full. You have no consideration for others.”
“Oh my. I’m sorry. I’m drunk, so I can’t see well.”
I pressed my ear close to the door. Yuria was going to die? This was not something I could ignore.
“Kuh~. That’s amazing. We drank such good wine for a toast, so everything will go well from now on.”
“But do we really have to kill the Lady?”
“Ahem. Look at this person. Are you bringing up a conversation we already had?”
“The Lady is a genius. In just 10 more years, she will become the best head of the family in history.”
“You’re right. The Lady is capable. That’s the problem. How much have we been taking advantage of over the past years? The current Duke turns a blind eye to a certain extent, but the Lady won’t.”
“Wouldn’t the Lady also turn a blind eye like the Duke? We have dedicated ourselves to the Philtania family for over 50 years.”
“Hehehe…. You can say that because you don’t know how ruthless the Lady is. If you had seen her face… Heh…. Look at my arm trembling. I need more wine.”
“Let’s see…. If the Lady dies, the next in line is….”
“The Duke’s younger brother’s son. He’s reasonably capable, so the family won’t decline. Even if he’s incompetent, we’re here, so how could it decline? Hehe.”
“There won’t be any betrayals from the sacrifice, right?”
“I’ve persuaded him for sure. The assistant chef stole the Duke’s underwear in the past… Heh… I’m embarrassed to say it.”
“Huh…. If the Duke finds out, he won’t just end it with execution.”
“That’s why he’ll die cleanly this time. He’ll eat the same poison as the Lady.”
“Drake steak, so the banquet will be great… Huh?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Wait a minute.”
The door opened, and an old man with a red face came out and looked around. The smell of alcohol wafted out.
“Hmm. It was just my imagination.”
*Thud.*
The door closed.
I, who had been clinging to the ceiling, quietly came down to the floor.
“Isn’t this, isn’t this too much drinking?”
“It’s okay. I’ve already got a good hangover cure. Hehe. With that medicine, no one will know that we had a toast. Now, drink without worry!”
I had heard everything I needed to hear. I moved away from the door.
「Advice: Go to Lady Yuria.」
“Ah. Go to Yuria and tell her everything I heard?”
If I told Yuria what I heard, I could gain her trust.
‘The problem is that Yuria is far away from here.’
Moreover, Yuria is a Lady. The place where Yuria is is heavily guarded by knights.
‘There’s no way the knights would let me go at this late hour, and I don’t have the status to meet Yuria just because I want to… I have to sneak in.’
I was confident.
My body was younger, but my physical abilities were the same as before. I hadn’t forgotten the Yeongcheon style, so sneaking in wouldn’t be difficult. Even though I couldn’t use the inventory and didn’t have the illusion that made my body transparent, I was confident.
‘……Do I really have to do what the advice says?’
The advice is the correct answer. Judging from what has happened so far, it has always given the correct answer, so I can’t deny it.
But what if there was a more accurate answer than the advice?
‘The advice is just advice. It doesn’t force my actions.’
I grinned and headed to the kitchen.
When I returned to the room with the water, Kopan was frowning and glaring at me.
“Why were you so late? Was it that hard to get water?”
“……I’m sorry.”
Kopan. This bastard is acting up again. I want to strike him with lightning.
***
Dawn broke.
I, who had been running around busily since dawn, asked a guy working in the kitchen to gauge the timing. When the time came, I immediately ran.
“Number 21!!! What are you doing! Stop right now! That way is the Duke’s…!!”
Kopan, who was pale, chased after me from behind. He was slow. He couldn’t catch me at that speed.
Knights were standing in front of the dining hall door. They didn’t panic at the sudden situation and drew their swords. They were trustworthy knights. Kopan, feeling fear, didn’t dare approach where I was.
I poured mana into my voice and shouted as loudly as I could, kneeling in front of the knights.
“Your Grace! Lady! I have something to report with my life on the line!!”
The knights flinched. They didn’t kill me but pointed their swords at my neck.
The dining hall door opened.
“Reporting with your life on the line…. Good. Come in. But if it’s a trivial matter, you will pay the price for mocking me.”
Duchess Philtania’s permission was given. The knights lowered their swords. I got up from my spot and confidently entered the dining hall, kneeling before the duchess.
Inside the lavish dining hall, the servants, the head chef, and the assistant chef were standing.
The meal hadn’t started yet. The timing was perfect.
“Speak. Why have you come?”
The duchess said in a cold tone. Of course, I wasn’t one to be intimidated by that.
“Some of the retainers have planned to poison the Lady! The assistant chef is their accomplice!”
Before the duchess could say anything, the servants around her moved and subdued the assistant chef. The assistant chef tried to bite down urgently, but one of the servants grabbed his jaw tightly.
“Your Grace. There is a pouch of poison in the assistant chef’s mouth.”
The duchess’s face contorted. But Yuria, the target of the poisoning, just stared at me without any change in expression.
‘Hehe. When doing good deeds, everyone should know about it.’
“My appetite is gone. The meal is canceled. Check the poisoned food. And call the retainers. Bring those who refuse to come, even if you have to cut off their limbs.”
The knights and servants moved busily.
“Your loyalty is impressive. But a question remains. Tell me how you found out about this.”
I confidently lied.
If I told the truth, they would surely ask why I didn’t report it immediately last night. Lying was the right thing to do here.
Anyway, the culprit, the assistant chef, was caught. Even if what I said was a lie, it would have credibility.
“It was this morning. As a prospective butler, I went to the kitchen to help with the work. There, I found the assistant chef acting strangely….”
Blah blah blah.
I deliberately dragged out my words to emphasize my greatness. In summary, I explained that I had accidentally noticed the assistant chef’s strangeness, accidentally saw the assistant chef and the retainers meeting, felt something was wrong, investigated the assistant chef’s kitchen, found the poison, and then ran here.
‘Hmm. It’s a bit sloppy. But it doesn’t matter if my lie is exposed. I can just start over.’
I had another chance. Then, I would move more thoroughly.
‘But there won’t be any problems. Because….’
This world is not reality.
If you act plausible, they’ll just gloss over it. Look. The duchess is nodding and accepting my lie, isn’t she?
“Hoo…. It’s about time.”
A thick smell of blood emanated from the duchess’s words.
