Chapter 9

Chapter 9: The Battle for the Porter - Ducal Domain (4)

"Ha, ha ha, ha ha ha......"

Yeraup Lapitess laughed in staggered bursts of disbelief. In truth, he'd been slightly disappointed when he first saw the Yensi boy's appearance. A visibly frail build, delicate features, soft hands. Not a single thing to boast about.

He'd heard from Airi, the butler, and the escorts alike that this Yensi boy had slain the Black Tree's guardian, but it had been hard to believe.

Yet what is the situation now? The boy had all but toyed with Pru — that was the only way to describe the display of dominance.

"The, the winner is Appari."

The butler, equally stunned, declared the result a beat too late.

Yeraup Lapitess didn't even focus on the outcome of victory. What had impressed him came before that.

No one else would have noticed, but Lapitess had seen the Yensi boy's eyes right before the fight. Settled, yet neither cold nor excited. Eyes containing absolute nothingness.

Complete equanimity. Was such a thing even possible? Lapitess was no military man, so he couldn't say for certain, but he could sense that the boy had reached an extraordinary level.

"Impressive."

Yeraup applauded. The Yensi boy called Appari simply gave a brief bow. His eyes had already shed every trace of the fight's afterglow, with no intoxication of victory whatsoever.

As if winning had been a given. And if he had this level of martial prowess, then of course it was a given.

Lapitess felt a pang of regret. He should have matched the boy against the Knight Commander, a Sword Master. Then perhaps he could have seen the bottom of Appari's ability. But that hadn't been an option.

"I was in the wrong. To have tested someone of your caliber."

"It's fine."

"I've taken a liking to you. How about working for the Ducal House?"

Yeraup hadn't even considered the possibility of refusal. Naturally. Working for the Lapitess Ducal House — second most powerful in the empire — was an extraordinary privilege.

Moreover, this would be the first time a Yensi person had ever joined the Lapitess Ducal House's ranks. They didn't even have Yensi servants.

But the words that came out of the boy's mouth were something else entirely.

"Ah, Alfre...... I mean, didn't the butler tell you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"This is a demo version."

"A demo... what?"

Appari said only that and spun on his heel. Yeraup blinked repeatedly and turned to stare at the butler. The butler's lips began to dry in real time.

***

Ah, that was hilarious. The iron-blooded chancellor Yeraup Lapitess, blinking in confusion like that — it clashed so hard with the image I'd had of him that I couldn't help finding it funny. Of course, if I'd laughed right there, I'd have been dragged to the chopping block.

"You'll stay here."

"Ah, Butler. It seems I've caused you some trouble."

"It's nothing."

Then why was the skin under his eyes blue? Was there a blue-skinned race here too? Ha ha. But the butler was a professional as always. He didn't show a shred of resentment toward me.

"By the way, His Grace says he'd appreciate it if you made your decision before heading to the Imperial Capital. His exact words, of course."

How was that any different from just telling me to stay? The butler himself seemed to understand the absurdity, looking slightly sheepish.

"Sure. Got it, so could you step out?"

"Very well. I'll be going. But you have a visitor."

A visitor? Surely not Duke Lapitess. But the person who slipped through the door was a truly unexpected figure.

Airi Lapitess.

"My lady, then I hope you have a pleasant chat. I'll bring tea shortly."

"...Fine."

"And please don't forget what His Grace said."

"I know already. How many times are you going to say that?"

Airi shooed the butler away with an irritated wave of her hand. The nerve on this one. I straightened my posture regardless, since she was the Ducal Lady, and sat properly in my chair. She seated herself elegantly in the chair across from me. Between us was a small side table. That was how close we were.

Up close, the so-called villainess heiress was...... no, scratch that — she was annoyingly pretty. Given that her looks were supposed to rival the heroine's, she had to be among the most stunning beauties in this entire world.

"What brings you here?"

"I came because I have something to say."

I knew that much. The question was what. Airi kept hemming and hawing until the tea arrived without uttering a single word.

Meanwhile, I had no idea why the butler, after bringing the tea, was lurking by the door instead of going back downstairs. I'd pretend not to notice for now.

"Why don't you calm down with some tea?"

"Calm down? Do I look nervous or something? Honestly."

Yes. You did. Airi's body trembled even as she drank her tea. Except it wasn't tea — hers looked like hot chocolate. So bitterness wasn't the cause.

"Then please, go ahead."

"Right, here it goes......"

Was she about to fire an energy blast? She gathered her resolve for a long while, then finally spoke in the tiniest voice.

"...Thank you."

"Pardon?"

"I said thank you for saving me!"

The moment I pretended not to hear, Airi screamed it at full volume. My ears were about to bleed.

"Ah, sorry. Thank you, really."

Back to an ant-crawling whisper. Being a villainess and trying not to act like one must have been exhausting. Breathing on land was easy for a person, but try telling a fish to breathe on dry ground.

"Hey, won't you come work for the Ducal House?"

"Is that what you came to say?"

"Yeah. Honestly, you're not to my......ugh, my mouth won't cooperate. Trying to recruit a talent like you is harder than I thought."

The inescapable clash between reason and nature. Even after being scolded by the Duke, that crooked mouth of hers wasn't going to straighten — a truly unfortunate nature she'd been born with.

"You'd probably become my bodyguard. I'll be honest, my reputation isn't great, but that's all exaggerated. I take care of my people."

I wanted to list off every single thing she'd done in the novel. Granted, it was a future that hadn't happened yet, but there'd been truly awful incidents. Dumping a bucket of filthy water on Marina while she was in the bathroom, for one — wasn't that both old-fashioned and cruel?

"Let me think about it. That hasn't been decided yet."

When I answered firmly, Airi's body shook. Probably trembling with humiliation. Made sense. When had she ever been refused by anyone? Especially by someone who'd been a mere porter.

"You just need to do what I say, you know? Do you think you have my father's favor or something?"

In the end, Airi's inner battle went the way it usually did for most people — nature won out.

The door burst open the instant those words left her mouth. Ah — the butler hadn't been watching me. He'd been watching Airi. Alfredo fixed her with a stern gaze, and Airi flinched.

It seemed Duke Lapitess had ordered Airi to treat me with courtesy. But Duke Lapitess, you really didn't know your own daughter.

"My lady, please go rest in your room."

"I can do better, I swear."

"It's already too late. My apologies, Appari."

Airi left the room grumbling. Unbelievable. Don't ever try diplomacy. Just stick to receiving it.

I hadn't come here for her anyway. Whatever feelings Airi had toward me was irrelevant.

After Airi left, I just wanted to flop down and rest. So I issued Alfredo a "no visitors" order. In my estimation, the most manageable person in this household was still Butler Alfredo.

"Butler, could you please step out?"

"I'm afraid I can't right now. Someone will be coming in shortly."

What was this about? I had a rough idea. There weren't many people in this household that the butler would use the highest honorifics for. One of them had just left, so she was ruled out.

I used the intermission to ask something I'd been curious about.

"What's your real name?"

"Me? Laim. Laim Under."

"I see."

So it wasn't Alfredo after all. And it wasn't Sergei either? Disappointing.

Soon the person I'd expected entered with weighty, measured steps. Yeraup Lapitess, as predicted.

It seemed the butler had been stationed by my door reporting to the Duke the entire time. Seriously though, I really wanted to ask — had he not seen his daughter's behavior coming?

"That child still needs more training."

"Yes."

"I hope you'll be understanding. She has her endearing moments if you look closely."

Duke Lapitess stirred the freshly poured tea the butler had brought. I wanted to say she seemed endearing only because she was his child, but I kept my mouth shut for fear of losing my head.

"Being Airi's bodyguard would be difficult."

"I think so too."

"Do you have something else in mind?"

I feigned deliberation. Make the thing you want most look like the thing you want least. A basic principle of negotiation. The question was whether I could actually fool this cunning old Duke.

"I heard from the butler that you have a youngest son. I was wondering if I might serve as his bodyguard instead."

"Ephrin?"

His eyes twitched with surprise. Then he stared straight through me. This felt like the negotiation was entering its climax.

"Ephrin is even more difficult to handle than Airi."

"That's fine. I simply don't mesh well with Lady Airi."

"Are you saying this with some prior knowledge?"

"How could I possibly know anything?"

But of course I knew — that Ephrin was one of Marina's best friends. I had no intention of living a throwaway life in this world.

At the very least, I planned to entangle myself with the main and supporting cast — and romance a noble lady who'd swoon for me. In that regard, Ephrin was the beachhead for my love life.

"Ephrin is the child who must succeed the Ducal House, but he's far too timid. That child prefers sitting in peaceful meditation. A worthy quality for a Duke, certainly, but I'd like to see a bit more growth."

The Duke was a chancellor. A man who had negotiated countless deals in this world. He seemed to have seen right through my plan. Though he probably couldn't divine my true motives.

"If you're thinking of coasting through the week in comfort, I won't tolerate such an attitude from an employee."

Right — that was the wrong conclusion he'd jump to. The Duke had done the best he could with the information available to him. It was simply that my information was abnormally extensive.

"Then what will you do if I change the young lord?"

"What are you scheming?"

The Duke asked. His information had just run dry. The moment you lost your temper in a negotiation was the moment you'd lost.

"If I'm given a task, I simply follow through and complete it. Even if it's only one week."

"That child has lived that way for sixteen years. And you think you can fix it in a mere week?"

"It should be a worthwhile challenge for Your Grace as well."

The Duke regarded me with a dubious expression. I put on a deliberately relaxed face. With his information depleted, the Duke had no choice but to judge me from his own subjective standpoint.

What did he think of me? How badly did he want me? That was the final measure that would decide this negotiation's outcome.

The Duke's lips parted slowly.

"Permitted."

"Thank you."

"But I want you to know — you've chosen a rather difficult path."

When the Duke rose, I stood as well and performed the Trafviche salute. The Duke, instinctively sensing he'd come out on the losing end, wore a bitter smile as he left.