My Lord Chapter 15

No.

 

You were looking for me, weren’t you?

 

Then why did you chase me out as soon as we met?

 

It feels a bit unfair.

 

I scratched my head awkwardly after being kicked out of the room the moment I greeted him. Daisy looked at me with a pitying expression and said.

 

***

 

“You have a knack for saying things you don’t need to and getting hated for it, butler.”

 

“Why are you even giving me a hard time?”

 

“Because your actions, butler, deserve it.”

 

“…”

 

What did I even do?

 

Both Sedian and Daisy were too much. I pouted as I muttered to myself. Daisy asked again.

 

***

 

“So, how is the investigation coming along?”

 

I couldn’t hide the smile that naturally appeared. Grinning, I gave a thumbs-up.

 

“It will all be settled today.”

 

This was the result of my grueling efforts over the past few days.

 

The big reveal is today.

 

“Just trust me.”

 

The reason I could be so confident was that I had finally caught a lead just yesterday.

 

Most of the staff had meticulously filled out the notebooks I’d handed out, documenting every single task, even something as trivial as pulling a weed they happened to spot on the roadside.

 

This was, of course, expected.

 

After all, I had announced that incentives would be given based on the intensity of their work.

 

Who doesn’t love money? For those who served the cursed young master, it was only natural to be highly motivated by the prospect of earning even a little extra.

 

On the contrary, if someone didn’t keep such detailed records, it was reasonable to assume they had something to hide.

 

Thanks to this, I was able to identify three suspicious individuals through their logs.

 

“The head chef, Daisy, and Cordelia.”

 

Daisy’s separate daily reports to me were understandable.

 

But the head chef and Cordelia were not.

 

When I traced the tracking magic I had placed on their notebooks, I found that, as expected, they didn’t carry them around. It seemed they left the notebooks in their rooms, as there were traces of them being handled only in the morning and at night. Suspicious indeed.

 

So, I placed tracking magic not on the notebooks but on the individuals themselves. After observing them for several days, I finally caught them red-handed this morning.

 

– Let’s meet after evening roll call.

 

– At the usual spot.

 

I didn’t know where “the usual spot” was.

 

But my magic did.

 

After roll call, I slowly began to follow the direction my magic indicated. Naturally, I cloaked myself with invisibility magic. It wouldn’t do to get caught now, while I was gathering evidence.

 

The location pointed out by the magic was the hunting lodge.

 

Currently unused as it wasn’t hunting season, it was a perfect place for secret meetings.

 

“Clever.”

 

After double-checking my invisibility spell, I quietly hid behind a crate near the lodge’s window and held my breath.

 

How much time passed like that?

 

Eventually, I sensed movement in the silent lodge. It seemed they had entered through the back door. Checking my magic once more, I peeked through the window to see the figures of Cordelia and the head chef, as expected.

 

“Why did you suddenly want to meet?”

 

The head chef spoke first. His slightly sharp tone suggested he wasn’t pleased about this meeting.

 

“Give me some money.”

 

“What?”

 

Cordelia’s abrupt demand made the head chef ask back, dumbfounded.

 

“The stakes are high this time, and I really want to join in, but I’m out of money. So, give me some. Just a little.”

 

Judging by her mention of stakes, it seemed Cordelia was into gambling. Unbelievable. I leaned in closer.

 

“How long has it been since we smuggled the holy water, and you’ve already run out of money?”

 

“Ah, that’s that, and this is this. Didn’t you stash away some money from selling ice? Just give me some of that.”

 

“You…! Did I leave it with you?”

 

My guesses were spot on. Cordelia had been selling off holy water, while the head chef had been pocketing money from selling ice. This household was steeped in corruption.

 

“If you won’t give it to me, fine. I’ll just go to the butler and report everything. I won’t go down alone, you know. We’ll both go down together.”

 

“You crazy…!”

 

“I’m not asking you to just give it to me. Lend it to me. Sure, Daisy is managing the holy water storage now, but once things get busier, she’ll pass it on to someone else. I’ll wait for the right moment and steal more holy water then. I’ll pay you back after selling it.”

 

The head chef groaned in frustration and furrowed his brow. But Cordelia, unfazed, sidled up to him with an oddly playful tone.

 

“If I win this time, I’ll get a big payout. Then I’ll return the money with interest. Okay?”

 

The head chef took off his hat and ruffled his hair. Considering he didn’t have much hair, it was surprising he could mess it up.

 

“Wait. Daisy is managing the holy water storage?”

 

“Yes. The butler assigned her to the task.”

 

The head chef’s tone grew sharper.

 

“That guy… I don’t like him.”

 

“Me neither.”

 

“If it were up to me, I’d kick him out right now, but…!”

 

Who was kicking who out?

 

Was the head chef even in a position to wield such authority? I chuckled quietly.

 

“He’ll be kicked out soon enough, anyway.”

 

But the certainty in his next words made me tilt my head in curiosity.

 

Huh? Why?

 

“Is there a reason for that?”

 

Cordelia asked what I was wondering. The head chef replied confidently.

 

“Guys like him, who look like parasitic dandies, always meet bad ends. That’s just how it is in my experience. This time will be no different. Just wait. He’ll do something stupid and get kicked out.”

 

Ah. So it was just a feeling.

 

The fleeting anxiety I had disappeared, replaced by irritation. People like him existed everywhere.

 

They lacked any real competence yet spouted nonsense like, “I just had a feeling,” or, “My intuition told me so.” Then, if by chance they were right, they’d brag about having good foresight.

 

“They’re my least favourite type.”

 

Ugh. Shuddering in disgust, I focused on the conversation again.

 

“By the way, has there been any word from the Company?”

 

The Company.

 

They must mean the Gray Company.

 

I didn’t expect them to issue direct orders to underlings like these, but apparently, they had.

 

Their goal seemed clear—destroying Sedian.

 

“No. Not since the reporters came and went.”

 

“Tch. Those reporters should’ve published something. What were they so scared of that they ran away? At least we didn’t get caught for sneaking them in, right?”

 

“Of course not.”

 

Seriously. Of course not. No wonder I’d found it strange that those reporters had managed to cross the gate and enter the garden.

 

“By the way, I am curious. Why would the Company make us do something like that?”

 

“What? Stealing holy water to make the young master fall ill and siphoning off the food budget so he can’t even have proper meals?”

 

“Yes. It’s not a difficult task for us, but… why go to such lengths?”

 

“Is that important?”

 

The chef shook his head as he spoke.

 

“What’s important is that we’re making a big score here. Why bother about their motives? Don’t concern yourself. Worrying about unnecessary things is a sure way to die young.”

 

“Y-Yes… I understand.”

 

“Anyway, I can’t give you the money right now. I didn’t bring it with me.”

 

Cordelia hesitated slightly at this, then flashed a sly grin and leaned against the chef.

 

“Well then…”

 

She poked the chef’s plump cheek with her hand and giggled. That atmosphere somehow felt odd, and I grew even more uncomfortable in a different way.

 

“Shall I come to the kitchen tonight?”

 

Doesn’t the chef have a wife and kids?

 

But still…

 

“It’s been a while since we’ve done anything, hasn’t it?”

 

An affair.

 

Unbelievable.

 

I instinctively covered my mouth to keep myself from gasping aloud. This was outrageous. Truly.

 

“I’ll head out first, so come to the kitchen later tonight. I’ll give you the money then.”

 

“Only the money? You should give me something else too.”

 

“The other thing is already standing ready, so don’t worry.”

 

What kind of line was that? Why was it so tacky?

 

Is an affair inherently tacky? The sentiment was so ridiculous… I clicked my tongue and stood up.

 

“See you later, then.”

 

I watched them leave the hut completely before channeling my magic into the recording artifact I was holding.

 

[“…Why did you suddenly want to meet?

Give me some money…”]

 

Their entire conversation was recorded word for word. With this, I could report to Sedian and have them fired.

 

And…

 

I should ask about the Gray Company.’

 

Sedian might know something about them.

 

With that thought, I hurriedly left the hut to find Sedian.