ADVD 09

Chapter 9

“Yes, excuse me? What?”

“I’ll be direct. Your annual salary will be twenty times the current contract amount. Also, I’ll have a private prayer room built next to your bedroom.”

After being murdered as a dark mage, Cecile had thought nothing could surprise her anymore…

But she found herself shocked for the second time in a row.

‘Oh my gosh, that’s right! Hiring staff, managing the property and furnishings, handling accounting—Isaac did all of that this time! So he’s basically proven he’s qualified for the role of butler!’

Cecile widened her eyes and looked at Isaac.

Unlike her, who had immediately understood the duke’s meaning, Isaac seemed to have a momentary delay in comprehension.

His expression rapidly shifted through a spectrum of emotions—starting with ‘blankness,’ followed by ‘confusion,’ ‘surprise,’ and finally ‘shock.’

Then, shock turned into sheer joy.

“I’d be a fool not to take this chance! I’ll do it, I accept!”

Cecile could hardly believe what was happening.

‘Wait a minute, does this mean Isaac—the man who used to try to kill me—is now going to be our family’s butler?’

Far from never seeing each other again, they would now be running into each other every day at home.

It was such an unexpected situation that Cecile felt completely thrown off.

“Young Miss!”

At that moment, Cecile’s body was lifted into the air.

Isaac picked her up in a sweeping hug, his face radiating pure happiness.

“Our Young Miss, you lucky charm! To bring me such an incredible opportunity—what should I do with you, you adorable thing!”

Being hugged by an adult man in an 8-year-old’s body was genuinely suffocating. Her cheeks were getting squished, and she could barely open her eyes.

But… what was this strange feeling?

Even though she felt squashed, stuffy, and overwhelmed—

The fact that she didn’t have to part ways with Isaac anymore was, honestly, just a little bit…

‘…not so bad.’

“Ugh, it’s suffocating! And ticklish! Stop rubbing my cheeks!”

In the end, Cecile couldn’t help it—she burst out laughing.

It was a pure, radiant laugh befitting an eight-year-old.

Meanwhile, Duke Bartholomew, who had been watching with a grumpy expression, finally spoke.

“Goldman, put her down. She could get hurt.”

“Yes, sir.”

And just like that, Isaac became the official butler of Duke Bartholomew’s estate.

“Everyone, I have great news! I submitted a proposal for a staff ball, and His Grace has approved it without hesitation!”

Isaac shouted to the busy employees, waving the planning document excitedly.

“All right? If we just work hard for this week, we’ll have a ball on Sunday! Let’s do our best!”

“Yes, sir!”

The enthusiastic staff replied in chorus.

Isaac worked with great passion.

He was capable, had a friendly personality, and led by example, which earned him a good reputation with both the duke and the staff.

‘Well, it makes sense. This is the first proper job he’s ever had, after bouncing around doing freelance mercenary work. Plus, the conditions here are better than anything offered by other noble households.’

From Cecile’s perspective—being under the protection of the duke’s estate—having a competent butler was a huge help.

Currently, there were four maids taking care of her, including Anne, and all of them were skilled and had great personalities.

Isaac had chosen the perfect people for the job.

‘Now that I think about it, when all the new staff were brought in, Anne was offered a promotion to head maid. But she turned it down, saying frequent changes in caregivers would confuse a child like me, and instead accepted the role of head nanny.’

Cecile had known Anne was loyal—after all, she stayed in this ruined mansion for two whole years—but this exceeded expectations.

‘Maybe she’s more trustworthy than I thought. I might need her help someday… I should probably earn her favor.’

Cecile made up her mind to treat Anne well from now on.

‘Still… I never imagined that Isaac, who was a Holy Knight’s subordinate in my previous life, would end up becoming Duke Bartholomew’s butler.’

She thought for a moment.

‘Of course, the reason he converted and joined the Holy Knights was because of me. So in this timeline, he probably won’t do that…’

In fact, it was actually better for Cecile if Isaac didn’t become a Holy Knight’s subordinate.

‘In my previous life, the two greatest enemies of the High Temple were me and Duke Bartholomew. But since I’ve given up evil in this life, their main target will probably just be the duke.’

The High Temple was still a threat to Cecile, who was now under the protection of the Bartholomew estate. Weakening their forces by keeping Isaac away from them was definitely to her benefit.

‘Not that I plan to stay here until then anyway.’

Knowing how dangerous the duke could be, it would be insane to remain here long-term.

So Cecile planned to stay only temporarily, prepare for independence, and eventually escape.

Preferably to another country, far from the influence of the imperial family.

‘Anyway, that’s a problem for the future. For now, I need to get as close to the duke as I can. That way, I’ll be safer and can stay here longer.’

Looking at things this way, it seemed like Isaac becoming the butler had only brought good things.

But not everything was rosy.

After all the excitement had settled down, Nibelung confronted Cecile.

[Cecile, why is Duke Bartholomew here? D-Don’t tell me… is this his mansion?!]

“Yeah. Why are you so shocked now? You’ve been here for a while already.”

[I thought this was the royal palace! You never once told me we were at his estate!]

Cecile twirled her hair and looked away, feigning innocence.

‘Of course I knew. I just didn’t want to deal with Nibelung’s nagging if he found out.’

And her prediction had been right.

Nibelung showed no sign of backing off.

[Cecile, why are we staying at his mansion? Have you forgotten? That man…!]

“…”

[That man…! He’s the one who killed you!]

At those words, Cecile’s eyes grew cold—unbelievably so, for an eight-year-old.

Yes. The person who had ended her previous life—

It had been Duke Bartholomew.

That was why Cecile still feared him.

Just hearing the name Bartholomew or seeing his cold, golden eyes made her stomach twist with dread.

“I took everything into account when I decided to rely on Duke Bartholomew.”

[What?! Rely on him? You even plan to stay here long-term? No, Cecile! That’s too dangerous! Who knows what that dark-hearted man might do to you!]

“Sure, it’s dangerous. But it’s still better than staying in that damn palace.”

Cecile’s voice was icy cold.

“Or do you see another safe place I could go? An orphanage? The streets?”

Nibelung seemed speechless.

[W-Well…]

“If you don’t have a better suggestion, let’s end this conversation here. I’m not going anywhere else. No matter how dangerous Duke Bartholomew might be, this place is still safer than the palace or the streets.”

Her voice was so frigid it could cut through ice. Nibelung hesitated, then finally relented.

[…Cecile… then just promise me one thing. Always be careful. Never trust that man. Always remember what he did to get his hands on me.]

The night before Cecile’s wedding at 18—when she was essentially being sold off—she had seen Duke Bartholomew at the celebration.

And she had seen the dark magic artifact he possessed.

Believing it was her only way out of the palace, she stole Nibelung and fled.

From that day, Duke Bartholomew began chasing her.

He pursued her relentlessly for ten years.

And in the end, he caught her.

To take Nibelung, Duke Bartholomew killed her.