CHAPTER 45…….
- Look, look at that. He’s talking to himself again.
- He must be in shock. We’ll have to take good care of him.
- But really, of all people to transfer his soul into, why a dark sorcerer… You’d have to be pretty unlucky for that to happen. Maybe he was a traitor in his past life? What do you think, gnome?
- …….
I ignored the spirits’ chatter and yanked on the rope.
The spirits quickly took the hint and vanished from sight.
A moment later, the door burst open along with the sound of hurried footsteps outside.
“Master!”
It was the first time I had ever seen the butler so openly emotional.
His face was a strange mixture of relief, anger, and disbelief.
“What happened? Where have you been all night?”
“The lab.”
“The lab? You went all the way there without a carriage while unwell? And on the way back—did you walk?”
“Yeah.”
“How could you manage that distance… And your voice—what happened to it?”
“Who knows, maybe I caught a cold.”
“Yesterday it was muscle pain, and now today you have a cold… Master, didn’t Dr. Benjamin tell you that you absolutely must rest?”
“I know.”
“Then why are you doing this again? You know that pushing yourself will only make your condition worse!”
It seemed this wasn’t the first time Adrian had made himself sicker by refusing to rest.
So that’s why the butler had made such a fuss at dawn—Adrian had a track record.
“From now on, if I’m not in my bedroom, assume I’m at the lab.”
I needed to lay the groundwork—this could happen again.
“Phew… Understood. In that case, we should bring the doctor in. Please rest for now.”
“Before that, I have some orders.”
“Yes, Master?”
“First, drive all the owls out of the forest.”
“Owls, sir? There are owls living in the forest?”
From now on, I would be living as a crow for half of every month. It was best to deal with natural predators in advance.
“Yes, start today.”
“Understood…”
The butler seemed to find this order particularly puzzling. He agreed but couldn’t hide his confusion.
“Second, don’t let Piace into my bedroom. I’ve tolerated enough.”
The butler’s eyes widened before he bowed deeply.
After a long silence, he spoke weakly.
“I’ll accept whatever punishment for my mistakes, but the young lady did nothing wrong. I swear such a thing will never happen again, so please—”
“Did I say I was going to scold Piace? Why do you keep making me say unnecessary things?”
“…My apologies. Please continue.”
At least now, Piace wouldn’t enter my bedroom without permission.
Piace will probably be sulking.
But I had to make it clear. I couldn’t let what happened yesterday happen again.
“Third, replace the head chef.”
“…You mean Oliver?”
“Do I have another head chef?”
“Oliver has been in charge of the kitchen for fifteen years and knows your tastes well. Wouldn’t it be better to retrain him rather than dismiss him?”
I twisted my lips into a smile.
“Fine. If he’s ever made a dessert for the child even once, I’ll reconsider.”
“That’s… probably because you don’t care for desserts, so he never thought to make them.”
“So that’s a no. And that’s why the child has been rationing a single cookie over several days—an Ybrandt child, at that.”
Surprise flickered across the butler’s stern face.
“Miss Piace really did that? With a cookie…?”
“If the child joined the family, she should have known how to act. Do I have to spell out everything?”
“Well, Oliver has hardly interacted with her—”
“So when she went to the kitchen looking for food, he not only failed to feed her but treated her like a thief instead? Because he ‘didn’t know how to deal with children’?”
“…Pardon?”
The butler’s eyes widened.
He clearly had never imagined the chef could have treated Piace that way.
Hmph! So the chef must have been all polite and proper in front of the butler.
I slammed my fist on the table, my dawn-born anger boiling over.
Bang!
“How dare you spout such pathetic excuses in front of me!!!”
“M-my apologies…”
“You didn’t know the child I’m sponsoring was treated like that? And you still call yourself the Ybrandt butler?”
“I have no excuse, Master.”
“No need for more words. Fire the chef immediately.”
“I’ll see to it at once.”
“For a child, dessert is just as important as meals. It provides nutrients that regular meals might lack. Make sure the new chef understands that much at least.”
The butler bowed respectfully.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“One last order.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Recruit a fiancé.”
An engagement was the fastest way to clear up Leonhart’s misunderstanding.
It wasn’t that I hadn’t thought of it before.
I just hadn’t tried because there was no way the hack author would let me have my way.
But now, I’ve decided to go for it.
If I made the first move, cleaning up the mess would be the author’s problem.
Hack author, let’s see how you like pulling your hair out for once.
“…I’m sorry, could you repeat that?”
“Put out a notice that I’m recruiting a fiancé.”
I paused, waiting. I was sure the hack author would intervene.
But no notification appeared.
Huh?
So as long as I didn’t reconcile with Leonhart, I could do whatever I wanted?
“May I ask who will be getting engaged?”
“Who do you think? Me, of course.”
“…You plan to recruit a fiancé publicly?”
“Should I just date someone instead?”
“…”
The butler didn’t answer. Apparently, he also thought Adrian and romance didn’t suit each other at all.
“Applications open today for one week. A résumé and personal statement are mandatory. Those who pass the document screening will qualify for a written exam. Pass that, and they’ll undergo a personality test and in-depth interview. The final successful candidate will become my fiancé.”
The butler’s expression froze in astonishment.
Honestly, I hadn’t expected to select a fiancé like a corporate hire either.
“Master… are you thinking of marriage as well?”
“If the fiancé passes their probationary—ah, adaptation period—with excellent marks, then maybe.”
“And… this sudden decision—does it have to do with Miss Piace’s adoption?”
What was he talking about?
I stared at the butler until he continued.
“You originally intended to adopt her. But Imperial law requires that only married couples may adopt, so you gave up. So I thought—”
Adrian had tried to adopt Piace?
Why?
The hack author sure gave me some strange backstory.
“You think I’d get engaged just to adopt a child? No, I just thought it was about time.”
“Understood. I’ll carry out your orders.”
That morning, Oliver, who had been swaggering around the kitchen, received notice of dismissal from the butler.
When Oliver protested that it was unfair, the butler dragged him out without blinking an eye.
The staff merely watched.
Apparently, Oliver had been unpleasant to more than just Piace—no one pitied him.
And so, my early-morning disappearance was officially chalked up to being in the lab.
That afternoon, I reviewed the proposal for the staff quarters and selected a construction guild.
Then, as soon as midnight came, I transformed into a crow.
Ah, what a life…
Honestly, I was prepared, so it wasn’t too shocking.
I just wanted to kill the hack author.
I flew to Piace’s room and spent the dawn with her.
At the time, I had no idea.
That the author’s silence was actually one of the “benefits” I had been given.
From the next day, applications for the fiancé position poured in.
It was as if every unmarried man in the capital had applied.
Time passed quickly.
The central square’s foundation was being prepared, and Ruspel informed me of the first test date for the magical device Sprinkler.
In a week, the document screening closed.
The butler carefully selected thirty applicants for the written test.
Fifteen of the top scorers completed the personality test yesterday.
Now, all that remained was to select ten for one-on-one in-depth interviews.
“Portraits weren’t even required, yet they all included them?”
Every single one was absurdly handsome.
They must have bribed the artist to exaggerate their looks.
“They’ll be found out in the interview anyway… why bother?”
As I reviewed the files of the candidates who had passed the personality test, I stared blankly into space.
Today was the last day of my “crow cycle.”
The entire time, not a single notification had appeared.
Isn’t it a little too quiet?
