Chapter 16…
“Such a loyal butler. But why didn’t such loyalty ever help Artea?”
From the very first moment — when he had faced the Duke of Killiet without flinching, even rebuking him outright.
And later, when he had dared to take the butler’s side yet was coldly dismissed — ever since then.
Because there was no mistress, the power he could wield within the ducal household was enormous.
Wouldn’t that balance of power collapse now?
Or perhaps, since she loved her niece so dearly, would she start to notice something…?
‘No, I’m overthinking it. I just have to make sure they can’t send any more letters — and put the blame on the nanny.’
Sellium had served the Killiet family for generations.
How long could the Duke even stay here?
Once he returned to the ducal house, Sellium planned to ask those who already disliked the nanny to testify against her.
‘If they say she spoke ill of the lady, or that she was lazy… that’s the end of it. No one will suspect me.’
If they attacked the nanny for not being close to Artea, eventually their love for Artea would cloud their judgment.
‘And the coachman… unless he’s a fool, he won’t mention moving that big suspicious barrel.’
The food supply company —
Sellium had taken bribes from them, purchasing poor-quality crops at inflated prices.
He had close ties with both the company and the coachman.
‘So there are plenty of people who’ll help me.’
Not just people who were friendly — there were others who would aid him.
Knights, for instance.
‘The knights who inspected the food wagons.’
They had passed a barrel large enough to hide a child without inspection, even though it lacked the Duke’s official seal.
What if he threatened them — said he’d claim they were accomplices in Artea’s abduction?
If they wanted to survive, they’d cooperate, pinning the blame entirely on the nanny.
Better that than being punished alongside the butler.
‘I’ll fabricate testimony if I have to.’
He needed to act before their fear faded and they started seeing clearly again.
But Sellium’s plan ended before he could even reach the duchy.
“Arrest him. He’s the one who kidnapped Lady Killiet.”
The one who gave the order was Artea’s aunt, Viscountess Sortis.
Ah, of course.
The one the social circles whispered about as a wicked woman.
That purple-haired lady — he hadn’t liked her from the start…
‘What loyalty could there be when he wasn’t even paid?’
The butler’s face went pale — he hadn’t expected that even his letters would be revealed.
He probably thought, even if someone reported him, they wouldn’t dare mention his crimes as well.
But he hadn’t foreseen this.
Still, he didn’t give up.
“Letters? What are you talking about… Duke Killiet, this is a lie! The Duchess never disliked me, she—”
“Well, even with proof, you keep insisting otherwise.”
“Please, let me see those letters myself!”
Even bound and forced to his knees, the butler struggled desperately, as if convinced no proof could exist.
But his expression soon collapsed miserably.
“…What?”
“This can’t be real!”
The color drained from the butler’s and his accomplices’ faces when they saw the letters I confidently produced.
“These aren’t ordinary letters! Even if the other party betrayed him, the ink he used wouldn’t leave evidence — he used magic ink! It’s—!”
“Oh, you mean the kind that disappears over time?”
I shrugged.
“I invented that.”
“!”
“Back when I was at the Mage Tower. My name’s not publicly known for it, though.”
Indeed, the butler’s letters contained no visible writing.
He’d used disappearing magic ink so that nothing would remain as evidence.
But if not too much time had passed, you could heat the parchment with magic to recover faint traces of mana.
“Did you do this to pay off your gambling debts?”
I’d heard from others that the butler’s moods had been erratic —
how he suddenly started carrying luxury goods, then quickly grew bored and stopped.
He probably bought them when he won at gambling, then pawned them off when he lost.
“Butler.”
“D-Duke… I’m sorry.”
The butler was the son of the nanny who had raised the late duke.
He’d been like a brother to him — young Eriose had even been jealous of him at times.
But because he was considered trustworthy, Eriose had entrusted him with many responsibilities despite his age.
“Please, forgive me just this once!”
But the butler had betrayed Eriose’s trust.
“I swear, I never meant to harm Lady Artea! I only planned to take her far away for a short while, and then— safely— return her!”
Drowning in gambling debt, he had caused Artea’s disappearance to forge the Killiet family seal and stir up chaos.
The bribes he accepted were for matters Eriose would never have approved of.
The food supply company was one of them — he’d signed a contract for overpriced, inferior goods.
“It’s an old custom for butlers to receive small commissions. Just to supplement our wages…”
Utter nonsense.
Eriose paid his staff far better than any other noble household, in proportion to their duties.
No butler in any family earned more than those of the Killiets.
People even joked that the salaries were so high, most servants could retire early.
And yet, this man dared to shift the blame onto Eriose.
“The late Duke and I were like brothers. You know that! I read books to him, pushed his swings…”
“……”
“I thought of Lady Artea as my own niece!”
Eriose’s face remained expressionless.
“I didn’t.”
“…What?”
“If you really thought of her as your niece, you could never have done this.”
Eriose knew the search for Artea had been flawed — full of gaps.
But still—
A butler of the ducal house— shouldn’t he be competent?
He’s not that capable.
Then why keep him?
He was my brother’s milk-brother.
Eriose had treated the butler leniently out of lingering affection and guilt toward his late brother.
Letting him go would have felt like erasing one of his brother’s traces from the castle.
So even though he wasn’t that capable, he couldn’t fire him.
And he probably loved Artea like his own niece. It’s natural to be emotional.
…
When you’re emotional, you can’t do your job properly.
But this man — he’d dared touch Artea.
His brother’s daughter.
“Take him away.”
“Duke!!!”
That was the end of it.
You’d think betrayal from someone he trusted would make him furious or heartbroken —
but from start to finish, Eriose stayed calm.
As if none of it mattered.
“……”
I wasn’t in a position to comfort him — nor to scold him for being too sentimental.
So it was only natural that I had nothing to say to him.
I simply turned away, leaving him standing there silently.
Once the culprit was revealed, the nanny, Mayda — who had been harshly judged by others — came to thank me.
“Many people were starting to suspect us. But you found the real criminal… and you didn’t even fire us.”
Some still insisted someone had to be held accountable for Artea’s disappearance, but I chose not to.
The nanny hadn’t failed her duties — she had only failed to open her heart.
Besides, Artea had already experienced so many changes of caretakers.
“I’m sorry. I’ll treat Lady Artea much better from now on.”
It seemed she had suffered, still feeling awkward around Artea.
She wept openly before me.
“You must’ve been frightened too, caught up in all this. I’m grateful that even under the effects of the sleeping incense, you reported Artea’s disappearance right away.”
I comforted the nanny gently.
This whole thing was an abduction, after all.
And truthfully, I had my own practical reasons.
If I blamed the nanny for everything, who would dare look after Artea afterward?
Instead of helping her, they’d probably just lock the girl up somewhere — just to avoid any risk of punishment.
“From now on, always take a knight escort with you, even inside the castle. For your own safety.”
After this incident, the staff of the castle began looking at me differently —
their eyes were warm now.
Respectful, even.
At first, I’d only been “Lady Artea’s aunt.”
‘Still, I really do need a bodyguard.’
But not just any knight would do.
Someone trustworthy, capable — someone I could truly entrust Artea to.
But where would I find such a person?
