IDIBC Chapter 14

Head Butler, Freddy

I had said I was going for a walk, but since I’d already been wandering around lost for quite a while, it wasn’t exactly an accurate excuse. Before answering, I glanced at that older gentleman from earlier to gauge the situation. But this time, he wasn’t looking at me. His eyes were fixed on Ricardo, widened in surprise.

“Yes.”

Thanks to that, I gave the safest possible answer.

“Freddy.”

“Yes, young master.”

“From now on, you will assist Lady Fennel.”

“Me, sir?”

Instead of answering, Ricardo merely lowered his eyes slightly. The man immediately bowed his head and accepted his order.

“How do you do? I am Freddy Fordwan, head butler of the family. I will serve you without any shortcomings from now on.”

Head butler? The head butler?

In great noble families like this, the head butler was often from a family that had served as retainers for generations. He could be the head of at least a viscount family, perhaps even a count’s family. And Ricardo was assigning such a person to assist me.

Come to think of it, he was the one who had assisted Ricardo when he came to Resotia to fetch me. The fact that Ricardo brought him all that way meant he must be someone Ricardo trusted greatly.

The way people looked at me changed subtly. It was only natural. At a glance, I clearly didn’t look like a lady from such a prestigious family.

Even in this sigh-inducing situation, my first thought was this:

“How long are you planning to keep me here?”

It no longer mattered how severely the others were watching Ricardo’s reactions. Why would the head butler be assigned to assist me unless I was staying for quite a while? What about the Duke’s approval? What about the head butler’s own wishes?

As if it were obvious, Ricardo remained silent in response to my question. I practically ran after him as he walked ahead, blocking his path.

I could hear people gasping behind me, but that wasn’t my concern. Ricardo merely furrowed his brow slightly without adding anything.

“I’ve been thinking carefully about this. The situation I’m in right now doesn’t seem ordinary at all.”

When our eyes met, my inconsiderate heart pounded fiercely. I averted my gaze from him and continued speaking.

“When I was young. Around five years old, I think. Count Fennel suddenly came for me.”

Ricardo passed by me with an indifferent expression and continued walking. But I didn’t hesitate and followed him directly.

“I’m not entirely certain, but at that time my mother had died and I spent three days beside her body. So not all my memories from then are accurate.”

He stopped walking again. He stopped so suddenly that I nearly bumped my forehead against his shoulder.

Ricardo raised his hand, and all those following stepped back. Thinking that people’s voices wouldn’t reach us now, I continued speaking.

“Until then, I thought I’d been taken into the Fennel family simply because I possessed all the family’s characteristic colors.”

“…….”

“But it was after I turned ten. Right after I moved into the building where you had been staying, young master. That’s when I overheard the maids saying something strange.”

Even as I spoke while deep in thought, Ricardo remained silent the entire time with his back to me.

“They said some prophecy’s secret had been leaked from the Empire. And that it was related to my hair and eye color. That’s why Count Fennel allowed me to come to the eastern wing.”

After hearing that, I had this thought: I could have dismissed it as mere rumor, but what if my entrance into the Fennel family and Ricardo’s presence there were somehow connected?

“But what’s strange is this. Silver hair and blue eyes aren’t exclusive to the Fennel family. It’s not common, but there must be others with silver hair and blue eyes in this Empire, right?”

In the Principality of Resotia, the Fennel family was the only one considered to have silver hair and blue eyes. So was I one of the reasons Count Fennel risked death to kidnap the Rochester heir?

As I swallowed the question I couldn’t bring myself to ask, Ricardo slowly turned around. And he locked eyes with me so I couldn’t move. Thanks to that, everything I’d been logically deducing until just moments ago evaporated into thin air.

“There was… such a thing?”

“Pardon?”

“Your mother died and you stayed beside her for three days…? That’s just…”

He couldn’t finish his sentence properly and closed his eyes. Released from the gaze that had held me captive, my stopped breath returned. I exhaled sharply.

“Yes, well, I’m not certain it was exactly three days… but apparently I came right to the brink of death.”

But he opened his eyes again, so I couldn’t finish my sentence properly either.

‘Wait, are his eyes red right now?’

The color only flickered faintly in his pupils, so it was hard to detect the change unless you looked closely. Like a well-trained Rochester, his eyes quickly returned to their ash-tinged black.

“Memory… memory, is it.”

He laughed coldly. It was a chilling laugh, as if the word ‘memory’ itself had offended him.

“But, Lady Fennel.”

“Yes.”

“I’m a bit busy right now. That little head of yours will only give you a headache if you keep thinking, so stop thinking about it. I’ll tell you when the time comes. So wait a bit.”

“…….”

“And always tell someone when you go out.”

Ricardo patted my shoulder twice. As if he were encouraging me. Then he turned and walked away alone again.

“No, you should finish talking before you go. Young master! When exactly is ‘the time’? Hello?”

He paid no attention to my shouting. After saying he didn’t think I was a chicken, he left me with nothing but orders, just like one would give to a chicken, and walked away.

If only I could smack that handsome back of his head.

“Go out where? I can’t even find my way back after leaving the young master’s annex. I’m in the palm of your hand anyway, aren’t I?”

His shoulders shrugged annoyingly as he walked.

“This is confinement, not hospitality.”

“I will escort you.”

I flinched slightly and turned at the suddenly courteous voice.

“I apologize if I startled you. You’ve already missed lunch, so you must be hungry.”

“Yes, head butler.”

“You may comfortably call me Freddy.”

“No, I’m more comfortable calling you head butler.”

“Very well, call me whatever is comfortable for you.”

After that, Freddy truly assisted me properly. I had worried he might show displeasure at serving a fallen noble of humble status, but he literally attended to me with the utmost care.

From meals to clothing to sleeping arrangements—I even gained three dedicated maids to look after me.

And what on earth was this fragrant scent in the bathwater?

It’s overwhelming, truly overwhelming!

I submerged myself completely in the bathtub, sinking until even the top of my head was underwater. Glug glug. As I entered a vacuum state, worries about home naturally began to surface.

‘Is Jonathan all right? Sabrina must be worried sick. And I hope they’re not starving our chickens.’

As Ricardo had said, my worries only gave me a headache. Pah, exhaling as I emerged from the water, I decided to enjoy this temporary luxury for a while.

But my resolution didn’t last long. The psychological pressure from feeling overwhelmed doubled with the news delivered the very next day.

****

“I have come to see the Duchess.”

“Come in.”

Meeting the Duchess required extensive preparation. This must be what one goes through when granted an audience with the Empress.

Ritual bathing was basic, and of course one’s attire had to be properly formal. I even received three hours of education before the meeting. I was told that since the meeting was requested so urgently, the current preparations were actually abbreviated.

The preparations that began at dawn only finished past noon. The Duchess was kind enough to send a carriage to Ricardo’s villa.

“I hope I’m not calling you when you’re busy.”

“Not at all.”

She looked completely different from the woman who had sat in the flower garden yesterday, laughing airily. The gorgeous but constricting dress tailored to fit her body perfectly, and her hair without a single strand out of place—these things completed her image by themselves.

“Sit down.”

Surprisingly, the Duchess prepared the tea herself. The maids seemed accustomed to this and simply watched. Just sitting still made me so nervous that my fingertips trembled.

The Duchess literally was high society itself. The gentle charisma that naturally emanated from her would make even a child who knew nothing sit up straight.

“You called for me…”

“First, have some tea. I prepared it myself, so I can’t guarantee the taste.”

There were dozens of rules of etiquette for drinking tea, but the knowledge I’d learned in a rush was useless in the face of nervousness. Right now was the time to concentrate all my energy on not letting my hands shake.

“Yesterday’s meeting left quite an impression on me.”

“Ah…”

After catching my breath for a moment, I brought out what I’d prepared since the carriage ride. Hoping my voice wouldn’t tremble.

“If I committed any breach of etiquette yesterday, please forgive me generously. My education is lacking.”

“When you reach my age, you see things more important than etiquette.”

I nodded while setting down my teacup as quietly as possible.

The Duchess looked out the window silently for a moment. For that instant, I forgot my own situation and captured her picture-perfect image in my eyes. Come to think of it, it was a scene from one of Ricardo’s paintings.

The view she was looking at.

The emotion I felt when I saw that painting was somehow longing. No, most of the paintings Ricardo drew had a desolate quality to them.

So had Ricardo vaguely longed for his mother, for the garden they used to gaze at together?