Chapter 25
Benjamin ignored his greeting.
He glanced past the former butler as though he were nothing more than a table or chair inside the shop, then swept Helena along and strode right past him.
Wesley lowered his head and closed his eyes with a devastated expression.
As expected… there was no way he would forgive me.
At that moment, Benjamin spoke.
“The keys.”
“…?”
Without even turning around, Benjamin continued,
“The doors you locked with those keys. Open them again.”
With those final words, he pushed open the door of Plemen and walked out.
Wesley remained frozen in place for a moment before slowly lifting his head.
He told me… to reopen the locked doors.
The memories from five years ago came back vividly.
That day, the people of House Ishpern had paid the price for the terrible sins they committed.
Those who had tried to take a life had surrendered their own lives in return, and those who had turned a blind eye to injustice for the sake of protecting themselves were forced to watch everything they wished to preserve disappear before their eyes.
Wesley had been no different.
To become the butler of House Ishpern, Wesley had committed sins of his own. In the end, he had personally sealed the estate shut.
Still, he clung to one final hope. Carrying the ring of keys traditionally worn at the waist of the family’s chief butler, he locked away the most important places within the castle.
That hope was this: that someday, even after many years had passed, if Benjamin ever wished to become the true master of the count’s house, Wesley would be there to help him.
It was both hope and punishment.
As long as he possessed those keys, he could never leave Burwood.
And so, for the past five years, he had been forced to watch with his own eyes as the House of Ishpern—the family he loved—slowly crumbled away.
Yet now Benjamin was telling him to open those locked doors again.
Helen, was it?
Whether that person was truly a man or a woman, Benjamin’s change seemed to have come because of them.
“Meow.”
Wesley turned his head.
At some point, a black cat had appeared beside him, looking up and meowing softly.
Wesley stroked the cat’s head.
“Nero.”
The cat began purring contentedly.
Nero was a stray Wesley had rescued and left in Plemen’s care.
Born small and weak, abandoned by his mother and littermates, and mistreated by humans who considered black fur unlucky, the cat had hated both people and other cats alike.
The madam of Plemen approached him and asked,
“Mr. Wesley, are you returning to the estate?”
As she lightly stroked Nero’s head, the cat affectionately rubbed against her hand.
“Don’t worry about Nero. Meeting so many people has helped him grow a lot too.”
She was right.
Sometimes, meeting someone could change everything.
Silently gazing down at the black cat, Wesley finally nodded.
“Yes. The doors I closed… should be opened by me.”
The next day, the group left the trade city of Goha and returned to the count’s castle.
For Benjamin, Helena, and Aaron, they had only been gone a single day.
For Wesley, however, it was his first return home in five years.
Standing before the castle—which was little more than a ruin—Wesley smiled faintly beneath his thick beard and said,
“Magnificent.”
Benjamin pretended not to hear him and turned away, while Helena stared at the former butler as though he had lost his mind.
Wesley grinned.
“It has to be this broken for rebuilding it to feel worthwhile.”
Dragging his luggage toward the servants’ quarters, Wesley disappeared briefly before returning in a completely transformed state.
His unruly beard had been cleanly shaved, and his messy gray hair had been slicked back neatly with pomade.
The grimy middle-aged man had astonishingly transformed into a refined, handsome butler who perfectly suited the elegant old castle.
Helena came to a realization.
“The contrast makes the transformation even more impressive.”
“Though surely not as impressive as Helen becoming Lady Helena.”
Now dressed in a proper butler’s uniform, Wesley smoothly accepted her remark while preparing tea for her.
Helena shot him an unamused look but said nothing further.
After all, she had no intention of ruining such a perfect tea time.
A butler timing the steeping of the tea leaves with a pocket watch before adding milk warmed to the perfect temperature—
How long had it been since she last enjoyed something like this?
After taking a sip, Helena said,
“Mr. Wesley… you’re an excellent butler.”
Wesley politely shook his head.
“I am merely a servant. But I shall do my utmost for the count’s house and for milady.”
As she lightly sipped her tea, Helena spoke in a softer tone.
“With the former butler back, I feel much more at ease. I came to Burwood after marrying the count, but when I saw the condition of the castle, I was honestly overwhelmed.”
Her half-lidded eyes blinked lazily.
“I’m glad you came back, Mr. Wesley.”
Wesley’s gray-brown eyes narrowed into a charming smile.
“It is all thanks to you, milady.”
“Which reminds me…”
Brushing her hair back, Helena looked up at Wesley with sparkling eyes.
“I’m asking purely out of curiosity and absolutely no other reason… but what exactly happened five years ago, before you left the estate?”
The butler’s eyes glimmered in return.
“Milady, there are times when it is better not to know.”
“Shouldn’t that be my decision?”
Wesley replied gently,
“Perhaps the day will come when you learn the truth, milady. But I do not believe it will be from my lips.”
He removed an elegant key ring hanging from his waist and placed it on the table.
“More importantly, I heard you were looking for this.”
Helena cast him a slightly displeased glance for so skillfully changing the subject, but accepted the keys nonetheless.
Well, perhaps the details of what happened five years ago aren’t important after all.
As she savored the perfectly brewed milk tea, rich with the fragrance of fine tea leaves and fresh milk, Helena organized the clues she had gathered so far.
- When he was younger, Benjamin had hidden his identity and lived as a mercenary.
- Five years ago, after gaining fame by defeating the squid monster in Arlia, he returned to House Ishpern.
- On that very day, something happened at the estate. Because of it, members of the household either died or fled, and the castle burned.
- Afterward, Benjamin inherited the title of count, yet never repaired the burned castle, never properly governed his territory, and instead slowly drained the estate’s wealth, causing the family to collapse.
Helena stared blankly into space.
But… none of this actually matters to me, does it…?
What she truly needed to know was the connection between Benjamin and the “subversive faction threatening the Empire.”
In truth, Helena had suspected that the faction had been involved in whatever happened during step three.
After all, it seemed reasonable to assume that Benjamin had not suddenly become count without outside intervention.
But judging from Wesley’s behavior, that no longer seemed likely.
If Benjamin had reclaimed the title with the aid of some external force and driven out the servants by force, Wesley should have fled far away alongside the others.
Instead, Wesley seemed worried about Benjamin. And the moment Benjamin showed the slightest sign of acceptance, Wesley returned to the estate as though he had been waiting for permission all along.
Then this has nothing to do with the subversive faction…? Was it an issue involving House Ishpern’s succession rights?
Once she thought of it that way, everything made sense.
Benjamin, a legitimate heir to the count’s family, had left home and hidden his origins while living as a mercenary, gathering strength and influence before eventually returning.
There was no way his family would have welcomed him back with flower petals and cheers.
Whatever had happened afterward, Helena felt she would not be surprised in the slightest.
She set down her empty teacup.
Then this has nothing to do with me. I’m not even remotely interested in that lunatic’s past.
Annoyedly, she touched her upper lip.
Yesterday, that madman had forcibly ripped off her fake mustache, tearing out all the fine hairs beneath it in the process. Her skin still stung.
Forget useless distractions. There’s far too much work to do.
Helena’s first goal was to restore the ruined House Ishpern and return everything to proper order.
There was no telling how long it would take to track down the “subversive faction,” and she refused to continue living in a ruin like this.
Besides, the innocent people of Burwood deserved at least a little hope.
This is what noblesse oblige means, isn’t it?
Once the count’s house had been restored and stabilized, she would devote herself entirely to tracking down the “subversive faction” without allowing any further distractions.
Having made up her mind, Helena picked up the ring of keys and rose from her seat.
