PEDC Chapter 20

Chapter 20 

I was the Captain of the Imperial Knights, and I had enough power to ensure that no one could mistreat Sertien.

The reason I called for another servant was because of that.

I wanted to use this maid as an example, to show that if anyone dared to harm Sertien again, I wouldn’t stand idly by.

---

Once I entered the office, I asked the knight who followed me to let the maid in.

Although I called for another servant to come along, I only allowed the maid to enter because I looked exactly like Erias.

There was no need for that fact to reach more ears than necessary.

The maid might have already talked about my appearance, but it didn’t hurt to be cautious.

The most troublesome situation would be if Latryne’s grandmother found out.

She was the real authority behind the Archduke’s family…

Though I hadn’t met her yet, I knew she was a difficult person to deal with.

A little while later, a familiar face, the maid, came through the door.

She looked confused, as if she didn’t understand what was going on.

Just as I had instructed, my subordinate knight let the maid inside, and the house butler was stationed by the door, leaving it slightly ajar. He stood guard outside.

This was so the butler could clearly hear what I had to say.

I quietly watched the maid glance around nervously, then I rose from my seat.

Her gaze focused on me.

Up until that moment, I had been wearing my uniform cap, but I took it off.

As soon as our eyes met, the maid’s face hardened.

She stood there, staring at me, seemingly in disbelief, as if she couldn’t quite accept that I was the same person she had seen before.

Wearing the white uniform of the Imperial Knights, I took a few steps toward her, being mindful that my long uniform didn’t drag on the floor.

“Why do you look so surprised? Do you know why you were called here?”

“I’m sorry…!”

“From the way you’re talking, it seems like you’ve finally accepted that I’m not the person you thought I was. Do you understand what you did wrong?”

The maid was trembling almost uncontrollably.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry! I didn’t realize it was you, Commander! Please, forgive me just this once…”

“Forgiveness? I nearly died, you know.”

“I’m truly sorry. At the time, I didn’t know you were the Commander…”

“That’s strange. I was told that you had been fully informed about my position…”

“…”

Now, the maid was too scared to even respond properly.

I smiled slightly and spoke again.

“Honestly, if it had just been me who was affected, I might have let it go. I don’t like using my authority unless necessary…”

“Then… does that mean you’ll forgive me?”

“I said ‘if it had just been me,’ didn’t I? There’s another reason I called you here. If you were sharp, you would have realized that by now.”

As I said this, I glanced toward the slightly open door.

I was deliberately raising my voice so that the butler outside could hear clearly.

While I was doing this, the maid seemed to catch on to what I was implying and responded.

“But if this is about the young master… he’s always been treated that way…”

“I can’t think of another Duke family that treats the only heir to the family so poorly. I don’t know the exact circumstances, but I care deeply about Sertien. And given everything you’ve done, I can’t just overlook this. I’ve already discussed it with Latryne. You’ll no longer be allowed to serve in the Priscilila household. And when word gets out that you’ve been expelled from such a prestigious family, it’s unlikely any other noble house will take you in. That’s quite a problem, isn’t it?”

The maid’s face had turned pale, almost ghostly.

“Please… just this once, please forgive me. I promise it will never happen again.”

“…Well, in any case, it seems like the person waiting outside can head back now.”

It seemed the butler of the Priscillia family flinched outside.

I then addressed the knight who had been waiting by the door.

“Please escort the butler out of the palace.”

“Understood.”

The knight answered, then closed the door to the office.

I could hear faint footsteps fading into the distance.

---

A few days later, the event occurred.

Since the distance from the palace to the Priscillia estate was quite far, the butler would need a good amount of time to return.

The Priscillia family’s estate was located in a large city in the northern region.

After arriving in front of the mansion, which was nearly as grand as a castle, the butler entered the estate with a familiar stride.

The butler had worked there for a long time, and thus had significant influence among the household staff.

Everyone who worked at the mansion knew the butler.

No one stopped him as he entered, and that was precisely because of his status.

The butler made his way to the room where the great lady, Cater Priscillia, resided.

At this time of day, Cater was always in her study, reading.

The butler reached the door of the study and knocked.

“My lady, I’ve returned.”

“Come in.”

As the door opened, the butler saw an older woman wearing an elegant black dress, closing the book she had been reading.

Despite her age, Cater still retained much of the beauty of her youth.

Though it was a long-forgotten fact, the butler, who knew how beautiful Cater had been in her younger days, was reminded of it again.

“So, what happened with Karen?”

Karen was the maid’s name.

The butler hesitated briefly, unsure where to begin, then replied.

“To give you the conclusion first, she can no longer work for our household.”

Despite the abruptness of the news, Cater didn’t show any particular reaction.

She simply looked at the butler, her expression neutral, and responded.

“I see… I was quite fond of that girl. It’s unfortunate. But I suppose there’s nothing to be done if she offended the Captain of the Imperial Knights. By the way, did you figure out why you were called along with her?”

“…”

“I thought it strange… but there must have been some reason behind it.”

Though her voice was calm, Cater’s gaze carried an undeniable authority.

“It’s just my opinion, but… I believe it was because of the young master.”

Cater’s eyebrows lifted slightly.

“You mean Sertien?”

“Yes, I believe it was a kind of warning. The captain intentionally only brought Karen inside and left the door slightly ajar so I could hear the conversation.”

“And what was the warning about?”

“It must have been about how our household has treated the young master. The Captain said she cares deeply for Sertien and that she punished Karen more severely because of what she had done to him.”

“How peculiar.”

After hearing the explanation, Cater calmly spoke.

The butler responded as if it were obvious.

“Yes, there are plenty of people who know the situation of the Priscilla family. So, it’s understandable that the commander would know about it too. But what I don’t get is why she’s so involved with the young master and why she’s so fond of him…”

“No, that’s not what I mean.”

“…What do you mean, Madam?”

“If she wanted to make an example out of the maid, she could have brought you into the room as well, showing you the punishment up close. That would have been more effective. Yet, she made sure you listened to the conversation from outside, didn’t she?”

The butler thought the madam made a good point, but at the same time, it left him puzzled.

“That’s true… But perhaps she thought it wasn’t necessary to bring me inside since I did nothing wrong.”

“…How strange…”

But Cater seemed deep in thought, not paying attention to the butler’s reasoning.

“The current Imperial Commander… She’s the youngest daughter of the Duke Alpress family, isn’t she?”

“Yes, I believe she became the commander after the Grand Duke returned from the Imperial Palace to live at the family’s estate.”

“…Did you happen to see the commander’s face?”

“No… I didn’t get the chance to check.”

The butler was left wondering why Cater would ask such a question, but he realized he indeed hadn’t confirmed her appearance.

“Oh, but…”

“Did you remember something?” Cater asked when the butler hesitated.

“Her voice sounded… familiar. Like I’d heard it before.”

“Her voice was familiar?”

In truth, the butler thought the voice of Litya he had heard briefly sounded exactly like the late Erias.

But since Erias had passed away, there was no way she could have returned, and the butler couldn’t imagine hearing her voice again in the Imperial Palace, so he decided to leave his explanation at that.

“I see,” Cater said, turning her gaze away from the butler.

“What will you do about the young master? Should we ignore the commander’s warning?”

“…No, we shouldn’t. After all, the warning came from the commander. We can’t dismiss it lightly. Besides, she’s the child of a Duke, not someone we can disrespect. Anyway, the matter of whether we care for or neglect Sertien isn’t that important.”

“I see.”

After all, the Alpress family was one of the only two Duke families in the Empire. Ignoring a warning from the commander would be unwise, and the butler agreed that provoking the commander would be dangerous.

Cater murmured to herself, thinking of Sertien.

“That child can’t do anything, no matter what. No matter whose child he is, he will never become the heir of our family. This family is destined to end with this generation.”

The butler watched Cater with a bitter expression.

As she sipped her tea, Cater suddenly thought of her grandson and asked.

“By the way, is Latryne still staying at the Imperial Palace?”

“Yes, it seems so. I briefly met the Grand Duke, and he told me that he has no plans to return anytime soon.”