“Sir Cedric, I brought you tea.”
As I filed documents in the office, a maid brought over tea and some sweets. Apparently, that day I would be served black tea brewed from tea leaves grown on the Marquis Rosenberg territory, and some biscuits that would go well with it.
I thanked the maid and put the biscuit into my mouth. However, it didn’t seem like the maid was going to take her leave, even once I continued to eat. I guessed that she had some business to discuss with me, so I swallowed the biscuit and looked at her.
“What can I help you with?”
“I was tasked by the missus to ask for advice regarding Sir Cyril.”
“I see… Tell me, what is it about?”
Cyril is my son. As the exclusive butler of the current head of the Marquis Rosenberg household, Master Grave, I stayed over at the estate often, entrusting our child’s upbringing to my wife. Cyril had just begun to understand what was going on around him, so he probably was getting up to all kinds of mischief. Therefore, I assumed that the things she wanted advice on would be of that nature, but-
“She wants permission to enter the library1.”
My eyebrows knitted as I heard the matter. It would be different if it were a servant, but I had no reason to restrict my wife from entering the library. Of course, this applied to taking books out as well. She didn’t need to seek my permission if she wanted to read to our son aloud or something of the sort.
Nevertheless, she was asking for my permission. In other words, she was certainly asking whether she could allow Cyril to enter the library and freely read the books there. Although Cyril had just become aware of the world around him, it was decided that he would become Lady Sophia’s butler in the future, as they were close in age. So I myself had already decided to provide him a special education for gifted children.
However-
“I did say that he should be brought up strictly. However, my wife and I had both come to the decision that it was essential to start with his value education first…”
It could be said that servants who simply did as their master told them to were just third-rate. Those who acted with an understanding of the intentions behind their orders were second-rate, and only those who understood the intention of their master and acted upon it even without being told anything were first-rate. Value education was essential for raising a servant to be capable of reading minds.
“Of course, the missus and I are both aware. However, it seems to be at Master Cyril’s request. He said that he wished to go to the library and read all the books there.”
“…Cyril’s request?”
My son had only just become capable of carrying a conversation, and he was putting his utmost efforts into holding a pen. I didn’t understand why he wished to enter the library.
“The madam says that he had already finished learning how to read and write in the blink of an eye. However, Cyril said that he wanted to read more kinds of books because he was unsure of his literary skills.”
I found this sudden news unbelievable, but at the same time, my wife and the maid had no reason to lie. In order to confirm whether something was happening to my son by myself, I decided to return home after a long time.
When I returned to the mansion after a week of absence, my wife came out to greet me.
“Welcome back, dear.”
“Yes, I’m home…2 I apologize for leaving everything regarding Cyril’s education to you.”
“Don’t worry about it. There was no way for the both of us to take a leave from work.”
Although she was on temporary leave at the moment, my wife also worked as the exclusive maid of the wife of the current head of the Rosenberg Marquis household. That meant that she had an understanding for my work, which I relied on. Therefore, I hugged my beloved wife and put my lips to her ear.
“I am very grateful. Thank you for everything.” Then I took in my wife’s warmth after a long time of not being able to do so, but then I immediately drew back.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t have much time. I heard that Cyril has learned to write and wants to go to the library… Is that true?”
“Yes, it is. He’s learning words with a truly astonishing speed, and he said that he would like to go to the library because he wants to learn more different kinds of expressions.”
“…I see.”
A child that had just become aware of his surroundings had learned characters3 in the blink of an eye and he was even able to read and write. I couldn’t say that this was completely unheard of. From time to time, children who showed traits of genius were born into my family. To give a recent example, Tristan had an impossibly great memory, and he was called a child prodigy par excellence4.
It would be a joyous thing if Cyril were a child prodigy, but at the same time, it would also be something to worry about.
“How is his value education going?”
“That’s… I thought that I should try and have him keep a pet, but he said that he wouldn’t be able to look after it by himself. It doesn’t seem like he’s completely uninterested in animals, but…”
Child prodigies often had a tendency to look down on others. At first, Tristan was also very stubborn regarding this matter, and his family were anxious about whether they would be able to let him serve someone. If Cyril was another Tristan, we would have to put extra effort into his value education. In order to confirm this issue as well, I decided to go meet my son.
“Cyril, it’s been a while.”
I knocked on the door of Cyril’s room and entered. My son, who had a maid keeping him company, looked up at me and answered with a slight lisp: “Ah, Father. It has indeed been a long time.5”
I felt uneasy but at first, I didn’t realize why. However, then I immediately noticed that his manner of speech itself was unbelievable. He just became able to pronounce ‘Papa’ and ‘Mama’ 6 just a little while ago, and he had only just become able to speak in broken sentences. After just a couple weeks of not seeing him, this very same Cyril was suddenly speaking like an adult.
“What’s with that manner of speech?”
“I heard the servants speaking like this and I learned it right away.”
“I… see?”
It was a well-known fact that children learn words by listening to the conversations of others around them. Although we were commoners, we were a prestigious family that had served in the Rosenberg Marquis household for generations, so we had many servants in the house. Therefore, learning a pattern of speech to match wasn’t too strange in itself. However, just a few minutes ago, when I said ‘It’s been a while.’ Cyril answered with ‘It has indeed been a long time.’7
He couldn’t possibly have already grasped the way to use different phrases in different situations, could he? If that were the case, that would mean that he had not only learned the words, but that he even understood when to use the phrases depending on the situation. The words ‘a second coming of Tristan’ flashed through my head. I had an unending list of questions, but this wasn’t something to be discussed in front of a maid. I was at a loss regarding how to ask this when Cyril broached the topic first.
“I would like to have a talk with you.”
“Alright, I don’t see why not. Then, if everyone else could please leave the room?”
As I took advantage of this opening and made use of my son’s words 一 I suddenly came to a realization. I had to wonder if the words he had just said could have been carefully chosen to serve as an excuse to get the maid to leave. If he were a skilled, experienced servant, being this attentive to others to this degree wouldn’t be astonishing. However, this was something that was impossible for a child who had just begun to understand the world around them.
‘There’s no way.’ I shook off my foolish thoughts. Surely, Cyril being a second coming of Tristan was out of the question. This sort of thing was practically impossible for a child that had only learned to speak a few days ago. In either case, after the maid left, I confronted him.
“Why do you want to have permission to use the library? I’ve been told that it’s because you want to learn all sorts of expressions, but it’s not just that, is it?”
If Cyril were an ordinary child, I could believe that purpose as the reason for his request.
However, by now, I had absolutely no doubts that Cyril wasn’t a normal child. If he were, there would be more efficient ways to learn different phrases, such as getting hold of a servant or asking for a book with different kinds of expressions in it. Since he had requested to be able to come and go from the library freely, he must have had more objectives other than that.
“…As I expected of you, Father. Certainly, I do have an objective. However, as it’s a very preposterous wish, I cannot say it right now.”
“Is there something more preposterous than you speaking so formally?”
“If you feel like the way I speak is preposterous, then I really cannot talk about it.”
“…You’re…”
After coming here, I could no longer deny my son’s abnormality. However, if this was true, then Cyril’s mysterious objective had to be something even more absurd. I unconsciously looked up at the heavens in despair… and then I massaged the space between my brows and exhaled.
“I don’t mind either way, so why don’t you just tell me what that objective is?”
After I encouraged him, Cyril looked at me, as if was searching for the true meaning behind my words. A child that had barely achieved self-awareness looked as if he was going to oppose me, the exclusive butler who worked for the current head of the Rosenberg Marquis household. This fact made my heart pound.
“I am more than aware that you aren’t a normal child. Since that’s the case, I promise to make my decision based on what you say and not on what you look like. So you can tell me what you truly wish.”
Our eyes met. More than ten, twenty seconds went by. Then Cyril, finally, slowly opened his mouth.
“…My wish is to become an exclusive butler, and take care of Lady Sophia.”
“So you want to become an exclusive butler? If that’s the case, you will eventually-”
Before I could continue, Cyril shook his head.
“‘Eventually’ would be too late.”
It was normal for children to remark that they wanted to become adults soon. However, I didn’t sense any childish sentiments like ‘I want to quickly become an exclusive butler so that I can be acknowledged as a grown-up’ from Cyril.
…No, that wasn’t what I had promised. I had promised not to do any judgements based on him being just a child. Given that, I had to decide what to do based on whether Cyril did or did not have sufficient abilities to become an exclusive butler.
In other words-
“Unfortunately, I cannot appoint you as Lady Sophia’s exclusive butler as you are now.”
“…May I ask why?”
“You certainly sound like a grown-up, but your demeanor is still unrefined. Moreover, you let your feelings show on your face. However, above anything else, you’re very bad at negotiation. You’re not yet good enough to become an exclusive butler.”
I told him all of the reasons I could think of why he couldn’t become an exclusive butler yet. Although he was certainly holding his own even when compared to other servants in training, he was nowhere near good enough to be an exclusive butler. That was the conclusion I reached once I decided not to judge Cyril as a child.
These were extremely harsh words to say to a child that had just became aware of his surroundings. However, Cyril just smiled.
“In that case, I just need to become good enough to be an exclusive butler, right?” he asked, even after these unkind words that would make a regular child burst into tears had been thrown at him.
“…What are you planning to do?”
“Naturally, I will devote myself to obtain the appropriate skills required of an exclusive butler.”
‘Interesting,’ I thought. At that point, I had begun to consider allowing Cyril to study as he wished. However, before I could make that call, there were several things that I needed to confirm.
“Cyril, I heard that you refused to raise a pet?”
“Yes. Even if they are animals with short lives… no, precisely because they have short lifespans, I cannot care for them irresponsibly. And since I want to become Lady Sophia’s exclusive butler…”
“…I see, so it’s like that.”
When taking care of a pet in order to acquire emotional skills, the pets that were taken care of were usually ones with a short lifespan. I began working as a servant about ten years after I became aware of the world around me. That was because it was at that age that I was able to learn how precious life was after losing someone dear to me.
However, if one wanted to become an exclusive butler earlier on, they would become unable to continue to take care of them for their full lifespan. It was precisely because Cyril already understood the value of life that he said that he couldn’t take care of a pet.
“As long as you understand how precious life is, then I have no problem with it. Also, you have my permission to go to the library as often as you like. If there’s anything else you want to learn, you can do so to your heart’s content.”
“Thank you.”
Thus, I permitted Cyril to study as he wished. I was excited to see how Cyril would grow, so I decided to watch over my son’s development closely.
However, there was one thing that bothered me. Cyril had never left the mansion. In other words, he had yet to meet the young Lady. I was asking myself why he was so desperately determined to become her exclusive butler despite that.
Thinking of the possibility that he was simply showing interest in someone of the opposite gender who was of similar age, I tried pairing him up with a female relative, making them partner up to practice serving each other. But he didn’t show any untoward behaviour even once. If anything, the girl that he had been taking care of so devotedly ended up liking Cyril. However, it ended pitifully, with Cyril dismissing her feelings.
I had expected Cyril not to make a move on her, but I hadn’t expected her to end up pining after Cyril. When I confessed to my wife that I inadvertently caused the girl’s pitiful situation, she answered that it was unsurprising it ended this way, because Cyril took after me.
…But I had always been devoted to my wife, so I didn’t quite understand what she meant.
Thank you so much for reading! Some of the words used this chapter were quite hard to pinpoint, so big thank you to my editor barebones and proofreader ahnahsy, they really went above and beyond! <3
Thank you everyone for your support! Next side story is from Alicia’s point of view~. After that, there’s just two side chapters left (I believe they are quite short, so I might be able to post them together in one week, but no promises yet). And then it’s the long awaited Volume three!
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