***
The Head Butler left Yulian's room and immediately exited the Mansion.
"...It's still snowing."
It was the middle of the Heavy Snow Season, and the world outside the Mansion was a pure white world.
The Head Butler thought for a moment.
About how many times he had seen such a world since the Young Master came to this Mansion.
'There was a time when he used to look upon this pure white world with sparkling eyes.'
Children are naturally excited when they see snow.
Even Yulian, who had lost his parents early and hadn't learned to socialize with his peers, would unknowingly let a faint smile grace his lips when he saw the snow.
But at some point, Yulian began to see this pure white world differently.The corners of his mouth, which used to curve up faintly in anticipation of a snowball fight, were at some point replaced by an artificial smile.
'It was as if he wasn't seeing the snow, but the contaminated magical power it held.'
Was it because he had matured too early?
In a way that didn't suit Yulian's age, he began to look at what was inside, not just the surface.
But even so, he didn't erase the faint smile while looking at the pure white world.
As if he were acting for the adults, pretending he still held his childlike innocence.
And today was the same.
"..."
While lost in thought, the Head Butler found himself standing before the Annex.
He stopped thinking and brushed the snow from his shoulders.
After checking that even the snow on his shoes was brushed off, the old Head Butler stepped into the Annex.
He stood in the entryway for a while, letting the warmth thaw his body slightly before heading to the Reception Room.
Knock, knock.
When the door to the Reception Room opened, a man could be seen sitting on the sofa.
A man who sat with his back ramrod straight, as if this space was uncomfortable.
The moment the old Head Butler entered, he shot up from the sofa as if spring-loaded.
Wilhelm offered the man a handshake.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Shen."
"It's alright, Elder."
The scar-covered man accepted the handshake with a deferential attitude.
The man's name was Shen.
To the world, he was known as the Captain of the Ironclad Special Mission Department.
"You've carried out the mission splendidly."
Wilhelm sat on the sofa across from him.
Tapping his own knee with a benevolent smile, as was his habit.
But despite this friendly gesture, Captain Shen did not relax his guard.
The Captain sat on the sofa with his back straight, cautiously observing the old man's expression.
In that uncomfortable atmosphere, the old Head Butler prepared two teacups, placing one in front of himself and one in front of Shen.
"I'm not familiar with the tea ceremony etiquette of you Beastkin. I'm going to do it my way, is that alright?"
"I am grateful just for you serving me tea, Elder."
Wilhelm didn't wait for Shen's answer and poured the tea.
Steaming hot water filled each teacup.
Only after sinking a tea bag into each cup did the Head Butler speak again.
"...Come to think of it, when was it that we met?"
"It was this time last year, Elder."
"Right, only a year has passed. For me to trust you... not much time has passed, don't you think?"
Shen's shoulders stiffened.
His head gave a rigid nod.
"Do you remember? Last year, the Young Master rescued you and your tribe from that vulgar circus. And he invited you, as the representative, to a meal."
"...I am truly grateful for the Young Master's grace as vast as the sea."
"But do you remember how you reciprocated the Young Master's goodwill?"
Shen squeezed his eyes shut.
His memory returned to that day when the whole world had turned white, a day so cold it was bone-chilling.
***
The lives of Shen and his tribe were closer to those of objects than humans.
Being displayed like livestock behind the iron bars of H-Sector's slave market in the Limbus Pit, being sold like objects, and being returned when their owners grew tired of them.
Their lives were a repetition of that cycle.
Their role when they went up was to become a doll.
They became an experimental subject for magic for those just learning it, or a swordsmanship practice doll.
If not that, they became a stress-relief toy.
Then, when the nobles grew tired of them, they were chased back to the Limbus Pit.
It was because even for a slave, the legal procedure for killing them was a hassle.
In that process, his father, the Tribe Chief, couldn't endure such a life and closed his eyes for the last time.
And the day after Shen, who had just inherited the position, became the Tribe Chief.
Shen's tribe was "returned" to the Limbus Pit, just as always.
"Mom, where are we going?"
In the middle of the line descending to the Limbus Pit.
One of the tribe's children spoke.
Under the bridge pier, a long line stretched into the dark shadows.
Around the necks of the people in line, a tag was hung, like a quality label on livestock.
< >, < >, ...
Shen's tribe was also part of that line.
With < > tags around their necks, they were silently walking downwards.
"M-mom, I said where are we going again? Weren't we living there?"
A young child of the tribe asked his mother.
It was a child who had become a young lady's dress-up doll while the adults were enduring a terrible time.
The child seemed unable to accept the current situation of going back down.
"Mom!"
The adults couldn't answer the child's cry.
At that time, the adults were exhausted by the death of their leader, who had been their focal point.
The child, perhaps feeling sorry for the adults, suddenly left the line.
The exhausted adults didn't even notice the child was gone.
— Knock, knock.
And so, the child knocked on the door of a black vehicle that was descending to the Limbus Pit, parallel to the line.
By the time Shen noticed, the child had already knocked on the car door.
— We're done for.
That word dominated the minds of Shen and his tribespeople.
The car was a symbol of the nobility.
And the child, not knowing that, had knocked on the car's door.
"No!"
The child's mother screamed belatedly.
With the nobles they had met so far, it wouldn't be strange if that car window rolled down and a gun muzzle was aimed at the child's forehead.
Shen and his tribespeople squeezed their eyes shut, unable to bear watching the scene that would follow.
However, the scene that followed was different from what Shen and his tribespeople had imagined.
The car showed no reaction to the child's knock.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
And the car left the soldiers, who were bowing their heads repeatedly, and descended into the Limbus Pit as if nothing had happened.
That was the end of it.
The child returned to the line without a single scratch, an iron tag added to his neck.
"Why on earth did you do such a thing!"
"But... I made eye contact with the child inside the car!"
The mother roughly hugged the returned child and scolded him.
The tribe's adults also admonished the child, telling him never to do it again.
Until then, they couldn't have even imagined that this would become a connection.
And that evening.
A small-folk Healer came to find Shen and his tribe, who had been sorted in H-Sector's exhibition hall.
The Healer, wearing a crow mask, introduced himself as Director Schnabel of the Merkur Trading Company and said,
"I wanted to give the child some charity, but I was busy on my way to work. So, is the child here?"
Beside the Director, who tipped his hat slightly in greeting, a young man who appeared to be his bodyguard was sighing.
*
"I won't be responsible if the Family Head scolds you for picking up things like this."
"Don't worry, Otto. It's not the first time. There were many before you."
"Why do you even bother with these things..."
"Well. Even pig dung can be used as medicine. Don't you think there's a use for them somewhere?"
The Director, who had purchased the entire tribe, sent them up to Civitas Square.
The Director transformed a warehouse owned by the merchant guild into a lodging facility and bestowed upon the tribe members food and simple treatment.
"Hmm. Even I am short on money, so I can't remove the scars, but I'll pull the skin together as much as I can."
Director Schnabel created a miracle with just a needle and thread.
The Director, having bestowed upon all the tribe members a miracle comparable to a Minor Heal, then provided them with a warm meal and lodging.
And he invited Shen, the tribe's representative, to a luxurious restaurant.
"I hope it suits your palate. Ah, you don't need to worry about etiquette. We'll be the only ones here tonight."
Director Schnabel, who treated the Guild Master like an attendant, conversed with Shen while casually cutting his meat.
To Shen, it all felt like a lie.
No, he was sure it was definitely a lie.
'What kind of trick is this now, you noble.'
In his childhood.
After being betrayed for taking the word 'friend' from a noble at face value, Shen no longer believed in the goodwill of nobles.
It was then he realized that to nobles, 'friend' was no different from an attachment to a toy doll.
'I have to escape beforehand.'
So Shen, on the night after the first dinner.
Stole a few silver coins from Yulian's wallet during his nighttime treatment and fled.
With the twisted sense of duty that he had to save at least his family from those evil hands.
And the next morning, before he could even discuss the escape, Shen was caught and forced to kneel before the Director.
— "Young Master. What will you do with this man?"
The one who had caught Shen at that time was the Head Butler.
As if he knew this would happen, the Head Butler had already bribed Shen's close associates.
Shen bowed his head at the cold voice of the old man coming from above.
Wasn't this what he had expected anyway?
Now he'll show his true colors.
He'll take off his kind mask and show the sadism he hid underneath.
But the Director in the crow mask was silent for a long time, then said this.
"Why did you take the silver coins? I would have given gold coins to those who wished to leave."
Shen raised his head.
The eyes visible beyond the mask held not anger, nor contempt, but puzzlement.
"There seems to have been a misunderstanding. I'll take this opportunity to ask again. Gold coins, a rope, and a dagger. What will you choose?"
In that moment, Shen's mind went blank.
***
"...I have not forgotten that day for a single moment."
Shen answered in a hoarse voice.
He placed an empty sheath on the table from within his coat.
That day, Shen's tribe had earned the right to choose from three items.
Whether to choose the rope, receive an education, and seize an opportunity.
Whether to choose the gold coins, leave the nest, and start over in a new place.
Or whether to choose the dagger, vow loyalty, and be promised revenge.
The Ironclad Special Mission team was composed of the people who had chosen the third option.
Shen was one of them.
"If it were possible, I only wish to turn back time."
"Right. I'm glad you at least have a sense of shame."
Wilhelm's eyes narrowed.
Along with him, the air in the room instantly grew cold.
"To be honest, I still don't trust you."
"..."
"Because of my background. I've seen too much of how vile humans can be. I'm of the mind that people don't change."
"..."
"And I still haven't forgotten that you betrayed the Young Master's goodwill. Do you have any idea how deeply he was hurt because of you?"
"His heartbreak must have been great..."
Tsk.
Wilhelm clicked his tongue, cutting off Shen's words.
"After that, the Young Master never said 'thank you' to anyone outside this mansion. Are you brushing that off with a word like 'heartbreak'?"
"..."
"Even after you all returned from your mission, he didn't ask me to convey his thanks first, not until I brought it up."
Wilhelm crossed his legs and gazed into his teacup.
Right.
He remembered.
This was the reason Yulian no longer genuinely smiled when he saw the snow.
Shen wasn't the first to betray Yulian's goodwill.
The countless adults he had reached out to until now had always betrayed Yulian's goodwill.
The servants of this mansion, the other executives of the Merkur Trading Company, the patients he treated in the Limbus Pit.
The filthy adults had beautifully betrayed the child's pure goodwill.
At times like that, Yulian would always react in this way.
— "They are people with many wounds. I have to be the one to understand."
But Yulian, who said so, couldn't help but be wounded himself.
The child who had matured was too adept at hiding his own wounds, and because of that, it took time for the old Head Butler to notice.
And by the time he did notice, Yulian was attaching logic to every act of goodwill directed at him and every act of goodwill he sent out.
— "This was... Yes. I just did it out of courtesy."
— "You don't need to thank me. It was the natural thing to do."
After that, Yulian never conveyed his sincere thanks.
And only the Head Butler, who had looked after Yulian since he was one year old, could notice that fact.
The only fortunate thing was that his condition had improved slightly starting two years ago.
After being accepted by the Nihilrit Family, he had stopped making excuses for goodwill, at least within this mansion.
But of all people, it was Shen who had driven a nail into Yulian's gradually healing state.
Grind.
Recalling that fact, the old Head Butler forgot even his dignity and ground his teeth.
The old Head Butler lifted his teacup.
He waved the teacup under his nose once, suppressing the surging passion, then continued speaking.
"He was a person with many wounds. I thought he was finally healing... but you just had to go and dig it up. I don't think that can be described with the word 'heartbreak'."
"I believe I have committed a mortal sin. I... have the resolve to atone for the rest of my life."
How many times had they had this very conversation?
But Shen could not have any complaint.
A wound from a blade ends as a scar, but the wound from having a proffered hand bitten rots from the inside.
Now that he knew Yulian's goodwill was by no means hypocrisy or deceit, he couldn't complain about the Head Butler hating him this much.
Because Shen, too, was tormented by a terrible self-loathing every day.
"I'll say it again, I don't trust you. Betrayal is only difficult the first time."
"..."
"So even if you say you'll atone for the rest of your life, I don't find it very trustworthy. Can you not give me a more specific goal? It would be easier for me if you just told me when you plan to leave."
At the Head Butler's sharp question, Shen hesitated for a moment.
Soon, he spoke again.
"I will atone until I can receive words of thanks from The Revered One."
The Head Butler's shoulders flinched.
It meant that Shen, too, knew what state Yulian was in.
"...You'd better."
Sip.
Wilhelm sipped his tea and gently closed his eyes.
When the old Head Butler opened his eyes again, those sharp eyes once again held their benevolence.
"Alright. Now, let's discuss the reward for your hard work."
The old Head Butler recited the rewards Yulian had prepared for the man sitting across from him.
But as the rewards were gradually listed, the hearts of the two adults left in the room only grew heavier.
*
Once upon a time, there was a flower garden full of white lilies.
One day, a few red roses grew in that flower garden.
A young white lily approached those roses and asked.
— "Hello, isn't the sunlight nice today?"
But instead of an answer, the rose pricked the lily with a thorn.
The wounded lily asked another rose.
— "Ouch. Why did that flower prick me?"
But that rose also pricked the lily without any explanation.
— "It hurts... Why do the flowers prick me..."
The lily asked another wounded rose.
And that rose also pricked the lily.
After a long time, a new white lily came to the flower garden from afar.
— "Wow, what a beautiful flower garden! I want to be friends with you!"
At that moment, the scarred lily screamed in terror.
— "Stay away! You're trying to hurt me, aren't you? You're going to tear me apart!"
The scarred lily mercilessly slashed the approaching flower.
And when it came to its senses, the lily realized.
That the petals of the red flower approaching it had been white.
That it was its own gaze that was actually stained red.
And the fact that the thorns that had been hurting it had, at some point, become densely embedded in its own body.
— "Ah... A-ah..."
The lily that had pricked its new friend screamed in despair.
— "I should apologize right now..."
But seeing its own thorny arm, the scarred lily soon changed its mind.
— "No. After all... I was always this kind of flower."
And it chose rationalization instead of an apology.
A few months after that.
— "What a beautiful flower garden of roses."
The once-white flower bed had become a flower garden of red roses.