That was how Aiman became Keiras’s disciple.
“What do you think of the manor where we will be living?”
It was smaller than the manor of Count Jenkins’s family, but it was still far too large to be described as small.
After Keiras showed them the manor where they would live from now on, Aiman asked his parents what they thought.
Teresa gave him a worried look.
“It is nice, but…….”
“Hmm? What is wrong?”
Aiman wondered whether there was something she disliked about it.
However, Teresa’s next words were—
“How are we going to clean it?”
“…….”
At Teresa’s question, Aiman and everyone else present fell silent.
Isaac looked at Teresa before staring blankly at the manor.
Perhaps because they had both lived as serfs, the same thought had occurred to them.
Aiman chuckled and tugged on Keiras’s arm.
“Come on. Master will obviously provide people to work here as well. Is that not right?”
Since Keiras had made all of this possible for them, Aiman assumed that his master would also take care of matters such as household staff.
Besides, Aiman had given him something valuable in return.
Keiras nodded at Aiman’s words.
“That is correct. Although Aiman is only a baronet because he became my disciple, the position is, as its name suggests, equivalent to that of a noble. Since you are now nobles, there is naturally no need for you to concern yourselves with such menial chores.”
Hearing that, Aiman clicked his tongue inwardly.
‘Becoming a noble is nice, but it feels strange that ordering other people around is considered perfectly natural.’
Whether he was an ordinary company employee or a serf, it was bound to feel uncomfortable.
Naturally, Teresa, Aiman’s mother, had also lived as a serf, and she looked concerned when she heard Keiras’s explanation.
“But we do not have the money to employ anyone…….”
“You need not worry about that. You will be managing this territory that I have always found bothersome, so I have no intention of withholding that much support. Besides, your son is…….”
Keiras placed a hand on Aiman’s shoulder.
He then spoke to Isaac and Teresa.
“Far wealthier than you might think.”
“What?”
Isaac and Teresa looked puzzled when Keiras told them that their son was wealthy.
Keiras asked them as though wondering whether they had forgotten.
“Did I not mention it during the journey? Aiman knows how to make paper.”
“Ah…….”
Keiras’s words brought the matter back to both Isaac and Teresa.
During the entire carriage journey, Keiras and Aiman had talked almost exclusively about magic, leaving them rather overwhelmed. Somewhere in the middle of it, they vaguely remembered hearing that Aiman knew how to make paper.
The moment the subject arose, Aiman called out to Keiras.
“Ah! Master.”
“Hmm?”
“Other than hiring people to work at the manor, I also need to build a papermaking workshop and find people to work there. Could you help me with that as well?”
“Something like that is merely a drop in the ocean compared to what you gave me.”
“Thank you.”
“There is no need to thank me. Ah! And you two.”
Keiras chuckled at Aiman’s gratitude before turning back toward Isaac and Teresa.
“Yes, Count.”
“It will take time to hire people for the manor and allow them to become accustomed to their work. I would like you to dine at my manor for the next few days.”
“Understood.”
When Keiras suggested that they eat at his manor for a few days, Aiman interjected.
“You are not planning to drag me away for a discussion about magic immediately after we finish eating, are you?”
“You noticed?”
“Yes.”
“Would it not be a waste of time otherwise? We can eat together and then immediately continue your magical studies.”
“You are absolutely right, Master.”
“You little brat. Why bother questioning me when you were going to agree?”
Keiras chuckled.
They had quickly become close during the few days they had spent as master and disciple in Jenkins County, but the carriage journey had brought them even closer.
In his previous life, Aiman had quietly relieved his stress by practising Origami while working at his company. Whenever he had to make a sale, however, he had been remarkably capable.
Aiman responded playfully to Keiras’s rebuke.
“Come now. I was only asking whether that was what you intended.”
“You truly are an old man in a child’s body.”
“Then I look forward to learning from you.”
“Very well. Everyone should rest. Hansen.”
After telling them to rest, Keiras called for a man named Hansen, who had accompanied them from Silverian Manor.
“Yes, Master.”
“For now, show them around the manor and briefly explain how nobles conduct their daily lives.”
“Understood.”
Keiras then departed, while Hansen, one of the trainee Second-Rank Butlers of Silverian Manor, guided Aiman’s family.
He helped them choose their rooms and, once they had settled in to some extent, explained how they should conduct themselves as nobles from then on.
Isaac and Teresa chose the largest room. After seeing his parents enter it, Aiman selected the second-largest room as his bedroom.
Hansen, whom Keiras had assigned to assist them, remained with Aiman.
Aiman called out to him.
“Your name was Hansen, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Based on your judgement, how much support do you think Master will provide for our manor?”
Hansen had given them a general explanation, but he had not discussed any of the details.
Aiman believed it would be better for him to manage the household personally. Unlike his parents, who had lived only as serfs, he had at least experienced working in society.
Hansen was taken aback by Aiman’s attitude.
‘He is remarkably composed for someone so young. Are mages truly that different?’
It was quite fascinating.
While showing them around the manor, Hansen had learned about Aiman’s family by chance.
They had spent their entire lives as serfs, only for their fortunes to be completely transformed when their son became the disciple of Keiras, an Imperial Mage and Hansen’s master.
Yet despite having been a serf, the boy was calmly attempting to understand his current circumstances.
Even setting aside his former status, it was uncommon for someone his age to think so carefully about such matters.
Hansen wondered whether Aiman could truly be a boy ten years younger than himself.
However, he did not allow his feelings to show.
Whether Aiman had been born a serf or was still young, a baronet was nevertheless a noble.
A butler’s duty was to attend to nobles while displaying impeccable courtesy.
Hansen answered Aiman’s question.
“Once the necessary arrangements have been made, the Count will probably assign one of the Second-Rank Butlers to serve as the butler of this manor. I believe that approximately ten workers would be appropriate for a manor of this size.”
“As many as ten?”
The manor was certainly not small, but Aiman wondered whether that many workers were truly necessary.
Hansen explained his reasoning in detail.
“My estimate includes one cook, one gardener, four guards, and four maids.”
“Then there would be eleven people in total, including the butler.”
“Yes.”
“Hmm. I suppose the most important person is the butler you mentioned separately?”
“That is correct. A butler’s duty is to manage the household so that the nobles of the family are not troubled by minor affairs within the manor. The quality of a manor’s management varies greatly depending on the butler.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
After listening to Hansen’s explanation, Aiman became curious about the position.
“By the way, you said that you were a Second-Rank Butler. What does that mean?”
“Beginning with the manor of a count, noble residences are far larger than those belonging to barons or viscounts. It is therefore difficult for a single butler to manage everything. Furthermore, nobles with many children sometimes assign a separate butler to each of them.”
Aiman summarised what Hansen had told him.
“So if a manor is large, or if a noble has several children and wishes to prevent complaints by assigning one butler to each of them, additional butlers are employed as Second-Rank Butlers.”
“That is correct.”
Hansen was quite surprised by how quickly Aiman understood and absorbed his explanation.
‘Can someone of his age truly possess such intelligence?’
Most ten-year-old children would have complained that their heads hurt or become bored if someone gave them such a lengthy explanation.
Yet Aiman was listening far more seriously than Hansen had expected.
Having understood the explanation, Aiman asked about Keiras’s manor.
“Then how many butlers does Master’s manor have?”
“There are currently four. Chief Butler Karib, as well as Pashu, Rath, and myself, who are Second-Rank Butlers.”
“Is Master not unmarried?”
“That is correct.”
“His manor is far larger than ours, but does he truly need four butlers?”
Keiras was unmarried, so he had no children who required personal butlers.
His manor was certainly much larger than the one where Aiman’s family would live, but Aiman still wondered whether four butlers were necessary.
Hansen explained the reason.
“Ah, the three Second-Rank Butlers, including myself, are still trainees.”
“Trainees?”
“Chief Butler Karib intends to observe our work during the probationary period and then officially select one of us as the Second-Rank Butler.”
“What happens to those who fail?”
“They will have to seek employment elsewhere.”
After hearing the explanation, Aiman asked Hansen another question.
“Hmmm. Then it is possible that you might fail?”
From Hansen’s perspective, it could have been a rather sensitive question.
Failing would mean that he was inferior to the other trainee Second-Rank Butlers.
However, Hansen did not forget his duties as a butler and answered calmly.
“If I fail to meet Chief Butler Karib’s standards, then I will fail.”
Aiman was greatly pleased by Hansen’s answer.
People who allowed their personal feelings to affect them while working could easily ruin everything.
Yet Hansen had remained perfectly calm even after Aiman deliberately asked a question that might wound his pride.
Deciding that Hansen appeared to be a respectable person, Aiman asked another question.
“How do you think you compare to the other trainee Second-Rank Butlers?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Do you think you will be chosen?”
“Only Chief Butler Karib, who will make the evaluation, would know.”
Hansen refused to reveal his own opinion to the end.
Aiman pressed him for a direct answer.
“Are you not confident?”
“That is…… not the case. If you are asking whether I believe myself superior to the other trainees…… then, to be honest, I believe that I am.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
After his persistent questioning finally made Hansen admit that he considered himself better than the other Second-Rank Butlers, Aiman grinned.
“Then become my butler.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“You said that you were the most capable of the Second-Rank Butlers, did you not? If a butler is going to be assigned here regardless, I would prefer to entrust my family to the most capable one. Provided that you have no objection, I will speak to Master. I will tell him that I want you to become the butler of our household.”
“That is…….”
Hansen was currently training to become a Second-Rank Butler in the household of Count Keiras.
Yet Aiman had just asked him to become the butler of this manor instead.
Hansen’s eyes wavered.
If Karib chose to send him here the following day, he would naturally have to obey. However, receiving such an offer before any decision had been made left him deeply unsettled.
Aiman spoke as though he understood what Hansen was thinking.
“You were expecting to become a butler in a count’s household. Does serving in a manor like this feel beneath you?”
“…….”
Aiman’s words struck the heart of the matter.
Hansen could not readily answer.
Aiman looked at him and made the offer once more.
“I will treat you well. I may not know about anything else, but I am confident that I can earn more money than my master.”
Those were the words of a mere ten-year-old child.
Regardless of whether he was a mage or a baron, he was still only ten years old.
Yet Hansen could sense it.
The look in Aiman’s eyes told him that the boy was entirely serious.
Hansen considered the possibilities.
‘If someone this intelligent and capable at such a young age continues to grow…….’
His deliberation did not last long.
“I look forward to serving you from this day onward, Master.”
“Very well.”
Aiman looked satisfied when Hansen accepted his offer.
However, Hansen corrected the manner in which Aiman had answered him.
“Please speak to me less formally from now on, provided that I am truly to become your butler, Lord Aiman.”
Not only had Hansen accepted the sudden offer, but he had also made his own intentions clear.
He wished to become Aiman’s loyal butler.
‘Not bad.’
Aiman had been speaking politely because Hansen appeared older than him.
He grinned.
“All right.”