The House of Fischer was a duchy created for and limited to Damian’s generation.
Because his relationship with his elder brother, the current king, was catastrophically bad, it was a duchy in name only, possessing almost no real power.
My service as butler to such a house began when I was still Chief Chamberlain at the royal castle. It started when I heard Damian was being expelled from the castle and immediately went to plead with him, though he was still little more than a boy at the time.
Due to his peculiar origins, Damian was a prince treated by everyone in the castle as if he didn’t exist. Kept alive merely as a spare in case something happened to the Crown Prince.
He lived quietly, just as that common understanding among the castle staff dictated.
Yet, he was somehow haughty.
Though taciturn, his presence was overwhelming.
He possessed a bearing that, simply by being present, made the place seem more brilliant.
The kind where, if he stood silently, your eyes would naturally be drawn to him.
In a sense, one might say he had the air of a king.
That, too, was likely part of what provoked the anger of his elder brother, the Crown Prince.
He endured numerous harassments. However, Damian never paid them any mind, dealing with them by retaliating in his own way as he went about his days.
Before I knew it, he had figures one could call friends by his side, yet he continued to pass his days impassively and uneventfully.
The fact that Damian’s friends were individuals of considerable influence was also significant.
One was Sojitrea Chiptal.
Though the second son of a marquis, his father was the current Captain of the First Knight Order. He had a rough temperament but was bold and broad-minded. Blessed with a robust physique from childhood and exceptionally skilled with the sword, he was also adept at martial arts—simply put, he was built for combat.
Back then, it was largely due to his capabilities that most of the Crown Prince’s harassments were repelled.
He earned the title of Adamantite-rank knight at the age of twenty-three. He is now a man of such skill that he serves as Captain of the Second Knight Order.
And the other.
Was the princess of the Eilenbel ducal house, Caprasil.
Her father was the younger brother of the previous king, who had served as Chancellor with formidable skill since that era, making her the princess considered most noble in this kingdom.
Caprasil becoming Damian’s friend led several nobles to become his backers. At that time, factions formed to the point of nearly splitting the castle.
The Crown Prince was competent enough, but he utterly lacked brilliance.
Compared to Damian, he inevitably seemed inferior.
However, that succession dispute never really surfaced, as the king merely watched from the sidelines.
The struggle was quietly taking place beneath the surface.
But that quiet war shifted decisively in the Crown Prince’s favor with the king’s demise.
It was only natural, as he had originally been designated the successor.
Furthermore, Caprasil becoming the current king’s consort provided additional momentum.
That announcement was sudden, and as a mere Chief Chamberlain, I could not know what dealings had occurred behind the scenes.
Within the castle, however, it was whispered as truth that the Crown Prince had used his power to forcibly take Damian’s lover.
His lover stolen by his brother, then expelled from the castle with nothing but a title and no wealth.
That was another reason I couldn’t leave Damian to his fate.
I had seen him standing alone since he was a child.
Damian possessed a strange charm that made you want to be of use to him, however little.
That is why I pleaded for the position of butler, to serve as master a boy who was still just thirteen years old.
Even a faint love is a first love for a young master.
It’s painful, but it’s also a life experience.
—Or so I had always thought.
From the day he was summoned to the castle and returned declaring he would “buy love,” my master began to act strangely.
No, at first, he was his usual arrogant, imperious self.
The same impassive face as always, an unreadable mask giving no hint of his thoughts.
My only impression was that he had started saying odd things again.
He is not a master who listens if told to stop, nor does he heed advice.
Having become immensely wealthy through his own judgment, he is confident.
I suppose that’s unavoidable.
But when I heard the target of his interest was a girl famed as the “Saintly Mother of Mercy,” I couldn’t help but feel pity for her.
She was a girl of such noble spirit, working day after day to support the children at a destitute orphanage.
I thought she would be dragged into a rich man’s whims and have the loveliest period of her maidenhood scattered to the winds.
However, upon actually seeing the girl who showed up at the mansion at dawn, I felt she was quite different from the image I’d gathered from the rumors.
I had indeed heard from the master that he had entered into a lover’s contract with a girl, but I never imagined she would be the type to boldly march into the mansion at dawn—though it was practically before sunrise—with such a lively expression.
She asked for the master’s whereabouts, and when told he was sleeping in his bedroom, she marched right in without hesitation.
Damian is terrible in the mornings; he is an exceptionally poor riser.
He detests being woken up early.
That’s why everyone in this house performs the morning preparations with as little noise as possible.
But she strode down the hallway, flung the door open with a bang, and reached the master’s curled-up form on the bed in an instant.
Unfortunately, the door closed, so I couldn’t tell what was happening inside.
After a short groan, the girl emerged with the same smile she had when she entered.
Even though Damian must have been angry with her, she showed no concern whatsoever and was, for some reason, brimming with a sense of accomplishment.
I couldn’t understand it.
While I hesitated over what to say, the girl bowed her head first.
“My apologies for coming so early. I have other work today, so I believe I’ll be back in the evening. I’ll take my leave now.”
“Y-yes… Have a safe trip.”
Seeing her off was all I could manage.
Thinking back on it now, it was perhaps a failing on my part as a butler.
But immediately, Damian came rushing out of his bedroom in a fluster, and that was no longer my concern.
“M-Master? What is the matter?”
“Sh-she…?”
“Do you mean Lady Lily? If so, she left for work just now. She said she would return in the evening.”
“She was… really here?”
“Huh? Yes, she was here.”
“…I see. So, it wasn’t a dream…”
I found myself staring intently at my master as he muttered this.
Because Damian’s face, as he murmured in a daze, was utterly crimson.
—Just what did Lady Lily do??
And as I watched Damian standing there, face red and looking somewhat lost, I vaguely thought that this might be my master’s first love.