Lately, a smile never left Ella's lips.

-It's delicious... It's really delicious.

Because she had achieved what she had longed for.

She thought she would never be able to meet him again.

She thought she would never be able to see the child she had unintentionally with a love that blossomed at a young age, the child she had treated harshly, thinking of him as a burden.

Giving love to an inadequate mother.

-Please read me a storybook...

A good child who did not complain to the worst mother.

-Thank you for the teddy bear.

-...Ha.

Because she had abandoned him.

The maternal love that came late had made her make a foolish choice. The child who had always seemed like a burden had suddenly grown so large in her heart.

-Wait here. I'll be back to get you soon.

She had gambled, hurting her child because she didn't want him to inherit her miserable life. That gamble had failed, leaving only a scar in her heart.

-It seems there was a murder...

-Pardon...?

-The heretics... they said they killed a young child. Hearing the young lady's story, it seems the silver-haired kid hasn't been seen since that incident... Oh my, how...

The dream that had ended in despair was finally coming true. It was coming to the most worthless mother in the world like a miracle.

The child she had wounded with her own hands had grown up to be brighter than anyone else in the world.

-My name is Mikhail.

-...

-I'm living as a boy for certain reasons, but I'm doing well. I'm attending the academy and I even got first place in the ranking tournament.

-...That's amazing. I haven't done anything for you.

-...Please speak comfortably.

-No... how can I do that... I... I...

A child's dream cannot be my dream.

Because I, who had done nothing for him, could not take credit for his success.

She was just grateful that he ate the food she made and that he was alive before her eyes.

That he came to find his worthless mother.

That he extended a hand to someone who had committed an unforgivable sin, it was all because the child who had lived under the name Mikhail had mustered his courage.

Ella, who clenched her fists, thought of the benefactor who had connected everything and let out a sigh.

"Haa... what a mess."

She wanted to repay him, but there was nothing she could do.

-Have a good time, mother.

She didn't think she could prepare a gift that would satisfy the servant of the immensely wealthy Desmunt family.

As the butler of a young lady, he must have received many expensive jewels and gifts. The benefactor's sword, which she had seen in passing, also looked priceless, so she couldn't even dream of giving him a weapon as a gift.

In her heart, she wanted to sell the shop and prepare a gift, but she couldn't because of the desire to protect the place where her child would return.

Ella, who could only give him bread she had baked with her own crude skills, put on a worried expression, picked up a paper bag full of bread and cookies, and began to prepare to leave the shop.

'I'll just drop off the bread and come back...'

Desmunt was a scary place, but Ella, who believed that nothing would happen if she just delivered the gift, was about to leave the shop with a heavy heart when.

-Jingle.

With a clear bell sound, the shop door opened and an old man in a suit began to walk in.

Ella gave an apologetic smile and spoke to the customer who had entered. She had planned to close for the day.

"I'm sorry, sir! We're closed for..."

Ella's expression began to harden.

"Why are you...?"

The person who had opened the door and entered was a face she could not forget even after all these years.

Wolfgang's butler.

The ill-fated connection who had ruthlessly kicked her out of the mansion had come.

"You've done quite well for yourself."

"..."

"Heh heh... we haven't seen each other in a long time, are you not happy to see me? Tsk tsk... after I was so good to you."

Wolfgang's butler smiled as he stroked the leaf of a potted plant next to the door with his finger.

"What brings you here?"

"I came to a restaurant to eat, is there any other reason?"

"..."

Ella clenched her fists at his nonchalant words. The old man she remembered was not someone who would come without a reason.

"Please leave. We are closed for the day."

"Just a simple dish. I'm hungry, so I need to eat something."

"There are many restaurants in Hamel. I'm sorry, but please leave."

Wolfgang's butler, with a benevolent smile, looked at the paper bag on the table and said.

"Give me that bread. I'll pay you handsomely for it."

"...This is a gift for someone else."

"Isn't it a gift for a commoner anyway? There seems to be a lot of bread, so it would be better to sell it to a nobleman for a high price."

"I said it's not for sale."

"Are you disobeying a nobleman's words now...? Who is this great person you're saving it for?"

"..."

"Are you planning to take a new husband?"

"You're being rude."

"Shut up."

Wolfgang's butler, who had erased his benevolent smile, looked at the tight-lipped Ella and began to frown.

"Just because time has passed doesn't mean your and my origins have changed. You were a lowly dancer who got lucky and opened a restaurant... and I am a noble."

"...Then why did such a great person come to this humble restaurant?"

"Hmm..."

-Snap.

The butler, who had plucked a leaf from the plant, roughly clenched his fist and shook his hand.

"I was trying to be friendly, but you're so classless... This is why commoners are a problem."

"..."

The butler, who had been spouting insults, put on a cold expression and said, as if giving an order.

"I'll be blunt."

"..."

"If you're seeing someone, break it off."

"What are you talking about?"

"You heard me. I said if you're seeing someone, break it off."

"...I don't think it's any of your business who I'm seeing."

"It's an order."

"I am no longer a part of Wolfgang, and I don't want to get involved with Wolfgang... It's quite unpleasant for you to order me around like this after you threw me away like a dog."

"The family head wishes to see you."

"Ha... that's a relief. I was thinking he might be dying."

"How dare you..."

"I refuse. That person is no longer in my life."

"Even after he ordered you to be brought back... you're still refusing?"

"Yes."

"How rude."

Wolfgang's butler, who was slowly approaching, looked straight into Ella's eyes and said.

"You said you have a child."

"...!"

"A son?"

"..."

"Tell me."

"It's a daughter."

"A daughter?"

The butler frowned for a moment and opened his eyes coldly.

"I see... I see."

He thought something was strange, but he didn't know he was dressed as a boy.

"Then it would be better to leave him as a boy."

"What did you say...?"

Ella, who couldn't ignore the butler's words, clenched her fists and began to speak as if she would kill him. Every word he said seemed to be referring to someone.

"Tell me..."

"I believe I told you to shut up."

"Tell me right now... what you're plotting."

Absolutely not.

She would rather die than get involved in that hell again. Her daughter, at least, could not get involved with them.

How she had escaped that hell...

How she had met her child...

"I said, what did you just say!!!"

Absolutely not.

Wolfgang's butler, who pushed Ella away as if it were nothing, said in a calm voice.

"Mikhail."

"..."

"Since the young master is the family head's child, shouldn't you take responsibility?"

"Shut up...!! What have you done for him to say such a thing...!!"

"It won't be a bad thing for him either. His lowly status, which he thought was a commoner, will be elevated to that of a marquis's child in an instant."

"Absolutely not."

"Convince the young master to come to the Wolfgang mansion as soon as possible. The family head has specially offered to give you the position of a concubine, so consider it an honor and hurry."

"...I said no."

"What did you say."

"I'm not going back to that hell!!!!"

-Grind.

The sound of teeth grinding is heard.

He couldn't ignore the words of a wench who dared to disobey the order of the master of the west, a marquis.

He was originally going to kill her.

If it became known to the outside that lowly blood was mixed in, there would surely be talk, so he was going to frame it as finding a child who was thought to be dead, but that would be insufficient to make a child named Mikhail understand, so he was going to keep her alive.

-Interesting.

-...

-Well done, butler. If it becomes known that the master of the holy sword is a person of Wolfgang, we will be well-regarded by the public. And you said the Desmunt young lady's beloved man was Mikhail.

-That is correct.

-Kuhaha... it will all work out. It seems things will work out even without joining hands with the heretics.

-That is correct.

But.

At the words of the wench who was objecting to this perfect plan, the butler clenched his fists and began to stride forward.

"How I escaped that hell!!!"

"..."

"Why I left my daughter in a slum!!! Just because I believed your words!!! If I hadn't believed the words of that scum, none of this would have happened!!!"

"..."

"I can't go!!! Even if I die, I can't send my daughter!!!"

"How dare you..."

The moment the butler's clenched fist extended menacingly.

"Ah...."

With a chilling aura, blood began to stop circulating in his hand.

"You're being noisy. No matter how much of a pushover we may seem, Hamel is the Duke's territory..."

As the roughly grabbed hand approached as if to crush his wrist, Wolfgang's butler drew the sword at his waist and began to thrust it. The insolent person who dared to touch a nobleman's body had to pay for his crime with death.

He couldn't be a nobleman.

The customers who would come to a low-quality restaurant would be commoners or adventurers.

But.

"Do you want to die?"

The gaze of the person looking down coldly made him lose the burning killing intent. He was not hiding the killing intent that said he would kill him if he moved even a little.

Wolfgang's butler, who had stopped his thrusting dagger, trembled as he looked at the red-haired man who had grabbed his wrist.

Desmunt.

"What business does Wolfgang have in Desmunt's territory...? Without the lord's permission."

"..."

"Are you planning to wage a territorial war?"

"You..."

"Not you, you should use honorifics. Even among butlers, there's a certain rank."

The grim reaper looked down at him and gave an order.

He couldn't find fault with the attitude of the person who spoke so arrogantly despite having the title of baron. The person who was glaring at him as if he would kill him at any moment was like a grim reaper.

"I was watching to see how far you would go with your open mouth... but the smell was unbearable."

"How dare... a mere commoner...!"

"My name is Ricardo, the personal butler serving Lady Olivia Desmunt. If you have any complaints, please speak to the young lady directly."

"You are messing with Wolfgang's butler. Think carefully..."

-Crack.

The red-haired man glared as if to break his wrist and said coldly.

"I told you."

"..."

"There's a certain rank."

"..."

He couldn't breathe.

A premonition that something was terribly wrong...

"Do you really want to die?"

It resonated throughout his body.

There are lines that should not be crossed.

"My... my arm...!! Ughaaaaaaah..."

For a dog with an owner to cross a stranger's fence and ruin their yard was an act of contempt towards the homeowner.

"You insolent... how dare you!!"

A dog that barks knowing it's in the wrong naturally deserves to be punished.

"Let go... if you don't want to die...!!!"

And it is right for the owner who let the dog loose to also be judged by the law and punished. Because there might be malicious intent.

So, in this situation, who should be punished first?

"You must know that the responsibility for a mere commoner like you assaulting the exclusive butler of a Marquis's family will not end with just you!!!"

Is it right to punish the brainless dog, or is it right to punish the owner who let the dog loose?

"You're being loud..."

The conventional wisdom in society is that it's right to punish the owner, but.

"Do I need to shove that glass bottle in your mouth to make you quiet?"

I, who wanted to punish both sides, was speaking while suppressing my boiling anger.

"I'm really angry. I tried to endure it as much as possible."

I meddled in things I shouldn't have, just to prevent a tragedy like the one in the novel.

I couldn't figure out what to do with this man who was ruining all my efforts so far.

Because in Desmunt, there is assault on the elderly, but no respect for them.

"Kuaaaak... because of your youthful recklessness, you're finally causing trouble for your master..."

"..."

"I knew it from the moment you came to the west. A poorly bred fellow like you was bound to bring great trouble to your master someday."

Despite the fact that his fingertips were turning pale from the lack of blood flow to his arm, at the butler's bravado, I took a calm breath and spoke.

"It seems you didn't understand, so I will say it again."

"..."

"This is Desmunt territory."

"...Do you think such a threat will work on me? I asked if you think the head of the family would take a loss to protect a commoner like you."

"..."

"Let go of this hand and beg. I will forgive you by cutting off one of your legs."

Haa, what trick did he use to come to Hamel and wag his tail? Is it because of the Crown Prince, or because of Wolfgang?

Or did he get a surge of strength because of Mikhail?

I, who was roughly grabbing the arm of the dog raised by Wolfgang, ignored the frantic slapping and checked on Ella's well-being.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm sorry... because of me.. I'm sorry..."

"No, it's not that. I'm sorry for letting you experience this in Desmunt territory."

Wolfgang's dog, full of emotion, clutched its pale wrist as if it would bite it off any moment and began to spew expletives, foaming at the mouth.

"You don't think you'll get away with this, do you!!!"

Without a trace of aristocratic decorum.

"I will personally report this to the head of the Desmunt family and demand that he take responsibility for this incident!!"

"...Can a corpse speak?"

"...!!"

At the butler's face, which instantly paled, I uttered the word 'joke' and reined in my killing intent.

"Even if you weren't a corpse, why would the head of the Desmunt family meet with you? A noble who bought their title with money..."

"Shut up... do not insult the nobility."

"Ha... In the first place, the relationship between Wolfgang and Desmunt is not good... I don't know what you're expecting, but..."

With pale eyes, I released his hand that I had been gripping tightly and spoke.

"If you think I'm some beast who knows nothing, you've made a grave mistake."

[Rubella Rude Lv. 43]

[Occupation: Butler of the Wolfgang Marquis Family]

[Favorability: -100]

[Favorite Conversation Topics: Power. Glory of Wolfgang. Success. Reward. Women. Gambling. Money. Greed. 'Dealing with the cultists'. Mikhail....]

[Disliked Conversation Topics: Commoners. Lowly things. Dirty things. Desmunt. Anything that gets in Wolfgang's way....]

"Because I know more than you do."

I was already annoyed enough that Wolfgang's dog was in my lady's territory, but I was curious to the point of wanting to tear him apart to see what his line-crossing atrocity would be.

What he would do with the weapon that is Mikhail.... I was dying to know.

I didn't have to think deeply.

Considering Wolfgang's actions from the novel, I could roughly guess what he would do.

'Marriage.' Other than this, Wolfgang had no other way to resolve this situation, so even a fool would know.

Darvav told me.

Not as my lady's father, but as the head of Desmunt.

-Kyle went to threaten Wolfgang with a copy of the ledger.

-He did something dangerous.

-Overprotection is enough with just Olivia. Kyle takes after me.

-Did you get what you wanted?

-60% of the authority in the west. And I sent a letter requesting exclusive trade of pepper and the opening of a trade route to the east.

-Is that possible? That's basically asking for all the authority in the west... If it were me, I would have started a territorial war.

-That would be even more welcome. I was having trouble not being able to use the knights I've raised so well.

-...It is certainly a shame.

-More than that, the knights are itching to cut something down, which is a problem. Maybe because I only picked strange ones, they're even going on expeditions to the east to subjugate monsters.

-...Did Lady Rosanna pick them?

-Correct.

-...

-For now, you focus on the Imperial Princess. I plan to send someone to her to lend her strength in the succession race, but it seems to me that your role is more important.

I was going to focus on Shartia, but.

"You've crossed the line, Wolfgang."

I don't think I can stand it.

I, who was looking down at him with cold eyes, turned my head and hid Ella behind me.

"Ella-nim. Could you go to the young lady's mansion?"

"How dare I go to the young lady's mansion..."

"It's alright. My people will be waiting at the mansion."

"..."

"And I will speak to Mikhail, so don't worry."

Ella bowed her head and began to move towards the mansion where Hans and Elysia would be waiting.

"Where do you think you're going!!!"

"...!!"

"If you ignore the master's orders, your daughter won't survive either...!"

-Crack...

The moment the name of someone who shouldn't be touched came out of the dirty dog's mouth, I roughly grabbed his face and lifted it into the air.

"What did I say."

"...Keoheok.."

"Didn't I tell you not to run your mouth recklessly?"

"..."

"I said this is Desmunt territory."

"..."

"I think I've said it more than three times, are you thoughtless, Wolfgang?"

"..."

"Ah... It seems the head of the Wolfgang family truly wants to have a territorial war with Desmunt, so he sent you."

A territorial war.

"Nice."

I am also a person of Desmunt, so I didn't think badly of a territorial war.

The damage would be great, but those who move for a large reward all chose a profession where they hold a weapon, accepting the risk of death.

"I really don't know what's in your head."

"..."

"Just looking at me and the head of the family should give you an estimate..."

I trailed off, smiling as if I wanted to take out the brain of the butler I was roughly holding and check it, and then let go of his head.

-Thud...

"Heok... heok..."

Wolfgang's butler, with a clear handprint on his head, clutched his head and glared at me as if to kill me. With the same anger as before, as if asking if I thought I could get away with treating him like this.

"I'll kill you."

"..."

"I will use whatever means necessary to kill you for injuring the body of a noble."

"How are you going to kill me."

I bent one knee and looked down at him, speaking.

"How..."

"..."

"Are you going to kill a Sword Master...?"

".Wh-what did you say...?"

"Has the Crown Prince been keeping his mouth shut all this time?"

"...I heard your martial prowess was excellent, but.... your arrogance pierces the heavens..."

"Ah..."

It seems I didn't say it properly.

Or maybe he didn't believe it.

It seemed that to his mind, the level I had kindly spoken of was just taken as a future tense filled with arrogance.

That's why he's doing something so foolish. Unless he has two lives, to do something like this is honestly.

"Ha..."

Not funny.

"Alright, Butler-nim."

If he wants it that much, what can I do?

"Let's do it. Let's not just talk, let's do it hot."

"...What are you talking about."

"Bring your soldiers."

"..."

"No... come with the cultists on your side. While you're at it, bring an apostle."

Hearing my words, Wolfgang's butler's eyes widened and he pressed his lips together tightly.

"Who says Wolfgang would join hands with such wicked things..."

"Otherwise, how could you possibly defeat Desmunt?"

"Don't speak as if you are the head of Desmunt."

"The ledger."

"How do you know about that...?!"

"I'm the one who brought it, how could I not know?"

"..."

"Did the Crown Prince not even notice that? When the slave trader was raided, I was the first one there."

"You bastard..!!!"

I let out a cold breath and said.

"Don't lay a hand on Mikhail."

"..."

"At that time, it won't be a territorial war or anything, I will annihilate your family."

"..."

Wolfgang's butler, with a look of having lost everything, knelt on the ground, staring blankly at my departing back.

"Choose."

"..."

"Either entrust the authority of the west to Desmunt and keep your position as a noble."

"..."

"Or assert your paltry stubbornness and explode along with the ledger."

-Creak.

"Or if not that..."

-Thud.

"A territorial war... that doesn't sound so bad either."

I closed the door, let out a cold breath, and left.

And after some time, I heard an interesting story from Elysia.

-Wolfgang has joined hands with the cultists, using the master of the holy sword as collateral.

-I see.

-They plan to attack the Hamel mansion and the capital mansion in a pincer movement...

"I had a rough idea."

-Three apostles will be dispatched. Myself, the Apostle of Meekness, the Apostle of Benevolence, and the Apostle of Integrity are scheduled to move.

-...A large-scale advance.

As long as they don't have the ledger, it will be fine.

"This will be fun."

We just have to annihilate them.