Chapter 4

Now, then. I felt sorry for doing this so soon after putting Craig under so much stress, but I already heard what I wanted to hear so I thought I had to get started immediately. It seemed like I haven’t met the protagonist yet, but if this world was going to work the way the novel did, then I shouldn’t be wasting my free time.

I didn’t ask Craig to leave the room as he silently waited for my instructions and rang the bell that had been standing on the edge of my desk. Ding! I rang it once, and after a few beats, a voice rose from the other side of the door.

“I am here.”

“Come in, Karl.”

“Yes. Pardon my intrusion.”

A slim and well-proportioned man in a tailcoat quietly entered the room when given permission. He was wearing glasses with a delicate frame, and his lustrous black hair was parted on one side. His name was Karl Anker. This man was a super butler who could handle everything from all administrative duties of this excessively vast estate to the preparation of my tea.

Basically, the people in this estate were divided into three types: those who admire Heinreid, those who are frightened of him, and those who are secretly hiding their repulsion towards him like Craig. But Karl didn’t belong to any of those… Rather, he was a man whom I had no idea which one he belonged to. …He wasn’t even in the novel. No matter how dirty the job was, as long as he was ordered to, he would do it flawlessly. This part of him seemed like he was under the group who admire Heinreid, but this butler didn’t seem to show any indications that he wanted or expected anything from Heinreid. He wasn’t even moving his facial muscles or so at all… Is that what happens to people when they push professionalism to the limits?

Karl was still young. If Heinreid’s memory was correct, he was around twenty-eight years old? I was twenty-five years old, the same age as when I died, so he was three years older than me. I wouldn’t even think I’d be so calm and collected even if I lived for another three years.

“…”

Just for the record, Craig, who silently moved to the corner of the room, was currently 23 years old. I thought about it earlier, but what a person was thinking could actually appear on their face and behavior, right? Personally, it would feel more familiar than wearing an iron mask, but he didn’t seem to be good at expressing himself either and that worried me. I know it wasn’t any of my business, though.

“I am at your command, my lord.”

Karl stood in front of me to replace Craig and offered me a reverent bow at an angle as if to set an example. I briefly told him my instructions.

“I’m going to the dungeons. When I get back, I want you to have the list of prisoners ready.”

“As you wish. Would you like one of each for prison one and prison two, for the current year only?”

“Yes, I’ll leave it to you.”

“Understood.”

Whoosh. Thud, thud. Clack. Tchk.1

Karl left the room so quickly that he only could express himself with a few onomatopoeia and mimetic words.

So fast… This is what I meant by having neither admiration nor imprudence. Well, since he’s putting my commands as his top priority, I guess he’s competent enough?

The list of prisoners I left Karl to do… as the name implies, was a bundle of papers tightly written with names and charges of those imprisoned in the dungeons of this estate. The memories of Heinreid still remained, but I was still given the right to act now. I wanted a document written with the proper figures to move concretely in the future as well.

…Memories of Heinreid, huh.

I recalled the exchange I just had with Craig. It’s not that I wasn’t deprived of my own free will. It was like… my question, “What should I say next?” was answered by the memories that remained in me, saying “This is what Heinreid would say.” I didn’t know how to describe it, but if we were talking about the feeling, the expression of ‘my playing cards have increased’ was rather fitting.

It was complicated to have playing cards full of irreverent words that were typical of a villainous noble, but… it was probably necessary to move in this perspective. In fact, I was able to gather information I couldn’t get by using Heinreid’s words (threats). Even if I don’t do any misdeeds, there seemed to be a lot of situations where playing the villain would make things go smoothly.

I’m not sure how I’d do things by feelings alone, but alright. Let’s just play it by ear.

“Well then, Craig. Let’s go.”

I left my seat when I had reached a conclusion. There was no point in just thinking about it, so I decided to do at least one thing today. I was just about to place my hand on the door when Craig grabbed the doorknob to interrupt me.

No, no, you didn’t have to rush in like that. I’m not going to punish you for not opening the door, you know.

◆◇◆

“M-My lord. Why are we going to the… dungeons?”

As I walked down the hallway at a fast pace, I suddenly heard a voice from behind. It was a place where I felt like I won’t ever feel at ease… though I was certain it was an unpleasant place.

“Because I have something to do? What, you don’t have to force yourself to come if you don’t want to. I can go by myself.”

If possible, I wanted Craig to come with me in order to proceed smoothly with my plans after this, but I don’t intend on forcing him. I’d be able to get by if I used Heinreid’s authority, so him refusing was fine with me. I meant to say that lightly, but it didn’t seem to be about not wanting him to go. Craig answered with a stutter, as if trying to be careful with his words.

“It’s not like that. But, just where… I mean, to which prison?”

Which, as Karl had mentioned, was the prison’s number. There were two prisons in this estate. The first one was a prison where criminals are held. The other was a prison for keeping hostages.

Prison one was where the victims of Heinreid, the civilians, were locked up together; but the people in prison two were relatives of the so-called ‘influential people’. The seeds of justice, with the potential to rise against bad governance. It was a place to confine those who had been kidnapped, weighing them down to hold them back from sprouting.

We were heading there now, but… There was something about it that he got so impatient to ask me. Should I try to bluff him a little?

I stopped walking and looked back. I began to talk while maintaining eye contact with him to avoid missing the subtleties of his expression.

“Prison one,”

It was only for a moment, but Craig’s eyes widened so obviously.

…Listen here, you. I’m really curious how you managed to stay alive this long. Wouldn’t it be better for you to follow Karl’s example? It’s good that I’m the one inside right now, but if you showed that kind of weakness to Heinreid, he’ll abuse you until you cough out blood, you know.

In fact, his lord’s (Heinreid’s) dictionary inside my brain was overflowing with power harassment remarks, but I refrained myself from tormenting him any further because I felt sorry for him.

“You think I’d go there? There aren’t any new sinners, so I have no use for that place. It’s prison two.”

“…I will accompany you.”

Yeah, good for you. But hide your relieved face at least.

From there, we had no more conversation and headed for our destination. We walked through a long hallway and made a few turns, heading to the northernmost part of the mansion. The prison guard standing before two iron doors was surprised by the sudden visit, but when I demanded for the key with a certain number, he presented it out to me while trembling and opened the door of prison two. I left the key with Craig and went down through the stairs inside. Once we got out of the narrow place, we came out to an open area with several doors. We arrived in front of the room of my objective, though the dimness and the putrid smell made me feel depressed. Craig, holding the key, took the initiative, knocked on the door and sent a signal.

“Elmer Kisch. The lord is here. I’m opening the door.”

Rattle. Clang!

The noise came from behind a different door.

…That’s right, I guess there’s no way things would go well when Heinreid is here. It’s not surprising that they’re scared. But I’m not getting any response from the most vital person I’m visiting. What’s the meaning of this? …Don’t tell me, they were so surprised that they fainted?

Emerald eyes glanced at me, asking for my judgement, so I urged him to open it by nodding towards him. Acknowledging it, Craig unlocked the door with the key, and beyond that was… a blanket that rose and fell regularly.

…Huh, is he asleep?

“Elmer Kisch! Get up!”

Craig yelled out in an angry voice as if he were in a desperate situation.

H-hey. You… Think about your volume and distance from me! I thought my eardrums would break.

Still, it was just the right wake-up call for the ears covered by the blanket. He squirmed once more, then the man inside it woke up.

“Uhhnn, haaa… Ah, please excuse me… Is it time for… meal…?”

As he removed the hands that were rubbing his eyes, our gazes met. His cat-like eyes flickered a few times, then he grew pale in the next instant.

“Lord… Hein…reid?!”

Brushing aside his blanket and tumbling out of the bed was a young boy with chestnut-colored hair that nimbly bounced around.