#105
About two days ago.
Marcus had just set foot in the masterless palace.
‘Why isn’t there a single palace servant coming out?’
It wasn’t like he had snuck in, but even if the master hadn’t come for a while, wasn’t the discipline too lax?
That was separate from their insolent attitude toward that master.
“Head Servant.”
Finally, when he called out, only then did an elderly palace servant hurry over from a distance.
He had heard about this person from Skyle, but honestly, he had no interest in what this Head Servant’s name was or what he used to do.
“You sought me out, Lord Naha.”
“Yes, the master of this palace said he had something to convey.”
When he mentioned Ersen, a look of surprise crossed the Head Servant’s face.
For the Empire’s Sword Master to volunteer to convey the words of a mere cursed prince to the palace – it was indeed something to doubt one’s ears about.
“What… message did he ask you to convey?”
“He asked me to check whether things are being managed properly, didn’t he?”
“……That person said this?”
But wasn’t it too careless to show this so openly?
‘There’s not even an effort to hide the neglect.’
This wasn’t strange.
There were plenty of people in the Empire who said Ersen was cursed. Even if such talk was whispered in the palace, no one would arrest them. It was essentially the same as the Emperor abandoning him.
‘I can’t really say anything about that part either.’
It wasn’t only these people who moved freely while the Emperor gave tacit permission.
So feeling this unpleasant was quite awkward.
Marcus slowly looked away from the Head Servant who was clearly suspicious. He wasn’t in a position to scold them.
And he boldly walked inside.
“If you understand, then guide me.”
“……Then, where would you like to start?”
The Head Servant asked, staying beside him.
He seemed to be managing his expression somewhat now, but seeing how pale he’d become, there seemed to be something troubling him.
Seeing him convey intentions to somewhere with gestures, he seemed to be controlling the palace servants.
Had this person encouraged neglecting Ersen, or had he simply stood by and watched? How involved was he in having only those with special grudges against the demon Eris assigned as palace servants?
Marcus noted things to check one by one while taking in each of the palace servants who gradually revealed themselves.
“Let’s start with the most important space.”
“Then……”
The place the Head Servant guided him to was the Prince’s office.
Every palace has basic spaces for the palace’s master. An office, bedroom, and reception room.
He had thought he would be guided to either the office or bedroom, but the important thing was that he guided him without objection and in one go.
Either way, even someone claiming to have received the master’s orders shouldn’t casually reveal such places.
Though accepting such an excuse at once was problematic to begin with.
‘Should I be grateful he didn’t guide me to the bedroom?’
Since the bedroom was a more private space than the office.
The state of the office was, honestly speaking, not good.
It was obvious they had hastily mopped, leaving corners uncleaned, and those places weren’t just dusty but completely grimy.
“It shows no signs of use.”
“He rarely uses the office.”
“But you haven’t stopped maintaining it, I see.”
When he pointed to shelves that looked hastily cleaned, the Head Servant blinked rapidly then nodded.
“Of course, shouldn’t that be proper?”
“Faithful.”
Judging by the various glances he had exchanged on the way here, this state seemed to be better than other places.
Moreover, seeing the bustling sounds of people now avoiding this place and moving about frantically, they seemed to be frantically cleaning other areas.
Marcus held back laughter at the absurdity.
“Would you like to look around a bit more?”
“To that extent?”
“Since you said you were asked to……”
Did he really make such a request, and even if he did, are you really going to comply? That was the meaning implied in his expression and words.
Marcus held back another sneer.
He leisurely raised the corners of his mouth and looked around the office with a relaxed posture, turning only his head.
Then he said.
“This is enough. Now let’s go to the reception room.”
“……Very well.”
Soon, Marcus asked in a voice tinged with amusement.
“His Highness seems to use the reception room more often than the office?”
Despite several palace servants having seen him speak casually to the Prince, today he was brazenly using honorifics.
‘What does he want to do?’
At Marcus’s such behavior, the Head Servant looked at him with suspicious eyes while inevitably giving proper answers.
As long as no harm came to them, it didn’t matter what he did.
“That’s generally the case. His body seems to remember his birth mother’s habits.”
“……”
“Please wait, I’ll bring tea. Take your time looking around.”
“……You’re not aware you misspoke?”
“……Pardon?”
Marcus burst into laughter with a “kuk.”
The Head Servant hesitated as if bewildered, then slowly began to turn pale. To openly say such things about his birth mother, and in front of a guest – it made no sense.
No matter how despised a prince he was, it was behavior that far crossed the line.
Marcus wondered what to do.
Originally, he had come today to hear about Ersen’s situation before age seven from the long-serving palace servants.
‘I was planning to take them aside one by one to question them.’
But regardless of that purpose, actions that were hard to overlook kept repeating.
“Hey. Do you think the Sword Master is a joke?”
“Yes, yes? Wh-what, no, how could that be! How dare I!”
“Right, how dare you.”
Marcus nodded with an enigmatic expression.
“I was talking about what you’re trying to do without my knowledge.”
The Head Servant gasped.
“Even if I try to pretend not to know, when it’s all so audible.”
“……L-Lord Naha.”
“Moreover, that statement just now – isn’t that just demanding I understand?”
“Such…!”
“This really seems like treating him not as a master but as a dog you’re raising.”
What Marcus heard wasn’t simply noisy commotion.
This palace was an abandoned palace without convenience magic like soundproofing. That meant not only could he clearly hear the palace servants frantically cleaning and turning the palace upside down, but also their conversations among themselves.
Only now remembering that fact, the Head Servant stammered with a ghastly pale face.
Yet even in that state, he didn’t kneel.
Marcus guessed the reason and inwardly smiled bitterly.
That attitude of thinking it wouldn’t be serious enough to beg forgiveness was also due to the general perception of the Prince, and would be due to Marcus’s own attitude toward the Prince thus far.
Though Marcus was pointing out the ‘wrong,’ seeing that he wasn’t strongly showing displeasure or immediately handing down punishment, he might be acting like this.
‘I’m not the palace’s master to begin with, so I don’t have the authority to impose great punishment.’
Even if he reported this, would the Emperor who had turned a blind eye to their behavior thus far impose severe punishment?
‘Quick calculator.’
The palace servants’ sounds gradually diminished.
He could also hear a palace servant who had been outside the door running to inform other palace servants of the situation.
Marcus broke the brief silence and spoke to the Head Servant with an expressionless face.
“Everyone gather.”
“……Um.”
“Is making me repeat myself your specialty?”
“N-no. Everyone, I’ll gather everyone.”
“If you understood, why are you asking back?”
“I apologize, Lord Naha. Please forgive my rudeness.”
“Enough, don’t gather them in this room but in the corridor.”
In three rows, in proper formation.
“What are you doing? You’re not going either.”
“……Yes!”
The Head Servant swallowed and withdrew with a confused face.
During the three minutes it took for the palace servants to gather, Marcus personally looked around every corner of the palace.
“Well now, only the reception room has been cleaned. Do you only clean here and the corridor?”
The bedroom and office were in relatively better condition.
The bedroom was like that because the master had lived in that space, not because it was maintained.
What was amusing was that the spaces used by the servants were clean.
Marcus giggled.
That it was definitely not a pleasant laugh was something everyone gathered in three rows who witnessed that laugh could tell.
“Raise your hand if you’ve served here for 13 years or more.”
Marcus stared at them intently without speaking for about a minute, then unexpectedly said something out of the blue without a word about cleaning.
After reading the mood, exactly three people raised their hands.
“There are some?”
Considering other palaces, it was an absurdly small number, but the fact that there were any was important.
Marcus first isolated them in the reception room, then looked around at the remaining personnel.
And he grinned.
“Well then, shall we have a little chat now?”
For a moment, a chill ran through them, and all the remaining palace servants trembled.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
