Lawrend closed the door behind him and smiled widely.
'Our relationship seems to be getting closer.'
He thought to himself. He was just reciting the things he learned from the otome games in the memories of his past life, but hey if it works, why bother about the insignificant details?
Lawrend walked through the hallway and found his way to the dining room. All the butlers of the Horiel Mansion were already there. They all turned their heads when Lawrend entered.
The butlers already had an idea what this meeting would be about.
Lawrend sat on the chair on one of the ends of the long table. The butlers were all standing behind the chairs of the table.
"First of all, I want to ask everyone here to tell me the truth."
Lawrend spoke to them. Most of the butlers gulped when they heard his words.
"Now, tell me. Why is my father so distrustful of maids?"
Lawrend scanned them one by one as he asked. It was intimidating from the point of view of the butlers as cold sweat fell down their backs.
All of the butlers just looked at each other. No one had the guts to speak up.
"No one?"
Lawrend raised an eyebrow. There really is more to it that they didn't tell him before.
"Um, Young Master, I'll speak."
A butler spoke out. He was the youngest recruit. He was unlike them who were afraid of the Master. He never met him, and he was more inclined to trust in Lawrend.
If you couldn't remember, he was the same butler that stopped Lawrend in his silly daydreams at chapter 22.
"What is your name?"
Lawrend asked him. Though he could remember seeing this butler before, he hadn't actually known his name.
"Nao is my first name, and my last name is Minava."
Nao replied to Lawrend. He was a handsome butler with combed black hair. His height was similar to Lawrend, and he was slim.
"Speak."
Lawrend allowed him to speak.
"Mr. Albert told me that the Master was punished because of a maid, so we should see if the Young Master's maid is actually trustworthy."
Nao explained to Lawrend.
"Punished by who?"
Lawrend turned his head to Albert and asked. Who could even punish his father?
"I-I can't tell you, Young Master. I fear that the Master will kill me."
Albert replied to Lawrend with dread evident in his voice. Whatever it was that he was hiding, it was certainly not something simple.
"Don't worry, I'll tell my father that I asked you."
Lawrend reassured him. He really wanted to know the reason now.
"Young Master, I really can't tell you. That subject is the Master's reverse scale."
Albert's mouth didn't budge one bit. A reverse scale is something or someone that would cause the person to go bonkers. It was derived from the reverse scale of a dragon that would cause the dragon to attack frenziedly when touched.
"Sigh. Alright. I'll ask my father."
Lawrend shook his head and sighed. He knows that his father is strict so it wasn't hard to believe that he would kill someone who leaked his secrets.
"Anyways, where is my father anyway?"
Lawrend couldn't help but ask. His father never told him where he would go. He only told him that he would go on a business trip and return in 6 months.
"We don't know, Young Master. He kept his mouth shut about it."
Albert responded to Lawrend. Lawrend's father never informed them where he was going.
"Really? Why does it feel like I don't know my father at all?"
Lawrend was skeptical. Did his father become mysterious only recently, or was he just too stupid to notice it before? Probably the latter.
"Anyways, you may all leave. Nao Minava, stay here."
Lawrend ordered the butlers. As for Nao, he was visibly surprised that Lawrend ordered him to stay.
"What is it, Young Master?"
Nao approached Lawrend and asked.
Lawrend waited for all of the butlers to leave the dining room before he opened his mouth.
"Are you a new hire?"
Lawrend asked him as he looked straight into his eyes.
"Y-Yes."
Nao stuttered as he replied.
"Take this money and buy yourself good food. You seem quite thin."
Lawrend passed a gold bill to Nao. Nao blinked his eyes as he looked at the gold bill on the table. Its denomination was 100, which means that it was worth 100 Gold when exchanged.
"This is too much, Young Master. I only spoke the truth."
Nao was reluctant to take the gold bill.
"Don't worry about it. I like an honest butler like you. Also, tell Albert to meet Aleshia and do what she says. As for you, wait in front of Ella's room."
Lawrend waved his hand and reassured him with a smile before giving him orders. In his opinion, having a butler like Nao that was not like those other butlers who refused to speak earlier was a good thing.
"Thank you for the praise, Young Master!"
Nao bowed his head respectfully and happily. He took the gold bill and left Lawrend alone.
"Hm… is it my imagination but his hand seems to be small?"
Lawrend turned his head to the exit of the dining room in thought,
"Whatever, I'll visit Mr. Olgar."
Lawrend shook his head and stood up. He carried Allen with him. He honestly didn't know what to do with Allen now that he was back home.
"But before that, I'll take you to the lawn."
Lawrend said out loud. He brought Allen to the back of the mansion and dropped him to the ground. He informed a nearby guard to protect Allen before he left.
Lawrend passed through quite a lot of hallways. It may not look like it, but it was intentional that the Guest Room was far away from the important rooms. This is to make it harder for assassins that pretend to be a guest to reach the Master's room.
After a long walk, Lawrend arrived in front of a white double door.
Knock Knock
"Mr. Olgar? It's Lawrend."
Lawrend waited in front of the door patiently.
"Enter."
Olgar's voice sounded from deep inside the room.