Chapter 5 The Dream Of Butler Kaine
This time, it's a slightly serious chapter from Kaine's perspective☆.
I had a dream.
"Hey Kaine, you're really such a fool. You don't know anything, do you?"
As she said this with an exasperated tone, the beautiful person smiled coolly.
Her gently arched eyebrows, high nose bridge, and thin lips were perfectly balanced on her small face.
Her deep blue eyes, framed by long eyelashes, were looking straight at me.
They were cold and dignified, like a night sky that envelops everything.
On the other hand, I was at a loss.
The tea I prepared by imitation was incredibly bitter and undrinkable.
──"I'm sorry," I muttered, biting my lip in frustration.
Coming from a slum, I didn't know the first thing about making tea.
"Alright, I'll teach you from the very beginning."
She said, standing up and coming closer to me. A strand of her beautiful hair fell softly from her shoulder.
You could tell at a glance that she was of noble birth. Just by existing, she sparkled beautifully. Her gestures were graceful down to her fingertips, and her voice was delicate, like the sound of bells. Yet, betraying her fragile appearance, her personality was fierce, selfish, and tyrannical.
All of this had captivated me since the moment we met by chance.
The most important person in my life.
The person I call "my lady" picked me up, a hopeless fool, and kept me by her side as her butler.
I, who was persecuted for having foreign blood and rummaged through trash in the slums.
Moreover, she generously provided me with all the education I lacked.
I served her with all my might.
Any little whims or excessive caprices were nothing compared to what she had given me.
While everyone else ran away, I endured it all.
I had decided to dedicate all my loyalty to her until the day my soul burned out.
"──So, Kaine. Watch closely. First, you warm the teacup."
"Yes, my lady!"
In the dream, I responded to the person who smiled beautifully, completely innocent.
Naive as I am, I respond to them. Stupid as I am, I believed foolishly that all that awaited this beautiful person in the future was only happiness.
* * *
Kaine Ricciardi woke up at his usual time.
Kaine's room was shared with 3 other servants, and the other servants were still snoring.
"This is once again, a nostalgic dream..."
Kaine murmured to himself.
The dream he saw was one of his so-called past lives.
It was the dream of the hopelessly ignorant and foolish Kaine Ricciardi from before his reincarnation.
After a moment of pondering, Kaine shook his head and sighed.
He got up, quickly put on his work clothes, and ran his hands through his hair carelessly.
As a butler, he had a lot to do from the morning, so he couldn't afford to daydream.
Kaine went for a jog around the castle, and then proceeded to do various tasks such as cleaning the quiet castle, sewing for Rhiannon, and organizing documents.
After finishing one task, he hurried to the kitchen without a break.
He was going to make the first cup of tea for Rhiannon.
An elderly, well-built cook was in the kitchen, and he smiled when he saw Kaine.
"Oh, you're early today, Kaine. Taking care of the Lady must be tough."
"It's part of my job as a butler."
"Wow, you're amazing. I couldn't handle taking care of that Lady, who's so hard to please."
The cook chuckled.
He knew that the previous butlers of Rhiannon had been easily fired.
Kaine, who had been perfectly acting as Rhiannon's butler for more than half a year, was an exceptional case.
Kaine, who was the person in question, skillfully prepared the tea.
The cook stood next to Kaine to prepare breakfast and glanced at him.
"Hey, I heard a rumor that you were quite harsh to Sir Fellui, the head of the Clahsen family, the other day?"
"Yeah, I might have said that."
Kaine nodded lightly.
The cook slightly furrowed his brow.
"Listen, as your senior, I have to tell you this: you should be more careful with your choice of words towards your superiors. Sir Fellui is a kind person, but you can't take advantage of that."
"...Thank you for your advice. I'll be more mindful from now on."
Kaine made a safe reply to the cook while inwardly grimacing.
To put it bluntly, Kaine despised Fellui Clahsen, Rhiannon's father.
In her previous life, when Rhiannon fell into a trap set by Sarah Belts and was in a pinch, Fellui was of no help at all.
He just floundered around.
Even though he couldn't go against the royal family's decisions, as the head of the Clahsen family, he could have done something more.
After all, Rhiannon's selfishness escalated from her need to confirm whether she was truly loved.
If Fellui had faced Rhiannon properly as a father instead of dumping her education on the nurse and maids, Rhiannon wouldn't have grown up to be such a spoiled and arrogant person.
On top of that, what bothered Kaine even more was that Fellui publicly stated he would accept whoever Rhiannon brought as her "destined partner" as her husband.
It made him want to harshly question him, thinking, "He just doesn't want to put in the effort to choose a partner as a father." From Kaine's perspective, Fellui was the worst kind of father, having given up on facing Rhiannon directly.
His hands-off approach was excessive.
Just seeing his face made him want to throw a sharp word or 2 his way.
Despite Kaine's bitter feelings, the cook cheerfully laughed and changed the subject.
"I always think that the tea you brew, Kaine, looks delicious. It smells great!"
"Yeah, it does, right? The water temperature is 84 degrees. The steeping time is exactly 2 minutes and 30 seconds. It's perfect today too."
"I always wonder, does that 84 degrees really matter?"
"To be honest, the taste doesn't change much even around 80 degrees, but I adjust it so that when the young lady drinks the tea, it ends up being a bit hotter at 62 degrees."
"Wow! That's some serious attention to detail."
"No, it's just a trivial matter. It's only natural for a butler to do this."
Kaine smiled pleasantly and said, "Well then," as he left the kitchen.
His destination was Rhiannon's room.
The luxurious hallway of the Clahsen house was filled with morning sunlight.
Kaine strode down the hallway, making sure the tea didn't cool down.
Kaine knocked on the large door at the top floor of the central building with a practiced hand, and then opened it.
In the luxurious room, bathed in the bright morning light, a girl with milk tea-colored hair was peacefully sleeping on the bed.
Her cheeks were rosy, and her mouth seemed to be slightly smiling.
Kaine gazed at her defenseless sleeping form for a moment.
(I want to protect this person. ...No, I will definitely protect her.)
For that, he would spare no means.
He was ready to do anything.
After staring for a while, Kaine took a deep breath and shook Rhiannon's shoulder.
"Good morning, my lady."
"Umm..."
Rhiannon let out a small groan before waking up with a start.
"Mmm...──Huh, wait, Kaine! I finished my dictation homework!"
"Are you still dreaming, Lady Rhiannon? It's already morning."
"...No way, it feels like I was doing homework even in my dreams..."
"That's a good sign. However, you still haven't finished your dictation homework. You fell asleep in the middle of it yesterday."
"Th-that's not fair! I worked so hard on it in my dream!"
Kaine sighed a little and tilted his head at Rhiannon, who was holding her head with a pale face.
"Considering breakfast and getting ready, you have about an hour and ten minutes until the tutor arrives. At your speed, it should be just enough time to finish."
"R-really!?"
"Yes, I guarantee it. If you weren't going to make it, I would have woken you up last night."
"Oh, speaking of which, how did I get to bed yesterday?"
"With all due respect, I carried you to bed. By the way, my lady, you've lost a little weight again. Your waist is now just the length of my second finger joint."
"Ugh, how do you know that? That's gross..."
"Oh, it's been a while since I've seen that face. Please, insult me with stronger words. Something like, 'Kaine is an idiot' or 'You don't know anything,' something along those lines..."
"Absolutely not!"
"Well, you don't have to refuse so strongly."
Kaine shook his head sadly with a theatrical gesture and offered a hot cup of tea.
Rhiannon took a sip of the tea.
"...──Ah, it's delicious. Of course, it doesn't compare to the tea I make."
"Yeah, that's true."
Kaine gave a wry smile.
Rhiannon was still as competitive as ever.
No matter how much Kaine pointed it out, it seemed like that wouldn't change.
However, after a brief pause, Rhiannon murmured softly.
"But you know, drinking your tea made me feel a bit calmer. Thank you."
With a shy smile directed at Rhiannon, Kaine returned the smile politely.
"I'll do my best to protect this smile," he resolved strongly in his heart.
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