I Became the Butler of the Seventh Princess, Who’s Regressing Into a Child - Episode 31

Episode 31

As I welcomed the clingy Lady Luciana, I was sitting as usual with her resting her head on my lap. I gently petted her head and looked through some documents with one hand.

Then, Lady Luciana looked up at me.

“Rondo, what are you looking at?”

“These are the documents for the new maids who just came in.”

“Oh, those girls? Did something catch your attention?”

How should I convey this… I hesitated a bit.

After thinking for a moment, I decided to relay my thoughts to Lady Luciana, albeit vaguely.

“…..Earlier, when I was at the male brothel, I had the chance to see someone involved with the underworld. And there’s a person who resembles someone I saw back then.”

“…..What? Who is it?”

“It’s this person, named Rinyan.”

“…..I see.”

Lady Luciana was gazing at the paper I handed her while sitting on my lap.

“…..It seems there aren’t any particular issues with her background. I have the intelligence department investigating, so I don’t think there’s going to be a major problem.”

“…..That’s good to hear.”

……Maybe it’s just unnecessary worry.

“Well, you don’t need to make such a serious face. I’ll be the one to worry about things.”

“…You’re quite sensitive about this.”

“Indeed. I renounced my claim to the throne and manage a territory on the outskirts of the country like this… but that doesn’t mean there aren’t people who think I’m aiming for the throne of this country from the provinces. There are, unfortunately, those who seek to take my life.”

Now that I think about it, it was true.

The king had passed away quite a while ago, and now… they were still engaged in a gruesome struggle for the throne.

“Considering that, you came to the male brothel all by yourself.”

“…..That day, I was feeling a bit reckless.”

In response to my remark, Lady Luciana spoke softly and continued with a sigh.

“A few days before that… my sister was poisoned. There was a funeral in that town… and I stayed there for a few days. She was one of the few people I could trust. I was feeling quite down at that time… and I thought about ending it all. So I decided to visit the male brothel I was interested in and see if I could let loose for a change.”

“……I see.”

Lady Luciana’s sister was poisoned, huh.

…Now that I think about it, I might have heard something like that when she was taken to the male brothel.

I didn’t remember it well since I was preoccupied with my own matters.

“Well, perhaps it was fortunate that I met you because of that.”

Saying that, she smiled at me. I also felt lucky to have been taken in by her.

“Being a member of the royal family is really troublesome. I… was disliked by my mother the moment I was born as a girl. The king has many concubines. And since men hold more value in this country, my mother’s status dropped because she gave birth to a girl.”

“…Is that so?”

“Even so, I still have a claim to the throne. I’ve been resented and nearly killed several times by my stepmother, who had a stillborn child, or by my own siblings who wished to bring their own children closer to the throne… And in the end, my mother died.”

…Being royal is tough.

Actually, this country has it even worse. The king died without naming a successor. And on top of that, he was a womanizer with many concubines. It led to a lot of children being born.

If I recall correctly, in the game, he left behind a will stating something like, “The one with the greatest ability will become the next king.” It caused quite a bit of chaos within the country, didn’t it?

“During that time, I had the chance to speak to my father just once. …Do you know what he said?”

“…..Your father would be the king, right? I can’t even imagine.”

“‘Don’t trust anyone,’ he said. …Apparently, he told all the children with claims to the throne that. Even family can be enemies if they are of royal blood. That’s why, even now, many siblings are fighting over the throne.”

With a sigh, Lady Luciana looked at me.

“There are nobles belonging to each faction of the royal family. You really never know from whom your life may be threatened.”

Her expression seemed to convey a sense of resignation or enlightenment. Seeing it, I reflexively opened my mouth.

“I’m… on your side. I haven’t forgotten the favor you showed me, Lady Luciana.”

“…Heh, is that so? That makes me very happy.”

…Although I said it from the bottom of my heart, it seemed that Lady Luciana didn’t take my words seriously.

She had probably lived her life like that for a long time. Because of that, she had stopped expecting anything from others.

“…Pet my head.”

“…Okay, understood.”

Lady Luciana touched my still hand and said that.

…This regression might be a reaction to not being able to be spoiled for a long time.

Still, it feels like the reaction is a bit too intense.