episode_0004

Episode 4

“We will begin the lesson on dining etiquette. Please take your seat, Master Leon.”

“Yeah.”

I sat down in the empty seat, ignoring the stares of the two girls who were glaring at me as if they were going to kill me.

“Ha! Why does Father make us take classes with that commoner?”

“That’s right! Just being nearby would definitely make the smell so disgusting that it would ruin your appetite!”

“Tania, Serena, you must not use harsh language toward the master.”

“What kind of master are you! You’re an orphan!”

“Without mom and dad, the only thing you can do is steal!”

“…”

I can bear it when people call me an orphan, because it’s true.

But calling me a thief without a father or mother?

Of course, it is forgivable. He is still a child, so it is understandable that he is babbling based on his emotions.

Of course, ‘education’ is necessary to prevent this from happening in the future, but that’s not my role.

‘Well, even in my past life, my family was never harmonious. My father was an alcoholic and my mother ran away from home after having an affair with a gambling addict, so I was actually grateful when my parents cursed at me.’

Because of that guy who would beat my sister and I as if he was going to kill us whenever he drank, and sometimes even strangle us, even after I became an adult, I would wake up in shock whenever I heard the sound of the door lock password being pressed.

My face wrinkles involuntarily at the unpleasant memory that suddenly comes to mind.

“Are you feeling bad? What can I do if you feel bad?”

‘If you feel bad… there’s nothing I can do, hmm.’

“Tania…”

The old maid was fidgeting between me and Tania.

Normally, I would have been more proactive in trying to stop Tania, but perhaps because of my position as an adopted child who was an orphan, I am cautious.

‘It must be hard for the people around me too, but I have to endure it.’

In this dukedom, I am the successor, but I am ultimately an outsider.

The Duke clearly treats me as his successor, but in the end, I will not be the one to take over the Duke’s family.

So if I fight Tania or Serena here, the Duke might take my side in the short term, but it won’t be good for me in the long run.

So, what I can do now is to moderately avoid the worst and avoid conflict with the princesses as much as possible.

“…Let’s start class.”

“Okay, Master. Tania and Serena will also start class now, so please focus.”

“Huh!”

“Shouldn’t you be a good example to the young master who is learning for the first time?”

“That’s right! I’ll show you properly that it’s not easy for someone like you to follow along!”

“Let’s start with the order of using the dishes, usually starting with the outer dishes…”

For a while, I was given instructions on the order in which to use the utensils and which utensils to use for which foods.

“Now, try using it as I told you.”

First, I picked up a soup spoon and scooped up a spoonful of the rich, delicious-smelling soup.

“Ugh…”

“Hehehe…”

Just as I was about to scoop up some soup and bring it to my mouth, Tania and Serena looked at me with wicked smiles and expectant eyes.

“What is it?”

“Huh… No, just eat well.”

“Hehehe”

Something was fishy, but I didn’t think he’d answer even if I asked, so I just put the soup in my mouth.

“Ugh!”

I thought I was putting a lump of salt in my mouth instead of soup.

The soup was so salty and bitter that I could taste it the moment it touched my tongue, but I ended up spitting it out instead of swallowing it.

Tania and Serena looked at me with a sour look on their faces as I frowned and spat out my soup.

“Master?”

“…The liver doesn’t match?”

Maybe Tania and Serena were messing with my soup.

“Can’t the common people even taste food properly?”

“You really are a bad person for spatting out the food the chef prepared for you.”

Should I just let it go like this?

‘no.’

The Confucian dragon inside me can never forgive you for playing around without knowing how precious food is.

“Call the chef who made this dish.”

“Do, Master?”

“What does that mean?”

From my perspective, where assassination attempts will continue to occur, I need to correct any manipulation of the food I eat early on.

If I just let it go, the food I eat might get poisoned someday.

“Bring the chef who tampered with my food, the heir to the Normandy Dukedom, right now! Or should I go and tell my father myself?”

“…Okay, I understand.”

When I shouted loudly, the maid, who had become lost in thought, ordered another maid to send someone to the kitchen.

“Who are you to call the chef?”

“That’s right! I don’t even know the topic!”

“Topic? The topic is something that those guys who tampered with my food don’t know, but this is a serious problem that could have poisoned the food that my father, the Duke, personally selected as his successor, would eat. ”

“Ugh…”

The two guys were dumbfounded, as if they hadn’t even thought about it.

After a while, the chef, with a bewildered expression, came in and knelt in front of me.

“I heard you were looking for me, Master…”

“Did you make this soup?”

“Yes…”

“Try it.”

The chef, who had an expression on his face like he didn’t understand English, took the bowl I handed him and immediately dipped his fingers in soup and brought it to his lips.

“Ugh! This is…”

“Yeah, someone tampered with my food. If it wasn’t salt but poison, the Duke’s heir would have been poisoned.”

“I, I don’t know! The ladies’ food and the master’s food were definitely prepared and served together!”

The chef claims his innocence with a resentful expression.

Of course, I didn’t think the chef would do anything.

It also doesn’t really matter who the real culprit is.

Anyway, she’s probably one of the maids who follows Tania and Serena.

“Really? So that means someone put salt in the food while it was being transported?”

This is a warning.

A warning to those who think lightly of me, the heir to the Duke’s family, as a commoner orphan.

I am causing trouble now to warn you that I am in the Duke’s favor and that you will regret it if you ignore me.

Surely the Duke will not reprimand me for my actions just now.

Wouldn’t you rather praise it?

The more I do this, the more I will look like the clear successor to the Duke.

“Catch the culprit who tampered with my food and bring him to me later. After class, I will take the culprit and report to my father.”

“Okay, sir!”

“Then let’s continue with the class.”

“…”

Tania and Serena seemed taken aback by my determined appearance.

Maybe they’re afraid that the Duke will find out what they did and scold them?

“What are you doing?”

“Then let’s continue…”

I lost my appetite because of the soup, but I still have to eat other foods.

It is a sin to throw away this precious food.

For a while, the cold atmosphere prevailed at the table, and only the old maid’s quiet voice and the sound of dishes clinking could be heard.

#

A cold air flowed through the duke’s office.

The Duke, with his expression stern, and Alfred, standing expressionless next to him, were glaring at the kneeling maid.

The maid, who was trembling in fear of the punishment she would receive, was so overwhelmed by the atmosphere that she could not say a word and just trembled.

“…So this maid sprinkled salt on Leon’s food?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Leon, you’re a maid who just came in, what do you think you should do?”

Should I kill him? Or should I just show mercy and let him go?

What would I gain if I killed this maid?

I don’t want to be feared and ignored by those around me…

It is clear that this maid was working under the orders of Tania and Serena.

‘Then there’s no need to kill her. Still, she’s not a spy from another family, but a maid who follows Tania and Serena. It’s a bit awkward to kill her just because she followed orders.’

“There’s no need to kill him, but he must be driven out. Isn’t that no different from an attempted poisoning of the Duke’s successor?”

“That’s quite a merciful punishment. Alright, Alfred, this maid will be kicked out of the mansion today.”

“I will do as you say.”

“Thank you! ”

The maid seemed touched by the rather lenient punishment and followed Alfred, repeatedly expressing her gratitude.

In the office where only the two of us were left, the Duke looked at me with a tired expression and said.

“…Good job.”

“Aren’t you going to scold me for borrowing the Duke’s authority without permission?”

“No, rather, it was an action that deserved praise. It was something that should have been done as a successor to the Duke’s family. If something similar happens again, act like you did now.”

“Okay, and don’t scold Tania and Serena.”

“I know that the two are behind it, but why?”

“You’re still young, I know you don’t like it, but I think you’ve learned something from this.”

I hope that in the future, you will refrain from taking any actions that directly harm me, the successor to the Duke’s family.

“Tania is two years older than you and Serena is the same age, but I don’t know if it’s right for you to call them children.”

I didn’t really have anything to say in rebuttal, so I just shrugged my shoulders.

“By the way, I have a favor to ask.”

“Tell me anything.”

“People are needed.”

“Need someone?”

“Father, please buy me a slave. If possible, a girl.”