Living as a Butler to the Northern Duke chapter 8

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“Ugh.”

After another short groan, the Grand Duke finally lifted Naisen.

‘Oh no.’

Naisen’s nose had already started to swell, resembling that of someone stung by a hornet.

“N-Naisen!”

Seeing Naisen’s nosebleed dripping down, the Countess was startled.

The Grand Duke then spoke, his voice full of dignity.

“Countess, it seems that Young Master Herins requires immediate medical attention. I apologize for bringing this up, but…”

When the Grand Duke paused, the tension in the room grew palpable.

All eyes and ears were on him. As he slightly trailed off, it made everyone think something serious was about to happen.

“From my experience on the battlefield, injuries like this can lead to severe complications if not treated promptly.”

“Se-severe complications?”

The Countess’s voice trembled.

“Unfortunately, yes, madam. If we don’t stop the bleeding and reduce the swelling quickly, he could have difficulty breathing, suffer from dehydration, and even risk blindness from the blood flowing back into his eyes…”

Before the Grand Duke could finish, the Countess wavered.

Her hand, which had been pressed to her forehead, began to shake.

“Irtel.”

The Grand Duke called out a name, and a man who had been standing behind him stepped forward.

“Help the Countess and Young Master Herins move. Be very careful.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

As the man supported the Countess, the butler quickly took Naisen out of the room.

‘So that’s Irtel.’

He was a character with a lot of fans in the novel.

After the Grand Duke was falsely accused and executed, Irtel was the loyal servant who took care of the children and fled. Among those children was Ronen.

Even when his own life was at risk, Irtel remained faithful to the Grand Duke until the end.

Ed looked up at Irtel’s broad back. He was as upright and solid as his master.

But the Grand Duke’s presence was so overwhelming that it was only now that Ed noticed such a person.

After sending the unwelcome guests away, the Grand Duke placed a chair in front of Ronen, who had been pushed back earlier.

He then brought another chair and sat down.

‘…What’s this setup?’

The Grand Duke was seated at the head of the bed where Ed lay, while Ronen sat at the foot.

When Ed took his gaze away from Irtel and looked at the Grand Duke, he found the man staring back at him. His eyes were calm and composed. When their eyes met, the Grand Duke smiled.

“Hello, little butler.”

Though he was the cold Duke of the North, he was good with children.

His ability to communicate with them came from the time he spent gathering orphans he saw while searching for Ronen and bringing them back to the North.

“H-Hello.”

Though Ed was small, he wasn’t small enough to be called a child.

Moreover, his current appearance was that of a lowly servant, far from anything resembling a butler.

But Ed didn’t point that out.

He could sense that the conversation the Grand Duke was slowly building would eventually lead to Ronen.

“And.”

The Grand Duke’s gaze shifted slowly until it settled on Ronen.

“Hello, young master.”

His voice lowered slightly, but he quickly regained control.

Ronen looked at the Grand Duke and bowed his head slightly.

“H-Hello.”

The Grand Duke was a patient man who knew how to remain silent.

He simply watched Ronen, with a calm and measured gaze, as if even the time spent blinking was too precious.

‘I’m your older brother.’

Why wouldn’t the Grand Duke want to reveal the truth as soon as possible?

But it was clear he was holding back, afraid of confusing young Ronen.

He was willing to wait until Ronen was ready to accept the truth.

In the original story, how long had it taken for the Grand Duke to reveal the truth to Ronen?

The novel had dragged out that revelation, with the truth hanging by a thread.

But Ed wasn’t like that.

Ed planned to dig up not only the truth but also every hidden detail in the story.

So in this situation, it was up to him to steer the conversation.

“…Excuse me.”

Ed tried to sit up, but it wasn’t easy.

His head felt heavy, and there was a sharp pain in his chest.

Despite this, when Ed tried to move, the Grand Duke reacted.

“Hold on.”

The Grand Duke slid his hand under Ed’s back and gently lifted him.

He carefully propped Ed up against the headboard of the bed, placing a pillow behind his back.

“…Ah, thank you.”

“Ed, are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine, young master Ronen.”

But he wasn’t fine.

His throat was starting to tighten. The poison was beginning to take effect.

But Ed trusted in his small but precious healing power.

As long as he had the strength to move, he thought it was better to do what needed to be done before succumbing to the illness.

As the Grand Duke stood up, Ronen quickly followed suit and offered Ed a cup of water. Ed smiled faintly at Ronen’s care.

“Thank you. But young master…”

After drinking the water, his voice, which had been raspy, became much clearer.

“Yes, Ed?”

“I’m sorry, but could you please bring me the candy in my desk drawer? It’s in the largest drawer on the right. My mouth keeps tasting bitter, and I’d really appreciate it.”

In truth, the “candy” was actually a small painkiller shaped like a candy.

Ed had known that Elisa’s poison was a mixture of various toxins, making it impossible to have a proper antidote.

Anticipating this, Ed had prepared the painkiller as a temporary measure until his healing power could neutralize the poison.

He had hidden the painkiller in his clothes before collapsing, but since his clothes had been changed, he had no other choice.

In the original story, Ronen had also recovered not because of any medicine but because the poison’s effect wore off after torturing his body to its limit.

If Ronen, who was younger and had no healing abilities, could survive, then Ed believed he could too.

And Ed was determined to reveal the truth about the Grand Duke and Ronen’s brother relationship quickly.

“Thank you so much, young master Ronen.”

As Ed popped the painkiller that looked like candy into his mouth, Ronen’s expression softened slightly.

It seemed that Ronen thought Ed was fully recovered since he could now eat candy.

With the strong painkiller taking effect, Ed found it much easier to move.

After taking a deep breath, he looked at the Grand Duke.

“…Excuse me, Your Grace. May I ask what brings you here?”

The Duke was already convinced that Ronen was his younger brother.

When the Duke parted ways with Ronen, there was a power in the kiss he gave him.

At that time, the Duke, who was a magician, left a mark on Ronen’s forehead and infused it with power.

The Duke would have instantly recognized that power-infused mark the moment he saw Ronen.

Since young Ronen couldn’t endure strong magic, instead of implanting a tracking spell in his body, the Duke placed it on a necklace around his neck.

There were several reasons why it took the Duke so long to find Ronen.

One of them was that the Duke had used magic to change Ronen’s hair and eye color to protect him.

However, the magic interacted with the power infused in Ronen, resulting in a different hair and eye color than the Duke had intended.

Because of this, some information was missed during the search for Ronen.

The Duke, silently staring at Ronen’s forehead, turned his head.

“…Earlier, you were called Ed. Is it true that the little butler is from the Roa Orphanage?”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

When Ed sent letters, the envelope bore the seal of the Roa Orphanage, but the sender’s name was written as Ed.

Even though the Duke had searched for Ronen around the orphanage, the letters sent by an individual, not an orphanage staff member, piqued his curiosity and suspicion.

Despite the burden of revealing himself, Ed had only one thought: to reunite the Duke and Ronen as soon as possible.

Ed spoke up.

“I overheard your conversation with the lady earlier… Are you here to find your family, Your Grace?”

This wasn’t a strange question.

The rumor that the Duke was searching for his lost brother was already widespread across the Empire.

The Duke narrowed his eyes at Ed’s question.

Was he an enemy?

Or not? What was his aim?

What did he want?

Countless thoughts crossed his mind, but the most important thing for the Duke right now was to quickly confirm that Ronen was his brother.

Ed leaned over to pull out a box from under the bed.

“Um, wait a moment, Ed. Excuse me.”