Another one obsessed with suits?
Edward imdiately thought of Countess Akasha's younger brother, but the man in front of him was clearly not a vampire. Akasha's brother was a pureblood who had lived for centuries.
"Why?"
"Because a suit is my battle armour. I could go without food, I could go without wine, but I could never go without my armour!"
"No, I ant—why should I agree to this demand of yours?"
Dubois grinned cheekily. "You're looking for a good butler. I'm looking for work. A perfect match, don't you think?"
"But you should've heard just now—I've already asked Eland to find another house."
"You must believe , sir. Those nobles really are slaves to face. Even if they wanted to rent or sell their houses, just the process of contacting them, negotiating, and haggling over price—it'd take at least a month. Where would you stay during that ti? In a hotel? Or in your current residence?"
Edward followed his reasoning. "I can't get used to living in hotels."
"Exactly. So even if you really do change houses, you'll still need a butler to manage things. And as for the butlers Eland is introducing you to—they wouldn't dare step foot in No. 7 Rose Street! But —I would! And besides—"
Before he could finish, soone yanked him aside. Eland's face was tight with forced laughter. "Dubois, what nonsense are you pulling again?"
"Oh co on, isn't it obvious? Looking for work."
"Apologies, but Mr. Sparrow is my client."
Dubois pouted but then leaned closer. "Mr. Sparrow, think it over again. I'll be waiting outside."
Once he left, Eland handed Edward a folder. "Sir, here are five butlers I've carefully selected for you. All of them have served high nobility before—their abilities are beyond doubt."
Edward opened the file casually, flipping through as he asked, "That Dubois fellow—what's his story?"
"Oh, just a fallen little noble. Though he did have a few years of 'glory.'" Eland's lips curled into a strange smile. "But his glory…well, let's just say it wasn't exactly honourable."
"Go on."
"Rumour has it he slept with more than a few noble ladies and young misses here in Trier."
"???"
Edward blinked in brief shock. Then, recalling Dubois's looks—which were nearly on par with Emlyn, his own personal benchmark for 'most handso'—he found it believable.
"And then?"
"Well, once those scandals ca to light, of course he beca every noble's eyesore. They were just waiting for the day he turned up dead in so gutter."
"But sohow, he managed to worm his way into the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery—actually beca a priest in Trier's Grand Cathedral. With that status, no matter how much the nobles hated him, they had to hold back, out of respect for the church."
Huh?
Edward paused mid-page. "You're saying Dubois was a priest of the Trier Grand Cathedral? Then why's he applying to be a butler now?"
"Because the church kicked him out later."
"Why?"
"He was 'comforting' a certain noblewoman during her confession…and ended up comforting her in bed."
"…"
"Fortunately, at least, he knew better than to do that inside the cathedral itself, or else—ha!"
Edward asked with great interest, "Then since he was expelled, why is he still alive and well?"
"That I can't say. But the last few years have been rough on him—he sold off everything he could, and now he's down to scraping by, even having to look for work himself. Still, if you truly intend to break into Trier's noble circle, sir, I'd advise you to stay as far away from him as possible."
"Of course. I understand."
But the reason I do want to enter Trier's noble circle is to use it as a springboard to approach the Church of Steam and Machinery—and then find Arrodes.
Edward closed the folder. "May I take this with ? I won't be able to make a decision right away."
"Of course, no problem."
"Good. Then I'll leave the matter of the houses in your hands—keep updated."
"I'll escort you out."
As the two of them stepped out of the hall, Dubois imdiately bounced up, smiling broadly.
"Mr. Sparrow, have you given it so more thought?"
"Still thinking." Edward smiled faintly and walked on.
Eland snorted. "This gentleman is determined to enter Trier's noble society. You should give up already."
Dubois only chuckled. "That's not certain."
He quickly trotted after Edward, keeping three or four ters behind him until they reached the slave market. There, he saw Mr. Sparrow slow his steps, and imdiately closed the distance.
"How many people do you think are needed to properly staff No. 7 Rose Street?"
"That depends on your goals, sir." Dubois smiled smoothly. "If you really do want to join the nobility, as Eland suggested, then I'd recomnd: one butler, two servants, four slaves, plus two cooks, two gardeners, two coachn, a handyman, and a household nurse. Of course, none of this concerns , since you clearly won't be hiring ."
"And if I do hire you?"
"The sa. Only—replace the butler with ."
Edward chuckled. "Actually, if I were to hire you, I think we could cut that whole number in half."
Dubois blinked in confusion. "Why?"
"Because with a 'celebrity' like you as my butler, I'd no longer need to socialise with Trier's nobles. That would also an no chance to invite them over for banquets and such."
Dubois looked perfectly innocent. "Oh! But sir, even without , just the fact that you're renting that house would be enough—no noble would dare visit you there anyway."
"…That's true."
Edward pulled out a hundred fergins and handed it to him. "First, help find two capable workers to bring back. The rest can wait."
"My pleasure, sir."
Dubois perford a flawlessly standard gentleman's bow, then turned and left.
"Dubois is a Beyonder."
Edward tossed the gold coin.
The number landed face up—negative.
"Tsk. To sleep with that many noble ladies, then turn around and join the Church as a priest, and even after being expelled still manage to survive—he must either have so special ability or so special background.
"Either way, both could be useful. My purpose is actually much simpler than when Klein played the wealthy Dwayne Dantès. I only want to et Arrodes, and ask it a few questions.
"So, there's still the possibility of a shortcut here."
———
Back at the Rose Street villa, Edward retraced four steps and entered the Sefirah Castle. With a strand of Dubois's hair in hand, he began a divination:
"Hiring Dubois will be harmful to ."
The green crystal spun counterclockwise—aning no harm.
He leaned back and entered a dream:
"The reason Dubois approached on his own."
In the hazy dreamscape, Dubois was being thrown out of an inn, his luggage and belongings scattered on the ground.
"Sorry, Mr. Dubois, you've already owed us a month's rent. We can only evict you."
Dubois fud. "Fine, but did you have to shove around? This is my favourite suit!"
He carefully smoothed out the wrinkles in his jacket before picking up the rest of his things. "Ugh, I really need to find a way to make money."
The scene shattered and shifted. Dubois appeared at No. 7 Rose Street. He was about to nimbly climb over the wall when he froze mid-movent.
"Soone actually dared to live here? Tsk. If I sneak in now to take things, that'd count as burglary, wouldn't it?"
"But…there are still plenty of valuables in the basent…"
The vision broke again. This ti, Dubois was wandering the manpower market when he overheard soone ahead:
"Sir, may I ask for the address you're renting?"
"No. 7 Rose Street."
Dubois pinched his chin thoughtfully.
The dream ended there. Edward opened his eyes, surprised. "So he really did co purely for money? Not for a salary, but to sneak away with the 'valuables' in the basent?"
His logic was odd indeed: unwilling to commit outright burglary, but perfectly fine with sneaking in under the guise of employnt.
Still, if he tried sothing like that, he'd be placing himself squarely in Edward's hands.
Satisfied that Dubois posed no great threat, Edward left the Sefirah Castle and returned to reality.
"Let's hope this fellow really does save so trouble."
He took another trip down to the basent. Indeed, the place was cluttered with jars, bottles, and assorted junk. Nothing that he could imdiately identify as valuable.
He left everything untouched—after all, bait had to be left where it could be taken.
———
Before noon, Dubois returned, leading a young man and woman in their early twenties to No. 7 Rose Street.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Sparrow."
The mont he stepped through the doorway, Dubois bowed again. "The task you entrusted with is already complete."
"These two are excellent slaves I carefully selected for you—healthy, quick, smart, and extrely obedient."
"This is Endili, from overseas. She ca to Intis voluntarily with the colonial fleets. Compared to her holand, living as a slave in Trier is actually far better, so she bears no resentnt toward us at all. She even took the initiative to learn Intisian."
"She volunteered to be a slave?"
"Originally, she wanted to be a maid. But lacking any docuntation, the only option left was slavery."
Endili resembled the natives Edward had seen back in the Rorsted Islands. Her looks weren't particularly striking, but she still had traces of youthful vitality. Her eyes brimd with curiosity, very unlike the beaten-down gaze of most slaves.
"Greetings, honoured master."
She hurried forward, about to kneel.
"Stay standing. I don't like people kneeling to ."
Dubois introduced the other. "This is Ossaine, an Intisian. He's been a slave since childhood. After his previous master went bankrupt, he was resold at the slave market. Fortunately for him, despite his status, he was never treated harshly. So, like Endili, he harbours no hatred toward outsiders."
"Greetings, honoured master." Ossaine bowed deeply.
"Most slaves have tragic histories—poverty, war, abduction. Though trained by their owners, deep down they still carry resentnt. And that resentnt is like a powder keg—you never know when it might explode.
"Mr. Sparrow, since you're newly arrived in Trier, all your social connections must be built from scratch. Household slaves, low as their station is, will inevitably be the people closest to you for quite so ti. That's why I chose these two."
Having finished, Dubois pulled two docunts from his coat and handed them over. "Here are their slave contracts."
When he noticed the house's interior had been completely redecorated, he froze for just an instant before smoothly masking his surprise and pretending not to notice.
"Alright. Then I'll leave them to you. Have them start by tidying up the garden. The tools are in that shed."
Dubois glanced back. The pair imdiately understood, fetching tools and setting to work.
At that mont, Edward handed over the folder of butler candidates. "Help decide—which one should I choose?"
"???"
Dubois flipped through it quickly, looking bewildered. "Mr. Sparrow, do you an…you want to pick a butler to replace myself?"
———
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