It was an evening no different from any other, and I was in the middle of dinner with my family.
My father, who had finished eating first, turned his gaze toward me.
“Luke, come to my study once you’ve finished your meal.”
“Yes, Father.”
Did something happen…?
Apart from my calm reply, my head was filled with questions.
Because in the past month, Father had never once called me at this hour. After dinner, my time had always been my own.
‘Don’t tell me he’s going to expound on some boring, pedantic theory of servitude…!’
No, that wouldn’t do. It absolutely could not be that.
Hadn’t I spent the entire day devoting myself to training in order to become an excellent servant? I couldn’t have even my only free time taken away from me.
Amazingly, my wish came true.
In the worst possible form.
“Luke, the young lady says she wishes to have you by her side immediately.”
“R-right away?”
I was so flustered that the words shot out of me like a spinal reflex. My mind went completely blank, and I couldn’t think of anything at all.
“It may be hard to believe, but that is what was written in the letter His Grace the Duke sent.”
Father’s gaze turned to one corner of the table. There lay a luxurious envelope, which must certainly have been sent by Duke Frozenheart.
‘What on earth is going on…?’
I didn’t need to ask why Elena had made this choice. Her expression when she had climbed into the carriage had been full of regret. On top of that, I had rejected her invitation to come visit.
That said, who would go so far as to make such an extreme choice? Still, when I considered that she was only a nine-year-old child, it wasn’t impossible to understand.
Nine-year-olds simply moved according to their hearts. She probably hadn’t even thought that she would be putting me in a difficult position.
“What do you think? If you dislike it, I will try to delay it a little.”
“If that is what the young lady wishes, then that is how it should be. I am fine, Father.”
“I see….”
Perhaps Father himself was not exactly pleased with it either. His expression was not particularly good.
But it could not be helped. In this world where rank was everything, having a lower title meant having no right to choose.
If a ducal house told a baronial house to do something, the baronial house had no choice but to do it.
“I will tell you again once everything is decided, so prepare yourself until then.”
“Yes, Father.”
“Good. You worked hard today as well. Sleep well, Luke.”
“Yes. Have a peaceful night as well, Father.”
After bowing my head politely, I immediately left the study.
‘Elena’s personal servant, huh….’
They said that even if you entered a tiger’s den, you could survive as long as you kept your wits about you. Surely, I would be able to manage somehow.
But had there really ever been someone who went into a tiger’s den and came back alive? No matter how I thought about it, it sounded like an exaggeration.
It would be a little later that I came to understand the principle that nobles, in any era, fought with incitement and fabrication.
* * * * *
How many days had passed since my conscription as Elena’s personal slave was confirmed?
“Luke, the Frozenheart ducal house says they will send a carriage tomorrow.”
At last, the date of my conscription was decided.
That evening, I held a modest party with my parents. Calling it a farewell party felt a little awkward, so perhaps it was better to call it an employment party.
Although the job was being Elena’s slave, employment was still employment.
And so, the next day, just as promised, a carriage from the Frozenheart ducal house arrived.
I stood in front of the carriage with a large bag in my hand.
“Father, Mother, I will occasionally send word by letter.”
The time I had spent as Luke Nineheart was just over a month. It was far too short a time for the relationship of family to be established within me, but still, they had been days that were not so bad in their own way.
The dinners Mother worked hard to prepare were delicious, and the stories Father told me about my childhood were interesting.
Training in swordsmanship with Father could also be called a memory, in its own way. They said that even hardships became memories when you looked back on them.
“Luke, do not forget the things I taught you. Do not be satisfied with your position. Always strive, and strive again.”
“Luke, you are a proud member of the Nineheart family. I’m sure you’ll be able to do anything. Still, whenever things are difficult, rely on those around you.”
Were they worried about sending their son, who was only nine years old, to the small battlefield known as a ducal house? My parents were especially talkative today.
But everything had an end. Even my parents’ voices, which had seemed as though they might continue forever, came to a close at some point.
“Thank you for everything.”
After bowing my head politely one last time, I turned and climbed into the carriage.
Soon after, with a faint vibration, the wheels of the carriage began to roll.
‘A ducal house’s carriage isn’t anything special either….’
It was raining, and water was leaking from the ceiling.
I let out a short sigh and wiped the rainwater running down my cheek with a handkerchief.
How much time had passed since then? The sun had nearly set, and twilight was about to settle over the world.
Amid the ever-changing scenery beyond the window, a massive castle appeared. It was the place where Elena was waiting, and the place that would become my home from now on.
‘No matter how many times I see it, it’s disgustingly huge….’
While I was repeatedly admiring it, the carriage passed through the castle gate and entered the grounds.
Inside the castle were several buildings. The banquet hall where Elena’s birthday banquet had previously been held, warehouses, the knights’ lodgings, and so on.
Among them, the carriage was heading toward the largest building.
As we neared our destination, the carriage gradually slowed, then soon came to a complete stop.
‘This is where it truly begins.’
If everything until now had been the tutorial, then from here on out it was the main story. If this were a web novel, you could say the prologue had only just ended.
Steeling myself with a short sigh, I opened the carriage door and stepped outside.
Whoooosh!
The first thing to welcome me, now that I had become a member of the north, was none other than a chilly wind.
The mansion of the Nineheart barony where I had originally lived had also been quite cold, but this place was beyond that. The cold pierced through the thin clothing of the medieval era and quickly seeped into my body.
‘Wow! You know the north? It. Is. Freaking. Cold!’
In my heart, I wanted to abandon all dignity and rush inside the building at once, but far from doing that, I couldn’t even hunch my shoulders.
Because the blue eyes unique to the Frozenheart ducal house were staring fixedly at me.
Who was the owner of those eyes? Needless to say. Elena Frozenheart, the master I would serve from today onward.
I immediately approached her and bowed my head.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Young Lady Elena. I am Luke Nineheart, and I will be working as your personal servant starting today.”
“Welco—no, welcome. To the Frozenheart ducal house.”
Informal speech, not polite speech. It meant that she was treating me not as a child of the Nineheart barony, but as a servant.
“Let’s go for now. I’ll show you the room you’ll be staying in.”
“The young lady will personally guide me…?”
“Mm-hm. Why? Do you not want me to…?”
Elena’s lips twitched like a missile about to be launched.
If I said I didn’t want that here, there would be a disaster on the very first day of my life as a servant.
Well, it wasn’t as if I disliked it anyway.
“It is nothing but an honor.”
“Good. Then let’s go.”
Elena took the first step, and I followed after her.
There was also a servant in a maid uniform with us, and judging by the way the tip of her nose was red, it seemed she had been outside for quite a long time.
‘Were they waiting, by any chance…?’
No, surely not. There was no way Elena had been waiting outside because of one mere servant.
Before long, the place Elena and I arrived at was a small building a little removed from the main building. Of course, it was only small by comparison; even when compared to the mansion of a baronial house, it was not lacking at all.
“This building is the one I use.”
“I understand.”
Not the family, but her alone used this building?
So this was a ducal house…?
As I entered the building while marveling anew at the wealth of a ducal house, I saw two or three servants cleaning.
They stared at me for a while as though I had piqued their interest, then soon began cleaning again.
Well, had they ever seen someone dragged in as a servant at the age of nine? It was only natural that they would be curious.
“This is my room.”
Elena’s room was the one directly facing the entrance.
As her personal servant, this was something I absolutely must not forget, so I firmly engraved it into my brain….
“And this is your room.”
Exactly ten steps from the place Elena had introduced as her room. In other words, the room next to hers was my room.
I knew well that a personal servant stayed somewhere close to their master, but even so, wasn’t this too close?
Of course, I couldn’t voice such a thought. A servant was an existence that had to obey when their master told them to.
To put it bluntly, if Elena told me to sleep outside starting today, then I would have to sleep outside.
“Put your luggage inside and come back out. I’ll show you the other places too.”
“Yes, I will be right out.”
Following Elena’s order, I entered the room to put down my luggage.
‘This is my room…?’
The room looked to be easily twice the size of the room I had stayed in back at the baronial house. On top of that, the bed, the desk, and the wardrobe were all as clean as if they were brand-new.
I knew that servants from noble backgrounds used private rooms, but I never imagined it would be this impressive.
Maybe being Elena’s personal servant wouldn’t be so bad after all…?
Leaving that thought behind, I left the room.
In my heart, I wanted to examine every corner of the room, but as a servant, I could not keep Elena waiting.
“This is the main building… Father and Mother… This is the lodging where the knights stay….”
Elena was muttering something with her back turned to me.
In her hand was a sheet of paper, and crooked handwriting was written on it.
‘Did she prepare that herself to introduce the place to me, by any chance…?’
I didn’t know why she was going this far for a single servant, but for now, it seemed best to pretend I didn’t know.
A child’s innocence had to be protected, after all.
Yes, indeed. If she got needlessly twisted, my future self would be the one to suffer.