A/n: (※If there is a sequel book and it's decided to go this far into the book, I'll change the development here and it won't necessarily end up be like this.)
Uhm, wait, wait.
I have no idea what happened and how it became like this.
Eh, what? Tea? Because the tea was lukewarm?
Is that what drove the butler-san over the edge?
Isn't he too dedicated to his job?
What does this mean?
No, wait, let's calm down for a moment, me.
Rather than that, what I think is more likely is that the butler-san had some kind of internal reaction to the fact that I showed him a terrible face due to my lack of acting skills.
Even if that's the case, I don't think there would suddenly be a Punch me! I'm not sure what's going on in the butler-san's mind that would cause such a super reaction.
In fact, I'd like to question him.
I'm not going to do it, though, because it's highly suspicious.
I'll never do it.
Because it would ruin Augusto-san's image. I can't do that. Absolutely not.
"......... What's wrong?"
I couldn't help but ask that, but I guess it can’t be helped.
Then the butler-san looked at me with a very pensive look on his face and began to speak.
"I've done something to you that I can't take back."
…… Uhm, uhm? Which?
Eh? What did you do, butler-san?
What? Isn't there only warm tea?
Eh? What do you mean?
I really can't think of anything, what does this mean.
The difference in inner thoughts between me and the butler-san is unbelievable, but it can't be helped, so I'll just give up.
While I was confused and disoriented by the incomprehensible situation, the butler-san continued his words in a serious manner.
"You are Master, and not Master.
And yet, I have said things to you that negate everything you are."
Ah-, that one! I see!
The me inside is convinced, too.
Oh, yeah! Oh, so that's how it came about.
In other words, you thought that you were the reason why I made that face, didn't you, butler-san?
I see... I see it...
...... No, that's too much of a leap even if it is that.
The cause for this is, after all, was that my acting was slacking, right?
It wouldn't have happened if I hadn't been so careless, would it?
It's not your fault, butler-san.
"Please, I beg you, please hit this foolish me…!"
Uhm, let's wait a minute.
I want you to think for a moment about what will happen if I hit butler-san.
Even though the inside is me, the outside is Augusto-san's super wiseman body.
It's a powerful and self-serving body that can make a crater look like a meteorite has fallen on the ground just by using the wrong amount of force.
No, you'll die.
If I hit him like that, it would be beyond a catastrophe, it would be a splat.
I don't even want to imagine it, but it would be like dropping a watermelon from a high place, definitely.
Eh, no way.
No, I don’t want to. It's a murder case.
Do you want to kill yourself, butler-san?
Even if you do, please stop it.
If you're going to do it, do it in secret somewhere far away where I don't know, and don't involve me, seriously.
What are you begging me to do? Don't be silly, seriously.
I was currently sweating a little as I thought about this all at once.
The butler-san, on the other hand, seemed to be making a serious, heartfelt plea, or something like that.
Perhaps because the butler-san is about 5 cm shorter than Augusto, he is looking up at me, albeit very slightly.
Who's going to benefit from this?
Eh? What should I do?
Do I have to do something? What? Seriously?
What should I do?
...... No, no, I'm sorry, I really don't know what to do.
I personally am not very smart, so I'm trying my best to think of something using Augusto-san's knowledge, but nothing is coming to mind.
I know I have to do something.
But I don't know what I should do.
I know that I can't just stay stuck like this forever.
I know, but what should I do?
"Please, I beg...!
He asked me so seriously that my confused brain came up with a single answer.
That's all I can do now.
I gently reached out my hand to the butler and ───────
I softly, gently stroked his head.
"......!?"
I slowly stroked the head of the butler, whose eyes widened in surprise and who was gasping for breath as if he had forgotten how to breathe.
“Gah… No, what, why…"
I also don’t really know why I'm doing this, but I had a flashback of Augusto-san stroking the head of butler-san he just met in my memory of Augusto-san when he was little, and I thought it might calm him down a little.
But it didn't seem to have much effect.
The bewildered and impatient butler-san's eyes were staring at me.
The difference in height isn't that much, but Augusto-san is a little bit taller than him, so there's no pressure to stroke his head.
Still, I could understand that the butler-san's attention was on my words and actions, so I continued to stroke him gently and continued my words.
"Alfred, you're doing a great job.
You are always thinking about me and moving for me."
"... No, that's a matter of course."
The butler-san's voice was somewhat pained, as if he was enduring something.
I don't know if it was the pain of thinking another person was his family member, or if it was the pain of imagining how I felt.
Without stopping my hand from stroking the butler-san's head, I took a deep breath.
"Yes, but I was saved by it."
"...... Eh?"
The butler-san's eyes blinked repeatedly, as if he hadn't expected it.
I stared at the butler-san and opened my mouth again.
"In a desperate situation, you were the only one who was there to guide me."
This is my heartfelt gratitude.
If it weren't for the butler-san, I probably wouldn't be here now.
I wouldn't have been able to think like this, I wouldn't have been able to live like this.
“You are different from Master, aren’t you?"
“That’s right, completely different, a stranger."
The butler-san's face twisted as if he was about to cry when I said it firmly.
"Then why are you not angry…!"
"What's the point in doing that?"
When I asked a question back, the butler-san who seemed to have noticed my deep intentions slightly averted his eyes.
He's the type who knows everything from one to ten, this butler-san, so I think it's really great that he understands me right away.
I think about it again, but I can't seem to find any meaning in it.
Because nothing is going to change.
If getting angry, crying, and frustrated would change the situation, I would have done it already.
Upon understanding, I am living in the present.
"I'm a different person, that's for sure."
But I never intended to replace Augusto Werstein, to take over, to steal his life."
"Then, why?"
In order to answer the mumbling butler-san's question, I take another breath.
And then, as if letting it out, I spoke the words.
"It's because I ended up knowing."
“… Know what?"
"Augusto Werstein's situation, and grief."
Augusto's sad wailing reverberated in my head.
─────── Why?
Why, God, I beg you.
Please ───────
An agonizing sorrow that constricted the depths of my heart.
"Hating the world, despising everything, and loving to the point of madness."
If I hadn't known, I wouldn't have tried to live as Augusto-san like this.
I would have lived as me, as I wanted to.
I should have tried to go out and live as a complete stranger.
But I ended up knowing.
Augusto Werstein is a foolish, sad, and beautiful man with a beautiful heart.
So I chose to take this path, a path that would hurt and make the butler-san suffer.
I wanted him to remain ignorant.
But there was no way that the intelligent butler would not notice.
So, this must be inevitable.
"… May I ask you something?"
“What?"
"Who the hell are you?"
This was the second time I had asked that question.
However, from a more calm, serious, and relaxed butler-san...... No, Alfred-san.
I made up my mind.
Now I might really die.
I could be accused and executed by the entire country.
But that goes for Alfred-san too.
If I were a bad guy, I would lie here, pretend that nothing had happened, and kill him.
He understands that there's that much risk, but he's prepared himself and is asking me questions.
If that's the case, then I have to respond to him, and it would be unfair if I didn't return the appropriate amount of determination.
I clench my fists tightly and take a breath.
"....... My name is ...... No, I am Takada Youko."
The words spoken as if exhaled were a bit scratchy.
"Hey! What do you mean?"
"I don't know! I want to hear it too!"
The warring voices echoed through the dimly lit church.
It was the young men who were arguing with each other at a volume so loud that the stained glass, which illuminates the area with a mysterious hue through the sunlight, was shaking slightly.
"You guys stop! This is not the time for a rivalry!"
"I'm not sure what to say, but this is really weird!"
The brown-haired man slammed the table with a loud bang, and the dull blond man tried to quiet him down.
I'm not sure what to do, but I'm sure I'm not the only one.
In the meantime, the brown-haired man, who looked as if he was holding something back, opened his mouth wide and shouted.
“Why isn’t anything happening!!"
He slammed the desk again in exasperation, causing the cup on the desk to tumble completely to the floor.
He slammed the desk again with such indignation that the cup on the desk tumbled completely to the floor. There was a clanking sound, but no one paid attention to it.
His anger was justified.
It had already been a night since he had locked himself in the church.
Despite this, nothing, really nothing, is happening.
No lord came out to admonish them, no lord's son's soldiers even came out, and time just passed in vain.
They are not trained soldiers, they are just citizens.
And the situation of dozens of men holed up in a small church seemed to be extremely painful for them.
"But don't go crazy!"
“But!!"
"If this continues, we'll have to go directly to the lord's mansion…!!"
“No you can't! You'll give the lord an opening!"
The brown-haired man grabbed him by the chest, probably annoyed by the dull blond man's calm words.
The chair that the blonde was sitting on collapsed with a clatter.
"What do you want me to do then? It's not going to do you any good if you stay here like this and nothing happens!"
"I'm starting to worry about my grandma, so I want to go home."
"I've got to go check on the fields."
"I wonder if the net I set is broken…"
Inside the church, the situation was chaotic.
Then, the priest of the church showed up.
The men who were arguing with each other didn't have time to notice it, and they were shouting at each other.
"It's the worst thing you can do!"
"Shut up! Then come up with another way!"
"Everyone! Everybody, please calm down!"
"If you're making so much noise, nothing will come to mind! Quiet down a bit!"
"The sun's going to set again while you're thinking! Mostly ─────"
As the men argued, a wooden table flew through the air and slammed into the wall behind them, causing a loud crash that echoed throughout the area.
As the men stiffened from the unexpected, the priest clapped his hands to dust them off and stared contentedly at them as they quieted down.
"Everyone, please calm down.
Didn't you decide a while ago that you would wait for the lord to make his move?"
“Ah, well, that sure was the case"
"...... No, but we can't just stay here forever."
"I've got work to do."
"I wonder if Grandma's eating..."
The priest agreed with them in his heart as they raised their eyebrows in annoyance, saying whatever they wanted.
It's true that he never expected it to take this long at all.
The priest had been under the impression that the foolish lord would send his troops right away.
If the soldiers attacked the citizens, they would contact the church headquarters in the royal capital, and then the upper echelons of the church would contact the Prime Minister.
If this happened, the lord would be considered unskilled and unfit to rule the territory, and he could be removed from his position like a string of potatoes.
The territory was to be given to the priest by a direct request from the Prime Minister, who would said he could not leave it to the nobles.
He had been brainwashing the people little by little in order to make pawns for his own use.
However, who could have predicted that such a miscalculation would occur at this point?
He felt nothing but frustration at the lord's inability to make any move at all.
It was the priest who had advised them to lock themselves up in the church as bait to lure the lord to relieve their anger.
In hindsight, he can only say that it was a mistake.
But now that it had happened, it would be difficult for them to make any further moves.
It would have been nice to pretend that nothing had happened and disband! It would have been nice if we could have done that, but things were not that simple.
They had already sent a statement to their lord.
If they were to disband despite this, there was a high possibility that they would be punished for disturbing the town.
Therefore, it seemed like a bad move.
Then, what to do?
"... Let's ask our collaborators to help us."
The priest's voice echoed through the church.
"Collaborator?"
"Yes, let's ask him to help us convince the lord to act."
The foolish men's faces broke into tears at the priest's unexpected solution, and they put their joy into their voices.
"I see, then we may be able to punish the lord."
"Yes! Let's give him a good beating!"
"But who are we going to get to help us?"
In response to the question that came to mind, the priest opened his mouth with the same reassuring expression and tone of voice as usual.
“That is, Ernest Cherbourg, deputy of the city.
"Wait a minute, Father, he's the evil that nests in the city with his lord."
"That's why, sir."
With a quiet, calm expression, the priest tells them as he usually does.
The foolish men were upset, but still waited for the words of their trusted priest.
Then the priest smiles and opens his mouth.
"He will sell out his lord to save his own skin.
Let's take advantage of that.
He can be dealt with after all is said and done."
The priest's dignified words seemed fortuitous to the foolish men.
A normal, gentle priest would not have come up with such a ruse, but they were under so much stress that they could not afford to pay attention to it.
They didn't even notice that the priest's true nature had been revealed.
Because they have been educated by him and have an absolute belief that priest never make mistakes.
The foolish men do not know.
They don't know that Ernest Cherbourg, the deputy, is the brother of the Duke Augusto Werstein, the lord.
They do not know.
They do not know that Ernest is the most cunning of all the brothers.
And they jump into the fire themselves.
They don't even know that it will burn them to the ground.
This chapter is seriously... I am just gobsmacked. Wow