WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Whispers of a Scheming Demon ◈
Chapter 116: The Butler (2)
──────
The Royal Capital’s estate district was always quiet and deserted, but today the streets were unusually loud.
A huge crowd had gathered, murmuring among themselves.
“They really made an example of them.”
“But is that even allowed?”
“It’s too horrible.”
“What crime could they possibly have committed...?”
Everyone’s gaze was fixed on one spot.
Six corpses hung prominently from the gates of Baron Myatro’s estate.
Every one of them dangled limply, headless.
They had been beheaded the previous night.
What sort of crime could have brought them to such an end?
The crowd could easily guess.
“They must have been caught trying to steal.”
“So the rumor that the estate is empty at night was false.”
“Of course it was nonsense. Think about it. Does it make any sense for everyone to leave the estate while the young head of the house is there alone?”
“When you put it that way, it really doesn’t.”
High-ranking nobles always had guards wherever they went.
Even when stepping outside briefly, knights accompanied them.
A noble affiliated with the Council would receive close protection at all times.
There was no chance such a person would ever be left alone at night.
“They believed that kind of rumor and tried to steal? Idiots. They got what they deserved.”
“Still, isn’t this a bit much? It may be meant as a warning, but the method is too extreme. Who hangs corpses like that in this day and age? Perhaps he really is from the provinces. He has quite a barbaric side.”
“I like that about him. The Watcher of Narak should have that much spirit. I heard he’s young, but he’s certainly bold.”
Countless other conversations passed through the crowd.
The street grew louder and louder.
It was still dawn, yet the spectators packed the street.
“E-Excuse us! Coming through!”
“Sirs, please clear the way!”
A group of commoners struggled through the crowd.
There was a woman in a maid’s uniform, lightly armed guards, cooks, gardeners, and more. All of them were servants of Baron Myatro’s estate.
When they finally pushed through the crowd and stood before the estate, their faces filled with shock.
Some were so startled that they fell to the ground.
“Aah!”
“W-What is this?!”
“Something happened last night!”
“Open the gate at once! Secure the Baron’s safety first!”
One guard quickly opened the front gate.
The rest immediately rushed into the estate.
The crowd watching them was thrown into confusion.
“Was the estate really empty?”
“Then who hung those corpses...?”
“T-There must have been at least one knight left behind. Even if he is the Watcher of Narak, the young Baron could not have dealt with six grown thieves alone.”
“I heard that the Watcher of Narak has not hired any knights yet.”
Could a child barely ten years old truly have slaughtered six grown men and hung their bodies at the gate?
It was too difficult to believe.
Everyone stared at the estate in confusion.
As if it had no intention of answering their questions, the front gate slammed shut.
Even so, the crowd did not disperse. They remained there for a long while.
For some time, the Royal Capital would be abuzz with stories about the Watcher of Narak.
* * *
Butler Haman cautiously looked out the window.
Spectators crowded the street as far as he could see.
They had all gathered because of Haman’s handiwork.
Headless corpses hung openly in the most affluent district of the Royal Capital. It was hardly strange that they attracted attention.
Haman let out a deep sigh.
“Should I bring them back inside now?”
He had experienced something truly strange the night before.
The thieves’ heads had suddenly exploded before his eyes, followed by a chilling voice in his ear.
───First mission. Hang every corpse from the front gate.
As if possessed, Haman had carried out the order.
For some reason, he had felt that he had no choice but to obey.
He had not even tried to guess the owner of that voice.
Only now, after sunrise, was Haman overwhelmed by confusion.
What exactly had happened the night before?
Who had spoken to him?
Nothing was clear.
Haman felt as if he had been possessed by a ghost.
He held his head in his hands.
“What the hell was all that?”
As he struggled through his confusion, an unfamiliar voice sounded behind him.
“You did well, just as I told you.”
Haman immediately turned around.
A boy with black hair and a cold expression was entering the guest room. Johan Myatro.
The moment Haman saw his face, he searched through his memories.
That appearance was quite familiar.
A portrait immediately came to mind.
It was the face of his employer.
Startled, Haman bowed from the waist at a ninety-degree angle.
“N-Nice to meet you. I am Butler Haman.”
Johan gave a faint laugh.
“It is not our first meeting, though.”
Haman slightly raised his head. Confusion and guilt appeared on his face.
“Well, the truth is... I was not the one who served you until now, Baron.”
The Mimic Verdan had impersonated Haman.
Johan shook his head.
“That is not what I mean. We clearly spoke last night, did we not?”
Haman swallowed hard.
“If you mean last night, then surely...?”
“That is right. I gave you your first mission.”
Haman raised his voice without realizing it.
“T-That was really your voice, Baron?!”
He immediately covered his mouth.
Johan shrugged.
“Something like that.”
“I-I apologize. I was so startled that I raised my voice.”
Haman lowered his head deeply. He wanted to hide his embarrassed, flustered expression.
Johan quietly watched him.
‘He is quite amusing.’
Haman was poor at controlling his emotions. He was an exceptionally transparent young man.
Johan did not dislike people like that.
In fact, he liked them.
“You are easily startled. Was seeing blood really that shocking?”
Haman carefully looked Johan over.
“N-No. It is just that you feel so different from yesterday.”
Johan looked like a young boy to anyone who saw him.
His voice had not broken yet, and he was small in build.
The figure in the darkness and Johan as he appeared now were clearly different beings.
Johan spoke in a low voice.
“Did you see anything last night?”
Mapheltan had been hiding within Nightfall Immersion.
Haman probably had not seen him, but if Haman had seen Mapheltan’s true nature, Johan would have to keep Haman in check somehow.
Haman felt an inexplicable chill from Johan’s expression and tone.
He quickly shook his head.
“I truly did not see anything! I-I was only startled because everything happened so suddenly last night...”
Johan cut him off.
“Thieves have broken into the estate several times recently, so I was somewhat sensitive yesterday. Do not worry about it too much.”
How could a person give off such an aura simply because he was sensitive? And what had that unfathomable power been?
Everything puzzled Haman.
The young boy before him, Baron Myatro, was truly a figure shrouded in mystery.
From now on, Haman would have to serve him.
“...Everything happened because I was inadequate. Please dismiss this incompetent servant.”
He did not mean it.
Haman did not want to be abandoned again.
Johan gave a faint laugh.
“Before that, let me ask you one thing. Why did you step forward last night?”
Haman was weak. Yet he had charged at the thieves despite knowing he would die.
Johan wanted to know the clear reason behind it.
Haman spoke in a shrinking voice.
“I was taught that preserving the master’s property with one’s life is the least virtue a butler must possess.”
He was clumsy, but upright.
He might lack tact, but he had conviction.
Johan found himself rather fond of Haman.
“I see. Do not forget that mindset from now on.”
Haman’s face gradually brightened.
“A-Are you allowing me to work as your butler?”
Johan nodded.
“Let us get along from now on, Haman Regash.”
He offered his hand.
Haman repeatedly wiped his palm on his trouser leg, then clasped Johan’s hand with both of his.
“I will serve you with all my loyalty!”
Johan lightly patted Haman’s shoulder.
“Let us eat. I will tell you the things you need to keep in mind over breakfast.”
Haman needed to be trained again.
The two immediately headed for the dining room.
The servants preparing breakfast could not bring themselves to meet Johan’s eyes.
Over a single night, he had become someone slightly frightening.
* * *
Johan remained shut in his office for the entire day.
He had quite a lot to consider.
His greatest concern was House Leonar.
‘...Why would they?’
House Leonar never engaged in political schemes.
Confronting everything head-on was the marquis’s house creed.
Yet they had planted a spy in House Myatro.
Of course, given their political relationship, it was not entirely strange.
House Leonar belonged to the royalist faction serving the royal family, while House Myatro belonged to the noble faction tied to Count Staviana.
The problem was that House Leonar was the house plotting such a scheme.
Having read the original novel, Johan could not help questioning the current situation.
He fell into thought.
Since his Possession, he had encountered countless variables.
At times, events had diverged completely from the original novel.
There had always been only one reason.
Johan’s unexpected actions. Whenever he caused an incident, a variable absent from the original novel took root in reality.
This time would be no different.
Surely one of Johan’s actions had triggered House Leonar to act differently from the original novel.
What action could it have been?
After thinking about it all day, he reached one conclusion.
The Royal Capital attack. Not long ago, Mapheltan had led an army of Elves to attack the Royal Capital.
At that time, the Holy Power barrier surrounding the entire Royal Capital had broken, if only briefly.
As a result, the Royal Capital was no longer a zone forbidden to demons.
Several demons unrelated to Mapheltan’s plan had used that day to slip into the Royal Capital.
Reports of demon sightings were spreading throughout the city.
Johan assumed House Leonar’s strange behavior had been caused by some demonic phenomenon.
There was certainly a chance that the Marquis had undergone Possession by a demon.
‘Hmm, is that too much of a leap?’
One thought led to another, and he had ultimately arrived at that conclusion.
No other hypothesis came to mind.
Johan leaned back in his chair and let out a low groan.
He felt quite stifled.
‘Should I meet the Marquis once?’
As he considered it, a knock sounded.
“This is Haman. May I come in?”
“Come in.”
The door opened.
Haman entered and spoke.
“Baron, a guest has arrived. Th-They were sent by House Leonar.”
The corner of Johan’s mouth rose.
The timing was perfect.
“Bring them in at once.”
Haman pulled out a notebook from his clothes.
Scratching his head, he spoke with a clumsy expression.
“B-But the sun will set soon.”
He had recorded every word Johan said in his notebook.
One of those notes said that the estate should be vacated at night.
Johan gave a faint laugh.
“You are better than Verdan, aren’t you?”
“Pardon? What do you mean...?”
“It is nothing. More importantly.”
Johan trailed off and slowly tapped the armrest of his chair.
‘Visiting someone’s home at sunset?’
It was a rather discourteous thing to do.
There had to be another reason why Marquis Leonar was acting this way.
After considering it, Johan slowly opened his mouth.
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
