His father drooped his head. “You’re as stubborn as your mother...” Solye muttered in defeat.
Herscherik realized from the king’s reaction that he knew the abduction was Meria’s doing. That wasn’t surprising. Considering that she and Herscherik had gone missing right after Solye refused to take action regarding her hometown, it would have been ridiculous for her not to be the prime suspect. No matter what Solye’s personal beliefs were, his status as the king demanded that he pursue the case.
“I need to ask you a favor, Father,” Herscherik had finally said.
Herscherik returned his focus to the present. He felt a strange sensation, like he was no longer alone in the room.
“Are you all right?” A voice came from directly behind him.
Still, Herscherik remained where he sat and continued to watch the fire and unknowingly stroke the pocket watch in his hand with his thumb.
“I caused you a lot of trouble. I’m sorry, Kuro.”
Herscherik felt like Kuro shrugged but didn’t turn around to see.
“...Nothing for Your Highness to apologize about. You didn’t ask me to do it. No need to be so uptight around me, either.”
“Oh? Then you can call me Hersch, too.” Herscherik tilted his head and let out a chuckle. The image of Kuro the dog wagging his tail crossed his mind, but he kept that to himself. “Thank you, Kuro. Really. Thanks to you, no one will be executed.”
Thanks to Kuro, the case of Herscherik’s kidnapping was coming to a close, at least on the surface. Upon Herscherik’s request, Kuro had spirited Ruseria’s people out of the capital and even set up a space for Meria to describe as the kidnapper’s hideout, separate from the real location where Herscherik had been taken. Since Kuro and everyone else involved in the abduction had thoroughly covered their tracks, Herscherik guessed that the case would be dropped before long for lack of any substantial evidence.
Kuro really is a talented spy...
Herscherik was impressed. The glimpses of Kuro’s stealth and combat skills were enough that even to Herscherik’s untrained eye, he could tell Kuro was the real deal. More evidence of his prowess was the very fact that he was now standing in Herscherik’s room, even after the royal quarters had improved their security.
“I don’t have anything I can give you right now, but I will repay you for this, one day.”
“I won’t hold my breath.” Kuro shrugged. Then, he began to frown and hesitantly added, “...You’re really going?”
Herscherik guessed that Kuro must have gotten wind of the favor he had asked from his father. He held down the button of the pocket watch to reveal the portrait of a family of three that had already departed this world.
The people who were dear to them are in danger. How could I not help them?
Ruseria had entrusted Herscherik with everything he had left unfinished. That’s why...
“I’m going. I have to,” Herscherik answered with unyielding resolve.
Herscherik had asked his father for a favor. “Meria’s exhausted from all of this. I want her to return to her hometown for a while. And I want to accompany her there, after all she’s done for me.” Herscherik had pleaded with the expression of a child concerned for his nanny. Meria’s homecoming would serve two purposes: one, to allow Meria to escape from the castle, and two, to let Herscherik go to Meria’s hometown in order to obtain evidence of Grim’s wrongdoings. That might prove incredibly difficult for someone his age, but Herscherik could no longer back down despite the odds—not after discovering that there would be casualties of poverty in the town over the coming winter. He had made a promise, and he intended to keep it.
In fact, Solye opposed Herscherik leaving the capital for any reason, but Herscherik never relented. Soon, there was a father and son stand-off. Rook, the king’s butler who had been quietly standing beside them the whole time, proposed a solution. “Your Majesty. Why don’t we appoint a butler of service for Prince Herscherik? There shan’t be any problems if he’s accompanied by a manservant.”
Solye turned a sharp glare to Rook as if to reprimand his unsolicited advice. Rook simply looked the other way.
“Butler of service?” Herscherik tilted his neck.
Even though he had studied as much as he could, he now realized that there was a great deal he still did not know about the customs of his own country. He attributed this to his lack of interest in that area and the fact that his mother was dead and his father was too busy to teach him these things, on top of barely seeing his siblings and queens.
“A butler of service, in short, is a butler who serves not a whole household but only his master... A personal servant of sorts,” Rook explained.
A butler of service, it seemed, was a butler specifically dedicated to a single member of royalty or former royals like dukes and duchesses. The custom had begun with Gracis’s founding monarch. When he took the throne, a great many people swore their loyalty to him. That king had chosen the most trustworthy out of all them and given that person the title of “butler of service,” to manage all of his underlings.
After some time, those who pledged their life to serve a particular individual began to earn the title “of service.” However, the title was only given under the king’s supervision. Butlers of service were permitted to choose the will of their master over the king himself. In some cases, a butler of service could spend more time with their master over a lifetime then their master’s spouse.
“It is customary for His Highness to choose a butler of service after a few more years, but this may be the perfect timing if Meria is to leave him,” Rook added. He also explained that Herscherik could elect to appoint a knight or spellcaster of service as well. But first, Rook clarified that the prince should appoint a butler.