As soon as he entered the space, Allen was struck by a sense of peculiarity, though he was surprised he didn’t feel something more. The place before him was all too familiar, but he’d made his peace long ago with the idea that he might never see it again: the estate of Duke Westfeldt.
In the year since he’d thought that, however, a great deal had happened. As a matter of fact, every day since had been packed so full that he could hardly believe it had only been a year. With that in mind, it made sense that merely returning to the manor wouldn’t be that big of a shock.
“Welcome home, Lord Allen.”
He wasn’t surprised by the sudden voice and turned to see an older man bowing to him. He’d known the man was there and sensed his approach, so the awkward smile on Allen’s face could only be explained by the man’s choice of words.
“Silas, don’t you think that ‘welcome home’ is a bit odd?”
The story of how the former head butler of the Westfeldt estate had begun to work here once again wasn’t complicated. After being fired, he and his companions had been picked up by House Linkvist, almost entirely due to Anriette’s wishes. So when Anriette had “died” in official terms, they had once again been out of a job.
However, now that Riese was the head of the household, and since House Westfeldt was always understaffed, there was no reason not to hire a bunch of servants familiar with the family’s workings. But that meant their loyalties lay with Riese. Allen was the son of their previous master, and the estate was owned under the same name, but at this point, he was a mere guest.
“Apologies,” Silas said. “I suppose it’s still too soon for that greeting.”
“Too soon? I don’t exactly have plans that would let you say it in the future.”
“Truly? I was convinced that you were here to once again—ahem, to finally take your place as lord of our manor.”
Allen didn’t need to think very hard to figure out what Silas meant by that, but he doubted the butler was saying it seriously. The man’s head remained bowed and his face was hidden, but around him was an air of humor.
“I never knew you were one for jokes, Silas.”
“I may serve nobles, but I’m a regular person myself. And I was only half joking, you know? Lady Riese only returns when there is a suitable occasion, and she’s here today. You never even attempted to return here, Lord Allen, but here you are. It’s only natural that I might draw some conclusions from that, isn’t it?”
Silas wasn’t exactly wrong. Riese was present now, though she usually wasn’t. Allen was back for the first time since being exiled. Still...
“I never came back because I never had any reason to. Today I do. That’s all there is to it. And Riese is here for the same thing, which you should know.”
“Is that so? I am but a humble butler, unaware of such dealings.”
“You? A humble butler?”
Allen chuckled at the man still folded in a deep bow. He’d heard a bit about how Silas and the others were being treated here, so he determined that Silas wasn’t outright lying.
Silas was the former head butler and knowledgeable about the inner workings of the house, but he was a new face among the staff. Yet while his official position was on the lower end, he was respected much like a proper head butler. He definitely knew why Allen and Riese had come.
“Well, let’s set that aside for now,” Allen said. “You’re making it harder for your real master to show herself.”
Allen chuckled again as the presence trying to hide herself inside the manor gasped. He’d noticed her a while ago, but she hadn’t realized that until just now.
“Aww...” Riese came out from the shadow of the doorway. “I thought I could surprise you while you spoke with Silas, but nothing gets past you. And here I’d thought this was my golden opportunity.”
“What for?” Allen laughed.
“Well, it isn’t every day that I get a chance to surprise you!”
Yeah, but why would you need to?
“Hm,” Silas grunted in awe. “It seems my help wasn’t needed after all.”
“What?” Allen said.
“No need to say any more, my lord. I have enough life experience to know a happy couple when I see one. My apologies for even thinking of meddling—I should have known that the one and only Lord Allen wouldn’t need our assistance to put things together.”
Silas finally raised his head to unveil a content expression. As if to say that his work here was done, he bowed once more and promptly made to leave. But before he departed, he had one last comment to share.
“Ah, so that you’re aware, Lady Riese’s room has been thoroughly soundproofed. Rest assured, not a peep will leak to the outside world no matter what you do inside.”
And with that, he was gone.
“Man,” Allen sighed. “What are we supposed to do with that information?”
“I... Right!” Riese agreed. “We’re only here to take care of business...”
Despite her words, her movements suddenly turned very choppy. At that, Allen sighed again. It was true that they had business to settle, so they would do best to prioritize that.
“Well, let’s start off by going to your room, I guess.”
“Oh, uh, um, right. Yes, let’s. The preparations are there, after all.” After a pause, she added, “Honestly, it doesn’t really feel like ‘my’ room, though.”
“That’s normal since you’re never here.” As Allen slipped through the front door, he said, “Oh, sorry, where are my manners? Excuse my entrance.”
“Ah, yes. Um, welcome in? This feels a little funny, doesn’t it?”
“You’ve got a point.”
They were saying the right words, but when the two of them exchanged greetings, it was almost always “I’m home” and “welcome home,” so it didn’t quite feel right in this case.
“Well, anyway, let’s go.”
“Let’s. It won’t do to take too much time. Um...here, I think it’s this way.”
As the two of them walked, Allen stared at Riese’s back. It made sense for her to lead—this was her estate, after all. But just like with the greetings, he had a funny feeling in his heart as he trailed right behind her.