Chapter 43: Distrust
While I was at the ball, there were other servants that worked on setting the place in the slums to give away cooked meals. They worked faithfully at setting everything up, but the only difference now was that there truly wasn't anybody sitting at the table.
Before, when I was sitting at the place, it felt like the table had served some purpose, but now it looked like someone had left out their unwanted furniture. Eventually, Arianne stumbled over but was confused when there was nobody there.
After a couple of seconds of hesitation, she approached one of the butlers and asked about her concerns.
"Where is Bryson? Will he be coming soon?"
The butler smiled awkwardly and shook his head.
"He is currently at a ball, however, he wanted us to continue on with the event in his stead regardless."
Arianne blinked a few times before nodding.
"I... I see."
She didn't seem to want to stay all that much, however, after a minute of indecisiveness, she ended up sitting down. Naturally, a bowl of steaming pottage was placed in front of her soon after.
While Arianne began eating in silence, it almost seemed like nobody would come. But soon after, a familiar little boy ran up to the place. There was a bright smile on his face, but once he saw Arianne, he pointed a finger accusingly at her.
"Wah! Untrustworthy person, what did you do to the good person?"
She raised her hands up like she was getting arrested by the police.
"Ah, he needs to go to a ball, so he isn't here."
The boy raised an eyebrow and frowned deeper.
"A ball? You made him go after a ball to play with? You must've lured him into a trap!"
Arianne simply got more flustered, stammering over her words, and unable to properly communicate anything. In the end, a butler walked up to the kid with a somewhat tense smile and explained the situation.
"He is currently away at an event and has us hosting the event on his behalf."
The boy looked at him skeptically for a few moments before nodding.
"...I see! Now I know that the untrustworthy person is a liar!"
Arianne seemed to be on the verge of breaking down in tears.
"But I'm not lying!"
The butler seemed like he was going to clear up the misunderstanding, but for whatever reason decided against it last second. And so, Arianne now had the label of a liar. Though, the kid didn't seem to have any reservations about sitting next to her.
They didn't really talk much, with neither of them intending on starting a conversation. Arianne was just too shy to do so, while the kid didn't see a point in that.
After a few moments, the butler walked over to the two and spoke with them.
"Do you two mind if we also sit down? If our Lord is sitting down, it is honestly a little intimidating to do the same."
Arianne waved sheepishly.
"Ah, I have no right to dictate that kind of thing! You are the ones that provided everything after all."
As for the kid, he seemed to have a different opinion.
"Only if you have permission from the good person!"
The butler let out a laugh.
"Well, he did let us sit down before."
The kid pursed his lips together before nodding.
"Alright then!"
With that, the servants had also sat down, making the table the most crowded it had ever been. And strangely enough, it was when I myself was absent. While they were just having a meal, a man in ragged clothes approached.
"Could... Could I also have a meal?"
The butler nodded.
"Of course."
He then personally got up to bring over a bowl, placing it near one of the empty seats to the man. One after another, two people ended up showing up as well, making a total of three new people sitting at the table.
They all seemed rather reserved and honestly, a little desperate given their thin frames. Still, it could be considered a technical win, even if most people still were too scared of approaching.
Though, considering how many people were together, the silence was rather awkward. In an attempt to make it a little less painful, Arianne spoke up about the first thing that came to mind.
"S-So why did Bryson start doing this type of thing?"
The servants all looked at each other, as though wondering if someone else knew the answer. Eventually, a butler spoke up.
"We are unsure of the reason. There was simply one day when the Head Butler informed us that we were to do this and that it was by Bryson's command. It is honestly quite difficult to pinpoint any specific reason."
He paused, clearly hesitating, but still let the words flow out of his mouth.
"I do have a guess, however."
Pretty much everyone at the table looked at him, no longer that focused on the food itself. The butler raised a finger and furrowed his brows, showing his uncertainty.
"From what I recall, our Lord without any real rhyme or reason invited a commoner over to his place. It appeared that he had taken an interest in the life of a commoner and invited him over."
The butler closed his eyes, almost like he was recalling a fond memory despite the fact he wasn't really involved in it.
"I remember the two of them went around the entire manor exploring it. I believe that our Lord wished to show the commoner what his life was like in exchange for knowing his. But what makes me believe this the most, is when he asked for the chefs to prepare dinner for him."
He scratched the side of his head like he was still puzzled.
"For some strange reason, when the chefs had prepared food fitting for a commoner and his own meal, he requested that they trade. From there, when the commoner gave a recommendation and even handed it over with his used utensil, the Lord ate it without batting an eye!"
The butler nodded to himself while raising a finger.
"As such, the only conclusion I can come to is that he had undergone a compulsion to understand what life is like as a commoner. In my opinion, it means he wishes to humble himself and understand what the people he will rule over are like so that he can become a proper duke!"
That wasn't even close by the way if you couldn't tell. But despite that, it appeared that everyone at the table was convinced that was the reason. Well, everyone except for the kid.
He had a frown on his face but didn't say anything.
Arianne put a hand on her cheek as her eyes seemed to widen in admiration.
"He is that dedicated to becoming a fair and just ruler? That makes me feel as though I have not been trying hard enough to be under him."
One of the maids sitting at the table put a hand to her forehead and let out an exasperated sigh.
"It is nearly unbelievable! In all my time, I've never seen any other noble do something like that! But... I'm unsure if the decision he made is the correct one. More than understanding the commoners, wouldn't it be better to learn how to manage the lands and business properly?"
The butler that originally said that scratched his head.
"In all honesty, I do agree. While this doesn't seem to be the most effective, I believe he should be praised for his intentions!"
The kid scoffed and muttered to himself.
"Shallow fools."
Though, none of the servants paid him any heed. However, Arianne looked over at him curiously.
"Why do you say that?"
The kid simply crossed his arms and looked to the side.
"You aren't trustworthy! I don't talk to liars!"
It was a bit contradictory considering he was technically talking to her, but other than that fact, he showed no plans of explaining himself. Arianne simply felt rather awkward and began thinking about it herself.
Eventually, a woman that had decided to sit at the table expressed her own opinion with a frown.
"All of you are just saying that because he told you to, aren't you?"
The butler looked over with furrowed brows. It appeared that he took offense to that.
"No, we are under no obligation to say so."
One of the maids suddenly spoke up, as though to support it.
"If it was before, then I would also think those were all lies, but something about him changed recently."
She rubbed her hand against her neck like she was uncomfortable with not knowing how to fully express herself.
"I don't really know how to say it, but the way he looks at me isn't so scary anymore. Before... he always had this glare, and it made me think I did something wrong all the time."
Another maid nodded several times to confirm it.
"Yes! I've noticed that too! It feels entirely different. Sometimes it makes me feel like he's a friend, but I obviously know that I'm still just a servant."
This time, the kid scoffed rather loudly. He pointed his spoon at the servants and voiced his opinion.
"He was never a bad person! The only reason he feels different is that you all judged him by his appearance, so he forced himself to change so that you felt more comfortable!"
All of the servants stared strangely at the kid. The butler raised an eyebrow before shaking his head and laughing.
"It is simply the words of a child, they are naturally emboldened."
They gave the kid a look as though he was stepping out of his bounds. And they were kind of right, considering the servants worked and lived in the same building as me, while the kid himself only met me once.
It was only natural to think he was just full of hot air.
And it kind of was considering the actual Bryson was basically an entirely different person.
The kid didn't go out of his way to further argue his opinion and simply focused on eating. From there, time passed on rather uneventfully. Once the kid finished he got up from his seat and waved.
"Goodbye stupid people!"
He then stuck out his tongue before running away. Bitter smiles formed on the servants as they got over it. Things seemed to be dying down a little, with the commoners that had come originally silently leaving.
When Arianne similarly stood up intending on tidying up, someone unexpectedly called out to her.
"Hey, what are you still doing here?"
She looked over her shoulder to see that it was Minori, prompting her to gasp in surprise.
"Why are you still here?"
Minori frowned and crossed her arms. She was hiding behind a faraway building. After revealing herself, she slowly walked up, though took a quick glance to the left and right like she wanted to make sure someone wasn't there.
"Stop coming here! That guy is going to do something to you when you don't expect it!"
Arianne similarly frowned, but she seemed a bit disappointed more than anything.
"I appreciate your good intentions, but I've decided to trust him. If it ends up being a mistake, then I am willing to suffer the consequences for it."
Minori was not pleased with that answer. She came up and grabbed both of Arianne's shoulders before shaking them.
"Why are you trusting him? There is a reason so many people are saying bad things about him! Maybe you don't think those are true, but you should still protect yourself from suspicious characters."
Arianne looked at her, but this time she looked concerned.
"I don't understand. Why do you hate Bryson so much?"
Minori found herself rendered speechless.
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