"O-Of course I can get everything done. I am an exceptional butler after all. Lady Rui, you can leave everything to me."
Hobbit was swallowing blood at this point. His tone did not match his words, nor the worried expression on his face. Hobbit had gone paler ever since he had heard Lady Rui's comment but the female ignored him.
Instead, she turned toward Yohan and flashed him a relieved smile.
"See Yohan. Everything is sorted out now. So I hope you will not have any other thoughts in your mind when accompanying me next time."
The glare Hobbit gave Yohan was acidic. It would have been enough to kill him if glaring had that power.
Unfortunately for Hobbit, glaring did not have that power and Yohan was given another day to live. He could not help but flash Hobbit a cheeky smile in return for his efforts.
The head butler likely noticed it all happen, so he clenched his teeth. But in the end, he had to do as Lady Rui told him. Even convincing her of her decision would be foolish for him.
"Well then, you all are free to do what you want for the rest of the day. I will be in my room if you need me." Lady Rui paused before continuing. "Oh, and Yohan, I need you to pick up a parcel for me from the distribution office. Can you go and fetch it for me now?"
Lady Rui was giving Yohan an excuse to get out of the tough situation he had found himself in. Yohan was impressed as well as surprised at her generosity.
"Of course, my lady. I will go and fetch your parcel right now."
The door closed behind Lady Rui's back and everything returned to its original state.
'No, not everything did. So will I have to dodge a punch now?'
Yohan looked toward Hobbit out of the corner of his eyes. The other butler was clenching his fist and it was beginning to bleed now.
"Y-You little-! What do you think you are doing with *my* Lady Rui? Don't think you can successfully seduce her, alright?"
Hobbit's voice shook as he accused Yohan. But even then, he was doing an incredible job of holding himself back. Yohan almost wanted to say that he was impressed at his self-control.
"Hobbit, hold your tongue. No matter how much you dislike this situation, Lady Rui is not an object you can own. Maybe you should take some time off and cool your head."
The head butler interfered before Hobbit could make a mess of things anymore. Yohan could spot a few other servants nearby, observing what was happening with their keen eyes.
And many of them were people sent here to spy on the Abstel family. They would report what happened back to their masters.
"Anyway, since Lady Rui handed me some personal work, I shall go and get it done. I will see you all later."
Yohan bowed to the pair in front of him and then left. Knowing the head butler, all this would be swept under the rug soon enough.
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Once Yohan had left the scene, the head butler turned toward Hobbit with an angry expression. But Hobbit did not have any remorse in his eyes.
"Why did you stop me from tearing Yohan a new one? If we do not show him his place right now then he will come back to bite us in the future."
Hobbit was almost yelling those words out and the head butler could not take this foolishness any more. He raised his hand and it connected with Hobbit's face with a loud smack.
*Slap*
The corridor went silent after that happened and everyone watched this interaction with keen interest.
The head butler had not noticed it before but there were a lot of eyes on him right now. He needed to be careful if he did not want to tarnish his reputation.
"There is a time and place for everything, Hobbit. You need to learn all this if you want to be successful in life. I can see that you still have a long way to go."
Hobbit bit his lip, ultimately stopping himself from saying anything else. He finally noticed what he has been saying and where he was.
'I…just what was I doing? Why did I say all that out loud? It was like I could not control myself?'
Hobbit was confused and scared. He had spoken his mind out loud when he knew it would be better to keep quiet. And now he was in so much trouble that it was not even funny.
"I…that…I did not mean to say all that. Head butler, the one speaking was not me. I was being possessed to say all that."
Hobbit tried to justify his actions. Clarity slowly returned to his mind once he was done but the head butler did not seem to find his words as reliable.
The head butler sighed as he watched the child in front of him suffer. It had been Hobbit's fault he had ended up like this. There was nothing more to be said about it.
Still, his words did make a little sense if you have known him for as long as the head butler did. Hobbit was not as foolish as to speak this openly.
"It doesn't matter what happened to you Hobbit. What matters is that you insulted Lady Rui and her preferences. You will not be able to escape punishment.'
Hobbit opened his mouth to complain but then closed it immediately. The head butler was giving him a look that said 'don't' so Hobbit had no other choice but to stay put.
In the end, he bowed down to the head butler and took his punishment. But the head butler was not convinced.
He could see it now - the downfall of his plan if he continued to associate with Hobbit in the future. Lady Rui seemed to have taken a disliking to Hobbit immediately.
'Well, Hobbit was a pawn of mine. And when these pawns are no longer useful, it's time to discard them and get a new one.'
The head butler was not out of options yet. He still had his son - Hans.
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"I am pretty sure the head butler will try and get rid of Hobbit now that he is no longer useful. We should have nothing to worry about on that front at least."
Hans explained once Yohan settled in his room. Yohan had sought him out as soon as he left the head butler and Hobbit alone.
Since Hans knew the two best, he was the best person to ask what their next course of action should be. Ad it seemed like Yohan had south the best possible person for the job.
"I see. In that case, what do you think the head butler would do next once he no longer has Hobbit?"
Yohan had an idea of what the head butler would try to pull. But he still decided to ask since he was not confident in his answer.
"Isn't it obvious what he will try to pull? Since he no longer has one pawn, he will go for another one. So, how do you think I should answer my father once he comes for me?"
Yohan was not surprised when he was asked this question. He had expected Hans to be the head butler's next target once he no longer had Hobbit in his grasp.
And truthfully, it was something he wanted to happen as well. It would give him an eye and an ear into the head butler's fraction without much effort.
"Well, if your father is so worried for you, you should oblige him and go to him. Won't it make sense to do such a thing?"
Hans sighed, likely expecting such an answer to come from Yohan's mouth. He was beginning to understand how Yohan thought and acted.
"Alright. If you want to send me as a spy, I will do as you say. But I won't be able to openly help you out all the time."
Hans agreed to the proposal in the end. He had no choice since Yohan was ordering this. And so far, Yohan had been nothing but agree with him.
Once things were settled with Hans, Yohan immediately set out to retrieve Lady Rui's parcel. He needed to be quick so that he could pass on additional information to the rebellion.
The outing he had done with Lady Rui had been a success and Yohan had gotten a lot of information regarding the rebellion and any possible attacks on him.
It mattered not what Huye would do with this information. All Yohan wanted for her to do was stir up some trouble and divert attention from his actions.
"I am here to pick up a parcel for Lady Rui Abstel."
Yohan flashed the small pass he had been given by Lady Rui and the employee handed him a small parcel. Yohan pocketed it and then went on his merry way.
It was not until he standing in front of the bus stop that he noticed - his pocket felt lighter than before. And a kid was running away while clutching his small parcel in his hand.
Him, Yohan Strout, the future demon king as well as holder of three realm keys, had been robbed of his possession.