Volume 3 - CH 3

Ernest Rosenberg. 

This was the name of Lady Sophia’s youngest elder brother, the one who had platinum blond hair and amethyst-like eyes. This boy, whose appearance was quite similar to Lady Sophia’s, had beautiful, sharp features, and had apparently always attracted attention from the opposite sex. However, to be frank, I didn’t really know much about him.

To begin with, he wasn’t brought up much in the first game, ‘Espressivo of Light and Darkness.’ Since he hadn’t been involved in Lady Sophia’s fall to ruin, I never really paid him any attention. Moreover, because he attended the Academy since elementary school, we had only interacted a few times.

With that being the case, I had believed the rumor that he was in love with his childhood friend, which was the official story. But, apparently, they were both using this relationship as an excuse to keep away people of the opposite sex that wanted to court them. It seemed that Lady Sophia was also aware of this fact.

Incidentally, according to the information I received about ‘The Eve of the Festival,’ the young Lady that kept him company wasn’t all that bad. But, for the time being, that information was irrelevant to me, so I set it aside. The real issue was that, in Ernest’s route, Lady Sophia held the role of the villainous daughter.

In ‘The Eve of the Festival,’ Lady Sophia had a brother complex and was jealous that her big brother was being taken away. The storyline was that she had then started to pick on Pamela. But I didn’t think that she would fall into darkness even if Young Master Ernest were to be taken from Lady Sophia. She might sulk about it a little, but that was about it.

However, Young Master Ernest was returning from his studies abroad at the end of the school year. In other words, although he was supposed to stay abroad for one more term, he cut his plans short and came back.The plot of his story deviating right from the start gave me an extremely bad feeling.

That bad feeling of mine was pretty spot on. About a week had passed before I was summoned by Young Master Ernest, who had just returned home. I prepared myself for the worst and walked into the parlor room where he was, waiting for me.

“Young Master Ernest, welcome back.”

“I see that you’ve arrived. It’s been a while, Cyril.”

“Yes, it has been a long time.”

After lowering my head politely, I looked straight at Young Master Ernest. Just as you’d have expected from Lady Sophia’s elder brother, his appearance resembled hers a lot. If Lady Sophia were to ever dress herself as a man, would she look something like this? He was a handsome boy, and I could understand why he had become a capture target in ‘The Eve of the Festival.’

He had been attending an academy in the Flamefield Empire since last year. Therefore, it had been about two years since I last saw him in person like this. Nevertheless, it wasn’t like we interacted much before. At the very least, I was certain he definitely hadn’t summoned me to rekindle an old friendship or the sort due to his return from studying abroad.

“Simply put, Cyril, the reason I called for you today is because I thought that you could brief me about all the things that have happened while I was abroad. Seems like you’ve been quite flashy, haven’t you?”

“Are you speaking about Lady Sophia establishing her own faction?”

Several incidents came to my mind at once, but, for now, I voiced out a comparatively safe guess. After all, at that point I couldn’t just ask him: ‘Is this about her being summoned by the Royal family?’

“Ah, I’ve heard about that matter as well. I heard that she had established a big faction in a small amount of time. There was an inquiry from His Highness, Prince Lancelot, asking just what on earth did she intend by doing so.”

“…I deeply apologize for that.”

‘It could easily have been interpreted as the Rosenberg Marquis household rising in revolt.’ 

I had prepared myself to be reprimanded like that, but Young Master Ernest just shook his head in disagreement.

“I’ve heard about your reasons from my father as well. What’s most important is the fact that our unreliable Sophia concluded that she should establish a faction by herself. There’s no way that I would criticise her, since, as her elder brother, I give her my full support as her elder brother.”

“I apologize for misunderstanding.”

He was saying that it was impossible for an elder brother to do things like reprimand his younger sister. When I realized this, I immediately apologized, as my thoughts raced frantically.

Apparently, Young Master Ernest was staying in touch with His Highness, Prince Lancelot. On top of that, Young Master Ernest said that he heard about Lady Sophia’s deeds from the current head of the family, Master Grave, as well.

There was a regular transport line going all the way to the neighboring country’s capital via a magic-powered airship. Naturally, the airship wasn’t something a regular person could use freely, but it wasn’t too difficult for the son of a Marquis to use it to deliver and receive letters. Considering this, they must have been exchanging letters quite frequently. It was very likely that he was also informed of Lady Sophia crushing Count Ares’ household and receiving a summons from the Royal family. It was highly probable that Young Master Ernest had summoned me, someone he didn’t usually communicate with, because of these incidents, right?

According to ‘The Eve of the Festival’s set up, Lady Sophia loved her elder brother. In other words, it could be said that Young Master Ernest also showered Lady Sophia with a considerable amount of affection… Well, it was possible that his kindness was just pretend, but, according to my sister’s information, that wasn’t the case. At least, I was sure that he didn’t dislike Lady Sophia…

“In that case, what would you like me to tell you about?”

“Tell me about everything that had happened while I was abroad.”

“Everything?”

“Yes. First off, tell me about Sophia scoring high marks at the entrance exams.”

I don’t understand what his intentions are, but if he wants to hear about that… 

As instructed, I told Young Master Ernest about how Lady Sophia had worked very hard during her lessons, focused on the entrance exams topics, and how she only lost one point in the actual exam due to a careless mistake.

“So, essentially, she got a perfect score.”

“…Yes, it was as you say.”

It wasn’t a question that she couldn’t answer, but she just got a point reduction due to a mistake. While it was possible for her to get a perfect score, it was a little indulgent to say that it was ‘an essentially perfect score’. However, Lady Sophia didn’t lose that one point by accident, she actually did it on purpose. In that sense, I had no objections to him saying it was ‘an essentially perfect score.’

“Splendid! Knowledge, etiquette, fine arts, beauty! She has already managed to nearly reach a debutante level in all subjects! As expected of my little sister!”

“Yes. Lady Sophia is working extremely hard.”

If anything, she was working too hard.

“Well then, I also want to hear about why she created a faction again. What my father told me was too succinct.”

“As you wish.”

As asked of me, I told him all about the reasons behind Lady Sophia establishing her own faction. In the process of doing so, I also openly told him that Lady Sophia got involved with His Highness, Prince Alforth, and that the members of the Elitist faction, who had been Prince Alforth’s followers, had messed with her. Objectively stating the truth was the fundamental duty of a butler.

“I see, it seems like His Highness, Prince Alforth is also someone I have to keep an eye on.”

Hearing Young Master Ernest’s murmur made me feel a bit bitter. Prince Alforth did screw up here and there, that was true, and I didn’t intend on pretending that it should be kept a secret, but these were all his past mistakes. In no way was he currently foolish.

“With your permission, allow me to state my opinion.”

“I shall allow it. If you have something on your mind, you should say it.”

“Thank you. His Highness Prince Alforth had certainly made some mistakes, but he isn’t foolish like that anymore. As the Second Prince, he continues to grow everyday.”

“I know that.”

His answer bewildered me. He was aware of his growth, yet he still concluded that Prince Alforth was someone to be wary of. Wasn’t that like saying that he would never forgive his mistakes?

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“You don’t seem to understand. The reason why I called him someone to keep an eye on is because he asked Sophia for a dance at the New Students’ Welcoming Party.”

“I see, so that was the reason.”

Although I answered like that, I didn’t understand at all. Did he think that Prince Alforth was thinking of making Lady Sophia his fiancée in order to gain the support of the Rosenberg Marquis household?

“But His Highness, Prince Alforth isn’t an ambitious person.”

“Oh no, there are no doubts that he is ambitious. He tried to dance with this country’s precious treasure, even more precious than the throne – he tried to dance with my beloved sister!”

I watched him curl his hands into tight fists and it finally dawned on me. 

Ooh, I see. 

Thinking about it rationally, it wasn’t really that strange. Why? Because in ‘The Eve of the Festival,’ Young Master Ernest also adored the Lady Sophia who grew up to become the villainous daughter.

There, Lady Sophia’s character got warped because she was bullied by a maid and you certainly couldn’t call her amiable in the slightest, but Young Master Ernest had still adored this Lady Sophia.

If that was the case, then, if we were to talk about the current Lady Sophia, the one whose character didn’t get warped and who grew up to be as charming as an angel with refined etiquette and who would straightforwardly express her love with a smile on her face…

“That’s my younger sister. I’m not giving her to some prince!”

…the fact that he would develop a sister complex was inevitable. In retrospect, there were many clues pointing in that direction. For example, I thought, thinking back on the conversation Lady Sophia and Young Master Ernest had had when he was leaving to study abroad.

“You are going to study abroad, aren’t you, big brother?”

“Yeah. I heard that the magic spells in the Flamefield Empire are outstanding. Therefore, I decided to study there for the sake of this kingdom’s future.”

“I will not stop you if you really are going to study there for the sake of this kingdom, big brother. But I feel really sad… Big brother, please take care of yourself.”

At that time, Lady Sophia was smiling somewhat sadly. I didn’t even need to think about how Young Master Ernest must have been feeling then.

As such instances repeated themselves, it was unavoidable that Young Master Ernest’s  affection for his sister would grow much deeper than in the original work.

Or rather, did Young Master Ernest undergo a sis-conification? This didn’t really appear to be a problem when it came to the fandisk’s actual story. Needless to say, it would probably be difficult for Pamela to now enter Young Master Ernest’s route.

However, I wasn’t reassured by that either. Earlier, Young Master Ernest said that Prince Alforth was a person to keep an eye on too. I should have noticed by that point. Looking at the fact that I was someone who normally didn’t interact with him much, why was summoning me the first thing Young Master Ernest did once he was back? Meaning—

“So let us get to the real issue at hand. I hear that you’ve played quite an active role during the school festival, haven’t you, Cyril?”

The last scene of the ‘Espressivo of Light and Darkness’ play crossed my mind. 

The moment when the lights were supposed to go out right before the kiss but they didn’t due to Lady Sophia’s mischief, so I drew my face close to hers which had also served as her punishment.

N-no, calm down. He had only asked me about the school festival. It wasn’t determined that he was talking about the play.

“Tell me. Just what did you do… to my adorable little sister on top of that stage, showered in light?”

…Right. Well, if he knew about the school festival, he naturally must know about the play as well.

In other words—

I switched positions with Pamela in his route, and the capture target and villainous daughter got switched up too!

This was bad, this was very very bad!

He even treated Prince Alforth as ‘some prince’. Then, just what place would take a mere butler like me? I felt like I’d get disposed of like some kind of flying insect.

I couldn’t say anything careless here, but I definitely couldn’t lie either.

Therefore—

“I did what was necessary to lead the stage that my Lady stood on to become a success.”

“Are you saying that you’ve stolen those adorable lips because it was necessary…?”

If he knew about the play then he’d also know about what happened during the last scene, wouldn’t he!?!?

“N-no, I didn’t kiss her. I only made it seem that way because the lights wouldn’t go out. It is regrettable that it resulted in a situation that could easily invite misunderstandings, but I never attempted to steal her lips, ever.”

“In other words, you’re saying that you don’t have feelings for my little sister?”

“Of course, I adore her from the bottom of my heart, for Lady Sophia is the person I work for.”

I didn’t lie. I wasn’t… lying. I caught Young Master Ernest’s gaze head on, focusing those sentiments into my eyes. 

“…Then, what would you do if Sophia were in danger?”

“Naturally, I would eliminate any and all threats, even at the cost of my life.”

“In that case, what would you do if Sophia asked you to do something?”

“I would do everything in my power to fulfill her wishes.”

“Even if these wishes would lead to some detrimental consequences for you?”

He turned his somewhat testing gaze towards me. But, it was too late for that now. I had a really hard time hiding that. Unconsciously, I felt like I might start laughing because the last question he asked me was really easy to answer.

“I am Lady Sophia’s exclusive butler. I’ve long come to the resolve that I am living for her sake. My wish is to be able to grant her wishes. Therefore, it is impossible for her wishes to be detrimental to me,” I declared.

“…Is that so… Good. I’ll believe those words. But remember this well. If you ever do anything that will make Sophia sad, I will eliminate you.”

“I’ll bear it in mind.”

I bowed my head deeply and let out a sigh of relief. I seemed to have managed to narrowly escape death.

But… I had an extremely terrible sense of foreboding. When I heard about a certain thing from Teacher Tristan, I had set it aside because it was sort of irrelevant then. It was the situation where Pamela had half-heartedly attempted to go after all three of the capture targets. I was talking about the mitsudomoe 1 bad ending, where  she would make each of the villainous daughters become her enemy and fall into ruin.

As long as Pamela wasn’t manipulated by someone2, there was no way for her to halfheartedly court all three men and fall into ruin. Therefore, I didn’t think it was necessary to worry about this end in this reality.

But—

In Prince Lancelot’s route, I took Pamela’s position and I got myself into a situation where His Highness, Prince Lancelot, who became the villainous daughter, was keeping an eye on me.

And now, I took Pamela’s position in Young Master Ernest’s route as well and was now being watched by Young Master Ernest, who had become the villainous daughter in this situation. 

I was being watched by the two routes’ villainous daughters – who were actually a villainous prince and a villainous son. If the Prince of the Flamefield Empire were to start keeping an eye on me, too, I would end up having all the three people who became villainous daughters staring right at me. The possibility of me falling into ruin by getting the mitsudomoe bad ending came into view.

…No, calm down, it’s alright. 

Certainly, for some reason, I had taken on Pamela’s role. But that wasn’t particularly due to the forces of the game, but as a result of my own actions. At least, I had an inkling where I could have invited misunderstandings when it came to Fol and Lady Sophia.

But, precisely for that reason, I felt safe when it came to the route of the Flamefield Empire. Why? Because I had never gone to the neighboring country. Although the Prince and Princess were coming to study abroad here, that was still in the future and if I didn’t try to involve myself with them, there wouldn’t be any problems.

In other words, it was possible for me to still avoid the mitsudomoe bad ending. Just as I was  thinking in this way, as if mocking me, Young Master Ernest opened his mouth:

“Come to think of it, the Princess of the Flamefield Empire seems to have taken an interest in you,” he said. 

Thank you so much for reading! If you would like to support this translation, I have a Ko-Fi account!

Also, as I am taking care of my baby cousins this week, there most likely won’t be a chapter next week, my apologies! But I should get right back to posting the week after!

Also also…what a chapter, huh?