The Lady's Butler: I Reincarnated To Serve The Villainess-Chapter 20: Imminent Breakthrough

"You must be the young Mistress’s Butler."

Adrian looked up to see a woman who looked to be in her early fifties standing by the door, welcoming them.

He and Felix had only taken a few minutes to reach the Ardent mansion, and although it wasn’t as grand as the Estate back in the North, it was more expensive than what most nobles could afford.

The design and color scheme remained the same as those of the main estate, so Adrian hadn’t stopped to admire the architecture.

Instead, they both walked to the main door where a lady he identified from the manhwa as the head maid of the mansion.

She was basically Renelle’s caretaker since the patriarch couldn’t permanently stay in the capital because he had a dukedom to run and her mother was in no condition to leave the patriarch’s side.

"I am," Adrian answered with a light bow of respect, "my name is Adrian."

"No need to be so formal child," the head maid said with a light smile, "Sebastian told me great things about you."

"By the way, you may call me Margaret," she introduced, "the head maid of the mansion."

"It’s a pleasure to meet you.... Margaret," Adrian said, causing her to smile, although he was still a bit formal, at least he hadn’t added Miss or any affix that would make her feel old.

A faint look of approval appeared in her eyes.

"You certainly carry yourself well," Margaret said before glancing toward Felix, who looked like he might collapse at any moment, "though I cannot say the same for our escort."

Felix raised his head to look at her, noticing that her eyes seemed to hold concern for him.

"It seems your journey was a hard one," She added.

Finally, someone who recognized how stressful it had been traveling with this demon butler.

Margaret sighed softly and stepped aside from the door.

"Come in, both of you. You’ve travelled far," the large doors of the Ardent mansion opened behind her, revealing the interior.

Just like the exterior, the design mirrored the northern estate, though on a slightly smaller scale.

Marble floors stretched across the entrance hall, polished to the point they reflected the light of the crystal chandeliers above. Warm-colored carpets lined the walkways, and elegant paintings decorated the walls.

Several servants were already waiting inside and the moment Adrian stepped in, their eyes immediately moved toward him.

After all, word had already spread through the mansion earlier that day.

A new butler from the North was coming, and it was not just any butler.

He was a personal butler chosen by the Duke himself for Lady Renelle.

Margaret began walking deeper into the mansion, Adrian and Felix following behind her.

"The young Mistress will be attending the royal ball tonight," Margaret explained as they walked, "preparations have kept everyone rather busy."

"I see," Adrian nodded.

They soon stopped in front of a door and Margaret turned to him, "This will be the room."

"If you require anything, the servant quarters are down the hall," she added. "Your official uniform will be delivered shortly."

Her eyes briefly dropped to the small white box still in Adrian’s hand.

"You’ve been carrying that since you arrived," she said, curiosity slipping into her tone, "should I have the kitchen store it for you?"

Adrian glanced down at the box before shaking his head, "No."

"A gift?" she asked again.

Adrian looked down at the box for a moment before answering.

"It’s something sweet."

Margaret chuckled softly.

"Then you may wish to give it to her after the ball," she said.

"The young Mistress is currently at her fiancé’s and won’t be returning until after the ball," Margaret added as she turned to leave, "proper introductions will be done then."

"Alright," Adrian nodded, waiting for Margaret to leave with Felix, for the guest room, before pushing the door open.

He walked into the room, closing the door behind him, and had a proper look at the room.

It wasn’t a luxury one by any means, but it was a whole lot better than the one he had at the training facility.

He walked deeper into the room, placing the small box on his desk before taking off his shirt, revealing a body that was neither too buff nor too skinny.

Adrian then moved to the bed and sat down with crossed legs. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

There had been something he had noticed since his journey to the capital started.

His mana.

It had been behaving strangely since they left the North, not, it was way before that, it was when he had fought the yeti, emptied his reserves and refilled it again.

At first, Adrian assumed it was simply the result of prolonged travel and constant combat readiness due to the interruptions by the beasts on his way here.

But now he was sure of it.

His mana felt stuffy, making him feel almost bloated and if his knowledge from the manhwa was anything to go by, that meant a breakthrough was imminent.

He closed his eyes, slowly breathing in and out, trying to get a feel of his mana, something that shouldn’t be hard to do since it was what he needed to do to use his abilities.

Slowly, he entered a trance-like state as he continued with slow breaths. A couple of minutes later, his shadow suddenly extended, and out walked a black cat with silver eyes,

Noctis.

The cat looked at Adrian, who now had an aura of darkness surrounding him, with a bit of surprise.

It knew the kid was compatible with his abilities, but this fast growth was scary.... especially when you considered that shadow mana wasn’t that abundant in the air.

«What exactly are you, Adrian?»

***

Meanwhile, in the royal palace, within the room for guests and visitors, she stood in front of a mirror.

Her icy blue eyes were opened wide as she touched her own face, not believing that it was hers.

With a trembling voice, she muttered,

"I regressed?"