The Lady's Butler: I Reincarnated To Serve The Villainess-Chapter 8: A Reward

A day had passed since Adrian’s battle with the crystal frost wolf, and his mana had been fully recovered.

Well, almost.

The downside of having a large mana pool was the fact that recovering it fully was a pain.

The only reason he had recovered a bit more than eighty percent of his mana, was because he had the cat helping.

Speaking of the cat, it seemed its new favorite spot was Adrian’s head, as that was exactly where it sat while he followed behind Sebastian.

Not that Adrian minded either way, after all, he barely felt its weight.

Anyway, he had suddenly been summoned by Sebastian this early for a reason unknown.

The old man hadn’t said anything when Adrian answered the door, he just turned around and started walking.

Well, not that his actions were surprising, this was basically the interaction he always had with any servant in training.

That is, until right now.

"Tell me Adrian," Sebastian continued walking forward as he spoke, "why do you think some servants of the Ardent family undergo this training and most don’t?"

Adrian’s steps slowed down a bit before he resumed his pace again, an action whicch Sebastian noticed but said nothing.

The reason for Adrian’s action was because this was the most the old man had spoken to both past Adrian and the current him.

Which meant he was probably in a good mood.

Though, that mood could change depending on the answer he gave, but there was no way he would ruin this.

After all, Sebastian had answered a similar question in the manhwa during one of the mini arcs which revealed his backstory.

"Because unlike normal servants of the Ardent House, we are the family’s loyal dogs," Adrian paused before continuing, "and as loyal dogs, we must be trained to bite whatever hand points a dagger towards our Masters."

Yeah, young Sebastian was a far cry from a normal child, as he had uttered these same words with the same cold expression Adrian currently had.

The only difference was, Adrian very much wanted to replace ’Masters’ with Lady Renelle, after all, she was the only one that truly mattered to him, the rest were secondary.

Still, it seemed his answer satisfied the old man, as he could very clearly see a smile on his face, which was quickly hidden.

"That’s right," Sebastian nodded, "we, as personal butlers, are also our master’s shadow and protector."

He then paused before turning towards Adrian with an icy look on his face, his green eyes also seemed to be emitting a glow.

A heavy pressure fell on Adrian’s shoulders as he locked eyes with the old man, one that seemed to want to force him on his knees.

But he resisted.

"If anything happens to Lady Renelle when you’re assigned to her," Sebastian continued, "you’ll be immediately executed."

There was a bit of silence as the pressure got heavier on Adrian’s shoulders, enough to make his knees buckle slightly, but he still responded.

"I understand," despite the weight on his shoulders, his voice was steady and completely devoid of hesitation.

For a brief moment, the two simply stared at each other in silence.

And the next second, the pressure suddenly vanished.

Just like that.

Sebastian turned around and continued walking as if nothing had happened.

"Good."

Adrian quietly followed behind him again.

On top of his head, the black cat lazily stretched before curling back into a comfortable position.

«That old man,» it paused, looking at Sebastian walking ahead, «he’s pretty strong, isn’t he?»

Adrian didn’t respond verbally, but his thoughts answered instead.

I know.

After all, he had been at the receiving end of the old man’s aura, and even though it was restrained, it was more than enough to force most to their knees.

Truthfully, the pressure had been far stronger than he expected.

If this were the him from yesterday, he probably would have collapsed.

But after the battle with the frost wolf, and awakening his abilities, his mana had grown a bit more responsive.

Responsive enough to unconsciously reinforce his body, even so, his back was slightly damp beneath his uniform.

Sebastian suddenly spoke again.

"Do you know where we are going?"

"No."

He expected the old man to add something else, but he just nodded and continued forward.

They soon approached what seemed to be a more private part of the estate.

The stone pathways became narrower, and the number of servants moving around decreased significantly.

The few that were present immediately stepped aside the moment they noticed Sebastian.

Some of them even bowed slightly, but not a single one dared to speak.

Adrian quickly noticed something else as well.

Guards.

Unlike the normal patrols scattered around this estate, these ones stood completely still beside iron doors and archways.

Their armor carried the crest of the Ardent family, and the pressure emanating from them made it clear they weren’t ordinary soldiers.

So this is, most probably, a restricted area, Adrian thought.

Eventually, Sebastian stopped in front of a massive door made of black metal.

Two guards stood beside it like statues.

The moment they saw Sebastian, they bowed their heads.

"Head Butler."

Sebastian gave a short nod before ordering, "open it."

Without hesitation, one of the guards stepped forward and pulled a key from his belt. The metal lock clicked loudly before the enormous door slowly creaked open.

Cold air hit them as soon as the gates

The chamber was enormous.

Rows of glass cases, stone pedestals, and locked cabinets filled the room. Weapons, rings, necklaces, scrolls, and strange artifacts rested within them, each faintly glowing with traces of mana.

Adrian immediately understood where they were.

The Ardent Treasury or rather, An Ardent Treasury.

Places like these appeared briefly in the manhwa, but it was rarely shown in detail, mostly because the author was too lazy to do proper world building.

According to the memories he received,only those trusted by the family were ever allowed inside one of these.

Sebastian slowly walked deeper into the chamber.

"This is the Ardent family’s secondary treasury," he said calmly.

Adrian followed behind him, his eyes scanning the artifacts, some of them were clearly powerful, others were... strange, to say the least.

But he was hella sure that each would cost a fortune.

Sebastian eventually stopped near the center of the room.

Then he turned toward Adrian.

"Most servant trainees never step foot in here."

Adrian remained silent as Sebastian continued speaking.

"But you proved talented," he took a small pause before adding, "and the patriarch deemed you worthy enough to be here."

His green eyes narrowed slightly.

"Which means you have earned the right to choose a tool."

Adrian suddenly nodded in understanding, so this was the reason he had been brought here.

Sebastian gestured toward the surrounding artifacts.

"Every personal butler of the Ardent family carries at least one specialized tool," he tapped his cane lightly, indicating that it was his tool.

"Choose wisely."

Adrian slowly began walking between the displays.

The black cat on his head lifted its head slightly, its silver eyes scanning the room with interest.

«Ooooh... shiny things.»

Adrian ignored the comment and instead, he carefully observed the items around him.

There were a couple of standouts, namely,

A ring that enhanced mana control, a dagger designed to pierce any form of magical defense, a cloak that completely suppressed one’s presence.

All of them were useful.

But none of them caught his attention, so he just kept walking.

Eventually, his steps slowed down near the far corner of the treasury sat a very simple glass case.

Inside it was a pair of round glasses.

They were plain with thin metal frame and not the least bit flashy.

Compared to the other artifacts in the room, it looked almost... ordinary.

Adrian stopped in front of it.

The black cat leaned forward slightly.

«Glasses?»

Sebastian, who had been silently observing from a distance, frowned slightly.

Of all the artifacts in the treasury...

This was one of the few he expected Adrian to ignore, yet the boy had stopped directly in front of it...seemed the kid was just going to keep surprising him.

Adrian stared at the glasses quietly. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

In the manhwa, this item was barely mentioned, it only actually appeared once, which was when Renelle had gifted it to the prince, only to earn herself a look of disgust and her gift being dumped in the trash right before her eyes.

Due to this, most readers had assumed it was useless and completely forgot about it as the story progressed.

But Adrian knew better.

After all, he had been one of the few to read the Arti_facts page the author had posted and these pair had been one of the few amongst them.

A faint smile appeared on Adrian’s face.

"I’ll take this one."