The Crown Prince Who Raises a Side Character

#39 Servant Cedric (5) – Marketable Value

#39 Servant Cedric (5) – Marketable Value

Butler Bestien was lost in deep contemplation.

It was, without a doubt, a worry concerning Cedric’s treatment.

‘Is it alright to leave him as he is?’

It wasn’t that Cedric’s work ethic was in question.

No, rather, he was excessively competent.

Laundry, garden maintenance, cooking, cleaning, and all manner of trifling physical labor.

No matter the task, Cedric presented a performance bordering on perfection.

But in one single aspect, ‘reverence for his master,’ Cedric fell far short.

Truthfully, he was closer to failing.

What servant in this world would use their contract as leverage, answering back to their master at every opportunity, even mocking them?

Should Claudia and Cedric’s relationship become known throughout the Virka noble society, Claudia would swiftly become a laughingstock.

Even so, Bestian couldn’t readily conclude that he should dismiss Cedric.

“Cedric! Where are you! Get out here this instant!”

As always, Claudia’s shrill cry echoed through the manor.

But upon hearing the sound, the other servants showed neither alarm nor concern, calmly absorbed in their duties.

A truly astonishing change, considering that just a few weeks ago, the mere sound of Claudia’s voice sent most of the staff into fits of terror, or even panic.

The reason was simple.

From the perspective of the servants, ‘Claudia’s attention’ had always been a calamity in itself.

To catch her eye and come away unscathed was as rare as a bolt from the blue.

However, recently, Cedric had been monopolizing all of Claudia’s attention, bringing peace and stability to the other servants in turn.

Some were even going so far as to pray to the goddess that these peaceful days would continue.

Bastian, perpetually plagued by Claudia’s erratic hires, secretly felt no different than the other servants.

‘Well, upon reflection, the young lady herself finalized a three-month contract, so this old butler can’t very well tamper with that. Of course, of course.’

Absolutely, positively, his own peace of mind and healthy hair had *nothing* to do with trading it for the young lady’s distress.

Bastian concluded his rationalization with a leisurely twirl of his mustache – a small luxury.

Thanks to Cedric’s expert aggro-tanking, the servants were, for once, enjoying days of relative tranquility.

*

Claudia pondered.

‘Have I, perhaps, stirred a sleeping beast?’

Fifteen days by the calendar. One hundred thirty-eight attempts by count.

These were the grim records of her constant defeats in her endeavors to torment Cedric.

She’d tried nearly every petty tyranny and prank the manor could afford, and failed without exception.

Now, Cedric even seemed to subtly *enjoy* her attempts.

No, he decidedly relished them. He made his disappointment blatant when she, plagued by a lack of inspiration, dared to recycle a past ploy.

Her pride was thoroughly shattered, confronting the fact that her malice and spitefulness were borne like gentle breeze.

“Young lady, your Omurice & Hamburg Steak set is served.”

Casting a disapproving glance at Cedric, whose service was, as always, flawlessly executed, Claudia immediately shifted her gaze to the table before her.

Though the chef may be guilty, the dish itself bore no sin.

Still juicy minced meat, fluffy eggs, and perfectly cooked rice.

And the intense flavour of the sauce blanketing it all.

She, who was usually easily bored with food and constantly demanding new creations from the head chef, could never tire of this dish Cedric prepared. Particularly, the flavour of sweet and sour was wonderful.

Having finished their meal at the garden’s outdoor table, and some time after she’d begun enjoying her tea – brewed to her liking with the focus on sweetness and an easy-to-drink temperature, rather than the fragrance itself –

Claudia noticed, quite suddenly, that Cedric was regarding her with a peculiar expression.

“What is it? Just now falling for my beauty, are you?”

“Hahaha! While I wouldn’t deny the young lady possesses remarkable features!”

“Cough! Hack! Cough!”

A fit of choking seized her, and Claudia coughed roughly, repeatedly.

Dabbing at her lips with the handkerchief Cedric offered, she stared at him with eyes more wary and suspicious than pleased.

“What, what is it? What trick are you plotting *this* time?”

“It’s always been the young lady plotting tricks; I don’t recall ever initiating one myself, no?”

“Don’t refer to your mistress’s actions as tricks!”

“We can overlook such trivialities.”

“Don’t overlook it!”

*This* man, now he just blatantly ignores what she says.

Claudia glared at Cedric, but, seeing his utterly shameless face, let out a heavy sigh.

“So, really, what is it? Do you have something to say?”

“It’s nothing grand, but I simply grew curious as to what the young lady’s goal is!”

“Goal?”

“Something you wish to try, something you hope to achieve, the sort of person you aspire to be. A goal of that nature.”

A faint, mocking smile touched Claudia’s lips.

“Right now, my greatest goal is to freely slap the cheek of my insolent servant.”

Claudia, for her part, delivered the barb with what she considered utmost finesse, but Cedric’s reaction was, unexpectedly, quite the opposite of what she’d anticipated.

“Then surely you must make efforts befitting such a goal, wouldn’t you say?”

Ignoring Claudia’s expression of utter bewilderment, Cedric continued with unwavering composure.

“The most straightforward path would be to improve your physical condition. You’ll never catch me if you’re left gasping for breath, ready to collapse after running at full speed for a mere ten minutes!”

“There is also the path of mastering magic. Certain spells, such as ‘Entangling Vines’ or ‘Dropping Iron Cage,’ can be exceptionally effective in apprehending someone!”

“Perhaps training the blood-fiends you keep as pets would be worthwhile. A capable hunting dog lightens the hunter’s burden considerably!”

Claudia fell silent.

It had been a fair amount of time since Cedric arrived at this manor.

Which meant that Cedric was already privy to the intricacies of Claudia’s daily schedule.

The life of a noble young lady might appear to commoners as an existence of effortless bliss, but in truth, they possessed their own peculiar burdens.

They were expected to receive education in diverse foundational subjects such as language, literature, and religion, as well as artistic pursuits like music, dance, and painting.

They attended various social gatherings for political networking and, as mistresses of their manors, oversaw matters both great and small.

However, Claudia engaged in none of these.

No tutors visited the manor to instruct her, she never participated in religious observances, nor did she socialize with other young ladies.

Aside from the basic necessities of eating and sleeping, all she seemed to do was wander around the manor, harassing the servants, or playing with her blood-fiends in the garden.

No matter how precious she was to House Redbell, or rather, precisely *because* she was their precious jewel, her behavior was incomprehensible.

And Cedric, knowing all this, was undoubtedly posing such questions for that very reason.

*Why do you spend your days doing absolutely nothing?*

Claudia’s expression, previously troubled by the question, shifted in irritation.

She spat at Cedric as if he was nothing.

“What do you know to be spouting off like that? You’re a servant, at best. Do you think you can solve *my* troubles?”

The smile vanished from Cedric’s beaming face.

He faced Claudia with earnest eyes.

“Perhaps, as the young lady says, I cannot solve them.”

“……”

“However, I can certainly do my best to try. At the very least, I can lend my mind and ponder them with you. Even if my tenure is temporary, I am your servant, and you are my mistress.”

“……”

“So please, tell me, young lady. What is it that torments you so?”

Claudia’s lips twitched.

According to the common sense of nobles, Cedric’s logic wasn’t even worth considering.

How could one confide in an outsider who could leave at any moment? How could one know if that outsider might spread strange rumors beyond these walls?

But for Claudia, who had already tossed half her reputation to the winds, his words sounded strangely plausible.

So capable, yet peculiar. So eccentric, yet sensitive.

If this man, the type she had never before encountered, perhaps… perhaps he knew some answer.

In the end, Claudia opened her mouth with an air of reckless abandon.

*

Marquis Redbell had two wives in total.

The first was Julietta Plain.

The daughter of the Plain viscountcy, and the woman he married before the Marquis had elevated the Redbell family to its current prominence.

But after the Redbell family achieved its current golden age, she lost her life in a ‘tragic accident,’ and Marquis Redbell promptly took a new wife.

That would be the second wife, and Claudia’s mother – Roberia Birka.

As the surname implied, she was a princess of the Birka royal family. It was said the Marquis Redbel cherished his second wife to a truly appalling degree.

But it wasn’t merely affection between a man and a woman.

The marital alliance with the royal family was proof he had resurrected the fallen House Redbel and the means by which he could dream of grander ambitions.

If a son were born between the Marquis and Roberia, that child would be granted the right of succession to the Birka throne.

While the succession itself wasn’t particularly high, if one considered the chaotic state of the current Birka royal family and the Marquis’s political prowess, seizing the kingdom itself was not beyond the realm of possibility.

However, Roberia was of frail constitution, and bearing a child was a considerable burden for her.

The Marquis spent a fortune of his personal wealth to secure methods of bolstering Roberia’s health, and as if his efforts were rewarded, the couple somehow managed to conceive their first child.

The problem was, that first child was a daughter.

Under Birka Kingdom law, a royal woman could give birth to a child with the right of succession, but she herself could not hold that right.

The Marquis was disheartened, but he didn’t commit the foolish act of openly displaying his disappointment.

Believing he could still have a second child, he devoted himself wholeheartedly to his wife and showed affection towards their firstborn.

Unaware that she was an unwanted child, the girl grew up bathed in the love of her mother and father.

However, the girl’s happiness wouldn’t last for long.

As if the attempt to bear a second child had angered the fates, her mother couldn’t endure the labor and passed away along with the unborn sibling in her womb.

The girl was consumed by grief, but the only family left to her turned a blind eye.

No matter how she clung to her father, no matter how she strove to earn his praise, her father treated her as if she were nonexistent.

“—Ah, well, not exactly nonexistent. Just once. The girl’s father worried about her, just once.”

“It was when she fell and scraped her face. Out of the blue, he helped her up and said with the utmost seriousness, ‘Be careful not to get hurt.'”

“The girl thought, *Ah, so Father does still think of me. He was only acting strangely for a time, because of the grief of losing Mother, but in his heart, he still loves me.*”

“And so, the girl resolved to become a ‘good child.’ One who wouldn’t whine, wouldn’t act spoiled, and would study hard.”

“Then, do you know what the girl’s father said to her later?”

A cold sneer crept across Claudia’s lips.

She’d transformed her barely concealed scorn and self-deprecation into sharp thorns, and with those, she continued.

” ‘You’re doing well. You understand how to increase your own market value. Thanks to you, things have become easier.’ “

” ‘There are many nobles who wish to take you as their bride. Try your best to charm them. If possible, choose a wizened old man who’ll soon be pushing up daisies, or a fellow easy to keep tucked in your skirts and wield.’ “

Yes, that was it.

The Marquis wasn’t concerned about his daughter’s well-being.

He was worried about the value of his daughter, the ‘product’, depreciating.

The instant she realized that, all the effort she’d put in until then felt utterly futile.

“There. I’ve told you my dilemma, just as you wished. So now tell me, even after this, must I move ‘diligently’? Must I increase my market value so that I may be sold for a high price by my father?”