Chapter 403: The New Head Butler

Alfred sat at his desk with a bored and slightly annoyed expression. Tapping his desk with his finger, a knock on the door sounded, followed by a man in his thirties walking in. Alfred quickly fixed his appearance and straightened his back. Leaning back on his chair, he wore an expressionless face.

The man wore a perfectly pressed butler uniform. His shoes shone with how clean they were, and his outfit fit perfectly. With a calm expression on his face, he bowed his head towards Alfred, waiting a few seconds before rising. "I greet the Emperor."

His voice matched his equally calm appearance, and Alfred leaned forward slightly, interested. He had been interviewing people to take on the role as his head servant in the palace, but all the candidates before the man who just walked in lacked something. Either they were slightly nervous, something was wrong with their appearance, or they failed due to their attitude in the interview. The first impression of the man, however, was perfect. Perfectly calm with a regard for his own appearance.

Looking at the paper before him, Alfred smiled and offered the seat before him, "Sebastian, yes?"

"Indeed, Your Majesty." As he answered, Sebastian made no sound as he pulled the chair and sat down.

"The prime minister selected you." Alfred looked through the document. His mind went back to a time in his past life when he had been left in charge of an interview session for teachers, and he couldn’t help but warmly smile. "A second son of a minor noble family under the Flanders duchy."

"It is as you say?" Sebastain quickly responded. Alfred watched him for a few seconds and put the paper down. Leaning forward, he interlocked his fingers and rested his chin on them.

"I’m going to keep this brief, after so many candidates, I don’t wish for my time to be wasted any more. Why do you wish to work here?" Staring deep into Sebastian’s eyes to try and make him uncomfortable, he was pleasantly surprised to see it had no effect.

"As you know, I am a second son. Whilst I was taught how to run the county my father’s own, it was always as a spare in the situation my brother unfortunately passed." Sebastian spoke with a soft voice, carefully considering every word. "The main purpose my father could find for me was to try and become a servant of the Flander household and hopefully establish a connection with them. For five years, I learnt under the head butler of the manor, along with two others, to take over when he inevitably retired."

Sebastian paused and thought about the question, "After so long, I have learnt what it truly means to be a servant. To take pride in my work and appearance. I do not wish to sound arrogant, Your majesty, but when you look at me, do you see a single mistake in my appearance?" Alfred softly chuckled and shook his head, "I am not an unrealistic standard, I should be the standard for a place as magnificent as your palace. Disorder is not something that should exist in the servant’s world, and treason towards your master is an unforgivable sin."

Sebastian’s eyes hardened, saying that. He had heard about the kidnapping of Edward, orchestrated by the servants, and felt disgusted that they would dare do something like that. Alfred smiled a little wider and leaned closer. "You must understand. If you are accepted as my head butler, your previous familiar ties must be purely emotional. No advantages, no backroom deals, nothing can be given to them. You will belong to me."

Sebastian rested his hand on his heart and lowered his head to his Majesty, "I have already encountered such an incident during my time at the Flanders household. I swiftly reported the matter to the head butler of the manor." Sebastian raised his head, "A servant is nothing more than that. I can swear on whatever you need me to, Your Majesty, that you do not need to worry about this, I am your servant first, a brother, son, whatever it may be afterwards."

Alfred’s smile deepened as he leaned back in his chair. Looking at Sebastian, his eyes chilled. "And if I ever needed you to do something beyond a mere servant’s duties. What would you do?" Sebastian looked back into Alfred’s eyes and softly smiled.

"Your will is my command." There was only one appropriate answer he could give. Alfred chuckled and stood up. Indicating to Sebastian to stand, he looked over the man and couldn’t find a single thing wrong with his appearance. His brown hair was expertly groomed, his perfectly crafted smile hid the deep thoughts in his eyes, and his handsome appearance made anyone who looked feel disarmed.

"Walk with me," Alfred said softly and left the room. "Despite my power, Sebastian, I cannot be everywhere at once, I can’t keep watch of every little detail in my home. I need someone to do this for me. To clean the rats who find their way inside without me ever having to know."

Sebastian watched as servants stood to the side when Alfred walked past and bowed. His perfect smile slowly crumbled as he suppressed a frown seeing them. Their movements and mannerisms were fine, but seeing the uniform that was slightly dirty or creased, he couldn’t help but feel they were subpar compared to himself.

"That would require me to completely upend the Palace. Train and replace many servants." Sebastain said bluntly.

"That is fine. My family’s safety is more important than money." Alfred said with a gentle tone, "I know you said you would do whatever I would ask you to do, but saying and doing are two different things." Alfred paused and glanced at Sebastian, "I must know. Have you ever..."

Alfred didn’t need to finish his sentence for Sebastian to understand, "Despite saying such words, I am ashamed to admit that I have never." Alfred smiled and led Sebastian to a dark corner of the Palace. Opening a heavy iron door guarded by soldiers, he led him into the deepest part of the Palace dungeon.

He had already wanted Sebastain, but he needed to know the man was someone he could trust to do anything if it meant his palace ran smoothly and safely. Sebastian’s face scrunched slightly from the sour smell, but he hid his discomfort, seeing that Alfred wasn’t showing any.

Going to a random cell, Alfred took a peek through an open door, seeing someone was inside. He had no clue who it was or their crimes, but seeing as he had been arrested and thrown inside by one of his subordinates, it meant he wasn’t meant to see the light of day again.

Alfred took a step back. "Kill him," Alfred ordered mercilessly and was surprised once again when Sebastian showed no change of emotion. Sebastian looked at the man sprawled on the ground. He was sunmoving even with the door opened, and only his faint breathing showed he was alive.

No thoughts of discomfort to the order came to mind; instead, he wondered how to carry it out without running his own appearance. Alfred watched for half a minute until Sebastian finally moved forward. Stepping in, the butler pulled his gloves tighter and grabbed the man by the hair. Pulling him forward away from the wall, he circled behind him and wrapped his arms around the man’s neck, tightening his hold.

Despite not being the heir to his family’s lands, he was still a noble child. He had been taught in combat, and one of those lessons was unarmed combat. Putting the man in a perfect chokehold, Sebastian felt the man fight for a few seconds. In a swift, brutal movement, Sebastian tugged the sound of something snapping echoing in the dungeon.

Standing up, he brushed the filth from his clothing and took his gloves off, pulling out a second clean pair from his inner breast pocket. Alfred watched without a change of emotion as Sebastian stepped out.

"Speak to Issac tomorrow. Have him run you through your duties. For now, rest." Sebastian bowed towards Alfred after he finished speaking and silently followed him up the steps out of the dungeon. In his deep brown eyes, there was a slight sharpness that was almost unnoticeable.

Splitting off with Alfred after being told where he was to stay, Sebastian walked in silence, no longer needing to wear his perfect smile out of Alfred’s sight. Servants shot him strange glances, having never seen the man before, but with a glare from the corner of his eyes, they quickly lowered their heads and hurried past.

Letting himself into his room, Sebastian slowly stripped out of his clothing and carefully folded them on the bed. Opening the closet, he smiled seeing multiple butler uniforms already prepared. Finding one that was his size, he carefully laid it out and checked for any creases before putting it on.

Sitting on his bed, he took off his shoes, grabbed a cloth, and wax. Alone, he sat in silence, carefully cleaning them with a peaceful expression on his face.