Vol 4. Chapter 156: Saiboke’s Frustration

“Saiboke, I'll leave the house in your care, okay?”

“Understood. Leave everything to me, Lady Yumo.”

Just as Yumo and Mengxi were about to set off for school (teaching), Saiboke, who had been busy outside all night, finally rushed back to the apartment.

Seeing him in such a state, Miss Yumo, who had once again assumed her appearance as a teacher, couldn't help tilting her head in confusion.

“Little Sai, what's... wrong? Why do you look so... exhausted?”

Looking at Saiboke, who was clearly much more haggard than usual, with particularly pronounced dark circles beneath his eyes, Miss Yumo couldn't help approaching him and quietly asking with concern.

Her azure eyes were filled with worry.

Faced with Yumo's concern, Saiboke smiled, somewhat moved. But the old butler quickly waved his hand, indicating that there was nothing seriously wrong.

“There's no need to worry, Lady Yumo. This old servant... is merely a little tired. After all, I hardly slept last night.”

“Honestly!”

A hint of displeasure gradually appeared on Yumo's delicate face.

Whenever her children neglected their health, Miss Yumo, who had the disposition of an overprotective mother, naturally became unhappy.

An unmistakably scolding tone entered her voice.

“You all went all the way into Anvika to purchase materials for the repairs. That was exhausting enough already! Since you ended up working so late last night, why didn't you just stay in Anvika and get some rest? You could've told me through a communication magic stone, couldn't you? Why insist on rushing back in the middle of the night? What if you wear yourselves out?”

“My apologies, Lady Yumo. We understand our mistake.”

“Sigh, as long as you understand. Don't do this again.”

“Yes.”

Saiboke lowered his head with exceptional humility, obediently accepting Yumo's reprimand.

Seeing how cooperative he was, Yumo couldn't bring herself to lecture him any further.

“Sigh, forget it, forget it. Let's leave it at that. Mengxi and I are heading to the teaching area now. You should all get some proper rest first. I've prepared some bedding on the living room floor for you. Get some sleep before doing anything else, understood?”

“Thank you for your concern, Lady Yumo. This old servant understands.”

“Mm, then we'll be going.”

“Please take care on your way, Lady Yumo.”

...

And so, wearing his usual gentlemanly smile, Saiboke elegantly watched Yumo and Mengxi leave the apartment together.

However, the instant the apartment door closed and Yumo's presence began to fade into the distance, the smile on Saiboke's face vanished without a trace.

In its place appeared an expression so twisted with irritation that it was almost comical.

“What the FUCK?!”

Cursing furiously in his heart, Saiboke slammed the bread in his hand onto the floor.

However...

Considering that Lady Yumo had specially prepared that bread for them, Saiboke soon felt a little embarrassed and picked it back up.

...

A moment later, Saiboke stood chewing his bread while glaring through the window at the two girls disappearing into the distance, his teeth clenched in fury.

Hmm...

To be precise, he was staring at the silver-haired girl.

The Church's Child of Destiny.

Even Saiboke had to admit that the Child of Destiny possessed beauty no less extraordinary than Lady Yumo's. She was undoubtedly one of the most beautiful girls he had ever seen.

Yet the sight of that face, beautiful enough to enchant all living beings, made Saiboke grind his teeth with hatred.

His fists were clenched so tightly that he looked ready to charge outside and fight her to the death.

Just remembering the scene he'd witnessed earlier—Lady Yumo and that Child of Destiny emerging from the bedroom arm in arm—sent Saiboke's blood pressure soaring into the heavens like a rocket.

“That beast...”

That damned female pervert!!

Why the hell is she here?!

And why did she come out of Lady Yumo's bedroom?!

She's even wearing Lady Yumo's pajamas?!

JUST WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED WHILE I WAS GONE LAST NIGHT?! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!

Saiboke couldn't help roaring inwardly.

Fortunately, after his subordinate Wandong inspected Lady Yumo's bedroom, he reported finding no suspicious liquids or bloodstains.

Only then did Saiboke manage to calm down a little.

“Ah... Thank goodness...”

After all...

If that Child of Destiny had actually taken Lady Yumo's purity during the single night he was away, even ten thousand deaths would not be enough to atone for his negligence.

He wouldn't even know how to face His Grace the Duke, Lady Karina, and the others...

However...

Even if nothing had happened...

He had still failed miserably!

The orders he'd received from His Grace the Duke and Lady Karina were to remain by Lady Yumo's side and ensure that the Child of Destiny could not approach her during her time at the academy.

But look at the situation now!

Even if nothing had happened yet...

That little vixen had already moved into Lady Yumo's bedroom!

With them spending every day and night together like this, who could guarantee that nothing would happen in the future?!

Thinking of this, Saiboke raised a hand to his forehead in self-reproach. His weathered face was filled with exhaustion.

Not merely physical exhaustion, but mental exhaustion as well...

Seeing their superior looking so miserable, the Black Rose Family servants standing nearby exchanged bewildered glances, uncertain what to do.

It wasn't until a moment later that a young attendant named Wandong finally gathered the courage to step forward and offer some comfort.

“Lord Saiboke, you've already done everything you could... There's no need to blame yourself so much.”

“Everything I could, huh...”

Muttering those words, Saiboke turned his complicated gaze back toward the apartment.

That's right.

I've already done everything I could.

Logically speaking, everything should have gone perfectly...

But why?

Why does something feel wrong?!

As his anger gradually subsided, Saiboke's rationality finally regained control.

The more carefully he recalled the events of the past few days, the more suspicious everything seemed.

To keep the Child of Destiny as far away from Lady Yumo as possible, he had certainly spared no effort lately.

And yet...

Had even one of his attempts succeeded?

When Mengxi first visited the apartment, he'd tried to drug her. Somehow, the medicine had inexplicably ended up in his own stomach instead, turning him into a human diarrhea cannon for three whole days.

When he'd tried using poison to prevent the Child of Destiny from attending class, the Nightingale member responsible for administering it had apparently brought the wrong medicine.

Then he'd attempted to persuade Vice Principal Moses to abuse his authority and transfer Mengxi to another class, thereby reducing her contact with Lady Yumo.

But somehow, Moses had stepped into a puddle of black mud and ended up in the hospital...

...

There had been numerous other attempts, too.

Every single one had ended in failure.

And then there was yesterday.

The apartment had somehow suffered an inexplicable 'attack,' with every room except Lady Yumo's bedroom sustaining devastating damage.

To repair the apartment, Saiboke had been forced to take several servants to Anvika to purchase building materials.

Strictly speaking, they could have asked the academy's engineering team to handle the repairs.

However, Saiboke was worried that those people might take the opportunity to install something suspicious, so he'd ultimately decided to take care of the matter personally.

After traveling all the way to Anvika to purchase supplies, Saiboke was stunned to discover that...

The servants he'd left behind to watch the apartment had somehow all ended up in Anvika as well?!

For some inexplicable reason, every communication magic stone and spatial magic stone in his ring had disappeared?!

And the servant responsible for driving the carriage had suffered such violent diarrhea for unknown reasons that he'd become completely dehydrated and exhausted?!

...

...

Due to this bizarre series of circumstances, Saiboke and the others ultimately failed to return to Yexinlian Academy on time last night.

And as luck would have it, Miss Yuan'er had also happened to spend the night at a friend's house!

Yet in the space of that single night, the Child of Destiny had somehow managed to worm her way into Lady Yumo's bedroom?!

“That woman planned all of this, didn't she?”

Just thinking about it made Saiboke grind his teeth in fury.

At the same time, a suspicion began taking shape in the old butler's mind.

His plans had obviously been so 'flawless'!

How could they possibly keep failing?!

One failure might be attributed to bad luck.

But repeated failures?

That inevitably raised the possibility that there was a traitor within their ranks!

That's right!

There must be a traitor among us!

A mole!

But...

If there really was a mole, who could it be?

Resting a hand against his chin, the old butler sank into deep thought.

First of all...

Miss Yuan'er couldn't possibly be the traitor.

Miss Yuan'er loved Lady Yumo so dearly, and she'd received guidance from Lady Karina and the others. She would certainly despise the Child of Destiny.

Besides, that child was so innocent and pure that she couldn't possibly sabotage his plans.

How could such a good child harbor any wicked intentions?

As for Saiboke himself, he obviously couldn't be the mole either.

After all, he'd personally devised every single plan...

Which meant...

“There's a traitor among the servants?”

Frowning, Saiboke swept his razor-sharp gaze across the nearby Black Rose Family servants.

His stare immediately made the young men and women visibly uneasy.

“Lord Saiboke? Is something wrong?”

“...”

Saiboke didn't answer their questions.

Instead, he continued concentrating on his thoughts, carefully reviewing every little incident from the past few days.

To be fair...

The idea that one of the Black Rose Family servants who regularly worked alongside him might be a traitor helping the Child of Destiny seemed rather unrealistic.

But if there wasn't a mole, how could his plans have failed so many times?

This...

Hmm?

No...

There was another possibility!

Perhaps the reason he'd failed...

Wasn't because of a traitor at all!

Perhaps it was because he was surrounded by incompetent teammates!

Just as Lady Yumo had once said, there's no need to fear an opponent as powerful as a god. What you should fear is a teammate as stupid as a pig!

Upon reaching this conclusion, a cold gleam suddenly flashed through Saiboke's eyes.

The next moment, the old butler slowly turned his head toward the young black-haired attendant standing nearby.

Recalling some of the unreliable things this young apprentice had done back in the Sadik Empire, Saiboke gradually began looking at him with suspicion.

“Wandong.”

“Hmm? Is something wrong, Lord Saiboke?”

Hearing his superior suddenly call his name, the young attendant named Wandong froze briefly before asking in confusion.

“Wandong, those laxatives you prepared earlier... They all disappeared, didn't they?”

“Huh? Y-yes, they did. Why do you ask, Lord Saiboke?”

“Tell me, is there any chance that black powder might have gotten mixed up with some cooking ingredients? For example, brown sugar? The kind I added to my tea before?”

“Uh, well, I suppose it's not completely impossible...”

Wandong scratched his head uncertainly.

“But surely not. I wouldn't make such a basic mistake.”

“Is that so...? Oh, right. Nightingale previously sent someone to drug the Child of Destiny, didn't they? Were you the one who prepared that poison?”

“Ah, yes, that's right.”

“Oh, and you handled my spatial ring yesterday, didn't you? I seem to recall you saying that while putting away the renovation materials, you threw out some 'useless' things?”

“Mm-hmm, that's right! They were all expired magical items. I noticed that you hadn't cleaned out your ring in a long time, Lord Saiboke, so I helped tidy it up.”

“Do you think there's any chance you threw away the wrong things? For example... mistaking the bag containing my magic stones for rubbish?”

“Huh? That's impossible, isn't it? Besides... I don't think I even saw any magic stones.”

Wandong answered with a completely bewildered expression.

However...

The young attendant soon sensed an ominous premonition and looked suspiciously at the old butler.

“Um, Lord Saiboke... Why are you suddenly asking me all these questions?”

“Ah... Well, you see... Hehehe...”

In response...

Saiboke merely let out a cold chuckle, offering no direct answer to Wandong's confusion.

Instead, under Wandong's increasingly horrified gaze, he reached into his spatial ring...

And pulled out a vicious-looking object that bore a striking resemblance to a spiked club.

After carefully considering everything, Saiboke had become absolutely convinced that this young man was the incompetent teammate responsible for all his troubles.

The instant that terrifying weapon appeared, Wandong's expression changed drastically.

He staggered backward several steps, a bead of cold sweat slowly trickling down his forehead.

“Lord Saiboke?! W-what are you planning to do?!”

“Hehehe...”

Saiboke smiled coldly.

“What am I planning to do?! You useless, good-for-nothing pigheaded idiot, and you still have the nerve to ask?! If you hadn't put laxatives in the sugar jar, would this old man have spent that entire day shitting his guts out?! You must have mixed up the poison too! Otherwise, why was the Child of Destiny completely unharmed?! In short... All my recent failures must be your fault, you little bastard!”

“Eh?! Lord Saiboke?! What are you talking about?! I don't understand a word of this!”

“Enough excuses! You are the culprit behind everything! Take a blow from this old man's club!”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! NOOOOOOOOOOO!!! I'M INNOCENT!!! I'VE BEEN WRONGLY ACCUSED!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!”

...

No matter how desperately Wandong tried to explain himself, Saiboke dismissed every word as sophistry.

At that moment...

In the old butler's mind, this unreliable disciple was undoubtedly the culprit responsible for the entire string of recent disasters.

To vent his frustration and educate his disciple, Saiboke made sure every blow struck flesh.

Wandong's screams and sobs were so earth-shattering that they could have moved heaven and earth to tears.

“W-what did I even do wrong?! Waaaaah... qwq”

...

And so, under the dumbfounded gazes of several Black Rose Family servants, the old butler who was normally so gentle, refined, elegant, and noble began swinging his enormous club and giving Wandong a merciless beating...

However, just as Saiboke was getting thoroughly 'carried away' with his punishment...

The communication magic stone resting on the nearby table suddenly emitted a dazzling blue light.

“Hmm? Someone's contacting me?”

The instant the blue light began flashing, Saiboke immediately suspended his educational activities.

Tossing aside the spiked club, he walked slowly toward the dining table.

“This is Saiboke speaking.”

“It's me.”

“Your Grace?!”

Hearing that familiar male voice, Saiboke froze for a moment before immediately speaking with utmost respect.

“Your Grace, what are your orders?”

“The prince of the Crimson Leaf Empire has begun investigating Lady Yumo. His people have already been dispatched to investigate the two encounters with Abyss Demons that occurred after your group entered the empire. How are the preparations you and Xizhi made?”

As those words reached his ears, the anger on Saiboke's face gradually disappeared.

In its place emerged an indescribably serious expression.

Then, with an elegant smile and absolute confidence, Saiboke replied:

“Rest assured, Your Grace. Lady Xizhi and I have already arranged more than enough witnesses and physical evidence... We will absolutely make those people... suspicious of Lady Yumo.”