Chapter 192 - 28: Failed Negotiation

Chapter 192: Chapter 28: Failed Negotiation

"Time to eat!" slurred the manservant as he shouted.

He held a tray, his hands a bit shaky. It was likely the dizziness and lack of coordination caused by a hangover.

The moment the manservant entered the room, Selas’s first glance was toward Lilia beside him. Lilia reacted faster than he did. The bed was small and the blanket thin, making it difficult to hide a person. She decisively transformed back into a black cat, her precious twenty-minute human experience card expiring right on time.

Seeing that she had hidden in time, Selas finally looked back at the door.

The manservant seemed to be in a very good mood. Usually, because he didn’t want to see Selas, he would just place the tray on the floor and slide it over. Last night, Selas had tried to leave the room but was intercepted. Even if the manservant didn’t become more vicious and think Selas was deliberately looking for trouble, he shouldn’t be acting like this now... He was even smiling.

Seeing that smile, Selas felt a sense of unease wash over him. He sensed malice in it.

"You aren’t a real jinx, after all," the manservant said, his words jumbled and seemingly illogical.

Selas listened with tense nerves for a moment before realizing he was talking about the banquet last night. After drinking yesterday, the manservant had slept through the night and was only awakened in the early hours of the morning by the commotion outside. When he went down to take a look, he found that his colleagues—who usually bossed him around and mocked him for his job—were walking back looking utterly dejected. Immediately intrigued, he chased after them to ask for details. Those people tried to cover it up, but he still managed to piece together clues from the traces they left behind.

It turned out that a group of white-robed people had suddenly barged into the banquet last night, almost clashing directly with Count Beaumont. In the end, out of respect for the Earl’s authority, the white-robed intruders bowed and left without causing any trouble. However, for some unknown reason, the Countess was in a terrible mood for the entire latter half of the banquet. She had just returned from the countryside, a clear signal that she was meant to reconcile with the Earl, yet a single incident had once again dropped the relationship between them to a freezing point.

When the masters were unhappy, it was only natural for the servants to suffer punishment as well. Almost all the servants who attended the banquet were penalized under various pretexts. Lighter punishments included fines and extra workloads, while the heavier ones resulted in outright dismissal. As for him, because he had guarded the attic all night and stayed away from the banquet hall, he managed to dodge a bullet.

He clearly remembered the ugly faces of those guys when they shoved all the troublesome chores onto him just as the banquet was about to begin yesterday evening. But the tables had turned. Those who went to the banquet to drink and make merry were punished, while he, who had been sulking and drinking alone in the attic, emerged completely unscathed.

Wasn’t this a form of karma? Because of this, the manservant Warren looked at Selas with a slightly kinder gaze.

He placed the tray on the bedside table and looked down condescendingly at the young boy—who was supposed to be his master, yet was now left to his bullying. "I brought you some good stuff today.

"Here, this is some bread I brought from the West District, along with a jar of blueberry jam.

"I wouldn’t even bear to eat such fine things at home."

Selas shifted his gaze and glanced at the so-called "good stuff" on the tray. The white bread had a wrinkled, stale crust. The Earl Mansion would never allow such a thing to appear in its kitchens; Selas suspected it was an inferior product sold at a discount by some bakery. As for that jar of blueberry jam... the label hadn’t even been peeled off, clearly displaying just how cheap the entire jar was.

Warren was in charge of taking care of his daily needs, but under the Countess’s special instructions, the quality of this "care" was so watered down it could fill the harbor of the Taronia East District. Every now and then, Warren would receive a sum of money to purchase various supplies for Selas, including food. Yet he never used it for that purpose. Instead, he brought over his own old clothes, worn-out bedding, and leftovers, pocketing the saved money as his personal labor fee to buy liquor and cigarettes every day.

Selas was young, but he was very smart. It wasn’t that he was oblivious to all this; he just never used to care. As long as he could survive, eating poorly and wearing ragged clothes didn’t really matter. Wasn’t that just how life was? Having been disappointed too many times, he had long learned to get used to it, learning to compromise with his cruel fate.

But...

Selas thought of Lilia, who was currently hiding under the covers. He wasn’t alone anymore. He couldn’t keep relying on Lilia to find food for him forever.

Sitting on the bed, Selas’s line of sight was much lower than the manservant’s, yet he showed no fear or embarrassment at being scrutinized. He stated the facts in a calm tone, "Mr. Warren. I am six years old this year, and I am still growing.

"The Countess might not like me, but I am very important to Count Beaumont.

"If your decisions cause any problems with my health... I imagine it will take far more than a few silver coins to resolve the matter.

"I need to eat meat and fresh staples," Selas finally laid out his demands. "Not these non-nutritious, inferior goods."

Upon hearing this, Warren widened his eyes in disbelief. Selas was usually as quiet as a mouse; one could go dozens of days without hearing him say a single word. Warren had even suspected that he might be mute. He never expected him to speak up now...

After a brief moment of surprise came an uncontrollable burst of loud laughter. He wasn’t swayed by Selas’s reasoning in the slightest. After all, in the eyes of people like him, logic and reason were the most useless things.

"Did I hear that right? You want to eat meat?" Warren’s tone was full of utmost mockery. "You’ve lived in the Earl Mansion for half a year, and you actually think you’re some noble young master?

"The Earl needs you? Why haven’t I noticed?

"Besides, even if the Earl really does need you, so what? My job is to bring you food, and I haven’t slacked off on my duties for a single day.

"Even if the Earl comes looking for me, I won’t feel guilty at all!"

Warren felt exceedingly confident in his heart. When Selas was first sent here, the butler had specifically instructed him. The Earl needed him to stay alive, but just barely staying alive was enough. On top of that, they had to fully consider the Countess’s feelings and make his life as miserable as possible.

Having said his piece, Warren turned and left without giving Selas a chance to argue. Before leaving, he even stuffed the jar of blueberry jam into his pocket. Now, only the dry white bread was left on the tray.

Selas stared at the item on the tray in silence for a moment. He tore the bread open, picked out the softest piece from the middle, and turned around to lift the covers.

"Are you hungry?" He brought the bread to the cat’s mouth. "Want a bite?"

Of course, Lilia couldn’t possibly eat on the bed. Nor would she ever stoop to eating something like this. She jumped down from the bed, paced back and forth in the room a couple of times, and let out a few meows.

"Wait here. I’ll get you some food right now."

With that, the room’s door was pulled open once again by an invisible force, and the agile black shadow darted out with a SWISH.

Selas looked at the door as it closed again. Holding that piece of bread in his hand, he remained silent for a long time.