"—Was it the carriage that took so long to prepare or was it you changing into different clothes?" Arnold asked Rudolph who was now wearing jean shorts and a frilly white top with a straw sunhat and sandals.
Behind him was a fancy carriage pulled by strong healthy horses bred by the household.
"There was an issue with the wheel but the coachman managed to get it fixed." Rudy replied without a change in expression, "I should tell Master to consider getting the newer, fancier carriages that comes with engines and metal wheels. If we had those, we wouldn't be having such trouble with our carriages. It will also be easier on the horses."
'You can drop the act now…'
He opened the carriage door and slowly got inside, shaking his hips exaggeratedly. A perfect peach was right in front of Arnold's face.
'Waaah, why are his shorts so low at the back!?' Ceru, who was floating next to Arnold, screamed in a fluster, 'And what is that underwear that's sticking out!?'
'…Just ignore it…'
'Easy for you to say! He did it on purpose! Shameless human male!'
'I know that…'
'And you aren't bothered by it!?'
How many times does he have to say "ignore it"?
Arnold climbed inside and noticed that there were a bunch of bags on the seat opposite Rudy.
He smiled and patted the seat next to him.
"You can go, Coach!" Rudy shouted and a moment later, the carriage began moving.
Rudy was sitting right against Arnold. He never noticed how tiny this kid was compared to him. Arnold is like two times bigger than him.
Hard to believe Sebastian is training him to become an assassin whose main duty, aside from being an assistant butler, is killing people. Normally having an assassin in your household is a red flag to others but Marcus had no issue with Sebastian using the ways of an assassin to train staff to defend the family.
Arnold sneakily stole a glance, curious about where Rudy keeps his weapons. It's mandatory that an assassin carry their weapons everywhere, even to places that may ban them, since you never know who wants to hurt the family. Surely even assassins running errands carry their weapons at all times? By coincidence, Rudy caught him staring and smirked but didn't say anything. But he began to fan his top, making a flowery scent spread in the carriage.
Arnold could see his bare chest while he was moving his top back and forth.
Ceru looked at Rudy as if he was the most shameless person in the world. By the way, she refused to stay outside and was now laying uncomfortably on the bags.
"So… How did Claudia die?" he asked awkwardly.
"You are horrible at small talk, Young Master."
"…"
He chuckled but answered anyway.
"She was out shopping with Nait, the child who came with Miss Claudia to the city. As you know, I typically do the shopping runs but Miss Claudia offered to cook and wanted to go herself. Once they were done with grocery shopping, the two were sitting at a café when a building, that was in construction, collapsed and buried several people."
"Claudia got caught up in it but Nait wasn't?"
"He was but was also apparently the reason many people managed to live that day. They came to Miss Claudia's funeral and I managed to find out what happened. They said that Nait used some strange power to lift the debris. And not small rocks but the kind that can crush humans in a second. I tried to test this by offering to spar with him but he was still the weak boy I thought he was. Perhaps the power is conditional."
'That kid always interested me but I never found out why. System, look up if Nait has any hidden power that ends up making him strong one day.'
Though Arnold doubts this, it was best to satiate his curiosity by checking so that he can move on.
-Answer: The boy had no special role in the story nor was he recognized for his strength.
'Figured.'
-However, due to recent events, he now possesses Thalgrimm Krydrak's soul and is a dragon lord factor similar to Player Arnold.
'What!?'
'Ahh, my ears!' Ceru whined when Arnold exclaimed in his mind. Wait, she can hear him talk to the system? Can she hear the answers it gives as well?
'How did that happen!?'
-Answer: System is unable to gather details…
What the fuck? What else has been happening behind his back!?
'How do you even know!?'
-Answer: Due to exposure to the Dragon Soul within Player Arnold's body, System's sensors can now detect Lord Factors, similar to detecting players.
'…A very convenient but useless upgrade.' At least he doesn't have to guess for himself who is a player just by observation, so he can just ask the system.
"Is something wrong, Young Master?" Rudy's face was right next to Arnold's, hot breath on his face.
"N-No, it's nothing. Luke doesn't seem fazed by what happened but Norn is like a zombie. She didn't even acknowledge my existence when I entered the dining room." He was expecting her to throw expletives at him and tell him to leave Luke alone.
"I believe it is because Master Luke believes the world is counting on him so he can't show a weak side of himself. I know that deep down he is trying to hold everything in. I suppose he does have the world counting on him…"
"Huh?"
"Sir Sebastian told me why Master adopted him. I am one of the few privileged servants who know the truth. But he is still in his growing phase so who will rely on him now when he is still weak?"
'He has a point…'
"Rather, I believe the world should be relying on people like Young Master who are already strong." Rudy placed a hand on Arnold's bicep and squeezed softly, a sultry expression on his face, "So hard~ I could never look like this no matter how hard I train."
"…You're still growing."
"But I'm already 17 and not growing any taller or muscular. It seems I am doomed to be this tiny forever. How will I ever defend myself against big muscular men like Master Arnold who want to hurt me~?"
Arnold held Rudy by both shoulders and pushed him away.
"You are anything but weak. You could have easily defeated me all these years, after all."
Rudolph is level 55 by the way.
"I suppose that time has gone by for both me and the Master."
"…You heard, huh?"
"Yes, I do have friends at the academy, Young Master. They explained that the Great Nobles were there to kill you. But I never found out why so I'm hoping you can indulge me." Rudy dropped his teasing tone and addressed Arnold seriously, "Madam will be disappointed but I'm sure she will understand it was necessary for you to hurt your own father."
…
"I admit I do not think either side is in the right." Rudolph voiced his opinion after hearing the explanation, "If you wanted to prove a point, you could have not injured Master so heavily. All you have done is incur his wrath."
"I don't believe what I did was right, only that it will deter others from attempting to interfere with my goal."
"I hope you know that the gods will break their code to not interfere with mortals, just to stop you."
"I could care less." He had Guinevere as a shield in case he can't handle everyone, "Has your opinion of me changed though?"
"Young Master, I am a conditioned killer who was trained to have a cold heart that never beats to any tragedy. Who you kill will not change my opinion of you. What you should be worried about is what the people around you will think. And I am not talking about the strangers—Victoria, Empress Roseria, Lady Celeste and Young Miss Melina, just to name a few. Would you go through with your sins if you knew these four will hate you?"
"…" Arnold couldn't answer.
He definitely didn't want any of them to hate him or get scared of him. Victoria won't since she stayed with him the longest in the game, alongside Elizabeth, but Roseria and Melina weren't there for him near the end. Probably because he was never there for them, and focused solely on his path to Warlord.
And yes, it's widely known by all players that Arnold missed the two once he stopped focusing on his goals and looked around at the people there for him. He even began to see his subjects as allies, not tools whose lives he could throw away whenever he wants.
"And I know that you are like Sir Sebastian, someone who will only kill if it benefits him or will negatively affect him. If your observation of Young Master Arthur is to be believed, that is more than enough reason to dispose of him."
"Do you… think I'm doing the right thing?"
"I have watched all of you children of the Berkleys and extended family through my ten years training as a butler. I can say with certainty that Young Master Arthur does not deserve the power or should, at the very least, be put on a leash. But not every human thinks how to solve a problem regardless of the hatred that comes their way."
Rudolph might've been a mysterious boy whose role in the game is still unknown but he's the kind of person who thinks about everything logically. Whether he felt genuine love or hatred should be left up to one's imagination but he has the mind of a trained killer even at this age.
Rudy continued:
"His sister is the antithesis of people like us, so she will be your biggest obstacle."
"…I know."
"I hope you are prepared to kill her."
The carriage came to a stop.
"…This is my stop." He said as he grabbed the door handle.
"Will you ever pay a visit to your childhood homes again, Lord Arnold?"
As if this was their last goodbye, Rudolph dropped the "Young Master".
"…If Father allows me a seat at the table… But until then, I'll stay away." He stepped out but Rudolph had something else to say.
"Young Miss Melina will be sad."
"…I know. But she can always come visit me at the academy after school. Later." Arnold was about to shut the door but before he could, the nimble assassin, Rudolph planted a kiss on his cheek and hugged him, "!?"
'Shameless!' Ceru shouted.
"I will miss you, Lord Arnold. Though I only visit the main castle a few times a year on business, I always looked forward to seeing you—even if you treated me like a mosquito most of the time."
Arnold didn't answer immediately.
'…Something is poking me…'
Rudy pulled away, hands awkwardly in front of him. "I apologize for acting so uncouth. If you wish to punish me by spanki—"
"It's fine." He cut him off, "Good luck on Sebastian's hellish training programs."
"Hehe, I can face any sort of training even if my body looks like this!" he flexed proudly but there was obviously no muscle. Come to think of it, his whole body is as soft as a girl's. Looks like his father's genes failed him. His hands were still that of a warrior though.
"Please look after yourself, Lord Arnold."
"…Yeah, you too."
With one last smile, Rudy climbed back on, closed the door and the carriage began to move.
Arnold turned his head to the building across the street.
Misteltein Guild.
'He's still looking. Why don't you answer his feelings instead of ignoring it?'
"I'm not into guys. Even if they look like girls."
'But he might just be fine with a date, right?'
"…" Arnold looked at the carriage that was way further down the road, "Not interested…"
'Hah, you thought about it, Papa! You thought that if he confessed, you would give him a night he won't remember—Kyun!?' Arnold slapped Ceru's plump butt, making her yelp and an audible slapping sound echoing across the street, alerting the passersby.
'Let's head inside. I have work to do.'
'Uuuu…' her butt still red from the slap, Ceru floated after Arnold while crying, 'How can you treat an angel like thissss…'