Although he was slightly concerned about the good-for-nothing prince, Roto reminded himself that he was a professional butler.

As a diligent butler, he was confident in his ability to help the good-for-nothing young master become a worthy heir to Winchester.

“First, the young master is still weak to Winchester’s cold, so make sure he’s properly dressed with a scarf, hat, and gloves when going outside. He particularly dislikes hats and scarves, but you must ensure he wears them.”

Roto found this puzzling.

‘Wasn’t he called the Black Lion of the battlefield? How could the Black Lion who roamed countless battlefields be weak to cold and dislike hats and scarves?’

Something seemed off, but Roto responded with a “Yes!”

“Second, this is especially emphasized by the Madam, the young master tends to be a picky eater, so you need to help and make sure he eats a balanced diet. Also, pudding is limited to twice a day, and candy to three pieces a day.”

“Uh… Yes!”

Pudding and candy, unlike his nickname?

Though slightly confused again, Roto maintained his attention stance and answered loudly.

“Third, this is also the Madam’s request. You’ll be spending a lot of time with the young master. So, the Madam said she’d like you to be like friends, even though you’re a butler. But in my opinion, since he’s Winchester’s young master, it would be better to treat him respectfully while maintaining a friendly relationship. Don’t be too disrespectful.”

Roto was shocked by the third request.

‘How can I be fr-friends with the Black Lion of the battlefield?’

Although Roto was ten, he was quite small and used to be bullied by neighborhood kids. Remembering that the good-for-nothing prince was said to be very big, Roto thought being friends was really impossible.

The Madam’s requests seemed strange somehow.

‘Is the Madam a bit odd?’

After that, Dora continued with her lecture about the mindset of a butler. Roto listened attentively, not missing a single word.

“Now, let’s go meet the young master.”

“Yes!”

Roto, now one step closer to his dream of becoming head butler, excitedly followed behind Dora.

The place Dora led him to was the Madam’s reception room. Roto was slightly puzzled.

‘Shouldn’t the young master have his own reception room? Why here?’

Anyway, as Roto entered the reception room, he forgot his butler’s composure and gasped ‘Wow’ at the sight of a tall, stunningly beautiful woman.

Quickly regaining his senses, he bowed his head to the Madam and greeted her.

“Hello. I’m Roto, the apprentice butler of Winchester mansion.”

Roto greeted her skillfully and respectfully.

“Nice to meet you, Roto. Dora praised you a lot for being smart and mature, and you exceed my expectations.”

“I-I’ll strive to meet your expectations even more!”

Hailey smiled warmly at Roto’s reddening ears.

“Please take good care of our Theo, Roto.”

Roto hesitated at that moment.

‘Our Theo? Isn’t that too affectionate a nickname for the Black Lion of the battlefield?’

As Roto stood bewildered, not understanding the situation, a small child who had been hiding behind Hailey walked out in front of him.

The child’s eyes sparkled with curiosity as he looked at Roto, almost to the point of being burdensome.

‘No way. No way……’

Roto, now overcome with anxiety, looked up at Dora.

“This is little young master Theodor Winchester, whom you’ll be serving from now on. Greet him.”

Staring at the tiny child who was toddling towards him with a bright smile, Roto was dumbfounded.

‘Not that good-for-nothing prince, but this little cutie?!’

* * *

Theo had only seen grown-ups as ‘butlers’, so he didn’t know what role such a small butler or servant would play.

‘Finally, a friend!’

Although he was slightly bigger than himself, Roto was much smaller than Mommy Hailey or other adults. In his own way, Theo thought ‘A friend my age!’ and approached with an excited heart.

Of course, Roto’s thoughts were completely different.

‘I’m a nanny?’

Roto was ten years old. This tiny young master was much younger than him. He had long passed the age of playing with babies, and there was a whole five-year age gap between them.

When Roto regained his senses, unable to believe he had been demoted from butler to nanny, he was already left alone with this tiny young master.

Dora needed to be more specific. If she had said ‘little young master’ instead of ‘young master’ from the beginning, Roto wouldn’t have had such expectations.

“Here.”

Theo approached the dumbfounded Roto and shyly offered him candy. It wasn’t his favorite grape flavor, but he gave an apple-flavored one instead.

Roto looked at the candy and asked,

“What is this?”

“It’s candy.”

“I mean, why……”

What he had feared came true.

‘Candy? Only babies like such things.’

Roto thought he held a proper position as a butler, even if he was an apprentice.

“It’s delicious. Try it, Roto.”

But this little baby young master was, after all, the master Roto had to serve from now on. Roto had no choice but to accept the candy.

Under Theo’s overly sparkling gaze, Roto carefully unwrapped the candy and put it in his mouth.

But this.

“……This is—”

“It’s my favorite. Daddy Axel likes it too.”

Roto was taken aback. He shouldn’t be swayed, but the candy was too delicious.

‘How can candy taste this good?’

Although he hadn’t eaten candy often, it wasn’t his first time either, but it was so delicious that Roto’s eyes widened involuntarily.

There were shops in Winchester that sold candies, chocolates, and snacks, but this was on a different level.

“Did you… buy this in the capital?”

Theo nodded.

Like other Winchester residents, Roto usually shuddered at the mention of the mainland, but this candy was undeniably delightful.

If even that good-for-nothing young master liked it, it seemed okay for 10-year-old Roto to like it too.

Roto was a ten-year-old who could acknowledge what deserved acknowledgment. Roto sucked on the candy with a slightly reddened face.

Although he was born in Winchester, Roto couldn’t use magic and was small, so he was often bullied and hardly made any friends. He mostly spent time being doted on by adult servants in the Winchester grand ducal castle.

The two sat side by side, sucking on candy.

There was awkwardness in the air, but Theo was very excited, while Roto felt embarrassed and still confused about the situation.

Even though Roto had little experience interacting with his peers, he knew it wasn’t easy to share one’s favorite snacks.

‘Sharing candy with a servant!’

Anyway, Roto was relieved that the little young master didn’t seem to have a bad personality.

“Young master, would you like to tour the grand ducal castle after we finish this?”

“Yes!”

Theo nodded vigorously with a bright smile.

Seeing that innocent expression, Roto almost smiled back, but remembering he was the older one, he deliberately turned his head away, pretending not to notice.

However, Roto’s ears were still red.

* * *

The arrival of the new mistress made the servants of Winchester mansion, especially the maids, tremble. They had heard rumors that she was a princess consort who had pushed aside the young lady who was once the flower of the capital’s social circles.

They could already imagine how domineering she would be and how much trouble she would cause, so they all avoided the position of serving the princess consort.

“Madam. There are two dress shops in Winchester. As we’re not yet familiar with your preferences, we’ve invited both of them this afternoon.”

Assuming that a noble lady would be most sensitive about dresses and accessories, they immediately called both dress shops to come to the inner castle that afternoon.

But this young madam suddenly ordered, ‘Show me where Queen Madeleine’s clothes are stored.’

The maids were puzzled. Why didn’t she demand new dresses to be made, but instead wanted to see young madam Madeleine’s well-preserved clothes?

They couldn’t fathom the young madam’s intentions at all.

Anika, the most senior maid assigned to serve Hailey, mentioned again that the dress shops had been called to make new dresses and would arrive this afternoon.

But the new Madam barely listened and focused on examining the clothes young madam Madeleine wore when she was at Winchester.

‘Could she be planning to sell off valuable items?’

This was the most plausible guess, as rumors were circulating that the Lord had deliberately given the young master and his consort an insufficient budget.

No one even dreamed that Hailey was looking at those clothes to wear them herself.