After arranging Old Lamb's funeral matters, Hollace personally took Laine to meet his daughter.
On the way, Hollace introduced his daughter to Laine:
"Nanaly... she's actually quite reliable, but her personality is somewhat willful. Ordinary people find it difficult to take care of her. I think you might find this job challenging, Laine."
Laine shook his head: "I have already sworn a knight's oath, so naturally, I cannot go back on my word."
"In that case, I will find a new butler to take care of Nanaly as soon as possible. Until then, I'll have to trouble you."
Laine wasn't particularly concerned - she was just a count's daughter, how could she be more difficult to deal with than a demon general?
"We're here."
After walking a bit further, Hollace stopped in front of a room.
Hollace raised his hand to knock but hesitated for a moment before shaking his head:
"Perhaps you should knock instead. Get acquainted with Nanaly. I... I'll take my leave now."
With that, Hollace hurriedly left, leaving Laine alone, as if he was avoiding something.
Watching Hollace disappear into the distance, Laine turned his head to look at the door before him.
And then, the scene from the beginning unfolded.
Being silently appraised up and down by Laine, Nanaly was clearly displeased. She furrowed her delicate brows and spoke:
"Who are you?"
Her childish voice was pleasant to hear, like tinkling silver bells - if only it wasn't for that impatient tone.
Laine realized he had been somewhat discourteous and put on what he considered to be a friendly smile:
"Greetings, Lady Nanaly. My name is Laine, and from today onwards, I will be serving as your personal butler..."
"Bang!"
Before he could finish his self-introduction, Nanaly turned away and slammed the door shut.
Laine stood at the doorway, still wearing that smile, though it had become somewhat stiff.
Could it be... that my appearance is disagreeable?
Laine believed his looks were quite refined, and his most distinctive features - black hair and black eyes - weren't just accepted in this empire but were actually quite favored.
Perhaps... it's because Old Lamb, who had been taking care of Nanaly, had just passed away, so Lady Nanaly is still grieving?
That must be it, Laine guessed. Introducing himself as Nanaly's personal butler might have hurt her feelings.
Better to let Nanaly have some quiet time, he thought. He would avoid mentioning the butler position in front of her for now and simply fulfill his duties as one.
Next came Old Lamb's funeral.
There was no funeral feast, as it wasn't the custom here.
However, as a butler who had served the Duke Ashi Family for life, the scale of his funeral was quite grand, conducted according to the same standards as those for direct members of the Ashi Family.
Laine, as Old Lamb's adopted son and a knight, was arranged at the front, responsible for the coffin placement, flower offering, and prayers alongside the priest.
Throughout the entire process, Nanaly never appeared.
After Old Lamb's funeral, the Count and Countess departed.
Watching them leave, Laine realized that since his arrival, the Count and Countess had never once met with their daughter Nanaly.
What a strange family dynamic...
However, since the Count and Countess had left, it meant they trusted Laine to take care of Nanaly.
Going to the butler's room, Laine opened the wardrobe and changed into a well-fitted butler's uniform.
Raising his index finger, Laine silently recited a spell in his mind, and a circular water surface, like a mirror, appeared before him.
Looking at his reflection in the butler's uniform, Laine nodded with satisfaction - this was much more comfortable than wearing armor.
"Oh, it's magic!"
"Indeed, it's magic!"
Just as Laine was striking poses, two light female voices suddenly came from the doorway.
Laine's posing froze slightly as he turned his head to see two cute young girls in maid outfits peering around the side of the door frame, staring at him intently.
The reason he thought of them as young girls was because they looked younger than him, both with flaxen hair, holding handkerchiefs and brooms - clearly the mansion's maids who had come to clean the room.
After a moment of silence, Laine smoothly resumed a normal posture, adjusted his butler's tie, and introduced himself to the two girls:
"Hello, I'm Laine. From today onwards, I will be serving as Lady Nanaly's personal butler."
"Hello, Mr. Butler!"
One of the girls, a very energetic twin-tailed young lady, waved at Laine with a smile:
"I'm Daisy, and this is my sister, Daili!"
As the elder sister, Daili was more composed than Daisy. Her flaxen hair wasn't tied up like Daisy's but instead cascaded down her back like a waterfall.
Daili smiled slightly and gave Laine a perfect maid's curtsy:
"Mr. Butler, please excuse our rudeness."
"No need for formalities, just call me Laine."
Laine looked the two girls over carefully before asking, "How many maids are there in total at the mansion?"
"To report to Mr. Laine, there are only my sister and me serving as maids in the mansion."
Laine: "..."
Surely Count Hollace could afford to employ more maids?
Seeing Laine's confusion, Daili explained with a smile:
"It's not that Count Hollace is being frugal. Rather, my sister and I are more than sufficient to maintain this mansion."
Hmm, quite confident - back in the knights' order, Laine particularly enjoyed putting such young knights in their place.
Of course, this wasn't the knights' order, and Laine was just a temporary butler.
"Mr. Laine!"
Daisy ran up to him, her small face almost touching his, her eyes twinkling:
"Could you teach me that magic from earlier? It must be very convenient for housework!"
"Daisy!"
Seeing Daisy's behavior, Daili spoke with slight annoyance.
But Laine waved it off: "Of course I can teach you when we have time."
"Yay!"
Daili rubbed her temples, seemingly at a loss with her energetic sister.
Laine looked at the sky outside and said to Daili: "It should be time to prepare dinner, right?"
Daili nodded: "Yes, I was planning to make dinner after my sister and I finished cleaning this room."
Laine thought for a moment and said: "How about I make dinner tonight?"
"Eh?"
Daili was stunned for a moment before quickly waving her hands: "That wouldn't be proper..."
"Yes, yes, that would be wonderful!"
Daisy cheerfully interrupted her sister's words: "From the moment I first saw Mr. Laine, I had the feeling he was capable of anything. I'm really looking forward to Mr. Laine's cooking!"
"I won't disappoint you."
Laine was very confident.
In that unfortunate transmigrator's memories, there were many recipes for delicious dishes that Laine had been wanting to try.
However, during his days campaigning with the knights' order, Laine never had the opportunity to experiment...