Epilogue 5. Sebastian’s Day (1)

Sebastian, the head butler of the Bolshevik family, begins his day later than most people might imagine.

He rises around 5 o’clock—not 3 or 4 in the morning—performs a simple facial cleansing and grooming, reconfirms the day’s schedule, and then opens his door to step out.

On his way to the mansion’s kitchen, his first destination, he exchanges brief pleasantries with servants who greet him.

“You’re going to the opera house today, aren’t you?”

“That’s right.”

“We’ll get to hear some interesting stories when you return.”

No one bothered to quibble by saying “It’s not even a new opera, what interesting stories could there be?” in response to the smiling servant’s words.

Everyone knew that the “interesting stories” he referred to had nothing to do with the opera itself.

“So prepare some good tea leaves.”

“Yes. I’ll be sure to select the kind the young masters and mistresses like.”

Arriving at the kitchen, leaving behind the chattering of servants and the vigorous shouts of those enthusiastically starting their morning, Sebastian meticulously checked the day’s meals with the chef.

“The eldest young master has been eating a lot lately.”

“He says he’s in a growth spurt.”

“That’s why I was thinking, perhaps we should change his snacks to be more meat-based…”

Soon after, Sebastian continued on his way and lightly waved his hand toward the coachman who was preparing the carriage.

“How is it?”

“I’ve packed spare wheels and parts, and in case of any unforeseen circumstances, I’ve arranged for spare horses along the route to the opera house.”

The coachman, who had worked at the Bolshevik estate for many years, was thoroughly meticulous, missing nothing.

“Good. Since the Duchess met her husband, we haven’t had any carriage breakdowns or accidents, but one can never be too careful.”

“Of course.”

After receiving the coachman’s reassuring confirmation, Sebastian looked up at the sky, where the morning sun was already shining brightly, then entered the mansion.

And not long after, he paused.

Two children at the edge of his vision had spotted him and were waving their hands vigorously before running toward him without hesitation.

“Sebastian!”

“Butler!”

As the child with fiery red hair came running and clung to his left leg, the fox-eyed child latched onto his right leg.

Though the weight of the children might have made him stagger, Sebastian stood firmly with a composed face and addressed them calmly.

“Have you already finished preparing? We won’t be departing until evening.”

“I know! But Sebastian! Do you have any important tasks that must be done right now?”

“No, there’s nothing particularly special that must be done at this moment.”

At this matter-of-fact answer, the two children, born on the same day just minutes apart, exchanged glances in an instant.

“Th-then, Butler. Could you come with us?”

“That’s right! Come with us! The more people on our side, the better!”

To the children who were tugging at both his hands without even mentioning where they were going or what they were doing, Sebastian calmly asked:

“Where are you going?”

“Max came to see Grandfather!”

Though the answer came in a strange form, interpreted, it meant they were going to see the former Duke Bolshevik and the merchant named Max.

“In that case, let’s go together after breakfast.”

After the usual morning hours passed, Sebastian, keeping his promise to the two children, found himself facing the former Duke Bolshevik.

“Don’t just stand there, come sit here.”

The former Duke, who had become much more mellow since passing the title to Riina—or as Einar, the Duke’s husband, described him, “soft as scrambled eggs”—gestured with his eyes.

Sebastian didn’t bother to decline and took a seat between the two children, who were busily arranging the place, urging him to sit quickly.

No sooner had he sat on the sofa than Max, with his ever-smiling face, asked:

“Butler Sebastian?”

“Yes.”

When Sebastian nodded with a calm face, Max exaggeratedly waved his hands and muttered to himself, loud enough for everyone to hear:

“Consistently the same from the old days until now.”

“What’s consistent?”

“What’s been consistent?”

The two children, unable to contain their curiosity, looked at Max with sparkling eyes in turn, but Max only smiled enigmatically.

At that, the child’s eyes grew fierce, and the fox-eyed child’s feet half-disappeared into the shadows.

Watching the two children, Sebastian calmly spoke:

“I’ve consistently been the butler of the Bolshevik family.”

“Huh? Well, of course. Even in Grandfather’s time, the butler was called Sebastian, wasn’t he?”

As the child tilted her head, Max raised his index finger and wagged it side to side.

“No, Sebastian has been the Bolshevik butler since much earlier than that. Oh, of course, he was also butler to other families. But that’s a story from another world…”

Before Max could finish, the child turned to Sebastian with rabbit eyes.

“What? The butler has always been Sebastian? Is Sebastian that old?”

While the child was examining Sebastian from all angles with round eyes, the fox-eyed child tilted his head and opened his mouth, then closed it.

The former Duke Bolshevik smiled kindly—yes, kindly—at the fox-eyed child and said:

“Go ahead, speak.”

“Could it be that the name ‘Sebastian’ has been passed down through generations? I use my grandfather’s name too…”

Though his voice lacked confidence, before the child could finish, Max exclaimed cheerfully:

“Correct! It’s not that Sebastian has lived a long time, but that the ‘name’ has been passed down for a long time! Along with the position of butler to the Bolshevik family.”

Despite Max’s satisfying answer, the child glared at him sharply before tugging at Sebastian’s sleeve.

“Is that true?”

“Yes, it is.”

Only after hearing his answer did the child nod, which made Max ask with a mischievous smile:

“I’m hurt that you don’t trust me, young lady.”

“Why should I trust you? All I know is that you’re suspicious.”

Despite the child’s pointed response, Max continued to smile brightly.

“Surely the Bolshevik family wouldn’t admit a suspicious person?”

Though it could have been taken as an insult to the family, the child raised her chin and answered proudly without the slightest hesitation:

“It’s precisely because it’s Bolshevik that they would admit a suspicious person.”

As those blue eyes, still slightly pale due to her young age, stared directly at Max, he quickly raised both hands to his chest as if surrendering.

“Of course. Indeed. So you wouldn’t believe the story I was going to tell, even if I told it. Ah, what a pity. Today I was thinking of unpacking my bundle of stories… cough!“

“Please tell us!”

Before Max could finish, the fox-eyed child, who had vigorously sprung from his shadow and headbutted him in the stomach, exclaimed brightly.

The child quickly added:

“I won’t believe it, but I’ll still listen! Tell us! Tell us!”

“Well… now I understand why the Duke always cleverly says you’re a sucker for stories.”

Max, rubbing his solar plexus where the fox-eyed child had struck him directly, cleared his throat once and began to unfold the story the children were so curious about.

“How I came to frequent the Bolshevik estate was because of my small talent. Turning back time.”

To Max, who was spinning his finger counterclockwise, the child snapped:

“You said your small talent was trading. You said so just a few days ago.”

Naturally, Max smoothly deflected:

“I have several small talents. Anyway, a truly remarkable person snatched away my time-rewinding talent as a so-called gift.”

“A remarkable person?”

“Yes. There’s a very special person who moves between dimensions, from one world to another.”

“Dimension travel? Our ancestor did that too!”

“Ah, while dimensional travel itself is impressive, what makes this person remarkable is that they’re a ‘human’ with power rivaling that of gods. Anyway, the important thing is that this person snatched away my talent and gave it as a gift to the former Duke. That’s how I ended up in this world too, yes indeed.”

Max paused his story and nodded toward the fox-eyed child, who was eagerly raising his hand with his body half-buried in his shadow.

“I don’t understand what you’re saying!”

“Right. Make your story a bit more comprehensible. How did this remarkable person snatch your talent?”

“That’s a secret that could shake the foundations of this world.”

“What does that even mean?”

“Just this person merely peeking from one world into another could potentially cause both worlds to collapse—well, everything they do is like that. So various restrictions apply. More precisely, restrictions are applied. Even conveying a single word to their one and only disciple was a considerably dangerous endeavor. Anyway.”

Having made incredibly grandiose statements in an extremely casual tone, Max shrugged his shoulders.

“As I said, what’s important is that this person, through a small connection with Bolshevik, turned back the former Duke’s time. And I got caught up in it. Yes, what is it now?”

“You’ve been saying it’s about another world, and that Max also came to this world! So does that mean Max is from another world too?”

“To be precise, I came from somewhere that’s not that other world, but yes, you could say so. A merchant must go wherever there’s trade, mustn’t they? In the previous world, I briefly got distracted and lost my notebook that could turn back time, which… ahem. Ahem.”

Ignoring him as he cleared his throat conspicuously, the child turned to the former Duke and asked:

“So Grandfather also made a deal with Max?”

“That’s right. The price was quite severe, but I thought it was too harsh for a ‘gift’—so that was the reason.”

The former Duke recalled the voice that still clearly echoed from somewhere, then shook his head.

“But in the end, everything turned out well.”

“The price? What was the pri… mmph.”

The child, who had somehow moved to the fox-eyed child’s side and covered his mouth, smiled brightly at the former Duke.

“That’s right! Because everything turned out well, I became Grandfather’s granddaughter!”

At the child’s bold words mixed with charm, the former Duke smiled contentedly, while Max narrowed his eyes and muttered:

“That kind of shamelessness clearly comes from the Duke’s husband.”

“What? What did you say about my father?!”

“As it happens, I also made a deal with your father.”

“And?”

“He completely took advantage of me… no, I mean, he caused me enormous loss.”

Receiving a piercing gaze from the former Duke, Max quickly corrected himself and added:

“Well, looking at the result, it wasn’t a loss since I recovered ‘luck,’ but still, when I first saw the price of the deal, I wondered how such a deal could exist.”

“What was the price?”

“Ah, that…”