The Lady's Butler: I Reincarnated To Serve The Villainess-Chapter 38: A Ticking Time Bomb

Renelle narrowed her eyes as she looked at the two before her, and the turned to Adrian with a surprised look on her face.

He, on the other hand, had a knowing smile on his face, seeing her expression.

"Her?" Renelle asked turning to the girl before her.

It had only been a few minutes after their conversation, and he apparently had someone to introduce to her.

Though Renelle was sure of what to expect, it definitely wasn’t,

Her.

The girl looked ten or twelve at most, with pale skin and snow white hair, similar to Renelle’s.

But the feature that would actually pull attention towards her, were her eyes.

They were strange, yes, but at the same they were also beautiful.

The girl’s eyes looked like a swirling mix of multiple colors that didn’t seem to belong together, yet somehow blended perfectly.

"Hmm," Adrian nodded, knowing very well that Renelle recognized the girl.

Isla, an antagonist of the manhwa’s first arc and a very dangerous one at that. Though Renelle hadn’t directly clashed with her, she had been one of the few caught in her ability during the battle with the prince and his Saintess.

And even she had to admit, it was terrifying.

She slowly approached Isla before crouching in front of the girl that seemed perpetually tired, seemingly wanting nothing more than to get back to sleeping.

"What’s your name?" Renelle asked, looking into the girl’s eyes.

Conan, standing beside Isla, was ready to step between the two of she looked even the least bit intimidated, but it seemed everything was fine right now, so he stayed put.

Isla turned to him for a second, and only when he nodded did she turn back to Renelle and answered, "Isla."

"Nice to meet you, Isla," Renelle said in a soft tone as she gently placed a hand on the girl’s hair, "I’m Renelle."

She then stood up and turned her gaze toward Conan.

"And you?"

He immediately stood straighter as he replied, "Conan."

"I see," she nodded her gaze briefly sweeping over their worn appearances, "I’ll have Margaret arrange rooms for you two, and proper clothes."

Conan seemed to hesitate for a moment before nodding, "thank you."

Renelle didn’t respond to that. Instead, her attention moved towards the entrance as he called out, "Margaret."

As if summoned by name alone, the door opened, and the elderly maid stepped in, she observed Adrian and the other two in the room before asking,

"I believe your Butler has already explained the situation?"

"Yes," Renelle nodded, "prepare two rooms for them and have the kitchen send them food."

Margaret remained silent for a short while before giving a small nod, "as you wish, young mistress."

"Follow me," she said before turning around towards the door and walking forward.

Conan, holding Isla’s hand, followed behind after a confirmation nod from Adrian, closing the door behind him.

Adrian and Renelle were the only two remaining, and she immediately turned towards him.

"Explain," she demanded.

"I intend to keep her by your side," Adrian said calmly.

"You know what she is, right?" She asked, already knowing the answer to that.

"Yes," he responded, "an anomaly and a dangerous entity."

"Then why would you pick up a ticking time bomb?" She asked again, a bit confused at his line of thought.

Renelle had seen first hand, what that child was capable of, and it had left her utterly powerless.

So why?

"She’s only a time bomb if the events of our last life repeat themselves," Adrian clarified.

"If she awakens under your influence, she won’t become a mindless threat," he continued, "she’ll become something far more valuable."

"A weapon," Renelle understood exactly what he meant.

He intended to bring Isla to their side, for her use...

"Precisely," Adrian nodded, "but this time, instead of being an asset to the prince and the saintess, she’ll be yours."

Renelle was silent for a while, her intention from the moment she regressed was to change her future, so she didn’t mind that Adrian was messing with the timeline.

There was only one problem.

"And if her power still spirals out of control?"

"Then I’ll take responsibility," He answered without hesitation, already prepared for that question.

"And if you can’t handle it?" Renelle asked again.

He knew that Isla was a threat from the manhwa, one that was a danger to the entire Avera if the events of the manhwa repeated itself.

But he had taken all that into account and this time, he’d make sure her awakening happened under his control.

"I will," he assured without a single change in his expression, and she couldn’t help but trust his words.

"I see," Renelle nodded, letting out a sigh.

Unsure of what to do with her obsessed butler, she could only go with his plans for now. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

***

Adrian found himself in his room again, a few minutes after the conversation with his lady.

The next day was supposed to be the first day of the academy which meant the manhwa’s plot would properly start.

He had no more preparations to do, so he could take this time to properly rest.... But no.

Due to his interference, there should be an event that would happen tonight, and he’d be waiting on it.

So instead of sleeping, he folded both feet as he sat on his bed and closed his eyes, when he reopened them, he was back in that dark world and multiple shadow wolves started appearing.

With shadow sense, he could clearly make out their positions unlike when he first arrived, so he muttered,

"Come at me."

***

Meanwhile, in an unknown part of the royal capital, a man with a cloak bowed before another shrouded completely by darkness.

The bowing man’s body was trembling as he waited for his judgement.

"What you’re saying is," the other man, shrouded by darkness and sitting at a higher position, started, "the men you sent to retrieve the Mesmerling are all dead?"

"Y-yes Master," the cloaked man stuttered out without lifting his head, "their bodies were found in the alleyway they were supposed to retrieve it."

"And the Mesmerling?" The man addressed as Master, asked again.

"C-Crow claimed he spotted it, along with its caretaker, walking toward the Ardent mansion, accompanied by a man who seemed to be some kind of servant."

"Is that so?" the master rested his cheek on his fist, "then send someone to retrieve it tonight."

"R-right away Master," the cloaked figure immediately answered, "I will not fail you."

"For your sake, I hope you don’t."