I asked about Sebastian’s past

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“Thankfully, the duke and his family do not care much when it comes to small mistakes of the servants. Of course, there are times when they are strict as well…”

Well, that was obvious.
But instead of just berating someone angrily, understanding why it happened and having an environment where you were guided would be best to help newcomers grow… I envied that.
I suppose Ms. Claire’s personality was having a good effect.

“His Grace also has a great ability to see what is below the surface. It is like a combination of talent and experience that comes with age. His father was much the same.”
“I suppose it runs in the family then…”

Aside from Ms. Claire, there was Mr. Ekenhart. He was a businessman and a master swordsman.
Tilura was…still young. But she was bright and cheerful, and able to get along with others. And she had also shown her ability while fighting against orcs.
…Yes. The duke’s family really were powerful.

“Indeed. It is because of that, that I feel rewarded for dedicating my life to them.”
“Speaking of which, why did you start working as their butler? Were you also from the orphanage?”
“Close, but not quite. I was living alone. …If you could call it living…”
“What do you mean?”

I had asked it out of mere curiosity, but Sebastian’s expression seemed very conflicted.
It was unusual for him to look like that…

“As far back as I can remember, I was an orphan. Well, that is common enough. However, I was in the slums. I don’t know why. I was just there, one day.”
“…So you were in a similar situation to Liza?”
“Well…Liza had someone called Mr. Reyndorf, but the slum that I was in was quite different from the current Ractos. But I am human, and was not persecuted. That is one thing…”

Sebastian started to talk slowly while remembering the past.
Perhaps it was stuff that he didn’t really wish to remember. Sebastian usually looked very excited when he was explaining something. But now, his eyes were downcast and there seemed to be a shadow over his face as he spoke hesitantly.
An orphan in the slums…huh.
I could tell by his sighing that it had been a brutal environment.

While it was pointless to compare, Liza at least had someone who took care of her for some time.
While Sebastian had no one like that, he was also not persecuted.

“Well, and so I lived in such a place. I and the other children in the slums were desperate just to eat. I even stole food from stores.”
“Children cannot work, after all…”
“Yes. With no hope for the future, we just lived through our hunger every day. Some of the others started stealing money as well. But I couldn’t go that far… I only took what I needed to survive. But I suppose that just sounds like I’m making excuses.”
“…Looking at you now, I doubt you would have done anything worse.”
“Wou.”

Children in the slums had no way of making money.
There were probably people who donated food as charity, and perhaps you could scavenge for leftover food as well.
But none of that was guaranteed.
And one had to do things to survive.

Judging by Sebastian’s face, he probably regretted some of the things that he did.
Well, perhaps it was because of that experience, that he decided to live in an upright manner afterwards.

“Thank you. That makes me feel better… In any case, I had a sense of justice after that… Which might sound strange. And I swore that I wouldn’t do anything that I didn’t agree with.”
“Aside from stealing food?”
“Yes. In the slums, there were people who used violence to get what they wanted. And so I told myself that I would not get involved with such people.”

Next Chapter

My Beloved Dog is the Strongest in Another World