I! Cleaner!
Chapter 182 - 182: Either... or... _1

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*Endure? Why should I endure anything? I don't even want the Duke's title, so why should I care about your crappy traditions?*

With utter disgust, Leon glanced at himself in the mirror, seeing his face painted ghostly white, and the usually polite Leon couldn't help but roll his eyes at the old butler.

He originally thought that by simplifying everything and compressing the long-winded inheritance ceremony into one day, it would save him a lot of trouble. Who knew that even the simplest version of the ceremony would be an ordeal, with the attire and makeup alone tormenting him for over two hours.

Not only did he have to change into a ridiculously cumbersome outfit corresponding to nobility, but they even stuffed a specially made padding between his legs, filling him up supposedly to enhance his "masculinity."

Besides that, he had to clip on false hair, apply lip balm, have eye makeup and face wax, and even slather a thick layer of lead powder on the exposed skin of his forehead and neck. After much refusal, he finally got them to swap it out for a harmless paste.

And just when he managed to sort these out, he had to sit in this so-called meaningful carriage, traveling down the main road of Redwood Avenue, relying on the tire pattern to leave the "Lion's Footprint," symbolizing the new Duke of Lionheart arriving at his domain...

After all this nonsense, he was already irritated beyond measure, yet the inheritance ceremony hadn't even started!

*Complete and utter bullshit!*

Using his sleeve, he dabbed some water, harshly wiping off the jumble of makeup on his face, then twisted open the carriage door handle and leaped out directly.

*I absolutely must not follow their way anymore; who knows how many more torturous and bizarre procedures await me if I keep going?*

"Duke, your makeup! Your makeup!"

"What makeup? I'm done with it!"

Yanking off the wig from his head and roughly wiping the markings on his face, Leon glared menacingly at the furious old butler chasing after him,

"Either I go like this, or you find someone else to be the Duke. You choose!"

*Do I even have a choice?*

Watching as the new Duke, having run out of patience, began throwing a tantrum, the old butler realized he wasn't joking. Forced to stamp his feet tenaciously, he then clutched his chest in bitter plea,

"I…I'll obey you, alright? But at least return to the carriage…"

"I'm not going back!"

His patience completely exhausted, Leon, looking disdainfully at the carriage filled with jewels and exuding a nouveau riche aura behind him, replied irritably,

"The carriage is too ridiculous, and besides, it can't even pass through. Either get me another carriage or find another Duke!"

The old butler shook his head repeatedly upon hearing this, face filled with despair,

"Your Grace, this really can't be changed! Every Duke, upon inheriting the title, must leave the 'Lion's Footprint' on Redwood Avenue. It is tradition! If you switch the carriage, how will the Lion's Footprint…"

"What bullshit 'Lion's Footprint,' isn't it just the tire marks? Roll it over yourself with a wheel, and don't use it to mess with me!"

"This…this…this really cannot be changed! There's never been such a precedent…"

Having finally wiped off the cream mixed with pearl powder from his face, Leon, unwilling to make any further compromises, said maliciously,

"Either there's no precedent, or there's no Duke. Which do you want?"

*I… I want to die!*

Observing the new Duke, who had evaded both maids and guards, now walking towards the estate, the old butler felt as though the world was spinning around him. If not for the need to maintain appearance, he likely would have beaten his chest and wept tears of anguish.

*Old Duke! You left after choosing this oddball, but he's still here to torment us! Why didn't you take me with you back then?*

Just when the old butler was clutching the carriage, lost in painful despair, a voice from the Duke called out ahead.

"You, come over here!"

After disembarking and taking only a few steps, Leon saw a heap of overturned carriages on either side of the road.

Waving the old butler over, Leon waited for him to catch up, huffing and puffing, then pointed at several shattered boxes of porcelain beside the road, furrowed his brow, and complained,

"Look at what you've done. Not only are you driving people off the road, but why are you smashing their goods? Who pushed them down? Hurry up and compensate them!"

"Your Grace… this… this wasn't our doing."

Hearing he might have to pay up, a guard with a dark complexion couldn't help but speak up in defense after sneakily glancing at Leon's expression,

"These carriages were already overturned at the roadside before your carriage even arrived. It was probably the group ahead that drove them off."

*The group ahead?*

*"Your… Your Grace."*

Managing to catch a breath, the old butler first queried a servant, then explained, face pale,

"The carriage ahead was likely Prince Joshua's, the one that passed by as we were waiting for you to board at the intersection."

*Oh, so it was that one which almost splashed me with mud.*

Hearing the butler, Leon recalled the other ostentatiously attention-grabbing carriage drawn by eight horses and couldn't help clicking his tongue in disgust.

*Nobles, royal family... tsk... not a single good person among them!*

Looking at several distressed merchants crying by the roadside, and considering it wasn't his money, Leon, adhering to the principle of being as generous as possible, said,

"Then pay them, after all, if not for delivering goods to your family, they wouldn't have encountered him. It's reasonable for the Ryan Family to bear some compensation."

"This…"

"What do you mean 'this'?"

Having slept poorly and been thoroughly harassed, Leon's mood was particularly foul. Turning around, he squinted at the old butler and growled,

"Either you pay the compensation, or find someone else to…"

"Pay, pay, pay! We'll pay everything!"

Having been threatened with abandonment several times by Leon, just the sound of the words "or" had the old butler's heart, already nearing its limit, pounding chaotically.

Firmly clutching his erratically thumping heart, feeling he would lose ten years of his life today, the old butler grabbed Leon's arm with a tearful face and beseeched,

"Your Grace! I'll agree to anything you want to do! Just please don't say 'or' anymore, alright? The Ryan Family won't manage without you! I'm old… my heart isn't good, I really can't take this…"

*Ah, this...*

Seeing the old butler's face slightly purple, grasping his arm tightly with a look that said he'd kneel on the spot if he dared to refuse, Leon hesitated.

Logically speaking, although in soul vision, this old butler wasn't a good man either, mostly engaging in schemes and political maneuvering, he hadn't directly committed any heinous acts. And at his advanced age, was it really right for Leon to relentlessly torment the old man?

But... Leon truly hadn't planned on becoming the Duke. Once the inheritance ceremony began and everyone gathered, he intended to find a way to reject it. And seeing the old butler's suffocatingly purple face, could he bear it when he discovered what Leon intended?

"About that… I have something I think it's best to inform you about in advance. Please, don't get too worked up when you hear it…"

After hesitating briefly, Leon went over to support the butler's back, then cautiously leaned in and whispered to the somewhat "startled" old butler,

"Once everyone's gathered later, I plan to propose to the Princess, using the entire Ryan Family as a dowry. That way, they can either choose another Duke or end up with nothing at all. What do you think?"

"..."

"Oh shit! Don't faint! Stand up straight! Oh man, why are you foaming at the mouth now?"