I Won't Clear Up the Misunderstanding. I Don't Mind Being the Villainess. - Chapter 19

I went down to the drawing-room five minutes before the scheduled time.
Holger, the Butler, was already there, standing ramrod straight. I honestly wondered how long he’d been waiting.
His white hair and the deep lines on his face showed his age, but it was easy to imagine he must have been quite a handsome man when he was young.
“I’m sorry to take up your time.”
“Not at all, My Lady. How would you like me to address you?”
“Please, just call me Holger, Your Grace.”
“Right. Please have a seat, Holger.”
“No, I prefer to remain standing.”
With that, he escorted me to my chair and then stood directly opposite me.
It would have been easier to chat if he’d sat down, but I wasn’t going to force him.
After making sure I was settled in the chair, he gave a deep, formal bow.
“My apologies for the delayed introduction. I am Holger Courtenay, and I have the honor of serving as the Butler to the Duke of Avenius household.”
“I’m Erica. I must apologies for how chaotic and rushed the wedding has been due to my family’s self-serving actions.”
My older half-sister, Rose, was supposed to marry the Duke of Avenius.
Instead, she threw a fit and pulled the outrageous stunt of forcing her younger sister to take her place the day before the ceremony. Even if it was pre-wedding nerves, that was awful.
I understood Kevin’s reasons for agreeing to it, but I was genuinely surprised neither my father nor my half-sister got punched by him.
Because of all that, the wedding itself finished in a strange, hurried atmosphere.
Holger offered me a slight, restrained smile in response to my apology.
I understood his predicament—he couldn’t exactly say, ‘You’re right’ or ‘Don’t mention it.’
“Your Grace, as the Butler, I must apologies for the lapse in duty by one of our servants, Sera.”
He cut straight to the point.
I focused my attention.
“Sera is being dismissed, then? Did she have anyone helping her?”
“No, upon questioning, it was determined that only the maid Sera was bribed by young Master Leo with sweets.”
“Bribed…?”
“That is correct.”
“…Just to be clear.”
“Yes.”
“The sweets she received as payment were taken back from her?”
“They have been thoroughly confiscated, and she will also be going without dinner tonight.”
“…I see.”
Sera had made numerous excuses, claiming she was following Leo’s orders, but it turned out she’d simply accepted a bribe.
(No wonder she didn’t bother reporting to Kevin or me…)
I sighed. Then I told Holger:
“Sera told me that Master Leo and his maid stole the sweets from her while she was on her way to deliver them to me.”
“That was a lie. She merely walked out of the Duchess’s room, wasted time outside, and then came back.”
“Is that so… How do you normally handle announcements for the staff here?”
“Via the notice board in the servants’ wing, or by calling an assembly if necessary.”
“Then please use both the notice board and an assembly to inform the staff of Sera’s dismissal and the reason why. And naturally, you are absolutely not to give her any references for future employment.”
“…Very well, Your Grace.”
There was a brief silence, but Holger accepted without any argument.
Misconduct will lead to public exposure and dismissal.
I was hoping that broadcasting this to the servants would help prevent future problems.
(I really don’t want to deal with a whole queue of people like Sera.)
I thought this while looking at Holger. He looked upright, but his lower back was subtly leaning back.
I suddenly remembered: he was due to retire soon because of a slipped disc.
Perhaps he was already suffering from back pain, and this was the beginning of his body giving out.
“Are you perhaps having some back pain?”
When I asked, Holger’s eyes widened, and he started to bow, but I stopped him.
“I apologies for displaying such an unprofessional posture.”
“I’m not scolding you, Holger. If that’s the case, you don’t need to stand so rigidly.”
“No, if I were to commit such an impoliteness, I would have to resign my position as Butler.”
“…I see.”
So, that explained why Holger made such an easy exit from the main story.
And was standing more comfortable than sitting because his back hurt? The two reasons made perfect sense.
“May I ask you another question?”
“Yes.”
“Mrs. Marvella is also being let go, isn’t she?”
“Not only that, but absolutely no one from her entire family will ever be employed by the Ducal household again.”
“How long has she been the Duke of Avenius’s tutor?”
“For twenty-two years.”
“And you, Holger?”
“I was appointed Butler fifteen years ago.”
So, Mrs. Marvella was an employee for much longer than Holger.
Yet, that long service record was about to be abruptly ended by her mistake.
“Mrs. Marvella’s policy was ‘the elder brother is king, the younger is a slave,’ but has the Avenius family always held that view? Is that why no one ever stepped in to stop her?”
When I voiced this, Holger’s expression froze completely.
It was better than him smiling and nodding, but I still felt uneasy.
“It seems that’s not the case then. That means neither I nor the next tutor need to follow Mrs. Marvella’s way of doing things, right?”
“…Yes, Your Grace, our handling of the matter was incorrect.”
“The Duke himself was one of Mrs. Marvella’s students for a while; was he raised with that kind of education?”
If so, it would be deeply ironic: Mrs. Marvella would be judged and dismissed by the very tyrant, Kevin, whom she had raised by flattering him into believing he was a king.
However, Holger shook his head with a sombre look.
“No… I believe Mrs. Marvella became increasingly desperate to correct her failure, and her methods became more extreme over time.”
“Failure?”
Was he referring to the failure of how she raised Kevin?
I managed to hold back the words that nearly slipped out.
Holger, still looking grim, then told me:
“I should inform you, Your Grace, Mrs. Marvella is strongly protesting her dismissal.”
“And what exactly am I supposed to do about it?”
In response to my sharp question, Holger just looked utterly miserable.
“You can’t expect me to resolve it, can you? It was the Duke’s decision.”
“His Grace… left instructions for me to clear up the issue before he returns from the capital.”
Holger told me this, looking terribly awkward.
“Pardon me?”
Did that man, having just come home, immediately leave the house again?
And worse, he dumped this whole mess on me. For a split second, I wanted to absolutely scold Kevin.
But instead, I smiled. A little vein might have been throbbing in my forehead, though.
“Well… that’s a very sudden trip. The Duke only just said he didn’t have any pressing work.”
“He did indeed, Your Grace.”
“Perhaps… he was simply embarrassed after saying that Lady Lily was his only beloved wife, yet then forcefully kissing me and getting angry when I suggested separate bedrooms?”
“…I beg your pardon?”
“Oh, don’t worry. He did agree to separate bedrooms in the end. But still… what a pathetic Duke, loving his late wife so dearly, yet having a body that simply won’t cooperate.”
He must have been so ashamed he actually ran away from the mansion I was in.
When I said this with a completely innocent, apologetic air, Holger avoided my gaze.