I Won't Clear Up the Misunderstanding. I Don't Mind Being the Villainess. - Chapter 6

“A mere maid’s daughter, daring to throw around the Duke’s authority…”
Madam Marvella’s voice was a harsh whisper, clinging to the floor.
Her face was a flurry of red and blue. She was clearly in turmoil, panicked by my position as Duchess and boiling with fury at me personally.
“It was Duke Avenius himself who chose to make this ‘mere maid’s daughter’ his legal wife, you know.”
A thin, cold smile touched my lips as I uttered words the original Erica would never have dared to speak. Just based on the line, I sounded like an arrogant second wife—a former mistress, perhaps—relying on my husband’s indulgence. That’s likely exactly what Madam Marvella saw, judging by the intensified dagger-gaze she fixed on me.
“Why on earth did young Master Kevin… no, why did my Lord consent to remarry a woman like this?”
As she flung the hateful question at me, I had to internally admit she had a point. It was genuinely baffling. Why had Kevin agreed to the marriage?
Erica was, technically, the second daughter of the Olsson Viscount’s house, but her mother was a maid. Since Madam Marvella, the governess, knew this history, Kevin must have as well. On top of that, Erica carried a terrible reputation—the man-crazy vixen rumour spread tirelessly by her half-sisters.
In contrast, her half-sister, Rose, though difficult, was the daughter of the Viscount and his lawful wife, and she was an enchantingly beautiful woman. Their ages weren’t far apart, either. It was astonishing that Kevin had so easily married Erica, who was merely a replacement for the bride he’d intended to take.
(Well, I can ask him about it later.)
Maybe the vulgar truth was simply that he liked younger women. With that thought, I gave Ron’s shoulder a gentle pat.
“You should go back to your room and find something to play with.”
“Oh, but what about my lessons…?” Ron looked surprised, then glanced fearfully at Madam Marvella before turning back to me.
I met the furious gaze of the old woman opposite me. Anger had utterly consumed her; she looked like a raging demon. Considering her advanced age, I knew I shouldn’t over-excite her. But then again, Madam Marvella’s tolerance level was practically non-existent.
“Lessons are impossible in her current state. Don’t worry, if anyone tries to scold you, just tell them I ordered you to play in your room.”
I offered him a soft smile and nudged the boy’s fragile shoulder. I needed the child out of this space. I couldn’t predict the kind of vile insults Madam Marvella was ready to unleash.
“…Will I see you again?”
“Of course, you will. We live in the same house,” I reassured him.
It seemed I hadn’t managed to alienate Ron completely. I laughed at his question and nodded. Looking relieved, Ron slowly drifted away from us and finally vanished from sight.
I figured that with this small delay, Madam Marvella would surely regain some composure. I watched Ron disappear, then turned to face her. The elderly woman standing there looked like her veins might pop. The fury, it seemed, had not lessened at all.
“…That’s how you ensnare and manipulate men so quickly! It’s a mistake to keep a bad influence like you in a Duke’s residence full of men!”
“Do stop saying such inappropriate things. The child is just a small boy,” I said, truly disgusted.
Calling an eight-year-old a ‘man’ was genuinely repulsive.
“Nonsense. A man is a man, even as a child. That’s precisely why a morally questionable woman like you is a terrible influence on his education!”
“I return that exact sentiment to you. You are completely unfit to be a tutor.”
“You impudent girl, know your place!”
“I shall return that sentiment, too. Honestly, how long do you intend to keep up this tiresome exchange?” I asked Madam Marvella with a weary sigh.
All I wanted was to stop her from stuffing Ron and Leo’s heads with her twisted values, but we weren’t getting anywhere. How incredibly satisfying it would be to dismiss her right here and now.
However, the final authority rested with Kevin, Madam Marvella’s employer and the head of the Ducal House. In the original story, he’d shown her no mercy, but that was after she had tried to kill Erica. Kevin was the very father who had allowed the relationship between Leo and Ron to become so warped by her teaching. So, there was a chance he would overturn my dismissal.
Still, I wasn’t about to tell this old woman that and give her a victory. As the maid’s breakfast attitude had already shown, you lose in this house the moment you show weakness.
“My current position is the Duchess of Avenius. Are you not overstepping your bounds as a mere governess, freely calling me a ‘vixen’ and an ‘impudent girl’?”
“Don’t get cocky. You’re bound to be divorced soon and sent straight back to being a maid! A woman whose only value is her youth and her face!”
As I stressed my duchess title, Madam Marvella, now sweating profusely, swore at me with a vile, desperate grin. She had clearly lost all self-control. I almost considered letting her continue until she passed out from the stress.
Just as that dark thought crossed my mind, a voice like ice struck me.
“…Are you suggesting that I am a man who chooses his wife purely based on her youth and face?”
Madam Marvella’s face drained of color, skipping blue entirely and going straight to white.
Following her terrified gaze, I saw Kevin standing there—the man who was supposed to have left for the Royal Capital.