Chapter 33

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 33

Chapter Title: The Butler's Reckoning

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Butler Polman was flustered.

'Why is Lady Hilia here so suddenly? Did she come to punish us for sending yesterday's palace servant away?'

He immediately dismissed the rational thought.

'No way, Lady Hilia wouldn't do that. She's not the type...!'

He had been appointed butler on Ludwig's recommendation, but he'd served at the Delphin mansion since before Hilia was even born.

Naturally, he knew her personality well.

Of course, he had no idea that the core of who she was had completely changed after experiencing life, death, and rebirth through three regressions.

The Hilia he knew was a timid girl, a foolish one who relied entirely on her fiancé and trusted him blindly.

Even when he brought his mistress into their home, she remained oblivious and smiled sweetly.

Unsurprisingly, among the vassals and servants of the Delphin household, there was a pervasive undercurrent of disdain for Hilia.

Moreover, lately, rumors had been circulating both inside and outside the Delphin mansion.

'His Majesty the Emperor feels deeply sorry to Grand Duke Ludwig for the broken marriage arrangement caused by his son.'

'He's planning to offer fitting compensation, and the Delphin dukedom is the most likely candidate.'

These were the rumors. Naturally spread by the Empress and Evangeline.

In an attempt to swallow the Delphin dukedom whole by propping up Ludwig.

The vassals and servants who had already begun treating Ludwig as their master accepted these rumors as credible.

More accurately, they desperately hoped they were true.

They didn't want all their fawning over Ludwig to have been for nothing.

That's why it had been possible to reject and send back the palace servant Hilia herself had dispatched, on the ridiculous grounds that Ludwig had blocked it.

The butler racked his brains busily.

Why had Hilia appeared so suddenly?

The butler began twisting the situation to his own advantage.

'Ah! His Majesty must have ordered the Delphin family handed over to Grand Duke Ludwig! She must be here to deliver the news!'

It was the kind of thought that would leave Hilia dumbfounded if she heard it.

But to him, who had been loyal only to Ludwig and Evangeline all this time, it felt perfectly natural.

The butler straightened his clothes and went out to greet Hilia.

The door opened, and Hilia entered, accompanied by a horde of burly men draped in black cloaks.

Perhaps because she stood alone against the backdrop of those dark robes.

Hilia shone like the moon rising alone at night.

Even the butler was left speechless for a moment, staring in awe.

He knew very well that Hilia was beautiful.

But in that instant, he doubted his eyes—it was as if she were an entirely different person. She looked utterly transformed.

Like the clearest crystal carved and sprinkled with shy spring petals.

Light scattered between the pure white crystal and cherry blossom petals, creating new hues.

She was so breathtakingly beautiful and poised that such poetic flourishes felt entirely fitting.

It was an illusion as if light emanated from deep within her, making her sparkle.

Especially striking was the overwhelming presence and dignity that now dominated others.

She had always seemed pretty but fragile and meek—how had she changed so much in such a short time?

The butler found himself nearly overwhelmed, just gazing at Hilia.

Hilia handed her outer garment to a maid who had come to greet her and blinked at the butler.

The butler, who had been entranced, snapped to his senses belatedly and hastily concluded why she had come.

"His Highness the Grand Duke is on the second floor."

Hilia tilted her head.

"What makes you think I'd come looking for Ludwig?"

Her voice was cold, like crunching ice shards.

But the butler failed to catch the displeasure and anger laced into it like thorns.

"Well, don't you owe His Highness the Grand Duke an apology?"

"Me? An apology?"

"Yes, of course a delicate lady like you couldn't have resisted, but you still need to consider His Highness's feelings first."

Unknowingly, he was scolding Hilia.

"His bride was stolen away before the eyes of all. There's no greater humiliation or horror for a man."

The butler spoke as if Hilia had trampled Ludwig's pride.

"He calls for you every day, wailing, and can't even sleep properly without alcohol!"

Butler Polman trembled as if he himself had been insulted.

"Good grief. Even a wretch like me wouldn't want to live after such a thing, let alone a noble like His Highness the Grand Duke..."

The butler's explanation continued for a few more phrases.

Ludwig was too afraid to even show his face in public.

No acquaintances visited, save for the kind Evangeline who came to comfort him.

Anyone hearing it would think he was Ludwig's butler, not the Delphin mansion's.

He went on about how Ludwig had become a complete wreck.

The moment those descriptions hit her eardrums and seared into her mind, Hilia couldn't hold back her change in expression.

So she raised a hand to lightly cover her mouth. To hide it.

She simply couldn't stop her lips from curving upward in delight.

This was the very reason she had struggled through her three previous regressions and thrashed about in this life.

'Ludwig's pride shattered? This is exhilarating!'

Of course, this alone wasn't enough. She planned to strip him of everything and crush it all.

But hearing it from a third party made the thrill impossible to contain.

The ecstasy of revenge sent a sharp tingle up her spine.

'Thrilling. Fresh. Revenge really is the best!'

Blissfully unaware, the butler took Hilia's reaction for guilt.

"How heartbroken and humiliated he must be. You at least should apologize. Isn't that why you're here?"

Hilia's eyes began to blaze like purple flames.

By the time I faced the butler, the black mercenary corps had already surrounded the entire mansion on my orders.

Polman, who waddled out belatedly, had no idea the mansion was under control.

That's probably why he started spouting nonsense right in front of me.

Like telling me to apologize to Ludwig.

I stared at him flatly before ordering the mercenaries beside me.

"Make him kneel."

"...?"

The mercenary carried out my command faster than Polman could comprehend it.

Thud!

Kicked behind the knee, Polman toppled over like a squashed frog.

"Gahk!"

Polman looked up at me with eyes full of bewilderment.

"Wh-what is this, my lady?!"

I wasn't surprised he'd act so rudely.

This man was Ludwig and Evangeline's dog, after all.

I knew how much he'd ignored, mocked, and tormented me before my regression.

"Aren't we feeding you plenty? Eat any more and you'll turn into a pig. If you want to win back the Grand Duke's affection, at least match half of Lady Evangeline's beauty. I'm just helping you, ma'am."

"Your clothes and jewelry gone missing? As if that pretty, kind Lady Evangeline would steal them. You must have been mistaken, ma'am."

And he'd testified that I tried to poison Evangeline out of jealousy.

And that I'd committed adultery and tried to kill Ludwig.

He'd contributed to my death before the regression.

"I've served the Delphin dukedom since my father's time. I saw it with my own eyes. That woman is a vicious criminal!"

And of all the insults and betrayals I'd endured from him before, the words I'd just heard were the most infuriating.

'Apologize to Ludwig?'

The moment he said it, his fate was sealed.

I approached slowly and stood before Polman.

Then I asked.

"Do you know what you've done wrong?"

"Wrong?"

He seemed genuinely puzzled.

A hollow laugh escaped me.

"And who are these people? They're not even knights... What! Let go! You scum! How dare you lay hands on the butler of the Delphin dukedom...!"

Polman struggled to free himself from the mercenary's grip, but it was futile.

"Knights! Where are the knights?! Why aren't they stopping these...?"

I sneered at Polman.

"Are you angry that the Delphin knights didn't block my path?"

"...!"

Polman belatedly realized how absurd he sounded.

But what was even more shocking and ridiculous was that some knights had actually tried to resist.

Even with me standing right in front of the mercenaries.

"Even with you here, my lady, we can't let lowly mercenaries...!"

Honestly, it was mortifying to have Arpad witness this spectacle.

But that was that, and this was this.

I issued the order coldly.

"Subdue them."

"As you command."

Naturally, Arpad and the elite mercenaries made short work of the knights.

Except for Sir Beltein, the decent ones had already stepped down.

Those with some sense, even if lacking in skill, had bent the knee on their own.

They'd even helped subdue Ludwig's loyalists.

"L-Lady, no, Your Highness! Just give the order!"

They were annoyingly sycophantic.

In any case, after a surprisingly anticlimactic and violent process, the mansion's outer guards had all fallen under my control.

The butler had been completely unaware.

'That's why he could act so brazenly defiant.'

On my command, the mercenary pinned Polman flat to the floor.

I used the tip of my shoe to lift his chin, forcing him to look up at me. His flushed face was dyed with humiliation.

Polman finally seemed ready to listen. Now.

"Everything you said was wrong. Every single word. Polman."

"Wh-what...!"

"First, the form of address was wrong. Not 'lady,' but 'Crown Princess Highness.'"

Of course, it wasn't official yet, but right now, I needed to invoke the highest status possible.

A materialistic sort like him would grasp his place faster that way.

"Second, you failed to show proper respect even upon seeing me, the Crown Princess and head of this house."

That's right. The first thing Polman said upon seeing me wasn't a basic greeting, but where Ludwig was.

And telling me to hurry and apologize.

'Just how much did he look down on me?'

I knew, yet fresh rage surged.

'He really saw me as a gullible fool.'

With the engagement broken, I figured the vassals and servants would at least play both sides between Ludwig and me.

But I'd overestimated their intelligence.

To them, I was still the 'foolish Lady Hilia,' perfect to deceive and exploit.

People like this don't grasp a changed reality until they feel it on their skin.

Polman was perfect as an example.

"Third, you ignored the orders I sent via palace servant, forcing me to come in person."

My efforts to speak as sternly and coldly as possible seemed to be working.

Polman appeared to finally grasp the situation a little.

Fear showed on his face for the first time, overtaking the humiliation and anger.

"I-I, uh, made a small mistake. Lady. No, Your Highness. B-but the orders from yesterday should be directed at His Highness the Grand Duke, not me. What authority do I have?"

I sighed.

"I didn't expect you'd quit your butler post on your own before I even fired you."

"What do you mean?! Fire me? No, quit?!"

I looked down at him like vermin and spat.

"Can someone who needs an outsider's permission to handle the Delphin family's internal affairs truly be called a butler?"

"Th-that's...!"

He had nothing to say.

To begin with, Ludwig had wielded authority in the Delphin mansion only because he was my fiancé.

Now that the marriage was off, he had no rights here.

I left the subdued butler and ordered the mercenaries.

"Fully secure the interior of the mansion."

Then, glaring straight at the butler, I commanded them further.

"And go to the butler's bedroom. Smash all the tiles under the bed and bring everything there."

Polman's eyes widened like saucers as he squirmed.

He shouted in panic but bit his tongue and clamped his mouth shut.

"Uh, gah! How...?"

The reason was simple. What I'd told them to retrieve was the slush fund Polman had siphoned off and the ledgers recording his corruption.

'How did she know about that?!'

His terrified eyes screamed it.

I merely smiled coldly.