(Chapter 24) Two Butlers
Finally, Louise didn't pester Anna too much and left with a satisfied expression.
In this regard, Louise surprisingly seemed like a child. If no one mentioned it, probably no one would know that she had already become an adult.
Next up... the "vase" incident, right?
The simulator allowed browsing past simulation records, but since each simulation's ending could spike her blood pressure, Anna had never looked through the previous records.
But this time, she had to take a look.
Spending a considerable amount of time carefully reviewing past simulation records, while ignoring the descriptions that could make her blush, Anna categorized and summarized the descriptions related to the incident she referred to as the "vase" that might happen tonight.
The first possibly related description appeared when she heard a noise while sleeping, but she didn't go out to check.
And since this incident seemed unrelated to subsequent developments, Anna had forgotten about it.
The second description provided more details, directly depicting her being woken up and going out to investigate, then encountering the butler and a few maids who had broken a vase.
Moreover, at the end, she felt a familiar malice.
Currently, it seemed the butler wasn't a suspect, as in the previous simulation, wasn't it an old butler who locked her in the room, leading to some incidents with Louise...
...
...Old butler? Butler?
Anna revisited the previous simulation records and, in the deeply memorable "Bloody End" simulation, she saw the simple title of the person who locked her in the room.
"Old butler"
Previously, Anna had thought these two titles referred to the same person, but now, with time to think, she remembered something.
In the households of high-ranking nobles, there could be more than one butler.
Generally, a noble household would have one butler to manage the estate and daily affairs, a servant of relatively high status.
But in the households of major nobles, there was usually also a housekeeper, responsible for leading all the maids, managing cooking, and laundry. In the Empire, such a housekeeper was usually called a "Head Maid," but in the Kingdom of Rianved, they were more commonly referred to as butlers, as this title was more satisfying, similar to how deputy and chief magistrates in Rianved were generally referred to as magistrates.
So... does Louise's household have two butlers?
...Doesn't that mean both are suspects?
Originally, having one less suspect would have made it easier to figure out who harbored such malice towards her and was following her, but now there's one more person to investigate...
Lying in bed, Anna felt her mind was a mess, but then she suddenly noticed the simulator's cooldown had ended.
Did reviewing the simulation records take up so much of my time?
Might as well start a simulation now to see what unfolds next and try to avoid any pitfalls...
"Ding..."
A very subtle sound from outside the room reached Anna, who was still wide awake.
Anna perked up her ears, cautiously moved to the door, but instead of opening it, she pressed her ear against the door.
She could still hear the faint sound of something colliding with a crisp item, as if someone was fiddling with something?
"Butler?"
At that moment, Anna suddenly heard a female voice from afar.
"Bang... thud!"
Then, a loud noise erupted, startling the already tense Anna.
The noise was loud enough to wake her up. Could it be the vase being broken?
"You! And you all! Come here!"
The person at the door shouted with some annoyance for those further away to come over, and combined with the earlier title...
Was the butler at the door secretly messing with something?
Anna had some thoughts forming, paused for a moment, then pretended to be drowsy.
"What's going on?"
Opening the door, Anna rubbed her eyes.
"Lady Garland?" The person at the door was clearly startled to see Anna open the door and quickly stepped forward, "I'm very sorry to disturb your sleep..."
"So, what happened?"
In the time it took to pretend to get out of bed and walk to the door, the maids called by the butler had already stood behind her, seemingly uneasy and staring at Anna.
While pretending to be drowsy, Anna also scrutinized the butler in front of her.
This butler wasn't very old, appearing to be in her twenties, quite beautiful in appearance, and dressed not in a maid's outfit but in a butler's uniform, very fitting for her position.
This confirmed that the old butler wasn't the butler.
"It's like this, while cleaning, we accidentally broke a vase, and we're very sorry to have disturbed your sleep..." The butler, as in the simulation, apologized with a low posture, then looked back at the maids behind her.
"We're very sorry to have disturbed your sleep!" The maids, sensing their superior's gaze, all bowed in apology to Anna.
"...It's alright." Anna quietly counted the people present, including the butler, there were five, so the collective apology bow was quite orderly.
"I'm just a guest, I have no right to scold you, but please be more careful." Anna simply put on a noble air, then slightly bowed, "Then, don't worry about me, please continue with your duties."
"Yes, we won't disturb you again, Lady Garland."
The butler seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, repeatedly bowing to Anna, the frequency so high it didn't seem like someone from the Kingdom of Rianved.
Anna just slightly turned, and that familiar malice was already directed at her.
Her rare keen intuition surfaced again, and Anna clearly felt who was emitting this malice.
As expected.
Completely turning around, Anna walked into the guest room and closed the door.
"So, it's the butler after all."
Leaning lightly against the door, standing in the dim room, Anna pondered.
Why was this butler following her? What was she setting up at the door just now?
The first question was still unclear, but the second... maybe it could be answered now?
Thinking this, Anna started the simulation.
[Simulation begins]