I Reincarnated As A Villainess, But Why Did I Become A Cat Butler Instead? - Chapter 49

Chapter 25.1

There was silence for a moment in the hallway. Outside, there was only the faint chirping of insects in the spring.

After a moment of silence, Sophia swallowed a dry saliva and spoke in a groan.

“Do, do you have any evidence? How dare you drive us down with such fake ledgers without any evidence…!”

She was desperately trying to find a way out.

‘Every time Coco informed me about the information, I kept a thorough inventory check.’

All evidence was collected.

Nevertheless, even if I did not have to confirm that, among the people present, they would have known how much embezzlement each other had done. So, seeing that I knew a lot of information accurately, without an inch, they resigned, realizing that there was no point in arguing like Sophia.

The employees, who had come in hopes of going on strike, looked frightened and were at a loss for what to do.

I opened my mouth towards them.

“Now, I want you to stop and leave Blois.”

It was then.

“Madam, that’s not how you handle things.”

Suddenly, Duke Blois’s voice was heard from the other side of the hallway. With silent footsteps, he had already reached quite a distance.

“Duke…?”

I did not know from where he had heard, though he looked displeased.

“No matter how much you delegated personnel authority to the wife, you should have discussed this with me. You seem to have done a bigger job than I expected.”

Sophia rolled her eyes at the voice that seemed to bruise me and looked at the Duke. She must have used her head, wondering if this could have fizzled out since she thought the Duke was neglecting me.

“Master, the wife misunderstood and framed us! It’s clear that she’d never done inventory management before.”

Then, with a pathetic face, she knelt in front of the Duke.

“It has been six years since I have been here, working with loyalty to Blois. Would I have committed embezzlement because I was blinded by small immediate gains, having promised to devote my life to working for Blois?”

Adversarially, she pleaded with tears in her eyes.

“That is not fair. Please investigate and reveal the plight, Your Excellency!”

The Duke stared down at her indifferently and slowly opened his mouth.

“Yes. You said you wanted to work for Blois for the rest of your life.”

“That’s right! I was born and raised here. I’ve been living in Blois since I was very young…!”

“Remembering that, did you act like a mouse in this mansion that was just like your hometown?”

“Yes…?”

Contrary to the sharp content, it seems that Sophia’s cognitive dissonance has occurred in the Duke’s elegant and quiet tone. He then continued to speak in an indifferent tone without even getting angry.

“Catching rats is trivial and boring. I mean, if you just stick your fingernails in, it’ll die on its own. Do you know what it takes to have a really enjoyable hunt?”

The corners of his lips rose long.

“You’ll have to hunt them down when they’re plump and ripe to delightfully play with.”

Then, he chuckled with a mischievous face.

The gaze staring at Sophia as if he was watching an interesting prey made me even feel intimidated.

‘After all, he knew it all and let it go. Did he wait until the sins piled up and then pretend he didn’t know so that he could blast them all at once?’

Cats often trick their prey, playing with it and slowly killing it. They enjoy the terrifying game of losing, missing and driving the prey into a corner, and when the excitement cools down, they will take its life.

Only then did Sophia realize that the Duke of Blois knew everything and cornered her through me.

“Ma, Master…!”

The Duke turned his head away from the trembling Sophie and gazed at me.

“It’s a little disappointing. I thought the wife would do things in a more fun way.”

‘…Did he expect me to punish the employees in a way that befits Rowaine’s notoriety?’

`He shrugged his shoulders and spoke as if he was teaching his disciple to hunt.

“Look carefully. I’ll show you clearly what to do in this case.”

At that moment, he snapped his finger—Snap. Then, as if waiting, several knights approached and grabbed Sophia from both sides. Seeing that, the Duke looked back at everyone who had gathered here and said softly.

“I will hold all employees accountable for the embezzlement of every employee so far and confine Sophia Hersen in the dungeon for the same length of time as she worked for Blois.”

Although his voice was not very loud, there was no one who couldn’t hear him in the hallway, which was as quiet as a dead mouse.

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