Head Butler of the Fallen Villainess-Chapter 76 - 16th Days (6) | Hospitality 101 (1)

Night had fallen once again on Anastasia’s walled region.

However, the current four denizens of this region had not yet retired to rest—quite wide awake—not just from the surprising news of their very first visitor to this desolate land...

But also…

Two of them had spent almost all day sleeping through it—missing out not just on breakfast and lunch, but even their duty as supposed ’loyal servants’ of Lady Anastasia.

And now, all four of them had gathered in the central firepit...

With those two ’slackers’ being thoroughly scolded by their mistress.

Under the dim light of the campfire, two figures knelt before Anastasia—heads bowed low, faces heavy with shame.

The knight, Martha, and the maid, Bella, both wore expressions that could only be described as defeated, their usual liveliness nowhere to be found.

And looming over them was their mistress—Anastasia.

Arms crossed under her chest, the redhead exuded an aura of authority that made the air feel... heavier, with an almost faint crimson-red glow surrounding her very figure...!

Sebas, standing off to the side, raised an eyebrow at the ominous sight.

Fortunately, after a quick check, he’d confirmed the aura wasn’t anything dangerous—the likes that he would have to step in and intervene immediately—

But this was just a ’normal’-ish aura that was a result of their mistress being thoroughly pissed off.

Which, honestly, was almost as bad.

Martha shifted uncomfortably under the weight of Anastasia’s stare, while Bella’s shoulders slumped even further—both clearly regretting their decision to sleep through the day.

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The butler, again, was watching this scene unfold... and he felt a small twinge of guilt.

With a quiet sigh, he stepped forward.

"Lady Ana, forgive me, but… cut them some slack, will you? It’s not entirely their fault they overslept. I mean… I might’ve gone a bit overboard making those luxurious beds, you know."

"S-Sir Butler...!"

"M-M-Mr. Head Butler...!"

At this, both Martha and Bella perked up ever so slightly, their eyes shining with desperate hope directed at their head butler, clinging to his words as if they might somehow save them from further scolding—

But Anastasia, without missing a beat, shot Sebas a sharp look.

"Don’t try to cover for these slackers, Sir Sebas," she said flatly, directing her stare filled with cold authority to him. "Comfortable bed or not, they’re the ones who decided to slack off and ignore their duties."

"...Sure, I guess," Sebas replied, raising his hands in mock surrender. With a slight shrug, he added silently to the two kneeling figures—’I tried.’

Anastasia’s frown deepened as she returned her gaze to the two offenders.

"I expected more from you both," she said, her voice was... cold and unwavering. "As my only knight and maid in this entire region, you should have better control over your impulses—or at the very least, the basic sense to prioritize your duties."

Sebas chuckled quietly to himself, shaking his head. ’You would’ve been the same as them if I didn’t wake you up, my lady.’

Realizing that this lecture wasn’t going to end anytime soon, Sebas decided to actually step in—before the two unfortunate aides melted into puddles of shame.

"Ahem." He cleared his throat, drawing everyone’s attention. "If I may interrupt, Lady Ana—perhaps we should focus on the reason we’ve gathered here tonight... shouldn’t we?"

Anastasia’s eyes shot back to the butler, directing her anger to the smiling butler once more with a look that screamed ’You dare interrupt me again?’

Unfortunately for this mistress, her intimidating glare wasn’t exactly effective against him... as per usual, and in fact, it only amused him rather than anything.

And after an ’intense’ staring contest between the two...

The fierce aura that had been emitting from Anastasia finally died down. She let out a sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"...Fine."

"Thank you, my lady."

"H-Head Butler...!" Both the knight and maid murmured in unison; gratitude glimmered in their eyes for their head butler’s effort to ease their mistress’s wrath, and now, they were able to let out a sigh of relief.

Seizing the opportunity, Sebas retrieved the usual chalkboard to their attention, bringing it close enough so that the light from the firepit would illuminate the surface of the board.

And now, with chalk that he pulled out from his trusty butler’s coat, he tapped the chalkboard a few times to really get their attention.

"Now then," he said smoothly, the faintest smile tugging at his lips, "let’s discuss the next step in developing Lady Ana’s land."

With practiced ease, Sebas raised the chalk to the board and, in neat strokes, wrote down the first matter of concern:

’Visitors and Future Citizens.’

"Before we begin... I would like to remind you ladies once more... that we have just gotten our first visitor~."

In contrast to Sebas’s cheerful tone, both Martha and Bella instead stiffened—shoulders going rigid as the tension crept back into their forms.

The first visitor to Lady Anastasia’s region—a female adventurer known as The Sonic Thief, Vivian.

They’d learned about this visitor from their head butler when he woke them up...

Only to find out that they’d missed her entirely AND that the sun was already on the horizon—sinking, instead of rising like it would in the morning.

Nevertheless, the very first person to ever grace their mistress’s land... and they both had missed her because of their sleeping blunder.

They would have to be more careful next time...

But, beyond missing the opportunity to meet this person directly, they both had their own concerns over the very individual herself...

Being that this solo female adventurer was none other than an S-Rank adventurer.

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"To think… an S-Rank adventurer would be the first to step foot here," Martha muttered, her tone grim, as though the weight of those words alone was enough to sink her spirit further. "And a solo adventurer at that…"

"S-S-Rank...!" Bella echoed, her voice barely above a whisper before she shook her head in disbelief. "Y-you just don’t see them every day—! I-I mean—there are only a few dozen in all of Florentia, right? A-a-and yet... one of them just happened to show up here...?"

A rare existence, for sure—almost divine-like...!

S-Rank adventurers were as rare as they came, their numbers barely making up one percent of the entire adventurer registry in Florentia.

However small their numbers were... their very presence alone was worth 10—no, nearly 100 times more than even the average A-Ranker.

And it wasn’t just power alone—the criteria to be recognized as S-Rank by the Adventurer’s Guild were notoriously strict, with only those who possessed overwhelming strength or exceptional skill ever reaching such heights.

For someone of that caliber to arrive at this isolated region... to this godforsaken corner of the kingdom... was nothing short of extraordinary.

"...W-well, I guess it sorta makes sense, doesn’t it...?" Bella mumbled, fidgeting with the hem of her apron.

"Makes sense?" Martha raised an eyebrow. "How so, Bella...?"

"I-I mean... uh, no sane person would ever step foot in this place unless they were, you know... ridiculously strong or something...! W-who else would even bother coming all the way out here…?"

"Bella, you..." the knight gave her a long, incredulous stare. "...You do realize you just called the four of us insane, right?"

"H-huh—?! N-n-no! T-that’s not what I meant, Miss Martha...!"

While these exchanges continued between the two aides...

Their mistress... Anastasia’s gaze flicked—ever so subtly—toward Sebas.

She threw a glance laced... with a quiet knowing.

A strong belief that this butler of hers was among those extremely rare existences that had ever graced Florentia... even if he himself had not yet confirmed or denied her suspicions toward him before.

And the butler himself?

As if perfectly in tune with her unspoken thoughts, he merely raised an eyebrow in mild amusement—lips tugging into the faintest hint of a smirk.

"..."

This, though, only served to further annoy the young noblewoman, a pout forming on her small lips because of his indifference.

Still, she said nothing... as if she still had some semblance of respect for the butler’s wish to remain... anonymous.

Sebas let the moment pass before he clapped his hands softly, pulling their focus back to him.

"Let’s get back to the point, ladies," he continued smoothly, "it’s not just S-Rank adventurers we need to think about. What matters now... is how we plan to handle any future visitors AND potential residents to this place—be they high-ranked adventurers or, more importantly, regular civilians."

He gestured toward the board again, drawing a crisp underline beneath the topic.

"If we want any hope of developing this land," he said, his tone taking on a sharper edge, "we’ll need more than just the four of us, you know."

He tapped the chalk lightly against the board, casting a glance at the three women—each holding a nervous lump in their throat as they waited for his explanation.

"Farmers, laborers, craftsmen, merchants... actual people who can breathe life into this place... or, to be more precise—we need more human life here. Unless, of course, you ladies are content living a solitary life without outside interference, that is~."

His joke, though light-hearted, carried an unsettling truth.

"But before any of that," Sebas continued smoothly, resting the chalk against the board’s edge, "we need to decide how to welcome anyone willing to enter Lady Ana’s region. ’Cause if we make the wrong impression... they’ll never want to visit this place again."

His gaze lingered on each of them in turn, his voice calm but deliberate.

"So… everyone, how do you propose we welcome future visitors?"