Albert the butler
Adelaide held her breath as she stared at the man, waiting for his reaction.
"That is fine too. Anyways, get some rest. I have some work to take care of," the man's unchanged facial expression made Adelaide unsure if he was alright with her using such an overly familiar term with him.
'But there is no rebuttal.'
Adelaide clenched her tiny fists together, trying not to lose hope.
There was no mention in the book about the dynamics of the Duke's family other than the villain was loved by his family and hence, the reason why they supported him and covered up his crimes. There was not a word about the other members of the Duke's family or their relationship with each other.
Adelaide has already confirmed that the Duke and his daughter's relationship was not that bad. It wasn't as if the Duke loathed his daughter so there is still something she could work with.
'I'll have to call him Daddy from now on.'
Somehow, the thought of it makes Adelaide's face flush in embarrassment. She has never called anyone 'Father' let alone 'Daddy'. She lightly fanned herself as she tried to shake off the embarrassment. She dug her own grave by calling him 'Daddy' and now she has to lie in it.
Now that the maids who were bullying her are fired and her father is aware that his daughter has been mistreated, Adelaide could finally recover from her injuries in peace. She is still young, probably around 4 or 5. Her brother, Leon, should be around the same age as her.
If she were to follow the storyline, her family would only be executed when Leon is 25. That means that she still has time to live a little.
The butler worked quickly, hiring new maids to replace the old maids. Albert has worked for the Duke ever since he took over the title from his father and knew the Duke's personality well but it seems like he has made a mistake regarding the young lady.
Albert quickly went through the list of employees and swiftly put a tick beside the names of those who have mistreated the young lady in the past. As the butler to the Avington House, it would be a joke if he were to not know the happenings of the household he is in charge of. He was then about to pass the list to the head maid but then he forgot that the head maid is also on the list of the fired maids.
Chuckling to himself, he shook his head at his mistake. It seems like he has truly grown old. Albert gathered the maids and announced the Duke's decision of firing them and had the guards escort the fired maids out of the household. They were extremely unhappy about the Duke's decision, especially the head maid. She had threatened Albert that she would report all of these to Lady Rosabella.
Albert sighed at their pathetic faces. He quickly settled the admin matters and hurried over to the young lady's room. Straightening himself before knocking, he asked for permission to enter. It has been a long time since he used the proper etiquette with the young lady.
"Lady Adelaide, it's Albert. May I enter?"
"What is it?" The young lady's voice came behind the sturdy wooden doors.
"I am here to collect the prescription that the doctor left behind," Albert hid his surprise and answered steadily. He did not expect the young lady to not let him in immediately. Was the young lady always like this towards him?
"Come in then."
Albert opened the doors and entered the young lady's room. He bowed towards her respectfully and waited for her to acknowledge him before he straightened his back.
Adelaide stared at the butler's new attitude towards her and could not help but sneer in her heart. The moment he sees that the Duke is paying attention to his daughter, his attitude towards her changes 180 degrees.
Seeing his face has also brought up some unpleasant memories. Adelaide narrowed her eyes at the man before him.
"The doctor left it on the table," she told Albert.
"Understood, I will inform the kitchen to brew it and serve it according to the timing noted on the prescription." Albert smiled professionally and took up the slip of paper on the table left behind by the doctor. Reading it briefly, he noted to himself the timings that the young lady needs to have her medicine and was prepared to leave the room when his meticulous eyes narrowed at his fingers.
As a butler, he is dressed in a black vest and white shirt, black pants, and white gloves. Albert picked up the piece of paper with his right hand and his eyes sharpened at the grey that appeared at the places where his fingers came into contact with the table.
Turning his glare to the said table, he saw the layer of dust on the table that has accumulated over time.
'What a mess.'
But it was no surprise. Given the way the young lady was treated in the household, it would be surprising if she was even given food. As a butler, he should not have ignored the needs of the young lady and leave everything to the head maid while knowing how the maids were treating her. In the end, if the Duke wants to blame someone, it would be the butler who was left in charge when the Duke was away.
Albert surveyed the room and noted down all of the furniture that requires change and maintenance before turning to the young lady. Bowing slightly, he informed the young lady of all the changes that he plans to make to her room. Albert thought that the young lady would be ecstatic. Her father is finally paying attention to her and the butler is renovating her room. She should be extremely delighted, arrogant even, that her rightful status as the young lady of the Avington household has returned.
"There is no need."
The young lady's cold words shocked Albert. He looked up from his bow into the eyes of the young lady. When he met her young eyes, Albert broke out in cold sweat.
Are those really the eyes of a 5-year-old child?
Her eyes were sneering at him as if he was a pathetic human being. It was as though she was watching a funny show, him being one of the actors in the show and she was laughing at how poor his acting was.
"Young Lady?" Albert tried to hide his unease behind his smile but seeing that the young lady's eyes, he knew that he wasn't able to hide it well.
"Albert, I know that you are busy with your work since Daddy has just fired almost everyone in the household. There is no need for you to be concerned with such trifles," Adelaide smiled at the butler and Albert felt shivers down his spine.
It was a smile that children give to adults when they give them candy. The smile that says "no thank you" on the outside and "I know you are a bad person" on the inside.
"Surely you jest, young lady. This room is not fit for the young lady to live in, there is so much dust and broken furniture in here. The young lady could hurt yourself," Albert tried to appease the young lady.
It was obvious she was displeased but she was not showing her displeasure the way children do, such as throwing a tantrum or crying. Lady Rosabella did emphasize that young lady Adelaide is extremely hard to handle due to her tantrums and hence why she was always disciplined.
Looking at the young lady now, there was no sign of a child. Rather, it looked like a proper aristocratic lady staring down at him. A master staring down at his servant who has not performed his tasks properly.
"I wasn't aware that Mr. Butler was ever concerned about my well-being," Adelaide drawled.
"Young lady, please just call me Albert. If I have ever offended you, I beg for your forgiveness." Albert thought that the young lady must have been angry with him for the past and decided to just ask for forgiveness. Most nobles will be graceful and forgive their servants for their mistakes because being a noble is to be merciful.
But Adelaide was not a noble from this world.
"Mr. Butler seems to have some misunderstanding. Adelaide is not angry at Mr. Butler. Adelaide just hopes that Mr. Butler would drop the act and not bother with Adelaide when there is nothing important. Just like how it was before," Adelaide talked in a child-like voice, taunting him, before returning back to normal.
"Let's not have anything to do with each other, shall we? Unless it's something important, I won't bother you either. I hope you can do the same, do you understand me?" Adelaide crossed her arms across her chest.
Normally, a child crossing their arms at you would not make you feel frightened.
But Albert was feeling scared of the young lady. He wanted to refute her but could not find any words to do so. He was guilty as charged for ignoring her abuse even though he was aware of it. He listened to the rumors that came from Lady Rosabella and ignored the young lady's plight, allowing her to suffer until now.
Albert was sure the young lady knows that he was trying to compensate for his mistakes, not because he realized he was wrong but because the Duke has started to pay attention to her. It was an act to save himself and the young lady was having none of it. There was nothing he could say in his defense. He could only bow and obey her order.
Yes, it was an order.
Albert could see the Duke in the young lady when she told him to drop his act. He felt that if he did not follow her order, he was going to suffer some serious repercussions. Just like how her father would if it was him uttering the same line.
"My apologies, milady. I understood your instructions," Albert could not feel his legs as he tried to get out of the room. He could not believe that he was intimidated by a 5-year-old, by the meek and weak Adelaide who was abused by Lady Rosabella for the past 3 years. She was totally different as compared to when he went to escort her with the head maid from one of the storage rooms they were locking her in.
Did she change because the Duke is paying attention to her or was it her change that caused the Duke to start paying attention to her?
Albert does not know the answer.
"Get out."
"Yes, milady." Albert bowed and quickly left the room. He did not hear the last words Adelaide muttered to herself.
'How much is your apology worth, Mr. Butler?'