“Yes. Overall, it feels much more organized and tidy. Thank you.”

Eric looked genuinely shocked.

“Organized and tidy…! I have created an aesthetically beautiful structure. Now, no noble would dare to find fault with it!”

I blinked.

“Did someone find fault?”

“……”

Seeing him avoid my gaze, something must have happened.

“Eric.”

When I called his name in a firm tone, Eric sighed and pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket.

“Take a look.”

I tilted my head as I took out the paper. Did someone write down their complaints and pass them along?

‘……’

I was momentarily at a loss for words.

‘This is a bad review!’

It was an editorial from a local newspaper I had never seen before, stating that they had visited the recently famous <Cafe Aria>, and while the food was passable and the service was decent, the disharmonious interior kept distracting them.

“You went through all this trouble since morning just because of this?”

“I merely did what should have been done long ago.”

Eric replied grumpily.

“I had been thinking I should fix it anyway, so don’t worry too much about it.”

“Thank you.”

I smiled gently. Eric might have a prickly personality, but it seemed he was a person with a sense of responsibility. After all, it’s not easy to come to work at a cafe that has nothing to do with you every morning and do unpaid labor. He even reorganized the cafe’s furnishings, paying attention to criticism that even I, the owner, didn’t know about.

‘Well, not just anyone could be the butler of the Duke’s mansion.’

I quickly checked the clock. Fifteen minutes left. Since Eric had bustled about and finished cleaning as well, we had a moment of leisure before customers started pouring in.

“Would you like a cup of coffee?”

“Th-thank you.”

Eric looked confused but didn’t refuse the coffee. Just as I was about to bring out two cups of coffee for him and me, and a warm cocoa for Elodie, the door burst open even though it wasn’t opening time yet.

‘……?’

I put down the tray and opened my eyes wide. The man with reddish eyes half-hidden under wind-tousled hair, breathing heavily, was… undoubtedly Duke Baniche, who was supposed to return from his inspection tour only after another week.

“Your Grace!”

Eric jumped up in surprise. Theodore Baniche strode into the cafe, glaring at him.

“……Head Butler.”

He was the Head Butler!?

I was so surprised that I opened and closed my mouth.

‘Isn’t he too young to be a Head Butler……?’

Of course, Eric, who appeared to be in his mid-forties, was by no means young, but typically the position of Head Butler was an honorary role given to a butler just before retirement. Was he angry to find such a valuable talent working at a cafe and came here because of that?

“I’ve heard enough reports about what kind of disrespect you showed to Miss Bertin here.”

I stared at him blankly. The situation was unfolding completely differently from what I had expected. Head Butler Eric hadn’t laid a finger on Elodie. If anything, he had been overly hospitable.

Then the Duke’s anger was purely because of his rudeness towards me… While I was lost in thought, Duke Baniche continued speaking.

“Didn’t I tell you beforehand that Miss Bertin was Elodie’s guardian? I told you myself.”

Eric’s face was turning increasingly pale.

“That… I thought it meant something else. I couldn’t imagine that a commoner could be the real guardian of a noble young lady…”

“Something else.”

Theodore’s eyes narrowed.

“It seems the Head Butler thinks my words are nonsense.”

“N-no! I apologize, Your Grace. I certainly didn’t mean to take your words lightly. It was just a momentary misunderstanding…”

“I don’t think I’m the one you should be apologizing to.”

Duke Baniche said in a stiff voice. Eric glanced at me quickly, then turned his gaze back to the Duke.

“It seems the Head Butler has been getting away with his problems like this all along. This probably isn’t the first time, is it?”

Eric was now so tense it was almost pitiful.

‘Hmm.’

I glanced at him sideways. I could see cold sweat beading on his temples.

‘What should I do.’

Of course, Eric was in the wrong. So much so that I had left the Duke’s mansion with Elodie without any hesitation. But without him, the success of <Cafe Aria> would have been uncertain, so it could be said that he had been of great help.

Yet, is it okay to keep letting the Duke’s boiling anger continue?

As I was pondering, Duke Baniche’s words continued. And they intensified.

“I can’t keep someone like the Head Butler in my house any longer.”

In his red eyes, an emotion similar to burning flames was swirling.

“Especially considering it will be Elodie’s home in the future.”

As he took a step forward, Theodore’s gaze shifted to me.

“Your Grace, may I say something as the person concerned?”

Surprisingly, Duke Baniche didn’t object to my words.

“……If that’s what Miss Bertin wishes.”

Was it his way of being considerate? The Duke stepped back, allowing me to speak directly to Eric.

“Eric.”

As I called his name, the Duke’s eyes sharpened. I shrugged. What, am I supposed to call Eric ‘Head Butler’ even though I’m not an employee of the Duke’s mansion?

He might be the Head Butler at the Duke’s mansion, but in the cafe, he’s just an employee following my instructions.

“You’ve known Elodie much longer than I have, right?”

“Yes.”

A pained expression flashed across Eric’s face.

“She must have had a nanny back then too.”

“That’s correct.”

“Did you treat the other nannies the same way you first treated me?”

“That… well.”

Eric was momentarily at a loss for words.

‘I thought so.’

I shook my head.

“I don’t think you did. If you had, you wouldn’t still be in the position of Head Butler.”

They say that before Elodie disappeared, Duke Baniche was the epitome of a perfect nobleman. Such a person wouldn’t have left a Head Butler who looked down on the servants, especially the nannies closest to Elodie, unchecked. In other words, Eric’s condescension must have stemmed from hostility towards me as a person, not towards nannies.

“The reason you were particularly hostile towards me… was Elodie, wasn’t it?”

Surprisingly, Eric nodded without hesitation.

“I won’t make excuses. I thought you were unsuitable for Miss Elodie, and I judged that you should be separated from her as soon as possible.”

Elodie’s face began to turn pale. At the same time, Duke Baniche glared at Eric with eyes that looked like they could easily kill two or three people.

I bit my lip. While it was welcome that Eric had shared his honest feelings in front of Duke Baniche, I couldn’t help but feel uneasy thinking about the shock Elodie must have received.

‘Still, it’s not too late.’

I held Elodie’s hand tightly. It pained me to feel her clinging to my hand.

“What do you think now?”

Eric’s answer came somewhat slowly.

“……I understand why His Grace chose this person as the young lady’s guardian. I was trapped in foolish preconceptions and failed to see Miss Bertin’s true worth. I sincerely apologize.”

Can we really trust these words? My intuition said ‘yes’. The Eric I had observed so far was a person devoted to his duties and with a strong sense of responsibility. In other words, if he felt he owed me a heavy debt, he would try to repay it in some way.

‘And even if, by chance, things don’t go as I think…’

Duke Baniche’s view of Eric was already skewed. I could use that fact to make him receive a much heavier punishment. He would probably be banished to a place where neither Elodie nor I would ever see him again. But for now…

“I’m glad.”

I answered gently.

“I didn’t want to keep being disliked by someone like you, Eric.”

Eric’s eyes widened. It was the reaction I wanted.

“Does that mean……”

“Yes.”

I nodded.

“I forgive you.”

“Miss Bertin…!”

Before Eric could take a step towards me with a face full of emotion, Duke Baniche turned to me.

“Is this really enough for you?”