The Villain's Sickly Wife Dislikes Being Overprotected - Chapter 3.10

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The expressions of the staff who had been badmouthing me were quite a sight to see. They had turned as white as if they’d seen a ghost.

“Hello?”

Despite my greeting, there was no response.

“You were speaking so well earlier, why are you silent now?”

“……”

The two staff members opened and closed their mouths, but in the end, couldn’t say anything. I suppose they knew they had made a big mistake, even by their own standards.

That they knew it themselves made me even angrier.

“D-did you hear everything?”

The one who asked me was Allis. Her face had turned just as pale as the staff’s.

“Yes.”

I nodded simply.

“And I agree with what you said, Allis.”

“Pardon?”

“If they didn’t like my kindness, they shouldn’t have used this room.”

My gaze shifted from Allis to the two staff members.

“You must have been sick of scrubbing the bathroom twice in one day, so there’s no need to use this room.”

“W-we were just having a very difficult day today…”

“It was a mistake, Madam.”

“A mistake?”

“We made a mistake because we were tired.”

The two lowered their eyes before me. Seeing this, I couldn’t help but laugh sarcastically. After all that gossiping, now they’re trying to pass it off as a mistake?

“You think I’m pretending to be nice, so you expect me to let it slide now too?”

“……”

The staff, realizing I had heard all of their gossip from the beginning, had their expressions completely distorted.

“What should we do? Your prediction was wrong. I have no desire to look good to anyone, so I don’t need to pretend to be merciful right now. Contrary to what you think, I don’t want to impress my husband.”

“……”

“Since you seem to dislike me, it would be better if one of us left this hotel. But I’ve already paid for my stay, so it should be you who leaves, right?”

“……”

“How about it? Why don’t you disappear from here right now?”

Of course, outside, snow was piled up to the waist and a blizzard was raging. I knew this when I said it.

“Or I could call the hotel owner.”

One of the staff who had been keeping their gaze down suddenly looked up. It seems they fear their employer more than me.

“T-that…”

“I’m a paying guest at this hotel, and you’re here to help ensure my comfortable stay. If you’ve been paid, you should have done your job properly. Do you think listening to gossip about me constitutes a comfortable stay?”

“But it was our break time…”

One of them mumbled in a small voice. Is this what they call a rebuttal?

“Being on break doesn’t mean you can badmouth others. And let me make this clear, I haven’t lived a life that you can casually look down upon.”

“……”

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t judge me so carelessly, talking about my character and such.”

I turned my gaze to Allis.

“Allis, go and bring the hotel owner here.”

The two staff members’ eyes widened.

“Duchess!”

“Madam, I have young children!”

It’s too late for attempts to evoke sympathy.

Although Allis looked flustered, she left to bring the hotel owner as I instructed.

“Duchess! If we get fired now, we won’t even be able to get food for our families… Please, with your generous heart…”

I was too tired to listen to their pleas. While they complained about being tired and gossiping about me, I was trapped in this building with no other way to relieve stress.

Moreover, my head had been heavy for a while, and the headache was getting worse as time passed. I wanted to quickly resolve this situation by calling the hotel owner and then rest.

“If you’ve been caught once, you shouldn’t do it twice. Did you think you’d get away with it this time too? Too bad, now you’re trapped in my room and can’t escape.”

Their faces contorted at my words.

“Duchess, you called for me.”

Fortunately, the owner appeared quickly. He walked into the room.

“You should train your staff better in the future.”

“Has there been an unpleasant incident?”

“There has. I had to hear gossip about me with my own ears. Twice, in fact.”

“Pardon…? Gossip?”

The hotel owner’s eyes wavered. He must be quite surprised.

“These two people gossiped about me.”

The owner’s eyes turned sharp as he looked at the two staff members.

“If this is how your staff is trained, I won’t be visiting this hotel again. I might have business in Pierce again, but I’ll probably choose different accommodations.”

“I apologize, Duchess. It’s my fault for not managing the staff properly.”

At least the hotel owner wasn’t as foolish as the staff. He was a quick judge of the situation and immediately bowed to me in apology.

“What are you doing? Apologize immediately!”

He also shouted at the staff who were standing stiffly.

The three of them bowed before me, but it didn’t change anything. Perhaps because I had already heard them say they didn’t want to bow and scrape.

“I don’t need apologies. Staff who aren’t prepared to serve guests shouldn’t be working openly.”

I pressed my forehead. The headache was getting worse.

“Unprepared staff, you say. Then they should be dismissed.”

I turned my head at the voice. It was Kyron. He must have heard the commotion.

Kyron approached and spoke to me in a low voice.

“Are you unwell?”

He must have noticed me holding my head due to the headache.

“I’m fine.”

“Really?”

“Yes, I must be tired.”

Kyron, who had been looking at me with suspicious eyes, soon turned his gaze to the hotel owner.

“We might have to stay here for a few more days, unable to leave. How can we have poorly trained staff?”

Kyron spoke to the owner with fierce eyes. His following conclusion was concise.

“Throw them out.”

For a brief moment, the owner looked back and forth between Kyron and the staff. He must have sensed that this wouldn’t be easily resolved.

By now, many staff and servants who had come to watch the commotion had gathered around us.

“Your Grace, we were just chatting during our break time. Aren’t we free to talk about anything during our break?”

One of the staff who had been gossiping about me came forward with a rather bold attitude. Is this their last attempt at an excuse? How can they be so brazen when there’s a witness who heard their conversation?

Kyron, seemingly not wanting to deal with foolish staff either, sighed.

“True, I shouldn’t care what you talk about during your break time. It’s not during work hours.”

At Kyron’s response, I quickly turned my head to look at him. Is he siding with these staff members now?

The two staff members’ faces brightened as if they had found hope.

“But it’s a different story when it’s gossip about my wife.”

Immediately, the staff members’ faces hardened.

“My wife is a Duchess. You shouldn’t even dare to look at her carelessly.”

The number of onlookers was increasing. Everyone was watching the situation with wide eyes.

“Such foolishness, to run your mouths recklessly and then expect forgiveness.”

Kyron raised one corner of his mouth as if mocking them.

“You will not escape punishment.”

At his words, the onlookers exchanged glances. Judging by their surprised looks, it seems no one expected him to go this far for my sake.