Volume 1 Chapter 57 Mean Villainess, Drowning in Sorrow
"Ah, Ms. Elena... is something the matter?"
Flora burst into the classroom, calling my name, but she seemed to sense the gloomy aura I was giving off and froze, tilting her head in confusion.
"Listen, Flora. No one believes my story."
As I muttered, covering my face with my hands, Flora finally moved and sat down on a nearby chair.
"What's the story about?"
"It's about Rolus... he's gone."
"What? Mr. Rolus is gone?"
I peeked at Flora's expression through my fingers, and she had her eyes wide open in surprise.
This reaction was the same as Leve, Rudger, Ms. Natalia, Ms. Parsley, and Mr. Persel──everyone had the same look of disbelief.
"Gone? What do you mean by that?"
"He quit."
"Quit? You mean Mr. Rolus quit?"
Yes, Rolus had resigned from his position as an attendant.
I didn't know the reason or when it happened because he left without telling me.
"And no one believes this story?"
Flora's question was directed more at Leve, who was standing nearby, rather than me.
It seemed like she was asking why they didn't believe me.
"Leve didn't believe me either."
"But, why would Rolus quit on his own...?"
"I heard he said he wanted to quit, and I don't want to believe it either, but he's really gone. It must be because he got tired of me. I was always so mean to him."
"Huh?"
"What do you mean, 'Huh?' Leve?"
"I didn't say that."
"Yes, you did just now. 'Huh?'"
"That was a hiccup."
"Do you get strange hiccups like that?"
"Yeah, sometimes I do."
"You don't have them now, though."
"I can stop them easily. Actually, I'm a master at stopping hiccups."
"I've known about Leve for a long time, but I've never heard of that."
"When you get as old as me, you can stop hiccups before they even start. That's why even Elena, my childhood friend, has never heard of it. This time, it just slipped out."
"We don't have time for silly talk like this, Leve! We have a serious situation on our hands."
"I guess not."
Leve was probably trying to distract me with his silly story.
But no matter how he wriggles, my heart won't be lifted.
"It's sad that Mr. Rolus is gone, isn't it, Ms. Elena..."
"Sad? More like worried. I'm worried about him."
I mean, his family is in a complicated situation, and even if we knew where they are now, they're not the type to be relied upon.
And yet Rolus left our home, and now I wonder where he could have gone.
I tried writing a letter to my father, but he didn't know of Rolus' whereabouts either.
"But would that worrywart Rolus just leave Elena behind and go somewhere?"
Rudger interrupted the conversation.
"I think so too. Rolus would always say 'please look after Lady' whenever something came up. But this time, he didn't say anything. This is the time he should've asked for help."
"That's right," Leve chimed in.
This time, Rolus definitely left without telling anyone else.
Only Mother knew he was leaving.
He didn't even tell Elder Brother or me; he only told Mother.
When I heard that, I thought he must have considered it.
Because if it were me or Elder Brother, we would've stopped him for sure, at least temporarily.
But if it's Mother, I figured she'd let him go without stopping him.
And he managed to leave just as he thought.
When I asked Mother why she let him leave, she replied, 'Because he said he wanted to leave.' And when I asked where he went, she simply said, 'Wherever, I guess.' There was no other way, I suppose.
Because she's not on Rolus' side.
"But actually went somewhere."
"Hmm, but Mr. Rolus always put Ms. Elena first, didn't he?"
"Well... I'm not sure. He was my Attendant, so it's possible."
"You mean, he quit for Ms. Elena?"
"If that's the case, I can understand," Flora said, and Rudger nodded in agreement.
"What do you mean, for me? I don't get it, I'll have to ask Rolus... but he's not here!"
"This is getting confusing, Elena."
So, because of me, there might have been a situation where he had to quit.
I'm not sure what I did to cause that, though.
"So, you're saying he might have quit because of me?"
If it's because of me that Rolus is alone...
If it's because of me that Rolus is going hungry...
If it's because of me that Rolus is feeling lonely...
Just thinking about it makes my heart ache.
I have to make Rolus happy.
"Because of Ms. Elena, or rather, for Ms. Elena... There might be something happening to her, and to avoid that... or something?"
"Yeah, that makes sense. That's Rolus for you, he wouldn't quit for some silly reason like getting tired of it."
Rudger nodded at Flora's words, and Leve nodded vigorously.
"That's possible. I don't know what might happen to Elena, but until Rolus returns, we'll protect her."
The conversation seemed to be taking a strange turn.
"I want you to worry about Rolus, not me."
"Of course, we'll find Rolus. Don't worry, we'll meet again."
Leve gently patted my shoulder as he spoke.
Hearing his words, my heart ached again.
I want to see him.
I want to see Rolus.
"Oh, by the way, Flora, it seemed like you came into the classroom calling for Elena, but didn't you have something for her?"
"Ah, Come to think of it, Flora, it seemed like he entered the classroom calling Elena, but didn't Elena have something to do?"
"Ah, that's right. Ms. Elena! I was thinking of returning the book I borrowed!"
I held back the tears that welled up, and I lifted my face.
"Are you done reading already?"
"Yes! It's such a great story, I read it in one go! Lady Ruby is so cool!"
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