The next day, I immediately launched Operation Start.

If you thought about it carefully, the fear and terror the servants felt toward Blake was completely understandable.

“Honestly, he’s a cold-looking handsome man who barely talks.”

And on top of that, rumors were spreading that he had killed an employee at a social club.

To be fair, in a human world with a rigid class system, servants’ lives and rights were often treated lightly by nobles.

Not that Blake was actually that kind of person.

“Still, considering what happened at the social club, they have every reason to be scared.”

It wasn’t really anyone’s fault.

Blake and the servants were simply misunderstanding each other.

The biggest problem was that nobody had any intention of clearing up the misunderstanding.

Why?

I genuinely couldn’t understand it.

If there’s a misunderstanding, shouldn’t you just explain things?

Well, unless there was some benefit to leaving it unresolved.

It wasn’t because I was some endlessly kind-hearted angelic witch either.

The reason this bothered me was because I couldn’t forget the look in Blake’s eyes yesterday.

“You really shouldn’t live your life getting misunderstood like this for no reason.”

Seeing him quietly endure unfair accusations without saying a word felt painfully similar to how he had been described in the original novel.

Even though my memories of the story were fuzzy now, I still remembered one particular line about him.

‘A man who had spent his entire life lonely.’

That was the phrase always attached to Blake Leblanc.

“Anyway, I already know what I need to do first!”

Step one was simple: get out of the room.

I grinned at the firmly shut door.

“Mr. White-Mustache Butler. Are you really going to keep standing guard there?”

I glanced toward Ronald, who had been pretending not to hear me talking to myself for a while now as he stood silently in front of the bedroom door.

“Please understand, Lady Vivian. This is the task assigned to me today.”

“Isn’t your job boring?”

“How could it possibly be? It is an honor to serve you, Lady Vivian.”

Ronald truly was the perfect butler.

Ever since he discovered my true identity, Blake had started summoning Ronald to his bedroom whenever he briefly left the estate.

Naturally, it was to stop me from secretly wandering around.

Looking up at the middle-aged man dressed neatly in a black three-piece suit with his pure white hair slicked back perfectly, I asked:

“Want to go out with me?”

“I would very much like to, however… that may be difficult. Wouldn’t it be better to go out together with the Young Master once he returns?”

“Nope. I’m going out now because I have something important to do.”

At the words something important, Ronald narrowed his eyes slightly.

He clearly looked unconvinced that a teddy bear could possibly have important business.

I quickly revealed today’s plan.

“Ronald, do you know there’s a rumor spreading among the servants about Blake lately?”

“…I’m not sure what you mean.”

“I’ll just assume you do. Everyone’s saying Blake is a murderer. The rumor about him killing a social club employee has spread, and the servants are terrified.”

“What? Who in the world started such a rumor…! And how did Lady Vivian hear about this?”

“Nobody told me directly. I overheard the servants chatting beneath the terrace outside this room. I guess they didn’t realize Blake has been leaving the windows open lately.”

He should probably warn them about that later.

At my explanation, Ronald sighed heavily and nodded.

“Then do you also know that the whole incident was a misunderstanding? That the employee was actually an assassin?”

“Yes, that is correct. Though I don’t know the full details…. Did the Young Master tell you that as well?”

“Yep.”

Let’s just say I heard it from him too.

Explaining my guesses and deductions would take too long, so I skipped straight to the point.

“I want to clear up this misunderstanding.”

“You, Lady Vivian?”

“Mhm. I’m going to do it myself.”

Ronald looked at me lying sprawled across the bed with obvious suspicion.

“…And how exactly do you plan to accomplish that?”

He looked like he was trying hard to trust me, but it was obvious he couldn’t understand how I intended to clear Blake’s name without any evidence.

But I had absolutely no intention of searching for clues and making a logical explanation.

Wouldn’t that be better left to Blake’s subordinates, who were obviously far faster and more capable than me?

“If Mr. Mustache Butler helps me, it’ll work.”

“Please explain exactly what assistance you require.”

“Have you ever read the fairy tale The King’s Ears Are Donkey Ears?”

“…Pardon?”

“It’s a book I read a very long time ago. Like, hundreds of years ago.”

Not from my days as a witch—

from before I was even reincarnated into this world.

Ronald tilted his head in confusion.

“Then perhaps… ‘Rumors travel a thousand miles without legs’?”

“Not really…. My education is lacking, I apologize.”

“No, it’s okay. It’s normal not to know. Basically, what I mean is—we fight rumors with even bigger rumors.”

We needed a rumor dramatic enough to completely overshadow the terrifying story about Blake killing a social club employee.

“Everyone’s curious about one thing: how the woman died without shedding even a drop of blood.”

“Were they?”

“And that’s exactly what we’ll use. We’ll leave little hints for the servants. We’ll make them investigate and draw conclusions on their own about why there wasn’t any blood.”

Then I grabbed a memo sheet from the side table and quickly scribbled some words onto it before handing it to Ronald.

The Hidden Shocking Secret Behind the Death of the Billiard Employee!

→ If you’re curious, find the next note

“The next note explains ways to kill someone without drawing blood. Then after that comes different kinds of poison, then symptoms like skin discoloration from poisoning, and so on.”

“And in the end, it naturally leads them to conclude that Young Master Blake was not the culprit.”

Exactly.

We would spark curiosity, encourage speculation, and create an even bigger rumor.

‘And because they discovered the clues themselves, they’ll want to believe it even more.’

I gave Ronald a proud thumbs-up when he immediately understood.

Whether something was true or not, once people started gathering convincing “evidence” and making deductions among themselves, rumors spread naturally.

“So? What do you think of my plan?”

Ronald carefully flipped through each paper I had written on and read them thoroughly.

Then he murmured quietly:

“Hoho… I cannot deny it. Lady Vivian appears to be quite the strategist.”

“Thanks for the compliment.”

I puffed out my chest proudly and jumped to my feet.

Then I suddenly paused and looked back at Ronald.

“Oh, right. Butler, can I ask you something?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Do you know much about the social club Blake visited?”

“Not in great detail, but what exactly are you curious about?”

Ronald straightened his posture, looking ready to explain everything he knew.

I brought up the thing that had been bothering me since yesterday.

“What’s the gender ratio among the employees there?”

“The employees’ gender ratio….”

Ronald stroked his chin briefly before answering.

“As far as I know, all of the employees at that social club are women. I heard they specifically recruit professional maids with over five years of experience serving upper-class households.”

“…I see.”

“Why do you ask?”

“It’s nothing. Something just felt strange.”

Just as I thought.

There was definitely something suspicious about the maid who claimed she heard the rumor from her “male servant friend.”

Why would she invent a nonexistent friend just to spread this rumor?

‘I should find that maid.’

The plan was complete.

Now it was time to put it into action.

“Alright then, Mr. White-Mustache Butler! Let’s go on an adventure.”

Ronald smiled kindly, clutched the papers tightly, and nodded.

“If we go this way, what’s here?”

“The dining hall.”

“And over there?”

“The guest rooms for outside visitors.”

“Where’s the laundry room?”

“At the back of the estate. Shall we head there?”

“Sounds good. Let’s go.”

And so, the alliance unofficially named Operation Clear Blake’s Misunderstandings Completely—a title not approved by Mr. Mustache Butler—smoothly advanced toward its destination.

I was currently hidden neatly inside Ronald’s suit jacket, quietly directing him from within.

Was it cramped?

Not at all.

It was comfortable and surprisingly cozy.

Ronald was perceptive and gentle, after all.

“I just placed the fourth note on top of the laundry pile. Only one remains now….”

At that moment, Ronald abruptly fell silent.

After spotting something, he quickly glanced at me and whispered:

“I completely forgot that today is Sir Rain’s visiting day.”

Sir Rain?

At my questioning look, Ronald kept his lips barely moving as he muttered almost like a ventriloquist:

“He is the vice commander of the military unit that hunts demonic beasts alongside the Young Master. He had gone on vacation and said he would briefly stop by on his way back….”

Apparently Ronald had completely forgotten because Blake specifically ordered him to stay behind and guard the room.

Ah.

As soon as Ronald explained, someone immediately came to mind.

The blond man who had been standing beside Blake at Count Everett’s banquet the day I first arrived in the human world!

That guy was here?

Since he already knew I was a talking teddy bear, I started poking my head out to greet him happily—

when suddenly Ronald spun around and yanked me out of his jacket like he was pulling up a radish.

“Bwuh?”

“My apologies, Lady Vivian. If Vice Commander Rain discovers you, the Young Master will surely be furious, so please return to the room while I distract him.”

“No, wait just a—”

“I shall buy time!”

Then he shoved me into a corner of the hallway and hurried off toward Rain.

No, seriously, I know that blond human!

He knows me too! You don’t have to abandon me here!

I stared blankly as Ronald walked away and greeted Rain in the distance.

For a moment, I just stood there clutching the remaining notes in both paws.

Then I turned around and headed toward my next destination.

Ronald had told me to go back to the room, but well.

I never planned on listening anyway!

“The servants’ lounge is the final destination, right?”

Okay.

This time, I’m planting the last one there.

I’ve still got one final move left.