Never Die Villain

As Ilya and Ekaterina continued walking through the palace together, a sudden commotion echoed from one of the nearby service corridors.

Unlike the grand halls reserved for the Belozersky family and their guests, this part of the palace was occupied almost entirely by servants carrying trays of food, fresh linens, and everything else needed to keep the week-long assembly running without interruption.

——Honestly, you’re hopeless!

——Young Lord Ilya must have terrible judgment to bring someone like you all the way from the capital!

——You’d be doing everyone a favor if you just stayed out of the way, Miss Sherry!

"...."

The moment he heard her name, Ilya’s footsteps came to a slow stop.

Without another word, he turned toward the voices and headed straight for the servants’ preparation hall, leaving Ekaterina blinking in surprise before she hurried after him.

"...Cousin Ilya?"

The spacious room was filled with long tables where meals for the evening banquet were being arranged, while servants moved busily from one station to another carrying trays and supplies.

Near the center of the room was Sherry.

She lowered her head repeatedly, clutching a folded tablecloth against her chest while three senior maids surrounded her, their voices raised clearly enough that nearly every servant nearby had begun pretending not to watch.

"What’s going on here?"

The moment Ilya’s voice rang through the preparation hall, the room fell silent.

The three senior maids froze, their faces draining of color as they turned toward the entrance. Around them, the servants who had only moments ago pretended to mind their own work immediately lowered their heads, and even the sound of dishes being arranged came to a stop.

"Y-Young Lord...!"

One of the senior maids stepped back before hastily lowering herself into a bow, the other two following a heartbeat later.

"We greet Young Lord Ilya."

Only Sherry remained standing exactly where she was, still clutching the folded tablecloth against her chest.

She quickly bowed her head as well, though unlike the others, she looked far more anxious than frightened, as though she was already worried about the trouble he might bring upon himself by involving himself in the situation.

Ilya’s gaze slowly swept across the room before falling on Sherry.

"...I asked a question."

Not a single person answered until finally, the eldest of the three maids forced herself to step forward.

"My Lord... it was only a small misunderstanding between the servants. We were just reminding the new maid of the proper procedures within the palace."

Ilya’s gaze shifted past her.

"Sherry."

"Ah... y-yes!"

Sherry quickly stepped forward, only for the hem of her skirt to catch under her boot. She stumbled awkwardly, barely managing to steady herself before lowering her head once more, her cheeks burning red from embarrassment.

Ilya looked her over.

"You’re a mess."

"...I’m sorry."

"Where is the Head Maid?"

"She... she stepped away for a little while."

The Head Maid assigned to the capital estate had accompanied the entourage north together with the other servants.

As the senior servant from the capital branch, it was only natural that Sherry remained under her supervision for the duration of the Winter Assembly.

There should have been no reason for Sherry to be left on her own, especially inside a palace where nearly every servant belonged to the Grand Ducal estate rather than the capital residence.

His eyes slowly returned to the three senior maids.

"So... while the person responsible for her was absent... the three of you decided to educate the new maid yourselves."

None of them answered.

The silence alone was enough to tell him everything he needed to know.

"I understand," Ilya began. "The Grand Ducal Palace has its own standards, and Sherry is unfamiliar with many of the customs here. If she makes a mistake, then naturally she should be corrected."

The three senior maids relaxed.

"She was only recently employed by the capital estate, and this is her first time serving during the Winter Assembly."

His eyes moved from one maid to the next.

"She only left her village a few months ago to enter service at the capital estate. There are bound to be things she doesn’t know, and there will certainly be mistakes."

No one dared interrupt him.

"I imagine all three of you were once in the same position yourselves. You had your first day. You made mistakes. You were scolded by your seniors. Perhaps some of you were even treated the same way Sherry was just now."

The eldest maid lowered her head.

"If that’s true, then I have to ask..." Ilya continued. "Did enduring it yourselves really make you believe it was the right way to teach someone else? Or did it become the easiest thing to repeat because it was once done to you?"

The preparation hall fell silent once more.

"I have no intention of interfering with how the palace trains its servants," he said. "But if Sherry has done something wrong, then teach her how to do it properly. Correcting someone’s mistakes and humiliating them are not the same thing."

His gaze fell on Sherry for a brief moment before returning to the three senior maids.

"She’ll be working alongside all of you for the rest of the assembly. I’d appreciate it if you treated her as a junior colleague... not as a convenient target."

"...You are correct, Young Lord. We allowed our emotions to get the better of us." One of the maids lowered her head. "It will not happen again."

The other two hurriedly followed suit.

"We ask for your forgiveness."

Ilya nodded.

"That’s enough."

There was nothing more to say.

He turned toward Sherry, meeting her eyes for only a moment before giving her a small nod, as if telling her that everything was alright.

Sherry returned the gesture with a grateful nod of her own, and although she still looked somewhat flustered, the anxiety that had filled her face only moments earlier had eased considerably.

Satisfied that the matter had come to an end, Ilya left the preparation hall.

Ekaterina was exactly where he had left her.

"...Is everything alright?"

"It is now."

Ekaterina glanced toward the preparation hall before looking back at Ilya.

"You haven’t changed after all."

"...Hm?"

"The cousin Ilya I remembered would’ve done exactly what you just did."

"...Is that so?"

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