Chapter 209 The Old Butler of the Manor, Old Stories, Villa
Sunlight shone behind the newcomer, and due to the interplay of light and shadow, Lai couldn't see his face clearly, but he could tell from the stiffness and aged sound of his voice.
"You say you're the heir here?"
"yes."
Ray squinted and lowered his hand from his face. He heard a clatter as the shovel the old man was using as a weapon fell to the floor.
"Master Victor?"
“I think the Lord Victor you are referring to is my father, Valerio Victor. I am Ray Victor.”
"Young Master? Is it really the Young Master!?"
The old man walked steadily and quickly to Lai.
He was wearing a worn-out, faded brown suit, and his gray hair was neatly combed back.
There were several deep wrinkles around his eyes and on his forehead, showing that he was quite old, but he was still energetic and looked capable and shrewd.
Young master?
Lei was not quite used to this unfamiliar title.
"Let me see you."
Lai stood still and waited for the old man to identify him, or rather, to examine him.
Over the years, Ray grew taller and taller, reaching a height of 1.86 meters, enough for him to look down on most humans. The old man looked up, carefully examining Ray's face, as if trying to recall something through his features.
“You look just like him, so much like him. You bear at least seven-tenths of the resemblance to Mr. Victor, and your eyes are as beautiful as Mrs. Jennifer’s, as clear as the blue waters of the Camby River.”
“Please forgive my rudeness,” the old man said with a perfect gentleman’s bow. “I don’t think you know me yet. Let me introduce myself. I am Cher. Victor, the butler of your family, the Victor family.”
"Hello."
Ray returned the greeting.
Under what circumstances could a steward, as a servant, have the same surname as his master in the homes of the old aristocracy?
Was it because the old butler was a distant cousin of the family, or for some other reason?
Judging from the state of the manor, it has been dilapidated for a long time, and it is even unknown when its owner will be able to return.
But this old butler had always diligently stayed here. For that reason alone, Ray wouldn't underestimate or neglect him.
"You don't need to be so polite," the old butler stopped Lai from doing so.
"Excuse me, but I haven't seen Mr. and Mrs. Victor. Have they already gone upstairs?"
Looking at the old butler's eager and expectant gaze, Lei didn't know how to begin.
"them......"
"Dad! Dad! Who's here? Is it that swarm of relatives who look like leeches? I'm coming right now!"
A middle-aged man rushed in, brandishing a sickle. His face was fierce, and he was burly and looked like someone you wouldn't want to mess with.
"Vincent, put it down right now!"
The old housekeeper angrily rebuked his son for barging in so recklessly.
"I'm sorry, young master, you must have found this amusing."
Cher quickly apologized to Rye.
"Young Master? Dad, don't be so subservient to these people. The Victor family has no relatives like that!"
The middle-aged man glared at Lai, wishing he could kick him out immediately.
"Shut up! This is our proper young master, Master Victor's own son."
"ah?"
Vincent looked at his father, unsure of what to say.
Master Victor hadn't returned for over a decade, and today a young master suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
He was highly suspicious of the man's identity, but he did indeed look very much like Master Victor when he was young.
interesting.
Ray found the information implied in the conversation between the butler and his son very interesting.
There seem to be many stories behind this dilapidated manor that he doesn't know.
"This is the land deed for the manor, and my identification."
Ray handed the land deed and identification to the old butler.
He took it with both hands and took out his monocle from his pocket. He carefully unfolded the two documents tied with silk.
After reading it, Ray noticed that Cher's hands, which were holding the two certificates, were trembling slightly, and there was a hint of tears glistening in the corners of her eyes.
"It's the young master, it really is the young master."
The old butler was very excited, and the middle-aged man also became excited.
"Young master, please put the documents away carefully."
The old butler carefully tied the land deed and Ray's identity documents together and handed them back to him.
"Young Master, please have a seat!"
Vincent pulled out a chair with a dark red velvet seat from under the dusty canvas and gestured for Ray to sit down and rest.
"Look at my forgetfulness, I completely forgot to let you sit down and rest."
Cher slapped his forehead in frustration.
"It's alright, I'm not tired, please sit down."
"No, no, this is not something a butler should do."
“The Victor family has lost its baronial title, so there is no need to adhere to these unnecessary rules.”
“It’s different. Rules are rules. As long as I am the butler of this manor, I will always abide by the traditions of the Victor family.”
Rye knew that some people treated their work as their belief, and the best respect for them was to leave them alone.
"Are only the two of you left in this manor?"
"No, there are a few more people. Vincent, go and call the rest of them over."
"well."
Before Ray could stop him, Vincent dashed out.
"No need for that trouble."
"No, no, young master, everyone needs to get to know you again. We don't know how long you and your master and mistress plan to stay here, or whether you're going to settle down here."
The old butler looked at Lei with eager eyes, hoping they would take this opportunity to stay.
Lei fell silent, his face grave.
Did I say something wrong?
Cher had never met Ray, who had always lived away from home, and knew very little about Ray's personality, character, and lifestyle.
They naturally treated Lei with some caution.
He didn't want to leave a bad impression on the young master of the manor.
"Butler Cher"
"Yes, young master."
"I came back alone this time. My father and mother died unexpectedly a few years ago while fighting against monsters to protect the safety of the town's residents."
The old butler was struck dumb, frozen in place, his eyes losing much of their light, as if he had aged decades in an instant.
"How could this happen, how could this happen..."
He kept muttering to himself, unable to accept this cruel reality.
He took off his monocle, wiped it with a handkerchief, and then wiped away the tears from the corner of his eye.
"Young Master, I'm sorry, I lost my composure."
"It's fine."
There was a rustling sound outside the door, and through the open door, Lai saw several people standing outside.
"Dad, I've brought everyone with me."
The old butler looked at Lei with an inquiring gaze.
"Let everyone come in, there's no need to be so reserved."
"Come in."
Starting with Vincent, a line of people stood together: two women, two boys, and a little girl about the same age as Luna.
Old butler Cherry composed himself and began introducing everyone to Ray one by one.
“Vincent is my youngest son and the gardener of the estate. He is responsible for tending to the flowers and plants, repairing the villa, and providing security for the estate.”
Standing next to him was his wife, Karma, who is a good cook.
Kama bent down and half-squatted to greet Ray.
"Next is my youngest daughter, Diana. She is divorced from her husband and is currently staying here. She is an embroiderer, skilled in mending clothes and also adept at managing household chores."
Diana also bowed to Ray.
The hardships of life have left their mark on her face.
"Then there are Vincent's two sons, one who can drive a carriage and the other who has studied some etiquette and is quite quick-witted."
"Hello, Master Vic!"
Cher praised the quick-witted boy, smiled and greeted Ray, revealing two small fangs.
"Hello, Mr. Vic."
The other boy spoke in a muffled voice, having already passed puberty, and seemed to be a quiet and honest child.
Hello.
"The last one is Diana's child; she came back with her mother."
The little girl was timid and didn't dare to look up at Lai, her fingers clutching the hem of her clothes.
"Jane, quickly greet the young master."
Diana pointed out that the little girl whispered "Greetings, young master," her voice sounding like it was coming from her throat.
"Excuse me, young master, Jane is a little shy."
"It's okay, she's still young."
Lai felt that the little girl was about to cry.
“Master Vic, could you please not send my mother and me away? We have nowhere else to go.”
Jane had slightly sunken cheeks, dry and yellow hair, and was very thin.
These words seemed to have exhausted all her courage; she was trembling all over, and tears were falling onto the marble floor.
"I'm so sorry, young master, I'm so sorry!"
Diana quickly apologized to Rye, as she hadn't expected her daughter to say something like that.
This made every adult present, except for Ray, look extremely grim.
"It's okay, you can stay here indefinitely."
"Thank you, young master."
The little girl spoke while crying.
The old housekeeper instructed Karma and Diana to take Jane upstairs to prepare the master bedroom on the second floor for Ray to live in.
Their entire family is currently crammed into the gatehouse next to the main gate, which is really not a suitable place for Lai to stay temporarily.
The old butler and the others all focused their attention on Lai, and Lai was also observing them.
The old housekeeper's family, from the oldest to the youngest, were not well-dressed; they wore the cheapest, darkest-colored coarse cloth. Their clothes and shoes were patched, and their hands were very rough.
They seem to be living in dire straits.
"Have you lived here for over twenty years?"
"Yes."
Cher replied.
Ray didn't know what had happened back then, but if the old butler Cher had been staying here all this time, and the master family had already moved away, surely no one would be paying him a salary, so why was he still staying here?
"Everyone, please sit down."
"No, no, Mr. Vic, you don't need to worry about us."
Vincent replied that he sent his two sons out to buy some meat.
“The servants were dismissed when the master moved away, and now only our family remains in the entire estate.”
The old butler said.
Why didn't you leave back then?
Lei was a little curious.
"Don't laugh at me, but I was an orphan when I was a child. My grandfather, who passed away a long time ago, took me in."
After that, I became a servant of the Victor family, living on this estate and serving them. The old master was kind and, taking pity on me for not having a surname, gave me the surname Victor.
Later, the family title was stripped, the master married Lady Jennifer, and then they decided to move away from the royal city.
The master was a very kind man; he sold some of the land and gave everyone a large sum of severance pay. I didn't want to leave, so I volunteered to stay and look after the estate for the master, waiting for the day they would move back.
The old butler told Ray some things.
"Without wages, how do you usually live?"
"Ray asked again."
"To my shame, we cultivated a small plot of land behind the gatehouse and planted some vegetables for our daily consumption."
More than twenty years have passed, and although the exterior looks somewhat dilapidated, the interior of the villa appears to be very well maintained.
Ray couldn't imagine how many coins the old butler had spent on the villa's daily maintenance.
"Thank you for guarding us for more than 20 years."
"It's what I should do."
The old butler raised his head and gave Ray another gentlemanly bow.
"May I invite you to continue serving as my housekeeper? I will pay you your salary on time."
"It is my honor to serve you, young master."
In a daze, Cher felt as if he had returned to the day when he first became the housekeeper of the Viktor family. At that time, he had just turned forty and was in his prime.
Lei settled down temporarily in this old house.
Accompanied by the old butler Cher and Vincent, they toured the entire estate.
According to Cher, most of the Victor family's land has been sold, but the late Ray's father did not sell the old house and the land nearby.
Lai glanced around and saw that the land surrounding the villa belonged to the Victor family and was quite large, big enough to build a small, modern vegetable greenhouse.
No wonder everyone yearns for the life of the aristocracy, even if they have fallen on hard times, their former heritage and glory still remain.
Behind the villa are a stable, a warehouse, a sunroom, and a large garden.
The flowers and low shrubs in the garden were growing well, and Vincent had kept them very neat and clean.
Even though the old steward's family was so poor that they wore patched clothes, they did not touch an inch of the estate.
The villa has four floors.
The first floor has a large open-plan living room, a large kitchen, a storage room, three servants' rooms, and a washroom.
The second floor has a master bedroom, two secondary bedrooms, a washroom, and a guest room.
The first-floor reception room is connected to the corresponding area on the second floor, and the high ceiling of the hall makes it grand and beautiful.
The third floor mainly consists of guest rooms and a reception room, as well as a large study.
The fourth floor is an attic, which has been renovated into several living rooms, a small living room, and a storage room.
Besides that, there's the wine cellar and ice room on the lower level.
However, there was neither wine nor ice there. Only rows of painted wooden shelves stood empty.
This is a very, very nice house, provided you ignore the old wood and furniture, the dust everywhere, and the geckos that keep popping out.
Lei only took a quick look around and did not visit each room.
"Because no one lives here, we only do a thorough cleaning once a year, before the harvest festival."
Cher explained.
“You’ve done a great job, and the villa is very well maintained.”
"No, no, we failed to protect the manor."
Cher was very ashamed.
Lai had dinner with the Cher family in the living room on the first floor of the villa.
The ladies were very hardworking and had already cleaned the master bedroom and the entire first floor. However, it was almost dinnertime, so they had to stop and start preparing dinner.
As night fell, Ray slept on the second floor, while Cher moved back to his original room on the first floor to make it easier to take care of Ray.
The others lived in the gatehouse near the main gate.
Before setting off, Lai prepared a total of four glass lamps, three of which were given to the elder of the Yuan tribe.
Glass lamps have become popular in recent years, but the Cher family naturally couldn't afford them, and they still used candles and oil lamps for lighting at night.
Ray then took out the three glass lamps and, together with Vincent, placed them in his current room, in the first-floor living room near the old butler's room, and in the gatehouse.
The three children were overjoyed to see the glowing glass lamp and lined up to look at it.
This thing called a glass lamp is something that almost every household in the neighborhood has, except for them who can't afford it.
Now, they too finally have this dazzling light in the darkness!
The adults looked at Lei with the same hope that had been rekindled, filled with anticipation for the future.
In a daze, Lei felt as if something was pressing down on his shoulder.
However, he was confident that he could shoulder the responsibility of the "Victor family".
Having experienced so much today, Lei is a little tired.
He needs some time alone to sort out his thoughts and make necessary plans for the future.
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