Retainer remains on estate when leaving FC?!

When I try to leave my FC, I get a message that says:
"Leave the Free Company? Your retainer will remain on estate grounds."

I've looked for the meaning of this, and all I found was a blog post where somebody said that the retainers were placed in the garden like furniture, so you have to remove them like that.

What does that mean?! I never did anything like that. Is this a warning that doesn't apply to my situation... can I leave my FC without retainer issues? Or what do I need to do?

Please help! Thanks :confused:

This confused me a short while ago too. A member of my former FC not only left the FC but also transferred to a different server. It seemed very odd that his "retainer" should remain on the FC front lawn.
The reality is, a mannequin with a glamour skin of a retainer is placed on the FC grounds. While you can interact with this mannequin like a retainer, it not actually your retainer.

Thanks! Sounds like this isn't an issue for me to worry about. My soon-to-be former FC doesn't have any retainers on the lawn. I've been gone for a while... but I think I understand what's going on now. Sounds like the OMGWTF pre-auction house system that XIV 1.0 had. I'll have to check some of the other FC estates.