If the host is a software-integrated host, the host actually has complete control of the booking and Vrbo actually can't directly process the cancellation, so they send a cancellation request to the host that the host has to handle in his/her PMS (property management system), from which the refund is then initiated.

Was the full charge on your card for the booking from Expedia/Vrbo, or was a small amount (the guest service fee) from Vrbo and the balance charged by the host directly? If the latter, then that's the biggest tell that you're dealing with a software-connected host. (If not, then I'd chalk it up to the aforementioned Expedia-Vrbo wonkiness.)

It'd be a little odd for a small-time single-cabin owner in rural Alaska to be a software-integrated host, but anything is possible (the software I use is pretty affordable for small-time hosts). The chances of it being a software-integrated host go up if the owner has multiple properties, though, and/or lists the property on multiple sites. Not sure what the situation is in your case.