Chapter 50
Soone gestured to her, she instantly shut up leaving Athyst’s question unanswered.
Nobody seed to be willing to speak up, so Athyst tried to fish out the information. “Well, this leaves no choice. Since you weren’t aware, I must punish you all for embezzlent.”
“Madam! Please we know nothing about it!” The few maids chorused.
“This place is too worn down for you to be unaware.” Athyst sniggered.
“We only know that the person in charge of this place is Sir Dajal.” The most flustered one blurted out.
“Yes, that’s right. Even when we raised a request for maintenance he said that there were no funds … ” said another.
“If not he would just brush us off and ignore us— ”
The word punishnt must have scared them. As each of the maids added on to the other.
So it really must be Dajal. Unless these ladies are lying … She couldn’t co to a conclusion without gathering the facts and evidence, but sothing was fishy for sure. A woman’s intuition is never wrong!
“I am not here to punish you all. I am here to help. If you do not tell the truth then I cannot help you.” She declared.
“You will help us?!” The maids thought they had misheard. No one had been bothered about their plight until now, so one couldn’t bla them for being skeptical.
“Yes.”
“You won’t be able to.” Soone dared to be forthright.
“Why… do you think that?” Athyst was surprised.
“You can only say that because you don’t know Sir Dajal.” There was so resentnt and resignation in the voice.
“What do you an?”
“At first…we weren’t always like this.”
“Then?”
“We tried to protest and rebuked but— ”
Noticing the hesitation, Athyst urged on. “Oh my…. please tell what happened in detail.”
“Madam— ”
Athyst smiled compassionately and laid bare the truth of the matter. “Maybe you don’t trust yet because I am new to this place, but I don’t think telling what happened will put you in any situation worse than it is now.”
The maids only looked at one another as if trying to co to a decision. Then finally the oldest of the lot opened her mouth.
“Madam, my na is Roman.”
“Yes, Miss Roman. Please can you tell what happened?”
“Before I begin, I must tell you I’ve worked here, body and soul, for the last 10 years,” Roman said with feeling.
“I see. You’ve worked for quite so ti.” Athyst politely remarked.
“Yes, Madam. When I first had my interview here, I had several batch mates. But now they all work in the main house.”
Athyst acknowledged with a nod, urging her to continue.
“The only factor that determines whether you work here or in the main house is money. I only found out later that the amount of work you get corresponds to the amount of money you bribe the interviewer with. And the interviewer is Sir Dajal. If he is unsatisfied with the amount he receives, he deducts it from that month’s pay or allocates you to a different work location.
Bribery. Ha, to think that such things exist even in this place!
Athyst felt her blood boil … No matter where it was all the sa!
“So according to you, that bastar… no, Dajal receives bribes and exercises his authority on personnel transfer.”
“Yes. Not only that but he is also embezzling all the money sent for the monthly maintenance, clothing, and accommodation.”
“It seems to be the case. Just by looking at the situation here… but why hasn’t anybody said anything? That’s what I’m more curious about.”
A frown ford on Roman’s face. She couldn’t help wonder … Was she another typical noble lady? Just how much would she be able to help us? Can we trust her?
Since she had co all the way to visit them out here, she decided to bet on the small glimr of hope.
“We did.”
“You did?!” Athyst was taken aback. “When?”
“A year since coming here, a friend I had been working with couldn’t tolerate it any longer and spoke to the higher-ups. But… the lord chose to believe Sir Dajal’s words over us. Then Sir Dajal… fabricated a story, said she was an immoral woman and incriminating her as a thief who stole and sold goods from a noble family. He whipped and punished her until eventually kicking her out… And my friend… no longer could stand the injustice… and took her own life—”
Roman seed to recall this incident from a decade ago as though it was sothing that had happened only yesterday. As such, she was unable to continue any further.
If it happened ten years ago, then it was definitely before Alexcent had beco the owner of the mansion.
“What a bloody piece of trash!”
“Madam?!”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I couldn’t stop myself—”
Lunia and the maids seed astounded as they had never expected such words from a noblewoman and looked at her blankly. Athyst blushed and apologized.
Yet another maid seed to have gained the courage and started to add on.
“Madam, actually that is not all.”
“Is there sothing else?”
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