บท 23: Servants

"Young Mistress," she greeted confidently.

"I have only one question for you. It's a hypothetical scenario."

"Please tell me."

"On the lobby outside, there's a woman sitting on the eastmost bench. Blonde hair, a mole on her forehead, and dark, baggy clothes. You have one task. You must kill her in five minutes and ensure your own safety and innocence afterwards. What do you do?"

"…"

"Think as much as you want and give me the easiest answer you could find."

In a matter of seconds, her expression went through drastic changes. There was confusion, doubt, worry, confusion again, before finally, an expression of focus.

She processed the question for a minute more before asking something delightful.

"Can I be prepared?"

She was basically asking if she had enough time to prepare for the assassination. Allowing her that would make the task much too easy, but Savine was satisfied that she was asking.

'I guess it's fine,' she shrugged.

"Sure."

"In that case, I'll go next to her with a mask, hit her head with a sledgehammer, and run at the witnesses. They will all naturally run for their lives. When outside, I'll slip into a quiet area, remove my disguise, and burn it."

It was an interesting answer. And probably the most effective. It was unlikely for someone in the association to be willing to go head to head against someone who just killed a woman in broad daylight. There was only one problem.

"I said you could be prepared, but I didn't mean you could go through a grueling training to turn you into a cold-hearted murderer. Do you really think you have the capacity to smash someone's head like that?"

"Master, it's easy to convince oneself of things," the female butler said. "If I can prepare a sledgehammer and a mask, I can surely foster enough hate in myself to smash her head in without feeling guilty."

Savine's eyebrows went up briefly.

"Maybe I can also get myself drunk or high for that surge of confidence, but I feel that won't end good..."

Savine found herself chuckling despite not intending to.

"I guess that's one way to do it," she smiled wryly and sighed.

"Alright, go call in the old man."

The young butler bowed and came in with the old man. They looked at her somewhat expectantly.

"You're both hired," Savine declared.

She liked both of them. In the first place, the life of an administrative servant was complicated. They needed to hire other servants, manage them, and also tend to Savine's needs. And likely, Savine herself would become busy soon enough. She had ideas of businesses and if her position in the temple rose, she might have responsibilities there.

"What are your names?"

"Wilfred, young mistress."

"Zuri, young mistress."

"Zuri, you're going to be my Valet. You'll accompany me at all times and be familiar with everything I do and everyone important that I might meet."

"Yes, young mistress."

She was bold and quick-witted. It would be great to have someone like her close by.

"Wilfred, you'll be my Steward. You'll handle everything in the back. When I start my business, you'll be overseeing it, you'll be in charge of the all the lower maids and servants, and you'll be in charge of who knows I'll throw at you next. You're free to hire anyone you want and buy anything you deem useful; those are your rights. I don't want to be bothered by every little thing."

The old man nodded solemnly.

His thoughts were somewhat inflexible and uncreative. Despite that, he was the one who did the best on the test. His problem-solving skills were without issues and his logic was sound as long as all the pieces of the puzzle were provided.

Because of that, he was the perfect person to run things in the back.

"For the time being, I haven't yet gotten used to this Duchy, so you won't have much to work on. However, you two will still be very busy, as you will spend most of the next month studying under me. Ah, also. You'll be dealing with many secrets, so be prepared for that."

"We understand."

"I hope for a bountiful cooperation between us."

The two nodded solemnly.

"Before that, I'll need to hear your backgrounds a bit. Where do you come from, your education, your family situation and your brief life story. If you have any personal problems that you think will affect your work, then tell me those as well."

"I'll start, young mistress," Zuri said. "I was born in a nearby farming village and studied under the mayor there. He used to be a teacher in Fest, so he tried to get the village children as well-read as possible. I was married to one of the farmers there and had two children, but when the civil war happened, my husband was drafted and was killed in the war.

"Since it's impossible for me and my daughters to work the farm by ourselves, we sold it all and came to Fest City. Though I was literate, I couldn't really find any scholarly jobs and had to become a handservant of a Viscount to make ends meet. I've realized that this type of profession has some good prospects if you're educated and smart, so I tried my best to become one of the head butlers or valets.

"I succeeded, but my previous master was also killed in the war, and the household was confiscated by the duke. After which, I've joined the Servants Association."

Savine finished listening to the story and nodded. There was nothing odd in the story and as far as she could tell, there wasn't anything too problematic.

"How are your children?"

"The young one's now attending class under a public teacher and while there, she helps out with the various works they have. The older one's working as an assistant to a seamstress."

"How old are they?"

"11 and 8. And they both have someone to take care of them, young mistress. Please don't worry."

Savine nodded with satisfaction. "I won't need you on certain days, so you can use that chance to meet with them."

"Thank you, young mistress."

"Wilfred?"

"My father and mother worked as servants to noble families and thus I was trained to be like them as well," he explained. "After that, there's really not much to say. I've worked as a low servant for 15 years before I became my father's master's son's personal valet, which I was for 22 years. Unfortunately, the war happened and I soon entered this place as a teacher.

"As for my family, it's quite a big one. I have three sons and six daughters, but they're all independent now. My wife stays at home due to an amputated leg, but she is well enough to take care of herself. And there's always one of my grandchildren to accompany her, so there's no need to worry about me."

With that, Wilfred finished talking.