Chapter 24

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Chapter 24

“The management of the maids is under my jurisdiction, and the management of the servants is under Derek. No matter if you’re the Madam, I can’t manage personnel like this. Moreover, if you change it all at once, the uproar would be significant.”

She was half right and half wrong.

When the hostess of the house changes, personnel changes inevitably occur.

It was the content of what I saw in a book called 〈 The Lady’s Life White Paper 〉, which Dimitri gave me as a gift.

He gave me the book when I asked him if I could take over the management of his employees. I was able to get a lot of hints from there that helped manage the employees. However, the personnel change I ordered was more significant than necessary. So, Sophie or Derek’s concerns were understandable.

But, it was Sophia’s act of ignoring me and openly complaining like that…

“It’s natural for clashing to occur when there’s a change, so it would be better to solve it at once without dragging it out.”

“Madam, the circumstances of this mansion are well known to me and Derek here. Leave it to us.”

Sophia did not break her argument until the very end.

Still, I answered calmly.

“I will. Though I will rule the mansion my way.”

“Madam.”

“Sophia, as you said, I am the Madam here. You are a hired servant for the needs of your superiors.”

Instead of backing away from her, I stared into her stubborn eyes as I continued my words.

“Isn’t it your real job to manage the commotion that arises when I, the superior, want to move?”

Then, I asked provocatively.

“Why aren’t you confident in your job?”

Sophia did not hide her displeasure and rolled her eyes at my question.

“All right. Instead, even if the mansion becomes chaotic for the time being, it’ll be inevitable. It’s because the Madam mixed up the work of the employees, who were skilled in the task at hand, at will.”

I smiled and nodded my head.

“Yes. Do your best. Does Derek have anything more to say to me?”

Actually, it was Dimitri’s job to take care of Derek. However, he had entrusted me with the management of all the servants. Derek, whom I have seen so far, was a man of few words and quick-witted eyes.

He answered with a light smile on his face.

“I will do as the Madam commands.”

“Okay. Then, go ahead and get busy.”

Eventually, the two nodded and went outside.

After a while, Coco, who had disappeared from somewhere, came through the open window and spoke to me.

“The woman who just left said, ‘We didn’t work like this for Mrs. Elbas, but now, the Madam is too reckless,’ angel.”

I tickled Coco’s head and smiled a little.

”You’re such a cute snitch.”

“Scratch my neck more. The angel smells fragrant, and it makes me feel good.”

It seems that he is cheeky, too.

For a week after ordering the large-scale reshuffle of the employees, the mansion was in quite a refurbishment. There have been frequent situations where clothes that were supposed to be washed were not washed on time, mealtimes were delayed, or even fights between employees were common.

Whether it was because the work was difficult or some were doing it on purpose, as the days went by, the eyes that looked at me in a bad way became visible.

As I pretended I didn’t see it and turned a blind eye, the employees’ acts of overbearing behavior had gradually gone too far.

“There was even talk of a strike today.”

Agwen relayed the status of the employees in real-time to me.

She was believing that there could be something unwavering for me even in this situation.

“It’s a strike.”

In order to encourage personnel transfers with Dimitri’s cooperation, he was giving double overtime pay and even a special allowance.

‘Most of the salaries doubled, probably?’

Well, if they feel that the work is too hard for their monthly salary even though they are paying a fair price, they can go out on their own.

Otherwise, organizing and countering against me could only be seen as having personal feelings towards me.

“Are there people who want to join the strike, other than those gathered around Sophia and Tilda?”

Agwen shook her head as she pondered.

“There are also many people who do their job quietly without getting caught up in the atmosphere.”

I grinned.

‘Look. If we are paying twice their salary, it is indeed good treatment.’

Two days later, Coco, who had been wandering around in a human form with Blue and me as we played in the garden, jumped over the wall and ran to me.

“It must be today, angel.”

“What do you mean?”

“‘If we go on a strike, wouldn’t the Young Madam be surprised? The Master may scold her. She just made things complicated for nothing.’ They’re coming here while saying that!”

It seemed that the employees were coming after me to argue.

“Blue, I’m sorry, but today—”

I was going to say that I would play until now, and was going to say I will play more next time although Blue was not anywhere to be seen already.

“When did he go…?”

Cats are always like this…

So, before the employees arrived, I went to my room and dressed neatly as I waited. Soon, there were murmurs from outside, and several people gathered at the door.

When a knock was heard, I opened the door to them myself.

“What’s going on? Why is everyone gathered like this?”

“Madam, I’ve come to tell you something.”

Dozens of people were lined up along the hallway, led by the maid, Sophia. Seeing that, I went out into the hallway, glanced around at them, and asked in a calm, slow tone.

“What’s going on, Sophia?”

“After the Madam instructed me to move, the work became very difficult. Please evoke the order so that I can return to my original position.”

“I understand that, and you are being paid more. Aren’t you satisfied?”

“Each of us has our own skilled work. We know what’s going on. No matter how much the salary rises, it’s still difficult.”

“I see…”

​​

As I blurted out my words, people’s expressions became more elated.

“What should I do about this…?”

I pretended to be embarrassed and took a little more time before continuing. Meanwhile, Sophia’s nose rose higher.

“Then, let’s do this.”

As if I had finally come to a conclusion, I stared back at the people and said.

“In the meantime, I will pay severance pay according to the length of time you have worked here. And, all of you gathered here are fired.”

At my words, Sophia snorted as if she was dumbfounded.

“Ha, fired? Is the Madam saying you’re going to fire all these people at your own will?”

“Each one of you could find a skilled job for yourself and go elsewhere. If you come here saying you can’t work, then I have no choice but to let you go so you can find your aptitude and go somewhere else.”

“If only you could restore it back to its original state… ”

“No, I have no intention of doing that.”

Sophia clenched her teeth. Employees who came all the way here, trusting her, began to murmur. Some even cried, saying, “There is no place that pays more than here.”

As some of them started to run away, Sophia, annoyed, was cornered and shouted.

“Without us, the mansion would not run properly. Are you prepared for that?”

I smiled at her words.

“Thanks for the concern, but it’s up to the rest of us here. So, there’s no need for the people who are leaving to worry about that.”

“This is unfair. It’s the Madam who is in trouble when the Master finds out that you have freed us in this way.”

‘Oh, my. Even threats.’

I was confident that the Duke of Blois would not mind what I was doing. Still, I knew such a remark would come out.

‘So, I have something prepared.’

As I smiled leisurely, I then pulled out something I was holding at my side. It was a ledger book created with the help of Coco.

“You really think so, Sophia? If so, where would you like to go and take a look at this with me?”

Curious, the employees jerked their heads, wondering what I was going to do.

After clearing my throat by coughing slightly, I recited the things written in the book in a cheerful voice.

“Hughes, 1 million pennies stolen in a week by embezzling magic lighting, and 800,000 pennies in a week by embezzling uniform fabrics. Sony, 750,000 pennies were stolen in a week by embezzling groceries. Artie, stole cleaning supplies and stole 550,000 pennies in a week…”

Every time I recounted each person’s embezzlement, the employees trembled in embarrassment.

Their faces turned white when they heard the names of individuals and the exact amounts.

‘This is why doubling the normal monthly salary was not good enough for them. If they made up their mind and moved diligently, they could have embezzled three times the salary.’

The reason they were so dissatisfied with the personnel change was probably not because of the intensity of my work. Their grievance was that they had upended the grounds of the embezzlement.

‘It seems that Mrs. Elbas turned a blind eye to the embezzlement of the employees to spy on Dimitri.’

So, I guessed that many of these people would have remained loyal to Mrs. Elbas, who had now left the Blois’ mansion.

After going through the list for a long time, I stared at Sophia as I uttered the last part.

“…Sophia, about 3.5 million pennies were received for a week in return for closing your eyes after seeing their embezzlement.”

Sophia’s eyes widened as big as a candle.

I purposely covered the ledger so that it could make a noise.

The shoulders of the employees gathered at the sound also shrank.

“Now, which side do you think is unfair?”

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