When the servants saw Butler Thomas’s expression shift from shock to horror, then to anger, they trembled even more, assuming their crime was punishable only by death.
Some servants dropped to their knees, kowtowing to him.
“Grandpa Butler, please show mercy—don’t fire us!”
“Yes, Grandpa Butler, we—we swear never to do it again!”
“Please… don’t fire us. My family depends on my earnings to survive!”
“Grandpa Butler, I swear I won’t neglect my work again. From now on, I’ll work like an ox for you for the rest of my life!”
Their faces were smeared with tears and snot, regret written all over them.
Seeing the butler’s dark, distant expression, the servants assumed his anger was directed toward them.
So they began knocking their foreheads against the marble floor.
Pok. Pok. Pok.
The sound snapped the butler out of his daze.
Looking at the servants’ pathetic appearance, he ignored them and turned to Maid Alice, turning the laptop screen to face her.
“Do you know this person?” he asked coldly.
‘…’
When Alice got closer to the screen, the image she saw shocked her beyond words.
“This, this—” she couldn’t form any words, stuttering because she never expected to see this person here.
She took a step back in shock, never having believed that this person was the mastermind behind this.
She couldn’t help but turn to look at the other maids, then at Joyce.
She bowed her head in utter embarrassment. Especially when she realized that their suffering was because of her.
When the servants saw her reaction, their faces turned pale, draining of all color like soulless corpses.
They thought there was no hope for them anymore, since even the head maid had confirmed their crime.
They were doomed!
Joyce, right now, was going through a rollercoaster of emotions.
She was scared of the outcome, scared of being asked to resign from her duties.
One had to know that working in this mansion was her lifelong dream, especially when this dream earned her respect and admirers among the young men in the village, and envy from friends and aunties there.
This job had earned her respect from her scumbag father, who used to beat her like a punching bag to vent his frustration whenever he lost a bet at the gambling den.
To Joyce, working in this mansion was her way out of poverty, maltreatment, and lack of material needs.
Especially when some of her peers had gotten lucky enough to marry into wealth, leaving the village for the city.
She wished to leave this village—far away from a place where everyone knew her identity, far away from her gambling scumbag father, far away from the married men she once had dealings with just to feel like she belonged.
To Joyce, working here was her salvation, her path to freedom and to snaring a rich husband, since she knew young masters visited this mansion.
She had to succeed in attracting one of them, enough to tie her life to his. For that, she had to fight to stay here by all means possible.
Out of curiosity and trepidation, she walked closer to Alice to confirm whether she had been exposed.
When she saw the image on the footage, Joyce sighed in relief, as there was no image nor mention of her involvement.
She exhaled subtly, making sure not to be noticed, but unknown to her, every shift in her expression had already been seen through by the Butler.
Though he paid her no heed, his mind was still on the east wing incident, especially since he did not know what was happening there right now.
‘I need to know what’s happening there,’ he thought.
“You haven’t answered me.” He turned to Alice.
His voice came out cold and urgent.
“If you can’t talk, then there’s no need for you to be the Head Maid. I believe other people are vying for this position.” He mocked lightly, his gaze sliding towards Joyce before returning to Alice.
“I’m sorry, Grandpa Butler. That person is my step-sister. But I don’t know how she entered the mansion or how she got her hands on my uniform.” Alice pleaded, bowing in apology.
The Butler stood there, sweeping a look across everyone in the living room before muttering,
“Your salaries for this month will be cut in half. Repeat this act of negligence and dereliction of duty again—” his eyes turned glacial, “and you will see the outcome for yourselves.”
“Now get lost.”
At once, the servants scrambled to their feet, scurrying toward their delegated chores.
Not without saying—
“Thank you, Mr. Butler!”
“Thank you, Grandpa Butler!”
“Yes, yes… we won’t repeat it!”
“We promise with our lives!”
“Thank you!”
The living room fell silent, with only three people left standing.
“As for you, Head Maid, your salary for this month will be waived,” Butler Thomas said coldly. “If you can’t handle your position well, allowing just any Tom, Dick, or Harry to trespass into this mansion again, then consider yourself dead.” He waved his hand indifferently, dismissing her.
“Yes, Butler.” Alice bowed in acceptance, trembling at the weight of her position.
“Thank you.” She bowed again and left on unsteady legs, though she tried to maintain composure.
When Joyce realized it was only her and the Butler left in the living room, fear crept up her spine.
She tried to slip away quietly when the Butler turned to sit.
“Where do you think you’re going, young lady?” The Butler’s voice rang through the living room, freezing Joyce in place.
“Mr. Butler,” Joyce bowed in greeting.
“You know, for a woman as young as you, you sure know how to scheme and strategize,” he said, scrutinizing Joyce from head to toe.
“Too bad you used those skills on the wrong things,” he mocked.
Joyce couldn’t mutter anything in defense, because she knew her schemes had been seen through by the Butler.
She stood there, trembling, her nails digging into her palms, yet she felt no pain – only a sharp clarity about her situation.
She hated this old hag for foiling her plans. But she knew she could do nothing now except swallow it and wait for another opportunity.
“You might be wondering why I stopped you from walking away like the others,” he smirked coldly, watching the myriad of emotions flashing across her face.
“Maybe because your boldness in involving the restricted area in this mansion in your schemes irked me so much, I couldn’t help but…”
“Ahhhh! — hick!!”
Joyce stared at the Butler in terror.
Fear consumed her in reckless abandon.