If the bell rings more than five times, be cautious and stay hidden.
Abigail began to think about the reason behind his shift, but then she gave up as she wanted to watch and wait.
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As the meeting progressed, Mr White, who was sitting on his couch in his private lounge, began to count the arrival of each of his servants.
"We are fifty-five, aren't we? Ms Maid?" asked Mr White.
"Indeed," replied Ms Hazel briskly.
"Then, shall we begin?"
The crowd fell silent as they looked at each other in disarray.
"Over the past few days, I have been thinking, and I have now decided to appoint a new butler and a new head maid, as we already know we already have a few new helpers, and therefore, we still don't have a perfect candidate for the role. Generously speaking, I've been observing each of you, and my decision is final," said Mr White, explaining the purpose of the gathering while glaring at everyone's reaction.
The large crowd began to buzz at the sudden declaration.
"Nonetheless, I would also like to appoint someone to take charge of books, as I intend to open a private library and guards," he said, smiling at the people standing before him.
"Mr Librarian...Mr Fendy, the chef and the new guy, yes you, what is your name?" asks Mr White while looking at a tall guy with blonde hair.
"Dustin, Mr White," he responds.
"Dustin, the manservant," said Mr White, trying to confirm his job.
"Yes." he bows.
"Alright, Mr bodyguard will be you...and you, what's your name?" while pointing his finger toward two tall men with a body like a builder.
"Shabahaban," the man with a beard answered
"Mosyarob." the man with a moustache says after.
Mr White's face becomes confused. His head was slightly crooked, with his eyebrows almost touching each other.
"W-w are siblings." the moustache man explains.
"...twins to be perceived." the bearded man continued.
Mr White only nodded, but everyone seemed to be at jaw-dropper.
Twins here were like curses.
They called them wicked.
Abigail was having her juncture of being astonished by Mr White once again. Mr White might not have overreacted or talked too much occasionally, but he respected other differences.
Abigail glances around her when, suddenly, one voice makes the crowd quieter.
"M-Mr White, are you sure? To change their daily jobs so suddenly?" asked one of the servants as if to object.
"Well, yes, but it will only be temporary as we do not have many reading materials and guards right now; I might be planning to open our sword meadow for our guard of the house to practice. Maybe hire a skilled swordsman next time," replied Mr White, stroking his beardless chin.
The servant bowed his head slightly, indicating that he understood.
"Next, Ms Hazel will be our new Buttress..." Before Mr White could finish his sentence, a voice suddenly interrupted him.
"Ms Hazel? But she's just a maid," the voice said.
Mr White, who had been sitting down, stood up to look for the person who had just spoken.
"To think about the question, is there anyone here not a servant?" said Mr White, asking her a question in return.
His eyes searched around the room, but he could not see the person who had spoken by mean; her body seemed to be buried in the crowd. His private lounge area was not that big, but it was nice to sit there and have a lovely evening tea.
"Ms Maid. Debi, is it?" reckoned Mr White.
Abigail began to wonder at him. To her, Mr White had only spoken to them once, yet he could still remember each of their names; although he preferred to address his servants by the names of the jobs they did, he instantly knew who they were by only their voice.
"Y-yes, Mr White," she answered back.
"Right, are you not a servant?" he asks while his hand is put behind his back, walking toward us.
"I am a servant," she says.
"I would like to talk with the person face to face; why were you hidden?" his voice became firm.
"M-My apologise, Mr White," she said, trying to pull herself out of the crowd.
"Do you know what the difference between you and other servants is, Ms maid?" Mr White asked questions as soon as Debi was out, standing before him.
"No..."
Mr White was silent, but her eye locked up at her face. He was more sane than being called angry, by the way.
"While you were sitting at the corner and being vazey while tossing all your envy toward others, everyone else was setting their goal toward something. It hurt my eye," he said, then turned his back toward the couch leaving Debi standing stiff in front of everyone while her head was still looking at the ground.
It was the longest word of insult she had ever heard coming from Mr White himself.
"Let's continue, shall we? Well, I have only one person who will be suitable for this role. Ms Abigail, the maidservant, will be our new Head Maid."
Abigail was startled to hear her name being called after a tense atmosphere a moment ago. She feels like there is no time for her to gust.
"They will start their job by today. Any question? No? Then, that's all. Everyone may go." He ended his words just like that, and everyone dispersed with question marks that each could not express openly especially herself.
To be suddenly appointed as the head maid, she feels more than surprised. It was a significant role in one household, and she could never imagine being in such a role even tho she had already served for more than fourteen years in this family.
When she was still actively carrying out her duties as a handmaiden to Mr White a few years ago, she always wrote down all the activities carried out by the people around her.
Especially Ms Hazel, who was only a year older than her but she was more efficient and mature than her.
Abigail began to circle her boxes to look for her notebooks.
Her eyes then catch a book tied using a root with a Tulip's cover.
Fragrant that resembles a rose or tulip, also known as Abigail. Her name.
"Found it," she said in a cheerful voice, with her legs almost jumping high because she was so excited.
"We pity Ms Abigail; apparently, it was one of the things that wasted time," said the voice from outside her room.
Abigail just kept quiet when she heard their voices. Assuming they had just arrived in front of her room's door, following the path of the stairs only on the right side of her room.
"Can we stop?" one of them growled.
"Why are you mad?"
"If you continue to behave like this, don't look for me as a friend," she replied, then left.
"Sky!... SKY!" she shouted, calling out to her so she wouldn't leave.
"Let her be," said the voice that Abigail knew very well, Ms Gina.
"But..."
"Gina, have you seen Ms Abigail?" another girl asked as she only arrived at her room's front door.
"Gina?" she reacted as if she was dumbfounded. She sounded haughty.
"Is something wrong?"
"Well, nothing."
"I see. Have you seen Ms Abigail?" the voice asked again.
"No," Gina says.
Then, the next answer followed a few seconds later as the girl who asked the question was silent, waiting for an answer.
"No."
They both answered unsimultaneously.
"Oh, I see..."
Abigail, who heard the familiar voice, rushed to the door to open it after hearing her walk away.
"Ms Hazel. Were you searching for me?" Abigail said, panting.
"Oh, you are here, yes. Mr White is calling for you," she replied, pointing her thumb backwards as a sign to go upstairs.
"R-Right. I'll get ready, but before I go, I must clean up my boxes."
"Understood. We will be waiting for you at Mr White's study." she exemplified that walk away.
She nodded and slowly shut the room's front door as if the girls badmouthing her earlier did not exist.
Rose and Gina shocked themself while looking at the door being shut.
"O-oh my, did you hear we were talking earlier?" asks Gina, alarmed.
"Did you guys talk?" replied Abigail, but her voice sounded unclear because the door was shut.
"No, we don't."
"I see."
"Huh!"
They sounded relieved, but Abigail had almost fallen into a fight earlier if only she hadn't prevented herself.
She then took a deep breath and exhaled while looking at the clock in the room.
"I must hurry and go..." she said.
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"Ms Buttress, is there anyone I forgot to summon?"
"No one is left to be summoned; everyone is here, Mr White." clarified her.
Abigail, standing right in the middle of everyone being summoned, feels suffocating by the air gropes unfamiliar.
"Winter has passed a week; we have another five months and three weeks to survive. If we are lucky, the winter might end in just three months or four, and if we are unfortunate, we might have an issue with a blizzard." exemplified Mr White while leaning back at his desk.
Everyone seemed aware of the situation as they nodded at Mr White's words.
"That is the first reason, secondly, a rat."
Everyone became bewildered as Abigail looked at Ms Hazel's face, who looked like she was not as aghast as they were.
She then immediately understood. The rat was not a rat but an espionage indeed.