Chapter 105 The Banquet Begins
"Each group should report their status."
"One group is in place, on the top balcony of the manor."
"Group 2 is in place in the chemistry lab in the garden."
"Group three is in place, on the west side of the second floor."
"Group three is in place, in the study, right behind you, Sister Ash."
"Team 4 hasn't arrived yet. Miss Zoe just came over and said that the room over there hasn't been cleaned up yet, so we have to wait a little longer."
Ash nodded, and she divided the banshees into small groups, hiding them in various locations in the manor.
The cultists from Fire Moth are attending the dinner this time, so the banshees decide to be careful and send more people, because who knows what the extraordinary people in that group can do.
After all, this was the first contact, and although the lord said that they had a high probability of cooperation, Ash always felt that he should not trust this group of people.
They dared to summon even the evil gods, so what else could they not do? The next room.
With the help of servants, Hughes was changing clothes and doing his hair and makeup.
Yes, makeup. In this era, it was considered indecent for male aristocrats to attend public occasions without makeup.
Look at it from the bright side, at least it's no longer fashionable to wear wigs. Hughes sighed in his heart as he let Miss Zoe pat white powder on his face.
"You know, this stuff is lead. Long-term contact can cause poisoning."
"Then you should shut your mouth quickly to avoid eating it. You don't attend banquets every day, so I'll apply less."
Xiu Si secretly sighed. He originally thought that by informing people of the harmful effects of these things, they would stay away from cosmetics, but the result was not what he expected.
The maids only slightly restrained their usage and did not abandon them.
Come to think of it, tobacco and alcohol have long been publicly listed as a type of carcinogen on the blue planet, but there are still people who keep drinking at the table.
It seems that no matter what era people are in, they all have a desperate attitude towards socializing.
I heard that recently in the upper circles of the empire, there are even noble ladies who voluntarily contracted tuberculosis in order to give themselves an image of sickly beauty.
Although this kind of thing is too crazy and rare, it is almost always praised every time it happens and is an act of romance to death.
——It is really fatal. Tuberculosis is a terminal illness in this era. People will not live for more than a few years after contracting the disease.
So Hughes had no choice but to keep his mouth shut and let Miss Zoe apply lead powder. At least even if someone was poisoned, they could still live a long time.
"The banshees were seen by the people in the manor, right? What did they say?"
"There wasn't much reaction. We had already told them in advance. Besides, this group of people had already been screened by us once, so they were quite receptive."
Since the recent pollution incidents, Zeus gradually discovered that the existence of the banshees could not be concealed for long.
Especially within the manor, the servants in charge of miscellaneous tasks would always find something wrong through various clues.
After the last pollution accident, Zeus made up his mind to let the Banshee appear in the manor.
He conducted a background check on all the servants and guards in the manor. Since most of these people came from the Duke's territory, the investigation was ultimately led by Old Connor.
Anyone who can be trusted will stay in the manor, and after testing, they will sign an agreement and be asked to keep confidentiality. Of course, an additional confidentiality allowance will be added to their salary.
Those who are not reliable enough or who voluntarily ask to leave will be given a severance pay.
In fact, many servants had wanted to leave a long time ago. In the beginning, Hughes paid them a good salary, but after the factories outside opened, some people gradually became resentful, because the salary offered by Hughes' factory was also not low.
Why can those craftsmen outside get more money? Aren't we closer to the lord?
So even though the wages and jobs didn’t change, the mentality of many people did change.
Hughes' strategy was supported by almost everyone, and everyone felt they had made a profit.
But not all those who left did so out of resentment. For example, Zoe in front of us also chose to leave after hesitating for a long time.
Recently, she has been teaching in the school, and gradually she found that she preferred to get along with the students rather than doing chores in the manor. Hughes respected her choice and wrote a letter of recommendation for her, so that she could successfully find a formal job in the school.
——Now the school is nominally operated by the city hall, but in fact no one cares about it. The city hall is not nominally under the management of Hughes.
There are fewer servants in the manor now, but it is much easier to manage. Many rooms have been converted into lounges and duty rooms for the banshees. In every sense, this place has become the banshees' home.
This is also an attempt. If the banshees and humans can get along normally, then Zeus may open more places on the island in the future, until one day they are completely integrated here.
This may involve various troubles, obstacles, and various dilemmas, but it is a step that must be taken.
"Okay, the makeup is done." Zoe stepped back and looked at Hughes' face carefully. "You look very decent, Lord Hughes."
"Thank you. You can go down and have a rest first. I will tell Alexi that you are here to help at the manor today. I will count it as overtime for you."
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Hughes walked out of the room.
In the next room, the banshees were discussing in low voices with Connor.
"Are you in any trouble?"
"Master."
"My Lord."
"Is it okay for you to show up in the manor like this? I remember Beatrice is in the room upstairs, right?"
"Don't worry, Lord. There are two teams keeping an eye on her. If she makes any move——"
"They will all communicate through the mind link."
Listening to the words coming from his mind, Xius nodded.
"The followers of the Fire Moth are nominally members of the Candlelight Society. If nothing unexpected happens, there won't be many people participating. We also need to keep an eye on the periphery and don't let them cause trouble on the island while we are gathered here."
"Don't worry, everything has been arranged. In fact, I think Ash is making a big deal out of nothing, but it's not a bad thing to be cautious."
Hughes nodded and said, "Connor, have you notified Miss Beatrice?"
"I've already notified her, including the specific time. The surveillance team just reported that she is ready for the banquet. You know, ladies always have a lot of preparations to do."
"Okay, then go ahead and get busy. When exactly will it start?"
Connor smiled slightly: "It's about to start, but it's not time for you to enter yet."
So that's how it is? Hughes recalled the social habits of the nobles and nodded.
"Then I'll go to the door to greet the guests. Please feel free to do as you please."
"Do I need to come along?"
"No need. There are no distinguished guests of similar status to you invited. You just need to go directly to the banquet hall later."
(End of this chapter)