Chapter 46: Selection of Servant
"Next."
In the town square, after Gervis left, the place became noisy again, especially when Thomas stood on the high platform in the square and announced the start of the selection of male and female servants, the many serfs in the audience cheered happily.
For these serfs, this was a chance to make a big leap forward. If they were chosen and became servants in the castle, they would not only be able to change their lives, but after receiving their salaries, they would also be able to provide their entire family with food and clothing.
However, the opportunity is rare and the competition is equally fierce. Butler Thomas has announced the number of men and women to be selected today: 8 men and 5 women.
Compared to the hundreds of people who meet the selection requirements, the number of places is still too small. Many people are nervous at this moment, and they keep muttering to themselves, praying for God's protection.
The selection had already started for a while. Those who met the selection criteria lined up in two rows according to Thomas's request, one for men and the other for women. After carefully looking at the nervous man and woman in front of him, Thomas shook his head, indicating that these two people were not selected.
When the guard behind saw Thomas's move, he immediately shouted, "Next."
The two men and women who were not selected turned extremely pale in an instant, but they did not dare to say much. Under the sharp gaze of the guards, they walked into the crowd next to them with disappointment. In addition to these two people, there were already many such men and women standing in the crowd. The men were dejected and silent, and some girls were already sobbing on their parents' shoulders.
As time went by, there were already 7 men and 4 women standing behind Thomas, all of them smiling happily. Although no one dared to speak, it could be seen from their expressions that they had succeeded and were successfully selected as the castle's servants and maids. From now on, they would live a life that was countless times more decent than that of ordinary serfs.
"You stay." Thomas, who was sitting on the platform, pointed at the man in front of the team. The man immediately bowed to Thomas in surprise, then trotted behind Thomas, looking back and showing a happy smile to his family while running.
There were only a few left in the team of several hundred people, and the eight male servants had been selected as Thomas just pointed. The dozen or so men waiting in line behind had lost the chance to participate in the selection. Opportunities had to be fought for, and these people came later than others, so they didn't even have the chance to be selected.
"Next."
The men behind knew they had no chance and blended into the crowd with gloomy looks.
Thomas then turned his attention to the women's line up. There was only one maid vacant spot, but when Thomas looked over, he frowned, because there were only two people left in the women's line up. Thomas looked at the two people, and neither of them satisfied him.
"Should I just pick one at random? Or should I leave it vacant?" Thomas was in a dilemma. If he picked one at random, it would be a dereliction of duty as a butler. If he didn't pick one, the position would be vacant and certain things in the castle would not be arranged.
Thomas selected the number of servants after careful consideration and based on the needs of the castle. If one was missing, there would be no one to take charge of some things.
Just as Thomas frowned and hesitated, something happened in the crowd.
"Make way!"
"Please make way!"
Yura took Anna's hand and pushed their way through the crowd. Because the crowd was too dense, the people Yura and the others pushed through would step on other people's heels from time to time, causing a round of cursing. Fortunately, Thomas was still sitting on it, so these people just cursed in a low voice and didn't dare to do anything else.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry." Anna, who was dragged forward by Yura, was obviously a shy type. Seeing that Yura's behavior angered everyone, she hurriedly apologized behind him.
Although the cursing below was mild, as the commotion moved closer to the front, Thomas, sitting on the high platform with a wider field of vision, finally noticed something unusual in the crowd.
Thomas turned his gaze away from the line and looked into the crowd, only to see that the commotion had finally reached the stage, and two girls squeezed out from the crowd. Thomas first glanced at the girl in front.
"Her skin is slightly dark, but she has no freckles, and her facial features are good. She is about 14 or 15 years old. She is much better than the two in the queue and can meet the requirements of a maid." After taking a quick look, Thomas immediately came to a conclusion.
Thomas shifted his gaze to the girl behind him, and was stunned when he saw Anna. The girl had long brown hair and a fair face. Although her clothes had many patches, they were washed very clean and spotless.
"Sir, butler, we are here to apply for the position of maid. Is that okay?" Yura dragged Anna with great effort and finally squeezed in front of Thomas. Seeing Thomas looking at them, she quickly bowed to Thomas and asked.
"Okay." Thomas was worried that there was one vacant maid position and no one was choosing him. He was very satisfied with the girl behind him, so he didn't intend to blame these two people for their rash behavior.
"But I have to tell you that there is only one spot available for a maid now."
"Ah?" Yura was stunned for a moment, and then his smiling face immediately fell.
Yura looked at Anna, then at the two women still waiting in line, and pushed Anna in front of him without hesitation.
"Master Butler, why don't you choose Anna? Anna is very well-behaved and she can even read."
"No, butler, you choose Yura! I...I don't want to be a maid anymore."
"What are you two doing? Butler Thomas has the final say on whether to choose or not. If you keep talking nonsense, I won't let you off!" Before Thomas could say anything, the guards behind him saw the two girls pushing and shoving, and fearing that Thomas would be unhappy, they quickly shouted to stop them.
Out of satisfaction with Anna, Thomas was not angry, but instead found the scene quite interesting.
After being stopped by the guard, Yura and Anna stopped pushing each other and dared not make any sound. They shrank back and lowered their heads, not daring to make any more moves.
"You are Anna? And you can read?"
Thomas asked.
"Yes, yes, my lord."
"Then I'll choose you!" Thomas nodded with satisfaction. Not only is she beautiful, but she is also literate. When he tells his parents about it, he will definitely be praised.
"Sir, I don't want to be a maid anymore. Why don't you choose Yura?"
When Thomas heard that Anna didn't want to be a maid, his brows furrowed. Just as he was about to speak, he heard Anna continue, "Master Butler, Yura came so late because of me..."
Although Anna was a little timid, for Yura's sake, she told him in bits and pieces why Yura came here so late.
Yura, who was beside Anna, kept winking at Anna and secretly pulled Anna's finger, but Anna ignored him. Because of the guard, although Yura stomped his feet in anger, he did not dare to be as presumptuous as before.
"oh?"
After listening to Anna's explanation, Thomas relaxed his brows and looked at Yura and Anna with approval in his eyes.
Thomas then fell into deep thought.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
