BELLRAM V01 - Ambivalence of Light and Shadow I

BP001-P27 - Pralines 09

Meia could not believe it, but they did really go back upstairs. They walked back to the carved door.

"Where are we going?"

"Well, to your room, of course. We had to get the key first, didn't we?"

"We didn't get the key, did we?"

"Yes, but now I know where it is," Lijeux mumbled.

~She's eating again, isn't she?

Just as Meia was about to ask, Lijeux stretched on her own accord her hand out to her. A mini spring roll lay in it.

"Do you want one?"

~When did she take that?~

The butler certainly did not know about it.

"You stole it?"

Lijeux stared at her as if it were a completely outlandish insinuation.

"Um, I work here."

~If you want to call it that.~

Meia thought about it for a moment, but she had already taken the spring roll anyway, and besides, Meia was a guest. In principle, they were for her anyway. At least presumably.

"I'll take it." Meia decided and happily accepted the stolen goods.

As soon as Lijeux had freed her hand again, she pulled the next one out of her pocket.

~Does she have the shoulder waist bag just to swipe stuff?~

"Aren't you afraid of being sacked if you make the butler so angry?"

"Nonsense, I can't be sacked at all. My contract will last until the end of the year."

"It's a fixed term contract?"

"Yes, exactly." she replied with a grin.

~I don't think she knows what that means.~

While the two were snacking on spring rolls and talking, they passed the carving door again. Meia was slightly distracted, but this one was not to be missed.

"I can't be fired anyway. We have a staff shortage."

"Have you? But there were super many people in the kitchen?"

"Yes, true. But they're almost all temps. We only have two real cooks and two kitchen helpers. The rest will be gone next week. All in all, there are only eleven people working here. Me, Rujell, a butler, a gardener, a handyman, two cooks, two kitchen helpers, another handyman and a servant boy. That's all."

"Don't you have a masseur?"

"No, why a masseur? We don't have one."

"The other-well, Rujell had said the masseur would not be present today?"

"Is that what she said? We don't have a masseur. She just said that because she was teasing you. She always does that sort of thing. Did she say anything else?"

"No, she just said the masseur wasn't there."

Lijeux nodded several times.

"Mhm, Mhm, Did she also suggest that she could massage you?"

"Yes, she did?"

"Ah, that makes sense. She often offers that to women who are our guests. That Mr Monet tolerates that..."

Meia was undecided about this. Sure it was not good to lie, but in the end she probably just wanted to make her master look better. Meia did not think it was such a bad thing to do.