Chapter 803

“And well... that’s mostly the end of it I suppose. It wasn’t long after that Zuhra decided to get a job and move out of the orphanage completely. She was perhaps a bit young to do so... but I certainly understood why. Always a workaholic that one... actually... how is she? I only hear what she tells me so it’d be great to have a second opinion,”

Kat glanced at Lily and thought. Um... how do you want to deal with this? It’s not like we really know her.

[Let me take the lead. I have a... vague idea of what we can say and while it might be stretching the truth a bit it won’t be completely false. I’m just not sure if you’d be able to say everything. Best not to risk it.]

Theresa raised a slight eyebrow at the unsee interplay but didn’t say anything until Lily spoke, “Truthfully Ms, we don’t have much to do with Zuhra. We know of her, of course, but we were hired because we don’t know her on a personal level. It’s hard to let your impression of a person change the outcome of an investigation if you don’t actually know them,”

[See Kat. Mostly true. Sure we’re actually from another dimension entirely and ‘work for’ is a bit of a generous way of saying we were summoned... but honestly the fact nobody has really called either of us out about our non-human appearance despite only humans being around is a great victory.]

*I’m not entirely sure I feel comfortable misleading the orphanage matron like this. It’s a bit like lying to your parents about you. Well... maybe not that exactly because I doubt your mother would have believed me about anything a month ago, but that’s sort of what this feels like. You know. Don’t take candy from babies, to lie to grandparents that sort of thing.*

[Kat it’s... probably fine. I mean, nothing I’m saying is blatantly false. I haven’t finished either!] Lily let out a like cough, “Sorry I was just going over what I do know of her mentally. As I said it’s not too much... but... she’s still a workaholic, perhaps a worse one now than before. She had to be told not to work through the night and is basically forced to take a day off a week. Just yesterday she attempted to keep working despite that fact and it apparently required some effort to get her out of the manor.”

.....

Theresa shook her head with a sigh, “Oh how little that surprises me. I’ve spoke with Zuhra and she even insisted she was doing better and working less. While it seems she was telling the truth, it’s only just barely the truth. Perhaps I need to invite her around for tea more often or speak with Marem. Actually, would you mind bringing it up with her if you go and visit?”

Lily nodded, “That sounds fine. I promise to bring it up. I think it’s likely we’ll go and see her... well if we can figure out where she lives,”

“Sorry,” said Theresa.

“No, you’ve been most helpful there’s nothing to apologise for. Is there anything else you think we might need to know?” asked Lily.

“No, nothing comes to mind. Not about Zuhra at least...” said Theresa.

Lily narrowed her eyes, “Well... what about some more about the 8th of the 10th? Anything interesting happening on that front? Perhaps around the time of Gaston’s death?”

Theresa gave Lily a strange look. “Certainly not, the only thing that happened even close to that time was the death of the 8th’s first wife... but that was a good two and a half, maybe three months before Gaston passed away so I don’t really see how they could be related,”

Lily tried to hide her interest as she asked, “Who is the current heir of the 8th?”

“You don’t know?” asked Theresa confused.

“We don’t have much to do with the city usually. I did mention that we don’t really know Zuhra, we also don’t really know anyone else with too specific a detail,” added Lily slightly nervously. It was the best answer she could think to give, and wasn’t quite prepared for the question.

“Hmmm” Theresa mumbled as she shifted, “Well, I suppose... it’s just a little strange. Well... the current Heir is the young master, Kirby I think his name is. He was born just last year. You see, the Lord had... or I suppose more accurately the first Lady had issues conceiving. They were never able to have children, and that put a bit of a strain on their relationship,”

“Do you think he had her killed?” Kat couldn’t help but ask.

Theresa took a bite of her sandwich, chewing slowly in an attempt not to answer the question. Seconds ticked by in the attic as Theresa continued not to answer. Finally, after three minutes she admitted, “I don’t know. Truthfully... it is hard to say. Part of me wants to say that of course he would stoop that low. That he would remove any issues in his path. Considering what he’s been doing to the orphanage funding it wouldn’t surprise me...

“But at the same time murder, and that of your own wife, is a big step up. I’m certainly not willing to accuse anyone of that, least of someone from one of the 10. It’s not really my place to say,” Theresa took another bite but her next words came quicker, “Still... I never heard their relationship was that bad. I heard many good things about them when they were both younger. Married for love I believe. His first wife was a commoner...

“So it isn’t as if he married another noble for political gain. I don’t remember what her family did... I think they might have been cobblers? It doesn’t truly matter. The point I’m hoping to make is that he decided to marry her. Nobody forced his hand, and he didn’t have eyes for anyone else in his younger years.

“Could that have possible soured over time... who is to say really? He did pick up a second wife mighty quickly... but he’s getting old. If he does wish for an heir he can’t necessarily wait for a second true love to find its way into his life. Then again... I don’t know how close he is with this new lady of his. She was pregnant quite soon after they married and then cared for excessively once it was confirmed.

“I heard plenty or rumours about that. Twenty guards on her at all times, a team of three doctors living constantly in the mansion. A full ten servants just to make sure she was comfortable. He truly spared no expense for her,” Theresa rolled her eyes, “Our taxes at work,”

“Do... do you pay tax?” asked Kat confused.

“No of course not, I don’t make any money remember?” said Theresa. “I certainly can’t be taxed on my income of nothing. Though... I’m not entirely sure if the other members of the staff get taxed or not. I haven’t looked at the code changes in quite some time.”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

*Do you know if government workers get taxed on Earth? I feel like the answer is probably yes... but isn’t that a bit confusing?*

[I’m pretty sure they do. It’s treated like any other job. Perhaps they can opt to get the tax taken out automatically but as far as I’m aware they get taxed in the same way as everyone else.]

“Is there anything else about the lord? Or Zuhra? Or Gaston?” asked Kat.

Theresa tapped a finger against her desk. “I don’t believe so. The Lord of the 8th hasn’t made any additional changes to the orphanage since the field. I believe there was some talk about limiting the number of hours any one person can work in a week... but that wouldn’t really change things here. Everyone except myself is paid for their time so if things needed to be shuffled around we could. The only reason we couldn’t pay Zuhra is because I wasn’t willing to send any of the other workers away so she could take their place.”

Lily frowned at that, “Is there no way to get the orphanage some funds?”

Theresa shrugged, “Not that I’m comfortable with no. Certainly there is potential for unsavoury means to make us money but I’d rather stay away from all that. Too much trouble in so many ways...”

“What about couriers?” asked Kat.

“Pardon?” asked Theresa confused.

“Well... what about starting or perhaps partnering with a courier business? I don’t think the kids, at least the older ones, would mind running around the city delivering stuff. It’d give them a way to stay active and perhaps make a bit of money. If you wanted to really stretch it you could have some of the younger children work on wrapping for a bit as either a punishment or a way to teach them patience,”

“Hmm... might be worth looking into...” muttered Theresa.