Interstellar Beastworld: Raising A Cub With My Mummy System!-Chapter 54: I WAS GOOD AT MY JOB
She walked past him, her steps measured, her back straight. She did not look back, but she felt his eyes on her until she turned the corner.
[That was a warning.]
She kept walking. "I know. Anyone with eyes can tell."
[He knows you are looking into the accounts. Someone told him.]
"Or he is the rat."
[Possibly. But coyotes are rarely the ones at the top. They do the dirty work for someone else.]
She reached the study door, pushed it open, and stepped inside. The room was empty, the afternoon light filtering through the windows. She locked the door behind her and set Auriel on a soft blanket on the floor, where he immediately began waving his arms and legs.
"Stay here, little one. Mummy has work to do."
She sat at Uriel’s desk and pulled up the accounts on the terminal.
The data MS had compiled was still there, the red highlights pulsing softly.
Tomorrow was her last day.
She had to find the rat
Lin Yue sat at Uriel’s desk, the terminal glowing in front of her. The red highlights pulsed softly, marking the discrepancies MS had uncovered. She scrolled through the data, looking for patterns, for names, for anything that would tie the rat to the missing funds.
Auriel cooed from the blanket on the floor, waving his arms at the mobile she had set up over him. His energy was endless today.
[Think about it,] MS said. [Uriel is not often in the estate. He is at the military base, at the palace, at the border. The house runs itself. The staff manages themselves. That means anything could have happened behind his back.]
Lin Yue frowned. "Like what?"
[Good people could have been replaced with spies. Or with people who owe favors to someone outside. There are probably more rats in this house than just the one we are chasing. The accounts show a network, not a single thief.]
She leaned back in the chair. "So the person we are tracking is not the only one?"
[Almost certainly not. But we are catching this rat for a reason. Not to solve the entire problem. To make Uriel aware that there are rodents in his territory. Once he knows, he can take care of the rest.]
She looked at the name on the screen. The same name that had appeared again and again. The mid-level administrator. Selas Aegaeon’s warning echoed in her mind. A curious hand may find the honey, but it may also find the bee.
"Do you think Selas is involved?"
[He is a coyote. Coyotes are survivors. They work for whoever pays them. He could be protecting the rat, or he could be the rat’s messenger. Either way, he knows something.]
Lin Yue rubbed her temples. "I have one day left."
[Then use it wisely. Watch. Listen. Do not confront anyone until you have proof Uriel can use.]
She nodded and turned back to the terminal. Auriel squealed from the floor, and she glanced down at him. His gold eyes were fixed on the mobile, his tiny hands batting at the air.
"You are going to help mummy catch a rat," she murmured.
Auriel cooed.
She smiled and got back to work.
Lin Yue pulled up a blank document on the terminal and began typing.
Questions.
Simple ones at first, then more pointed.
She wrote quickly, her fingers moving across the screen with the ease of someone who had spent years drafting scripts and handling difficult conversations.
[What is that?] MS asked.
"A questionnaire. I need to hear the voices of the workers. Find out who is suffering from the rat’s actions, who has noticed things missing, who has been shorted on their pay."
[And you think they will tell you?]
"They will tell me if I ask the right way." She paused, reading over her first draft. "I was good at my job. Customer service taught me how to communicate with people who are angry, scared, or desperate. I know how to make them feel heard."
[This is different. These people work for Uriel. They are loyal to him. They may not want to speak badly of the household.]
"They do not have to speak badly. They just have to answer questions about their own experiences. ’Have you noticed any discrepancies in your pay?’ ’Have you seen supplies go missing?’ ’Is there anyone in the house who makes you uncomfortable?’ Simple things. Nothing accusatory."
She added a few more lines, then saved the document.
"Now I need to call Mira."
She picked up her phone and dialed. Mira answered on the second ring.
"Madam?"
"Mira, I need you to mobilize all the staff. Everyone who works in the house. I want them to gather near the study and come in to see me one at a time."
There was a pause. "May I ask what this is about, Madam?"
"I am conducting a survey. His Majesty approved it." She kept her voice calm, authoritative. "I need to understand how the household runs, and I need to hear from the people who run it. Please have them come in order of seniority. The longest-serving first."
"Of course, Madam. I will arrange it immediately."
"Thank you, Mira."
She ended the call and looked down at Auriel, who was still kicking happily on his blanket.
"You are going to meet a lot of people today, little one. Be on your best behavior."
Auriel cooed.
Lin Yue turned back to the terminal and began reviewing her questions again. She would change the phrasing slightly for each person, make each interview feel unique.
The ending remarks would be different too.
Some would get a simple thank you.
Others would get a follow-up question.
A few might get a promise of confidentiality.
She wanted each worker to leave feeling like they had been heard, not interrogated.
[You are good at this,] MS said.
"I told you. Customer service."
She heard footsteps in the corridor. The first person was coming.
The first knock came softly, a hesitant tap on the heavy study door.
Lin Yue straightened in Uriel’s chair, smoothed the front of her tube top, and called out, "Come in."
