"If you are trying to make a joke, it isn't funny."
"I'm serious. Help me."
"Sigh… why?"
"I'll start training seriously."
"Not good enough. Why so suddenly?"
"I am not who I used to be."
"Did you honestly think that I'll believe that?"
"I swear on mom's grave."
"You..!!"
"..."
"Fine. But I'm warning you, since you brought mom into this, if you fail to prove it, I'll kill you myself, for real."
"No problem."
Khaleed ends the call with a sigh. He had mixed feelings regarding this. Disbelief, surprise, astonishment, anger, relief, hopefulness, happiness and sadness. He lets out a deep breath after gathering his thoughts.
"Dammit… I guess I really wanted to believe him. For your sake, little brother, this better be true…"
Dialing a number, he made a call.
***
"Why did you leave without me?" Aryssa asked.
She panicked when she realized he was not even in the Academy. She went to the mansion but didn't find him there. She hurriedly runs back to his apartment and feels a bit angry yet relieved when she finds him there.
He is now back at his own apartment because he needs to sort his mind out. The experience being stabbed by stares back in the mansion this morning made him reluctant to go back there.
"Were you expecting me to wait on you?" he asked, giving her a glance.
He was also doubting his action. He doesn't want to trouble anyone out of habit but this is not Earth. There are things to mind as he is also the Ibnor of this world.
Aryssa came to a realization.
"I apologize. I misspoke," she hurriedly apologized.
"He is reminding me of my position as the one who serves another. Typical Ibnor." She thought, while clenching her fist.
"Fine. I'll notify you next time."
"Huh?" Aryssa was caught off guard.
"Well?"
"Ah, yes. That would be grea… Hold on! What do you mean next time?" Aryssa was taken aback.
"It means exactly as it sounds. I'm not speaking a foreign language, am I?" Ibnor replied, genuinely confused.
"Do you mean to tell me that there WILL be another occasion where you simply walk off ON YOUR OWN?"
"Yeah, and I will notify you beforehand. No problem."
"It IS a problem!"
"Notifying you won't be a problem."
"That is NOT the problem."
"And I agree. It's not. Right now, you are being a problem."
"What? How am I a problem?"
"The problem is, you still have a problem with it no matter if I inform you or not."
"That's not it!"
"Then what is?"
"It's YOU."
"Me? How am I the problem?"
"It will be a problem if you run off on your own. What if something happened? How would we explain it to the chairman then?"
"Oh.."
"Oh? Screw your oh! You are deliberately doing this, aren't you? Your day is not complete without making my day stressful, isn't it?" she thought in frustration.
"Sorry, it didn't cross my mind." A simple yet sincere apology, spoken informally.
"Huh?" She couldn't believe her ears.
"Shoot, I shouldn't have easily apologized. For me it doesn't matter since I have been taught with a set of values that has been integrated into my daily life and over years, it developed into a habit. A habit that demonstrates both goodwill and good manners. However, I forgot that the Ibnor of this world, have neither good will nor good manners. It wasn't noticeable before because ever since I opened his eyes in this world, if I recall correctly, I had only spoken in short sentences." Ibnor is panicking inside.
"I'm hungry, let's go eat." He try to change the topic.
"Are you sure?" Aryssa asked hesitantly.
"Why? Is it an inconvenience?"
"You told me that it would only lower your… standing." She replied.
Ibnor took a short pause to think.
"Ibnor is a typical stereotypical minor villain, but his inferiority complex is very serious, to the point all he cares about is status and won't do anything he thinks that would lower his status. He won't use the common brands ordinary people would use, he doesn't eat outside where common people eat and even hired lots of servants and maids in his personal apartment as if it is a mansion." He recalled the data about Ibnor.
"Ah.. that. Well, gather all the… helpers." He said, pausing a bit before deciding to use the word 'helpers; to refer to Ibnor's servants.
"Now?"
"Yes, now."
Soon, all twenty employees assembled in the living room. The space is large enough, even with twenty people, it doesn't cause any discomfort. They are all wondering what he is up to, gathering them. He looked at their faces while keeping silent. Anxiety is obvious on their faces, mixed with other feelings. Some are hatred, some filled with disgust and some of them filled with fear.
"From today onwards, all of you are dismissed! You don't need to come here anymore." he said nonchalantly. Gasps could be heard as confusion hit them. Some of them look at Aryssa for help.
"B, but.. Young Master, they.. "
"Please don't tell me this is also a problem..." he sighed, rubbing his temple and interrupting Aryssa.
"Well?" he asked, as Aryssa seemed reluctant to speak out.
"Some of them really need the job. It would affect their livelihood if you suddenly terminate them. At least give them a notice," she said hesitantly.
"What do I expect from someone who only thinks about himself? He won't care about other people if it doesn't benefit him. Their circumstances be damned." Aryssa thought, feeling that explaining things to him would be useless since it is unlikely he will change his mind.
"This… is a problem..." he sighs.
"That is not the problem here. You are," she thought to herself.
"Y, Young Master, p... Please don't fire me. I.. I really need this job," said one woman, almost crying.
She wanted to kneel but Aryssa pulled her up and held her shoulder, reassuring her. Ibnor looked at the woman.
"She's.. The one who carried the food this morning.." He somewhat recognizes her.
"Alright, let me put it this way." Ibnor said. "I don't really need you. Whoever wants to quit their job, please come forward. Resignation procedure will be taken care of by Aryssa and you will receive three months' salaries as compensation."
The employee couldn't believe their ears.
"Is this… a prank? What insidious things he had in his mind?"
"Is he toying around with us? Giving us hope only to disappoint us later? Worse, he might remember this and make our life harder."
They might not be saying anything, but their face said it all. There have already been countless times where he abused and harassed them, physically, mentally and even sexually.
In this world where the powerful reign, they are helpless to do anything. They might have been mistreated by working there, but as the young master of the Ezad Group, the most powerful corporation, he pays a very good salary.
By comparison, working for him pays higher than what most office workers make, yearly. That is also due to his twisted inferiority complex, as if wanting to show off that his servants and maids are also on another level compared to everyone else.
Of course, some of them couldn't take it anymore and wanted to resign but held back because of the contract. Some of them really need the money for various reasons while some of them are simply afraid.
They couldn't help but to turn to look towards Aryssa. Only after she nodded her head did they release a breath of relief. Gathering their courage, ten of them stepped out and confirmed that they wanted to quit their job. He simply allowed them to leave with a wave of his hands. He is currently thinking what to do with the ones who didn't leave.
"You, what's your designation?" he asked the woman who begged earlier.
"I'm a m, maid." she answered. He rolled his eyes in exasperation.
"I mean, what is your duty? What do you usually do?" He asked again.
"U, Usually I… I he, help around the kitchen an... And sometimes I do the groceries." She stuttered.
He looked at Aryssa and signaled her to come closer. She obliged and went beside him.
"Why is she stuttering? Does she have a speech problem?" he whispered.
Aryssa had the urge to slap his head when she heard him.
"Do you truly not know?" She asked, her eyebrows twitching.
"What?" he asked, shaking his head.
She watches his face with scrutiny only to find his expression is blank.
"You often umm... Force yourself on her. And, I was barely able to stop you each time... " she said with a cough.
He feels the urge to slap himself.
"Ibnor! What the fuck? No wonder everyone is out to kill you. You are the definition of scum. No, calling you a scum is an insult to the actual scum. Shit.. I have a lot to work on…" He complained in his mind.
He then stood up with an awkward expression.
"Ehem… So.. Yeah. That's it. The rest of you, no need to come here starting tomorrow."
"Young Master!" Aryssa is almost screaming, jolting Ibnor.
"I mean, you can still keep your job, but no need to come here everyday. I might call you once in a while to keep this place tidy, or when I want to throw a party, or something like that," he explained hurriedly.
He then turned to Aryssa.
"That should be no problem, right?"
Aryssa stares at him for a while before nodding her head once.
"Something is off about him today," she thought.
"She's watching me. I knew it! She is already preparing the plan to kill me," he shuddered.
"That's settled then. Whew.. I'm hungry," he said, again, changing the topic.
"Let me prepare the food." One of the employees, a middle aged man, presumably the cook, said.
"Don't bother. Let's go, we eat outside. You guys haven't had your dinner right?" he said as he walked to the door.
However, when he reached the door, he noticed everyone else was still glued on their feet.
"What's wrong? Let's go! All of you. Hurry up."
That night, for the first time, Ibnor and his employees eat together.