Chapter 50: Revenge takes time.
The emperor didn't throw his former ministers out on the street. The Newman family had served previous kings for many generations and Bill Newman worked for Valen Sunvell most of his life. From what Lee heard, the emperor granted Newman a retirement pension and a small residence with a nice look at the sea in one of the port cities.
Unfortunately the pension wasn't particularly big and the former maritime minister was able to keep only few servants. Of course, butler Sanders remained devoted to his master and followed him, along with Ivonna and one of the maids.
Lee didn't have a chance to speak with Ivonna about her reasoning, but to him it didn't matter whether she went with Newman under the orders of the Hand of God, or decided to take this opportunity and also retire. Similar to Sanders, she was only a passerby in his life.
Actually Sanders was reluctant to part with his young protege. Not only at the first meeting – during his time in the Newman mansion Lee continued to press all the right buttons, and the old butler grew to love the young subordinate like the son he never had.
Thus, after a hearty hug and squeezing out a promise that Lee would visit him some time in the future, he passed Lee a recommendation letter.
Sanders put it in Lee's pocket, and said, "With this its guaranteed you'll find a job in any noble household. Just mention you worked for me and all the doors will open for you."
To not spoil the closure, Lee's only option was to express his thanks by hugging the man again, pretending to be moved to tears. Only after Newman with his three remaining employees left, Lee realized he was in a bit of a pickle.
Their conversation was overheard by the small crowd of former servants who were gathered in front of the mansion to see off their previous boss. Contrary to Newman, though, they became homeless. Hearing there was a magic ticket that guaranteed a good job, along with status and pay, everyone began to stare at Lee like he was a pray.
A child in a crowd of grownups was as helpless as a puppy no matter how good his training was. What made things worse was that everyone thought he was fifteen, but for a teenage youth he looked way too short and scrawny.