Chapter 81

[Iris’ POV]“… So you say, but a woman who left the company around the same time as I got re-employed. In fact, she’s right there!” (Damme)

Damme pointed at a woman dressed as a waitress by the cash register, to which she trembled in response.

Just as I was about to appear before and retort to Damme, my promise with Ryle came to mind and kept me in check.

Sei walked to shield the girl from view, and then he spoke out, “… She was on maternity leave. Since she filed for it, I was made aware of the circumstances and gave her express permission to come back. It is a wholly different matter from yours; so then, why did you inquire about her?”

“…. Well, humph. I didn’t know if it was for maternity leave or whatever, but there are a ton of women in this firm who only serve to stock items or work at the register. And although that woman was able to return, I for some reason cannot. This company is clearly prone to favoritism.. or do you believe that to be unfounded? How about you and that woman over there?” (Damme)

I had to suppress the festering urge to respond to his outrageous claim with every fiber of my being.

My body trembled in anger as I tried to, once more, arrest my urge to retort.

The pits of my stomach lit up with passion, hungry to correct his statement.

This was an insult to the company; it was an insult to Sei; it was an insult that spurned all working women.

Ah, for what reason did this man provoke me? It might be the time to exercise the state power of a duke’s daughter, similar to the time in the Academy.

To hold my tongue.. would be impossible. However, as soon as I opened my mouth to let my feelings erupt from it, a harsh voice rung throughout the room.

“… Do not make light of a woman’s capabilities. Listening to your nonsensical gibberish is nauseating. “(Dida)

Dida and Sei cast a sharp glare at Damme. Dida strengthened his grip upon Damme, whose face now distorted in pain.

“Carrying merchandise, accounting… Well, they do certainly seem like monotonous jobs. But it is because of that very same work that the shop manages to function well. From my standpoint, the work you were doing and work she is doing are of equal importance. The job hierarchy isn’t everything. Either way, she is an important member of our workforce, able to do her job with efficiency, competency, and proficiency.” (Sei)

“Ow, ow, ow, ow! It hurts!!” (Damme)

Damme was more focused on the pain than Sei’s insight.

“Oops, my bad. When Damme’s denouncement of women reached my ears, I flew into an unsightly state of rage.” (Dida)

Dida’s apology was not directed at Damme, but rather, at Sei for interrupting him. Sei received Dida’s apology with a bitter smile.

Sei received Dida’s apology with a bitter smile.

“Upon retirement, you receive your pension and a bonus; but leave the company for good. That is different from a leave as the person in question is bound to come back after their period of absence is over.” (Sei)

Then, Sei turned to the waitress and remarked: “First of all, in the documents that received signatures when we hired people, it is clearly stated that leave of absence and retirement are different. We also explained it beforehand… You heard the explanation, then you still left the company, correct?” (Sei)

“Well, yes. When Mr. Sei asked me why I wanted to quit, he asked for my reason. I told him about expecting a child, and the need to take care of the newborn. Then Mr. Sei asked me about what I would do after taking care of the baby. I told him that I would look for a new job. Right after I said that, Mr. Sei proposed that I take a leave of absence instead of leaving the company for good. To be honest, it is a very time-consuming hassle to find a new job, and I am very thankful to Mr. Sei for offering me the option to return after leaving for a short period of time.” (Waitress)

The audience gasped in shock and surprise.

The leave of absence system was a new one, implemented solely by our company. The reactions from the audience made sense; it was only natural. It took a quite long time to introduce and implement.

“Truly? Astounding!! I also want to work here! We can’t get by only with our husbands’ salaries, and considering the child on its own matter is difficult to say…” (Audience)

“Certainly. I’ll put it in layman’s terms: basically, I have to quit my job whenever I give birth to a child; however, in this company, after giving birth, I could go back and work the same way I did before. It’s a shame that this company is the only one employing that system!” (Audience)

The female customers thought the same, agreeing in their minds. No doubt, it was difficult for women to work under such harsh conditions.

Although working women in Japan face the same issues about gender equality, it is more severe here because of the lack of women’s rights.

It would be nice if there were families to depend on near here, but most of the kingdom’s people have many family members. On top of that, there’s no place that can babysit children.

In any case, it may be good to make a facility like a nursery for working women.

The waitress commented,

Property of © ;“Thank you. In other words, what Damme is saying is an accusation and slander towards our company.” (Waitress)

Sei thanked the waitress and only then it seemed that the cold atmosphere that he had exuded had at last ended.

However;

“After leaving the company, you became independent. However, I never intended to restrict your freedom, even if you joined a separate company. That is, until you caused a ruckus at this store. Now, you are…” (Sei)

Sei turned to face Damme again, but his eyes were cold enough to pierce her heart. Damme trembled in the face of Sei’s glare.

“This situation will never happen again. This time, I will stop the guards from killing you. But if such an incident happens again, I will use different methods.” (Sei)

Sei whispered to Damme with a bone-chilling voice. Damme knew that if an incident like this were to happen again, he would be dead immediately.

He smiled as Damme trembled wildly before him.

“Oh, a local guard came. Dida, hand him over to them.” (Sei)

“… Is that really okay?” (Dida)

“Yes.” (Sei)

Sei nodded as Dida handed Damme over to the guard. He didn’t resist or even struggle and instead looked at Sei with dim, lifeless eyes.