I live in a cliche world

Chapter 18; Generous punishment

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Leona Collins' POV

"Why did she gather us here? How annoying"

"Yeah. I was planning to go to the capital today. She's already ruining my schedule"

"She's just a temporary replacement anyway. What authority does she have to gather us here and make us stand for thirty minutes?"

"Right. Does she think just because she has little bit of power now, she can actually rule over us?!"

Noisy, noisy.

They're not even trying to gossip in secret.

Because of the incident with the stupid trio, my patience ran out. I decided to do a huge cleaning of these rotten people who think they can leech off from the palace without doing anything.

Except from the butlers, emperor's two personal maids, kitchen maids and Ashley, everyone else was here, waiting for me to show up in the ballroom, seniors on the left and normal maids on the right.

Ms. Hannah was also here. A liar who told me she'd help me get on my feet once I take this position. She must learn the consequences of breaking her promise.

They all ruined my time to rest and peaceful life. So I'm also going to ruin their happy-go-lucky life and make it as difficult as mine.

After hearing their gossips for few minutes I decided to show up, followed by the stupid trio that were being dragged by the guards as I ordered them to.

Clap!

Their attention was now finally on me as the hall went silence. Some gasped in surprise at the sight of three pitiful girls whose hands were tied at the back and looked like dirty beggars.

However none of them acknowledged me or showed any respect.

"I've heard your complaints very well, my fellow maids. The reason why you were slacking off, why no one willingly and dutifully did their job as a proper servant... It's some sort of protest against me, isn't it?"

No one dared to say anything. Even if they think I'm powerless and can't do anything to them, they still have to respect me on the surface.

I turned towards one of the group of girls that was gossiping loudly just a second ago.

"You said you were planning to go to the capital today? Sorry, did I interrupt your schedule, miss?"

The woman who was trash talking me now couldn't even face me directly. Grabbing the hem of her skirt, she nodded fearfully, shaking in fear for some reason.

I don't know why, as I did nothing but glare at her. Perhaps, I do look scary?

"..But then again, isn't there rule saying that servants can't leave the castle without the head maid's permission? As far as I remember, not a single person came to me and asked for permission. So tell me, were you planning to disobey the rules that were made by the former empress and just leave?"

I know all the answers to my question. She wasn't planning to meet me or even get my approval. She just didn't need to.

Or so she thought.

"If I remember correctly, disobeying the rules and showing disrespect towards your superior is enough to get you whipped for more than twenty times. So what do you think? Stay here and accept your punishment or willingly leave the castle forever? As a person who worked here for years, you must be aware that I've the authority to at least fire and hire the likes of you"