The scene began to distort, turn illusory, and disappear.
Klein left the dreamlike experience as his vision adjusted to the darkness of the bedroom.
He knew that his brother, Baansen, earned one pound for ten soli, which was equivalent to thirty soli a week. According to the standards of a normal commoner, it was tough for him and Melissa to raise them.
He believed that most workers earned twenty soli a week.
He had heard Melissa mention before that in the lower streets of Iron Cross Street, there were families of five, seven, or even ten people living in the same room.
He learned from Baansen that in the past few months, the kingdom's economy had been in a slump due to the situation in the Southern Continent.
He also learned that maids who did chores, including food and lodging, earned three soli, six pence, to six soli a week.
Klein reached out and pinched his glabella. He didn't speak for a long time until Sir Deweyville, who was lying in bed, spoke.
"Officer, aren't you going to say something? The psychiatrist I hired in the past would chat with me in such an environment and ask me questions. "
"However, I do feel peaceful. I was about to fall asleep, but I didn't hear any moans or cries."
"How did you do it?"
Klein leaned against the back of the rocking chair and answered with a question instead of an answer.
"Sir, do you know about lead poisoning? Do you know about the dangers of lead? "
"…" Deweyville, who was lying on the bed, was silent for a few seconds before he said, "I didn't know in the past, but I found out later. Are you saying that my psychological problem, or rather my mental illness, is due to guilt? Guilt towards those female lead workers and glaze workers?"
Without waiting for Klein's reply, he continued like how he always did when he had the initiative in a negotiation.
"Yes, I did feel guilty in the past, but I have long compensated them. In my lead factory and porcelain factory, every worker's salary is much higher than in similar places. In Baekeland, the female lead workers and glaze workers don't earn more than eight soli a week, but I pay them ten soli, or even more."
"Heh, many people blame me for making them lose their morals and making it difficult for them to recruit workers. If it weren't for the repeal of the Corn Act, many farmers would have gone bankrupt and moved to the city. They would have had to follow my lead and raise their salaries. "
"I also told the supervisor of the factory to tell the workers who have multiple headaches and blurred vision to leave the places where they can come into contact with lead. If they are seriously ill, they can also apply for help from my charity fund."
"I think I've done enough."
Klein's tone didn't change at all.
"Sometimes, sir, you can never imagine the importance of a wage to a poor man. Even a week or two of unemployment can cause irreversible and tragic damage to his family."
He paused for a moment before asking,
"I'm very curious. Since you're so kind, why didn't you add anti-dust and lead poisoning equipment to the factory?"
Deweyville looked at the ceiling and laughed bitterly.
"That will make my cost unacceptably high, and I can't compete with other lead and porcelain factories at all. I don't care too much about the income in this aspect anymore, and I'm even willing to subsidize some of the money. But what's the point of always doing this? This can only help a small number of workers. It can't become the standard of the industry and drive them to make changes. "
"This will turn into me purely spending money to support people. I've heard that some factories even secretly use slaves in order to save costs. "
Klein crossed his hands and remained silent for a moment.
"Sir, your psychological problems stem from the accumulation of guilt, even though you think that it has already faded and disappeared. Originally, this shouldn't have had any obvious effects, but something triggered you, igniting all the problems in an instant, all of them. "
"Something triggered me? I didn't know of such a thing, "Deweyville said with doubt and certainty.
Klein allowed his body to sway gently with the rocking chair as he calmly explained, "You just slept for a few minutes.
"You actually fell asleep for a few minutes just now, and you told me something."
"Hypnosis treatment?" Deweyville habitually made guesses and came to a conclusion.
Klein didn't give a direct answer.
He directly said, "You once saw a female worker who died on the way to work in a carriage. She passed away due to lead poisoning, and she was glazing your porcelain."
"…" Deweyville rubbed his Sun acupoints and muttered with uncertainty, "There seems to be such a thing … But I can't remember it clearly …"
Prolonged insomnia had left him in a poor mental state. He could vaguely recall seeing such a scene.
He thought for a moment and stopped squeezing his poor brain. Instead, he asked,
He asked, "What's the female worker's name?"
"Hmm, what I mean is, what should I do to treat my psychological problems?"
Klein answered in a low and concise manner.
"Two things."
"First, the female worker's name is Hayley Walker. That's what you told me. She was the most direct trigger, so you need to find her parents and give them more compensation."
"Second, publicize the dangers of lead in newspapers and magazines. Let your charity fund help more workers who have been harmed. If you can become a member of the House of Lords, push for legislation in this regard."
Deweyville slowly sat up and laughed self-deprecatingly.
"I'll do the other things, but legislation? Heh, I don't think it's possible because there are still foreign competitors. Legislation will only cause the kingdom's industries to fall into an overall crisis. They will go bankrupt one after another, and a large number of workers will lose their jobs. The Poor Relief Association won't be able to save that many people."
He unhurriedly got off the bed and adjusted his collar. He looked at Klein.
"Hayley Walker, right? I'll immediately get Cullen to get her information from the porcelain factory and get her parents here. Officer, please wait with me and constantly assess my mental state. "
"Alright." Klein slowly stood up and patted his black and white checkered police uniform.
…
Eleven in the morning, in the living room on the first floor of Deweyville's house.
Klein, who had been silent all this while, sat on a single-seater sofa as he silently watched a man and a woman being led in by Butler Cullen.
The two guests had rough skin and wrinkles on their faces. The man's back was slightly hunched, while the woman had a mole on her eyelid.
They basically matched what Klein had seen through Hayley, but they were older and more haggard. They were so thin that one could almost see their bones. Their clothes were old and tattered. It was said that they couldn't even live in Lower Street of Iron Cross Street.
Wu …
In Klein's spiritual perception, a cold wind began to swirl.
He pinched his glabella and turned his gaze to Sir Deweyville. He saw that a pale, transparent, and distorted figure had appeared behind him at some point in time.
"M-good morning, honorable Sir," Hayley's parents said in an abnormally reserved manner as they bowed.
Deweyville rubbed his forehead and asked,
"Are you Hayley Walker's parents? Doesn't she have a brother and a two-year-old sister? "
Hayley's mother answered fearfully, "H-her brother broke his leg at the harbor some time ago. We got him to stay at home to take care of his sister."
Deweyville fell silent for a few seconds before sighing.
"I express my deep sympathy for Hayley's misfortune."
Upon hearing this, the eyes of Hayley's parents reddened. They opened their mouths and said in a jumble of words, "Thank you.
Thank you for your kind intentions. "
"The police told us that Hayley died from lead poisoning. That should be the word, right? Oh, my poor child. She was only seventeen. She was always very quiet and stubborn. "
"You sent someone to visit her and paid for her burial. She was buried in Raphael Cemetery."
Deweyville glanced at Klein and changed his sitting posture. He leaned forward and said with a heavy tone, "This is our negligence.
"This is actually our negligence. I need to apologize."
"I've considered it. I need to compensate you and Hayley. Her weekly salary is ten soli, right? That's 540 soli a year. Yes, 27 pounds. Let's assume that she can work for at least another ten years.
"Cullen, give 300 pounds to Hayley's parents."
"3,300 pounds?" Hayley's father and mother were stunned.
They didn't even have more than a pound when they were at their most prosperous!
It wasn't only them. The bodyguards and servants in the living room had looks of shock and envy. Even Sheriff Gate couldn't help but let his breathing turn heavy. His weekly salary was only two pounds, while a constable with only a "V" under him was only one pound.
Amidst an indescribable silence, Butler Cullen came out of the study with a bulging cloth bag in his hand.
He opened the cloth bag, revealing stacks of notes inside. There were notes of one pound and five pounds, but most of them were notes of one soli and five soli.
It was obvious that Deweyville had gotten someone to exchange for "change" from the bank ahead of time.
"This is a token of Sir's goodwill." After receiving his master's approval, Cullen handed the cloth bag to Hayley's parents.
Hayley's parents took it, rubbed their eyes, and read it over and over again.
"No, t-this is too generous. We shouldn't accept it," they said as they gripped the cloth bag tightly.
Deweyville said in a deep voice, "This is for Hayley.
"This is what Hayley should have gotten."
"Y-you are truly a noble and benevolent Sir!" Hayley's parents bowed repeatedly in excitement.
A smile appeared on their faces, a smile that they couldn't contain.
They praised Sir Deweyville over and over again, they repeated the few adjectives they knew, and they said again and again that Hayley would be grateful to him in heaven.
"Cullen, get someone to send them back. Yes, send them to the bank first." Deweyville heaved a sigh of relief and instructed his butler.
Hayley's parents hugged the cloth bag tightly and quickly walked to the door, not daring to stay any longer.
Klein saw the white, translucent figure behind Sir Deweyville attempt to reach out to them, attempting to leave with them, but they smiled abnormally brightly and didn't turn back.
The figure became fainter and fainter, and soon, it completely disappeared.
And from Klein's senses, the coldness in the living room returned to normal.
From beginning to end, he only watched in silence without giving any opinion.
"Officer, I feel much better. Can you tell me now why my butler, servants, and bodyguards can also hear crying and moaning? Shouldn't this be a psychological problem unique to me? "Deweyville looked over curiously.
Inspector Tolle, who knew what was going on, instantly turned nervous.
Klein answered without any expression, "In psychology, it's a case of hysteria.
"In psychology, we call this phenomenon mass hysteria."
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