Elias returned to his estate at 8:00 AM, after speaking to the beast king and explaining the reasons for his actions. He left out the part where Patience schemed against Sienna of course. As soon as he arrived, he summoned his parents and siblings, giving them an update on the Murchison's.
Then, the servants of the family were gathered in the great hall. Many of them trembled under Elias' cold gaze, but what scared them the most were the six tails which flicked impatiently, each movement like a warning strike.
Elias' voice was calm, almost conversational. "You all signed ironclad contracts when you joined this family. Loyalty and secrecy were some of the things that were required from you. Yet some of you thought it wise to serve another tongue in secret. Tell me--who among you is loyal and who among you is as chatty as a rat beast man?"
Silence. Then one male servant stammered. "My lord, I swear--"
CRACK! A tail lashed the floor, leaving a long crack. "I don't need any swearing because I am not a beast god. What I need is the truth."
The interrogation began. Elias' men with mental strength entered the hall, two of them escorting in a reluctant Sienna. As soon as she sat down, Ali left Lady Cadelaria's arms and moved to her. The little one quickly climbed into Sienna's lap and made herself comfortable. With wide eyes, she watched the drama, wondering when breakfast would be served.
The doors of the hall were closed. Liman and other guards stood at the edged, arms crossed, ready to drag anyone out.
Sienna stood slowly, struggling a bit to keep Ali in her arms. "I know that we have gathered for something important, but I beg to be excused. I need to do my morning exercises. If I break my routine, I am afraid that I will backslide."
Elias nodded. The doors were opened and she left, with Ali. One by one, servants were interrogated and they confessed. Some admitted to passing gossip to Patience. Others had accepted bribes.
Meanwhile, Sienna was already in the gardens, waving at the cameras. There were more viewers today than yesterday.
"Welcome, my babies," she said cheerfully, stretching her arms. "Good morning, its time to get up and get fit with Sienna. Let's work on strength and grace together."
Comments rushed in, none related to fitness.
"Is it true that Patience Murchison was arrested?"
"Did you sell yourself to Elias?"
"Are you the mother of the fox twins?"
"Show us Elias, we don't want to see you."
Sienna ignored all the comments, focusing on her stretched. She raised her arms, bent her knees and attempted a beast style squat she had seen on the BeastNet.
At that moment, little Ali came into view. "Mama, me too. I do too!" she announced.
She posed, raised her arms and giggled. She tried to copy Sienna, but instead of a graceful squat, she plopped onto the floor with a giggle. The viewers erupted with delight. Children were beloved on the Beast continent, beast men and non beast men. Ali stole the show immediately.
"Future fitness queen!"
"Forget Sienna, Ali has the moves."
"Baby, do a twirl."
Ali stood up and leaped off the ground. Sienna laughed. trying to keep her composure. "Ali darling, you are supposed to stretch, not bounce."
Ali bounced again anyway, arms flailing like a tiny sparrow.
The guard posted at the windows laughed, drawing Elias' attention. He was still interrogating servants, so the giggling was not appreciated. He frowned. "What is going on?"
One of his men smirked. "It is Lady Sienna's live stream, Ali has joined her and they are hilarious."
"Oh, are they now?" Elias asked coldly.
The guards turned their backs towards the window and focused on the servants.
Elias sighed, "We are cleansing traitors and they are having fun."
Lady Cadelaria patted his shoulder. "Sienna is not responsible for this mess, she did not hire the servants. We did not give her a chance to supervise them either. It is our mess to clean up."
He nodded. "This one is terminated." Elias pointed to a servant that worked in the kitchen. She was trying hard to make herself smaller and avoid being questioned. Her guilt was written all over her face.
The head cook gasped. "Munira, you too!"
The beast woman lowered her head. "I just wanted to carry favor with her because I thought she was the future Mrs. Veythar."
The head cook groaned. Once upon a time she had almost fallen for that trap too. But as an old servant that had been with the family before Elias was born, she knew better than some of the young ones. The Murchison's had been angling for that marriage alliance while Elias was still a teenager.
Elias had said no then, and gone on to continue rejecting it year after year. Neither the older Veythar couple acted on it, nor Elias' parents. It had become obvious when he married Sienna that he would never marry Patience. Why some servants had not realized this was a puzzle.
**
Outside, Ali climbed onto Sienna's back as she tried her third push up. "Mama, I'm the weight."
"And that weight needs to get off my shoulders." Sienna collapsed.
The viewers went wild.
"This is so cute."
"I am ordering for one Ali weight please."
Sienna snorted. "You are one heavy little fox," she teased.
Ali puffed her cheeks. "I'm strong!"
They were about to start a thirty minute walk when Elias joined them. The comment section was spammed by excited viewers.
With one hand, he carried Ali from Sienna's back.
She got up. "Time for that walk." she said to the viewers.
"No, we want to see the fox lord squat."
"Make him show us his tails."
"Tell us about that heat which was mentioned yesterday. What happened?"
Elias glared at the camera and then his daughter. He straightened, one tail revealed itself, but it was flickering in irritation. "My private life is private. Respect yourselves."
He walked away with Ali and Sienna sighed. She started her walk, while talking about her favorite foods and the movie she had watched the previous night.
In the background, viewers saw five servants being marched out of the house between bodyguards. Two were in tears, and three were so ashamed to face anyone.
And just like that, they lost interest in Sienna's stories. They wanted to know what was happening in the background.
Sienna ignored them, but she couldn't ignore Kroton who chased her down. "My Lady, you have been invited to tea by the beast queen!"
Sienna froze. "Did he say tea with the queen?"