Veneti

Veneti is the Zarmatian word for slave. The difference between a Veneti and a gilla is that Veneti is a poor land south west of the black sea. Zarmatia views them as a land of slaves and will put to bondage any Veneti that they wish. These people are kept demoralized in this way, rendering rebellion unlikely, or of little consequence... until recently.

Unseen and Out of Mind
Zarmatians expect their slaves to be as unseen as possible. This tends to nullify any relationship between a bonded servant and master beyond what their duties entail. If there is a task that demands socializing with the master/mistress then it is a free servant's job to do so, for Zarmatians of good standing would never lower themselves to converse with people that they consider non-persons.

A New Era?
The rulers of Zarmatia were outed and put to death. A shaky republic replaced it. It has a long road ahead and what to do with the old aristocracy that joined the Venet revolution, well, dismantling a very old institution can be a very difficult task despite public sentiment.