CHAPTER-3

SUNDAY

PART-1

"A 10000 page book?!", I exclaimed. The whole story uptil now was just truly bizarre but very exciting. Also, Hokan was also mentioned there, so it's even more interesting....

"Yes. It is said to have been written from the time when Miyal, Nanako-san's sister, was just 16 to the time just before her death, when she was 24."

"Umm, am I allowed to ask about how did she pass away?"

"Nobody knows that except for Miyal herself. There was no warning or any complications before she passed away, said Nanako-san. She just passed away peacefully while reading her prayers one night, as it is said. Leaving that, do you now understand our mission?"

"Um... yes, more or less, I think. So, I'm a part of the special group who is in charge of the mission, right?"

"Absolutely. Ah also, there's one thing I forgot to tell you - about the code names. Each house has been assigned a code name, precisely after precious stones or metals. Ours is 'Sapphire'. There will be times when you ought to use this code name, so keep it a secret and don't tell anyone about it, understand?"

"Yes!", I answered a bit excited. I had started to become a little excited about all this but I soon reminded myself of my duty and suppressed it.

"Good. Any questions you wanna ask?".

"What were you going to do if I wasn't a -S grade here?"

"Simple, I'd have make you forget about it"

"Forget, but how?"

"Through the Hirakans. As I said earlier, they are extremely powerful. This would be a mere task for them"

"Hmm..."

"Shall we call it a day then? It's quite late now; around half-past 11. When is your next job?"

"Tomorrow at 9am"

"I see. Good luck then"

"Yes, thank you very much." Saying this, I left the room.

PART-2

"Aaah!", I shouted as I switched on the lights in my room. A young woman covered in blood was sitting on one of the beds with a good amount of bruises visible. Well, she didn't...seem to bother and was watching something on her phone with a blunt expression. She turned her eyes towards me, which were seriously mesmerizing.

"New?", she asked.

"Y-yes", I nodded quietly. She sure seems to be a member of this household...wait, she seriously needs some aid now!

"Where can I find the first-aid, miss?!", I exclaimed. "It's not good for you to keep such wounds open like this".

".......", she just gave a blank stare in return."No need of all that. He must be here by now..."

"Huh? Whom?". Just then, a knock came on the door.

"Yes! You can come in". It must be the medical assistance, I thought.

As the door opened, I found Watanabe-san standing in front of me, carrying a first-aid kit.

"Amiya?", he asked a bit surprised.

"Watanabe-san?"

"Minato!", the woman called monotonously, not taking her gaze of her phone.

"Yes, yes", saying this he sat down beside the woman. He opened the box and started treating her. "What are you watching so seriously, Akane?".

"I'm not serious, rather quite delighted now. I just don't have the energy to show that" Watanabe-san peeked a bit and gave out a sigh with a smile. "Again animal videos, huh?"

"......"

"Fine, I'll not talk much now". He now turned his attention towards me,"Ah, ya, this girl is Sakurai Akane; the one who had called earlier"

"Really!?". She was the one who...

"Yes. She currently does assassination or spying jobs for us. She rarely stays home so please try to get along with her when she does"

"I...understand".

By the time, her basic treatment was done, she was fast asleep with the phone in her lap. I, too was lying on my bed, reading a book I bought yesterday. It was a tragic love story between the main protagonist, who is a common blind man and the princess of the nation.

"Amiya, I've done the basic treatment for the night and also wiped some parts of her body with wet wipes, but a doctor must see her tomorrow. Will you please remind her of that the next morning?"

"Ya, sure", I responded. Watanabe-san seemed like a father figure to Akane-san at first sight.

Saying this, he left the room.

PART-3

"....?". I peacefully opened my eyes to a loud noise. I got up and saw Akane-san in a bath towel picking up the pieces of a broken vase.

"I can do that for you, Akane-san. You should go for the bath", I said in a low and sleepy voice.

"I've finished bathing", she said without halting.

"Oh, I see. Even so, you shouldn't take much load when you are injured", saying this I got down and went towards her to take over. She then for the first time, turned her face towards me, which left me in a shock for a moment. She was very...cute; more like the serious 'cute' type.

"Don't worry, I'm doing this of my own free will", she said. In return, I said nothing and started helping her.

What time is it now? My eyes met the clock; It was 8 10 AM. Enough time left.

After we finished our work, Akane-san went to put on her clothes and I went to get ready. When I came out after bathing, my nose caught a sweet smell. It was of something being cooked. I took a peek at the kitchen to see Akane-san cooking some sort of vegetable mix.

"What are you cooking?", I asked meekly.

"Mixed veg. for filling sandwiches. You wanna eat? Or maybe you will eat Minato's cooking downstairs, I think".

"Umm, I'd like to try your cooking"

"...I see''

I put on my uniform, which contrary to your imagination, isn't the 'typical' maid outfit and rather a formal wear and waited for sometime at the *kotatsu until her arrival some minutes later with a plate consisting of 4 sandwiches.

"Itadakimasu!", saying this I put a bite of the sandwich in my mouth. "?!", it was so tasty and crunchy!

"It's good right?", Akane-san said as chewed her portion.

"Yes! Very tasty!", I said with gleaming eyes.

"......."

"Akane-san, does nobody cook in their own rooms?"

"....Mostly not"

"Why is it so?"

"Because of exhaustion, usually. Also, it is not a very common practice since long. Why would you take the trouble to keep stock of vegetables, spices and then cook, wash dishes, the gas, etc. You can cook something on your own here if you want to try something new or eat something of your choice."

"Hmm, I see".

After that, we silently finished eating and after rechecking everything in my handbag, I was finally ready to go.

"Um ya, Watanabe-san had asked you to go see the doctor", I reminded her before going.

"....I understand".

I waved her a goodbye to which she, well, didn't respond and went off towards the main mansion.

PART-4

'Come tomorrow in the morning at 9 AM. I don't expect you to be late', is what he said; But he didn't specify any details about where to come. So, I, for the second time in my life decided to enter the main house. It was as beautiful as yesterday with easily findable extremely costly looking interiors and objects.

"Um, where can I find Mihir-sama?", I asked a passing worker.

"Mihir-sama? Ah, just now I saw him in the drawing room 3. Moreover, you seem new here..", she replied.

"Ah, yes. Nice to meet you, I'm Amiya Mahi; Mihir-sama's personal assistant"

"I'm Hasegawa Haruka, nice to meet you too. You should hurry now then, Mihir-sama must be waiting for you"

"Ah, yes, thank you", saying this I went off towards the drawing room. Nanako-san earlier told me that there are around 66 rooms in this mansion so for easy navigation, there are digital maps placed at many places. Through the map, I somehow reached the drawing room. It was 9 07 now. I knocked on the door once, but no reply came. The second time, I knocked while saying that it's me. After a few such knocks, I gave in and slowly decided to enter.

"Sorry to interrupt....", I said slowly. Upon entering, I found Mihir sleeping on the sofa. He was looking so vulnerable and innocent; completely different than before. As I grew a little closer to his face, I noticed something else. Dried tears, they were. I was surprised. Yesterday, his character and body language seemed like a person who wouldn't shed a single tear even for his family and today I see a new side of him. I decided to wake him up, as time was running out.

"Mihir-sama'', I called out to him.

"...?", he slowly and childishly opened his eyes."Amiya? Ah, what time is it?", he sleepily asked.

"It's about 9 10 now, Mihir-sama"

"I see", he then looked at his phone and said,"I haven't got any message from her yet. Anyways, let's start now", saying this he began to call someone.

"Let's go, Amiya", he said. I nodded.

''Ah Sosuke-san, I'm coming now. Are you ready with the car?". It was probably the chauffeur."Ah, ok", saying this he ended the call.

PART-5

We reached our destination, the airport, where we were supposed to pick up Ms.Kashiwagi, Mihir's step-mother. The driver went out to probably fetch her, and it was just me and Mihir in the car. He was looking outside the window.

"The weather is very pleasant today, isn't it Mihir-sama?", I asked, trying to break the ice between us.

"Right"

"Ah, I would be accompanying you to school tomorrow, did you know that?"

"I expected that", he said without even a flinch, while still looking outside. I was in a fix now.

''I see..."

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"......"

"......"

"Hey", he said after a moment of silence,"What do you think comes after death?".

"Death...? I think nothing really comes after death. We wouldn't be conscious to really know all of that. Our soul would aimlessly wander the cosmos, relaxing until it's rebirth or materialisation in some way".

"I see. Your way of answering seems extremely spiritual"

"I'm not exactly spiritual, haha", I tried to laugh a bit.

"There she comes". I tried to look out of the window to see her. She was a bright and beautiful looking woman with short brown hair. She looked extremely fashionable and cultured, just like I had seen her before on TV and magazines.

After putting her luggage at the back of the car, the chauffeur started the car.

"Are you new here?'', she asked after settling a bit.

"Ah, yes. I'm Amiya Mahi, nice to meet you!"

"Hmm, nice to meet you too. Hope you get along with that boy"

"Uh, yes...", I hesitantly said. There was no specific reaction from him.

In some 15-20 mins. we reached our very first destination today. It was the headquarters of a very popular entertainment agency- blue gradient. We had a photoshoot and an interview there for the upcoming edition of the record breaking magazine- Standby!

My only work there was helping him regarding clothes and makeup. One thing I found very exciting during the photoshoot was the sync between Kashiwagi-san and Mihir. On the surface, they don't seem to get along but now they were a different breed itself. As both posed with such great ambitiousness and elegancy, and pierced the camera with their radiant and sexy eyes, I got goosebumps. After about one and half hour or so, we finished our work and departed from that place. Our next destination was for a T.V. talk show shoot at Masawa corporation. It was a very big studio there with a lot of artists.

"Heyyy! Mihir!!", someone called out as I stood beside Mihir. I turned my head a bit to notice a pretty girl with braided blonde hair and blue eyes, running towards us. She came in full speed and jumped upon Mihir, while hugging him tightly. Was she his girlfriend?

"Keiko, why are you here?". As he said this, he smiled a bit. This was the first ever time I'd seen him smile. She must be a special person to him....

"Of course for the shoot ! By the way, it's been a long time, huh?"

"Probably..."

"What probably? The last time we met was at mother's birthday, and that was two months ago". She then noticed me and asked,"Huh?Have we ever met?".

"Umm, I'm sorry to say so but I don't remember you if it is true"

"She's debuted as my P.A. just today, Keiko''

"Oh!? You recruited a P.A. for yourself! Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that"

"Father was the one who did all this without telling me"

As they continued to talk, I felt something odd in Mihir's behaviour. He was willing to talk and make a conversation here. And he also looked delighted, though not shown on his face. Was she really his girlfriend? or maybe something more than that? I wonder....

Another thing I was amazed at later during the shoot was how quickly Kurtana Mihir changes his demeanour completely. I could clear see why so many girls in the country have had their hearts captured by him. By the time, all of the shoot and formalities ended, it was already 3 P.M. We also had a little lunch break in between where I talked a bit to the other workers of various houses and gained some extra insight into specific matters. As we were about to depart, Keiko-san again approached us.

"Hey, the next week, can you come to my house the night before my birthday?", she said.

"Uh...., ya sure", he said after some thought.

"Thanks! I love you!", she said while hugging Mihir tightly. "See you later then, Mahi!", she pulled up a casual goodbye and off she went.

We then started walking towards our car, which was standing at a distance.

"Mihir-sama, was that your girlfriend?", I asked, even though it was perfectly confirmed by that 'I love you' earlier.

"My step-sibling, Nagasawa Keiko", he instantly replied.

"Hmm, I see..". Now, that makes a bit of sense. That explains why she was also freely interacting with Kashiwagi-san. So, she is her daughter. But wait, if she really is her daughter then why doesn't she stay with us? Who knows...I'm still inept in dealing with this high class society.

As the car started moving, Kahiwagi-san asked,"Mihir, your father told me earlier that the Matsuokas invited us for a tea today. Wanna go?"

".....". No particular reaction could be seen from her step-son here though.

"Ok then, let's go", she decided on a whim.

We reached the Matsuoka Mansion in about 15-20 mins. The mansion though still huge, was comparatively much smaller than the Kurtana Mansion. It had a vibe which gave it more of a 'cute' look with it being decorated with visually satisfying objects. Now, mind it, I said just the mansion is a bit small because the overall area of the residency is just huge, much more vast than the Kurtanas.

As we walked through the pavement to reach the main house, I noticed a girl with shoulder length hair reading a book on a beautiful table beside a space which was decorated exceptionally with vines, herbs, creepers and a prepossessing cluster of small trees with pink flowers.

"Hey, come with me for a minute", Mihir said and started walking towards the girl. Kashiwagi-san paying no heed, continued walking and I decided to follow Mihir. As we approached her, she sensed us and turned her eyes towards us.

"Oh, Mihir!!", she shrieked in happiness."And you...", she said looking at me with a bit shocked eyes,"Oh, Amiya Mahi-san?", and a slight sly smile crept out her face.

"She is my new P.A., Maki; just joined yesterday. What about you? What are you reading?'', Mihir asked.

"Nothing, just a crime-thriller novel. Moreover, did aunty come with you?"

"Yes, she's inside"

"Then, what should we do now? Shall we do something in my room?"

"Not interested. Let's do something here itself"

"What about you, Amiya-san? Oh, before that I forgot to introduce myself", she said and got up,"I'm Matsuoka Maki, Mihir's classmate and also his girlfriend", she said the last part very proudly, as it were some big achievement to be in her position.

"Ah, yes. I'm Amiya Mahi, let's get along", I replied back. She seems like a really nice and respectful girl by her vibe.

Just then, a voice came from behind calling out Mihir's name. I turned around to find our chauffeur .

"What is it, Tanaka-san?", Mihir asked.

"The master has called you inside"

"I see, I'm coming", he replied back and turned towards me,"Let's go", he said.

"Wait, I've an idea then. Why don't you let her stay with me in the time being? That way, we could talk and get to know each other"

Mihir sighed a bit and replied,"Do whatever you want". Saying this, he walked away.

"Don't you find Mihir's character extremely appealing, Amiya-san?", she asked as we watched Mihir go.

"In some areas, yes I do", I replied with full honesty.

" 'In some areas' means? What about the other areas?"

"Umm, I meant to say...um, well-"

"Don't you fear to say anything. Whatever is in your mind, say it! I promise whatever we you say will remain between us only", she began to force me.

"He seems plain boring to me", I blurted out the truth without any hesitation and I personally can't understand why I did so...

Just then, Maki-san quickly burst into a laughter. Well...looks like I did say something funny, after all, heh-heh

"I like you, hahaha", she said after bringing down her laughter. "The way you said it was very funny~ I also condemn your courage to say this to me", she smiled.

"Umm, I didn't mean anything wrong- also, I'm sorry for what I ju-"

"Stop being so formal, you know. Be very free with me. I don't know why but it looks weird when you are so formal"

"I see, okay then."

"Then, shall I call you Mahi-san?

"Yes, that's totally okay. Then, I'll call you Maki-san"

"Good!", she smiled heartily.

I smiled at her in return.

"Do you like horticulture, by any chance, Mahi-san?"

I do have a slight interest and knowledge in farming and related, so I replied in affirmative. "Yes, I do know a bit about all that"

"Do you see this beautiful grove? All of these trees were planted by me"

"That's really nice. I find these incredibly warm and beautiful"

"I know, right? This is a species called 'Crepe Myrtle'. Ah, also, not only that, I was also the one who planted most of the other trees like the Chaste trees on the other side! Wanna see them?"

"Ah, sure".

Thus began my tour around the mansion. The mansion was so lush and nicely decorated that it even left behind the decorum of the Kurtana mansion. The reason behind this though couldn't be seen at once, was quite simple. It was due to the sheer heavenly look of the garden. It was planted and prepared in such an extrordinary and calculated way that would easily leave behind some of the best parks in the country.

Neverthless, some spots looked so romantic that two persons would automatically fall in love or make up. Though a bit unusual, there were different things placed at different areas. For eg. there was a piano and wooden seat placed at one instance of the garden or rather a mini forest on which small birds were chirping happily along with a dining table and also an insanely decorated outdoor bed.

"Hey, come here for a second!", Maki called out to me. We then entered another row of trees where as soon as we entered, many cute little and colourful birds began to flock around us.

"They are so cute, right?!", she smiled happily. My eyes went a bit wide for a second as I saw her. She looked an angel from heaven, for real.

Just then, Maki's phone started ringing.

"Hello, Mihir?", she answered. ''Hm,hm then leave her to me; I'll drop her home later. Where were you all this time, by the way?" "Father caught you?!", saying this she chuckled and then replied,"That's okay, we'll talk about it later then. Yes, yes, leave her. Okay then, bye~"

"Umm, what did he say?"

"They are going home of course"

"Home? Then I must go I think..."

"Dont' worry, don't worry. I've already talked with him; I'll drop you later"

"Well, I haven't even greeted the sir and madam yet and also I'm his P.A. so..., it feels a bit rude to me"

She smiled and said,"As long as I'm with you, nothing can happen to you. It's all on me"

"But still.."

"Just leave it"

I felt a bit weird here and so I silently agreed.

After this, we decided to have some tea there itself. Maki called someone to ask for suitable arrangements for the same.

"All this, who was the one behind the creation of this park?", I asked as we sat waiting for the arrival of our snacks.

Maki smiled a bit and said,"This park was a joint venture by both my mother and Mihir's mother. You may not know but they were lifelong friends and this park was their dream. Though, after his mother died, my mother stopped taking care of it due to trauma and it remained like that for a year or two before I somehow got attached with this place observing which my mother started the rehabilitation of this park. Like I said earlier, I planted many trees here since then and still occasionally plant some new ones."

By then, our tea came and we enjoyed sipping and talking about various random things for a while. As the evening settled, the lanterns on various trees around the park began to glow. What a sight it was....

After a brief meeting with Maki's family, I checked my watch. It was already 5 45 by now.

"Maki-san, thank you so much for today but I've to urgently go home now", I urged her.

"Do you have something important?"

"Yes, some personal job"

"I see, then let's go drop you!"

As we boarded the car, I began to think about the various events that happened today. Maybe, the society of aristocrats isn't that bad at all.....probably.

PART-6

Time- 7pm sharp

It's time; time to end this story. I take a last look at the mansion, which made me recall a lot of hazy but the only good memories of my life when my mother was alive. Soon, I'll be joining her in the afterlife. How interesting......

My phone starts ringing at that instant. I slowly begin walking and take my phone out of my pocket.

"Yes, where are you?"

"Straight around 500m from your home. I've sent my location to you"

"Alright"

After walking some distance, I spot a blue toyota parked at a side. How many times have I not seen that very car in my whole life? The first thing that came into my sight as I began to open the car's back door was two people of opposite sex kissing passionately with one hand of the man on the woman's right breast.

"Oy, I'm already here", I started at them.

Both of them looked at me casually and the lady opened her mouth first,"Handsome as usual, right?"

I said nothing and sat in the car. The guy started the car and we started to move.

"What work do you have work with Mika-san this time Mihir?", the lady asked.

"Some personal things", I curtly replied.

"Hey won't you share your reason with this sexy aunt of yours?~"

"Since when did you become my aunt?"

"Since you were born..!", she said while stretching her hands.

"Shut up, you don't even know my birthday"

"6th July, 2006. You know, despite my attitude I really care about you and Tsuki you know"

"Very funny"

"Like you?"

"No, your face"

"More like that slut girlfriend of yours"

" A slut? Like you?"

This comment should have angered her and yes it did.

She twisted her body a bit to point her gun right at my forehead and said,"Is this how you talk with your aunt, Mihir?"

"Oy, can you please shut up this time? You too always fight like children whenever you meet", the man, Saezawa Mikatsu, who was quiet the whole time finally spoke. Hearing him, she took her gun back while giving me a stare. Well, this wasn't the first time she had pointed a gun at me so I really had nothing to say here.

Also yes, she is my very own aunt, or my mother's sister, Zaitsu Saki. I never really had any contact with her until my mother's death. I remember a bit when she came teary eyed for my mother's funeral. That was also the first time I talked to her. Now, the reason to why I didn't had any contact with her and why I have such a relationship with her now is a long story. This, Mika-san here is her, well you might have guessed it already- her boyfriend. I have quite a good relationship with him contrary to her.

PART-7

"Well then, we'll be going now as we have some work elsewhere"

"Yes, thanks for the help."

"See you later then"

The car then drove off and I turned back to face a compound which was regional base of black ice, namely- Chrome Ice. The compound was purely steampunk style and I liked it quite a bit. I freely walked past the dozens of guards which a very few number of people had the privilege of. My aim was to meet the regional head, Shinseki Kazuya and was successful in doing so when I found him loitering casually in one of the hallways. He sensed my presence from behind and turned his head around to check.

"Oh, Mihir-kun. Yo!". A sweet yet solid response, at least in my POV.

"I want someone's murder done", I jumped straight to the point.

"Hmm, who's?"

"Mine"

"......"

"......"

"Uh? did I hear that correct?"

"Absolutely"

His poker face then turned into a smirk and then a laugh.

"First time in my life ever am I getting a contract of self assassination and that too from you?! Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that", he laughed. "Well anyways let's talk about that in my cabin. Come", he added.

"So, Mihir-kun, tell me why you want to do this", he said as we walked.

"I just felt like it"

"You know, Mihir-kun, you have a dangerous personality, you know"

"Might be"

"Anyways, how exactly should I feel about it since you're my old friend. This was so unexpected, you know"

"I don't care about how you feel, just tell how much do you want?"

"Don't worry, I'll relieve you for free"

"I have some conditions though"

Just then, we reached his cabin and he went in ahead while calling out to someone as 'parrot'.

"Oy parrot is your work done yet?", he casually asked.

I, who was a little behind him, entered the office after a delay and noticed a girl with bleachy white hair, surrounded by books and documents at one end of the cabin. I am getting a bad feeling here.

"Can you tell me the reason why you jerks never ever maintain your files correctly?", she said.

A second later, she turned her head to come face to face with me. I couldn't believe my eyes upon seeing her. My feeling was right for she was none other than Amiya Mahi. In return, she began to stare at me with a confused expression.

"Mihir? For real?!", she exclaimed.

"Oh, you already know each other? That's nice"

On the other hand, I was literally in a fix to speak something.

"What...are you doing here in the first place?", I asked.

"I can ask the same to you"

"That's none of your business. First, tell me how are you connected to Black ice?"

"Well....how should I explain you, I wonder. Your coming here has become a big problem to me"

"Allow me to explain, Asatsu-kun", Kazuya intervened,"I don't know what is the relationship between you two but this person, this absolutely beautiful girl standing right here is none other than the daughter of the president of Black Ice- Amiya Natsuki!"