Robin lives in a mansion at the center of the village. Unlike other places, it was off-limits to people. Just passing by near the entrance, you would already be driven away by the unwelcoming faces of two fierce-looking elves.

Just to test if I could get my way in, I tried to converse with these stern-looking guards. I attempted to entertain them with my stories. I even shared with them the latest gossip in town. But it never worked. Their expressions remained unchanged throughout our talk, I mean my talk because you know? They never responded.

After my failed attempts, Gideon and I planned a different approach. We found out that the mansion was looking for a maid. Since no one saw me in my real appearance, Gideon said that I could apply for the position. I just thought he was using this as an excuse to see what I looked like.

"I say, change back to your appearance so you could apply to be a servant in the mansion." He had a point though. Only the guards and servants can enter and exit the mansion without being questioned.

"Why don't you apply as one?" He could pass as a servant or even a guard.

"Didn't you see it?" he answered "The village elves had been hot on us the moment we entered their territory."

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused. "They are nothing, but kind to us."

"You mean, the free shelter and the free meals?"

"Yeah, they were very accommodating to us."

"Don't you get it kid?" he replied. "We are being monitored. They gave us free shelter so they know where we stay. They alerted all the restaurants so they know where we eat. Even if we just walked out of this room, I bet that a servant will immediately come to us."

To test his theory, I walked out of the room. To my surprise, two servants were already in front of me the moment I just closed the door. Gideon is right, we are under their radar.

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"What do you think?" I asked Gideon after I removed the disguise spell.

"You didn't tell me your hair is red," he answered, somewhat stunned.

"Does it matter?"

"No, even elves had different hair colors," then he said, "You remind me of my sister."

"Really?

"She has the same shade of hair color."

We were silent for a minute before he finally spoke again.

"So, here's the plan..." he started explaining.

My goal is to get hired as a servant in the mansion so I had to learn how to cook, clean, serve, and everything else that a maid does. I didn't have to. I was a slave in the Dark blood pack, so I know all about these. When I get inside, I have to learn all the corners of the place. Then, Gideon will draft the blueprint of the mansion based on this.

Gideon advised me not to use any spell to conceal my appearance. He said I had to appear as honest as possible, even if my intentions aren't. I had to thank him cause the moment I and the other applicants entered the mansion, everyone who used a disguise spell had been revealed. They were thrown to the dungeons immediately. Gideon just saved my ass!

"Next," said the head servant of the house. She was tasked to screen the applicants entering the mansion so I had to get on her good side.

"Good morning, ma'am," I greeted her. She nodded her head in response. Though she didn't express it, I knew she was thrilled to be addressed as someone with authority. Most servants are. It just boosts their ego. I plan on capitalizing on hers.

"Name?"

"Aroa, ma'am."

"Do you know how to cook?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"How about cleaning? Gardening? Making tea?"

"Yes, to all, ma'am." She seemed uninterested in my answers. I had to set myself apart from the other applicants.

"Any previous employer?"

"I used to be a server in a tavern in the town of fairies." That got her attention.

"What are you doing here, then?" she asked me with disapproval.

"The tavern I was working at was attacked by trolls," I explained.

"Me and the other servers were taken. They boarded us on a ship. I heard they were going to sell us. When I had the chance, I jumped into the sea and a boat passing managed to save me. They brought me to the land of elves."

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The head servant had a look of pity in her eyes. It had been known for ages the enmity between the clan of elves and trolls. It was no wonder that this woman who was looking at me with disapproval earlier was now sympathizing with me.

"You'll start tomorrow," she finally said after a moment of silence.

"You mean..."

"You're hired." That night, Gideon and I prepared for my upcoming mission. This is the first time he is sending me alone, without his protection. For some reason though, he seems anxious. He keeps reminding me not to be reckless. He is like a hen hovering its chicks. He really immersed himself in the role of my guardian.

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"You will be assigned in cleaning the entire household together with Celia,"

"Yes ma'am" I bowed my head as I answered her.

"Oh, and remember, except for your own room and the rooms assigned to you, you could not enter any room without permission."

"Yes ma'am," I have been saying this ever since I met her.

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My first few days went smoothly. I also noticed Celia had the habit of passing me her chores. She liked to boss me around. She thought she was taking advantage of me. What she didn't know was that it was the other way around. Since she was too lazy to clean the entire household, she gave me her keys, even those of restricted rooms.

By the fifth day, I had memorized the arrangement of rooms of the entire mansion. It's now time to take action. We had planned to meet in the inn we were staying in before. Of course, I had to turn back as Aaron so no one would suspect my connection with Gideon.

"So, it was either in his room or in his office?"

"Yes, I tried to enter both rooms, but I was stopped by the guards," I replied.

"Was there anything unusual in any of these rooms?"

"I saw several men, entering and leaving his bedroom with huge wooden chests.

"Then it's in his office," said Gideon confidently.

"Why do you say so? It could still be in his bedroom."

"Did you know why the land of elves is rich?"

"Because they are good in business?"

"Yes, but aside from that, it is because they are into gold mining."

"Then the wooden chests I saw were..."

"They contain gold."

"But why do they put them in his bedroom?" I asked, then I realized what was going on.

"You mean?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Gideon said.

"He was embezzling gold. Instead of surrendering the gold to the treasury, he had been keeping them for himself. Of course, not everything though. It would cause an uproar if all the gold were gone. It will alert the Royals of Elves."

"I see, but still, why couldn't the passes be in his bedroom?"

"Robin wouldn't place the passes where other people could enter and exit as they please. After all, it is also made of gold. Rare gold in fact. His workers may get tempted and steal gold. If they stole the passes, that would be the end of him"

"I agree, he wouldn't be able to explain to the Royals how he had lost it."

"So, now, let's plan how to sneak inside his office."

We agreed that he will be pretending to be one of the men delivering gold. It was difficult at first as he had to do it without the disguise spell. He had to shave his beard and mustache. His new appearance became a surprise though! He actually looked clean for the first time.

From the village chief's bedroom, Gideon will try to sneak into the office. He needed to pass by two areas usually crowded by servants- the kitchen and the servants' quarters. We don't know what will be awaiting him in the office, so he had to be extremely careful when searching the place. As for me, I had to make a diversion to distract the guards.

"All set." he said as he ended our meeting.

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It was an hour before noon when I started to move.

"You" Celia pointed at me "Clean the bathroom in the guest quarters." I was fully aware that she was again passing to me her duties.

"But I was assigned to maintain the fire for the soup," I told her, dangling the bait. "I had to do it for at least fifteen more minutes."

"Okay, okay, I'll do it. Go to the guest quarters now," she said, after all, maintaining the fire for fifteen minutes is a lot less messy than cleaning shit. What she did not know was that I poured gasoline on the firewood.

"Just remember to put the remaining firewood after five minutes." "Alright, alright, hurry and go to the guest's quarters already."

"Alright, be careful with the fire though," I said as I was leaving. "It sometimes gets out of hand."

Five minutes later, I heard screams coming from the kitchen.

"Fire! Fire!" I ran towards the master's room.

"Help! Help!" I told the guards, "The kitchen was on fire!"

They hesitated. It seemed they had never left their post before.

"Come on! Or the entire mansion will burn into ashes!" The situation finally sunk into them. They would have nothing to guard if everything was burned.

"Okay," they said as they ran towards the kitchen. I went with them, pretending to help in putting out the fire.

Some of the elves brought buckets of water stored in the laundry area. This did not faze the fire. It even grew stronger. Of course. I had already replaced them with gasoline. Not everything though, as I did not intend to burn the whole house. I just wanted to give Gideon sufficient time to find the passes.

It took over an hour before the fire was finally put out. The head servant was very angry, especially with me. Celia accused me of laziness. She told her that I often pass my duties to her. Just like now. I did not defend myself. So, by the end of the day, I was fired. I happily left the mansion.

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It was thirty past six when I went back to the inn. Gideon was on the floor, drunk and still drinking his beer. I saw the passes on the floor. I picked it up and placed it inside the drawers.

"Aren't we supposed to leave now?" I asked Gideon. "Why did you get yourself drunk?"

"I...I was just being emotional," he answered. "I haven't seen my sister in almost two decades."

"Why?" I probed.

"I caused her heartache..." he replied. "I caused her family to be ruined. I don't know if she still hates me."

Suddenly, he started crying. Macho and rough Gideon was crying. He actually looked like a big baby. I didn't know what he had done in the past. But I know that he cared a lot about his sister.

"I'm sorry...sorry..." he said repeatedly said as he hugged me

"Old man..." I said, trying to comfort him.

"Selena," I thought I heard him wrong, but he already fell asleep before I could ask him.