Mr. Reginald began walking towards the dark entrance while I stood there and questioned just how safe such a shady entrance was. There was no visibility from where I stood and I had no idea what was inside. It looked like Mary was thinking the same thing as she didn't waver even after Mr. Reginald began walking inside.

She was looking inquisitively at the dark entrance like she was weighing her options, although, considering how little she trusted Mr. Reginald right now it's understandable. I didn't know what was going on, but it seems like people are betraying the household and if Mr. Reginald was one of them I definitely didn't want to have to fight him in the dark.

"I know you two don't trust me," Mr. Reginald said, stopping right inside the entrance before turning to us, "but please hurry. We have to take the Young Master to his house before they find us."

"What you say is true," Mary agreed.

Mr. Reginald's stern demeanor loosened. "Then-"

"But I still don't trust you. My current orders are to keep the Young Master safe. Nothing more, nothing less."

Mr. Reginald looked agitated but held his temper. "And the safety of the household!?"

"Is not a priority," Mary said with an apathetic expression.

"What about the Young Master's feelings on the matter? Are you really going to keep him from his father in such urgent times?"

My eyes were glued to Mary, waiting for what she was going to say.

Mary paused for a moment, as if choosing her words carefully. "The Young Master's feelings," she started, "are irrelevant. If I have to knock him out and tie him up to keep him safe then so be it."

Some part of me felt hurt by her statement. Mary would never say something she doesn't mean. She was easily the most devoted out of everyone in the house; the crimson haired maid Mary. The only maid to never fail an order received by Father. Mary looked at me for a split second, as if there's something she wanted to say, but stayed silent shortly before facing Mr. Reginald again.

Mr. Reginald looked appalled. "How could you spout such nonsense in front of the Young Master! You dar—

"Calm down you two," I interjected. I walked in between Mary and Mr. Reginald and looked at them with a stern demeanor.

"Young Master?" They both said in unison. Mr. Reginald was astonished and even Mary seemed surprised.

"Mary, I think we should follow Mr. Reginald. It's safer to trust him than anyone else right now."

Mary returned to her stoic expression. "I know what I said was harsh but please don't let it cloud your judgment. I only mean for your absolute safety."

I flashed her an innocent smile. "I'm not upset," I lied. "I just think rather than yelling at each other and giving the enemy our location or wandering around the mansion waiting to get caught it's better to find a safe place and devise a plan."

Mr. Reginald was speechless, but Mary seemed indifferent.

"As expected of the Young Master, to be so level-headed even during the darkest times," Mr. Reginald said. "Truly your father's son."

"Ahaha, thank you," I said blushing as I scratched my messy brown hair.

I don't know about that though.

Mr. Reginald turned back to Mary, his stern blue eyes now calm. Any objections Mary?"

Mary looked at me. "If that is what you believe is the best course of action, I will support your decision."

I gave her a far more genuine smile then before. "Thank you, Mary."

Truth be told I don't know what came over me. I'm not exactly a mediator but I guess I was just tired of seeing an argument that was headed nowhere. I thought they were going to end up killing each other and the last thing I wanted was for them to hurt each other.

Mr. Reginald walked inside the dark entrance, followed by Mary, then me. After a few steps inside, the walls closed and the light disappeared as all that remained was darkness in the pitch-black room. Almost immediately after closing, the darkness was dispelled by blinding lights hanging from the ceiling which illuminated everything around us, revealing several pathways in all different directions. The entrance behind us had disappeared and was replaced by a white wall with a bright red button on it. The smooth tile floors were a bright shade of white that outclassed even the pristine walls. It felt like we weren't even in the mansion anymore.

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"This is so cool," I admitted.

"It's creepy," Mary complained.

"This is one of the many secrets of this mansion. There are pathways here that lead to every location in the building.

"Why don't I know about this? Or Mary?"

"Only a select few know of these pathways. To my knowledge only your father and I have knowledge of this place."

I guess it makes sense. It's not hard to imagine how being able to go anywhere in the mansion undetected could be disastrous in the wrong hands.

"With this we can go directly to your father's quarters," Mr. Reginald informed us. "While we don't know who is behind these attacks, it's safe to say as paranoid as your father is he would use every resource at his disposal to keep himself safe."

"He is quite a cautious person," I agreed. "Most assassins would give up instantly after realizing he was their target," I said jokingly.

"If only you knew how many times that paranoia of his saved his life, you'd understand why he is the way he is."

I just looked at Mr. Reginald, confused, while Mary was busy studying the room. I thought about pushing for him to elaborate but knew we didn't have the time.

"Enough small talk. We need to move."

Mr. Reginald started walking down one of the many pathways. Mary and I trailed behind him through all the twists and turns he was making. While we walked, I thought this would be the best opportunity to get answers since Mr. Reginald seemed more open than before.

"Hey, uh, Mr. Reginald. Can you tell me what's happening in the mansion? I know you and Mary want to protect me but keeping me in the dark doesn't really help."

Mr. Reginald let out a loud sigh. "Sir Arthur, the truth of the matter is there is too much I don't know to give you a clear-cut answer. All I know is that a few days ago one of the butlers attempted to attack your father. When we restrained him, he seemed as if he was possessed by something. We thought keeping him locked up would be the end of it but it seemed more of the staff has been acting erratically and attacking anyone near. It has gotten consistently worse but not nearly as extreme as what we've witnessed today. Since the first attack your father has been permanently in his room and very few individuals are allowed to see him directly."

"Select individuals? Like who?"

"As far as I know, just Cecilia and I."

"The head maid?"

"Yes. She is an extremely kind and reliable woman that has earned his trust over the years and I am grateful that he sees me in the same light."

"He has also allowed me to visit his quarters," Mary interjected. "Mainly to carry out his orders or bring his food to him."

"Bring his food to him?" I asked.

"Yes, since these incidents have occurred, he is afraid someone will poison his food. So I am tasked with watching as the cooks prepare his food and personally bringing it to him."

I smiled nervously as I scratched my hair. That sounds like such a hassle, I thought to myself. "At least that means you're trustworthy."

"Indeed. It's very rare that he trusts anyone that much. You must be very important to him."

I looked back to hopefully see the usually stoic Mary flustered from the praise given to her by Mr. Reginald, but I was met with apathy and indifference. Well, it was worth a try.

"If you say so."

We continued walking through the maze while Mr. Reginald and Mary discussed who could possibly be after the attack. It started with foreign countries that were upset about past events, to terrorists with vendettas against the rich, to science experiments gone wrong, etc.

I was somewhat listening but mainly speculating who within the household would have ill will towards my father. I know he's not perfect, but I don't think he's done anything horrid enough to warrant trying to assassinate him. I was going down the list of butlers, maids, cooks but to be honest I didn't know enough about their lives to find a clear conclusion. We were also on good terms with other families and I couldn't see them trying anything.

As I was brainstorming through all the different possibilities Mr. Reginald and Mary stopped at a dead end. The wall we were facing was pure white like all of the others. However, unlike the one we entered from, it didn't have a button or anyway to get past it.

"This is the entrance," Mr. Reginald said.

"How do we get through? I see no lever or switch."

But rather than answer me directly, he walked up to the wall and placed his hands inches away from one another. Then, as if it was a sliding door, he pushed the walls in the opposite direction. I wanted to say I was surprised but after what I've seen today I think I'm all surprised out.

We walked through the new pathway to reveal a large room with a mocha brown ceiling and a standard carpet floor. On the left and right clothes were hanging all the way down the floor.

"We're in a closet?"

"Your father's walk-in closet," Mr. Reginald corrected.

"There's so much space!"

"Your father does love his wardrobe."

We walked through the aisle of clothing and saw how the clothes were all in perfect order. On the left were suits, dress pants, t-shirts and plain tees. The right side was filled with a variety of shorts that were probably never worn. After walking for a few seconds, we stood in front of two brown doors that were slightly cracked open.

I reached to push out the doors when Mary grabbed my hand.

"We need to make sure it's safe, Young Master."

"But it's my father's room," I replied.

However, Mary's face seemed to say, "Shut up and listen to me."

With Mary's forceful advice, I took the cautious route and peeked through the crack. To my surprise, I saw many of the maids and servants loitering inside the bedroom. They didn't seem to act especially different from how they normally acted, but it was weird for them to even be here because even outside of these recent strange occurrences my father rarely lets anyone enter his quarters, not even me. I tried finding my father, but I couldn't see him beyond the sea of maids and butlers.

"Let me see." Mary pulled me back and peeked through the same crack. After witnessing what I just saw, she looked up and turned to us. "We need to get out of here," she said.

But just as she said that my phone buzzed loudly. I quickly took my phone out my pocket and looked at it. It was Tucker with the worst timing possible. I quickly declined the call to shut it up. I looked through the crack once again to see if anyone heard it to only be met with sets of eyeballs staring right back at me.

"Mary, I think you were right," I said. "We really need to get out of here."