Shun POV:
I ignored the twitching of my muscles as I ascended the flight of stairs to the 3rd floor. Beads of sweat formed on my brow once I stood in the open hallway. My hands trembled, and I had no choice but to lean against the wall, taking deep, long breaths as I tried to calm myself down.
‘Only one more left, Shun. Take it easy...’
I consoled myself, and soon, my increased heart rate stabilised. I had well over 10 hours to work with, so there was no need to rush.
“Good morning, Master Shun.”
My head spun around as I peered down at Mildred, who bowed her head. She looked up at me with warm eyes that made me feel at ease, despite the horrific story she had brought up before.
“G-good... M-morning... M-Mildred...”
She cocked her head to the side, and her eyebrows pressed together. I sighed inwardly at how awful I sounded, but it wasn’t intentional. Somewhere along the line, I developed this stutter, which only served to lower my confidence.
After a few seconds of what appeared to be deliberation, Mildred bowed her head once more and disappeared down the hallway. I gathered that Herb had informed everyone of what my name was and I was grateful for it; it meant that I wouldn’t be referred to as Chloe’s lover or some variant of that title.
“Master Shun? You’re up early, maybe? Hard to tell since I don’t often see you, haha~”
My head creaked to the side as Camille came out of one of the rooms near the staircase. She walked up to me with a bright smile and tapped my trembling shoulder.
“Um... Let’s keep what happened the other day between us, yeah? I kinda like having my head attached to my body.”
“R-right... B-but... Nothing h-happened...”
Her eyebrows furrowed as she placed the back of her hand against my forehead.
“Are you unwell? Why are you stuttering so much?”
I smacked her hand away and shifted my gaze to the floor. Am I unwell? It was a stupid question. I’m like this because of your so-called ‘Lady.’ But I couldn’t speak carelessly. The backlash could be too much for me to handle, and there was the question of whether anyone would believe me in the first place.
“S-sorry! I didn’t mean to touch you without permission... I’ll take my leave then...”
Camille dipped her head and dashed off. Seconds later, I heard Mildred giving her another lecture about appropriate conduct in the Ravendawn Estate.
I hurried away from the stairs, not wanting to bump into anyone else, when I crashed into Cedric’s back that seemed to come out of nowhere.
“Ha... First, you’re super loud and now you can’t even watch where you're walking.”
He ran his hand through his messy hair as a deep sigh left his lips. I didn’t get the impression that he was a bad guy, but he certainly had an ego.
“Anyhow, you feeling any better today?”
‘No.’
“Y-yeah... Thank y-you...”
His eyebrows curved inwards, and he shook his head while shrugging his shoulders.
“How you managed to steal Lady Chloe’s heart is a mystery I’ll never be able to solve.”
He tapped my shoulder before walking off. I stood there for a few minutes, looking around to make sure Herb or Rollo didn’t jump out somewhere down the long hallway. Once I was certain that nobody else was coming, I began my exploration of the 3rd floor.
I walked around for a while aimlessly as I observed my surroundings. It was more or less the same as the 2nd floor, just a bit more glamorous. The decorations were more elaborate and there was a pleasant smell present in the air.
After turning a few more corners, I reached a wide but small pathway that led to what I guessed was Chloe’s office. Two large black raven statues stood on a podium on either side of the double doors. In front of the steps stood a tall man with grey hair that was combed back neatly.
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He had visible wrinkles around his grey eyes that contained a hint of blue in them. Despite his age, he had a well-built body and stood perfectly straight in a black tuxedo suit finished with a small black bowtie.
‘!’
Our eyes met, and he lowered his head for a few seconds before upright again.
“Good morning, Master Shun. I am Nicholas Webster. It is a pleasure to meet you in person.”
His voice was powerful. It demanded respect and matched well with the overwhelming pressure he was given off. My knees buckled as I lowered my head.
“G-Good m-morning...”
I tried to straighten my back, but I ended up leaning against the wall for support. The strength in my legs had almost left me, so this was the best I could do, despite his disapproving gaze.
“Have you finally decided to visit Lady Chloe on your own?”
‘Tch.’
I balled my hands into fists and glared at him. I don’t know where this sudden surge of bravery came from, but I do know that I was starting to get fed up with everyone praising Chloe like she was some sort of goddess.
“W-we aren’t lovers, dammit!”
His thin lips curved into a slight smile as he took a step forward. I felt a shift in the air; a cold shiver ran down my spine, bringing with it the familiar sense of danger.
“You’ve spoken to a lot of people this morning.”
My throat went dry as I shifted my gaze up towards him. He peered down at me with cold eyes that made me recoil backwards in fear.
“You want to kill her, don’t you?”
The weight of his words crushed against me, and I collapsed to the floor. My body trembled as Nicholas looked gigantic compared to before. A terrible aura leaked out of him, assaulting my mind and reminding me of just who I was dealing with.
“N-no... I wouldn’t d-dare think of such a thing...”
It was a lie.
I had wanted to kill Chloe for a very long time. Better yet, I had tried to kill her multiple times, but it always ended with me getting my ass beat; laying in a pool of my own blood while she reminded me of how much she loved me.
“Then go in there and prove it.”
‘!’
His rough finger pointed towards the two large double doors and I stepped back. A sharp piercing pain tore through my heart as all the hairs on my body simultaneously stood up. My pupils dilated to the extreme and cold sweat ran down the sides of my forehead. Strange sounds came out of my half-open mouth as I failed to form any complete words.
The world around me spun; it was devoid of any gravity. My legs turned into heavy matchsticks as I turned around and ran. I smashed into various walls, unable to control my body properly while my arms flailed about.
I crashed headfirst into Mildred, who was walking up the stairs, and I fell. She kicked off the wall, spun in the air and caught me by the shoulders; stopping my face from crashing into the floor below.
“Master Shun, you look sickly pale. What is the matter?”
I pushed her away as my finger trembled. Sharp bolts of pain penetrated my mind, and I gasped for breath while gripping my chest.
“S-stop... P-pretending... T-to... Ugh... B-be... N-nice...”
She looked at me with intense worry. I saw her mouth open again, but I had already stumbled away from her. I couldn’t trust anyone here. Mildred was fake. Camille was fake. Nicholas was fake. Herb was fake. Cedric... Cedric... Seemed slightly genuine...
“Ugh...!!”
Blood gushed out of my nose as I threw myself into my room. I locked the door behind me and dived into the bedsheets. I buried myself under as many layers as I could while I gripped my head.
“Keuk!”
It felt like it was being split apart from multiple angles and it became harder to breathe with time.
‘S-system mission.’
[Mission: Escape from Chloe Ravendawn
Difficulty: S
Chloe Ravendawn has chosen you to be her servant. Escape from her grasp as soon as possible.
Time Limit: -
Rewards: Freedom.
----------------------------
Make contact with the following people within the Ravendawn Estate:
• Head Chef [1/1]
• Housemaids [2/2]
• Housekeeper [1/1]
• Butler [1/1]
• Gardener [1/1]
----------------------------
What now?
]
“Haha... Keuk... HAHAHA!!”
I swiped the floating blue window out of my sight. I was glad, glad that I didn’t rely on the status window to view the information of anyone within the mansion.
It was so obvious that I would have dug myself an even deeper hole than the one I was already in. However, fake or not fake, I had met every one of importance within the Ravendawn Estate.
“Guh!...”
The pain and fear abruptly resurfaced now that the hysteria had passed. I trembled under the bedsheets as my body convulsed. My eyes rolled into the back of my head and I flopped forward onto the bed lifelessly.
*Click*
I was woken by the sound of the door unlocking. I gripped the bedding, wet from the huge amounts of sweat pouring out of every orifice possible on my body. I covered my mouth, stifling my breathing as I hid under the thick bedsheets.
*Tap tap*
I heard her high heels strike against the floor, stopping inches away from the bed. A soft sigh escaped her lips, and she turned back around, leaving the room in the process.
‘...She hardly ever wears high heels... Did she rush here after finishing her work?...’
Regardless of the reason, I stayed deadly quiet in the same position. 5 minutes, 10 minutes and then 30 minutes flew by, at which point I was convinced that Chloe had indeed left, but I still didn’t move.
A couple of hours passed and my body trembled just the same. I wasn’t sure if I was developing some form of claustrophobia or if it was just the aftereffects of the intense anxiety attack I had just suffered from.
*Click*
‘Damn it... She really did leave the first time...’
Soft footsteps approached the bed, and a firm hand grabbed hold of the bedsheets. I gripped them even more through clenched teeth, but Chloe easily ripped them out of my hands.
She dashed the quilt and bed covers to the side while peering down at me with a wide smile. The sourness of the bed didn’t bother her one bit as she parted her lips.
“I’ve missed you.”
My eyes quaked with fear while I watched her tongue slide over her lips. A dark shade of red spread across the bridge of her nose, highlighting the faint glow in her pink eyes that curved into thin slits.
“I love you so much.”