“Punishment and gratification are only delivered to those who deserve, everyone here would do well to remember that,” Ophelia speaks obnoxiously loud and the guards shudder. Everyone knew this had been nothing more than a consequence of their actions and that they had been extremely lucky.

‘Thank god I’m not Dan...’ was the special sentence running through the men’s minds as they picture themselves in his shoes.

‘Dan was lucky’ others thought since they knew the truth about his family. A great warrior who died in the flower of age on the war with the northeast. Some knew that Dan’s father used to be the Duke’s right-hand man, fighting alongside him, just like a brother.

“You,” she points towards Winston, a guard that had been recently hired. He was the only one who had the guts to go against that beast of a woman, “Come with me.”

“Yes milady,” without making a fuss, he bows down and follows Ophelia to her chambers, alongside her entourage. It was not long until their presence disappeared from the garden.

✽ ✼ ✽ ✼ ✽ ✼ ✽

“Who are you?” Ophelia stops as she notices a young blonde boy walking in the hall with an empty tray in his hands.

“I’m Laurien miss!” the kid smiles happily right after approaching me.

“Miss!? Do you know who you are talking to!? This is...!” as Ivy was about to scold him, I stop her from talking.

“Are you working here?” I question him and he nods, “When did you start?”

“A couple of days ago miss! You see, it was my mom who told me they were hiring butlers and since I help her at the coffee I thought I would apply! I never thought I would get accepted since I am only a kid and...” Laurien talked fast and had no filter whatsoever.

‘That’s not good kid...’ I thought once I realized how naive this boy was.

“...And then they told me the job was temporary since they were still trying to find this John fellow but I will do my best!” my eyes widen at his remark.

‘So he’s that man’s replacement...’ I thought the Duke had given up on searching for Gilbert but I was clearly wrong, ‘Should I intervene?’

I knew this was a waste of resources to the Duke since he would find nothing but, simultaneously, I didn’t want to bring any attention to my side. It was a complex matter.

“What about you miss? What do you do here?” he questions and I smile warmly.

“How can you not know...!?” Ivy burst out but once she sees my cold glare she swallows down the rest of her words.

“I’m staying here as a guest, I’m Ophelia,” I state right before stretching my arm, “Nice to meet you, Laurien.”

“A guest!? You’re an important person then!” he quickly takes out a couple of sheets from his back pocket and tries to read what it says, “Mi... Mil... Milady? Is that it?”

“Yes, that’s it, you must address Lady Ophelia as milady,” Ivy picks up the paper and after looking at it, points at the correct word.

‘Interesting...’ I observe everything from afar.

“Milady Ophelia!” he speaks loudly and with a smile.

“No! You either use milady or Lady Ophelia!” Ivy continues to scold him.

Understanding I was an extra in this dialogue, I quietly removed myself alongside Jade and the young guard.

✽ ✼ ✽ ✼ ✽ ✼ ✽

“You lot owe me an explanation,” Martin's voice was cold and his pressure overwhelming making the relaxed guards tense up in a second, “Start talking.”

As Dan was being carried away to one of the servant rooms to be taken care of by the doctor, the guards began to spill the beans. They told everything that had happened without hiding anything since, after all, Martin was someone they looked up to.

“So Dan incited you guys into it?” he questioned as his subordinates ended up telling their tale.

“Yes, it was his idea in the first place...” one of the men comments.

“And you all thought it was a good idea to avenge my shame?” Martin lets out a long sigh as his right hand massaged his forehead.

Martin knew that Dan’s opinion was of importance and his influence ran deep within the soldiers but he never thought his charisma would lead them into doing something so foolish.

‘These guys...’ he knew they were quick on their feet and never thought about their decisions before making them, ‘I need to be tougher on them.’

“Yes, we knew you couldn’t do anything so we...!” another men comments.

“You fools!” he yells loudly, “Who asked you to do such a thing!?”

The murmurs from the back soldiers grew quiet. They knew that when Martin got mad someone was about to be hurt.

“From now on I won’t cover for any of you,” he pushes his hair back, “No matter what you did, is that clear?”

“But what about that...!” the young man speaks up but quickly swallows back his words.

“Leave the slave alone,” he glares down at the boy, “I won’t take the blame again, understood?”

“Yes sir!” they respond simultaneously.

“Good, I want two apologies letters on my room by tonight, I’m sure I don’t need to explain to whom,” he states as the guards trade glares among them.

“Yes sir...” their voices sounded troubled since they didn’t want to send any letters to Lady Ophelia or even Edgar Wharton.

“Get to it then,” with these words, the guards bow slightly and leave.

✽ ✼ ✽ ✼ ✽ ✼ ✽

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“All of you, leave!” Ophelia glares to the maids as she finally sits down on one of the chairs in her chambers.

“Yes milady,” they bow and remove their presences from the room. Jade proceeds to lock the door making the guard feel insecure.

“What’s your name?” she questions coldly.

Her eyes travel through his skinny body and pale skin. The guard’s eyes were sharp and dark while his hair was the color of the night sky, a deep blue similar to black. Seeing his unique features she understood he was not someone born in Ashen.

“Winston milady,” he answers with a polite and innocent smile on his face.

‘Winston...’ she wanted to rip that fake happiness of his and make him show his true side.

Several minutes pass and the guard begins to grow impatient since Ophelia was only observing him closely, not saying a word or asking any questions.

‘This kid...’ the noble lady standing before him was nothing but a fifteen-year-old child but he still felt an overwhelming pressure, as if she was about to eat him whole.

“Why did you bring me here milady?” he continues to speak politely and she suddenly smiles.

“Because I’m intrigued,” she lays her head on her hand while allowing her fingers to travel through her lips in a very seductive manner, “Are you not going to ask?”

Winston remains quiet. His mind was telling him he was a mere butterfly caught in a spider’s web and, the more he struggled, the faster he would perish.

“You see Winston... I wonder how a frail man like you managed to become a guard in the first place,” her cold smile was pressuring him to answer.

“I am still learning milady...” he reassures while feeling the sweat drops fall from his pores.

“I don’t think you are,” at this moment, the cold sensation of a blade appears in Winston’s neck. His dark eyes glared at Jade who was looking at him, expressionless.

“Milady...” feeling the nerves step in, his body begins to tremble slightly.

“What do you seek to obtain? Power? Status? Money?” she questions him but he remains quiet, “Money is it...”

‘How did she...!?’ keeping his expression unchanging, he begins to fear his future.

“Become mine and I’ll bathe you in gold,” she grins and a shiver runs down the guard’s spine.

“What does that entail?” he politely questions.

“Exactly what you think,” her thin fingers caress her hair gently.

‘So I would be selling myself...’ he chuckles at the irony of fate.

“How do I know you are speaking the truth milady?” of course he had to question the legitimacy of the proposition, after all, everyone knew of the lack of power the cursed one had.

“You don’t,” her cheeks were blushed, almost as if she was enjoying this little game she had created.

“Ah...” Winston finally understands. There was never a second choice, “You win.”

Jade puts his sword away, making the guard’s body relax.

“You may leave, Winston,” the guard bows down right before leaving, and then, once he was alone on the large halls, he felt his knuckles turn white from the gathering frustration.

✽ ✼ ✽ ✼ ✽ ✼ ✽

‘What a mess...!’ Martin thought as he finally understood the complexity of this situation.

Deep down he blamed himself since he knew how their subordinates were but he never thought they would take things this far. He knew he needed to be better in order to help them.

His attention shifts to the grass that was dyed with Dan’s vivid red blood.

‘Shit...!’ Martin was angry, frustrated but, more importantly, overwhelmed by a growing sadness. He was the one supposed to protect them but, even then, he was unable to.

“How did things turn out like this...?” he mumbles to himself.

“It’s called friendship sir,” a woman in her mid-twenties appears with a beautiful yet kind smile. Her arms put down two buckets filled with water.

“Excuse me?” Martin frowns at the young lady’s remark.

“They did it for you,” she declares while kneeling, observing the blood on the grass, “As expected...”

Martin was confused, not understanding what the woman’s intentions were.

“There are no pieces left,” she comments, “The Duke’s cuts are always clean.”

‘Oh...’ the guard finally realizes the maid’s purpose. She was there to do the dirty work, to return the beautiful green to the grass, and wash away the incident.

She gets up and grabs the bucket right before throwing the water to the floor. The action is repeated and the red becomes nothing more than a faint memory of the land.

“It will rain tonight,” she states while looking at the sky.

“Perhaps,” Martin replies, and the maid smiles while placing one bucket inside the other.

“Sir Martin, you should ask yourself,” she turns around, facing the mansion, “Are you their leader, or are you their friend?”

“What...?” his eyes widen but, much to his surprise, the young maid said nothing and just left.

✽ ✼ ✽ ✼ ✽ ✼ ✽

After seeing the young guard leave, Jade locks the door once again while I sit in the corner of the bed, comfortably.

“Master he is...!” as he was speaking, I interrupt him.

“I know, he is working for someone,” my eyes connect with his and, for the first time, I saw a rock cold Jade.

“He is a threat, let me remove him,” his tone wasn’t from someone who was asking a favor.

“Not yet,” I answered while massaging my jaw.

“Why?” his words were cold and ruthless.

“I need to know if this little stunt was his idea or not.”

It was clear that Winston was working for someone of considerable power, otherwise, he wouldn’t have been accepted into the guards of the estate with such a poor physique, but, even then, there were too many loopholes.

I didn’t need to solve them all, I just needed to know if Winston is as smart as I think he is or if he is nothing but a mere puppet. That will decide his fate.

“He might betray us in the meantime! The risks are...!” Jade was clearly frustrated.

“He won’t,” I grin and his eyes widen in surprise, “He isn’t a fool led by greed and besides, once he sees the benefits, he won’t be able to go back.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” I chuckle at his sudden yet expected question.

“Shh... It’s a secret,” I place my finger on top of my lips and grin.

The environment grows quiet and, after some minutes in silence, I begin getting up. Much to my surprise, my world completely turns around.

Jade was standing on top of me, grabbing my wrists strongly as my body was on top of the pearl white sheets.

“What are you doing?” I question him but his frustrated expression remains.

“I won’t allow...” he mumbles.

“What? Speak louder,” after hearing my words, his eyes connect with mine filled with determination.

“I won’t allow you to do something like this ever again!” his attention travels to my bruised and now swollen cheek.

“You dare to speak to me in those terms!? I bought you, Jade!” I was feeling the exhaustion take over me and I couldn’t stop my own emotions from pouring out. I couldn’t stand Jade’s ingratitude.

“You bought me to protect you! Then why do you get hurt in my stead!?” his loud voice became softer as the pain began to pass through, “Why don’t you listen to my advice when all I want is to protect you!?”

‘I see...’ I disregarded Jade’s feelings, I never would’ve guessed his loyalty would become so wounded due to something trivial as this.

“Do you know why those men hurt you?” I ask him and he remains quiet, “Because you were brought in by me, the cursed child.”

Hearing my words, his grip around my hands softens until he finally falls on the floor, kneeling.

“I thought that...” he was about to speak his mind but I interrupt him.

“It was never because you were a slave Jade, it was never your fault,” I reassure him right after sitting down on the corned of the bed once again.

‘I should’ve explained it better to him...’ I click my tongue as I felt my frustration grow.

“They didn’t see me as a noble lady but now it is different, now they know that if they go against my commands, they will end up like Dan,” finally, Jade looks upwards, into my eyes.

“But there could’ve been another way!” he clenches his fists, grabbing his attire strongly.

“I’m a very possessive woman Jade...” my torso leans forward and I place my finger underneath his chin, staring deeply into his eyes, “I hate people who touch what doesn’t belong to them.”

“Don’t do it again,” flustered, he quickly gets up and leaves the room.

‘Was it too much...?’ I let out a chuckle before seeing Nero jump on the bed and lay beside me.