Chapter 2

The ocean waves were so strong that the ship shook at every impact, but despite that, the breeze still managed to make me feel calm and free, unlike when I was at the headquarters.

We are now off to Castle Madreval. Bearing my fake identity and with nothing but my phone in my hand, I was sent straight into this complex and dangerous mission with no chance of having any support any time soon. This means I need to be extra careful of my actions. I sighed and pretended to focus on the deep waters as I secretly monitored my surroundings.

Gel mentioned that out of the sixteen heirs, one of them will soon be chosen to be the next head of the family, and whoever that is—is my target.

Our organization managed to pull some strings and sneak me into the group of maids to be sent to the island under the name of Hilda, a maid who was supposed to be sent. I don't know what happened to Hilda, but she's most likely dead by now. That's how Gel works.

I felt the cold wind breeze around me. I just sighed and then took a glance at the rest of the maids. We don't know each other; I was informed that Madrevals only take Maids from the lower families of their clan.

Hilda, my identity, is supposed to come from Lorelei. The clan of the 3rd Wife of the Current head, Sein Lorelei. I was afraid that this might cause a problem later on, but Gel reassured me that Sein wouldn't realize that Hilda had been switched.

This is for the best.

If I pretended to have come from Lorelei, then the security wouldn't be as tight as it would be with me. I’d have a decent background not to raise suspicions.

"We're about to reach the island, be ready." A woman in black clothing announced, which made me take a glance at the ocean.

There I saw an island not far away from the ship. I frowned slightly when I realized that the Mansion I was briefed about was not visible from here.

The maids just sat straight and didn't speak a word, which tells a lot about how used to they are with this situation. It seems that I must act carefully; these maids are all trained to cater to the Madrevals and their organization. If I ever fail to act like them, there's a huge chance I might gain unwanted attention.

"Stand up, we're going down." The woman announced, and without further ado, the maids followed her without question. I stood up and lined up with them, leaving all of my belongings behind.

Heinz informed me that maids carry their belongings but leave them at the ship every time they arrive at the island. I can only get those back when it's my days off. I could've just not brought anything, but that would raise suspicion, so I made sure to pack up some clothes and even included a few 'props' in them because there's a huge chance that they will check our belongings once we leave.

I walked behind a girl whose hair was as long as her waist. She was walking silently in front of me as the others were being checked as they walked out of the ship.

"Phones aren't allowed." A man in black with a gun bulging up on the side of his waist muttered at the girl in front of me, and she handed it quickly. I immediately pulled my phone out and prepared to hand it as well. Good thing Heinz gave me Hilda's phone.

"Go on." The man said after checking the girl, and now it was my turn.

His face quickly brightened at the sight of me. His eyes went from my face down to my feet, and then up again, stopping at my chest. I almost scoffed at his reaction, but I kept it in. After all, it is not his fault that he was attracted to me.

I've been killing people with this face and body; it's understandable.

"Phone," he said in a deeper voice than how he talked to the girls before me. I nodded my head and kept stoic just like how I was briefed on before coming here.

I handed the phone, and he took it from me, but his calloused hands slightly caressed my hand first for quite a long time before he let go. A smug smile formed on his lips.

"I will now check your body," he murmured, almost gasping. It was very noticeable how excited he was.

I nodded my head and kept a straight face. Heinz made it clear that maids in Castle Madreval are not allowed to show much emotion. And I am doing just that.

The man's hands quickly landed on my tiny waist as he slightly and sensually ran his fingers under my shirt. I pursed my lips tightly as he traced my body and went upwards, intentionally bumping into my chest.

I just let him do what he wanted. He wasn't satisfied and even took a slight squish on both my chest before he went downwards, kneeling in the process. His hands swiftly ran against my private area down to my legs and feet.

I looked down at him and found him looking up at me while a smile was escaping his lips. "You're wearing a skirt, so I must check your legs."

I almost rolled my eyes but just nodded. I felt his hands go under my long skirt and trace my pale, soft skin. I could barely notice his dick getting hard, as he slowly went up while touching and squishing my legs.

A quick gasp left my mouth when he suddenly cupped my private area before I kept my face straight.

Fuck this shit—

I could almost hear his chuckle when he stood up once again and then looked at me with his smug smile. "Turn around."

I had no choice but to turn around. There, I felt him rubbing his dick against my ass as he pretended to check my body. His hot breathing touched the nape of my skin, and his hardness poked me from behind.

"Is something wrong?" The woman in black asked when she realized that it was taking too long, which made the man sigh. He was gasping for air before he leaned near me and secretly licked my nape before facing the woman.

"No, there's nothing wrong. She can go..." he muttered in a trance and slightly hid his boner.

I just nodded my head while raging with anger and made a quick promise to myself: I'd kill that fucker once I'm done here.

I walked out of the ship and immediately shook off my annoyance.

My life is far more important than that pervert

I quickly looked around, noticing that the island was far different than I expected it to be.

"We will be traveling up to the mountains. The mansion was located there. Before we go up, I want you all to remember this…" The woman announced loudly and then looked at everyone intently. "You can't contact anyone from the outside while on this island, and no one is allowed to contact you as well. There would be days off every two months that you'd be allowed to leave, but your return wouldn't be promised."

I noticed how the maids slightly reacted to her announcement, but I just kept silent. Understandably, not everyone who leaves will be able to come back. The woman then walked in front of us and stopped in front of me, eyeing me from head to toe. "I know that you're already aware of how things work here, but let me be clear..."

"Only converse with the Madrevals if spoken to. Only enter their rooms if invited. Only look at them if allowed." She kept a straight face before she continued. "Going against these rules will ensure punishment."

Three vans went down from the mountain as she did the briefing. Men in black appeared and opened the vans while waiting for her to finish. There are at least three in every van, so a total of nine men guarding and watching us, except those who are assigned to patrol the shores.

Wow, I’d die if I tried anything funny here…

"Work here is not hard. You just need to follow the rules and work like how a normal maid would. The only difference is that there might be fights in the mansion between the siblings..." She explained while slightly nodding to the drivers, telling them to wait for a few more minutes.

"The older ones don't usually fight against each other... The only ones you must be wary of are the Twins. Their fights are quite... intense," she murmured, which made me nod my head.

The twins would be Cassio and Dren… so they could have a temper; I should remember that.

I thought to myself and then looked at the van when the woman pointed her finger towards them.

"We'll be riding that. And by the way, you can call me Miss Larn. I am in charge of the Maids here, if you have a question or concern. You can look for me."

"Yes, Miss Larn." The maids answered in unison, which caught me off guard.

Did they practice that!?

I just pretended not to be surprised and then followed them when they all went to the vans. The first batch went in, then the second, and then us. I felt the coldness of the air-conditioning of the vehicle as I went in; there are quite a lot of seats, 12 to be exact.

I walked further inside and sat in the back seat as the rest followed me. My back immediately leaned against the backrest as I felt a sudden dizziness. I slowly sniffed the air and immediately recognized the smell circling the van.

Seems like there's something we cannot see on the way up…

My eyelids became heavier as time passed by, leaving me no choice but to let the drowsiness pull me to sleep.

…………..

I woke up in a cold, dark room. It was a small room but decent enough to live in. I blinked gently before looking for the switch and walking around. My eyesight is good in the dark; I have been trained all my life to be able to adapt quickly to my environment.

There's a bed and a lampshade. As well as a small wardrobe and a bathroom. It was a well-furnished room as well, and the light, which I finally switched on, was enough to light up every corner. There is also a window next to the bed, which makes it easier to breathe.

I walked quickly and opened the window as soon as I noticed it. I never had a problem with small spaces, but I'd rather be in a well-lit and aired room. It makes me feel cagey when not. I pulled the curtains to the side and saw a huge garden below. It seems that I am at least on the third floor of a building.

Quite far from the garden is a huge mansion that I estimate to be at least a fifteen-minute walk from here. That was the mansion I saw in the documents. The Castle Madreval.

I wonder how long I have been asleep.

"Everyone, proceed to the First Floor of this building." I looked at the intercom when an announcement came by.

I immediately walked out of the room, only to be greeted by maids who went out at the same time I did. We all slammed the doors closed at the same time as well before they all lined up from the very first maid who was the nearest at the stairs up to me, and a few more who were located on the farther side.

I almost cringed at the realization. They're all too trained, if I must say. It's as if they're robots and not people. The first one started to take a step, and so the rest followed. Even the way we walked down the stairs was organized. I feel like I'd go crazy if this happened every single day.

The interior of this building is exquisite and modern with a little touch of Asian architecture. This explains a lot since Cain, the 5th son, is the owner of a Famous Architecture Company, which he uses as a business front to hide his illegal activities.

As we went down, I could visibly see another set of maids waiting on the first floor for us, and in front of them was Miss Larn.

"Good morning. I expect that you had a good sleep for your first night here," she greeted us, which made me purse my lips.

So I passed out for the whole day.

The maids who are with her are all wearing a uniform. Black shirts and loose pants with their hair tied up in a high bun or braids. It was the same as I was told. The maids here are required to have their faces easily visible. I suppose that the design of the uniform is to ensure that we can move more comfortably as we do the job.

Miss Larn looked at the uniformed maids before clapping her hands, signaling them to walk in front and hand us a pair of uniforms each, but instead of black, it was white.

This would be easy to get dirty…

"Black uniforms are for the regulars, and the white are for the recruits. If you need other pairs, then please approach me." Miss Larn announced, which made me nod my head.

"Yes, Miss Larn." They all answered in unison once again, which made me open my mouth and close it again.

Shit, is it a thing here?

Miss Larn seemed not to care or must've missed my reaction and just walked back and forth while keeping her eye on each of us. "You'll be starting today. I will give you one hour to wash up and get in your uniforms. After that, the maids assigned to each one of you will pick you up in your rooms. They'll explain your duties."

I nodded once again, but the rest replied with "Yes, Miss Larn."

I almost bit my lower lip.

Do I say that every time she orders something? We didn't say that on the ship, though.

Miss Larn just nodded her head, satisfied with the responses, and waved her hand.

"Dismissed."

"Yes, Miss Larn—" I immediately stopped when the rest didn't answer and just turned their backs, which made me look at Miss Larn, who just raised an eyebrow at me.

"Only answer when needed." She muttered seriously, which made me fake a smile.

"Y-Yes, Miss Larn..." I blurted out and quickly turned around. Strangely, I was ashamed of what I've done.

I'm never answering again...

I silently slapped myself as I marched back to my room.

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