Chapter 1 – Pack Your Bags

Nothing.

No matter how thoroughly Clare searched, she couldn't find the clock.

'What do I do…?' Clare nervously wondered what punishment she would face for losing such an item.

'No, let's not think about that…,' Clare thought as she shook her head and tried to find a solution.

Suddenly, an idea came to her mind, so she quickly headed to the kitchen.

Many times, the mansion's maids took turns in distributing the chores, and the other maid responsible for cleaning the room, besides herself, was almost always in the kitchen.

"What are you doing here?" someone from the staff asked, extending their hand to stop Clare.

"Where is Elizabeth?" Clare asked immediately.

"Elizabeth? She didn't come today."

'Elizabeth didn't come…?' Clare repeated, puzzled.

"Why?"

"She asked for vacation. She won't be back for a week."

'Damn,' Clare thought upon hearing those words, but this only heightened her suspicions.

She had no proof, but Clare's instinct told her this was not a mere coincidence, as Elizabeth had been responsible for cleaning the room yesterday, but…

She couldn't tell anyone.

Elizabeth was the maid closest to Marta while she…

"Are you done? Leave. You're in the way."

"Yes, thank you very much," Clare replied as she turned to leave the kitchen.

What a shitty situation.

The clock wasn't in the room, and worse, it was an important item for Mrs. Sofia.

On her way back to the room, Clare was surprised to see the new guy crouched down, closely observing the spot Mrs. Sofia had pointed out, where the clock had supposedly been last seen, but…

How could he know that?

Maybe… it was just a coincidence.

"Hello," the guy said as Clare approached him.

For a moment, Clare was surprised, as the man's eyes were clearly on the table, and this time he hadn't turned to look at her.

Or maybe he did…?

'This is not the time to think about useless things!' Clare shouted in her head as she prepared to talk to this guy.

"What are you doing here?"

For a few seconds, the guy stayed silent, slightly irritating Clare.

She was already tired and overwhelmed by the clock issue to now be ignored by a newcomer in this way.

"Hello? Can you hear me? I said…"

"Follow me," the man said as he stood up.

'Follow him? What's wrong with him?' Clare wondered, confused, but seeing him go up the stairs, she couldn't help but feel curious.

What was this new guy going to do?

Following him silently while keeping some distance, they gradually approached a place where very few maids were allowed.

'Wait, wait! What the hell is the new guy doing!?'

"Hey…"

And before Clare could say anything else, he stopped in front of a door and gently tapped it several times.

Since Clare didn't spend much time in this part of the mansion, it took her a while to recognize they were in front of Julian's room.

The moment Clare realized where this guy had brought her, she was about to leave, but soon heard the sound of the door opening.

"What are you doing here?" Julian asked in an aggressive tone, and as soon as his eyes met Clare's…

"Didn't I tell you to focus on finding my mother's clock?" Julian said as he finished opening the door to approach Clare.

Clare started cursing in every possible way the guy who had led her straight to the wolf's den, but before Julian got any closer, the guy said:

"That's why we came, master. The lady's clock is here," the guy said, pointing inside Julian's room.

Clare couldn't believe what she was hearing.

The clock was in Julian's room?

How!?

Julian, upon hearing the butler's comment, started getting even more irritated, but trying to control his anger, asked:

"Are you the new butler my sister brought?"

"Yes."

"And are you sure about what you just said?"

"Yes."

Despite Julian looking aggressively at the butler, he didn't flinch at all!

"Fine. You can go ahead and search my room, but if you don't find the damn clock, you better pack your bags along with hers."

'Damn!' Clare thought upon hearing that statement.