Chapter 2

Today is the full moon day; in the rules here, there is a provision that on the full moon day of the month, everyone must return to their rooms at seven o'clock in the evening.

Even though my work wasn't finished, Pearl asked me to return to my room immediately. I felt baffled but didn't dare to ask much.

In the middle of the night, I couldn't sleep. Occasionally, I hear wolves howling outside. A few times, I almost couldn't hold back my curiosity and wanted to open the window, but my reason reminded me that I shouldn't do that. Pearl emphasized a rule to me: do not open the window at night even if you hear any noise.

I started thinking about the strange laws and associated them with the echoing wolf howl. Suddenly, I had a crazy thought that the Douglas family were werewolves. I was startled, then I quickly sobered up and dismissed that thought because everyone knows that werewolves are just paranoid characters in children's fairy tales. If I say this thought to someone, I will become a fool in everyone's eyes.

After that, I fell asleep with many thoughts.

The following day, everything was normal again. No one mentioned it last night. Before starting work, the servants often gathered in the standard dining room for breakfast. Our breakfast was straightforward, just bread and filtered water.

I approached Jane, asking her if she heard the wolf last night. Jane immediately panicked and covered my mouth before I finished my sentence. Jane frowned and growled, "The rule here is don't discuss things that shouldn't be discussed. Don't get me involved with your stupidity."

Jane said and then walked away from me as if she was afraid I would harm her. Then, Pearl came and assigned work to everyone. I started my new day's work again.

At noon, Clara came to find me again. She has come to see me several times since we first met. She often brings me some cakes and helps me with my work. Her enthusiasm made me feel extremely warm and shy.

Taking advantage of the fact that no one was around, I asked Clara, "Did you hear the wolf howl last night?"

Clara was startled; she acted exactly like Jane, covering my mouth immediately and looking around frantically to see if anyone heard what I had just said.

I pushed Clara's hand away and said, "Don't worry! It's just me and you here. No one heard what we said."

Clara was a little relieved, but her face was still tense. She told me in a severe voice, "Shh, you should never ask questions like that. If you let others hear you, you will…."

Clara didn't finish speaking, but I automatically understood the following words.

"Why are people reacting so seriously?" I wonder.

Clara explained in a small voice, "Don't ask too many questions. If you still want to live peacefully, follow the rules and principles here. Don't remind or ask about what you heard on the night of the full moon."

Clara's pale face from panic made me suppress my curiosity. I don't want to worry her. "I know! Don't worry," I said.

The atmosphere between us became awkward, causing us to stay silent for a while. I focus on doing my job.

"Lucinda, can you help me with something?" Clara cooed.

"Sure! What is that?" I didn't think much and immediately agreed. Clara has helped me a lot, so I will accept it if she asks me, no matter how difficult it is.

Clara didn't respond to me, so I turned to look at her, seeing hesitation on her face.

"Hmm… this is a bit difficult…." She hesitated.

"What do you want me to help with? Just say it, I won't refuse," I affirmed.

Clara bowed her head, grabbed the hem of her shirt with both hands and was so worried that she wrinkled it. Finally, she raised her head, her eyes filled with tears, and said, "I don't want to come and be a servant to Mr. Arthur. Can you replace me?"

I didn't know who Clara was talking about, but when I saw her about to cry, I couldn't refuse her. "Okay, I can do anything for you," I said hastily.

"Really? You're not fooling me, are you? Once you agree, you can't change your mind!" Clara bit her lip; her eyes were extremely pitiful. If I refuse now, she will burst into tears.

"I won't change my mind. Do not worry!" I'm sure. At Angel, we were taught to care for and protect each other like sisters. Above all, Clara always helped me, so I had no reason to refuse to help her.

Clara hugged me and thanked me sincerely. Even though I agreed, she was so emotional that she cried. I have to comfort her.

After a while, Clara calmed down. I asked her, "Can you tell me specifically what that job is like? Who is Mr Arthur?"

Clara knows I am someone who will never go back on my word. She had certainty in me and felt secure and confident talking to me.

"At your level, you probably still don't know the owners of this Douglas palace, right?" Clara asked.

I nodded.

"I will explain to you. The current head of the Douglas family is Mr. Darian Douglas, and his wife is Mrs. Melissa Douglas. They had one son, Arthur Douglas. In addition, there are a few others, but they are not here right now." Clara said.

I remembered those names I had seen in the newspaper, but it had been long since I heard anyone mention them, so I had forgotten. As I said, the Douglas family is very mysterious. The media rarely mention them, and their images are kept confidential, so ordinary people like me don't know what they look like.

"Currently, Mr. Arthur needs a female servant to care for him. I was selected, but I didn't want to do the job. You know, I'm not a quick and smart person. I'm afraid I will make a mistake in caring for Mr. Arthur. If I offend him, I'm afraid I'll…."

Clara was so worried that tears rolled down her cheeks again. Looking at her like that, I felt unfortunate.

"Do not Cry! I will replace you. I will work carefully without violating any rules and principles. Maybe you're overthinking it. Certainly, Mr Arthur is not an unreasonable man. As long as I'm not wrong, he won't kill me. Ah, even if I made a mistake, he doesn't have the right to kill me. At worst, I'd be fired. There's nothing to be afraid of!" I said innocently.

Clara was silent; her eyes looking at me contained a lot of confusion and pity, but she quickly bowed her head to cover it up.

…

Clara and I went to see Pearl to discuss replacing Clara as Mr. Arthur's maid. Pearl looked at me sarcastically, as if she was looking at a fool, but she didn't object.

Arthur's job as a maid will start early next month, so I will still do my job as usual in the following days.

The news that I was about to become Arthur's maid spread. No matter where I go, I receive stares and laughter. I don't understand why they reacted like that.

One day, I was assigned to work in the food pantry with Jane. It's been a long time since Jane, and I worked together.

"So stupid!"

Jane suddenly talked to me, surprising me. "Are you talking about me?" I had to ask again to confirm if I heard correctly. Because Jane never talks while working.

Jane didn't answer, still seriously working. When I thought I heard wrong, Jane said, "You're the stupidest person I've ever known!"

At this point, I was sure Jane was talking to me. As I worked, I told Jane, "I don't think I'm stupid. What makes you think of me like that?"

Jane never responded immediately. She would wait about five seconds, "Only a stupid person would take that job. Clara tricked you."

I frowned, "Clara didn't lie to me. I volunteered to do that job. After all, it's just taking care of one person. Work will be easier than my current job. Why do people say I'm stupid?"

"Hmm, if the job is so easy, why does Clara give it to you? She doesn't tell you the truth. She is tricking you." Jane's voice was full of contempt.

"What truth? If you say, Clara lied to me, prove it. Please tell me what the truth is. Don't slander her." I was frustrated, so my voice was irritable. Because I have always trusted Clara, I get angry when others criticize her.

Jane roared, "Don't be cross with me. I just kindly wanted to remind you. I'm so stupid to talk to someone as stupid as you. You trust your scammer friend and go die."

"Clara is not a scammer!" I shouted.

Jane rolled her eyes at me, her hands clenched. She was furious when I stubbornly trusted Clara unquestioningly. After that, we stopped talking to each other and silently did our work. The atmosphere between us became extremely heavy.

Being quiet for a moment made the anger in my heart disappear. I realized that perhaps I had been a bit too harsh with Jane. I should have listened to her instead of stubbornly defending Clara.

I proactively talked to Jane to resolve the awkward atmosphere, "I'm sorry! To me, Clara is a close sister. She is always kind and gentle. I'm angry when people criticize her without any evidence."

Perhaps Jane was still outraged, so she didn't answer. When our work ended, Jane suddenly said, "Clara tricked you. She doesn't tell you how dangerous it is to work as a maid for Mr. Arthur. All the servants who cared for Mr Arthur will never return. They disappear as if they never existed."

I was stunned and confused, and I asked, "Why? Maybe they did something wrong and got fired."

Jane sighed, "I don't want to say anymore. I give you one last piece of advice: if you want to live, don't take that job." Jane left.

A cold and gloomy feeling enveloped my heart, making it heavy.