I kissed her again and pulled her closer, tasting the salt of her tears. My hands slid to her waist as she pressed in, fingers curling into my shirt.
"Alice," I murmured against her mouth, my voice rougher than I intended. "You're sure about this?"
Normally, I wouldn't care about her opinion. But she'd been part of Axel's life since they were just learning to speak, so it felt right to treat her with more care.
She nodded, eyes half-lidded, "I've always like you. So I don't mind."
That was all I needed. I guided her backward, step by slow step, until the edge of the sofa bumped against her legs.
She sank down onto the cushions, and I followed, hovering over her, our lips pressing against each others.
My fingers traced the outline of her collar, finding the stiff fabric of her maid uniform.
I tugged at the top button, popping it open with a faint snap, then moved to the next, kissing the newly exposed skin along her neck.
Knock, knock.
Instinctively, we both stopped, and she quickly fixed herself.
"Come in."
Seconds later, the door opened. A woman with blonde hair stood there, looking like she was close to her fifties. Her name was Amanda.
"Mom," Alice tried to act normal, but her heavy breathing gave her away.
"Young Master, please forgive my intrusion, but I must take my daughter." She lowered her head in a respectful bow.
"There's no need to apologize. But may I ask why you need her? I still require her as my personal maid."
She didn't respond, and her worried, fearful expression made me uneasy.
"As the young master of this house, tell me what you know or else."
My mind control ability weaved through the air between us.
"Master Daniel ordered that she be transferred to Young Master Ethan as his new personal maid."
That bastard. It wasn't enough for him to cut me out of the inheritance—now he was taking everything that had once been Axel's.
"When did he give this order?"
"Just now, young master. Right after dinner ended."
Of course. The timing was too perfect to be coincidence. Daniel probably noticed how Alice and I interacted before. He knew exactly what buttons to push.
"All of this—every damn part of it—is his fault."
He pushed me too far. The old Axel's lingering emotions erupted in a single, violent rush. He loved his childhood friend more than I expected.
Alice's face had gone pale, her hands trembling.
"But Mother, I've served Young Master Axel since we were children. Surely there's been some mistake—"
"There's no mistake." I stood up, straightening my shirt where Alice's fingers had wrinkled it. "My father is making his position crystal clear."
"Young Master, I don't understand—"
"There's not going to be a transfer." I cut Amanda short.
Just now, the system gave me a mission to protect Alice at all costs, so this wasn't just a personal matter.
"But Master Daniel's orders—"
"…are overridden by mine when it comes to my personal care." I paused. "No—forget it. I'll deal with him myself."
"Where's Father?"
"He's in the bar near the pool," she was unable to resist my mind control. Years of training to follow orders made her easy to manipulate.
"Stay here, Alice. I'm going to have a man-to-man with my old man. I've played nice long enough. This place might look pretty, but underneath it's rotting. Time to take out the trash."
She caught my hand. "Please, young master—don't do anything rash. Don't risk yourself on my account."
"This isn't just about you. I'm done being treated this way. If they won't give me respect, I'll make them."
Without another word, I waked down the hallway, my footsteps echoing against the polished marble floors. Each stride fueled by the burning anger coursing through me.
The servants and staff—those scuttling ants in their tidy uniforms—scurried out of my path as if I were a bull about to charge.
Finally, I reached the entrance to the pool area.
A guard stepped in front of me. "Young master, you can't—"
"Get out of my way," I warned. All of my father's guards were Seekers or former ones, and this one in particular was an E-rank.
"Master Daniel is in an important meeting."
"Don't test my patience."
He grabbed my shoulder, a fatal error. In the next heartbeat, my punch connected with his solar plexus, sending him sailing through the air as if he were weightless.
His body arced before he crashed into the pool, water exploding around him.
More guards moved in to block my path.
"I've had enough of being taken like a fool. Do you all want to die that badly?"
My voice hardened, and twin daggers came into existence in my hands.
"Move, or I'll make my own path—through your dead bodies."