Chapter 190: Trouble From The Start

Reaching a stop, the carriage was opened by a knight who bowed to the count and greeted him, yet the old man was unbothered and quickly got out.

"Come, the two of you," he said, offering his hands to the two of us.

"Yes, Grandpa." Taking his hand, the two of us stepped down the carriage, and the first thing that I noticed was the knights standing on guard on both sides at the entrance of the castle. At the far end, there were a group of people waiting for us.

Two middle-aged men and a woman in expensive, elegant noble attire. They had a stern and cold expression, shared by the young two boys and girls standing to their right.

"!!!" They literally flinched—the middle-aged man and woman—the moment they saw my father stepping out of the carriage. The knights bowed again to him, showing a respect that was more than normal, even for their Lord. Yet no one spoke, and my father and grandpa just walked past them.

'What's going on? Why did they have such a reaction when they saw Dad?' I thought, turning my head and staring at the man behind me. 'Is he someone very important?'

'And what was wrong with the woman's reaction?' I frowned, noticing that the middle-aged woman's face was red, and her eyes were glistening, staring at my father with an intensity that was more than sexual.

'A lost love maybe?'

'Well, not my business anyway,' I shrugged, shaking my thoughts and turning back. Yet I couldn't help but notice that the woman and the two young girls were staring daggers at me.

"Welcome back, Lord Dmitri. How was the trip?" an old, bald man wearing black-and-white butler-like clothes walked to us. A gentle and polite smile was on his face, yet his eyes were sharp and cold.

"It was fine," the old man replied, not paying any attention to the people around him. He led me and my sister toward the fancy people that were waiting for us and began introducing us.

"These are my granddaughters, Morgana and Victoria," the old man said, introducing us to the men and the woman.

"Morgana, Victoria, these are your big aunt and uncle, my brother's kids."

"Nice to meet you, ladies," the middle-aged man said, bowing. "I'm Lord Alexander."

"Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," the man said, turning his eyes to me. And the look on his face was gentle. He extended his hand and gently rubbed my head.

"So these are the cute little girls," a woman said, walking close and bending her knees. "Hello girls, I'm your auntie, Maria."

"Nice to meet you, Aunt Maria."

Like Uncle Alexander, Aunt Maria had the same black hair and blue eyes as me.

"Likewise," she smiled, patting our heads. "You two are so adorable."

"Thank you."

"And these are your cousins," the auntie said, pointing at the kids. "From the right is Anastasia, Katarina, Lucas, and Michael."

Michael appears to be older, sixteen or eighteen years old, with blond hair and blue eyes. He had that arrogant, screw-you look on his face that made anyone want to punch him. Another thing that my perverted eyes noticed instantly was that the way he stood was off—more feminine if you ask me.

'Oh, what have we here,' I thought, smirking. 'It will be fun unraveling your secrets, my dear.'

Michael was the only one that stood out, the rest were normal, like any noble kids, except that the two girls were staring at me and my sister, and the looks in their eyes were ones that I knew all too well.

'They're jealous.'

"Come, let's get inside," the old man said, leading the two of us, the auntie, and the cousins, while the uncle, my father, and the knights were left behind talking.

The hall was huge, with paintings and weapons and many other stuff. Yet I couldn't enjoy the tour, since I kept my guard up, taking mental notes on everyone around me, from the simple looks to their posture, and their way of moving.

"Here are the rooms," the old man said, opening the door. "I prepared them as your mother asked."

"Thanks, Grandpa," the two of us bowed.

"The maids will help you. Feel free to ask them if you need something," the old man said before turning to the two maids. "Take care of them."

"You must be tired. Go and rest," the old man said, smiling. "We'll meet later at dinner."

"Yes, Grandpa."

"See you, girls." Waving, the old man and the rest left, leaving us with the maids.

"This way, young miss." The two maids took the bags and led the two of us inside. The room was large, and the furniture was luxurious, with a huge bed and a soft, fluffy couch. The room was for me and my sister; my mother made it a condition, she didn't want us to sleep separately and be apart from each other.

"We'll unpack your bags, young miss," one of the maids with brown hair said. Her tone was soft, and the smile on her face was a kind one. "Just take a bath and relax."

"Thanks," I replied, taking my sister's hand and heading to the bathroom. The water was already prepared, and the smell of flowers and roses was nice and relaxing.

The two of us undressed and entered the hot water. The steam was rising, and the water was perfect. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and let the warm water relax my muscles.

"Say."

"Yes?" Victoria said. The look on her face was gentle, and her cheeks were rosy, clearly liking the hot bath.

"Are you okay with all of this?"

"For now, at least," she said, lowering herself in the water. "The people here seem nice, and Grandpa is a nice man."

"That's good." Nodding, I turned my gaze away. The little girl had no idea how cruel and ugly the world was.

'I need to protect her. She's too innocent and kind,' I thought, thinking about the future and the hard times ahead. I didn't forget that I was on a trial with no idea how to finish it.

Finishing the bath, we dried ourselves, and the maids helped us change into some fresh and comfortable clothes. Before they left for work, a while later, a third maid with red hair brought us food—a huge plate of delicious dishes. This maid, however, was different. I could see the hidden hostility in her eyes.

'Interesting,' I thought, resisting the temptation to flash a smirk as I watched the maid taking an apple from the basket that should have been for me and sis, and sitting on our table eating it like it was hers.

"What's wrong," she said, chewing the fruit. "Aren't you going to eat?"

'Sigh.' With a sigh, I walked to the table and took a seat. The look on my face was blank. Victoria quickly followed after me.

I picked up the spoon, attempting to taste the warm vegetable soup, when suddenly the red-haired maid leaned and spat in my food.

"!!!!"

"Eat. Don't mind the spit," the woman said, smiling. The look on her face was an arrogant one that screamed, 'You can't do shit.'

'You bitch,' I cursed in my head, doing my best to hold my anger and the urge to pull her eye out with the spoon.

"Sister," Victoria whispered, feeling the same as me.

Not replying, I took a spoonful and ate it, holding the woman's glare and shocking her with my cold and indifferent reaction.

"It's a little salty," I said, shrugging and picking up the bread, "but it's edible."

"Hmph." The red-haired woman glared at me and was about to spit again when the sound of the door opening stopped her. The previous two maids came back, and with them around, she couldn't do anything.

After that, my sister and I spent a few hours resting in our room alone until it was time for dinner. The maids helped us change and fix our hair, making it shiny and smooth, and we headed to the dining room. The dinner was quick, and only the two of us and Grandpa—Father left early. He didn't allow the rest to join for some reason. After dinner, he personally escorted us to our room, giving us a small tour and answering our questions along the way.

"Have a nice sleep," the old man said, smiling and ruffling our hair.

"Good night, Grandpa."

"Goodnight."

With a final wave, the old man left, and we entered the room, closing the door. The maids were there helping us undress, and Victoria quickly jumped on the bed, sleeping.

Or that was what should have happened.

At midnight, when everyone was asleep and the house was silent, I slowly opened my eyes and quietly got out of the bed. Retrieving what I managed to hide under the pillow after we returned from dinner, I sneakily walked out of our room with a knife in my hand.

From my grandpa's little tour, I managed to locate a specific section of the castle—the servants' quarters. And to be even more specific, the redhead's room.

'Hehe, it's time,' smirking, I sneaked in the dark halls, avoiding the patrolling guard, until I found myself in front of the red-haired room.

'Let's get this party started, bitch''

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