Entry 3 –
Azzura Velena
Everyone one including the master
is still sleeping. I force myself every night to get up to see if everything is
in order for when they wake up. All the traps appear to be correct and that’s
the most important part. The cleaning doesn’t matter as much since the girls
are usually good at doing it. Hm. I wonder who’s crawling around the small
tunnels at this time of night. Going up to it, I find Bianca scurrying away.
“Ms. Bianca!”
“Y-yes, Ms. Azzura?”
“What are you doing up this early? A
young lady such as yourself should be resting especially with all the moving
around you do.”
“I’m just doing some extra work
before the other girls get up. My job is important to everyone here, so I want
to do as much as I can for them. What are you doing up early?”
“Ms. Bianca, since you’re such a
thoughtful girl, I’ll let you go for doing this, but don’t push yourself too
hard.”
“Okay! Thank you, Ms. Azzura!”
There she goes as fast as the wind.
Bianca is incredibly important to my plan or should I say the plan of the
maids. They don’t know that I know about it and they don’t know that I haven’t given
up on escape. What the other mistresses failed to realize is that a mistress
doesn’t need to completely give their will to the master. I can move and think
freely as long as I do my basic duties as a mistress, in fact, I’m freer now
than I was before. I don’t know the plans of the boys, but they appear to be up
to something if I look in the right areas. As a mistress, I have the abilities
of most of the other maids that allows me to be as stealthy as Nera in the shadows
and as quick on my feet as Gialla. This allows me to avoid the sight of the
master when I need to do my true duties for my fellow sisters.
Oh! It’s time for breakfast. I
quickly run to ring the bell to wake everyone up then go down to the dining
hall and wait for everyone. The chefs and servants set the table with plates of
fresh meat, vegetables, sweets, and other delicacies put on everyone’s plate. This
food may seem like it reduces your control over yourself, but that is only a
feeling however strong it may be.
“Good morning, Ms. Azzura. Are you
ready for another lovely day?”
“I am, Ms. Nera. Are you planning
anything special today?”
“Nothing right now, but maybe something
will come to mind later.”
“Just like every other day?”
“I guess.”
Vera tilts her head and her smile
extends. She’s been moving up the ranks quickly by pranking the other girls and
dealing with the guests for the past month. From what I can tell, the girls are
intentionally get hit by her traps to boost her up. The girls really like her,
so they must be betting on her to replace me. She’s also been convincing a good
number of guests to work for us. Convincing a guest to work for us makes you go
further up in rank than catching one. What’s weird is that she seems to convince
even the rebellious guests to work for us. I’m assuming that she tells them
their fate if they refuse to work and they join out of fear.
Even though I can’t freely tell them
I’m not their enemy, I’ve been trying to show it while doing my work. The only
person that probably notices is Bianca and I’m not sure if she said anything to
them yet, but I hope they at least let me try my plan. After breakfast, I go around
to check to see if the maids are doing their duties then head to my office to catch
the end of a conversation between my two guards.
“And that’s what’s going to-Ms.
Azzura! I trust everything is in order?”
“Yes, it is. Is something the
matter?”
“No, we’re just making small talk.”
“If something is the matter, you
know I’ll do my best to help you.”
“It’s just that we think a girl might
be talking to a butler. We’re not too sure about it though, but we have caught
glimpses of them together only for them to disappear.”
Ah, I know of this. I’ve let the two
be against the rules of the master because they’ve been keeping it secret
enough for no one to notice, not even the master.
“Who do you think this girl is?”
“We think it’s Ms. Rosso.”
“I’ll go and confront her about it.
She wouldn’t lie to me.”
“Of course, Ms. Azzura. Thank you.”
I exit my office and head to where
Rosso is. They guessed right, so I’m going to have to get the girl to stop
seeing the man or at least try to be more careful when she tries. When I find Rosso,
she’s not in her designated zone. She’s probably going to see the butler, so I
catch her around a corner.
“Ms. Rosso.”
“Ah! Ms. Azzura! What are you doing
here?”
“I can ask you the same thing. I’ve
heard that you’ve been seeing a butler.”
“I-uh. Yes, I have. But all my
duties are done! All of the flames in the castles on our side are burning
bright and won’t go out any time soon.”
“I’m glad you’re done your duties,
but you know the rules. You mustn’t bother the men on their side especially
this early in the day.”
“Well, I’m sure he’s done by now
too. We both have duties that don’t take very long to do. Besides, weren’t you
in a relationship with a man in the castle before too? Whatever happened to
that?”
“It’s not important. Now run off and
don’t make me hear about you running off again.”
“Y-yes, Ms. Azzura.”
I hope she knows what I’m saying. I’d
rather not think about that past relationship especially with how it ended. My
husband and I came across this castle while looking for a place to set up our business.
This place looked so strange to me at first because it looked like a castle in
a foreign country. When I asked the other girls about it, it turned out that
the other girls here were from other countries too. My husband and I planned on
raising a family here, but…no. I said wouldn’t think about it. For the next
couple of hours, I keep myself busy. That is until the guest bell rings.
Everybody gathers near the entrance
and greets the guests that come in. It’s a traveling band of merchants. This
could be trouble since they have weapons with them.
“Hello, travelers, I am the
mistress of this castle. You may call me Ms. Azzura. We’ve anticipated your
arrival and set a feast for your weary bodies. Come join us for lunch.”
A man steps forward for the group
and says, “I don’t know if we will. All of you seem a bit off with your fancy outfits
and creepy masks.”
“Do not be afraid. This is just the
uniform we wear in this castle. Don’t be shy. You are guests in our home, and
we are here to serve.”
“If you say so. I guess there’s no harm
in staying in a very welcoming place.”
“Thank you for indulging us. We’ll
escort you to the dining room and place your belongings in a safe place.”
“Okay, but we’re keeping our swords.”
“Why’s that? You have no reason to
be afraid of us.”
“It’s part of our uniform.”
“I understand then. You may keep
them.”
These people could definitely be
trouble. Once they sit down at the table to eat, they begin to relax as they talk
to the butlers and maids who make small talk before moving to convince them to
work for us.
A woman that is sitting next to me
says, “I’m surprised I’ve never heard of this place before.”
“That’s because everyone who does
stays to work here.”
“I can see why. This is the life of
luxury that would entice anyone who just takes one look at it. What does your
master pay you?”
“Shelter, food, dresses, masks, and
so much more.”
“I bet.”
“Are you considering a job as a maid
here?”
“I don’t think so. It’s not the job
for me.”
“Oh come now. It’s a job that you
can easily pick up with the right training and the pay is amazing. Why wouldn’t
you want to become a maid?”
“Like I said, it’s not for me. The
job I enjoy working is being part of my group here traveling around the world
selling and buying.”
“I see. Maybe if you see how things
work around here, then you’ll be convinced.”
After lunch is done, the maids and
butlers take the guests around the castle. I go to the front entrance to see the
guards taking care of the things that the guests came in with. The horses,
carriages, and their merchandise is taking into the castle walls to be used to
feed it. I still hate that thing in the castle. The things and the…no. I’m not
going to think about it. I just wish I could break it myself. Huh? I hear the
alarm going off. Even though I expected this to happen, I’m not worried. The
maids and butlers have abilities that far surpass a normal human
As I walk the halls of the castle,
I hear the echoes of struggling and screaming. These are sweet sounds to the
master and soothe his rotten soul. Even though we’re supposed to either recruit
or trap guests, we’re allowed to take care of them in other ways as long as the
maids and butlers don’t leave a mess.
“You monsters! You killed my entire
family! I don’t care if I die as long as I die killing you!”
I have to see what’s happening
there. When I go to the source of the noise, I see Vera fighting off multiple
people. Oh no. Someone is going to stab her from behind! I quickly move to push
the person out of the way only to be stabbed by another person near him.
“Ms. Azzura!”
The rest of the maids now arrive
and trap the rest of the people. Vera and the rest of the maids crowd around me
and help me up.
“Ms. Azzura! Are you okay?”
“Yes, though I won’t be able to do
my duties as well as I normally do for a little while.”
“Don’t you worry about that, Ms.
Azzura! We’ll all step up our duties to make you proud.”
As the girls are reinforcing what Vera
said, I whisper in Vera’s ear, “I hope your plan works out, Vera.”
I can tell she’s shocked to hear
what I said behind her mask.
“It will, Azzura.”
“Thank you.”
For the next few days, I’ll have to
be ranked as an injured mistress. This means that someone will have to take my
place for now. That someone will probably be Vera and with the determination I heard
in her voice, I have hope that she will do the right thing while I heal.
