Seeing this gigantic, beautifully designed mansion, Rip's eyes widened as his jaw dropped.
"This-this-this—" Rip stuttered as he tried to gather his thoughts that scattered at the sight of this magnificent place. "It's a hundred times bigger than our house!"
Sling gulped. He knew a mafia group would be rich, but not this rich. However, this mansion before them was but the tip of the iceberg. What they saw beforehand on the way was simply beyond words.
Sling noticed someone coming towards them from the grand mansion.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Sling, Mrs. Mandy, and Mr. Rip. Welcome to the Everett Estate's Main Mansion, the Everett Mansion. You are the important guests of young master Ian. Please come this way and follow me," a servant bowed towards them and led the way forward.
Walking into the magnificent walls of the mansion, the servant showed them the way to the living room where Ian sat, waiting, and then he left with a bow towards Ian and then Sling and his family.
"It's good to see you again." Ian started. "Why don't you guys take a seat?"
Sling nodded and took his wife and son to another sofa and sat down.
"Last time I went to see you, I didn't tell you what exactly I expected you to do under me. Well now I'll explain. I plan on making you the butler of this mansion."
"A butler?" Sling looked surprised. He had thought Ian would have him do more…dirty work than this kind of normal work.
"Yes, a butler. Of course, you won't be one right away. You have to get special training first and pass the test, but don't worry, I am confident that you'll…survive." Ian smiled.
Of course, that's not all he'll be doing. Being the butler is just a side job, a surface cover, that Ian is giving him. The butler post for the mansion had remained empty in recent years after the last butler had an accident and no one among the existing employees was found qualified enough to replace him. Angus had been too busy to find a good replacement so the significant butler position was left alone.
Now that Ian found Sling, he felt the other possessed the right qualities and abilities to take on this tricky but important job. As for the other plans Ian had for Sling, it'll all be revealed in due time.
Ian's smile gave Sling a creepy feeling.
'Survive?' Sling doubted what this implied.
Ian continued explaining to Sling his arrangements, "As for your wife and your son, they'll live in the house I assigned to your family that's the closest to the mansion.
"I also made it so your son will attend the best elementary school and move on to a qualified middle school, as for the rest, they will naturally be arranged in the future."
"Thank you very much,…" Sling said, wanting to express the sincerest gratitude in his heart through his words the best he could, and then he hesitated because he didn't know how to address Ian.
"You can call me 'Master', the same as Shade. Right, Shade?" Just as Ian finished speaking, a shadow flashed past and Shade appeared.
"Yes, Master."
Sling, Mandy, and Rip jumped in surprise from the sudden appearance of another person, they didn't know starting from when he was there. He had appeared in their sight from who knows where without any warning, and it was only when they heard his voice that they noticed his presence.
Was he there all along or did he only just appear?
Shocked, Sling was surprised to see that he knew this man with dark blue hair sporting a full body of black-colored clothes.
He has never seen someone wearing more black-colored fabric than this guy. Besides his hair, from his head to his toe, his entire body was shrouded in black.
In a way, though, he was iconic. Sling would recognize him at a glance on the streets even if he can't see his face.
But back to the current topic at hand, Sling now recognized Ian as his master. The future of him and his family were entrusted into Ian's hands, and he had a feeling that Ian wouldn't let him down.
"Master!" Sling called out without any hesitation towards Ian. Despite Ian being years younger than him and only 5 years older than his son, Sling felt no psychological imbalance or barrier in calling such a young boy "Master".
Ian exuded an innocent aura that was naturally formed because of his innocent-looking face, however, beneath the surface and emerging at times was an overbearing demeanor and a cold, vicious aura that allowed for zero defiance and demanded absolute obedience.
Sometimes, Sling felt that he was not dealing with a boy just 15 years old but a wicked ghost who lived for hundreds of years.
Ian smiled, satisfied. "Good." This was his second subordinate. With him, he'll be able to add trouble to their plan of expansion that he knows is happening this summer. It was one of their major expenditures that happened before they turned their evil thoughts to the Everett Mafia Group.
In his past life, he had stalked and spied on that organization for many years. Obtained many valuable, but outdated information on the plans for that organization which he finds useful now.
Ironically, this organization had the dream of taking over the entire world. When Ian first heard about their objective, he had laughed, thinking they were childish and ridiculous. No one could actually take over and rule the entire world, even if they were a huge organization.
This organization was initially founded by one man, who remained its head until the day Ian found himself reborn at the age of 9, and he alone built it up to be a gigantic behemoth with his trusted men. It wasn't even around for that long, less than a hundred years.
Much to Ian's surprise, this organization had already dominated half of the world by the time he realized that their target wasn't simply his brother's gang. Nevertheless, one of the major components that allowed them to expand and take over parts of the world so quickly, infuriating to say, was the Everett Mafia Group.
The Everett Mafia Group had power over and controlled many parts of the world, calling multiple places its indisputable territory. It was a giant among giants. A king among kings. And because that organization killed the king, they took over the throne and the remaining power.
In this timeline, although that organization was still huge, they were still in their slow expansion phase, and most of their activities were still underground and under the table. Their influence has yet to grow large enough that they were unstoppable. At most, they were a huge—super super huge—pain in the butt to deal with for Ian because of their uncountable numbers.
Above all, the most important part—there's a greater chance for Ian to find out who their boss is.
The boss of that organization was mysterious. Very mysterious. No one knows who he is. Not the lower level underlings and not the subordinates and minions under the organization. Only the most trusted and high-level subordinates were allowed to know his true identity and appearance.
His identity and what he looked liked, was top secret.
Ian could never find out who he was despite how long he tracked the organization's activities.
Excitement thrummed in his blood at the thought of unmasking that person's identity. Uncontrollable thoughts of vengeance and blood made Ian's eyes glow a deep purple, signs of his power acting up.
Forcing himself to calm down, a gentle and polite smile as usual graced his face, making Ian appear innocent and sensible.
A far cry from his actual personality.
"Now that you know what you'll be doing. I'll personally show you where your family is going to be living from now on." As he said that, Ian got up from his seat and walked towards the mansion doors.
Two bodyguards stationed at the doors saluted Ian and opened the grand doors respectfully.
Sling and his family quickly followed after the departing Ian. Shade was never far behind, swiftly tailing his master.
A car was waiting for them outside. Sling didn't know when Ian had called for a car to come, because it hadn't been there when he first arrived.
"Sit with me. I'll have someone drive the truck to your new home," Ian said as he waved for Sling and his family to get in the car.
Five people got into the car. The car drove off in one direction with the moving truck following the smaller vehicle.
"The new house I prepared for your family is about 15 minutes away from the main mansion; it's one of the closest houses to the mansion. You will also be provided a servant's quarter attached to the back of the mansion to room in occasionally.
"Remember, your family, unless called for, do not have permission to enter the main mansion. Even when you work there."
"Of course." Sling nodded his understanding. That was nothing he couldn't accept. It was somebody else's house after all and a lowly subordinate like himself should not dream of calling shots in his master's house.
Ian's eyes showed appreciation at how self-knowledgeable Sling was about his bounds.
"Ah! By the way, I forgot to mention back in the mansion about the special training and test you'll be undergoing." Ian suddenly recalled that he had neglected to expand more on the test Sling was to take and the special training he'll be taking part in. It was a pretty important subject.
"Lately, the mansion is thinking about hiring new staff and the recruitment will be taking place in two weeks. Like you, they will also have to partake in the special training and pass a test, if they quit midway, they're out, and if they don't pass the test in the end, they are still out. It is required for everyone who works for us to take this special training. Naturally, the training will be tailored to the person's job post," Ian explained.
Sling nodded along, taking in everything Ian just said and memorizing them.
Ian continued with his explanation, "However, you'll be starting the special training tomorrow morning pronto. The specifics of which I will not tell and you'll have to experience it for yourself. And since I want you to be ready before the potential staff candidates arrive for the recruitment period, I need you to finish and pass the special training within the next two weeks with flying colors. Do you think you can handle it?"
Sling nodded, though a bit hesitant and puzzled. Was there something weird and unusual about the special training? If not, why would Ian place so much emphasis on it?
Even so, because Sling had no real idea of what the special training would involve and the hellish test he would have to pass, Sling still ignorantly nodded in that moment to Ian's question.
"Wonderful." Ian smiled with his neat set of white teeth showing.
'You'll live to regret that nod and live in shame of your naivety in this moment. Everyone who passed it had felt like dying, after all. Even our always calm and indifferent Shade averred that it was hell on earth.' Ian mischievously thought to himself as he looked at the presently clueless Sling.
Time passed and they eventually arrived at a nice looking house that had two floors and was a lot bigger than the house Sling and his family owned before.
The furniture and everything else had already been prepared for Sling and his family's arrival.
"I had an internal designer and decorator design and arrange your bedrooms and the living room and the kitchen and the other rooms. Rip, why don't you come take a look at your room? I had them pay special attention to the room that you'll be using."
"Wow, really?! Thank you, big brother Ian!" Surprised and excited, Rip jumped in happiness and quickly followed after Ian who led him to a room with a sky-blue door.
Ian gestured for Rip to be the one to open the door into a whole new world waiting for him to explore.
Rip pushed the door open in anticipation. He wondered what surprise was waiting in store for him.
"Wow…" Rip felt breathless at what he saw. Even Sling, who followed after them, was astonished.
"Ahh!" Rip screamed like a little kid and ran into the room, bouncing and skipping everywhere in the space. He touched here and there, exploring his room like a treasure hunter. It was obvious that he was more than satisfied with the room he got.
Rushing towards Ian, Rip hugged Ian tightly by the waist. "Thank you, thank you, big brother Ian!"
Sling wanted to admonish Rip for acting so rude, calling Ian big brother not once but twice and hugging him, but Ian saw and stopped him before he could say anything. So Sling could only helplessly watch on as his son got swung around happily by Ian who indulged him.
Rip was like a little brother to Ian. A little brother he never had. He himself was a spoiled little brother to his big brother, so for once, he understood what it felt like to dote on his little brother.
And Rip really liked this big brother he recently gained. Although his dad was subordinate to Ian, Rip didn't feel a barrier at all between him and Ian. He felt like Ian understood him and was similar to him, but didn't understand why or in what way. He only had the feeling that he could trust Ian with everything.
And Rip trusted his instincts.
After some time, Ian left Sling and his family alone to settle in, to unpack their stuff and move into their new home.
Driving back to the Everett Mansion, Ian felt a little tired. He decided to take a nap once he gets back.
He'll be busy once the next two weeks are over and the people who'll be undergoing the special training and test arrives. Before then, Ian also has to screen out their resumes and choose the ones who are paper-qualified to participate.
Instead of feeling tired and dreadful, Ian felt hyped for this was the first official mission his brother assigned to him, regardless of the fact that Ian had asked for it first.
'It's about time to clean up the house. A belated spring cleaning is still cleaning nonetheless.' Ian snickered as he thought of the planted spies and agents in their house who were tough enough to survive the training last time they were hired.
This time, the entire housing staff will be undergoing the special training again, not just the new recruits.
Just thinking about their suffering made Ian laugh in twisted contentment. Especially the spies and informants for that organization. Ian snickered with derision, a sinister look in his pure-looking light purple eyes.
Everyone that belonged to that organization, that works even the smallest task for that organization, is a part of that organization and a target for his revenge and extermination project. Ian doesn't care who it is, they'll suffer the great wrath of someone they should have never provoked and awakened.
Mist filled Ian's eyes as they glowed, his power on the verge of activation. His eyes no longer looked pure, but more like a pit of hatred and resentment.
Ian smiled, clean and clear. Looking like he was full of pure joy, making the driver think that their young master Ian was in a really good mood, which in turn lifted the driver's mood.
Who knew that Ian was thinking—
'I hope you all will survive. Otherwise, it won't be as amusing for me when I see the despairing looks on your faces once you've grasped victory but then realize that I knew of your secret identities all along!'
"All that suffering for nothing… I want you to feel it too," He said in a sickeningly sweet voice that no one could hear.
Ian started humming. His eyes closed as he enjoyed the spring breeze blowing into the car, gently brushing his bangs against his tender face.
A clear and melodious tune drifted out of the lowered car window as the car leisurely drove towards the Everett Mansion.