After a discussion with the Count, they continued to follow him to his manor in two carriages.
"I talked with the Count about the plan. It should go smoothly," Cassian added.
"William, you will be the only one to go inside the manor. Gray and I will stay at a distance. If you feel really threatened, just yell 'fire,' okay? I doubt it will come to that, but your safety is my responsibility. We'll catch the assassin ourselves, but we absolutely need someone on the inside. Information is key," the Captain affirmed.
"Understood," William replied.
"Understood, Cap," Gray echoed.
After about an hour, they reached a desolate area far from the village.
"Is that the manor?" William asked, pointing out the window.
"Yup. Still smaller compared to the guild building," Gray alleged.
"Get ready, William," Cassian announced.
Both carriages stopped in front of the Count's manor.
"Best of luck, William," Gray asserted.
William proceeded to leave the carriage. The butlers were already present in front of the manor's entrance. Count Karl stepped out of his carriage and swiftly called for his head maid, Jess.
"Jess, show that man around the manor. He will be starting work here. I trust I can leave him in your care," the Count instructed.
"Of course, sir. If I may, how did you come across this child?" Jess responded with a question, her face emotionless.
"Ahhh, ummm, he was on his knees asking for a job, and he seemed quite handy," the Count explained awkwardly.
"A 12-year-old, handy? How?" William thought to himself.
"Alright, as you say, sir," Jess responded. "Child, come with me," she commanded.
William followed her into the manor as the carriages departed.
"Did Cap and Gray manage to sneak out?" William wondered.
"I'll be giving you a tour of the whole manor, child. Stay vigilant. I won't help you if you get lost," Jess said.
"Okay, I'll keep that in mind," William replied with wide eyes.
"Seriously, I don't think I'll get lost. Come on," he muttered arrogantly under his breath.
---
He does get lost.
The tour concluded quickly, and Jess showed William to his quarters. The room had simple concrete walls and a small bed in the corner.
"It's enough for a valet like me—if I were actually one," William mumbled. Jess had said his training would start tomorrow, so he decided to roam around before going to sleep.
"Shit!" William yelled. "It hasn't even been 10 minutes, and I'm lost! Come on!"
Despite his efforts to retrace his steps, he only got more lost in the manor.
"I'll just wait for a maid or someone to help me," he concluded.
---
Five minutes later
Finally, William spotted the head maid approaching. Reaching out to her, he said, "Hey, umm, miss, I'm lost. Could—"
Before he could finish, Jess ignored him and walked right past.
"Huh? What's up with her?" William thought.
Eventually, he found his way back to his room.
"Finally, at last!" William exclaimed. He locked the door, changed clothes, and prepared for bed. But just as he stood before the bed, something grabbed his leg from below.
"WAHHHH!" William screamed, kicking frantically. Suddenly, someone covered his mouth—it was the Captain.
"Shush," the Captain whispered.
Gray emerged from under the bed. "We totally scared him!" he laughed.
The Captain let go, and William finally calmed down.
"How did you guys get in?" William asked.
"The window," the Captain said, pointing toward it.
"So, how did your so-called tour go?" Gray questioned.
"Umm, it was okay," William replied.
"Anything out of the ordinary?" the Captain asked.
Jess's cold behavior came to William's mind, but he shrugged it off. "Nothing yet, Cap," he added.
"We found nothing either. We checked every corner and crevice," Gray said with a confused expression.
"You should get some sleep, Will. Goodnight," the Captain told him.
"Alright, bye," William replied faintly.
The two left through the window. William took a deep breath and checked under the bed to ensure Gray wasn't still there.
"Phew! He's not. Almost gave me a heart attack," William said with relief.
He climbed into bed, staring at the white concrete ceiling. Sleep didn't come easily. His mind swirled with possibilities about the mission and Jess's cold demeanor. Finally, after an hour of overthinking, he fell asleep.
---
The next day
William woke up early, grabbed his clothes, and exited the room to find a bathroom. Luckily, this time it was next door. After freshening up, he dressed and opened his door—only to be startled by Jess.
"Miss Jess, were you waiting outside my room this whole time?" William asked, puzzled.
"You're late. It's already 10," Jess replied curtly.
"Oh," William responded, bewildered.
"Follow me, child, to the kitchen," Jess ordered. She spoke only the bare minimum.
Upon reaching the kitchen, William scratched the back of his head and asked, "So, what am I supposed to do, miss?"
"First, you will start by serving Sir Karl. I assume you know how to carry a tray?" Jess said, still expressionless.
"Of course," William replied with a forced smile.
"Of course I know how to carry a tray its easy. I wasn't born yesterday," he thought furiously.
As William picked up the tray, Jess scolded him.
"What are you doing, kid? Stay in shape! Where's your posture?" she reprimanded, hitting his back.
William gritted his teeth, adjusted his posture, and carried the food tray. Following Jess, he muttered, "My hands... they're going to fall off!"
In the meantime Cap and gray were on the roof top ready to strike at anytime ,waiting for wills indication and investigateing the property themselves.
"I think it was a fake death threat what do u think cap" ,Gray questioned curously.
"Couldt really tell ya but something feels off ,
the counts staff are too quite and I mean it , I couldt even sense them " cap answered.
"Wanna bet something " Gray asked excitedly.
Gray continued to get ignored for the rest of the evening .
Will proceeded to follow Jess till he reached the dining room, where the Count was seated.