Duke Rubius' manor was a place that nobody but the Rubius family can access to.

The Duke Rubius manor was situated at the top of a mountain, surrounded by unceasing traps. If intruders were to trespass through the first gates at the bottom of the mountain, they'd automatically fall to the pits of doom. There were so many traps that were impossible to avoid.

In other words, the entire mountain was a trap.

Duke Rubius had always found guards to be unnecessary. After all, his manor was so heavily guarded by traps, there was no need to add extra security!

Therefore, the entrance to the gates were completely unguarded.

Lucilline and Willow stopped before the giant gate, at the bottom of the mountain. Looking at the towering sight, one couldn't help but get intimidated.

Willow fished out a key, which shone golden upon the setting sun. She swiftly unlocked the giant and hefty gates, pushing open the doors instantaneously. Lucilline and her quickly entered, closing and locking the gates behind.

Although the entire mountain was covered in traps, only the members of the Duke Rubius family knew where exactly the traps are. All they have to do is to avoid the hefty amount of 50,000 traps.

Willow sighed, still holding onto her Young Master's soaked sweater. "Young Master, if you are tired, then allow me to carry you the way across."

Lucilline arched an eyebrow at her. "Where did you get the impression that I'm tired?"

Willow, "..." Stop acting so shameless! Just let her spoil you for once!

"Whatever." Lucilline grumbled. He folded his arms across his chest, "Carry me."

Willow could tell that he was nervous, for his eyes kept on averting her gaze. The maidservant was slightly speechless, since he didn't need to be so nervous! After all, she wouldn't get them into an accident! There was only a 2% of survival, but she's done this multiple times!

"We'll get across soon." Willow promised. She carried her Young Master on her back, holding onto him like he was merely a feather who'd get blown away by the wind if she weren't careful.

Lucilline shamelessly burrowed his face into Willow's shoulder.

They then began to progress through the mountain of traps. Bypassing through traps of pitfalls, snares, spikes, and etc., the pair of maidservant and Young Master had arrived safely at the top of the mountain.

"We've arrived." Willow stated.

She let down Lucilline, who obediently landed on the ground without saying a word. They turned to look at the residence before them; Duke Rubius' manor. The building was a three-story tall manor, with an abundant amount of windows and pyramid-like rooftops. Duke Rubius' manor was a colour of grey, with dark cobblestone grey for the roof.

Surrounding by the building's left and right sides were orchards, gardens, and lakes. The entire scenery was splendid, like nature running its course.

Lucilline held his breath. He watched Willow take out a key, then swiftly unlocked the manor's double doors. Without hesitation, Willow smiled and announced, "Welcome back home."

She pushed open the doors.

Inside the manor was—nothing, absolute silence.

Seeing that, Lucilline stopped holding his breath. He relaxed, then entered, with Willow right behind his footsteps. They closed and locked the manor doors.

"It seems that the rest of Duke Rubius' members aren't at home." Willow apologetically spoke.

"It's fine." Lucilline said. "Eldest sister and brother must be busy." In fact, deep down, he was glad that they weren't at home. Whenever they were in the manor, trouble will always brew. If they weren't screaming each others' ears off, then they were smashing glass together.

"I'll prepare a meal." Willow said. "Young Master, you can return to your room. Oh, and Duke Rubius is currently occupied at the moment. You might not wish to disturb him."

Lucilline understood Willow's intentions.

He nodded, then turned to walk up the stairs.

Duke Rubius was one of the highest prestigious noblemen in Lydia Kingdom. He was one of the three Grand Dukes, which makes him serve directly for the royalty. When the people of Lydia Kingdom say his name, they cherish every word. However, what they don't know is that Grand Duke Rubius was sick in bed.

Lucilline pursed his lips.

This type of illness was one that none of the doctors knew how to treat. It just came from nowhere, like a seed rooted in Duke Rubius' heart, then flourishing and blooming as time goes on.

It was highly probable that he wouldn't last any longer.

But of course, the public had no idea that Duke Rubius was ill in bed. If they'd caught onto this news, then panic would sprout in the society. This would make things difficult for the royalty.

Duke Rubius wouldn't hold on for much longer. Perhaps, only for a few more months?

*****

"Here is your drink, Young Master." Willow placed a cup of warm milk on Lucilline's desk.

Lucilline outstretched his two hands, cupping the cup. He felt the lukewarm temperature, warming his palms. "Thank you, Willow."

Willow smiled cheekily back.

Lucilline had sat in his desk, signing some papers and organizing them for the Duke Rubius household. "Willow, do you know when elder brother and sister will return?"

His elder brother and sister would often stay outside of the manor. The two Rubius elder siblings were busy, and often took commissions around Lydia Kingdom. Therefore, they'd almost never visit Lucilline and Duke Rubius nor ever return back to the manor.

There was a well-visible and apparent line between the family.

"Unfortunately," Willow sighed, "Young Master's siblings will not be returning until Winter. I'm afraid that you'll have to wait longer for their return."

Lucilline arched an eyebrow at her. "Why are you making it sound like I miss them?"

Willow, "..." Then why did you ask me when they'll return?

Lucilline could understand what his maidservant was thinking. He laughed, "I'm just wondering how much more time I have left before my freedom will be stripped away."

Willow, "..." She still didn't understand the dynamics of the Rubius siblings.

Shuffling her hands together, Willow wanted to ask more about her master's siblings. However, she was suddenly interrupted, when her ear twitched. Immediately, the maidservant's body had stiffened, as if she'd been frozen into a sculpture.

"...Willow?" Lucilline called out to his maid.

Willow wore a cold expression. "Young Master, be careful. Someone has trespassed on the territory, and has fallen in a trap."

Lucilline was surprised. The mountain should be at least a length of two kilometres in radius. Any normal person like himself wouldn't be able to sense another presence on the mountain. Yet, Willow was normally abnormal. Someone like her being able to hear someone on their territory... yeah, that is normal.

"I will go after the trespasser." Willow spoke. "Young Master, make sure to keep safe. Don't leave the manor at all costs."

Lucilline nodded solemnly.

When it comes to her job, Willow takes all aspects seriously.

She took a last look of her Young Master, then jumped out of the window. Her figure was agile in the night, moving as fast as an untamed beast. Within an instant, her back disappeared from Lucilline's sight.

Lucilline held his breath. He prayed for his maidservant's safety. In the corner of his bedroom, a vase of red spider flowers had their petals rustled in the night's breeze.

*****

Willow was swift and agile. Her locks of daisy white hair had flowed in the wind, moving at a fast pace like running waters down a riveting stream. As she moved, the maidservant's black and white dress had swayed from back and forth. It reached to the lengths of her knees.

She jumped from tree branch to tree branch.

Willow was high up from the ground, avoiding several traps.

Finally, she reached the destination where she'd heard the noises from. An area of the ground was collapsed over ten metres deep. At the bottom of the collapsed pit were spikes, with blades brutally shining in the moonlight.

A dark and ominous red liquid had coated the spikes. There was the burly figure of a man, lying haphazardly amongst the blades. The figure had been punctured in the abdomen, right leg, and left arm.

However, the man was completely covered from head to toe in cloth. It was impossible to make do of what the intruder looked like.

"How should I dispose of this corpse?" Willow mumbled under her breath. In the past, there were many uninviting guests who trespassed Duke Rubius' property. Those petty thieves climbed the mountain, only to be met with over hundreds of traps. The bad guys were brutally murdered. Their carcasses were burned, only leaving behind remnants of their ashes.

Willow had prepared a box of matches, hidden underneath her dress.

She pulled out a match, lit it on fire through friction. The one match contained a small flame, flickering on the reddened tip. Willow was about to throw the lit match into the pit, which would burn the corpse.

It was then she hesitated.

The dead man in the pit had a weird texture underneath his clothes. This texture looked rough and prickly, as if it wasn't skin underneath but rather... wheat!

This was... a puppet! A ploy!

It was then, Willow caught the sight... a flash of silver in the night.

Willow dodged an incoming punch, then thrusted her match against the opponent. The opponent didn't hesitate at the small fire lit aflame on the match. Instead, the opponent extended out a hand and grabbed at the match. The fire was instantly put out, as the opponent wore leather gloves.

"Tch." The opponent's voice was deep and masculine.

The opponent was a young man. His figure was muscular, with his abominable muscles enunciated from his tight clothes. The young man wore black leather combat clothes, with high boots, which helped him maneuver in ease within the mountains. His hair was brushed coolly across his forehead, with a pair of sharp silver eyes staring down at the maidservant.

His figure was handsome and tall.

Willow didn't have time to appreciate his looks before she quickly leaped backwards. She dodged another incoming punch, then landed on a far away tree branch.

The two opponents looked at each other.

"What is your motive?" Willow deadpanned. Her eyes, which used to brim with kindness at the face of her Young Master... were only an empty void at the moment. She didn't need to show any goodwill towards an enemy.

The young man stayed silent.

Afterwards, the maidservant and intruder had fell into a silent standstill. They stared each other down, with the thought of wanting to kill the other roaming through their minds.

"I will not go easy on you." Willow spoke expressionlessly.

She had the body of a fragile girl, but had the mind of a ferocious tiger.

The wind rustled past leaves, rekindling a fighting spirit within both of the two. Then, their figures blurred. Willow expressionlessly jumped at the young man, who jumped up at her. The two met in the middle of the air, exchanging punches and kicks.

At last, they landed on the same tree branch, which shook due to their weight.

Willow sucked in a breath of cold air. Her body jumped high up in the sky, with shadows of the moonlight relaying on her back. Then, Willow shot a downwards punch at the young man. There was the sound of rushing winds, which began to blow wildly. This showed that this punch definitely wasn't going to be normal!

The young man could sense something wasn't right.

He quickly retreated back away onto several other tree branches. It turned out that his intuition was correct. Right after Willow landed the punch, the mountain began to shake.

The young man watched with a cold expression, as several trees toppled into one another.

He dodged and avoided from getting caught into the collisions.

Willow leaped backwards, catching her breath from landing such a hard punch. The impact was strong indeed, but her stamina was reduced.

The maidservant lost sight of her target. She gritted her teeth, and was about to turn backwards. It was then a cold touch landed on her shoulder. The young man was right behind her, glowering at her like a heartless beast to a pitiful white rabbit.

Then, a punch was thrown at the maidservant's abdomen.

Willow could feel her organs inside shaking, as the punch threw her entire digestive system into disarray. The maidservant spat out saliva, coughing uncontrollably. Her hair was being pulled relentlessly, which raised her head, making her neck arch into a bending arc.

"Do me a favour." The young man deadpanned. "Stay unconscious."

He punched another blow at Willow's abdomen. The maidservant could hardly find herself holding on any longer. She gritted her teeth, unwilling to let go of her consciousness. She struggled in the young man's hold, trying to find an opportunity to escape.

However, all was lost. She couldn't pull away.

The young man kept throwing punches at her abdomen, each deeper than the last. His fists drove deep into her abdomen, and pained her guts. Willow could only bare her fangs at him. She lasted for twenty-one punches before blacking out.