Chapter 70: Chance Encounter II

"It's about Hannah Garvin."

The name was enough to send Arkham spiralling internally. Fuck... Is Tian Jun involved with the maid's scandal somehow? Or maybe he's just a concerned onlooker or something. The butler who was assigned to Tian Jun's room is Oakley, who was also assigned to another omega young master, Hua Jun, who's residing in the room next door.

"Oh." Arkham was still keeping his smile. "What about her?"

"You know what happened to her, don't you?" Tian Jun's voice remained calm and collected, but the expression on his face changed minisculely, just enough to tell Arkham that the young master was irritated.

Instead of getting up and running out of the room even though he should, Arkham remained still on the couch. His green eyes didn't back down, and just like last night, the mask of nervousness fell on his being. The role of a nervous butler who didn't know what he did wrong is a comfortable one to play.

"Young master Tian Jun, I'm not permitted to tell you about what happened behind closed doors." He dropped his smile a little to convince the omega male. "Petrov would have my head. Literally. Just like you stated a few days ago, just because I am new to the mansion doesn't mean that everyone can take advantage of me to break the rules. And... And I really appreciate your help when the omega females cornered me, but I cannot give you more information about this case."

He ended his speech with his signature smile, hoping that Tian Jun would understand. What Arkham was really wishing for was the omega male would just drop the subject and let him go because he's simply being a good butler. Another question that came into Arkham's head was why didn't the young master asked his own butler? He probably did, and Oakley probably told him the same thing as Arkham did.

"Alright." Tian Jun leaned on his hand as he relaxed on the armchair. Even though his posture seemed relaxed, the tension radiating from him was enough to put the spy on edge. "What about Benjamin Volker?"

Benjamin Volker?

Arkham didn't have to dig too far into his brain to find that one specific man. Benjamin Volker or Ben Volker is one of the guards stationed at the smaller gate next to the main entrance into the White Pearl Mansion's territory. He was the one who let Ruby Arkham and Celesto Knight into the property after checking their IDs just once because they were endorsed by young master Mar and Liam.

As far as the spy know, Ben Volker is still out there doing his job at the gate after the heavy lecture that Petrov gave him last night. Even after all that, Ben the guard still walked out of the room with dimples on his cheeks from the smile he was giving Matteo for taking his and Arkham's side. The butler has no idea when Ben Volker started working in the mansion, but since Tian Jun is asking for him, that could only mean that the guard is involved somehow.

The omega male cleared his throat after a a moment of silence from Arkham.

"He was scolded for a few minutes by Petrov last night. It was partially his fault that he let in some guests." Arkham didn't see the reason not to tell Tian Jun about this. The omega male would receive the same information if he asks Dr. Velison's alpha daughter. "After that, I was scolded for about 30 minutes."

"Why?" Tian Jun stood up from his seat, and Arkham almost flinched. His green eyes followed every movement as the omega male walked across the room towards the tea table in front of the couch.

"He... He let in some guests when he shouldn't. Even though the guests are my family, I agree with Petrov that he should've kept their IDs instead of letting them in just because Young master Mar said so." The butler spilled the truth, but he didn't give the entire picture, like Ruby Arkham isn't even his sister, and the entire lecture section by Petrov happened because Ben let in someone who claimed to be Arkham's sister but she wasn't listed on his records.

Green eyes followed the omega male as Tian Jun sat down on the other side of the couch. Since he's closer to Arkham now, the spy could smell the omega's scent underneath all his perfume.

"You will hear more about this situation because I learned that rumors travel ridiculously fast in this mansion." Arkham gave the omega male a smile, hoping that his humor will lighten the mood. "It is a situation that I am allowed to talk about since it did not explicitly happen behind closed doors —"

"Cut the crap, Arkham."

The change of tone made the spy's eyes widened. Tian Jun clenched his jaws, and he scooted closer to Arkham.

"Where is Hannah Garvin?" The young master asked with his head held high.

Two can play this game. The spy's voice dropped just to show that he's serious.

"I don't know." He could see his reflection in those honey brown eyes, and he didn't allow himself to melt. "Why are you asking about her? As a young master, as a guest, the well being of a maid should be none of your concern."

In a blink of an eye, fingers dug into Arkham's cheeks as Tian Jun cupped his face roughly. His green eyes widened at the sudden touch, and his hands held up to grip the hand holding his face. His other hand was clenched into a fist, but he stopped himself from physically hurting the omega male.

The young master leaned in closer; the distance between their faces was close enough that Arkham could feel Tian Jun's breath on his lips when the young master began talking again.

"Don't play dumb with me, Arkham." The omega male's scent was all over the room now, and his pheromones was announcing loud and clear that he was pissed. "Hannah Garvin and Benjamin Volker works for me, and I want to know what happened to Hannah. If you dare tell anyone else about them, I'll make sure that you'll never feel safe on this earth. I know that you don't belong here. You're just like Hannah and Ben. Someone put you here for a purpose. Now tell me where Hannah is or you won't get out of this damn mansion alive."

Hannah Garvin and Benjamin Volker works for me. Tian Jun's voice echoed in the spy's head as he stared blanky at the young master.

Hell, why does Tian Jun feel the need to implant his own people in the mansion? Arkham couldn't think of a reason because as far as he knew, the young master is frankly just a guest in here, another spoiled brat from a long line of spoiled brats invited by Aster himself.

After a minute of consideration and his cheeks starting to hurt, Arkham nodded to surrender. There's not much he can do when the young master can and will black mail him. Just like Tian Jun had threatened the escort omegas days before, Mr. Aster will listen to a family friend, not the Mansion's workers.

"Ayy caynt tak whyn you holg mae lyke dis." The spy tapped on Tian Jun's hand that's holding his face, and the hold loosened enough just for Arkham to take in a deep breath. "Thanks... As far as I know, Hannah Garvin is dead."

Arkham took in another deep breath, and his face wasn't free from the young master's grip yet. Honey brown eyes flared in a fury of anger, then quickly deflated into sadness in the matters of seconds.

"How do you know?" A snarl came from the omega male, and his pheromones became hostile. "Gah... Who even put you here? And why? Who are you loyal to?"

"AOPI." The spy's eyes almost water at how much pheromones Tian Jun was giving out. Fuck, he's going to need to spray himself with neutralizers or scent blockers when he gets out of this room. "I'm loyal to the money, Tian Jun."

Honey brown eyes widened, and the frown deepened. Of course, the young master wouldn't believe him so easily, but so far that's the truth. Arkham risked his life just so he could maintain an illusion of success for his parents.

"Petrov gave an announcement that Hannah Garvin is no longer on the list, and she disappeared. A day later, some of the maid had to dispose of her stuff." Arkham kept his voice neutral. "From the mansion's history of dealing with rats, it's safe to assume that she's dead."