Chapter 39: Life of a butler I

The sunrise is a beautiful thing, but Arkham the butler didn't get to see it because he's late. He woke up late, so he missed the sun rising above the horizon of the deep blue sea. Dawn is when the butlers rise, and he felt ashamed that he slept so well last night. It's only his third day in the White Pearl Mansion, and he doesn't want to be kicked out so soon.

Especially when he barely has any information worth reporting. Sure, he reported everything, but nothing's new and everything is just family drama, from Vijay Patrikovsky Aster and Ji Jing Devin's running away together into the sunset to shitfuckery that was the family dinner where his beloved (sarcastically) young masters Marnette Silverin Aster and William Velison Junior left early. They were so nice to him, going as far as to dismiss him early, wish him a good night and open the door with their hands full, but they definitely have something to hide.

Just like the others at the mansion, the two young alphas kept their lips shut and changed the subject when the new butler brought up anything remotely related to Mr. Aster and the mothers of his children. He hasn't annoyed any of the Aster children enough to be reported. Yet.

Currently, green eyes are staring at Petrov, the head butler, as he lectured Arkham along with a fellow butler named Armani. Armani is as new as Arkham, but the blond haired blue eyed beta came to the mansion genuinely to work as a butler. Unlike Arkham. However, just like Arkham, he's being scolded for waking up late, and just like Arkham, he's sleeping in room thirteen.

Yes, both Arkham and his fellow butler — roommate — work buddy or whatever woke up late. The sun was well over the mountain when their door was kicked open, and there was Petrov whose forehead reflected the morning sun rays, and he threw them off their beds. Apparently, their alarm clock wasn't plugged in, but even then, Arkham shouldn't have overslept. He's a spy after all, an agent who finds and delivers confidential information, sleeping soundly in enemy territory isn't good for them, no matter how comfortable the bed was.

"You're lucky the kids you look after won't wake up until noon..." The head butler's fingers pitched the bridge of his nose and rubbed his forehead in disappointment. "Young Master Marlin and Martin won't even leave their room if they have enough food, but that doesn't mean you can sleep in."

"Yes, sir!" Arkham put on his innocent face, looking a little guilty and a little sad. Hopefully that will convince the head butler to not punish him. He's still in his pajamas, and his fellow butler Armani is only wearing a pair of black shorts.

Just as Petrov was about to say something, the thirteenth butler room's door was slammed open by none other than Matteo, a large beta male with dark skin and an amazing buzz cut who could pass as an alpha with his appearance alone. As far as Arkham knows, Matteo has been working for the Aster family for seven years. He's a veteran, but not as old as Petrov who has been Mr. Aster's lap dog for almost two decades.

"Petrov." Matteo nodded at the head butler in greeting before his dark eyes moved to the two younger butlers. "Armani, Arkham, did you drink out of your water flasks or the fridge water in the communal fridge?"

"I filled my flask water with the water from the communal fridge at around 10pm." Arkham looked at Matteo with the same innocence in his eyes as he did with Petrov. He didn't do anything wrong; he followed the protocols and everything; he just woke up late.

There's still the question of why is the dark skinned butler asking about drinking water.

"And you?" A single finger pointed at Armani, and the blond butler started sweating nervously.

"Armani?" Petrov's stern voice finally made the young butler talk.

"I drank from Arkham's water flask." Blue eyes squeezed shut after he admitted it.

Arkham appreciated the honesty, but honestly, he's angry and confused. Why the hell did his roommate/ fellow butler/ work friend drank from his fucking water flask? Each butler has their own water flasks that's given by them on the first day they arrived at the mansion.

Instead of shouting at Armani, Arkham just glared at him.

"You were in the shower, and I was thirsty!" The blond butler stuttered out. "I was too tired to get out of our room and refill my flask, so I used yours!"

That's kinda on Arkham too. He didn't notice some of his water was missing. Hell, he barely drank any before he went to bed, and Armani was already asleep by the time the spy got out of the shower. The shower is the only time Arkham can actually send reports to his crew outside of the mansion, and no one questioned him when he brought his phone into the shower.

Back to the matter at hand, Arkham blinked at his fellow butler Armani. The blond butler gave him a nervous laugh. "I'm sorry, Arkham. You can drink from mine if you wanna—"

"Enough." Matteo's voice got the two new butler's attention. "The communal water was laced with crushed sleeping pills."

"What?" Petrov turned around to face the younger veteran butler, his eyebrows knitted together in a frown.

"If you fill your flasks with water from the communal fridge after 10pm, then your water will contain some sedatives." The dark skinned butler explained the situation in his usual heavy tone. "I didn't know until I had to have some this morning. The water didn't taste right, so I had Lin check it. She found traces of a sedative, so someone must have crushed up some over the counter sleeping pills."

"Find the idiot who organized this prank." Petrov ordered as he walked out of the room.

"We found her." Matteo's voice stopped the head butler in his tracks. "She's a rat."

Fuck, Arkham was the only spy his organization sent.