Chapter 4 Disobedient Girl

There was a loud slapping sound, which made anyone who heard it cringe.

"Do you intend to reveal yourself in front of others? Do you dare to do so, monster?!"

"Ellard, my name is Ellard. And I'm not a monster," Ellard rubbed the corner of his bleeding lip. The slap from Aaron numbed his cheek.

"Who says you're not a monster?! Is this place too dark? So you can't look in the mirror?"

Aaron didn't need to remind him that his face was quite scary. Ellard had a terrible scar on his cheek. Making him look like a monster.

"I thought it was you, but it wasn't," in his pain, Ellard tried to defend himself.

"That's a lot of excuses! Just say you were trying to make an appearance in front of the new servant."

Aaron continued to blame Ellard. Because of his carelessness, one of the servants became suspicious that Aaron was locking up someone.

"I didn't mean it that way," Ellard bowed his head deeply.

"How many times have I told you? You can't show yourself. Even just being a shadow, you can't do that," Aaron grabbed Ellard's hair until his head looked up.

Ellard could only surrender, resisting would only make him a punching bag. "Instead of living only to trouble people, why not die?"

At the end of the argument, Aaron would indoctrinate Ellard to commit suicide.

Brak!

Aaron's long legs kicked a chair before he departed from the rancid-smelling place. Taking out his anger on an inanimate object.

"Have you forgotten that we're identical twins, Aaron? I don't want to die alone. Destiny made us to be together."

Ellard closed the door that was almost torn apart from being slammed too many times. Withdrawing from the world, behaving like a ghost as usual.

***

"Did the two of them deliberately conspire to ruin my day?" after venting his anger at Ellard, Aaron was still not satisfied.

Footsteps led Aaron to the lake. He wanted to see Valerie's misery that he was punishing.

"After serving a punishment that drained your strength, can you still defy your own master, snot-nosed boy?" the corners of Aaron's lips lifted to form a fierce smile.

But just as quickly his smile vanished. The lake was quiet with no one there.

"Asshole! Who exactly is that girl? Why does she reject all my words and orders?!"

Aaron strode quickly towards the maids' room. His goal was definitely to find Valerie. His ego was hurt because he was being ignored.

"Ashley! Where's that insubordinate girl?!"

The maids were surprised by the sudden arrival of their young master. This was because Aaron had never done so. More precisely, he was unwilling.

Ashley who played the role of the butler, the middle-aged woman hurried to meet her master.

"Isn't Valerie still in the lake to carry out the punishment from Master?" said Ashley who even asked.

"What kind of answer is that Ashley? So what you're saying is, you're not sure of the girl's whereabouts either?"

The atmosphere turned tense at once. Without any significant trouble, their young master was already short-tempered, let alone when there was trouble like this.

Valerie was a dead giveaway!

The maids silently cursed Valerie.

"Drag Valerie to me right now!" Aaron ordered before walking away, leaving the maids in a huff.

"That girl never tires of getting into trouble. It's her first day on the job, but how many times has she made Mr. Aaron angry?"

As usual, in every dispute, there would be one person who acted as the instigator to make things even more heated.

"Shut your mouth, Dwyne! Why don't you find out where Valerie is?" Ashley interrupted one of the maids.

Meanwhile, the object of their conversation was busy traveling.

The girl was still curious about what she saw. Valerie wasn't an indigo and she shouldn't be able to see ghosts. But the silhouette she saw earlier, what was it?

No people were walking along the corridor. Valerie took the opportunity to find out what was wrong with the secret corridor.

"If the right wing of this mansion is indeed a restricted area, there should be at least one person on guard. I thought the owner of this place was pretty lame," Valerie mocked without knowing the figure she was talking about was standing tall behind her.

"So that's what I'm doing now," Aaron said in response to Valerie's scorn.

"Also, you're too dangerous to just let loose," Valerie was surprised by Aaron's sudden arrival.

"Bernard, what other lessons do you think I should teach this defiant girl? She's still young, and her energy is overflowing. Punishing her by draining the lake doesn't have a deterrent effect at all," Aaron asked his minions for advice.

"If physical punishment is no longer a deterrent, how about giving him mental torture instead?" suggested Bernard.

"Examples?" asked Aaron interested.

"I'll think about it later, Mr. Aaron. Tomorrow you are going on a business trip, instead of wasting your energy on trivial matters, it is better to rest."

Either it was just Valerie's feelings, or Bernard intended to save her from Aaron's tantrum.

***

Nature was rejoicing the dawn that had broken, replaced by the sun that rose from the horizon. The soft sunlight lulled the flocks of birds to chirp.

Unfortunately, the beauty of nature could not be enjoyed by the residents of the mansion. Because they had to listen to their lord who was about to make a speech.

"Mr. Aaron will be going on a business trip for an undetermined amount of time. While the two of us are away, all management of the Rodriguez mansion will be handed over to butler Ashley," Bernard filled in for Aaron who had a toothache (hallelujah) as the spokesperson.

"In light of this, I hope that discipline will continue as usual, especially for Valerie."

For some reason, Valerie didn't like being the center of attention. "Yes, sir. From now on I will behave myself more," Valerie said. She had to be a submissive girl so as not to arouse more suspicion.

"I expect you to do as I say. Don't go in one ear and out the other," Aaron's eyes were fixed only on Valerie as he delivered the authoritarian sentence.

"Yes, sir!" all the servants bowed respectfully to let their master go.

***

"Do we need to do this, sir?" asked Bernard from behind the wheel.

"As long as you've been my assistant, have I ever made a decision that I was unsure about?" Aaron asked back, "No, sir." Bernard replied simply.

"Alright, let's continue our journey. I want to know firsthand, what gossip is currently spreading in the community that dares to have intruders enter."

Of course, the word intruder was intended for Valerie. Aaron's suspicions grew stronger when he found out that the girl's main profession was journalism. What a downgrade if she threw away her brilliant career to become an ordinary maid.

Aaron and Bernard are going directly into the community to mingle. This was not their usual business trip, Bernard still couldn't understand his master's way of thinking.

They were currently in Central Park.

"Esme, how is it? Did you get a new job?" someone asked the girl named Esme, their conversation was accidentally caught in Aaron's hearing.

Esme shook her head weakly. "Not yet, where else should I go to look, huh?" she asked wearily.

"You didn't apply for a job at the Rodriguez mansion. Yes, even if it's just as a servant, I heard the salary offered is quite high," Esme's interlocutor, Grace, said.

"And I also heard that the mansion is used as a reunion place for ghosts," Esme shuddered, "Ghosts are good at choosing locations these days, aren't they? They know where the fancy places are." The two women giggled.

"Stupid conversation!"

Aaron was about to leave but was stopped when he heard more of their conversation.

"I'm not joking, Grace. You know Ivy, right?" Grace nodded her head.

"That woman is related to my family. Before she was found dead in the Rodriguez family's man-made lake, they said she looked like she was in a daze."

The more confidential the conversation, the lower the volume. Aaron had to listen carefully.

"Why?"

"He repeatedly said monster, monster. Ellard. Broken face. Like that," Esme rubbed her upper arm with both hands. She could feel the horror Ivy was experiencing.

"Is she the ghost of Ellard whose spirit is still unsettled, Esme?" Grace leaned closer to Esme. It could be dangerous if someone overheard their conversation.

The Rodriguez clan had great power. They certainly didn't want to be the subject of lowly talk.

"There's a good chance that's the case, who would accept it if you were killed in such a cruel manner," the two shuddered in horror.

It was enough that Aaron stole the conversation. His hands were clasped so tightly that veins stood out. "So this isn't the first time Ellard has tried to make an appearance?" muttered Aaron.

Bernard didn't dare to comment, he chose to lock his mouth tightly. The slightest misspeaking would end in the same fate as Ellard.

"Where are we going next, sir?" asked Bernard when his master had left.

"To the place where the fire was ignited," Aaron replied enigmatically. Bernard followed his master without so much as a word.

After a while of traveling, the car they were driving stopped in front of a simple house. "Whose house are we coming to, sir?" asked Bernard. He was quite unfamiliar with the minimalist-style building.

"The Ivy family," Aaron replied briefly.

"Do you intend to apologize to the family for their daughter's unnatural death?"

"Are you kidding me, Bernard? Although I have the power, I am not God. The death of a person is not my responsibility. So why should I apologize?"

There was no doubt about it. His master's conscience was dead.