Hal was sound asleep when he heard a loud banging on the door. He twisted in his bed before opening his eyes to the rays of light flying through his window.
He enjoyed his bed a little more before his eyes suddenly sprang open, a fear gripped his heart, "Oh no, I forgot"
He jumped out of bed and ran to the door, where he opened the door for a man with dark brown hair and eyes. He had a serious face that instantly struck fear in Hal's heart.
The man wore a black suit with silver gloves that were embedded with an emblem of a golden bird carrying a clover with a giant tree in the background, and glasses over his eyes.
The man was checking his pocket watch when Hal opened the door, his eyes moved to meet him, and Hal shivered "
"It is not right for a Butler serving under the Harleyclover family to still be asleep at this hour" Hal bowed respectfully as he spoke with a voice befitting a gentleman.
"I'm incredibly sorry for my tardiness, Mr Faizo. I swear never to do this again" Mr Faizo stared at him for a while before turning around and saying, "Then I expect you down in five minutes"
Mr Faizo checked his pocket watch one last time before strolling away from Hal's room; Mr Faizo Legilius was the head butler of the Harleyclover family mansion, the place they had been calling home the past few days.
They had immediately met Elizabeth, a lady with caramel hair and eyes, who had managed to heal Lyrrah's injuries. The memory flashed through Hal's eyes at that moment, and he couldn't help but shiver.
They arrived at the mansion late in the night, where Elizabeth was waiting for them. She was dressed in a black and wait maid's outfit with her hair tied into a ponytail.
"You're finally here, good. Please hurry up and follow me," Tai lifted Lyrrah as they followed her into the gates of a giant mansion three levels high. It was white with a little gold covering the pillars and emblem.
The emblem was of a swallow carrying a clover leaf, with the same tree that was found on the coins, being on the dazzling golden emblem.
They rushed into the mansion as she led them to a giant room that dwarfed Hal's in comparison. The room had a giant bed in the middle and was filled with maid outfits, a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, a dressing mirror and a giant whiteboard that was facing the wall.
Lyrrah was placed on the bed as Elizabeth started the healing process. Lyrrah's entire body glowed, and golden strings escaped from it as they slowly floated into the air.
The strings circled the ceiling of the room and accumulated before being forced back into Lyrrah's body. The entire place fell into chaos as things began flying around the room.
The wallpaper ripped from the wall, the mirror shattered, and the chandelier swung like it were close to collapsing. Elizabeth pulled out a pin from her hair and threw it to the ground.
And from it, a force field appeared that kept any of the debris from flying into them. Lyrrah's scream resounded throughout the entire room as the room felt close to collapsing.
"Just a little more" Elizabeth's voice was almost indistinguishable from the chaos happening around them as the strings fully entered Lyrrah's body.
Everything around them returned to normal as the black lines on Lyrrah's body finally disappeared. Lyrrah fell unconscious on the bed as Elizabeth turned to the two boys behind her.
"She'll need some rest for now. Tai already knows me, but Hal, you can call me Elizabeth, Nanny Leya's granddaughter"
The entire event still made Hal shake whenever he thought back to it, "To think that healing the soul could be that violent"
That was how the three of them came to be under the care of the duke of Harleyclover, and how he came to the head butler's assistant which was the role thrust on to him was the very next day.
He let out a grunt as he struggled to put on the bowtie of his suit before finally opening a black box to reveal red gloves that were specifically given to the head butler's assistant.
The gloves had the emblem of the Harleyclover embedded on them with beautiful golden strings. He picked them up and slid them onto his hands before gazing out the window to see a giant castle in the distance, belonging to none other than the king of Haverfield.
The castle was the biggest building he had ever seen in his life. The castle towered over the capital with a giant wall surrounding it. It had grey stone walls, and even from this distance, Hal could see it was decorated with gold and silver.
Hal took in the sight before finally sloping down to meet Mr Faizo. His steps were hurried, but he kept his breath calm as he ran past multiple maids and butlers who were cleaning around the mansion.
He finally saw Mr Faizo, who was diligently looking at his pocket watch as if he was counting down the seconds till he was late.
"Mr Faizo, I am ready to be of service", Hal ensured he bowed down in the most respectful way possible to portray the true image of a prestigious butler.
"Good, your friend is already waiting for us outside, so let's make haste" Hal nodded and followed Mr Faizo out of the mansion.
This place was busy and organised, it had specific jobs for specific servants, with some being allocated to the fields, some to different parts of the interior, some did the laundry and others to serve the Harleyclover family personally.
Tai was one such Butler being allocated to serve the Duke himself. This was not by coincidence that they ended up in these positions, but it was due to the main reason they were here.
Hal followed Mr Faizo closely behind as they found Tai, who was wearing a black suit like there's though his had the Harleyclover emblem embedded on it instead of the gloves. He also wore white gloves and a bow tie and carried himself with the prowess of a real butler.
"Mr Faizo, Hal, you finally made it" Hal still could not get over how Tai sounded these days. It always put a smile on his face as he had to struggle to hold back a laugh.
Mr Faizo walked in front of the two as Tai stared daggers at Hal as if daring him to laugh, "We would have arrived sooner had it not been for your friend here"
Tai smiled proudly as he bowed before Mr Faizo, saying, "Forgive my lackey's misconduct" The butler shook his head as he led them to the carriage.
"It's not like we have a choice, the real reason you're here is far more important than such a trivial mistake, although it would get you fired in usual circumstances. Now, gentlemen, please get in"
Tai and Hal entered the carriage and quickly set off as Mr Faizo sat facing the widow with one hand over his chest and the other supporting his chin with a fist.
"So, prestigious butlers, do you know what brought you here, why you have such high posts and why I took you under my wing to teach you the essence of housekeeping?"
Tai quickly offered the answer as he spoke with a rather respectful tone, "Why yes, Mr Faizo, our major role here is to protect the duke of Harleyclover"
Mr Faizo smiled as he nodded his head slowly before Hal added in his polite manner, "But if I may be so rude as to ask, what are we protecting him from? We have not been told yet"
Mr Faizo sighed, "It's the reason why I chose to bring you with me on this shopping trip, the mansion has been running out of resources lately"
"How is that connected to protecting the duke?" Tai pulled forward on his seat as he asked the question, although he fell back after realising he had forgotten his polite tone
The butler did not seem to mind it as Mr Faizo simply answered, "Please look around the city and tell me, do you know how the administration of this kingdom works?"
Hal nodded his head slowly and spoke soon after, "The kingdom is split into the royal family, those of noble birth and then the common folk"
Mr Faizo looked from Hal to Tai as he spoke again, "You are correct. Do you have anything to add on Tai? Tai nodded as he remembered to use his polite tone this time.
"Apart from the royal family, each class has houses where they convene and make decisions, although these decisions have to be approved by the king first"
Mr Faizo nodded as he turned his eyes, prompting Hal to continue from where Tai ended, "The common folk houses are all on the same level and are ruled over by a baron and other local leaders" The butler's eyes moved to Tai, who continued.
"But the nobles have three types of houses depending on the place they preside over, the lowest presided over by the arch duke, the second biggest by the count and the largest by the high count prime minister"
Mr Faizo clapped for them with a small smile on his face, "Good, you have been doing the homework I gave you and also have the answer to your question"
The butler's face filled with melancholy and respect as he continued, "The previous high count Prime Minister, Mr Mathers Grey Apulia, has passed away, meaning the king will be choosing a new one"
There was a dark glint in Mr Faizo's eyes as he finished the statement, "This means that the blue moon will rise again, the mysterious disappearances will soon resume, and our duke is one of the targets"