"Good morning everyone,"

Anya and several other girls were gathered by Henry in a room. All the girls looked enthusiastic except Anya. She looked around with a confused look. The housemaids here were young and beautiful girls.

She couldn't understand why this house needed so many maids.

Strange. Anya counted them all, including herself, and there were twenty-two girls.

"How are you happy to be here?"

"After going through a rigorous selection, you have finally been accepted as servants of the young masters in this house," Henry said to them.

"Yes, Mr. Henry, we are very happy!"

"Congratulations to all of you!"

"Thank you!" Everyone answered in unison.

"Miss Smith!" Henry shouted suddenly, pointing at Anya, who seemed lost in thought.

"What are you thinking about? Why don't you answer like your friends?" asked Henry furiously.

"I-I-" Anya stammered.

"Don't give me an excuse. Ms. Smith. You need to say sorry and lower your gaze. You must get used to it, you must not argue, you must not disobey, and you must not be disrespectful to your masters. You'll have to get used to it, Miss Smith!" exclaimed Henry in a sarcastic, half-mocking tone.

"W-well, I'm sorry," Anya said as she looked down to the floor.

"Good, looks like you'll learn quickly," said Henry.

"Well, you all must know why I've gathered you all here," Henry began. He looked more like a teacher than a head housekeeper.

"Our two young masters are now twenty-seven and twenty-five years old, so the time has come for them to live independently. Some of you must know about the huge palace that Lord Adolfo built for his two sons. Does anyone know?"

A beautiful blonde girl standing behind Anya raised her hand.

"Yes, Shelina, you're a smart, ambitious girl. You must have known about this, right?"

"Yes, of course. Mr. Adolfo built two large palaces for his two sons. Anyone who is sent there is the luckiest housemaid because they will serve Mr. Adolfo's sons directly. Oh yes, let's not forget history. The biological mother of Mr. Adolfo's two sons is a former housemaid like us. So history may repeat itself, right?" explained Shelina as she looked around the room. Her words brought all eyes to her.

"Oh, so you intend to repeat history?" asked Henry, still with a sarcastic laugh.

"Why not?" replied Shelina very boldly.

"Good, you have a great purpose here. And..." Henry paused his words, then let out a long sigh before continuing his words.

"Do you see this black envelope I brought?" asked Henry. Yes, of course, all the girls there could see the object he held up.

"Inside this black envelope are written the names of the eight girls who will be sent to the new palace of the young masters."

As soon as Henry said that, the room became noisy. The girls whispered to each other.

"Hey, are you the new girl?" a black girl asked Anya.

"My name is Paris," she said, extending her hand. The girl looked sweet and kind, different from most of the others there. Without hesitation, Anya extended her hand to her.

"You don't look enthusiastic and confused. Ask me something, and I'll answer as best I can," she said kindly.

Anya glanced at Paris, and then she shifted her body a few centimeters, moving closer to the tall girl.

"What is this place? Why do all the maids have to dress up like comfort women?"

"I can't explain that here. I hope we can meet again so I can tell you the answer to your question." Paris looked serious.

"Alright, I'll open the envelope now!" Henry shouted, demanding the full attention of the girls who were there. The noisy room immediately turned quiet. All eyes were on Henry, who had taken out a piece of paper from the envelope. The atmosphere was tense, just like when someone was about to read out the nominations at an award ceremony.

"Alright, I'll get right to it, Cameron, Bridget, Diana, Emily, Angel, Rose, and Shelina!" There was a loud applause when Shelina's name was mentioned. Anya turned her head and looked at the haughty-looking girl. The seven girls who were called came forward. They proudly smiled and waved at the girl who wasn't chosen as if this was a beauty pageant contest.

"Why only seven?" asked Shelina. Henry shook his head and looked confused.

"Maybe I was wrong because apparently, the young masters only asked for seven. Alright then, you can all disperse and get back to work-" Before Henry could continue, someone suddenly arrived.

Anya gasped to see who came if last night the sharp-eyed man looked childish and strange. But not this morning. The man was wearing a suit, and his hair was neat, and the fragrance of his body wafted to the back of the room where Anya stood nailed.

" Y-young sir," Henry looked surprised by Xavier's arrival.

"Eight," Xavier replied.

"B-but there are only seven on this list," Henry stammered.

"I'll choose the eighth assistant myself," Xavier said, and the room erupted again. All the girls' eyes, except Anya, lit up. There was no denying that Xavier's charm was strong.

***

Shelina couldn't stop looking at Xavier. She moved her upper body forward so that her large breasts could be seen defiantly. Anya grinned, amused at the sight.

"Anya Smith!" Xavier said quickly and firmly. Even Anya's ears didn't realize that her name had been called.

"Come forward, Miss Smith," Henry pleaded with a displeased face.

"And I need another one. I hear she's a pizza expert. You know I love pizza, Paris Wilson. Come on, you'll have to come with me wherever I go."

Paris, who had been heartbroken at not being chosen, was shocked by Xavier's announcement.

Paris and Anya joined hands and came forward together. Shelina and the others didn't seem to like the idea of them being chosen as assistants.

"This is crazy, Shelina, the new girl was chosen! Even Young Master Xavier chose her personally," squealed the long-haired girl standing next to Shelina.

"You're all on my side, am I supposed to worry about that little bitch?" fumed Shelina.

Anya heard the whole conversation, but she didn't care. All she was doing here was to temporarily survive while hoping to get free and leave this place soon. She didn't care about any rivalries that might occur between the chosen assistants.
"Now hurry up and pack up because the car to take you is waiting. I'll only give you fifteen minutes!" Henry scolded. Anya lazily stepped back into the cramped room to retrieve the few pieces of clothing that didn't belong to her.

After the announcement, the nine assistants were asked to pack up and taken to the young masters' private home.

***

"You must have prepared yourself very well," Xavier quipped to his older brother, Noah.

The blond-haired, blue-eyed, shady-looking man smiled gently. He then replied, "Why do you always act like this towards me, Xav?"

Xavier laughed, raising his head, the brown-eyed netherworld staring at the horizon this morning, which looked a little overcast, with clouds here and there.

"Don't tell me you don't want that position. We both know what we would get if we managed to occupy the position of owner and head of our grandmother's eleven big companies," Xavier said in a sarcastic tone.

"I'm not interested," Noah said casually as he looked at his younger brother, the man then about to leave the place.

"Don't try to trick me again by pretending to be innocent," Xavier smirked. Noah stopped his footsteps. He then turned around and looked at Xav, "You don't even know me, as well as I know you, Xav. Someday, you'll realize that I've never tried to compete with you or take what's rightfully yours."

"Cut the crap, Noah. Stop pretending to be an angel when your heart is no better than a demon!"

Noah gasped at Xav's arrogant words and showed just how deep the hatred had sunk into his brother Xavier's heart.

"You big liar," Xavier whispered and left his older brother on the balcony that connected the two large buildings. Noah heard Xav's words so clearly that he wanted to make it clear to his younger brother that he didn't want to compete for the position of heir apparent. He was even willing to let Xavier have his way because all Noah wanted was a peaceful life without his family interfering.

However, it seemed like that would be difficult to achieve. Their lives are all under his control. Even their father, Adolfo Dmitry, cannot escape the shadow of Xerena Roseanne Dmitry - their grandmother - until now. He was also not given any rights as an heir, as he was a widower and refused to marry. So, it was their father who was groomed to be the heir to a fortune that would last for eight generations. And unfortunately, this is what triggered the cracking of the brothers' relationship, which was originally harmonious.

Xav, who used to love him so much, has now turned into his enemy. Xav showed such a wary attitude every time they met, and there was no more laughter or warm conversations between them. Only hatred that continues to build up.

***